Over the past few years several rep firms have gotten the backselling message. Why? Because they saw the handwriting on the wall. In one case, a large rep firm lost a big piece of commission income. They realized they lost it because the management of the firm they represented had absolutely no appreciation of the value of their services.

How do your principals see your firm? Do you have any real idea? Don’t just evaluate your relationship with sales managers and regionals. What about customer service, engineering, marketing services?

Another rep firm felt it was time for a major upgrade of their profile. In this case the owner of the firm has caught the marketing and backselling bug. He has realized that he has to be constantly talking to principals, prospective principals, customers and end users.

The profile created for him covers all the bases. It sells the firm and the way the firm does business. Special emphasis was put on his people including who are the members of the team, what do they represent in terms of knowledge, experience, position in the industry?

Costs Don’t Stand In the Way?

Several reps have said, “What if I have to change my profile? I don’t want people, especially pictures, because it will cost too much to change.”

My reply — “Today technology is such that the cost is very low. We recently up dated the profile of a rep firm where, unfortunately, one of the salesmen in the territory had passed away. The cost was less than one dollar per printed profile. We ran 200.”

The technology allows you to print very small quantities and reprint as needed at remarkably low cost.

Investing in Backselling Makes Sense

Your top four to six principals represent 80 percent (plus or minus 10 percent) of your commission income. You should be willing to put three to five percent of that income back into the effort to keep these valuable lines. There is no simple formula, but you certainly would feel awful if you failed to reinvest five percent of the commission and lost the line as a result.

No Clear Formula, But

You are a professional salesperson. You know that a neglected customer is more easily pulled away than a satisfied, regularly serviced customer.

Principals are Customers!

You must think this way. When you are not investing in the principals they can drift away or be pulled away. In your territory there is at least one strong, aggressive rep firm that covets your best lines. Protecting those relationships and that income should be a significant activity for you and your company.

Conscious Effort

How are you handling your principals? Backselling means having a solid program 24/7. It may not take a lot. For example, do you send sales forecasts to your major principals? If not, why not? Who is closer to the customer than you are?

Have the times ever been more difficult for the financial and manufacturing planning people at the principal?

You can guess that most of the other reps do not send forecasts. That failure increases the value of your effort. Remember, that you want to stand out.

Many reps believe that they are sticking their necks out if they forecast. Yes, they are and you will be. But, is it better to take a risk or to fail to deliver on the value you are supposed to bring to the manufacturer?

Professionalism Sells

Your major lines send you serious money. They expect, or should expect, real value for their money. You may have been able to do less reporting, forecasting and backselling with management that has known you for years and appreciates the volume and value you bring to the business. But, volume is down, newer people are getting more responsible positions. Who is your rep firm to them?

The Pay-Off

Change, mergers, acquisitions, divestitures and start-ups are the way of the market today. One rep firm found itself in a shoot-out.

Their potential added commission was over one million dollars. They won. They won because they have a total backselling program. They sell the way they do business. They sell the branch office services they provide to their manufacturers. No other rep firm in the competition could point to the range of services and specific tools and programs this firm delivers. But, having them and selling them are two different things.

This firm has a complete written marketing and sales plan. They sell back up the channel to everyone they touch at every principal. They sell their customers on doing business with them. They sell the end users in their industry on the value they bring to every transaction.

Backselling has become a way of life for this firm, and it is paying off in big dollars. In another instance the same firm was awarded part of the territory for a big line. They went to work selling the line to customers first. Results are the best backselling tool.

At the same time, they also sold sales management and financial management on the value of their services. It was only four weeks after they got one state for this big line that they were awarded the rest of the territory. Why? Because once they were working with this principal, they were able to backsell. They delivered results and working all the way through the branch office total service package — the principal was sold!

Money Talks and Everything Else Walks!

When it comes to getting and keeping top level principals a rep firm needs a comprehensive backselling program. It is worth it. It pays off big time!