Category Archives: Feature

What Do You Do When You Dislike Your Client?

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Have you ever heard the phrase “familiarity breeds contempt?”

It’s an old English proverb that traces its roots back many centuries. Chaucer wrote those words in 1386 in the “Tale of Melibee.” According to the American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms, “Long experience of someone or something can make one so aware of the faults as to be scornful.”

It’s not just a saying — familiarity can indeed breed contempt (unless you work hard to avoid it). I hear it all the time when I work with sales professionals, some of whom dangerously take their clients for granted: “That customer is … Read the rest

Steps to Turn Failure Into Growth

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How can failure be good?

Remember John DeLorean? He was the superstar General Motors executive who started the DeLorean Motor Company. When the company began to falter, he was arrested and charged with complicity in a drug deal that some speculated was an attempt to raise money to prop up the company.

All of this was big news in Detroit, where I was living at the time. One particularly insightful article in the Detroit News theorized that he had been supremely successful his whole life, and thus never learned to deal with failure. His development was stunted by a lack … Read the rest

Secrets to Not Share With Customers

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Oversharing blunders that annoy customers and limit careers.

“I wish some of my team members would think more before they speak.” This was the comment made by a senior HR manager of a construction company where I was brought in to conduct training. She continued, “They inadvertently share more than our customers need to hear.” In today’s world of social media where people post their opinions and details of their lives for the entire world to scrutinize, we’re finding oversharing is a growing problem. Not only does it jeopardize customer loyalty; it also limits career advancement. See if you or … Read the rest

How Can Manufacturers Get Reps’ Attention?

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It’s not unusual for MANA headquarters and Agency Sales to receive phone calls or other communication from manufacturers that are frustrated with their efforts to get reps’ attention. A typical comment follows: “I’m a relatively small manufacturer and am having difficulty locating reps who do not already have a complete line card. What is it that these reps are looking for in a manufacturer?”

Indicative of the fact this is an ongoing concern, last May as a part of its regular teleforum presentations, MANA addressed the subject under the title “How to Get Them to Call You Back.” Jointly conducted … Read the rest

Relying on a Sales Solution Approach

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The easy access to product information that customers currently enjoy has led directly to a rise in the effectiveness of a solution sales approach to the industrial safety products market. That’s the view of Alex Williams, who heads The Integral Group, Conroe, Texas.

According to Williams, “As younger generations have taken over the decision-making roles among our customers, we are seeing a shift to more of a solution sales approach. As that shift has taken place, step one for us is still gaining the trust of the customer and having them like you, but after that it boils down to … Read the rest

The Other Stuff Expansion

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I just had a conversation with a sales manager at my last seminar. The gist of it is this: he has so many competing responsibilities, it is difficult to spend time with his sales team. Sound familiar? It should.

I have heard that idea expressed countless times by executives, sales managers and salespeople. In one way or another, sales professionals find themselves increasingly occupied by trivial tasks at the expense of the important ones. Effective sales time management is the greatest challenge facing sales professionals in this turbulent economy.

Other Stuff?

It is an epidemic that is raging unabated in … Read the rest

Why Salespeople Don’t Make More Sales

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Things don’t go well for some salespeople. Simply put, they say they want to sell, but their numbers tell a different story. What’s missing? What needs to change?

The answer may rest in how they view their job. We can call it task tunnel vision. It’s common throughout business organizations, including sales, and here’s how to spot it: “That’s not what I’m hired to do. I want to sell. Just leave me alone and let someone else do all that other stuff.”

Whether salespeople recognize it or not, they are like many others who are self-defining when it comes … Read the rest

The Most Important Business Building Questions

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If you’ve read many of my articles in the past, you’ve undoubtedly come across my statement that the biggest key to business-building and sales success is activity, or more specifically, activity that leads to sales: prospecting, presenting and closing.

It’s simple: the more people you talk to, the more business you’ll do. Even a blind pig finds corn. If you talk to enough people during the day, you’ll eventually bump into someone who says, “I need what you have,” or “I know someone who needs what you have.” Below are some questions you can use to direct your days activities.… Read the rest

Making the Case for Prospecting

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If you’re like most sales professionals, there’s one part of the sales process that you like less than the rest.

Hubspot.com set out to determine which part of the sales process causes reps to struggle the most, and the survey results were quite interesting:

  • Prospecting 42%
  • Closing 36%
  • Qualifying 22%

Why is prospecting more intimidating and less enjoyed than other parts of the sales process?

Well, to start, let’s look at the definition of prospecting:

“Prospecting is the art of interrupting someone when they don’t expect to hear from you in order to provide them with something they need that … Read the rest

The Humility Advantage: How Less Ego Creates More Sales

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See if this applies to you or the team members in your organization: You’ve been working in your industry for several years. Your responses to requests from customers, prospects and co‑workers are fast and accurate. You know your stuff and your product knowledge is one of your greatest strengths.

If this is the case, then the bad news is that your extensive knowledge may also be one of your greatest weaknesses. The reason — you may be inadvertently coming across as being arrogant and insensitive.

