It’s no secret that reps don’t always react in a positive manner when one of their principal’s regional sales managers asks them to schedule joint sales calls.

One manufacturer, however, couldn’t miss the opportunity to pass along positive comments she received from a rep on his RSM. According to the rep, “The sales manager was very upfront when he told me not to be wary of selling other lines that I represent — when the opportunity presented itself. But the main purpose of his joint sales call visit was to make appointments with especially good customers for his products and with prospects that I’ve been having difficulties with. It was his opinion — and I have to admit I agreed with him — that that was where he could do the most good. His goal was to cement relationships with good customers and do whatever he could in order to sell tough customers. He was true to his word. During the course of our three days working the territory together, he never dominated meetings, and he always deferred to me. I came away thinking he could come work with me any day.”

More of the Same

Another positive trip to the territory was reported when a manufacturer decided to use the field trip as an opportunity to get the new sales manager’s feet wet. “When our former sales manager was promoted, we moved the number-two person into his position. The new sales manager had worked (primarily over the phone and at industry meetings), with our reps but had little if any real face time with them. When we announced his promotion, the first thing we did was to send him out on a two-week, four-agent trip. The time couldn’t have been better spent. Existing relationships were made stronger, and the support of our reps continued as if no change had been made.”

Maximizing Time

One of the most appreciated parts of field visits, according to reps, is the time spent in the car between sales calls. According to a number of reps, “This is the time we could speak with our regional sales managers about things that were going on back at the factory or solve problems that we’ve been facing in the field.” That appears to be the way it used to be. Several reps report that the intrusion of technology has stolen this valuable time from reps and their principals. “Now I’m finding that the second we get back in the car the manufacturer is on his cell phone. He’s speaking with his co-workers back in the office or even participating in conference calls. Gone are the days when we could discuss what we would face during the next call or de-brief each other after the last call. I resent the loss of this time and fear we’re never going to get it back.

“If there’s any one thing I could tell my principals when they come see me in the field is to ditch the electronic communications and pay attention to me and our customers. They’ve already made an investment to spend time with me in the field, why not make the most of it? Just look back a couple of years to the time when we didn’t have all these electronic communication tools. We survived and thrived quite well. Let’s roll back the clock and — at least in this area — work the way we used to and pay attention to each other.”

Line Card Analysis

Elsewhere in this issue of Agency Sales magazine is an article detailing the discussion that took place when MANA President/CEO Charley Cohon presided over a MANAcast devoted to line card profitability analysis. Coincidentally, here’s what one manufacturer recently communicated to Agency Sales. According to the manufacturer, “One thing I’ve learned over the years is that the rep who is willing to admit his mistakes and learn from them is the rep I want to conduct business with.” What he was referring to was something he’s seen from a couple of his reps when it comes to cutting losses by removing lines from their line cards. “Just recently we received notice from one of our reps that he was eliminating four of his product lines. In the letter he sent to all of his principals, the rep let us know that while he’s had considerable success with these lines, he felt it was important to limit the lines he represented in order to concentrate on the lines that are more profitable. I also liked this idea because it meant we were getting more of the rep’s time in front of the customer.”

The manufacturer added that he was impressed with the way the rep parted company with his departing lines. “He notified them of his intention well in advance of the announcement, but that wasn’t all he did. He then went out of his way to recommend three reps in the territory that he felt confident the principals would be successful with. When all was said and done, the departing principals found good new rep homes. I was happy because the rep could concentrate more on my line and finally, the results the rep has achieved since the decision have borne out the positives of his decision.”

Staying on Offense

One manufacturer implemented the axiom of “a good offense is a good defense” when his company went through its most recent reorganization. The reason for the manufacturer’s offense was that he heard from many of his reps with whom he had excellent relations that they were getting more than a little apprehensive in their relations with the factory. It seems the most recent reorganization was the third such effort in the last five years. Each time the reps heard about it from other than official sources. As a result, they were feeling left out and were worried about the company’s future plans — simply because no one kept them in the loop.

According to the manufacturer, “We brainstormed the matter and considered having our reps to the factory for a training/information session or even having a sales meeting off campus where they could get to know some of our new inside and management people. In the end, however, we decided to revamp our communication efforts with our reps and ensure that if anything was happening, they were going to be the first to know. We did this for a couple of reasons:

• “First, we owed it to them. They’re our eyes and ears in the field, and if they don’t know ahead of time what’s happening, we can’t expect them to continue with their best efforts on our behalf.
• “Second, most of our reps let us know that unless there was some critical reason for them to leave their territories, they’d rather not do so. They let us know that every one of them would make their annual visit to the factory, but they thought right now that their time was better spent in front of the customer.

“We agreed and have continued to communicate with them. No more surprises.”

Too Much Communication

Following a slew of complaints that followed the introduction of a product promotion, a manufacturer waited a bit before contacting one of his reps in an effort to learn what his real concern was. As the manufacturer related, “What I learned was that the rep really wasn’t displeased with our promotional efforts. On the other hand, his real problem stemmed from the fact that he was being inundated with similar programs and other forms of communication clutter from all of his principals — all at the same time. Realizing that he had a valid point, we decided to take a close look at all of our communication to all of our reps. Our goal in doing this was to determine if what we were sending them was necessary, or if we were just adding to the flood of material they were being sent. I’d say that within a 90-day period we revamped our communication efforts. Our rep council was especially helpful in this effort in determining what was clutter and what was material that reps could really use from us.”

The Value of Time

“I don’t know how many times I’ve had my reps tell me that ‘Time is my currency.’ Well, I couldn’t agree more, but more to the point it’s my currency too. That’s why I made the move from a direct to a rep outsourced sales force.”

The manufacturer continued, “Believe me, from my perspective, I know firsthand how long it takes to:

• Supervise a sales force in the field — not to mention support and pay for them.
• Initiate, establish and maintain relationships with customer decision makers and other executives in the buying process.
• Design in products.
• Qualify and prospect leads.
• Develop and learn all about new products.

“It’s for those reasons and many more that I depend upon independent reps. Those responsibilities are taken from my shoulders, and all I have to do is concentrate on what I’m supposed to be doing — making products to meet the demands and needs of the marketplace.”

Making the Move to Reps

In the course of describing why he had made the move from a direct to a rep sales force, one manufacturer recently cited a number of arguments in favor of his move. Among the points he made in addition to economic considerations, were:

“When you make such a move, the economics of it are right there in front of you. Look at it this way — the commission that you pay to a rep should be weighed against the monthly cost of the salesperson. If that’s all you’re looking at, then the decision should be a no-brainer. There are, however, other things to consider. As a manufacturer of a specialized product, there may be a need for you to have some sort of specialized knowledge of products/market needs, etc., or to have strong relationships with customers that would be difficult for a factory-direct person to duplicate.”

And, there’s more. Sure, reps aren’t directly under the control of their principal, but having said that, it’s not accurate to hold the opinion that they won’t be responsible for the manufacturers’ or the customers’ needs. I always refer to the argument that for manufacturers and reps to be successful in their relationships, they must believe in the intrinsic value of having an interdependent relationship. As one side does their job properly, the other side benefits.”

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