A manufacturer was hardly reluctant when it came to patting himself on the back as he detailed his success in choosing the independent manufacturers’ representatives with whom he goes to market. According to the manufacturer, “I’m hardly the biggest fish in the pond and never will be. What I’ve done in selecting reps, however, has been remarkably successful for me and them.”

“Here’s what I do. I take a look at the rep’s entire product offering and make a determination as to whether or not there’s a void in his line card. If there is, I make every effort to research the agency’s rate of success with other lines. I contact his other lines, which is hardly a problem because we’re non-competitive. The information I receive from those lines helps me to determine the level of the rep’s commitment. I’m a firm believer that commitment to a line is a major determination of success. If I can learn that the rep is committed to his other lines and he expresses a desire to go to market with us, then I know he’ll be committed to us and to our mutual success. What this all comes down to is synergy and determining if we can assist the rep in presenting a more complete line card to his customers.”

Reaching Agreement on Expectations

A MANA manufacturer cautioned about the inherent danger of having expectations between the principal and the independent representative that can never be realized.

The manufacturer noted that “It’s critical from the very beginning of the manufacturer-rep relationship that the relationship that is established will be beneficial to both sides. If it isn’t, then failure can be predicted.

“I’m well aware that there are many occasions when a rep will be overly optimistic in terms of what he can do once he gets the line. If and when that happens, the door can be opened for the manufacturer to be inclined to dictate terms of the relationship that just aren’t going to work for the long term. Ideally, it’s really up to the rep and the principals to both think short- and long-term concerning who will do what to maximize their relationship. Basically, what I’m driving at here is the need to be flexible during the first year of the relationship. Both sides have to learn what works for the other while benefiting the customer at the same time. It’s only then that chances for success will be multiplied by the effort they both put into the relationship.”

Meeting of the Minds on Joint Calls and Factory Visits

A manufacturer voiced tremendous satisfaction with one of his reps that had shown himself to be completely on board when it came to scheduling and conducting visits in the field. According to the manufacturer, “The rep has done a great job when it comes to establishing workable ground rules for our visits to the territory. In addition, whenever we’ve identified a need that we can only meet by visiting them in their territory, they have proven themselves to be more than accommodating.

“On the other hand, when we have made requests that he make an annual visit to the factory to meet with us, he is just as accommodating. Even though we realize it’s difficult for him to spend time out of his territory, we’ve found that these visits are productive because they allow us all the time we need for new product and sales training programs.

“We’ve found that just as important as these factory visits are the face-to-face networking opportunities that the visits present. When the rep meets our personnel or renews acquaintance with someone they have only spoken to over the phone, it’s obvious that those contacts result in benefits for months to come.”

Selling vs. Putting Out Fires

The timing couldn’t have been better for an editorial pitch that came across Agency Sales’ desk recently. According to a communication from a sales consultant, a study of B2B organizations showed that “only 58.2 percent of sales reps met their quotas in 2013. When you consider how much of a sales rep’s day is spent on tasks unrelated to actually selling anything this statistic is not that surprising. It’s estimated that sales reps typically only spend about 24 percent of their time each week actively engaged in selling. Transforming an under-performing sales rep can be achieved despite these seemingly insurmountable odds.”

Those introductory words served as a reminder to something that appeared in the pages of this publication nearly 10 years ago. At that time, a sales organization stated that “an average of 22 percent of a salesperson’s time is spent dealing with problems and mistakes, looking for information and expediting orders.

“While this has become an accepted way of life for many salespeople, it’s actually driven by a philosophy of doing ‘whatever it takes’ to keep the customer happy.

“Companies who support this ‘whatever it takes’ philosophy are severely hindered in their ability to grow because a large amount of their salespeople’s time and effort are consumed by non-revenue-generating activities. The question for sales force management is, do you want your salespeople to sell, or fight fires?”

It’s fairly obvious that the more things change, the more they remain the same.

Fine Tuning the Agency Search

When asked how his company was conducting its search on the way to constructing a rep sales network, a manufacturer offered the following that might serve as a primer for other manufacturers: “As we look to put our network together, we’re employing two methods. First, after we determine where we need a presence, we’re looking geographically. Second, we’re looking to fill vertical markets. That means we’re taking a look at what a rep might specialize in, what other product lines he represents and determining if it’s a good fit for us.

“To aid us in our recruitment effort, we’ve joined MANA and some other associations that can put us in touch with potential reps. Also, we’re using tools such as MANA’s online directory, advertising and relying on word of mouth to make the necessary contacts.”

Identifying the Well-Managed Agency

A manufacturer new to the agency way of going to market posed a not-uncommon question: “How can I determine if an agency is well-managed?”

Rather than attempt to answer that ourselves, we passed it along to a couple of agency owners and their short-version responses were:

• Among their product lines, how many are top lines?
• How long has the agency been in business in its territory?
• Does it have a business plan and succession plan in place? Are they willing to share those plans with you?
• Consider the quality/performance of the agency ownership and salespeople.
• In addition, how about these considerations: Who are their customers? What do other reps and principals think of them? Do they carry lines complementary to your own?

Out of Sight, Out of Mind

A manufacturer referenced an article in a recent issue of Agency Sales when he spoke about a belief some principals have that once the rep makes the sale, there’s very little for him to do and, in fact, he probably isn’t working on the account anymore. According to this manufacturer, “In my experience, which goes back more than 30 years, that’s totally unfair — at least with the reps I’ve worked with.

“What it all comes down to is the old saying, ‘Out of sight, out of mind.’ What that means in this case is that if the manufacturer doesn’t see or hear from the rep, he just assumes that the rep isn’t doing anything and is just there to collect the commission.

“In all fairness — at least in my opinion — part of the blame here lies with the rep. The rep ought to be doing all that he can to remind principals of his constant presence in the field and all that he does to service customers. This can be done in a number of ways, including communications to the manufacturer on a regular basis and having customers provide documentation of the services that the rep provides.”

The manufacturer continued, however, by not letting his manufacturing peers off the hook: “Simply for the fact a manufacturer has committed to the rep way of going to market, he must make an effort to keep himself apprised of the myriad services his reps provide — even if the reps don’t constantly remind the principals of what they’re doing in the field.”

Value in Staying in Touch

As a follow-up to the previous item which emphasized the need for independent manufacturers’ representatives to stay in close touch with their principals if for no other reason than to emphasize their value, a manufacturer adds his two cents to the discussion: “Among the many reasons I can point to for the unusually long tenure we enjoy with the majority of our reps, it’s our exercise in communication. “We use any and all communication tools at our disposal. That includes phone, fax, newsletters, field visit, e-mail and the company website. Since we have all these tools at our disposal, why not use them? We’re proud of the fact that we’re right out in front when it comes to letting our sales force know everything they need about the company, whether it’s new product releases, personnel moves, etc.

“I’d point to the proof of the effectiveness of our approach in that our reps reciprocate by taking the initiative to let us know everything important that happens in their respective territories.”