Jim Baker anticipates passing ownership of the William Baker Company to the third generation, his two daughters Amy Fehribach (left) and Rachael Frentz.
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, that’s the course he followed.
Flash forward several years to the time when both his daughters, Amy Fehribach and Rachael Frentz, decided that a change from both of their career paths in education was in the offing. They, like their father before them, admit they weren’t fully informed about what their father did for a living, but they have both found a home in their new careers as independent manufacturers’ reps. That their decision to join the family business has worked out for all concerned can be seen in the fact that the two younger family members will take over ownership of the agency at the beginning of the New Year. That’s a development that Baker good-naturedly anticipates when he says, “I hope I still have a job next year.”
As he recalled his own beginning with the agency Baker explains, “My father opened the one-man agency in 1972 and continued with the aid of my mother with that operation until the middle ’80s. I had just completed college at that time and was anticipating a career producing television ads. I was facing some serious challenges that caused me to doubt my career choice and voiced them. My father asked me if I might consider joining him in the agency. In his words ‘Your mother and I can afford to take a bit of a pay cut if you want to join us.’ Typical of so many guys in their 20s, I had to admit I didn’t really know what they did for a living.”
The William Baker Company team (left to right): Amy Fehribach, Valerie Baker, John Robison, Rachael Frentz, Jim Baker, and Maureen Burns.
Navigating the Learning Curve
To help him navigate the learning curve, his father’s advice was to take a week to shadow him in the business and decide for himself if being a rep was of interest. “Realizing I had to do something, I joined the agency.”
Interestingly, Baker’s daughters share similar stories as their father when it comes to how they entered the world of “repdom.” According to Fehribach, “I knew in general what kind of products my father sold, and I knew that he met with architects all the time, but I wasn’t really aware of the breadth of his work. One thing I do specifically recall, however, is that whenever I accompanied him on an outing, he’d always tell me to visit the bathroom — even when there was no need for me to do so. His reason for doing so was for me to report back to him the types of bathroom fixtures that were being used.”
She continues that she began her career in healthcare education but when her father lost a long-term sales rep a little over eight years ago, “…that was at the same time I was looking to make a change. At the time I decided it was just easier going to work for him rather than looking elsewhere. I admit that I joined the agency without really knowing what I was getting into, and I certainly didn’t know much about bathroom partitions. Having said that, the first few years were a bit hard for me, but I learned that so much of it was about educating people. I naturally had to learn all about the selling process and meeting with customers and conducting lunch and learns.” Fehribach serves as the agency’s architectural and designer sales specialist.
While she can’t recall a similar visiting the bathroom story as her sister, Frentz, who is the agency’s exterior sales/project manager, also admits she had a less-than-detailed understanding of what her father did as a rep. “I can remember telling people what he did but then they’d just sort of blankly stare at me.”
Finding the Right Fit
Just as her sister, Frentz began her professional career in elementary education but looked for a change “when I found it wasn’t really a good fit for me or my family.” Much as her sister, she wasn’t aware of all that was involved in being a rep, “but I went into it headfirst, and it’s been gratifying to learn that working with contractors is much like educating students.”
Today, after 50 successful years, the William Baker Company remains a well-known independent manufacturers’ rep agency serving the commercial construction industry in Indiana and Kentucky. In addition to his daughters, Baker’s team is composed of three additional individuals including Baker’s wife, Valerie. “When we had a bit of an economic downturn in 2000, I asked my wife to come on board as an administrative assistant, and she’s been here ever since.” Filling out the team are Maureen Burns, interior sales/project manager and John Robison, after-market sales specialist. They have been with the agency for 35 and 13 years respectively.
With no plans to retire anytime soon, but with more than 40 years under his belt as a rep, his team firmly in place, and anticipating his daughters taking over the business, Baker took the opportunity to look back over his own career. “Obviously, over the years there have been a lot of changes in how we as a rep firm conduct our day-to-day business. A big part of our job has always been to get our products specified by designers. It used to be that you worked closely with architects and developed ideas on how to get your products specified. If you got them specified, then you had a decent chance of having your products purchased. Now, as opposed to how things used to be, getting something specified is just the starting point. Now we have to deal with a larger number of decision makers as you go through the purchasing process.”
A Change in Specifying
In addition to how the specifying and purchasing processes have changed, Baker also notes that technology has impacted his business — just as it’s impacted how reps conduct business in all industries. “There are so many ways to get ahold of people — email, voicemail, remote meetings — today that it’s really changed things. Then there’s the matter of CRM programs. We use a CRM program that is curated for independent representative firms like us which helps us keep track of customer quotes, orders, close ratios, etc. In addition, there are a couple of our principals where we input into their CRM systems.”
When it comes to locating prospective principals to work with Baker credits MANA with assistance in that area. “Many manufacturers have made contact with us via our membership in MANA. In addition to that, word of mouth has been very helpful especially when we locate a prospective principal that doesn’t have any representation in our territory. Once we hear about them, we’ll track them down.”
Always Backsell
William Baker Company celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2022 by partnering with a local craft beer company and making “Baker’s Brew.” They gave the beer out over the year to customers as a thank you. The teddy bear is “Webby” the corporate mascot.
Once the agency aligns itself with a manufacturer, Baker continues, “We want to strengthen our relationship with them and make every effort to stay relevant. To do that we do a great deal of backselling with our manufacturers to make sure that they know what we’ve been doing on their behalf in the territory.” Among the various tasks that the agency performs for its principals — and ones that they are sure to let their manufacturers know about — are in-person meetings with customers, training sessions, lunch and learns, etc.
Many reps in a variety of industries have voiced the concern that they are having some difficulty — post-Covid — in getting in-person visits with their customers. To some extent, the William Baker Company has also experienced this. According to Fehribach, “Admittedly, we’re operating in a new environment today. Prior to Covid we adhered to typical sales schedules in terms of getting in-person meetings and lunch and learns with customers. Since then, we’ve had to pivot a bit. Here in the Midwest, we opened up fairly quickly after the pandemic and there are certainly some customers who are more open to in-person sales calls than others. On the other hand, there are some who want to receive updates remotely, and we’ll accommodate them.”
She adds, however, that one thing the agency has been experiencing is that of partnering with other non-competitive rep firms. “Calls such as those have been beneficial in that they assist in bringing together other designers that we may not have met before. They have been very productive.”
Proof that the family members can boast they’ve made the right career choices over the years is evident from the fact that last year they celebrated their 50th anniversary. At the same time the agency observed the half-century mark it also moved into new office space that features a showroom. In a message that appears on the company website, Baker explains:
“Reflecting back on 2022 offers me the opportunity to say thank you again to all of our customers, partner manufacturers, and the dedicated team at William Baker Company for 50 years of serving the Indiana and Kentucky commercial construction industry.
“The year 2022 ushered in new office space for us. It has allowed us to showcase the products that we promote. We were excited to share our new space at the fall open house with great food and conversation.
“Here’s to you and here’s to the next 50 years of the William Baker Company.”
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