“If You Say You Sell Everything to Everybody Everywhere, You Sell Nothing to Anybody Anywhere.”

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Here’s how one manufacturer explained it.*
“We find lots of good candidates to represent our line in MANA’s RepFinder® database.

“But once in a while we also find a rep member profile that is a real turn-off. It’s what I call the ‘I sell everything to everybody everywhere’ profile.

“One turn-off is when the rep claims to sell every one of the RepFinder’s 100+ product categories. Everything from Advertising Specialties to Veterinary supplies.

“Great rep firms focus on a few key markets and have great relationships with decision-makers in those markets. A rep who claims to sell in every market has no focus and will never get an interview to rep our line.

“Sometimes it gets even worse. Sometimes the rep claims to sell all of the product categories in all 50 states, and perhaps even in Canada and Europe. A pretty bold claim for a rep firm with just one or two salespeople.

“That’s why I said, ‘If you say you sell everything to everybody everywhere, you sell nothing to anybody anywhere.”

Want to be sure your MANA rep member profile isn’t a turn-off? Keep these rules in mind and update your MANA member profile today:

Manufacturers look for reps with focus. Choose only categories where your rep firm really shines.
Choose the product categories you sell, not the markets you sell to. If you sell castings to the pump industry, choose “castings” not “pumps.”
Your sales territory should make sense compared to the number of your firm’s salespeople.
Update your MANA member profile annually. Starting soon, manufacturers will be able to see if a profile has gone untended for more than year.
Seventy-seven percent of MANA rep members have a website. Don’t be one of the 23 percent who don’t.

Update your profile today in the member area of www.MANAonline.org.

Sound like too much trouble? Schedule a free telephone profile coaching session with Jerry Leth or with me. We’ll walk through the steps together.

Let manufacturers know that your rep firm’s profile says what you do, and you’ll do what it says. Update your MANA member profile today!

* Comments from more than one manufacturer have been combined and edited for clarity and brevity.