Category Archives: Department

ERA Honors Bob Evans, CPMR, of EK Micro With 2019 Tess Hill Award

At its 50th Anniversary Conference, held in Austin, Texas, February 24-26, the Electronics Representatives Association (ERA) presented the third annual Tess Hill Award to Bob Evans, CPMR, president of EK Micro in Rolling Meadows, Illinois.

Evans was recognized for his nearly 20 years of contribution to ERA at the chapter and national levels, his long-standing commitment to education as the current chair of the Chapter Leadership Council, and his service to both the Chicagoland-Wisconsin Chapter and the ERA Executive Committee.

This award was created in 2017 to honor Tess Hill, a long-time ERA staff member. It recognizes individuals for their … Read the rest

Punching Above Your Weight Class

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image of boxing gloves

© Nikolai Sorokin | stock.adobe.com

The rep in one of ABC Widget Manufacturing Company’s most important territories retired abruptly. So, ABC Vice President of Sales Sue Smith had a problem. And an opportunity.

Sue used MANA’s RepFinder® database to find candidates to take over the territory.

Several looked like they would be at least as capable as the rep Sue needed to replace. And one of the reps looked like a head-and-shoulders stand‑out.

Fred Jones’ rep firm was a head-and-shoulders stand-out over any other candidate, but all the other manufacturers on Fred’s line card were heavy hitters in Fred’s industry. ABC Widget Manufacturing was more of an up-and-comer. So, to hire Fred, Sue had to figure out how to punch above her weight class and sell Fred on representing ABC.

Sue met with Fred and shared the following:

  • “Our top management is very responsive to our rep council’s recommendations. I can share with you a list of changes and improvements ABC has made that came out of rep council meetings.
  • “We treat our reps like part of the team and members of the family. I have a list of reps in other territories who would be happy to speak with you about us.
  • “And when you’re talking with those reps, here are some topics I hope you will discuss:
    • We communicate quickly and accurately with our reps for information and quote requests as well as any problems that may come up.
    • We ship on time and our quality is excellent, so once you make a sale, you don’t have to think about taking calls from customers with complaints about deliveries or quality.
    • We do not have any house accounts.
    • Whatever it takes, we will always make you look good to your customer.”

Fred signed up to represent ABC and couldn’t be happier that he did! “Yes,” said Fred, “We probably do spend a little more time working on ABC than the commission income strictly justifies, but when a manufacturer treats you right, you just can’t help spending more time on her line.”

The Importance of Mentoring and Learning

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Why is this important? We all know the definition of insanity, where we keep doing the same things over and over again and expect the results to change. To change the results, we need to act differently.

We can change in a couple of ways. Go with our gut instinct and hope it turns out okay. The alternative? Get guidance from an experienced person, someone who knows and understands the issue, and use this knowledge and experience to significantly improve results.

What makes this so challenging in today’s world is we are all so busy we don’t have time for … Read the rest

Kudos to MANA’s Manufacturer Seminar

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Following his attendance at MANA’s manufacturer seminar last fall, one manufacturer was thankful that he was able to take corrective action before any damage had been done. According to the manufacturer who was right in the middle of making the move from a direct to an outsourced sales force, “I thought that by making the change I was going to be able to kiss goodbye all the planning and budgeting that I had to do with my directs.”

He noted that when he brought up this subject during the seminar, he learned very quickly that wasn’t the case. “I learned … Read the rest

Facing the Challenges of Choosing a CRM System

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[Any number of times Agency Sales magazine has cited the benefits of MANA’s LinkedIn discussion page. What follows is another example of how valuable that resource is for association members. The following article on choosing a CRM system was recently posted there by MANA member Rick Campo.]

In 1992 when I started West-Tech Materials, the only thing people knew about a cloud was that it was in the sky. Working out of my house, as a single-rep operation, monthly I was calculating commissions by hand on a tablet, writing my trip reports on paper and faxing them to principals. I … Read the rest

Non-Compete Language in Sales Rep Agreements

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I was working on a sales representation agreement for a client of mine recently involving his representation of an automotive supplier. An issue arose which I thought may be helpful for MANA sales representatives. I will first address some of my general thoughts regarding non-compete agreements for sales reps. I will then address the problem that arose that may be enlightening for MANA members.

