First came an email from a MANA member asking for some advice about reimbursement for expenses they incurred while helping a principal man a trade show booth. In this case, there was no reimbursement.

Next was a conversation over breakfast with another association member who related his agency’s experiences over the years. “When a principal, especially one of our top lines, requests that we be in attendance at a trade show, we’re there. And there’s generally no reimbursement. It’s just expected that this is part of our job — and if we’re interested in maintaining a good relationship with the … Read the rest

It’s no easy or automatic task to successfully plan an exit from an agency. Perhaps one of the more successful efforts in this direction can be seen in the experience of Steve Hanson, Western Safety Associates (WSA).

Established in 1974 and headquartered in Corona, California, WSA boasts more than 40 years of expertise in sales and distribution serving manufacturers in industrial safety, construction, medical, aerospace and industrial distribution marketplaces. The agency’s outside sales force is supported by customer service personnel, distribution staff and a warehouse distribution center in Corona. The WSA sales team is composed of representatives covering the Western … Read the rest

“Why should I join MANA? I’ve got more than enough to do with running my agency. I really don’t have time to get involved in association activities.”

Fair enough: that’s hardly an unexpected response when a prospective MANA member is contacted about joining the association. Thankfully the existing members have come up with the right answers to counter that question. Tops among the reasons to join are:

• “I’ve found MANA is the association for those who aspire to become professional manufacturers’ representatives. The more you develop as a professional manufacturers’ representative, the more successful you and your principals become.”
• “By

… Read the rest

Bob Gallagher’s rep story mirrors that of many other MANA members. He grew up around the profession. Immediately after graduating from college he took a position as a rep and today he serves as the president of Teeling & Gallagher, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana.

Teeling & Gallagher specializes in components for the transportation segment of the market. This includes all the OEMs and tier suppliers to the automotive, heavy truck, agricultural, aerospace and related markets which provides for a large group of customers in the Midwest.

According to Gallagher, “I’ve always been fascinated with anything that has wheels or flies, so … Read the rest

A second MANA member recounts some of his history as an independent manufacturers’ rep and describes how and why his agency has been an association member for more than 45 years.

At the beginning of a conversation with Agency Sales magazine, Rick Mullen good-naturedly explains how he successfully survived and thrived following the initial positive “false impression” he experienced at the start of his career as an independent manufacturers’ rep.

According to Mullen, president of Mullen Sales, Inc., Farmington, Connecticut, “I joined the agency fresh out of grad school in 1984. I chose being a rep over other opportunities because … Read the rest

Bob Foster is not easily dissuaded from his plans and dreams. That’s something that is quickly evident as he describes his initial approach to the world of being an independent manufacturers’ representative.

According to Foster who heads Foster Engineered Products, Phoenix, Arizona, “Years ago when I was the project engineer on a job site for a construction company, I was not familiar with reps or what a rep agency was. I was working the midnight shift on a hospital project and had to quickly rebuild some interior walls. I was given the contact information of the local representative of the … Read the rest

“You have the line and there’s a management change with the manufacturer. Now what?”

At the outset, the words of one rep should be taken to heart when that question is posed. According to the rep, who boasts of representing a number of lines for more than 30 years, “No one likes change and whenever there’s change in management or ownership of one of your principals, there’s a fair amount of trepidation. Naturally, problems can follow. At the same time, however, it would be wrong to paint all manufacturers with a negative brush in terms of their relationships with their … Read the rest

Years ago in the pages of Agency Sales magazine, a MANA member reiterated the oft-repeated simplistic view of what independent manufacturers’ reps do for a living: “Many people believe reps just make sales calls and follow up.” At that time, by describing the full range of products and services his agency provided, thankfully he went on to illustrate how wrong that description is.

While that rep did a good job of making his case, the three principals of Sales Solutions, Inc., have gone several steps further as they describe their initial attraction to the rep profession and how today they … Read the rest

Manufacturers and their networks of outsourced sales professionals (i.e., independent manufacturers’ representatives) don’t agree on everything. One area where they’ve found common ground, however, is the potential for friction between manufacturers’ inside support staff and the reps working in the field.

Manufacturers and reps interviewed by Agency Sales for this article point to several causes for the potential existence of friction including these:

• Lack of understanding of each other’s role.
• Lack of appreciation for the role each performs.
• Failures in communication.
• Existence of pre-conceived notions.
• Perception that each side should be doing more.
• Lack of a personal connection.

The marketing … Read the rest

“When you’re no longer an employee of a company and you have your own rep firm, you don’t just get up every morning and go to work. Things are now a lot different. You’ve got to realize that you’re now running a business. You can’t ever turn yourself off, you’re constantly concerned about the business and thinking about how to get things done better.”

