Ask Carla Campbell why she became an independent manufacturers’ rep and immediately you get a one-word answer — “Freedom.”

Obviously, there’s more to it than that, but her determination to be her own boss and make her own decisions appears to be the driving force when it came to opening her own agency more than a decade ago. “I know freedom is a fairly broad consideration, but I really wanted to dictate for myself who I called on, when I called on them and how much time I spent traveling. Before I opened my own agency there was always the … Read the rest

The timeliness of a MANAchat late last year couldn’t have been better illustrated than when 52 participants offered their anecdotal input on steps reps can — and should — take to keep their most‑desired principals. Unfortunately, many of their stories related to how principals have slipped from their grasp.

As the conversations evolved from these stories, it became clear that there are some common reasons why reps can lose a principal. For instance, the most commonly cited reasons are these:

• The rep has become too successful and there’s a certain amount of resentment on the part of the manufacturer to

When asked to recount recollections of his first day as an independent manufacturers’ rep several years ago, Steve Lamer good-naturedly responds: “I just sat there looking at my phone and asked myself ‘What now, big shot?’”

Thankfully, he can now look back on that day with a great deal of satisfaction as, today, he heads North Central Manufacturing Solutions, LLC, Madison, Wisconsin.

In part answer to that “What now?” question, Lamer recalls that among the first steps he wisely took as a rep was to contact business friends and acquaintances to let them know what he was doing and to … Read the rest

“If I could do anything over, I’d join MANA sooner than I did.” That’s a common refrain when speaking with several long-standing association members. The reason they speak that way is that once enrolled as members of the association, they have available at their fingertips any number of products and services that point their agencies in the direction of professionalism.

Speaking to that point, Charles Cohon, MANA’s president and CEO noted, “If there’s anything I would emphasize to MANA’s members, it would be to take it upon themselves to learn all about what the association offers and take advantage of … Read the rest

By the time Lisa Wilson reads this, she’ll hopefully be well into what she calls her “semi-retirement.” It’s semi-retirement — not retirement — simply because one of her long‑standing principals won’t let her go.

According to Wilson, who heads L.S. Wilson & Associates, Inc., Bristol, Wisconsin, “I’ve reached a point in my life that while I can still walk, talk and see, when I get up in the morning, I want to do what I want to do.”

L.S. Wilson & Associates, Inc., specializes in motors, stainless steel coatings, surface preparation products and industrial cleaning solutions.

Admitting that the current … Read the rest

Even the shortest of visits to MANA member Sharp Incentives’ website (www.sharpincentives.net) offers a completely understandable explanation of what owner Tasha Sharp’s unique independent manufacturers’ rep firm is and what niche it fills in the marketplace.

To appreciate the role that this agency occupies it’s probably necessary to know that:

• According to Incentive magazine, businesses in the United States spend $90 billion annually on non-cash incentives.
• Over the past two decades there has been a significant jump in the number of U.S. businesses using non-cash rewards, rising from just 26 percent of all U.S. businesses in 1996 to 84 percent

Over the course of four days association members participated in a free-wheeling MANAchat on the subject of developing new markets.

The sessions were entitled “Market Development Fees”:

• What are they?
• Why are they necessary?
• What strategies should you use to convince your prospective principals they need to offer market development fees?
• How long should such a fee last and how do you determine the amount?
• Are market development fees mandatory every time you sign a new principal?
• What do you provide the manufacturer in exchange for the market development fee?

The 53 independent reps who took part in the chats … Read the rest

“With advancing years, a manufacturers’ agent may be confronted with a problem peculiar to the nature of his business. Briefly stated, it is this: What becomes of his business, his valuable customer list, contacts and contracts when he is obliged to retire, or when he dies? Obvious answer: His business is sold.”

That scenario, outlined more than 60 years ago in an issue of The Agent and Representative — now Agency Sales magazine — rings as true today as it did then. And, if there’s any doubt that history repeats itself, have a conversation with Scott Howells, who’s gone through … Read the rest

When manufacturers participated in a week‑long series of MANAchats devoted to the subject of what they need to do in order to get more time and effort from their independent manufacturers’ reps, a number of constants rose to the surface of the discussion:

• Regular visits in the field with reps firm up relationships.
• Reps and their principals share in the responsibility for creating and following up on leads.
• For their part, reps ought to create and share their succession plans with their principals.
• The establishment and regular meeting of rep councils remains a critical factor in improving relations between manufacturers

As Jobst, Inc., marks its 42nd anniversary this year, Michelle Jobst looks back 12 years to when she bought the agency and emphasizes that what she really purchased at that time was “good process, procedures and professionalism” to run a sales firm. And it’s those elements that continue to serve as a metaphorical three-legged stool that has sustained the agency over the years.

