Keeping your rep firm in the winners’ circle requires effort every day.

In our discussion of backselling we recognized the need to plan, organize and implement a comprehensive program.

When we look deeper into this subject, we find that there are very specific activities that are key parts to executing a successful backselling program.

Here is a list of 10 key activities:

1. Selling accomplishments.
2. Selling plans.
3. Selling programs.
4. Selling training.
5. Selling meetings.
6. Selling customer development.
7. Selling your use of manufacturer resources.
8. Selling your outreach tools and programs.
9. Selling your working relationships with manufacturer personnel.
10. Selling your backselling.

Elaborating on each of these items helps to bring their full meaning and the power of implementing them into focus.

Selling Accomplishments

The independent manufacturers’ representative business is all about accomplishments. Although the day-by-day services of the agency cost the manufacturer nothing, the rush to judgment is constant.

Because many manufacturers feel a lack of control in the manufacturer-agent relationship they are constantly uneasy and doubtful. Many managers who have little experience with independent agents find it very hard to deal with the fact that the representative firm is an independent business. They don’t have the ability to control the agent on a daily basis.

It seems much easier to these managers to have direct people they can manage with as much micro management as they like.

In order to counter this paranoia about the relationship agents must mount a consistent and constant counter-offensive enumerating their accomplishments.

Keeping specific, significant accomplishments in front of the principal’s personnel is the first offensive weapon an agent has to keep the principal happy and paying commission dollars.

Selling Plans

The way you plan, your depth of planning and your results from planning are your weapons for backselling your firm’s smart, skillful planning. Letting your strategic principals know all about your plans and programs is key.

Selling Programs

Whether the program is one that the principal has created or one that your team has concocted, programs are a powerful example of the quality of your services. More than the program itself, the principal is interested in results. The results are your best backselling tool.

Selling Training

Human resource development within your representative firm is very meaningful; but, it is only meaningful when you tell your principals about it. Having an outside trainer come in to help develop your people pays double dividends when you backsell it to your strategic principals.

When you participate in factory training, be sure you leverage the time and effort by not only thanking the principal’s people who did the training, but also making sure that everyone in the principal’s organization knows that your firm had a number of people trained. Make sure your people do a really good job and impress the factory people with their effort, attention, and concern. No matter how boring a speaker — don’t fall asleep in class!

Selling Meetings

You hold many sales meetings with your customers. Do you measure the quality of the meeting? Developing a sales meeting evaluation sheet which each of your salespeople is required to fill out provides the basis of a backselling tool that allows you to backsell the number and quality of sales meetings your people conduct with customers.

Remember, the representative firm has many people in the territory. This means that you can conduct many more meetings with customers than a direct person could. The power of agent selling must be obvious. There is strength in numbers.

Selling Customer Development

The goal for planning is customer development. This is the vital element in the backselling toolbox. Individual plans and programs for customers are a critical part of the work plan for the representative firm. Telling your strategic principals about these plans and programs gives them a feeling of power in the market.

Selling Your Use of the Manufacturer’s Resources

Working with your principals can provide a powerful backselling tool. Most agents have opportunities to work with key people in the principal’s organization. Making the most of these opportunities and letting the principal know what has been accomplished is key to the program.

Selling Your Outreach Tools and Programs

Some firms build newsletters for market segments. Some agencies make use of e-mail blasts. Some firms use actual direct mail. Some rep firms create websites that provide special services to their customers and factories.

No matter which outreach programs you are using, it is a powerful, pro-active tool that effectively can be sold to your principals.

Selling Your Working Relationships With Manufacturer Personnel

Creating excellent relationships with regional managers and all of the other people who work for your principals is a critical backselling tool.

Take an inventory of who you work with and who you know at each strategic principal. Assess your relationships and think about what your people can do to improve your firm’s position with each person.

This may seem like a lot of work, but remember every single person on the principal’s team is either a friend or an enemy. Make them all friends — backsell everyone all the time.

Selling Your Backselling

Letting your principals know what you have told them is critical. Tell them once and then tell them again. You don’t want to be bragging all the time. And, you don’t want them to feel like you are selling 24/7, but you really do want to sell them all the time.

Bottom-line!

Backselling is as important as front-selling in the agency business. Letting all of the people at each principal know your firm and your excellent plans, programs, tools and results is critical to maintaining their respect, support and commission dollars.

The representative business is a 30-day contract business; but, adding backselling adds support under your business.

Good luck and good backselling.

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