General Thoughts

The principal for the sales representation agreement I was working on insisted on a non-compete provision with language that prohibited the sales representative from representing any other principal with competing products during the term … Read the rest

News From MANA’s Board of Directors

October 2017 Agency Sales magazine coverMANA’s Board of Directors is pleased to announce that Tommy Garnett has been elected to MANA’s Board of Directors. Garnett is president and CEO of MANA member Garnett Component Sales, Inc. (GCS), Wake Forest, North Carolina.

He will fill the seat that will become open when Danny Collis, president of Collis Group, Inc., Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada, completes his second term of Board service on April 30, 2019. MANA’s Board of Directors is grateful to Collis for his insights and dedication during his terms on the Board.

Garnett was introduced to the rep world by his father. “I just about … Read the rest

2018 Jess Spoonts — ERA White Pin Scholarship Awarded

The Electronics Representatives Association (ERA) White Pin Group has announced that Ellen Coan, CPMR, of the Indianapolis-based CC Electro Sales, Inc. is the 2018 recipient of the Jess Spoonts — ERA White Pin Scholarship Award. Coan will receive a $1,000 grant that can be used to fund her continuing education as a professional field sales representative. She was nominated for the honor by White Pin member Matt Cohen, CPMR, of CC Electro Sales, Inc.

To qualify for this award, nominees must be from an ERA member rep firm, must have been involved in ERA activities and leadership roles on the … Read the rest

I Drink Your Milkshake!

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milkshake image

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“Drainage! Drainage, Eli, you boy! Drained dry! I’m so sorry. Here: if you have a milkshake, and I have a milkshake, and I have a straw — There it is. That’s a straw, see? Watch it — my straw reaches across the room, and starts to drink your milkshake, I drink your milkshake! I drink it up!”

Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood, 2007

Daniel Day-Lewis won the 2008 Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal ruthless fictional oilman Daniel Plainview.

Plainview bought up oil leases cheaply from property owners across Southern California during a late 19th and early 20th century oil boom. When a hold-out property owner finally comes to Plainview begging to sell, he delivers his famous speech. The property owner’s oil is long gone, gloats Plainview: “I drink your milkshake!”

Has someone got their straw in your milkshake? Here are some things to think about to help you protect the value of your rep firm.

  • Most principals would say that the value of your rep firm is your customer relationships. Do you only have relationships with today’s decision-makers? Or have you also built relationships with junior staff who will probably be the decision-makers in the future?
  • Principals also value your rep firm for your deep market knowledge of your territory. Do you continue to prospect for and build new relationships with new customers? Or have you become comfortable with orders you can secure from customers you already know well?
  • Are there services that your customers or principals need and other reps in your territory supply that you have been reluctant to supply?
  • When you start to think about selling your rep firm, the prospective buyer will value your firm more highly if you have deep relationships at all levels with your most important principals. Do you visit key principals periodically to build those relationships?

If a few key players at your customers retire, will your orders be in jeopardy? If a few key players at your principals retire, are you at risk to lose the line?

Whether you see it or not, there is always someone nearby, looking in your direction, holding a straw. To maintain the value of your rep firm, you must remain vigilant and keep their straw out of your milkshake.

Being a Good Soldier

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You have another new regional or national sales manager — and the person is a rep’s worst nightmare. Whether it’s your largest line or a basic bread and butter line, what should you do?

Your first instinct may be to push back. Maybe just a little. Perhaps flex your relationships with senior management a bit, or remind them they don’t have authority to terminate your contract. After all, you are really irreplaceable and this person needs to find out who is top dog.

Well, you may be irreplaceable, or you may be married to the owner’s offspring, in which case … Read the rest

Letters to the Editor

Many thanks for your congratulations and access to the MANA certificates — I will make good use of these!

I’m very pleased to advise we have signed up with four manufacturers’ representatives, all of these were featured in MANA’s database — as Jerry Leth mentioned to me, a while ago: “Chalking up sales will take time.” And he was right, however, as of December 2018, we are seeing promising sales — 2019 will be the proverbial proof in the pudding.

I’m taking this opportunity to send a special “Thank you” to Jerry, whose guidance in the early stages of engaging … Read the rest

Revisiting the Relationship

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Point to a difference in cultures or an unfamiliarity with U.S. business practices, but whatever the case, an impediment to good relations developed when an overseas manufacturer began working with an independent manufacturers’ rep.

