True to his philosophy to always provide value to his principles, Tom Schoenauer Jr. (left) of Mechanical Solutions of Delafield, is seen here demonstrating a product to Tom Janicki of the J-Thomas Group, one of his customers.
Tom Schoenauer Jr. is more than happy he heeded the words his father spoke years ago; and not only did he heed those words, but he also took them to heart.
Schoenauer’s father, Tom Sr., served as the vice president of sales for a manufacturer that sold its products through a network of independent manufacturers’ reps. Among his duties in that position were hiring, supervising and paying reps. According to the younger Schoenauer, “Growing up I spent a great deal of time working in the shop. One thing I’ll always remember my father saying when he was writing out reps’ significant commission checks was, ‘I should have been a rep.’”
Schoenauer obviously paid attention because today he heads MANA-member firm Mechanical Solutions of Delafield, LLC.
Armed with a business degree in marketing from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, Schoenauer opened his own agency in 2002. Prior to that move, he could boast of more than 10 years’ experience as a manufacturers’ rep. He began his rep career in the Carolinas and when a Wisconsin territory for a major principal became available, he left his position in Ohio to use his education and experience in order to establish his own business.
Today the agency, located just outside of Milwaukee, covers Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Its focus is on custom-manufactured mechanical products for the following industries:
- Machine Tool
- Paper Converting
- Flexible Packaging
- Robotics
- Pharmaceutical
- Dairy
- Food
- Transportation
Looking back at his agency’s early days, Schoenauer recalls, “I was obviously younger at the time, unmarried, and left what I was doing for an opportunity to get back to the Midwest. It was certainly a challenge at the time and the fact is we were eating roots to get by at the beginning. When all things are considered, however, I love solving customers’ problems, being on straight commission and I love the American spirit of working for yourself.”
Obviously, the challenge of getting off a diet of roots was of paramount importance in 2002. That task was made a bit easier when “One of the principals that I had been working with decided to make the move from a direct sales force to reps.”
Staying Off Roots
If that was the start, he notes that to be able to stay off that root diet, it’s necessary to constantly look for new lines. “To a large extent, we depend upon word of mouth. We’ll learn that company XYZ is looking for representation in Wisconsin and we’ll simply follow up. What we represent are what I’d call niche-type products. What manufacturers are looking for in that area are reps who have an understanding of how to reach targets in that market. To meet that challenge we work hard to stay knowledgeable and informed about all of the custom-engineered product lines we offer, and to add value to the sales process through numerous application experiences.”
It’s one thing to say you add value, but it’s another to make sure that message is delivered to the principals you work with. Keeping that in mind, Schoenauer explained that “While we don’t really have a formal process for letting our principals know what we’re doing on their behalf, what we do is to meet with them at the end of the year and review all of our accomplishments. That naturally includes our sales numbers. On top of that, I will regularly send them information or acknowledgment of orders that let them know what we’re working on and what orders we’ve been awarded. We do this with a mind to thank them for the opportunity to work with them and let them know what we’ve accomplished.”
Commenting on whose responsibility it might be to keep principals fully informed about what their reps do for them, Schoenauer maintains it’s a shared responsibility. “If you look at manufacturers who are beginning their relationships with reps, some of them enter with a working knowledge of what reps do. Others, not so much. But with the latter, once they see the value of working with reps, they’re much easier to work with.” He added that in his experience rep councils are very valuable in meeting that challenge. “Reps serving on a council can provide a valuable insight for their principals and lead to principals treating you like a true member of their organization.”
Schoenauer’s and his agency’s efforts to keep their principals informed about their value are certainly important parts of the relationship he enjoys with his principals. That notwithstanding, he adds, “It’s really important because I don’t believe all manufacturers realize how valuable their reps are. I can’t count the times I’ve seen reps terminated and their manufacturers go direct with their own people. When that proves unsuccessful, they then turn around and go back to working with reps. That’s why it’s so important for us to constantly communicate how well we can cross sell and get a number of lines in the door and in front of customers. But the bottom line is that it’s the relationships that reps have established with their customers that allows them to get in the door. And remember, it’s the reps who stay in place in the territory for years — they don’t go anywhere — unlike the manufacturers’ direct salesperson.”
Schoenauer and Ryan Croal (left) take the opportunity to demonstrate the agency’s lines at a local trade show.
Relationships a Constant
If it’s the continued importance of relationships that has remained a constant positive for reps and for Schoenauer personally, some other elements of the job have changed since he opened his doors 20 years ago. “When we opened, we were dependent on snail mail and faxing documents back and forth. Obviously, given the internet and email, the speed of conducting transactions is much different today. On top of that we’ve invested a lot more time in creating spreadsheets and conducting forecasts for our principals, and I can’t say I like that part of what we do. Add to that the CRM program we have for our own agency. That’s something that our principals all expect us to keep up today. I’ll admit that that was something I was slow to jump on the bus with, but now we keep on top of it.”
Continuing on the subject of change, Schoenauer adds that he’s shared in some of the concerns other reps have faced concerning conducting business during and now after Covid. “Just like everyone else we were unable to get in front of our customers for the first year of the pandemic. This caused us to fall back on ‘Sales 101’ in terms of just staying in touch with customers, updating our line card, etc. I’d say that our sales during Covid didn’t really reflect the amount of work we performed if you consider all the internet activity we engaged in. We’re still recovering right now, and it remains a challenge to get in front of customers.
When Schoenauer is asked what his plans for the future are, he’s quick to note that his agency presently comprises himself, his father (the agency inside sales rep), who also runs the books and works on commission statements, and Ryan Croal, who joined the agency in 2009. Croal, who previously worked for a manufacturer, covers Northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for the agency.
Schoenauer notes, “If Agency Sales comes back and visits in five years or so, we’ll still be small. Looking to the future, your level of success certainly depends on the territory and how much a principal wants to grow with an agency and how much they are willing to pay you, but I’m a believer that’s there’s always going to be room for the small agency.”
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