Managing Your Principals Is Number One for Reps

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Without principals, a rep firm cannot exist.

Customers come and go but principals are always the most important part of a rep’s business.

The development of principal relationships, cultivation of the principal’s personnel, and creation of a value-added environment for the rep to work with the principal are all critical to rep success.

Without principals, a rep firm cannot exist. It is hard to imagine a rep firm that doesn’t have at least a few very strong principal relationships.

The rep firm is the “branch office” for the manufacturer in the territory. In this capacity, the rep firm should have a proactive program for managing and cultivating the principal relationship.

Where to Start

Where do you start the principal management program? The best starting point is with everyone in the rep firm who deals with a principal. What do the salespeople, customer service people, even the receptionist, think when they think about that principal?

What do the rep personnel think the principal’s people think of the rep firm?

Putting all of this information — which is admittedly very subjective — together should lead to a measure of the quality of the relationship with the principal.

To move from the purely inner-directed subjective opinions expressed by the rep team, if possible someone, preferably the owner or top manager of the rep firm, should sample some of the principal’s personnel who deal with the rep firm. Use a phone call, lunch, dinner, or some other way to dig into what the principal thinks of the rep firm and its personnel.

Proactive Management of the Relationship

After completing this part of the assessment, the leadership should determine whether the relationship is helping or hurting the rep firm. If the relationship is strong and very successful, good, but that is not a stopping point. How can the rep firm improve the relationship and create more prosperity with the principal? How can the rep firm do a better job of representing the principal and creating a stronger relationship?

What if the assessment determines that the relationship is not strong, not good, not the basis for a long-term prosperous relationship between the rep firm and the principal? What specific steps can the rep firm take to improve the relationship? Where are the rep firm’s weaknesses? Is one or more of the salespeople less than highly regarded by the principal’s personnel? Where are some powerful areas to create a better relationship with the principal?

Weak or less-than-productive sales personnel are a red flag for a principal. If there is a salesperson who does not clearly inspire respect and good feelings from the principal, something has to be done. A rep firm that allows itself to go along and get along rather than confront a lower level of performance will pay a price.

The Value of the Rep Firm

The rep firm is being paid to sell. Showing real value for the commission dollars is critical to maintaining a strong, progressive, long-term relationship with the principals. Getting a low performer to do a better job is not something that can be treated in a “wait-and-see” manner. Principals may appear to go along, but they know, and they can suddenly make this poor performance an issue. Many rep firms have been terminated by a principal because they did not do something about a low-performing salesperson.

The answer may be having the sales manager or partner travel with the salesperson. Or the answer may be more training in selling and managing a territory. Or if there is no improvement terminating the poor performer quickly before he can hurt the rep firm more may be the only answer. Being decisive in managing the sales force is critical to maintaining good principal relationships.

The bottom line that every rep should take note of is that principal relationships need to be proactively managed. If there is a problem — fix it! If you are not communicating enough — fix it!

The rep firm that stays out front and stays proactive will win.

Good luck and good selling.

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