It was obviously a positive that the manufacturer was aware of the importance of communicating shared expectations and for the need of a written contract that insured the best interests of both parties. On the negative side, however, was the principal’s apparent lack of knowledge of how to establish, nurture and maintain good personal relations between his company (including his factory people) and his rep.

When … Read the rest

Speed Limits, the Flow of Traffic and Sales Pipelines

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I don’t get stressed anymore when I’m driving.
All it took was for me to not exceed the speed limit. I’m not sure whether it was my navigation system repeatedly telling me to “obey all traffic laws” each time I started the car, or my wife reminding me that I needed to be a good role model for our soon‑to-be driving 16-year-old son. I admit that this was much easier for me to do after I gave up my Jaguar for a Lincoln Navigator. It holds much more baseball equipment!

There is an exception to not exceeding the speed limit. … Read the rest

The Importance of the Termination Clause

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The negotiation of a manufacturers’ representative agreement is an essential step to begin the sales relationship of the principal and the manufacturers’ representative. While most every representative understands the importance of negotiating the terms concerning how their commissions will be calculated and paid, it is just as important to negotiate how the sales relationship can terminate. This is commonly referred to as a termination clause.

Negotiating the termination clause at the outset can be the most important term of the entire sales relationship for the manufacturers’ representative. Without a strong termination clause, a rep may find themselves with little to … Read the rest

Tomorrow’s Advice From Yesterday’s Advisors

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What I really dislike about the first few weeks of the New Year is that everywhere you turn — from the front page of the newspaper to the business magazines to the financial channels on cable — you’ll probably be subjected to some wide-eyed “market expert” spouting ridiculous stock market predictions for the coming year.

Those financial gurus, talking heads and media pundits all begin with a comprehensive review of what’s happened over the course of the past year. Armed with that enlightening data, they then try to play Nostradamus and predict what will happen over the next 12 months.… Read the rest

FSMA Releases White Paper on: Why Agency Represented Sales Are More Cost‑Effective and Efficient Than Direct Sales

FSMA White PaperThe Foodservice Sales & Marketing Association (FSMA) has released a must-read, comprehensive industry White Paper, co-sponsored by its FSMA Foundation and ASMC Foundation, comparing the economic differences of agency sales and direct sales. The study provides a unique calculation tool to answer the age-old question of which sales method is the best for a manufacturer.

For more than 100 years, agencies have been the primary go-to-market selling source. The chief reason for the overwhelming preponderance (70-75 percent of U.S. food­service product volume) of agency sales is that they are significantly more cost-efficient and effective than direct sales. The study explains … Read the rest

Ingram Named to New Position at Eriez Magnetics

photo of Charles IngramMANA Board member Charlie Ingram has been promoted to the newly created position of executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Eriez Magnetics, Erie, Pennsylvania, effective January 1, 2019. Ingram served most recently as Eriez vice president of sales and marketing.

In making the announcement, Eriez President and CEO Tim Shuttleworth said, “Over his 25 years of dedicated service to Eriez, Charlie has played a key role in developing and executing sales and marketing strategies which have significantly contributed to our company’s substantial growth and worldwide success. He is an extremely effective, respected, and strategic leader in the industries … Read the rest

Except “Of Course” in the Home Territory

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image of missing piece

© Michael Brown | stock.adobe.com

“We have had great success selling through reps,” said the manufacturer, “and we use reps throughout North America. Except of course in the home territory.”

He said “of course” as if there was no other choice.

Why do some manufacturers think selling without a rep in the home territory is an “of course” decision?

Sometimes a small company’s founder feels customers he or she developed in the company’s early years require the founder’s continued personal attention.

Other times a manufacturer thinks it’s cheaper to tack responsibility for local customers onto the other duties of a local employee.

What happens when the founder is still the salesperson for customers in the home territory? One of the founder’s two jobs suffers.

  • A founder who devotes enough time to being the salesperson in the home territory spends less time managing the company, so crucial decisions are stalled while the founder is distracted by sales calls.
  • A founder who devotes enough time to managing his or her company can’t give customers and prospects the attention needed to grow sales in the home territory.