In a nutshell that’s how Nicolas Skrzypczak, TransAtlanticPass Consulting & Sales Agency, LLC, Waterford, Michigan, describes his transition from being an employee of an auto supplier manufacturer to the owner of a rep firm that this … Read the rest

Ask Hank Bergson what manufacturers new to working with reps will miss if they don’t take advantage of MANA’s manufacturer seminar, “Best Practices With Reps, Planning With Intent,” in October and the rep-savvy consultant immediately opens a door to all the opportunities reps can provide their sales and marketing partners. The association’s next manufacturer seminar is scheduled for October 10‑11, Holiday Inn & Suites, Chicago O’Hare.

Bergson, president, Henry Bergson Associates, LLC, has been conducting the MANA seminars for several years. As a result of that lengthy tenure, there’s probably no question about rep-manufacturer relationships that the two men haven’t … Read the rest

Consider for a moment the following scenes:

• The overheard cell phone conversation where some sort of a contractual agreement is being negotiated.
• The business person huddled over a tablet scrutinizing numbers in an airport terminal.
• The salesperson simultaneously working a cell phone and a computer in your neighborhood coffee shop.

These and innumerable other examples serve as reminders that the virtual office isn’t something of the future — it’s here (and growing) today.

Several conversations with reps and any number of current articles on the subject serve as reminders that while the days of the typical brick-and-mortar office aren’t necessarily … Read the rest

Armed with an entrepreneurial passion, years of industry experience — not to mention the backing and involvement of his family — two years ago Stephen Ceolin opened his agency doors in Canada and today he couldn’t be happier.

With more than 25 years of industry experience, Ceolin and his agency, Ceolin & Associates, Inc., Orangeville, Ontario, Canada (near Toronto), today provide sales and marketing solutions across Canada for businesses in the retail home improvement and hardware marketplace. In fulfilling that role the agency provides:

• Full-line representation.
• National and regional footprints.
• Marketing campaigns.
• Retail service.
• Product knowledge and training.

According to … Read the rest

“How can I find a high-quality independent manufacturers’ rep in a territory and what can he or she and I do to introduce my product to the marketplace?”

That was the question posed and answered by Hank Bergson earlier this year in the course of one of MANA’s popular and well-attended teleforums. This teleforum, entitled Developing New Markets With Manufacturers’ Representatives, tackled the situation faced by manufacturers and reps when manufacturers seek to introduce a new line or new product into a territory.

At the outset of the discussion Bergson, president of Henry Bergson & Associates, LLC, and the … Read the rest

It’s not unheard of to have a rep maintain that cold calls are, if not a thing of the past, certainly a practice not nearly as common as they used to be. Everything from the ability of potential customers to hide behind their voice and e‑mail and overly efficient gatekeepers have combined to make the traditional cold call more challenging than ever before.

That’s why the endorsement by one rep for this vestige of years ago — the time-honored cold call — was somewhat surprising. Over the course of a lengthy lunch a veteran rep salesman voiced his enthusiasm and … Read the rest

Looking for an independent manufacturers’ rep firm that possesses the attributes that manufacturers look for and MANA touts? Look no further than Keller Industrial Products, Inc., of Clarence, New York. The agency, now in its eighty‑second year — and counting — can boast of deep roots in the territory it serves, not to mention a lengthy record of firm relationships with its principals that average more than 25 years of service. Buried in that average is the fact that Keller can trace its relationship with one principal back more than 50 years to 1966.

According to Greg Matthews, a partner … Read the rest

Earlier this year when TV reporter Ted Koppel took a quick look at the past, he brought to mind how much our world — and really by extension the world of reps — has changed in a relatively short period of time.

In a poem Koppel put together for the CBS “Sunday Morning” TV show, he points out that there was a time not too long ago when we all depended on roadmaps to chart our way before there was GPS available in our cars. Or, how about the fact that today when conducting research instead of consulting our trusty … Read the rest

The fact that Peter Scholtens played with model trains as a child and stops at rail crossings as an adult does little to explain how and why he is today an independent manufacturers’ representative serving the rail industry in North America. Rather, he can point to an entrepreneurial spirit coupled with a desire to do what he truly wants to do for the rest of his life for bringing him today to where he heads Integrity Rail Products.

Founded two years ago and headquartered in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, the agency’s products include locomotive traction control systems, locomotive electrical components, and … Read the rest

A desire to make a move from working in a molecular biology laboratory to a career in sales coupled with a fortuitous recommendation from a friend was what propelled Keynae Agnew into a career as an independent manufacturers’ representative.

According to Agnew, who was armed with a degree in biochemistry from Texas A&M University, “A little over 12 years ago a gentleman who had his own one-man rep organization mentioned to a friend of mine that he was looking to hire someone to assist with office work and if the candidate had a science background that would be a plus. … Read the rest