Anyone doubting the admonition that “history repeats itself” should pay close attention to the history of the William Baker Company.

More than 40 years ago, Jim Baker, who heads the six-person Indianapolis, Indiana, rep firm, recalls he was at a point in his professional life when he was anticipating a course change. Armed with little knowledge about what his father, Bill, did for a living, he raised the prospect of a change during dinner with his parents one night. His father, who had opened the agency in 1972, floated the idea of the younger Baker joining the rep firm. Ultimately, … Read the rest

The majority of reps relish the opportunities presented to them by being their own boss. With that appreciation for independence, however, comes the realization that there are many challenges that accompany being an independent manufacturers’ rep.

Several of those challenges were emphasized in the course of a MANAchat that was conducted over the course of three days earlier this year devoted to a discussion of what reps like least about their jobs. High on the list of challenges facing reps were:

Dealing with principals who don’t appreciate what the rep does for them — “I love what I do for … Read the rest

When opportunity knocks how will you respond?

Is your agency in a position to compete effectively when good lines are available? To effectively compete in a “shootout,” your agency needs to be ready and rehearsed months in advance of any chance to go after a good line.

The business of getting a rep agency ready for live time is not complex, but it requires a very disciplined approach.

Your Profile

Is your company profile an effective working tool to provide a significant edge?

The profile must be totally professional.

First, the graphics presentation. Does your profile look as good or … Read the rest

A couple of months ago, my article was centered around the number‑one sales success factor: hard work. This month I’ll discuss the second most important sales success factor: self-discipline.

Self-discipline is important because it ensures that you do the hard work every day whether you feel like it or not, because there will be days when you don’t feel like it. One of the most difficult paths a salesperson maneuvers is that of staying motivated throughout the day. The amount of rejection a salesperson faces, along with the other ups and downs of the job, coupled with natural physical cycles … Read the rest

When managers plan their business strategies, common sense dictates that these game plans should be in line with customer needs. The first step in planning is therefore to identify customer preferences.

Unfortunately, most conventional approaches to determining customer needs are flawed. Here are five of the most common methods used to gather customer opinions along with their drawbacks. Keep these often-made mistakes in mind when planning your business strategy.

Mistake #1 — Counting Cash

One way to find out what customers think — indirectly at least — is to look at revenues, the assumption being that if revenues are increasing … Read the rest

A colleague and I talked about the greatest value that a sales professional brings to a company. Is it the ability to prospect for new clients, or is it the ability to close a deal?

Both are extremely important, and neither is terribly easy. That’s why we typically don’t put limits on the income a sales professional can make. We want to incentivize them to keep working hard on a difficult-but-crucial activity that truly is the lifeblood of companies.

We came to the conclusion that, while closing deals is ultimately the most valuable thing we do, prospecting is more difficult. … Read the rest

Do you have a strong discomfort with cold outreach?

Or much worse — do you avoid the phone as a prospecting tool altogether?

I’ve got six strategies to warm up any cold call and help you get over this big obstacle to prospecting.

1. If you have the ability to help someone, it’s your responsibility to reach out to them.

This is a home run play if you have the ability to help someone.

If I had a problem and you could help me with it, I would want you to talk to me. If you didn’t, I’d be upset … 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 75, 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 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.

Representative Members
75 Years

Tim Gahan
Henry … Read the rest