If comments from reps and manufacturers who participated in a series of MANAchats were any indication of the effectiveness of rep councils, all manufacturers have to do is to ask their reps to participate and reps will readily accept the invitation. Attesting to the importance of a manufacturer having a rep council, one rep offered the opinion that “If I was interviewing for a line, one of the most important questions I’d want an answer to is whether they have a rep council. If they do, then that’s a very strong signal that that’s the kind of company that wants to work correctly with reps.”

Another rep described his experience with a rep council when he noted, “A rep council is a perfect way for both sides — manufacturer and rep — to identify what their purpose is in working together as a team and to come up with ways that both sides can organize that will work for both.”

He continued, “When I opened my doors as a rep, I was fortunate that I was able to start with two manufacturers who knew how to work with reps. They both had rep councils and the communication we enjoyed was great. Contrasting that experience, I had another principal who had a great line of products, but he was terrible to work with and had no willingness to establish a rep council to improve the relationship. I terminated him and moved on to another manufacturer with whom I’ve had a great — profitable — relationship for years.”

A manufacturer who participated in the chat weighed in with the opinion, “Manufacturers who embrace the concept of a rep council tend to be better partners than those who don’t. Having said that, while I advocate for rep councils, I do know of many manufacturers that don’t want to get involved because it takes a lot of work. Planning and conducting meetings — not to mention the follow up — can be very intensive, but if the process is done correctly, it will markedly improve how the two parties work with each other.” She added that while a rep council is hardly mandatory, “having one can go a long way to letting you become your reps’ ‘emotional favorite.’”

Why Councils Work

With opinions such as that serving as a starting point, over a period of three days during the chat sessions, reps and manufacturers considered the viability of establishing and conducting rep councils, and the consensus among participants was that:

•  From day one, reps and principals should identify that which they hope to accomplish from their rep councils. On this point there was general agreement that some sort of written agreement or charter should be introduced as a part of the rep council process.

According to one rep, “One of the councils that I serve on has made it a point to spell out in a written document exactly how the council will work. While not really a legal document, the ‘written covenant’ covered subjects such as how and when members would rotate off, competitive conflict limitations, scheduling of meetings, etc. It includes specifics related to business development and long-range plans that reps and their principal will agree to. It also included a confidentiality agreement and provided the means for the reps to meet on their own without the manufacturer’s involvement.”

•  Since reps operate as their principals’ eyes and ears in the marketplace, a rep council is the appropriate mechanism to tap into their market intelligence. Speaking to this point, one rep said “It’s really a two-way street. Since we’re out in the field, reps really have better market intelligence — that includes everything relating to product acceptance, shortcomings and what’s going well in the field. Reps and their principals should be totally open to pertinent communications.

“When I’ve served on a rep council, we’ve been involved in everything from strategic planning and policy matters, not to mention providing input on product development and future marketing scenarios.”

•  If a rep council is properly established, manufacturers will recognize a return on their investment in terms of the time, money and effort they invest; reps will recognize the benefits of stronger relationships with their principals. “It’s really quite simple,” said one rep. “Rep councils strengthen the relationship between manufacturer and rep. With that stronger relationship, the manufacturer sells more, the rep sells more, and everyone benefits. The resulting increase in profits provides the manufacturer with that return on investment that he’s looking for.”

With those thoughts serving as the foundation for the three-day discussion, a number of other salient points were covered by participants:

Selecting Members

•  How are rep council members selected? — One approach that a rep offered was that when the rep council was started, it was the principal who did the selection. “At the beginning, the manufacturer looked for reps that had already served on rep councils for other manufacturers. Once the council was established, and the groundwork laid for the future, then the reps made the selection of their replacements, with the approval of the principal.

“Based on our experience, I’d say the best approach is to draw members from an assortment of regions and markets and generally keep the number somewhere in the area of 6-8 members.”

Continuing on the subject of council membership, the point was made that a wise course of action is to include long-standing and new agencies, agencies that offer some sort of geographic diversity, and large and small firms.

•  How many members constitute a council? — When it comes to the size of the rep council, caution was urged to not make the council too large. One participant noted that “In the past, I’ve been on councils that have been too large and as a result, nothing got accomplished.”

•  Who (manufacturer or rep) pays for expenses related to the rep council? — In general, participants agreed that reps usually pay for their transportation to the rep council meeting. From there, expenses (i.e., meals, hotel, entertainment, etc.) would be covered by the manufacturer. However, one rep described his experience with a manufacturer that added a bit of an incentive for rep council participation. “For a handful of years, I served on a council where the manufacturer gave everyone a $1,000 stipend, in addition to covering the usual expenses. The reason he did this was because the council meetings that ran 2-2½ days, were usually scheduled over the weekend. Because they were losing personal time and willing to participate, he felt this was justified — and all the reps agreed.”

•  Tenure — There was agreement that no member should serve permanently on a council. A system whereby some members would be rotated off after serving a two- to three-year term was suggested. But the rotation should be staggered, thereby providing some measure of continuity to the group.

•  How often and where does the rep council meet? — Annual in-person meetings appeared to be the norm cited by the chat participants. And, in-person meetings were not always scheduled for the factory. “There were always factory meetings, but they were complemented by meetings in various parts of the country — including resorts. This was seen as a bit of a reward for reps’ participation.”

The importance of meeting occasionally was emphasized because of the need for reps to meet and get to know the factory sales executives and support people.

Pandemic Impact

Given the effects of the recent pandemic, one rep offered the view that “Since we’ve all gone through a period where we’ve been locked down, there should be some consideration for virtual meetings. As things continue to loosen up, the need for virtual meetings should also loosen up, but in the meantime, we should keep that in mind.”

No discussion of rep councils would be complete without addressing the subject of individual complaints and the need for both sides to be willing to accept constructive criticism. Both manufacturers and reps who took part in the chat sessions were adamant in their belief that there should be no room for bringing up a matter that a single rep may have with the manufacturer. “That’s not something that should be included in the agenda. At the same time, both sides should be willing to accept suggestions or criticism on matters that affect all.”

MANA welcomes your comments on this article. Write to us at [email protected].

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List of MANAchat Participants

MANA wants to thank the following members for their contributions to the “Rep Councils” Agency Sales magazine article. They made these contributions by participating in the MANAchat on rep councils. These online virtual meetings create a platform where members exchange information on how to successfully operate their manufacturers’ representative businesses. Jack Foster, Agency Sales magazine editor, wrote the article using the information and knowledge these members provided during the MANAchats.

Thank you! We sincerely appreciate the time you took to participate in the MANAchats and particularly the information and knowledge you shared.

Eric Blythe
Advanced Engineered
Products
Titusville, FL

Russ Hill
Band-N-Go Inc.
Concord, ON

Mike Ferguson
Band-N-Go Inc.
Concord, ON

Will Hill
CuDes, LLC
Southfield, MI

Michael Fiegel
Custom Components, Inc.
Loveland, OH

Tyrone DeNeal
DeNeal Industrial Sales and Services, LLC
Powder Springs, GA

Jeff Jacobs
Industrial Products Sales, LLC
Cincinnati, OH

Jamie Callihan
JLC Industrial LLC
Amelia, OH

Mark Peterson
Johnson Company Mfg Reps
Minneapolis, MN

Ricardo Malacara
Mexico Representation
Jalisco, MX

Stephen Fowler
Process Equipment Resources & Consulting
Bridgewater, NJ

Patricia Yulkowski
Total Door II, Inc.
Waterford Twp, MI