As if the point had to be made, participants in a series of MANAchats late last year spent a great deal of time discussing the difficulties they were having in getting sales appointments with customers.

Over a period of two days MANA members who were owners of single-person rep firms detailed the roadblocks they were encountering in their efforts to represent their principals.

While several chat participants pointed a finger at workplace changes that were implemented during Covid as the major culprit for this situation, there were also some remedies that were forthcoming from the discussions.

At the outset of the two-day chat, the predicament was described this way:

• A description of what he sees as today’s business environment that reps have to sell into was offered by one rep who was formerly the national sales manager for a manufacturer. “Sure, given how we conduct business today I’m handling more and more stuff via phone, video and email than I ever did before. While that allows me to conduct more business in more states than I ever have, it doesn’t allow for much face-to-face contact. And, in my opinion that’s the best way to conduct business. There’s no more water-cooler talk or making comments about the trophy fish hanging on the wall. We’re now in a much more fast-paced environment and I don’t know that we’ll ever return to the way we used to do things.”
• “The old practice — and by old, I mean pre-Covid — was to call, get an appointment, go into the office and meet with prospects and customers. That was the way we built relationships, created friendships, solved problems, and showed empathy for the customer. That’s all gone now. Now you simply can’t get in to see anyone and the old practices we were comfortable with don’t work anymore. Sure, I can complete some phone and email contacts, which reminds me a little bit of ‘dialing for dollars,’ but there’s hardly any in-person contact. Moving forward, how are we going to solve this problem?”
• “I just can’t get in touch with anyone anymore. How are we supposed to get appointments? Even today there are so many people working from home, and they don’t want to see you in their homes. And even if they do go into the office, it’s only for one or two days a week. Compounding the problem is the fact that so many large companies still don’t want people coming into their offices. How are we supposed to build and fill a pipeline?”
• “I used to go into a company and spend an entire day calling on people, but I’d actually point to a time before Covid when companies stopped their willingness to have their people see reps or anyone else for that matter. That’s a real mistake. To some extent, if I have a project in the works, I can get to see the people I’m working with. And, if I’m dealing with an engineering group that is designing something, they’re a bit more amenable to meeting for lunch or attending a ‘lunch and learn’ session where I order a bunch of sandwiches and we sit around a conference table and hash things out.”

Specifics Help

One of the many benefits of these MANAchats is that participants find that they are not the only ones facing a problem. And, when they present their problem, chances are there’s someone else participating in the discussion who has a solution to their problem. That was the case in the instance of not being able to connect with prospects or customers. According to one rep, it’s incumbent for the rep to be specific with what he hopes to accomplish with a customer. If he’s able to do that, then his chances for success increase. In addition, attendance at trade shows was suggested as a means to make meaningful contact with prospects and customers.

With the former suggestion, one rep noted, “With the distributors I conduct business with I’ve had some luck contacting the younger people, but the decision makers who are more than 50 years old seem to deflect any suggestion that we have meetings. To get together with those older people, I’ve found that I really have to pinpoint their need and then address that need in any meeting we schedule. It’s a little like taking a rifle as opposed to a shotgun approach — you find out where their pain is, then you come up with a solution to their pain. I guess it’s all about effective communication.”

One solution to getting in front of prospects was offered by a rep who sells into the transportation industry. “There’s a trade group in my territory that many manufacturers belong to. One of my principals is a member and through him I’ve been able to attend some of their sessions. This has provided me with an opportunity to network and develop business connections.”

Some other steps reps have taken to make their case with customers include:

• “I’ve got to assume that virtually everyone has a decent CRM system that helps them identify and find customers. I use mine to regularly send out personalized emails to customers that I already have an established relationship with. I find that if I send out dozens of them in a day — every day — I will get an occasional return.”
• “People are changing jobs today more than ever before. I find that anything that is six months old or longer is now too old. That’s why I’ve had considerable success tracking contacts and prospects via LinkedIn. The old practice of simply knocking on doors doesn’t work anymore.”
• “If a customer needs something, then they’re going to reach out to you. But they still expect you to stay in front of them. That’s why you can’t give up.”

Finding customers and making contact with them weren’t the only subjects addressed during the MANAchat sessions. Some of the other subjects included:

• Use of outside services — When the question was asked how single-person agencies get everything done that has to be done, the responses from just about everyone stressed the importance of making use of outside service providers.

“The need for me to have outside accounting, legal, clerical, etc., help has really been driven home to me when I find myself tied to the desk performing tasks I don’t want to do. And, all of these tasks take me away from my primary interest, which is putting myself in front of the customer and selling my principals’ products. All of these activities cause me to take my eye off the ball, which is selling.”

One of the primary tasks chat participants commented on when it came to the subject of using outside service providers had to do with websites. When it was mentioned that 80 percent of MANA members have websites, one participant noted, “That should be 100 percent. On top of that, no one should be working with an aol or gmail email account. Their email accounts should all be tied to their website address.”

Another rep offered, “I’m a graphic type of guy but I’m not an expert when it comes to setting up a website. That’s why I’m not afraid to spend what it takes to have a professional website. I’ve got a friend who would never spend the $3,000 to $5,000 to create a professional website, and he’s paying the price long term, because his business suffers. You can’t think of that as an expense — it’s an investment in your business.”

Then there’s the matter of how you appear to your principals. “I know any number of manufacturers who if they see you don’t have a website will say to themselves that this simply isn’t a professional business.”

• The importance of backselling — A discussion of this subject opened with the questions, “How do you communicate your value to your principals?” and “What type of information do you communicate to your principals that lets them know what you’re doing for them in the field?”

Answers to those questions showed the importance that reps placed on the process of backselling. Included in how they accomplish that task were, “I keep them up to date with anything important that’s happening with customers. I keep the information fresh and have found that old-fashioned communication, i.e., telephone, is a great tool.”

Another rep offered, “With one principal headquartered in Germany, on a weekly basis I let them know what’s happening with important customers and send them internet links that provide critical information.”

And finally, one rep explained that “With one of my smaller principals, in an effort to let them know how much time I’m spending on their line, I communicate monthly with them on all my activities on their behalf and remind them of the value I bring to the table. For larger principals, I’ll complete a weekly review with the sales director. All of these activities are important and it’s critical that we constantly remind our principals that we’re not magicians. We can’t just pull a rabbit out of the hat. It takes time to develop business and that’s something we’ve got to work overtime to let them know about.”

MANA welcomes your comments on this article. Write to us at [email protected].

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List of MANAchat Participants

MANA wants to thank the following members for their contributions to the “The Secret to Making Customer Contacts” Agency Sales magazine article. They made these contributions by participating in a MANAchat that discussed issue unique to one-person manufacturers’ representatives. These online virtual meetings create a platform where members exchange information on how to successfully operate their manufacturers’ representative businesses. Jack Foster, Agency Sales magazine editor, wrote the article using the information and knowledge these members provided during the MANAchats.

Thank you! We sincerely appreciate the time you took to participate in the MANAchats and particularly the information and knowledge you shared.

Tom Buddenbohn
Budd Sales Co.
Arlington, TX

John Ahlering
Coastal Technology Group, LLC
Evansville, IN

Jim Short
Engineered Specialty Materials, LLC
Jupiter, FL

Chris Halaska
Halaska Industrial
Mequon, WI

Tony Hatton
Hatton Associates, LLC
Pittsboro, IN

Lisa Wilson
L.S. Wilson & Associates, Inc.
Bristol, WI

Erik Wandrie
Material Resource Group, LLC
Oxford, MI

Marilyn Kahler
Tri-Fab Solutions
Scottsdale, AZ