Just as conversations in major league baseball’s “hot stove league” tend to take on a life of their own, so too does the following oft-asked question: What should a principal expect from its independent manufacturers’ reps? What follows are a few immediate responses.
Manufacturers expect their reps to:
- Make sales calls! And, that you sell their products.
- Communicate effectively, efficiently and truthfully.
- Report on new business opportunities.
- Report on major account status and action items.
- Give feedback on competitors and the market climate.
- Attend sales meetings and stay current on product and application training.
- Follow up leads and find new opportunities.
- Have a good line card portfolio relative to their products.
- Have good planning skills with respect to business plans, territory plans, your own strategic plan and succession planning.
- Have a very deep knowledge of and relationship with the accounts in your territory.
Being Selfish Pays Off for All Parties
“I’ll be honest when I say that for selfish reasons I’ve made it a habit throughout my sales management career to exhibit a real interest in the success of the reps I conduct business with.” That’s how the national sales manager for one manufacturer begins a discussion of his philosophy of working with reps. “I say selfish reasons because I’ve learned that as they become more successful in what they do for a living, so too do I and my company. As a result, if there’s anything I can do to make them more successful, they can count on me to do that.”
It’s for those reasons, among others, that this manufacturer has been consistent in gathering and qualifying leads for his reps and in recommending them to other manufacturers. On that latter point, the manufacturer says, “I know some may feel that if my rep takes on additional lines, then that means less time for my line. I haven’t found that to be the case. Rather, when I help a rep land a line or lines, they seem to redouble their efforts on my behalf. All it’s really done is to strengthen the relationship between us.”
The (Natural) Synergy of a Rep
When one manufacturer’s sales manager was charged with the task of making the change from a direct to a rep sales force in the period of a year, he identified a particular rep attribute that made his job a lot easier — the rep’s ability to make synergistic sales calls.
According to the sales manager, “At first I looked at this as a daunting task and wasn’t sure we could get it done. I began by asking many of my major customers what they thought of the move and many of them were in favor, principally because they were already dealing with reps. Then, I asked them for recommendations, and the customers came to the rescue. By and large, I followed their recommendations and had my sales force in place in about 18 months. The major benefit with the reps I eventually signed on was that they already had a general knowledge of my product line. Add to that the fact they were already established salespeople and my job was a lot easier. We were able to hit the ground running.”
On another synergistic note, a medium- to small-sized manufacturer recently relayed to us that he didn’t have any problem with being less than the number-one line that his rep worked with. Here’s how he explained it: “I know exactly who and what we are in the industry we serve. We’re never going to be the top dog. As a result, I’ve got absolutely no problem with my reps talking about me after they’ve completed their presentations on their prime lines. I would rather be the next line the rep speaks about because we’re actually traveling on the reputation of the rep that got us in the door in the first place. If he has the professionalism and talent to provide us with his very best effort, we know we’re going to do well in the territory. I can’t say I’ve got complaints with any of our reps who work this way.”
How to Sabotage a Sales Meeting
Later this year, Agency Sales will be examining what constitutes a successful sales meeting from the perspective of both the manufacturer and the rep. While not exactly tipping our hand, a manufacturer recently communicated his view of how not to plan and execute a successful meeting with his reps. According to the manufacturer, a potentially successful sales meeting can be undermined by allowing for any of the following:
- Allowing group meetings to start and/or finish later than planned.
- Meeting participants (and that means reps and principal personnel) either don’t attend the meetings or arrive after the meeting has begun.
- There’s no agenda, or if there is, the agenda, materials, reports, handouts, etc., are not distributed in a timely manner.
- The agenda is so full that no matter how much time is allotted for the meeting, it can never be completed.
- The group meeting leader is poorly prepared.
- Small cliques of people are allowed to monopolize conversations while the rest remain removed from all conversations.
- There’s a great deal of interruption of conversations.
- There’s too much talk and not enough action items agreed upon.
- At the end of the meeting, there’s been no agreement on who will do what, by what date.
- If any projects are agreed upon, they aren’t completed on time.
- When there is no performance on agreed-upon tasks, there are no consequences for non-performance.
The manufacturer concluded by saying, “I’ve had years of experience attending meetings that have some if not all of the above pitfalls. I guarantee that if a principal doesn’t plan ahead and make sure his meetings are streamlined and contain the ability to identify and act on various items, they’ll have a hard time keeping their reps interested.”
Maximizing the Effectiveness of a Sales Meeting
Conversely, an article that appeared in Agency Sales several years ago addressed many of those pitfalls and went on to offer several tips on how to maximize the effectiveness of a sales meeting.
Don’t be afraid to try the occasional stand-up meeting. Empty the room of tables and chairs and make sure no one finds a comfortable spot sitting on the floor.
Schedule several short breaks during the course of the meeting. There shouldn’t be any more than sixty to ninety minutes of sitting at one time. Be careful with breaks. Announce when the meeting will resume and promptly start up again.
If some people simply don’t want to participate, tackle the problem right away. Work hard to see to it that each participant has a lead role on at least one agenda item. Don’t let anyone sit back and fill the role of observer.
Likewise, frequently call on silent members for their comments or observations instead of waiting (sometimes forever) for them to raise their hands.
Avoid lengthy, drawn-out lectures. Insist that presenters get to the point, and whenever possible, make their presentations interactive.
Be wary of the afternoon naptime that is often brought on by heavy, sleep-inducing meals. Instead try light, healthy snacks.
Making Sales Forecasts Credible
“We’re as guilty as anyone else when it comes to putting pressure on our reps to submit sales forecasts. As a result, the forecasts often aren’t that accurate. They’re more an example of just data dumping. What we’ve done instead is to sit down with our reps on a regular basis and explain to them exactly what we’re looking for. Then we stress the importance of that information to our planning process. Since we’ve taken the time to approach this in a serious manner, our reps have really taken the ball and run with it. Their forecasts are now much more thorough and if not exactly accurate, at least we know the reps are trying and not just providing a quantity of worthless information.”
Happy Birthday CPMR
MRERF’s CPMR program celebrated its 20th anniversary last month. On the heels of that accomplishment, Agency Sales queried a few manufacturers as to the impact the program has had when they look at prospective reps. According to one manufacturer, “When a rep carries the four CPMR letters after his name, it goes a long way toward making my decision an easy one. When I see those letters, I know the rep believes in himself, is committed to his profession, and is willing to invest in his future.”
Another manufacturer admitted, “I know I came a little late to this game, but in our industry the CPMR designation is becoming more and more evident. When I first saw it, I not only asked the reps what it meant, but I spoke with a number of my manufacturing peers and asked them if it was meaningful to them. Overwhelmingly, I received positive responses. “I’m not going to say that with all things being equal, the CPMR rep is automatically going to get my line — but I will guarantee that he gets my attention and a long hard look.”