What happens when sales calls on local customers are tacked onto the duties of a manufacturer’s local employee?

  • The local employees’ primary duties always come first and local sales calls get pushed back “until I have time for them.”
  • The local employee calling on customers knows that every customer visit means work piling up at his or her “real” job at the company, so sales calls become halfhearted “I need to check the box that I was here and get back to the office” events.

It’s a no brainer. Why would a company squander its home court advantage by assigning local sales responsibility to someone who can only make sales calls when they can squeeze them into their schedule around the duties of their “real” job.

That’s why many manufacturers use reps in their home territory. They need a sales force that has one job — to call on customers and prospects all day every day.

Of course.

A Main Purpose of MANA Is to Help Our Manufacturers’ Representative Members Succeed and Grow Their Businesses

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A look at our membership shows significant diversity. Our largest member employs 53 outside sales employees, the average is five employees and 20 percent are one-person operations. Forty-one members started their manufacturers’ representative businesses within the past two years. Our average member started their rep firms 33 years ago and our oldest member started in 1918. MANA manufacturers’ rep members sell into diverse markets as well, from OEM accounts, reseller (wholesalers, distributors, retailers) accounts, government accounts and end-user accounts. We really do have a diverse membership.

Diversity exists in one other important area as well, and that is how professionally … Read the rest

Letter to the Editor

I’d like to thank you for the article about me and my agency that appeared close to two years ago (April 2017, Agency Sales), which detailed how several of the manufacturers that I work with came to my aid during a lengthy illness. In addition to assisting me during a very difficult time, those same companies (Best Carbide, AB Tools, Inc., Vermont Indexable, Johnson Carbide, Wendt-USA, EZ Burr and Alvord-Polk) assisted me in the development of a product that was created during my rehabilitation. As the product reached completion, it’s interesting that in a strange turn of events, I … Read the rest

Filling a Void

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Being the biggest isn’t always the formula for success. That’s what one manufacturer maintained as he explained, “I know that I’m a small fish in a much bigger pond when it comes to getting the attention of successful reps.

“What has worked for me is that I’ve had great luck when I take a really close look at the other lines the manufacturers’ representative represents. After looking at the rep’s entire offering, I determine if there’s a void. What that void represents is a niche for me to fill. Once I identify that void, I’ll contact some of his other … Read the rest

Eat Their Lunch: Winning Customers Away From Your Competition

image of book coverThere’s never been a shortage of books that come across the Agency Sales editorial desk. In a given month there will be any number of books, periodicals and articles devoted to entrepreneurship, salesmanship or the daily travails of the independent sales rep. That’s why it was so unusual when some of the contents of one book recently caught our eye.

Ostensibly, Eat Their Lunch: Winning Customers Away From Your Competition, by Anthony Iannarino, published late last fall by Portfolio/Penguin Random House (221 pp., $27), emphasizes the need for sales professionals to create and offer more value to their customers. … Read the rest

Tips to a Better Rep Agreement

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A sales representative typically will review a sales representative agreement twice — at the start of its relationship with a new principal, and then at the end.

If the rep takes the time to read, understand, question, and yes, even negotiate the terms of a rep agreement at the start, there should be no surprises, and hopefully no problems, at the end. It’s the difference between fire prevention and extinguishing a raging fire. But, too often, reps belatedly learn that their multi-year contracts can be terminated upon 30-days’ notice, or that they won’t receive post-termination commissions, or that their principal … Read the rest

International Principals’ Contracts

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You contact or are contacted by an international company to represent it (or maybe you already do). You are joyful of the opportunity and you are anxious to handle the products that this principal has available and think it will be an easy opportunity to sell the products to the potential customers that you currently call on, or on a new market you are interested in pursuing. So you approach the potential principal and after some discussions your agency and the potential principal want to set up a meeting to see if a deal with you to represent it makes … Read the rest

The Zen Financial Advisor

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There’s a story that’s told of an old farmer who had toiled in his fields for many years. One day his horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to the farmer’s house to console him.

“Such bad luck,” they said sympathetically.

“Maybe,” the farmer replied.

The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it three other wild horses.

“How wonderful!” the neighbors exclaimed.

“Maybe,” replied the old man.

The following day, his son tried to ride one of the wild horses, was thrown, and broke his leg.