I’m not suggesting that you have a holier-than-thou attitude or that you are unfriendly. It’s … Read the rest

The Sales Force — Working With Reps

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This is the 18th in a number of articles serializing The Sales Force — Working With Reps by Charles Cohon, MANA’s president and CEO. The entire book may be found in the member area of MANA’s website.

Fred Richardson owned the rep company where George worked, and his call to Jim was prompt. Jim had asked Fred to drop by Jim’s office to discuss the rep system, but Fred had another suggestion.

“If you want to learn about reps,” Fred said, “I’d suggest that you come visit our office. After all,” Fred joked, “when Jane Goodall wanted to study chimpanzees, … Read the rest

Leading and Making a Difference

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“The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things.” — Ronald Reagan

Being a leader in customer service (working hard to serve others), generating excitement, innovation, and a focus on continuous improvement, like I teach, creates a culture that’s hard to build otherwise.

Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, born in Brooklyn, New York to a single mother, was raised by his aunt and uncle in Chicago. After his aunt died, Ellison dropped out of college and moved to California to work odd jobs for … Read the rest

The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same

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When an oft-quoted French phrase appeared in the opening pages of a New York Times best-selling novel late last year, MANA-member reps and manufacturers were quick to voice opinions that lent credence to the more than 150-year old saying.

Just so the reader doesn’t have to translate from the French, “Plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose,” in English means, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.

How does this saying apply to the shared world of reps and principals? First up with his thoughts is Michael Roemen, the independent sales rep manager for 9Wood, a … Read the rest

The Need for Personal Selling Doesn’t Change

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Uniquely positioned to offer his thoughts on how things change — yet remain the same — is Hank Bergson.

For several years Bergson has moderated MANA’s manufacturer seminar, “Best Practices With Reps, Planning With Intent.” The day-and-a half session is aimed at educating manufacturers as to the most efficient ways to work with independent sales reps. In addition, he comes well-armed to advise manufacturers on the ins and outs of working with reps given his years of service as the president of the National Electrical Manufacturers’ Representatives Association (NEMRA).

Bergson, president, Henry Bergson Associates, LLC, maintains that “the number-one thing … Read the rest

How to Avoid Becoming Obsolete on the Job

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Millions of us wake up one morning to the haunting realization that we’re losing the battle to avoid becoming obsolete on the job.

It affects those in their 20s, while others don’t see the darkness descend until they’re much older. Some are high school dropouts, others are college graduates, or successful professionals. It can strike anyone.

Oxford researchers Carl Benedikt Frey and Michael Osbourne, according to a USA Today article, estimate that “forty-seven percent of American jobs are at high risk of automation by the mid 2030s.”

Some may run faster or be in denial, but Steve Tobak got it … Read the rest

Do You Really Need to Build a Relationship With Prospects?

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Let’s say we ask this question of the typical sales rep: “Is it important to build a relationship with your prospect in order to make a sale?”

Answers to that question vary but they ultimately sound more or less like these:

  • “Yes, if it’s a major purchase. Nobody buys a complicated product or service without establishing some relationship and level of trust with the provider.”
  • “No. Prospects are too busy, too self-absorbed and too time-starved to build relationships with vendors. People are so overwhelmed that they no longer are interested in becoming friends with salespeople or even the owners/executives of
… Read the rest

Sales Is Still a Numbers Game

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There seems to be a cliché among sales trainers these days, and that is: “Sales isn’t a numbers game.”

I believe most sales trainers are saying that for shock effect and to sound different and controversial. I also believe they are saying that because they think that’s what salespeople want to hear. The reality, and what salespeople need to hear, is that sales is and always will be a numbers game. It’s simple, the more people you talk to, the more business you will do, even a blind pig finds corn. In other words, if you talk to enough people … Read the rest

Teaching Your Customers to Buy Better

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What can your customers do for you?

Yes, “What can your customers do for you?” This was the question I posed to several independent manufacturers’ reps, manufacturers and distributors in preparation for a recent seminar titled, Dealing With Vendors. Most had a difficult time answering. Why? Because the focus is generally down the distribution channel, asking what else can be done for customers. Rarely, is it reciprocal that customers ask what they can do for their suppliers. So much profit, or discounts, depending on your side of the negotiating table, is being squandered.

What Else?

At a certain point, … Read the rest

The Top Selling Bloopers — and How to Avoid Them

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Sports bloopers are often about preventable errors that favor the other team. The classic is when players score against their own side.

In the world of business, there are similar blunders — particularly during buying conversations with potential customers — that end up favoring the competition. As I explain in my seminars for sales teams, it’s not always a shortfall in your company’s product, price or service that ruins a potential sale. Often it’s inadvertent comments that put customers off just enough for them to choose your competitor. Unfortunately, sales reps are usually unaware they commit these offences so they … Read the rest

The Sales Force — Working With Reps

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This is the 17th in a number of articles serializing The Sales Force — Working With Reps by Charles Cohon, MANA’s president and CEO. The entire book may be found in the member area of MANA’s website.

