Originally published April 2005. Minor updates and revisions included below.

How does one place a value on membership in a professional association? More to the point, how do you place a value on membership in an independent representatives’ association? Is it a cost? An investment?
Is it worth the time, money and effort to not only pay annual dues but then to follow up and become actively involved in the workings of the organization? And finally, what has your association done for you lately?

The answers to these questions will probably vary depending upon whom you ask. The fact remains, however, that the rep member, or prospective member, should regularly evaluate what he expects from his association membership.

To that end, it’s useful to concurrently consider the rep’s membership in a horizontal (MANA) and a vertical, industry-specific (such as NEMRA, ERA, AIM/R, PTRA, etc.) association.

In the March 2003 issue of Agency Sales magazine, MANA’s former President and CEO Joe Miller authored an article entitled, “Multiple Association Membership a Must for Professional Rep Firms.” In that article, he drew the distinction between MANA and the several Industry-Specific Rep Groups (ISRGs). According to Miller, “Many ISRGs are a small special interest group of their own ‘all-industry’ associations that also include manufacturers and wholesale distributors. Some of the larger ones form stand-alone associations that usually lack the critical mass and budget to be effective in promoting, protecting and improving the rep profession, but they will focus on doing one of the three things well.”

The Industry-Specific View

He continued that “these ISRGs usually do an excellent job of promoting the profession too, within their specific-industry niche, but they tend to communicate the message to only those manufacturers and wholesalers that belong to their own industry associations.”

One of those ISRGs that Miller refers to is the National Electrical Manufacturers Representatives Association (NEMRA). From his perspective as former president of that association, Henry P. Bergson notes that there are a couple of points that you must focus on in the course of a discussion of horizontal and vertical rep associations.

“For instance,” he explains, “if you are a rep and you hope to be a part of the electrical industry, then it’s incumbent upon you to be a member of NEMRA — and it’s true for all specific industries in which reps work. This is true for a number of reasons, not the least of which are the advocacy, access and association that such organizations provide their members.”

Advocacy — When it comes to advocating the rep function to the industry in which a rep works, “the industry-specific rep association does a great job of communicating the value of the function to two constituencies — the manufacturers and then downstream to the end-user customer,” he explains. “We (NEMRA, and other associations) provide a national promotional voice that says reps are the most effective way to go to market. That advocacy we perform translates into action steps for the association in working with manufacturers specific to that industry. We convince them to go to market with reps or teach them the most effective way to go to market with reps. The end result is that this provides added opportunities for reps to get more lines to represent.”

Access — “The industry-specific association becomes the resource for manufacturers to gain information concerning representatives,” explains Bergson. “In addition, there is access in the form of consultative help for reps from knowledgeable association executives. That consultative help can take the form of guidance when it comes to providing information about manufacturers, legal assistance, insurance matters and how to run a business. “Basically, it’s one-stop shopping for members and manufacturers concerning people that understand your business and your profession.”

Association — Bergson notes that “the ability for the industry-specific association to ‘come together’ in order to discuss common issues and take common action is very valuable.” Then, there’s the networking opportunities in the form of national meetings and conferences/trade shows that accompany membership in an industry-specific association.

While Bergson provided a profile of the benefits of belonging to an ISRG, both he and Miller recognize the differences between MANA and ISRGs, and they agree that the wise rep ought to consider membership in both.

The Real Value of MANA

“When you consider the words I’ve already used — advocacy, access and association — you can put a whole different twist on them when it comes to the value of membership in MANA,” according to Bergson.

“MANA’s advocacy for reps is presented to a much broader universe,” he says. “Their approach to advocacy is more like a shotgun compared to the rifle approach used by someone like NEMRA. Their access, especially as it involves education, is much broader than that offered by the industry-specific group. MANA provides the body of common knowledge that every rep firm needs to survive. And finally, as we consider the value of an association, MANA allows all reps to join together and speak with a bigger, louder voice on any number of common issues, not the least of which are legislative.”

As Miller detailed in his previous Agency Sales article, “MANA, with thousands of agencies representing more than 100 industries, does not focus on industry-specific relations and industry-specific education. Because of its large budget, professional, full-time staff and worldwide connections, MANA is instead focused on:

• Worldwide promotion of the rep function — MANA conducts trade missions and completes speaking engagements all over the world in order to promote the association as the premier resource for global manufacturers who want to learn who to work with and how to locate North American reps. In addition, MANA occupies a seat on the board of the European-based International Union of Commercial Agents and Brokers (IUCAB www.iucab.com) which was founded in 1949.
• Advocacy at the state and federal levels — MANA has led the charge to implement commission protection legislation and is even involved in an international effort on behalf of reps through the IUCAB legal working group.
• General education of both reps and manufacturers — a full schedule of independent rep and manufacturer seminars educates both constituencies on the intricacies of working together more effectively.
• Agency Sales magazine — no other association publishes a monthly 60-page magazine that covers industry trends and reports on developments in the rep-manufacturer relationship.
• Matchmaking — MANA’s Online Directory and the classified advertising section of the monthly Agency Sales magazine are constantly putting manufacturers and manufacturers’ reps together.

Raising the Professional Bar

In summation of his thoughts about promoting membership in a horizontal (MANA) and vertical association, Miller adds, “What we hope to accomplish by adopting this philosophy is to raise the bar for all the professionals who have made independent repping their career choice. Our goal simply stated is to provide the opportunity for all reps to become businesspeople in sales vs. salespeople who are in business. In addition, by MANA and ISRGs working side by side, we will be speaking with a more unified voice than ever before when it comes to affecting legislation on a state, federal and even international level. Last but not least, by encouraging membership and participation in more than one rep association, we will be encouraging our constituents to learn from each other.

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

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MANA Recommends Industry‑Specific Associations

MANA appeals to the broad spectrum of professional rep firms and their principals. While MANA focuses on broad issues that affect the entire profession of “interdependent” sales rep firms, there are many other excellent organizations that focus on industry-specific issues — issues that MANA could not possibly focus on for the over 100 industries represented by its members.

If you are a MANA member, we appreciate your support and strongly recommend that you consider supporting your industry association as well.

AIM/R
Association of Independent Manufacturers’/Representatives, Inc.
www.aimr.net

EFC-CEMRA
Electro-Federation Canada – Canadian Electrical Manufacturers’ Representatives Association
www.electrofed.com

ERA
Electronics Representatives Association
www.era.org

HDMRC
Heavy Duty Manufacturers’ Representatives Council
www.mema.org

HIRA
Health Industry Representatives Association
www.hira.org

IHRA
International Housewares Representatives Association
www.housewares.org

ISA
Industrial Supply Association
www.isapartners.org

MAFSI
Manufacturers’ Agents Association for the Food Service Industry
www.mafsi.org

NEMRA
National Electrical Manufacturers Representatives Association
www.nemra.org

NMRA
National Marine Representatives Association
www.nmraonline.org

PTRA
Power-Motion Technology Representatives Association
www.ptra.org