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

As he contemplates his and his agency’s experience over the course of developing and executing a succession plan, Corbin Gunstream reflects on the importance of the four Ds — Death, Divorce, Dissolution and Disinterest. While not the only guiding principles for an agency owner contemplating his or her exit strategy, they remain important considerations.

Gunstream, a partner in Engineered Industrial Products, Inc. (EIP), Santa Fe Springs, California, began working for the agency in 2005 and has been responsible for territory management in Northern California and Northern Nevada. He became partners with Kurt Fisher in 2017 and serves as CFO for … Read the rest

While hardly planned or even expected, an early morning golf match provided a recently retired independent manufacturers’ representative with the ideal opportunity to share his thoughts on the contributions that manufacturers’ regional sales managers can or should provide for their reps — and their customers for that matter.

According to this rep who came fully armed with more than 15 years of experience selling a full line of products through distributors, “The first thing you have to keep in mind about a rep is that he’s in business to make money. If whatever the regional manager does really doesn’t contribute … Read the rest

The phrase “out of sight, out of mind” might accurately describe the perception many people have of the water and waste water treatment industry. For Carl Janson, however, it’s exactly the opposite. For the president of Riordan Materials Corporation, water and wastewater treatment are a constant in his life and in the life of his independent rep agency.

The Blue Bell, Pennsylvania-headquartered Riordan Materials Corporation puts forth the following goal in its mission statement: “Our mission is to provide quality, cost-effective solutions for our clients, while providing the best technical support services available before, during, and after installation. We are … Read the rest

Late last year, Lisa Wilson was contacted by Agency Sales magazine to describe her efforts in spearheading a MANA special interest group for female agency owners called “A League of Their Own.” While that article in the November issue detailed Wilson’s efforts in putting female agency owners together to share and learn from experiences and best practices, there’s more to Wilson’s history as an independent manufacturers’ representative. Her agency, L.S. Wilson & Associates, Inc., Bristol, Wisconsin, specializes in motors, stainless steel coatings, surface preparation products and industrial cleaning solutions.

According to Wilson, her beginnings as an independent rep can be … Read the rest

Joe Figueroa points to a singular event that sent him on his way to opening his own rep agency close to 20 years ago.

As the president of Latin America Sales Company, Inc., (LASCO) Middleton, Massachusetts, recalls it, “In 1997 a light went on when I was sitting in a sales meeting for the manufacturer I worked for. As they explained how they were going to answer customer calls, I knew I could do the job much better than they could.

“Here’s how they explained their plan: When customers called, a new voice mail system would ensure that we didn’t … Read the rest

Simple is always better and simple is just the way Charlie Ingram describes how and what a rep council is.

Ingram, vice president, sales and marketing for Eriez Magnetics, Erie, Pennsylvania, maintains that a rep council “is put together for manufacturers and reps to exchange ideas on how they can work better together to serve their mutual customers. In a nutshell, it’s all about discussing mutual challenges and deciding how best to improve your business practices.”

That was just part of the message delivered by MANA Board member Ingram and MANA-member Kurt Jacoby, Dempsco, Inc., Dayton, Ohio, as they participated … Read the rest

In the simplest terms Doris Harkness’ process for vetting a prospective or new line may be defined by three words — let’s call them the 3Rs: Responsive, Resourceful and Respected. If a manufacturer can show it possesses those three attributes, chances are they can find a home with Harkness’ agency.

Harkness, who heads the Pace Company, Richmond, Virginia, maintains that any manufacturer that desires to be represented by her agency had “better be clear about the type of company they are. We are the most resourceful, respected and responsive bulk handling rep in Virginia. Any manufacturer that we partner with … Read the rest

It happens more times than not that in the course of an interview with a MANA member, the member will offer a compliment about the association’s services.

For instance:

• Elsewhere in this issue of Agency Sales, one rep notes, “What’s been very helpful to us is that in its wealth of information about how reps can become more professional, the association offers valuable information on how to effectively evaluate the performance of principals via line productivity analysis.”
• It’s commonplace for reps to note that they’ve been very successful in locating new lines or having prospective principals find them via

… Read the rest