Bob Buchman

Bob Buchman remembered a couple of things he learned from his previous position before joining Systecon, Inc., as the company’s industrial sales manager. Those couple of things were:

• The value of working with independent manufacturers’ representatives.
• The assistance MANA provides manufacturers when it comes to connecting with an outsourced sales force.

According to Buchman, Systecon, located in West Chester, Ohio, has only been a MANA member since the middle of April. “In that short period of time I have found the organization — as well as the tools associated with membership — to be outstanding.” He continues that he was able to convince the company’s executive management to join MANA primarily for the rep finder function.

Standard pump package.

By way of introduction to himself and his company, Buchman explains Systecon has been in business for more than 40 years. “We design, engineer, and integrate the various components (pumps, piping, heat exchangers, boilers, chillers, etc.) for hydronic systems (systems that use water to transfer heat). The company has been primarily focused on the HVAC market, and has done very well using reps for many years. Near the end of 2015, Systecon brought me on board to establish an industrial division focused purely on the industrial market. To build this market segment, I first had to build a sales channel, and this is why the MANA RepFinder has been so pivotal. Being able to search by the above-mentioned components has allowed me to find many qualified firms and bring onboard at least six of them (and growing) in a very short period of time.”

MANA Introduction

Buchman explains that his introduction to reps and MANA took place during his previous position with another manufacturer. “During the time I was there, the company underwent a significant shift in management. We were purchased by a larger company and in the relatively short span of 14 months, I had nine different direct supervisors.

Complete central plant.

“Needless to say, it was a troubling time. But during the time I was there, I remember one of our more positive experiences. We worked with reps, and one of the directors of sales that I worked with was familiar with MANA and the role the association played in advocating for the rep business model. He was very positive about reps and MANA, but even so I remember him saying that he constantly faced resistance from upper management about joining and paying the membership fee.”

Jumping to the present, Buchman explains that when he joined Systecon in 2015, his job was to get the company moving in the industrial market. To do that, he decided that working with an outsourced sales force was the way to impact the market. “To expand the company’s reach with reps, I called on some rep firms that we had existing relationships with, but that only took us so far. Perhaps only seven or eight of those relationships worked out. Next, I contacted some non-competing principals in an effort to access their rep rosters. The goal there was to examine those rep firms and determine if they could fit with our products. This proved to be a tedious process for a couple of reasons: first, not every manufacturer has a rep locator; second, a number of the manufacturers want you to contact their service department for information. It just wasn’t an approach that worked for us.”

Now is the point where MANA enters the picture. “Remembering what I had learned about MANA, I accessed the sample RepFinder on the association’s website. Learning how easy it was to use, I made my pitch to management and we joined the association.”

MANA Services

In addition to the rep finder service that MANA provides, Buchman was quick to add that Agency Sales has also proved beneficial. “There’s always an article in each issue that seems to speak to me. Some of the information just seems to jump off the page at me.”

In general, he says that “The quintessential purpose of MANA is to help people (principals and independent agents) find each other. And, the people they find are the best. I’d say that membership in MANA is a true indication of professionalism.”

Now that he and Systecon are at the point of looking for representation, obvious questions for Buchman are what attributes is he looking for in independent agents and what might serve as a turn off when looking at a prospective rep?

Addressing attributes first, Buchman explains that synergy is important. “We’re an integrator of components. We don’t manufacture anything. What we do is to design and build control panels. We’re looking for individuals who represent the type of product we have, but sell them in a piecemeal fashion. What resources do they have available for our product line? How many people do they have in their agency? What’s the geography that they cover?”

When it comes to the size of agency that Systecon would like to work with, Buchman emphasizes “We don’t really have a preference. We’ve got some agencies made up of 30-40 people, and others much smaller. The benefit of a small shop is that they often can develop good rapport with us and get truly excited about what we’re doing. On the other hand, it’s the big shop that has plenty of resources available for travel, better account management and the ability to cover a larger territory.”

Professional Website

Another factor that weighs in favor of an agency is their website. “Having a professional website is absolutely mandatory. If I can’t find the website for the agency, I’ll skip them.”

If a well-crafted website is a sign of professionalism, Buchman makes the point that a real turn off for him is if an agency in general shows a distinct lack of professionalism. “In work I’ve done in the past, I’ve encountered some people who are sloppy in their personal appearance and their offices are a mess. That shows they don’t care that much. Lack of care also shows if their website is not updated or well organized and looks like something you could do with Microsoft Word. Obviously that makes a negative impression. All of this combines to affect how they will impress or fail to impress customers.”

Buchman explains that once a prospective agency has been identified, “We’ll begin our vetting process by checking their website, get to know them via phone or e-mail. From there we’ll progress to a personal interview. The personal interview goes a long way to let us know whether an agency would be a good fit. For the face-to-face, we either visit the agency or at our expense have them come see us.”

In following this process thus far, Buchman emphasizes the company’s plans have worked out quite well. “We’ve done our groundwork, haven’t had any disasters and sales continues to build.

“When you sign on with an agency, you want to make sure they will impress the customer, arrive at appointments on time, always have the right information, etc. Since they’re your representative in the field, you’ve got to have faith that they can establish a trusting relationship with customers. That’s what we’re looking for, and MANA has helped us reach our goals.”

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