The neighbors again came to offer their pity on his … Read the rest

Honoring Distinguished Service — Marshall and Tiernan Inducted Into AIM/R Hall of Fame

Organizations like AIM/R are much more than a community of today’s membership. They’re a reflection of all those who have come before, helped build the group’s foundation and added layers of knowledge and experience along the way.

AIM/R wanted a way to formally recognize — and memorialize — all of those contributions. Several years ago, they established the AIM/R Hall of Fame and announced the inaugural group. Since then, 12 were added. And during the AIM/R 46th Annual Conference, SVP of Industry and PR Brian Morgan of The Morgan Group introduced Tom Tiernan, CPMR, and Gregg Marshall, CPMR, as the … Read the rest

Hey, It’s the Candy Man!

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It’s time to share my favorite backselling story.

image of candy bars

© grandeduc | stock.adobe.com

What is backselling?

It’s a word coined by John Haskell, a frequent contributor to Agency Sales magazine and author of Profit Rx under his pen name, Dr. Revenue®.

In my own manufacturers’ representative firm, I took backselling to mean, “Communicate with principals as if the line were in jeopardy even when it is not, because once the line is in jeopardy anything you say will sound like an excuse instead of communication.”

Here is my backselling story.

I had broken one of the fundamental rules of running a manufacturers’ representative firm. I had let one principal become more than 50 percent of my company’s income. Much more than 50 percent.

We were so busy selling the product that it just happened without us noticing it. Once we did notice, we needed to think about ways to make sure that this principal knew how much value we brought to their company; not just the local regional manager, but also the team at the principal’s headquarters. So, we asked to schedule a visit.

Apparently, it was the first time one of their reps had asked to visit headquarters, perhaps because the only way to get to their small town was to fly to Oklahoma City and drive 139 miles southwest or fly to Dallas and drive 141 miles northwest.

On that drive we realized we had come empty-handed. So, we stopped at Walmart and bought one-hundred one-dollar sleeves of “fun size” candy bars. Arriving at our hotel, I emptied my roller luggage and filled it with candy.

We visited customer service, product marketing teams, product engineering teams, and pretty much everyone we could see in the day and a half we’d scheduled. And at the end of each visit I opened my luggage and asked, “As a very small thank you for all you do, could we offer some candy?”

You would have thought we were giving away gold bars instead of candy bars. No one had ever come to headquarters to thank them for their help, and no one had ever brought them even a small token gift to thank them.

Each year our visits got longer and our discussions became more productive. Each year our bond with that principal grew stronger. And each year we gave away more sleeves of candy bars. I knew we had made our mark when we arrived for our third annual visit and saw a head pop up over one of the cubicle partitions and announce loudly, “Hey, it’s the candy man!”

The Importance and Effectiveness of Rep Councils

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Just the other week, I was on an airplane traveling to a trade show. Given the close quarters of the typical airline arrangement, I could not help but overhear the conversation between the two gentlemen sitting behind me. One worked for a large consulting firm (you would know their name), and the other as a recruiter for a prominent business school out of New York City. Both men were senior in their positions, and were discussing what business books they had read recently, what talks they had attended, and the ever-popular discussions regarding the challenges of working with millennials.

I … Read the rest

Letters to the Editor

I was going through my mail this afternoon and I received a package from Morton Grove, Illinois. I thought who do I know from Morton Grove? Well Charley (MANA’s President & CEO Charley Cohon)…I received five copies of Agency Sales magazine with my picture on the front cover. Wow! What a pleasant surprise. I knew there was going to be an article on MANA’s “A League of Their Own,” but certainly did not expect to be on the front cover. Thank you so much! What an honor. It truly made my day! I never thought something like this would happen … Read the rest

In Memory of Ray Hall, ERA Executive

photo of Ray HallRaymond J. Hall, the retired executive vice president and CEO of The Electronics Representatives Association (ERA), died in November. He was 80 years old. Hall was the longest-serving management executive and a member of the association’s Hall of Fame. His tenure at the helm of the 83-year-old organization began in 1969 and extended to 2004 when he started transitioning into retirement.

Hall was a native of Somerville, Massachusetts, a Marine Corps veteran and alumnus of the University of Illinois. In his early working years, he owned and operated the Raymond J. Hall Company of Chicago, a management services provider for … Read the rest