Ask Peter Zafiro why he and his company go to market with independent manufacturers’ representatives and he’ll be quick to let you know that his decision is based on a wealth of experience.
Peter Zafiro manning the LinMot USA, Inc., booth at the 2016 Automation Fair in Atlanta, Georgia.
Zafiro, general manager, LinMot USA, Inc., an Elkhorn, Wisconsin-based manufacturer of industrial linear motors, says, “I’ve gone to market with a variety of business models over the years. I’ve worked with factory direct-only salespeople, hybrids of direct and independent reps and with independent reps only. What I’ve found is that I get the most bang for my buck with reps. Here’s why: I’ve found that reps are simply the most professional salespeople in their territories. They’re absolutely dedicated to the sales function in their territory.”
Contrasting his experience between factory direct and reps, Zafiro continues that “Whenever I’ve had to hire a direct person for a territory, it takes a while to get them up to speed, sometimes several years. Then when you’ve done that you can have a problem with maintaining consistency in your sales force. You’ll have the normal turnover every year not to mention the occasions when someone’s wife decides it’s time to move back home. Once that happens, you have to go through the same process all over again. You can spend upwards of three years or more putting your sales team together. When you’re all done, you’re not going to be as productive as you could be with reps.”
He adds “Reps are easy to find and to work with. Most of the time all I have to do is ask my existing customers which reps that call on them are good and they’ll point me in the right direction.”
Reps Return the Feeling
If Zafiro is full of compliments for his rep sales force, it’s a mutual feeling for his reps. After all, it was one of LinMot’s customers that recommended that Agency Sales speak with the manufacturer’s general manager.
Zafiro explains that he put together the company’s outsourced sales force three years ago. “We did our due diligence with a lot of research ahead of time. We’re very happy with the progress we’ve made. Part of our success is due to the fact that we engage in mutual planning with our reps. We measure them and they measure our performance. We’ve found that the process can be a bit contentious at times but it’s always been very constructive. Both sides take the constructive criticism very well.”
LinMot is hardly working in a vacuum when it comes to dealing with reps. Zafiro says that he speaks with other manufacturers and he’s surprised that there are many manufacturers that just don’t get it when it comes to working with reps. “The important thing they miss is that they really need to treat reps like they’d treat their employees. At the same time, they’ve got to keep in mind that reps are independent salespeople. They’re professionals and their business entails them selling their time.”
Identifying Attributes
In putting LinMot’s rep network together Zafiro says that perhaps the biggest attribute a potential rep can possess is “a desire and a willingness to work hard. Along the way, we’ve certainly encountered reps who appear to know what they’re doing and their initial story sounds good, but in reality they give off a message that there’s nothing more for them to learn. That’s a turnoff for us.”
If that’s a turnoff in a rep’s presentation, he adds that when looking at an agency’s structure, if they have a high personnel turnover, that’s a real negative. “We’d eliminate from consideration any agency that really went through people. In general, we work with reps that have people in place anywhere from five to 30 years. Keep in mind that one of the major benefits of working with reps is that they don’t get promoted out of the territory.”
If Zafiro and LinMot value the ability of an independent agency to hold on to its personnel, they also value the synergistic approach that reps bring to their work in the field. According to Zafiro, “I’ve grown to never worry about getting my share of time with our reps. As a matter of fact, I encourage our reps to go through their line card when they’re visiting with customers. This is something that a number of manufacturers don’t understand — the value that the rep brings by cross selling the full line of products that they represent.
“Remember the direct guy is going to talk only about the products that his company provides. The rep, on the other hand, covers a variety of the customer’s needs. It’s going to be much more difficult for the direct guy to get a second or third face-to-face with the customer. No so for the rep. That’s important and it’s critical for us to get in there in front of the customer as often as we can with the rep.”
Zafiro comments on a couple of other areas that LinMot has in common with other manufacturers that go to market with independent manufacturers’ representatives.
Pioneering — “In previous assignments we have worked with retainers or shared territorial development fees because usually there’s no justification for the rep to receive no income while he’s trying to build the business. I will say, however, that reps welcome any new products we offer because they find it opens the door for the sale of other products that they represent.”
Training — The majority of manufacturers that work with reps recognize the value of regular training efforts and LinMot remains a believer in training. “We have at least four training sessions annually. We start with a beginning course and then move on to more advanced efforts. Since we’re a technical company, our training may take a bit longer and it takes us about 3-5 years to bring our reps fully up to speed. By that I mean to bring them up to a level where they can exude confidence in the product and make the sale.”
Communication — “I’m cognizant of the fact that time is important for our reps and they need time to visit customers and make sales. At the same time it’s important for us to know what’s going on in the territory. That’s why we have formal quarterly reports from our reps and we ask them to keep in touch with us informally in the meantime. Most of our reps will let us know on a weekly or biweekly basis any information that’s important.”
He adds that he’s aware that some other manufacturers show a preference for more frequent communication. “When I hear that I ask my manufacturer peers what they do with all the data that they collect. They may read the information but for the most part they don’t do anything with the information. We basically just want to know what’s going on.”
Rep Council — Zafiro says that thus far LinMot doesn’t have a rep council but will probably implement one in the next couple of years. “Right now as the general manager I am in close contact with our reps and get a good deal of input from them. I know what’s going on in the territory. To supplement that we have quarterly planning meetings and I usually visit each agency twice a year. That provides us with the frequent feedback we’re looking for.”
In conclusion Zafiro says that his experience with reps has been a very positive one. “If there’s ever been an error in serving the customer, there’s no playing the blame game. Instead we agree to a collaborative effort to do the right thing for the customer.”
MANA welcomes your comments on this article. Write to us at [email protected].
