Over the course of several virtual networking presentations conducted by MANA during the last year, one subject continued to raise its head — rep councils.

Combining several conversations that transpired among manufacturers that tuned in to the presentations, one that remains pertinent was an exchange between two manufacturers, one of whom was looking for tips on how to restart his council after a lapse of several years. The advice from the other manufacturer was: “The best place to start is to look to your beginnings. Don’t build on what you did previously. Take a look at what your problems were, and make every effort not to repeat them. Explain to your reps that you’re starting fresh and that you value their input. Then — without delay — hit the ground running.”

A third manufacturer offered the following: “We’ve had tremendous success with our rep councils over the years. The reasons for their success are many, but I’d point to two in particular.

“First, set realistic goals for the individual members of the council to perform. Second, at the same time, set realistic deadlines within which those council members must accomplish those goals. The deadline thought is one that most people don’t consider. They know all about the goal, but they don’t do anything about the follow-up. That’s why deadlines are so important. Unless you hold individuals accountable, you really can’t expect them to do anything.”

Reps Keep Customers

A concrete endorsement for working closely with reps came from a manufacturer who explained, “We’ve found reps are the most effective way we know of to keep the customers we already have.” She added that she was a true believer in the philosophy that your existing customers are your best customers. “We know that when we lose a customer it’s difficult to get them back. In addition, it takes more effort to get and serve a new customer than it does to get your existing customers to maintain or even increase sales. That’s where we’ve found our reps to be so beneficial.” She continued by explaining her thoughts this way:

• Partnering — “Our reps have forged strong partnerships with their customers and communicated to them that they are their partners and their ultimate goal is to meet their needs.”
• Value-add — “I’m well aware that this is an over-used term, but it really exists among our reps. They’re the experts at appraising the customers’ business needs and serving as their problem solvers.”
• Constant presence — “Our reps have shown us that the best way to learn the customers’ needs is by regularly being in front of them and serving as the conduit between us and them.” She added that even during the pandemic, “The majority of our reps came up with innovative approaches to let their customers know that they were always there for them.”
• Service providers — “No matter when and where the customer has a need, the reps have shown us that their there to meet those needs.”

Never Hold Back

In the course of an interview with Agency Sales, one manufacturer went off the stated topic a bit when he strongly endorsed the practice of manufacturers being totally open and honest with their reps.

According to the manufacturer, “Let me pose a question: What good does it do to either the principal or the rep if one of us holds back information? I’d maintain that the true linchpins of our relationship are communication, education and information.

“As an example, let’s talk about new product introductions. Isn’t it important for the rep to know exactly to whom I’m targeting this new product? Then it seems logical to me to further the discussion by letting the rep know what I think the customer is doing right now and what I think he’ll be doing in the future. Armed with this information, can’t the rep be expected to do a better job for not only me, but for the customer, and ultimately for himself?”

He went on, “I don’t know how many times I’ve heard reps complain to me about some of their other lines introducing new products with virtually no chance for success. All they’re armed with is hope and that uneducated hope is hardly ever realized.”

Continuing a bit on this subject, MANA and Agency Sales have long beat the drum about the importance of reps being proactive when it comes to communicating matters of importance to their principal. Wise reps, most of whom react negatively at the thought of submitting regular call reports, realize the benefits of quickly letting the manufacturer know about customer trends or developments.

At the same time, it’s the wise principal who will be proactive when it comes to keeping reps up to speed with what’s going on both personally and professionally — for example, the manufacturer who casually asks what his reps’ future plans are in terms of retirement or succession plans, lets the rep know that he cares about them personally, but also has an eye on the stability of the future relationship. And, what beats the request for the rep to share their annual business plan? As one manufacturer recently offered: “When I know what he’s got planned for the next 12 months, that lets me adjust my plan for working more effectively with him.”

Taking the Load Off

It’s hardly a surprise when an independent rep offers the complaint that his manufacturers are off-loading more and more tasks to him — and not uncommonly with no increase in commission. That’s why it was so refreshing to hear from one manufacturer that he was taking steps to reverse that process. As examples:

• When there’s a backorder, the manufacturer will have someone from its organization call the customer and explain the situation. “That’s just not something we expect the rep to do. We feel it’s our responsibility.”
• “In addition, in the case of a backorder, we normally take a percentage off the order. That makes the rep look good in the eyes of the customer.”
• The manufacturer also ships orders within 24 hours, or they take five percent off the price of the order.
• With the goal of full communication, the manufacturer sends the rep an email letting them know when a shipment is made.

This manufacturer had more to say, but these examples serve to make the point that there are some relatively small steps a manufacturer can take when it comes to lessening the load that reps normally have to carry.

Appreciating the Extra Effort

Smart manufacturers, including those that can be included in a rep’s list of “emotional favorites,” appreciate it when their reps do more than what is expected of them. For instance, one manufacturer reacted this way when one of his reps “voiced dissatisfaction with the fact he had been selling the same way for years. Having said that, however, I’ve got to admit that he was one of my better reps, but he knew he could improve his performance. In order to accomplish that goal, he went out of his way to locate seminars, webinars, and training sessions that he felt would bring him up to date. High on this list of concerns was the fact that ours is somewhat of a commodity product, and he was falling into the trap of being a victim of the ‘lower price wins’ scenario. To combat that, he searched out methods that would help him improve his relationship building and become the customers’ solution provider. He’s been on this track of improvement for about 18 months now, and the results are evident in the field.”

Drilling down on the subject of sales training, the manufacturer cited the example of a second rep who engaged the services of a professional sales trainer for her and her entire outside sales staff. That’s not all — she persuaded a few of her larger distributors to send their outside salespeople along. “Efforts such as this show how much the rep valued continued sales training. This is the type of commitment this rep has shown for years and others would be well-served to follow her example.”

In addition to letting Agency Sales know how much he appreciates the reps’ efforts, this manufacturer let us know that whenever any of his reps go the extra mile, he’s quick to thank and congratulate them for their efforts.

Backing Up the Rep Team

A major reason cited by a fairly small manufacturer for establishing a nationwide rep network was that he didn’t really have the revenues to support a direct sales force. As a result, years ago he made the decision to commit to reps. And as the years have gone by and his revenues have grown substantially, he’s become convinced that reps are the way for him to go. However, he’s made one internal adjustment that he never anticipated from the beginning — and it has resulted in improved performance among his reps.

Because the company has reps in all of the U.S. time zones, the reps in these various territories need backup support at a variety of times during the business day. “To meet that need,” he explained, “we made the commitment to hire a team of inside salespeople who work flexible hours to ensure that there’s always someone here to assist the rep. One group will work a morning shift, and the other takes over during the afternoon and early evening hours for the western states.

“What has happened is that no call for assistance is ever left unanswered. We’ve found that since the reps know they always have backup, they’re much more incented to go the extra mile for us.”

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