© Yuri Arcurs | Dreamstime.com

When a manufacturer was recently tasked with finding reps for two of his territories, he followed the normal path of researching and finding prospective reps, interviewing them, and ultimately signing on with the agencies he thought were best. At the end of the process, he reports that his decisions worked out very well and he couldn’t be more pleased with the ultimate choices. What took him slightly aback, however, was something both agencies did upon signing their contracts. “I’ve got to admit that it’s been a couple of years since we had to replace two of our reps, so maybe this is some sort of new trend, but both agencies asked for in-person meetings where they shared their agency business plans with us. But that’s not the end of it. They asked us to provide them with input on what we felt they could do better in order to serve us more efficiently in the territory. They explained that their goal was to serve their customers and principals better than they have in the past. They felt this could only be done with full and open communication between us. I couldn’t have agreed more. Naturally we complied and we continue to have open discussions concerning our and their future business plans.”

Rep Seeking Two-Way Communication

Manufacturers that go to market with independent manufacturers’ representatives would have been well-served if they could have overheard a conversation between two reps at an industry meeting earlier this year.

One rep was bemoaning the fact that through September his performance in the territory was only 40 percent of what one of his principals had planned for in his forecast. When he was asked how a specific target had been arrived at for the year, he responded: “That’s the problem. The principal came in at the beginning of the year and said here’s the target. They neither asked for nor wanted any input from me. I could have told them from the beginning that the business simply isn’t here and I wouldn’t have even come close to their projections. In addition, they hold up to me what a rep in another territory is doing and they fail to acknowledge the fact that there’s absolutely no comparison between potential business in our territories.”

He continued, “All I really want from my principals is two-way communication and planning. In all fairness, I’d say that’s what I have with my other lines. If they’d come in at the beginning of the year, ask for my input, give me their hopes and plans, which should be based on realistic expectations, then we’d both be a lot happier at the end of the year.”

Manufacturer Gets The Message

The timing couldn’t have been better for one manufacturer to contact Agency Sales with his process for working with reps. It seems as if he was directly responding to the previous item (which he wasn’t — it was just a coincidence of timing) when he weighed in with some of his thoughts on how to maximize the performance of his reps in the field.

According to the manufacturer, “I’ve taken a multi-faceted approach to communicating and planning with my reps. My starting point was not just joining MANA and reading and depending upon a lot of the material they have available about working with reps. Once I did that, then I tried something new for our company — in addition to working exclusively with reps, I hired one of our best rep performers as a consultant. I know I could have put together a rep council, but I decided upon this approach because this specific rep — in addition to always hitting his numbers and fully communicating with us — has never held back when he has an observation or suggestion on how to better our relationship.

“When he first assumed this consultant role, I’ve got to admit that some of our people were a little wary. I don’t know how many times I heard the question: ‘This guy is working for us. Why do we need him inside telling us how to run our business?’

“Well, we didn’t invite him in to tell us how to run our business. My goal in working with him as a consultant to was to have him assist us in creating a consistent plan for working with reps. I’d be shortchanging us and the rep if I described the results of this plan as ‘good’ or ‘satisfactory.’ Actually, we wound up hitting a homerun and, in fact, I’d advise other manufacturers to follow our path if they feel they can locate the right rep to work with.”

“What it all comes down to,” the manufacturer concluded, “is being willing and able to communicate with and work with your reps. Carefully evaluate what they have to tell you and develop a plan. This will help clarify the relationship between rep and principal and certainly help in focusing on areas of the relationship that can be improved.”

Caught Short—Never Again

MANA has long touted the benefits for manufacturers’ reps to have a succession plan in place. It not only makes good business sense, it provides for the future success of the agency, not to mention solidifying the relationship between principals and reps.

One manufacturer couldn’t agree more as he relates what happened to him when an agency owner decided to leave the business with no prior plan. “Sure I was taken by surprise and I had to scramble to fill a void. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I should have been better prepared. To make sure that this never happens to me again, I’ve taken an important step forward. Now, every year I make a formal request for my reps to share their future plans with me. This has been especially beneficial in a couple of cases where I’ve been able to make suggestions to my reps on how they can craft a more effective succession plan.

“My reps appear to appreciate my efforts and I think this has done a lot to cement our relationships.”

Spotting Early Signs of Success

One manufacturer agrees wholeheartedly that first impressions are lasting impressions — especially when it comes to reps. He maintains that early on in the relationship, he can spot some telltale signs that at least to him indicate whether a rep is going to be successful or not.

“My early assessment of a rep’s potential is based upon his willingness to ask questions and learn all he can about our operation. When all is said and done, a rep will only be effective if he makes himself knowledgeable about all the companies that he represents. They simply can’t meet and exceed customers’ expectations unless they know what they’re talking about. The rep can only become what we consider a value-added provider if he knows all about our infrastructure, how we manufacture, and keep informed concerning any changes that are being planned. I believe the onus remains on the rep to learn all that he can. When he shows a willingness to do that, I know we’re going to have a winning relationship.”

Lessons Learned From Sales Partners

Fresh off his attendance at an annual industry meeting last month that had many reps and principals in attendance, one manufacturer has decided to change his approach for signing on new reps. “After looking at our company’s past performance when it comes to choosing reps, and then hearing what other manufacturers have done while we were at the meeting, the message was driven home that my company simply has to do a better job of choosing reps as marketing partners. We simply have not taken the job seriously enough, and it shows.

“We actually heaped problems upon our problems because we haven’t conducted due diligence before we partner with reps by not fully communicating with them concerning what our expectations are for their performance. Because we’ve failed to do that, we’ve wound up severing relationships with several agencies that in hindsight were the ideal fit for us.”

He continued that by a stroke of happenstance or luck, one of his top-performing reps came forward and felt strong enough in the relationship to alert the company to many of the mistakes it was making when choosing representation. “He let us know that just about everyone was aware that we weren’t doing a good job of jointly agreeing on performance goals with our reps. So, armed with what I learned and bolstered by information from this rep, we’re going to move forward and make sure we’ve done all we can on the front end when it comes to signing new reps.