“As long as you brought up finances,” said Ruth, “let’s discuss that for a minute. Jim, getting the feedback you want probably is going to have some sort of cost associated with it. You’ve been talking about some sort of a commission-based system that doesn’t involve the current sales force, which means you will end up paying some percentage of sales to somebody. … Read the rest

Empowerment Is Power in Customer Service

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Empowerment means every employee has to make fast decisions in favor of the customer at every single encounter.

Mistakes are inevitable and it’s important to recognize and accept this fact of life. The only way we can do that is by empowering employees to satisfy the customer quickly and to their satisfaction.

Empowerment Is the Backbone of Customer Service

I have stated in my books and in my seminars that it’s impossible to be a service leader, to be customer centric and focus on a service strategy without empowering employees. My definition of empowerment is giving employees the authority to … Read the rest

Compensating for Trade Show Duty

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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

Succession: Planning Makes Perfect

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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

The Rule of Thirds: How to Truly Listen

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“Let a fool hold his tongue and he will pass for a sage,” wrote Publilius Syrus more than 2,000 years ago in ancient Rome.

Such wise advice from ages ago has never been more relevant. In the modern professional world, we are suffering from a listening crisis.

Actually, it’s a “lack-of-listening” crisis.

Whether your role is executive, managerial, sales or anything else, it’s critically important to your success that you listen.

“Seek first to understand, then to be understood,” wrote Stephen R. Covey, author of 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Too often we get that order mixed up. … Read the rest

Rules for Negotiating Representative Agreements That Last

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There has never been a relationship between a supplier and a manufacturers’ representative that survived forever. With proper attention to detail when negotiating your next representative agreement, however, you may diminish the likelihood of a premature end to the relationship or costly litigation upon termination. Here are five rules to focus on when negotiating your next rep agreement.

Balance Pays Dividends

Sales reps and manufacturers sometimes seek to gain advantage over their partner by incorporating a bias into the rep agreement favoring the author and placing the other party at a disadvantage. This technique rarely enjoys the benefits desired. The … Read the rest

Mistakes That Doom a Company’s Marketing

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Marketing has never been a laid back, trouble‑free game anyone can play. Today, it’s far more perilous than ever, particularly since prospective customers are moving targets. Just when you think you have them figured out, they’ve moved on. If you don’t know what they want and the way they want to get it, they’re gone. If you disappoint them by betraying their trust, they’ll strike back. Bank on it.

Today’s customers are touchy and unforgiving. They’re in charge and they know it. While marketing can play a key role in a company’s success, it’s a fragile function; its efforts can … Read the rest

The Sales Force — Working With Reps

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This is the 16th in a number of articles serializing The Sales Force — Working With Reps by Charles Cohon, MANA’s president and CEO. The entire book may be found in the member area of MANA’s website.

Harold complied, and said, “I’m going to add the words ‘commission system’ in parentheses underneath, because in every conversation we’ve had so far, commission has been the key element in getting the feedback you want.”

Jim agreed. “Harold, as long as we’re talking about things we want, you may as well write ‘more sales’ on the same page. And there’s something else on … Read the rest

Foundation for Top Sales Achievement

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As the saying goes, “A house is only as strong as its foundation.” It takes a strong foundation to ensure sales success. Following are the several high‑achievement ingredients necessary to build that strong foundation.

Ingredient #1 for High Achievement: Be in Sales for the Right Reasons

The first thing I look for in a potential new sales rep is people skills. In order to have long-term success and become a top achiever, you must be able to understand and communicate with people while also having a great capacity for empathy. Genuine caring and a desire to serve and help people … Read the rest

MANA Recognizes Members’ Milestone Anniversary Dates

Thank youMANA wants to recognize members who have been with us for many years, those who celebrated their 65, 60, 55, 50, 45, 40, 35, 30 and 25 year membership anniversary the previous year.

MANA thanks and congratulates the members listed here for their long‑term support and commitment.

Representative Members
70 years

Darin Dankelson
Metal Parts & Equipment Co.
Northbrook, IL

60 years

Steve Meyer
Espey & Assocs, Inc.
Sheffield Village, OH

William S. O’Brien
The Buckland Sales Co.
Manchester, CT

55 years

Jeffrey T. Boyd
Custom Sales, Inc.
Tulsa, OK

Neil P. Schuld
JLS Industrial Sales, Inc.
Westlake, OH

Timothy … Read the rest

Paying Attention to Service Pays Off

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The newsletter “Quality Assurance Report” states that only when a company knows exactly what kind of service its customers expect, delivers on those expectations 100 percent of the time, at a price that customers are willing to pay, while still getting an acceptable return, can the company claim to excel in customer service.

Northwest Delta Dental excels in the customer experience and enjoys an impressive annual profit. They’ve known for years that customer service doesn’t cost — it pays!

Each year I interview Northeast Delta Dental. They are the region’s most trusted name in dental insurance for companies of all … Read the rest