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No discussion of how a rep should make an effective presentation to a prospective principal would be complete without input from those who are on the receiving end of such presentations — the manufacturers.

Peter Zafiro, general manager, LinMot USA, Elkhorn, Wisconsin, was quick and to the point when asked what he recommends reps keep in mind when making presentations to prospective principals. Zafiro maintains, “The biggest issue I have seen is independent representatives setting realistic expectations with the manufacturer, especially on where the rep can make an immediate impact. For many reps it is very hard to straight talk their way to a new line. Many times they overstate their strength at an account. The results are almost always bad — a manufacturer that feels like they were oversold and worse, even lied to.”

Doug Biggs, vice president sales and marketing, Gilman Precision, Grafton, Wisconsin, maintains that while “It’s important for the rep to show that the line he’s looking for fits into his entire package, many reps leave it at that and make the mistake of not communicating or selling the benefits of their agency and what they bring to the table. Their story has to be a lot more than, ‘Hey we have a line card that fits.’ Too many agencies will explain that they’ve got five guys in the field and that’s all. Sure, that’s nice and sounds good but are those salespeople really selling? Are they technical? If I were to call your existing principals would they be able to tell me who are your weakest guys?”

The Importance of Presentations

Biggs continues that there are some reps that don’t consider the importance of presentations to either customers or principals. “Those are the ones who consider presentations as nothing more than informal meetings. Believe me, if you want the line, they’re much more than that.”

In addition to treating the presentation as an important event, Biggs urges reps to remember they’ve got to communicate more than the fact they already represent complementary lines. “If you want a line, you’ve got to be able to tell the manufacturer what your plans are if you take the line on. Be prepared to let him know how you’re going to measure success or failure beyond just the basic sales numbers. In addition, what other sales metrics do you have (i.e., call volume in terms of both depth and breadth)?”

Finally he stresses how important it is for the rep to be able to show his plan. “You’ve got to be able to show the principal that there’s a difference between good planning and good luck. You could be coming off a good year and that was just a matter of good luck. What are you going to do beyond that good luck to grow my sales? What are your plans for the future?”

Some Valuable Guidance

In terms of what advice he could offer to prospective reps, Phil Allen, owner and CEO, Grace Engineered Products, Inc., Davenport, Iowa, offered a fairly comprehensive list of do’s and don’ts:

1. Do your research — Find out as much about the company as possible including technical product information, target markets, company strategy, and their history in the territory. This will make you appear more professional while also increasing your ability to judge if this principal is right for you.
2. Analyze your market — I don’t mean all the business in your territory. I mean the customers you are intimate with — the ones who call you, not the ones you call on. Economically, selling more products to existing customers makes the most sense. Principals understand this and are looking for a specific set of relationships. For example, if your intimate customer base is mainly food and beverage system integrators, don’t allow yourself to craft a plan for a new line focused on pharma. It can be done, just usually not in the timeline the principal expects. It took you years to build those relationships. Don’t expect to build new relationships as part of your first-year sales plan.
3. Craft a plan and formally present it — What resources are you bringing to deploy? How will they be structured? What will you target first and why? Create a detailed 12-month action plan broken down by activities. Making a formal presentation will allow you to focus and get your thoughts together. Use this time to explain why they should choose you! By the way, if you really want to stand out — use Prezi, not PowerPoint; everyone uses PowerPoint. If you do use PowerPoint, make it the best PPT of your life.
4. Provide references — Prior to the meeting provide the principal references so they can do their homework on you before you present. This will allow you to enter the contract stage much faster.
5. Ask for the line — I am constantly surprised at how many reps don’t ask for the line after all the effort put into the evaluation. Not asking for the line signals you don’t know how to close. Remember your ABC’s — “Always Be Closing.”

