© Stephen Coburn | Dreamstime.com

“Blame it on Gen X or whatever; I’ve got to live with it.” That’s how one manufacturer opened a conversation about a problem he was having with some of his inside sales staff. “Whatever or whomever is to blame, it’s up to us to find a solution.”

Here’s what he was talking about. It seems the new hires on his inside sales staff are on the young side. As a result, from the start he’s finding that many of them were more than satisfied with keeping their agents at arm’s length and communicating with them via e-mail, text and sometimes phone conversations.

Not satisfied with this approach, the manufacturer instituted a policy that twice a year the inside people would personally meet agents face to face. Most of the time the visits took place at the company’s factory location. That was easily done as representatives arrived for annual sales meetings or rep council sessions. They also had the opportunity to get together at various industry trade shows and the occasional visit in the field.

According to the manufacturer, “I’ve found that it’s critical to be able to put a face to a voice. Reps are ‘people people’ and I know that’s the way they’ve always done their jobs — by meeting their customers in person and building relationships. There’s no reason why the same type of relationship can’t be built and supported between agents and our factory people. Since instituting these scheduled visits, relations between us and the field have greatly improved.”

However, There is a Place for Electronic Communication

Building off the previous item, another manufacturer let us know how he’s changed how he handles some of the communications he has with agents.

According to the manufacturer, “I’ve heard from several of our independent representatives that once they get on the phone with our inside people, conversations can take on a life of their own and they feel their time could be better spent elsewhere. At the same time, these reps, who are among our top performers, let us know they don’t want to cease communications; rather, they want it to be more efficient and productive. That’s why they’ve asked us if the message can lend itself to texting — please do it. By lending itself, they mean if all they want is a simple answer (e.g., a dollar figure, a delivery date, etc.) please text. It took us a little getting used to, but we’ve done it and everyone’s happy.”

Another Reason to Like Independent Representatives

When an agent walked away from a conversation with two manufacturers, one of the manufacturers said to the other: “Aside from being a great rep, I love that guy’s attitude when it comes to cold calls. Whenever he’s got the time to make cold calls he lets me know how much he enjoys the challenge.”

The manufacturer went on to explain that cold calls were hardly how this agent spent the majority of his time. Rather, he just makes them when he’s completed his other work and he feels a need to present himself with a challenge. “He’s told me that that’s how he charges his batteries. Thankfully, he recognizes the fact that making such calls isn’t really cost-effective, but the very experience sharpens his sales skills.

“I don’t get call reports from him, nor do I want them, but whenever he experiences success with a cold call, he lets me know and I can sense and share his enthusiasm over the phone.”

Silence is Hardly “Golden”

A manufacturer let us know recently how he got much more than he bargained for with his rep council.

“We had allowed our rep council to go fairly dormant over the years. I figured I either had to do something with it, or get rid of it. Thankfully, I decided to re-start our effort and re-stock it with some fresh faces. Did I get an earful!”

He continued that several agents that he knew would be outspoken were chosen to serve a two-year term. “Outspoken may be an understatement. But, to our credit we weren’t afraid to hear what they had to say no matter how critical they might be.”

As an example of how effective the council has been, the manufacturer continued that “We had developed a marketing program that we hoped would be successful over the majority of our territories. We couldn’t have been more wrong. Our agents let us know that it had little chance of widespread success given the fact that the make-up and the needs of various territories were so different. As a result of their input, we re-tailored the program to address individual territorial needs and we’re now seeing the results we were looking for.”

Needed: Appreciation for Training

Elsewhere in this issue of Agency Sales, a consultant notes that not all manufacturers provide the training that their agents need in order to perform the selling job effectively. One manufacturer that takes great pride in the training it does provide offers another side to that view. “We offer a variety of training programs for our independent representatives. It runs the gamut from them traveling to our factory for intensive training, to shortened sessions out in the field to on-line training modules that they can access online at their own convenience.

“We feel that we’ve done our part by making all these programs available. What we’d wish is that more reps would take advantage of what we offer. Most of the time, we hear something along the lines of, ‘I just don’t have the time,’ to ‘Doing this training is going to take me away from time with my customers.’ My view is that those comments don’t cut it. If reps want to truly partner with us then they have to carve out the time to make themselves better salespeople. The only way they’re going to improve their performance is by learning more about that which they’re selling.”

Less is Sometimes Better

A manufacturer was initially taken aback when one of his top-performing agents let him know that his was one of four lines that were being removed from his line card. “We had been working well with him for five years and he had constantly built the business to the point where we were now a factor in the territory. So you can imagine my surprise when he let us know that he was ending the relationship.”

The manufacturer’s surprise lessened, however, once the agent let him know the reasons why. “It seems the rep was refocusing himself more narrowly into a more limited customer base. The rep had seen greater opportunities by following this path and he let us know that if we stayed together, he wouldn’t be able to spend as much time on our line as he had in the past.”

Furthermore, the agency didn’t let it end there. “I’ve got to admit that in separating his agency from us, he acted in the same professional manner in which he had been working with us for years. He provided us with three recommended rep alternatives in the territory. We brought all three in for interviews and settled on one of them. That was about 15 months ago, and we haven’t lost any of our market share. As a matter of fact, I’d say we’re in better shape today than we were two years ago.

“If all reps managed their line cards the way this one did, relations between principals and their agents would be in great shape.”

Charting and Following a Clear Path

Late last year when a manufacturer was asked to what he would attribute the top performance of his independent representative network, he offered the following: “I’m not sure we’re any smarter than anyone else. We probably did the same as most manufacturers when it came to choosing interviewing and vetting potential representation. What we did do, however, that might be considered a bit different is to define the expectations of our reps and to let them know exactly what they can expect from us. I’m safe in saying that just about everyone who works for us and with us understands our mission and by extension they understand their own mission. Our track record with reps shows that when all sides know what they have to do from day one, we’re firmly on the same page and can grow together in the future.”