It’s hardly uncommon for principals to rate the performance of their reps and for reps to rate their principals, but here’s a bit of a different twist to the ratings game.

A manufacturer recently informed us that she’s made it a regular practice to ask her reps to rate her performance with them. “Our motives are fairly clear cut,” she maintained. “We simply wanted to know where we stood above and beyond our competitors and the other lines that our reps carried. This was an outgrowth of the fact that we’re well aware of how most of our reps perform during the course of the year. But aside from the occasional complaint, we didn’t have a good fix on how our reps viewed our performance.”

Among the many areas that the manufacturer asked her reps to comment on were:

• Product quality.
• Timeliness of quotation procedures.
• Effectiveness of the rep council.
• Promptness of response to inquiries and RFQs.
• Quality and quantity of product literature, advertising and publicity.
• Quality of communication regarding price changes, product availability, applications, new products, or product modifications.
• Is the pricing competitive?

Having conducted this process for a number of years, the manufacturer noted that “The feedback we receive is invaluable. It not only strengthens our relationships with reps and customers, it allows us to more accurately plan for the future.”

Touting a Rep Council

The vice president of sales for a manufacturing firm related the unexpected benefit he realized as a result of his involvement in his industry’s rep association. “It’s natural that when I got together with my peers during our annual conference, we’d kick around problems, concerns and other matters related to working with reps. I don’t know how many times I heard one of them tout the benefits of establishing a rep council. We followed suit about two years ago, and it’s incredible how much progress we’ve made in our relationships with our reps. Communication and performance in the field have improved, and all it took was a fairly modest investment of time and money on our part. I think it was just an example of us opening the door a bit, and our reps took that as a long-awaited welcoming gesture.”

The Right Kind of Training

A manufacturer paid close attention to the members of his rep council when the subject of training came up. In a uniform voice the five reps that comprised his council let him know exactly what kind of training they were looking for. “Their message to me,” he explained, “was, ‘We already know how to sell. That’s how we’ve been earning a living for years. What we do need, however, is product training, especially for my company’s products, since we’ve achieved a well-earned reputation for putting innovative products out in the field.’ In addition to requesting a steady dose of product training, however, they wanted the training to be non-intrusive and to not take too much of their time. What we agreed upon was that whenever possible we’d bring the training to them. That way they wouldn’t have to leave their territories. What we did was develop a program to train them, but only when we had something truly new. By delivering on our promise, we’ve found all of our reps are interested in what we have to offer, and they’re anxious to undergo the training. A side benefit is the fact that when we bring the training to them, we’re able to combine our efforts with regular visits that we’d be making in the field anyway.”

He concludes that these training sessions rarely occur more than twice a year. “And since we’ve shown such a willingness to come to them, whenever we’ve requested their presence at our headquarters location, they’ve been more than willing to comply.”

Covering for the Rep

A number of independent manufacturers’ representatives — especially single-person operations — are fairly reluctant to commit to family vacations or other extended trips. Their line of thinking goes that if they’re out of the territory for any extended period of time, no one is back in the territory contacting customers and sales can be lost. If sales are lost, then there’s no commission check coming in.

When several manufacturers that work with reps got together late last year, one among them described how he addresses that common concern: “We’ve made every effort to construct a rep network that we know we can depend upon. One reason our network works as well as it does for us is that we make a concerted effort to treat our reps as members of the manufacturing family. As a result, we ask them to let us know well in advance whenever they’re going to be out of the territory. As a result, we can cover for them. If there’s something pending or problems that must be addressed, we make sure that we commit the proper resources to the matter. That way, when the rep returns, he doesn’t have problems to unravel and he can do what he does best—meeting our customers’ needs.”

Why Reps

As reported by a manufacturer, an interesting and hopefully beneficial dialogue took place late last year when he and a couple of his non-competitive manufacturing peers who were new to working with reps got together. While admitting he was curious concerning what reps brought to the table, the first manufacturer was reluctant to give up on his historical (e.g., direct) manner of going to market. As the conversation progressed, however, he learned that many of the problems he currently faced with his direct sales force were what brought the other manufacturers to the decision to work with an outsourced sales force.

Among the concerns the first manufacturer was facing were:

• A pressing need for immediate access to new markets and/or customers.
• The constant demand from customers for a local presence.
• The growing cost of maintaining/supporting the direct sales force.
• An evolution in the marketplace that resulted in a diversity among markets and customers, thereby requiring an equally diverse sales force — in terms of sales skills — to meet their needs.
• The constant turnover among the direct sales force that commanded a growing amount of time to deal with.
• A requirement on the part of many customers that there be a local inventory presence, coupled with the fact that some distributors wouldn’t stock for them.
• An inability of some direct salespeople to get their foot in the door given the fact that they represent just one line. At the same time the rep can boast of a synergistic approach, thereby maximizing the salesman’s time in front of the customer.
• The need for an objective business advisor in the territory, or as one of the manufacturers described the rep, “He’s someone who knows the territory and the decision makers at each of the major customers. He knows what they need and he’s at the ready to provide solutions to their problems.”

Being Honest

Proof that there’s really wisdom in the words, “Say what you mean and mean what you say,” developed from a candid meeting among independent reps and manufacturing executives.

A rep began the conversation by relating what happened after she responded to a principal’s request. “The manufacturer asked for my honest feedback on the subject of his regional manager. What I had to offer wasn’t all that damaging to the regional manager, but there certainly were some areas where he could take steps to improve his relationships and performance with all his reps — not only us. In the course of reporting this to the manufacturer, I also mentioned a couple of problems we had been having with people at the factory.”

Before the week was out, here’s what happened, according to the rep. “I received phone calls not only from the regional manager, but also the two other people I had mentioned. The regional manager accused me of throwing him under the bus. The two factory people were equally upset and asked why was I talking about them behind their backs.

“The next time this or any other manufacturer asks for feedback, what do you think my response is going to be?”

This rep’s admonition to manufacturers was that if you want assistance or information and promise to keep it confidential, make sure you keep your word.

Establishing Expectations

One of the major benefits cited time and again when it comes to contracting with reps is that they’re able to hit the ground running. They’ll get the business much faster than a manufacturer’s direct sales force ever could. However, one manufacturer cautioned about having expectations that were over and above what anyone could achieve.

“From day one both the manufacturer and the rep have to agree that their relationship has to work for both of them. Sure, there are times when a rep will go overboard in his desire to obtain your line. That may open the door for the manufacturer to dictate terms of the relationship that just aren’t going to work long term. Ideally, it’s the rep and the principal who think both short- and long-term who will maximize their relationship. Basically, what I’m saying here is to be flexible during the first year of the relationship. Learn what works for both of you while benefitting the customer at the same time. It’s only then that you’ll have a good chance for a profitable long‑term relationship.”

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