• Have manufacturer requirements that their reps fill out CRM reports replaced the daily, weekly or monthly sales reports reps have faced for years? It appears so.
• Are these reports of any benefit to the rep or the manufacturer? Questionable.
• Do manufacturers read them? Questionable.
• Do they help reps sell better? Questionable.
• Do reps fill them out; should they fill them out? Debatable.
• What happens if/when a rep pushes back? Varied results.

As reps showed little reluctance to discuss this subject, these and other questions were asked and answered during the course of a MANAchat participated in by 31 MANA members … Read the rest

In the article on the MANAchat covering manufacturers requiring their independent reps to submit data and other sales call information to their CRM platforms, several reps observed that there could very well be some legal considerations affecting the rep’s independent status. In order to get some clarification on that matter, Agency Sales magazine contacted two attorneys that regularly consult with reps.

Gerald M. Newman is a veteran rep attorney and a partner in the law firm of Schoenberg Finkel Newman & Rosenberg, LLC. According to Newman, “While there are a number of factors the IRS considers when determining whether a … Read the rest

Whenever a manufacturer is faced with the prospect of initiating the search for the right rep to work with, there are any number of factors that must be considered. Top of the list, however, is the importance of establishing a level of trust from the very beginning. That’s the advice offered by Peter Zafiro in a MANAcast conducted earlier this year.

“First and foremost, reps are the key to your business success,” maintains Zafiro, general manager of LinMot USA, Inc., a Wisconsin-based manufacturer of industrial linear motors. “Remember that reps are a part of your organization. Every manufacturer wants to … Read the rest

“Coaches focus on the routines, while observers focus on the results.”

I recently delivered a keynote presentation for a client whose 2020 year was a record setting best, and 2021 was heading toward being even bigger. I asked the leader what he was looking for in my keynote and he said, “Nathan, I am concerned because the demand is so high for our product and my sales guys are making more sales than ever by just answering the calls, that they will get out of the practice of prospecting and doing the important activities of growing their business.”

He continued, … Read the rest

I recently came across an old sales book, Secrets of Closing Sales, by Charles B. Roth.

In the book he wrote about a group of salespeople in Detroit who tried a new idea and increased their sales by 100 percent. He then described another group in New York City who used the same idea and increased sales by 150 percent. Finally, he cited several examples of individual salespeople who used the idea and increased their sales by as much as 400 percent.

Once again, what’s the number-one key to business building and more sales? Right, activity. Making lots of … Read the rest

Some of the skills that power high-performing salespeople are innate — they either have them or they don’t. Others must be learned. Here are several of the most important to look for in prospects and coach for in your existing sales team.

Are great salespeople born? Or are they made? It’s a question that confounds many sales managers desperate to hire and hone a winning team. The answer is both — and if you want to survive in the fiercely competitive post-Covid economy, you need to know how to identify and coach for the traits that equip salespeople to acquire … Read the rest

I talk to lots of people each day, and what I hear about is a lack of love, support, motivation and recognition from their direct manager or supervisor.

Too many people in management positions think the only reason someone works is for money. Many managers believe that the paycheck is why people work and there is no reason to tell anyone thanks for doing a great job. We nitpick things they are doing wrong and fail to recognize and celebrate what they are doing right.

These people I am talking to are ready to leave, want to leave or are … Read the rest

As a sales trainer, I often confront a difficult obstacle that stands in the way of developing more effective salespeople.

Too often salespeople are hindered by limiting beliefs that prevent them from implementing the best practices, principles and processes that can multiply their results. They remain bound by internal barriers of their own conception.

Here’s an example. A customer service representative wants to move to outside sales. He was good at his job of reacting to whomever was on the other end of the phone line and responding effectively to the requests of all the customers. As a result, he … Read the rest

Each year MANA recognizes members who are celebrating special anniversaries of their MANA memberships. In this issue we recognize members who are celebrating 70, 65, 60, 55, 50, 45, 40, 35, 30 or 25 years of MANA membership.

MANA thanks and congratulates these members for their long-term support and commitment to MANA and our industry.

We also thank those 421 long-term members whose membership anniversaries are not among the years listed in this issue. Your company name was either published within the past three years or will be published within the next two.

Whether your company has reached a special … Read the rest