Walter Jobst Associates was founded in 1978 by Walter Jobst, Michelle’s father. The business started out of his home, where he and his wife “Kitty” worked together for many years and raised a family.

Michelle Jobst grew … Read the rest

Near the initial onset of the COVID‑19 pandemic The New York Times’ columnist Tom Friedman was interviewed on one of the cable news networks. In the course of the interview, Friedman made the point that once things settle down and there’s a bit of normalcy, he expects an explosion of remote learning to take place.

While not directly related to the rep’s lot in life, Friedman’s point resonated during the course of a conversation Agency Sales magazine had with a 16‑year veteran teacher who ramped up his remote learning efforts to stay in touch with students earlier this year.

Here’s … Read the rest

As Ken Russell-Murray looks back over the history and growth of his agency, he recalls that when he opened his doors in 1995, “I wasn’t apprehensive or nervous at all.” That’s probably the best frame of mind to have when making a major career change — and the years of success that have followed have proven him correct.

According to Russell-Murray, who heads ElectraSpec, Inc., “When I made the decision to open my own agency, for nine years I had been traveling throughout Canada and the Eastern United States as the sales manager for an electrical manufacturer. When the company … Read the rest

At the conclusion of a week of MANAchats devoted to the subject of effectively communicating with principals and customers in the midst of the COVID‑19 pandemic, the 38 MANA members who participated agreed on a number of subjects.

• It should come as no surprise that no one felt the end is in sight, nor could they predict when the logistics of how they conduct business might ever return to the way they used to.
• “Staying in touch” — by any means possible — with principals and customers is now more important than ever.
• Relationships remain the foundation for the rep

One year comfortably into his retirement, an Ohio rep was reminiscing about his 27-year career as an independent rep when he settled upon one especially fond memory.

“As I look back over my career as a rep, there’s one incident that’s especially important to me. I was able to assist a small Ohio business to gain a higher percentage of a world-wide market and at the same time to grow as a ‘Made-in-America’ company. While what I went through to help both the manufacturer and the customer sounds a bit complicated, principally because I had to devote a lot of … Read the rest

If there’s one constant in every interview Agency Sales conducts with members it’s a question concerning the need for reps to educate their manufacturers as to what they actually do for them in the field.

A failure to perform that function ultimately can lead to some manufacturers making assumptions that all reps do is walk to the mail box each month to collect their commission check.

After he was approached by one of his manufacturers with a request to accept a commission cut on a major account, one MANA member recently reached out to Agency Sales magazine to detail his … Read the rest

If there’s anything that might set the Mantec agency apart from competitors, it’s the agency’s working philosophy it has embraced when it comes to representing a service provider vs. a typical products principal.

As stated on the agency’s website, “Since its founding in 1976, Mantec has strived to provide both customer and principal with the highest quality products and services available.” Note the inclusion of the word “services” in the agency’s description.

According to agency founder Pete Mann, who founded the Pomfret Center, Connecticut-based agency in 1976, “In 1981 we were approached by a testing laboratory that had no outside … Read the rest

Contacted in the midst of an agency name change and physical move Rick Root good naturedly took a look back as to how he began his career as an independent manufacturers’ rep.

Root, CEO and COO of Frontline Sales & Marketing, explains, “My friend’s parents owned an agency at the same time I was gainfully employed as an operating engineer. My friend’s father extended an offer to me to ‘come over to the dark side’ as a manufacturers’ rep.”

Root’s introduction to the rep profession was a bit different from many of his peers in that “I had never sold … Read the rest

A little over three years ago, Agency Sales magazine profiled long‑time MANA member Murray Percival Company, Auburn Hills, Michigan. At that time we noted that the agency had logged more than 57 years serving the electronics assembly market. This year, as the agency marks its 60th anniversary, we felt the time was right to make a return visit and ask the agency principals to share some of their thoughts on what they felt the future might hold for them.

With that six decades of history to draw from Murray Percival Jr., president and CEO, notes that as he and the … Read the rest

Shortly after Craig Deerman opened his own agency doors two years ago, he arrived at a couple of valuable observations learned while sitting on the manufacturer’s and rep’s side of the desk.

Deerman, Deerman Sales, Birmingham, Alabama, armed with 18 years of unique expertise in the residential, commercial and decorative plumbing products’ markets, noted that:

• Networking for reps is a bit of a different game from what he had previously experienced as a manufacturer.
• And, manufacturers aren’t always knowledgeable and appreciative of everything that reps do on their behalf.

Speaking of the former point, Deerman maintains, “From the manufacturer’s perspective, … Read the rest