Conversely:

1. Don’t be unprepared — Arriving late, unprepared and unfocused will signal that this is how you run your territory and your business.
2. Don’t over promise and under deliver — Do what you say you are going to do. Be prepared to explain why you are going to be able to follow through on your promises by providing evidence to the principal that this is the case.
3. Don’t leave out distribution — Are you going to take the line directly to customers or through distribution? Did you analyze which distributors are the best fit and why? Do they have something competitive? Why would they choose to do business with you? What is your value proposition to distributors? Craft a list with specifics to present to the principal.
4. Don’t be general — Salespeople tend to overgeneralize. Professionals relish the details. Presentations will fail to build trust when there is a lack of detail.
5. Don’t forget to show passion — Monetary incentives are great but sales without passion is drudgery. Principals, especially small and family-operated ones, have put everything on the line. Meeting someone who shares the same passion encourages them that they are on the right track. They want a partner in their passion, not a rep.

Honesty and Transparency

And finally, Bob Alesio, director of sales and marketing for Advanced Micro Controls, Inc. (AMCI), Terryville, Connecticut, emphasizes the importance of the rep exhibiting a sense of honesty and transparency when making a presentation to the manufacturer.

Alesio, who is interviewed elsewhere in this issue of Agency Sales, explains that “In the course of an interview or presentation, we can usually tell whether their business model and their approach to business sync up with ours. Just listening to what they say, I can determine whether they’re going to be candid with us. Being candid and transparent are more than a plus for us — they are absolute prerequisites when it comes to working with reps. We want all the cards on the table from the very beginning. We expect them to be able to give us the good, the bad and the ugly. If they can’t do that, my confidence in being able to move forward with them would be very low.”

A Rep’s Perspective

Perhaps a fitting conclusion to this discussion of how reps can hope to convince manufacturers that they are the way to take their product to market, comes from an independent manufacturers’ representative, Adam Yorston, Yorston & Associates, Hellertown, Pennsylvania, an agency that serves the sign industry.

According to Yorston, “The greatest value in a presentation is that it is a form of sales, and you have an opportunity to display your passion for what you do. It provides the manufacturer with a sneak peek into how you would sell their products.”

Yorston notes that there are a variety of ways reps can make their sales pitch to prospective principals. “It can be done in person or in today’s world even over a screen share or webinar program. At Yorston and Associates we have presented both in person and over a computer. Our most recent success came from a presentation performed to a sales manager in California and a general manager in Texas, while I was in Delaware and my team member was in Iowa. In that moment we were incredibly efficient.”

He continues, “During a presentation to potential manufacturers, rep agencies should start with their agency history, what they do, where they are going, how they sell, and their success over the years. They want to build credibility immediately. It is important for the rep agency to present a business plan on how they are going to grow the manufacturer’s sales. You want to come into the presentation with a well-corrected recipe for success.

“The rep agency also wants to present all the services the agency offers. For example, some manufacturers do not want to utilize our marketing, business development, and sales support department, but we let them know that it is at their disposal. Those departments are there to work closely with the manufacturer so we can grow their sales utilizing our tools, but they are not there to interfere with what the manufacturers do on their end in their own departments. It is important to present the manufacturer with an a la carte program and never force them to do anything because all of them have a different idea of what they want out of the rep agency.”

Just as manufacturers are quick to offer some presentation tips. Yorston follows suit by advising:

• Make a general presentation right away. Prior to presenting make a copy and alter the copy to be specific to your audience, i.e., the manufacturer.
• Gather testimonials and archive any press.
• Gather photos from events such as lunch-and-learns, trade shows etc. This will help with in the field presence and credibility.
• Create a map of the areas the agency is capable of covering.
• List steps in an action plan of how you hit the ground running with prospective manufacturers.
• Make sure the presentation is capable of being used in several different formats and ensure whoever is giving the presentation practices it. It is an example of how you sell, as well as serving as another first impression.

In conclusion, he offers the following advice on what the rep should avoid:

“The most important thing a rep agency wants to avoid is overpromising results. They do not want to set themselves up for failure and it is important to not over deliver the results.”

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