Bob Gillen

While Bob Gillen claims that he retired in 2008, that really doesn’t seem to be the case. Instead, the former independent manufacturers’ rep explains that today he intends to devote efforts to spreading the word about who and what a rep is.

In a recent conversation with Agency Sales, Gillen, who for years ran the single-person Gillen Associates in Raleigh, North Carolina, explains, “Now I’d like to do something different. I’d like to conduct seminars in a free venue focused on the career of being a manufacturers’ rep. I’m thinking of something like two-year community colleges, public libraries, churches, and private schools.”

If that’s his plan, it would appear he’s well suited to execute it. Recounting his career from education to rep to retirement, Gillen, who now lives in Chattanooga, Tennessee, explains, “From day one, I had a hard time figuring out what I wanted to do for a living. Like so many others, I obviously thought getting the right education was the place to start. I began by going to Cornell to study chemical engineering. From there I moved on to English literature. When I made that move, I was told I was giving up any chance at having a successful business career. My response was ‘If you teach me how to read and write, then I can take it from there.” Gillen graduated from Cornell with a degree in American Studies and English Literature. He wasn’t done with his education yet, however. He eventually earned his Ph.D. in biological sciences and even boasts being the author of 12 scientific papers. But what remained for him still was to beat a career path for himself.

Sales as a Goal

“I decided I wanted to be in sales vs. pursuing a career in research.” As he recalled years ago in a profile that appeared in Agency Sales, “Quite frankly I just couldn’t be the person I had to become to ‘succeed’ in research. It was too political, too adversarial. I knew that sales would let me develop skills I could use anywhere, at any time; it would make me a better person. Making the switch from research to sales wasn’t so much a career change as it was a lifestyle change.”

Ultimately when it came time to make that change, he explains, “I talked myself into an interview with the regional manager for a manufacturing company. They denied me employment and said I was someone who needed to be self-employed. My response to that was ‘Wow, thanks for the help.’”

Instead of letting that initial setback define his future, Gillen made contact with a rep in Atlanta, Georgia, who showed him the ropes of the business. He traces his start as a rep to 1982, a step that jump started a career that lasted to 2008 when he retired from the agency business.

In 2023, as he considers what he wants to do next, Gillen is asked whether his views on a rep career might seem a bit dated. Those thoughts should be put to rest with even the shortest conversation with Gillen.

And after you’re finished with that short conversation consider what Gillen had to say about the importance of relationships years ago in the pages of Agency Sales. His views are as valid today as they were then. More than 30 years ago when he was asked his thoughts on why some principals are more important than others and the importance of crafting special relationships with principals, here’s what he said: “Those are great questions because they get at the basic problem surrounding this profession. The basic problem revolves around how two parties, a principal and a representative, who presumably share so many common goals, get into such trouble with each other.

Likes Attract Likes

“There may be a first law of human relationships that says, ‘Likes attract likes,’ but people don’t behave like magnets. The problem is finding the similarities between parties that can be a basis for a successful relationship. For example, I’m a one-person agency with my office in my home. This is the way I like it. I want to be independent. I want to be independent so I can be creative. Creativity to me is the value to be honored. But we all know that a spirit of independence and creativity is not compatible with the goals and managerial styles of large organizations. So, the special principal for me will be a small company. But even small companies can have big problems if they become divisions of large companies; or, if they have a long tradition of doing things in a certain way.”

Gillen continued with his thoughts on the attributes of an ideal principal, and his experiences and opinions are certainly similar to what other reps have expressed over the years.

“It’s likely that my special principal will be a small company, family-owned with a stable market base and yet is faced with challenges that force them to seek new ideas. These challenges may often produce a certain amount of turmoil. It may be that family members can tolerate more discord in their business than hired managers in a publicly owned company, or one where the owners are absent and have hired managers. They have a certain base of security. Putting it simply, ‘blood is thicker than water.’”

He continued, “The owners of small, family-owned companies have to be smart enough to run a competitive, profitable business in a market that demands new ideas in order to survive. And the owners must be involved with the day-to-day operations of the company. This will not be a boring business-as-usual situation.”

The Rep’s Contribution

If he stated what a rep should look for in a principal, Gillen went on to describe what a rep should contribute to the relationship. “Owners of companies tend to have small, lean organizations, which is what I have. We share the same values, even the same goals. It is in my interest to make sure that the business I pursue is profitable for my principal. It is in my interest that the company prospers. I share that goal with the owners because even as that company prospers, I know that I will have the opportunity to represent them as long as I do a good job for them. Because they use reps exclusively, they know their business, and I have learned a lot from them. So, if I have an opportunity to learn, an opportunity to contribute, as well as an opportunity to be independent, what more could I want?”

As he stated at the beginning of this article, even as he is somewhat settled in retirement, Gillen possesses a desire to educate others as to the value of the rep profession. That obviously begs the question “Why?”

In answer he volunteers that “As I’ve gone through any number of old articles, letters and files related to my career, it occurs to me that many people who are looking for the right career are missing something. What they should be considering is:

• How can I grow?
• How can I broaden my interests?
• How can I provide value in what I do?

“Perhaps because I had great teachers, being a rep provided me with great opportunities. I learned all about manufacturing, all about sales, and all about people. The profession allowed me to get in front of people who knew more than I did. These are all things I’d like to communicate to others.”

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