© Andrii Yalanskyi | stock.adobe.com

If participants in a MANA single-person agency special interest group discussion earlier this year learned anything it was that they’re more alike than they are different when it comes to the challenges that they face.

That conclusion is borne out from the variety of subjects that were introduced by the group, all of which showed that just about every one of them shares the same concerns and challenges as the others. Whether it was having difficulty getting appointments with customers, pulling timely quotes from principals, or dealing with manufacturers who are anxious to have reps conduct pioneering work for them, all of the participants were able to benefit from the counsel of their peers.

What follows are some of the subjects that were addressed — followed by some suggestions on how to solve problems.

Getting Access to Customers

To introduce this subject one rep explained that “Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, I can remember being able to pull into a customer’s parking lot, sit in my car, and look up appropriate contacts via LinkedIn. Then, I’d make a cold call from my car to let the contact know I was out on the road, was nearby and would like to know if I could drop in and discuss their needs.

“As all of us know, times have changed. Now, no matter how many times I try to make contact, the rule of thumb is that I just don’t get a call back. If you’re even lucky enough to get inside the building, I’m finding more and more people aren’t in the office; they’re working remotely. Or, the doors gaining access to customers are closed and locked and there isn’t even a receptionist to help you. I’ve long subscribed to the axiom that a customer will return your call if they truly want to see you. It doesn’t seem that that’s the case anymore.

“The only solution I have to this is that I just keep on bugging them and even with that approach I’ve experienced mixed results.”

Other participants in the discussion were quick to admit they were facing the same dilemma, but a few of them offered partial solutions. One of the first suggestions was to try to reach customers via text, as opposed to phone or email. “I’m well past 35 years old,” admitted one rep, “but I’ve found that when you email someone, many customers are simply overwhelmed with email. Added to that, if the email falls to a certain level on their screens, you’re never going to get a response. That’s why I’ve tried texting — especially with my younger customers — and I’ve had a surprising level of response from them.”

A second rep offered, “I’ve had this problem crop up and I’ve found that if you have the right person you’re trying to contact, try sending an email with an invitation to participate in a Zoom or Team meeting at a specific date and time. It seems that sending them an invite that requires a response is handled a different way — it pops up differently — and they’re more inclined to respond. I follow up with a phone message letting them know that I’ve sent the invite. I’ve tried this and it’s worked for me. I’ve had some tremendous sessions with my customers.”

And finally, admitting that his approach was a bit far out, another rep explained that “I’ve resorted to taking out my fax machine, which I haven’t used in years. I’ve actually had customers respond to me probably because they receive so few — if any — faxes, that when one comes in, they feel it must be important.”

Getting Quotations

“My problem is the speed, or rather the lack of speed, with which my principals respond to my requests for quotations. Just before Christmas, I called the president of one of the companies that I represent, to let him know that if I have to sit for a month to a month and a half waiting for a quotation, I’m simply not going to sell for him anymore. On top of that, I have another company that was so far behind, that they lost track of my request and never did respond. Obviously, I lost the order. As proof that I’m not alone with this problem, I network with any number of other reps across the country, and I’ve found that this is a fairly normal concern.”

He continued, “I’m dealing with engineers and to say they’re getting more than a little annoyed is an understatement. I offer to do all I can do to mitigate the situation, but it doesn’t seem to help with my principals.”

Admitting that it’s critical to locate where the breakdown is with his principals, another rep offered his view that “I think with some of these manufacturers there’s a twofold problem. First, their inside people have too much work to be able to handle this properly; and second, their inside people aren’t trained as well as they should be.”

He added that with one of his principals who operates with a hybrid sales force, part rep, part direct, he’s learned this isn’t a problem just for him. “Naturally, you wonder if because I’m not an employee they treat me differently, but in talking to some of their direct people, they have the same concern.

“Not that this will solve the problem, but try sitting down with their top management and asking them what the normal turnaround time should be for quotes. If they’re regularly going beyond that time frame, you know you’ve got a problem. Then, take that problem to top management in an effort to solve it.”

Manufacturer Support

The fact that a rep isn’t going to experience any success in the field without manufacturer support was shown when one rep explained that “All on my own, I’ve created at least 10 projects for one of my principals. But when I present one to them, I get no reaction. It seems like they want me to do all the work developing something in the territory, but they’re not doing anything in the way of marketing to support my efforts. To show the extent of the problem, I’ve actually got one principal that doesn’t have a website or provide any catalogs or literature.”

Another rep weighed in with what was hardly a solution, but rather commiseration with his fellow reps: “It’s critical when choosing a principal to go to market with, that you choose one that has a history of backing its reps. A quality principal will stand behind the rep and will tell the customer to contact them if there are any questions or concerns. At the same time, they’ll make sure they have a website and plenty of inside support and product literature — all to bolster the reps’ efforts in the field.”

Market Development Fee

In line with providing support for the rep, another rep offered the importance of manufacturers entertaining the idea of providing reps with a market development fee when there is little or no business in a given territory. According to one rep, “I’ve been burned so many times when the manufacturer has misrepresented the amount of business he has in a territory. It comes down to the fact that too often they look at us as free labor. I’ve learned a lot from past mistakes, and the fact is if I had joined MANA earlier, I wouldn’t have taken on many of the lines I’ve had little success with.

“After years of experience, I’ve learned how important it is to talk to principals about the importance of getting a market development fee to support my efforts for a given period of time. We’re more than worth it given what we provide our principals. If you’re dealing with a quality principal, they’re not going to refuse to support you. At the same time, if the rep is successful in negotiating such a fee, they have to make sure that they work hard for that principal and use the fee for its intended purpose. The more reps do this, the more successful we’ll be in gaining such investments on the part of our principals.”

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