Category Archives: Feature

Sales Pitches That Don’t Sell

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Sales pitches are shortcuts that save time and don’t require thinking. They’re the stock-in-trade of salespeople, rolling off the tongue easily and unconsciously. They once worked well with customers, but not so much today.

Here are some of them:

  • “How Can I Help You?”

This one gets top billing on the list, and deservedly so. It’s leftover from the last century, when customers needed assistance and relied on salespeople and marketers, as well as the iconic Sears catalog, to point them in the right direction, followed by the ubiquitous shopping mall. While the former is long gone, the latter is … Read the rest

Remembering MANA’s History

Reviving Salesmanship
MANA 70th Anniversary

By P. Edwin Thomas, Executive Secretary

Reprinted from December 1949 The AGENT and Representative magazine

Decadence in the art of salesmanship was blamed recently by a prominent banker for business apathy. True salesmanship, it was claimed, consists chiefly in service to the consumer, not in persuasive argument or persistent solicitation. It calls for study and skill in human relations, not taking advantage of unwise impulses and a reckless itch to spend.

This banker concluded by suggesting that intelligent advertising, common courtesy, knowledge of the product and cultivation of long-range “repeat trade” will work wonders with many a faltering … Read the rest

Accept and Benefit From Millennials

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Cultural and work-related differences among generations recently have been the fodder for many discussions among MANA members.

Specific to the conversations there has been an emphasis on the challenges that older generations face when dealing with members of what is referred to as the Millennial generation. For the purposes of this article, the generations in question are broken down accordingly:

  • Matures, born prior to 1946
  • Baby Boomers, born 1946-1964
  • Gen-X, born 1965-1980
  • Millennials, born 1981-1999

When looking for tips or advice on how to deal effectively with different generations — specifically Millennials — Michael Roemen is quick to note that … Read the rest

Things to Stop Doing When Managing Millennials

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The blogosphere has been rife with experts, many of them Millennials, advising people about how to manage — Millennials. As with the Baby Boomers of 50 years ago, they’ve been hailed as “the next great generation.” But in spite of their demographic size, the Millennials are no more special than any other group. As with each cohort, they’re just products of the times in which they’ve come of age. So rather than the five things you should do when managing Millennials, how about the five things you shouldn’t do? Here goes.

Number One: Stop Thinking of Them That Way!

They … Read the rest

Surviving a Series of Unfortunate Circumstances

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When his bookkeeper failed to show up for work for a few days in a row, it didn’t take long for Richard Sinclair to suspect something was amiss.

A former MANA Board member, Sinclair heads Applied Process Equipment, Scottsdale, Arizona. While still an eight-person rep firm and a “budding” manufacturer, the company is also a distributor of pumps, tanks and water and wastewater treatment equipment servicing the southwest United States.

As he looks back at what turned out to be an unfortunate experience, Sinclair notes that “Over my close to 30 years as a rep, I’ve employed a number of … Read the rest

The Reputable Rep: Success in Sales and Life

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This month’s article is the fifth in a serialization of the author’s life and career as an independent manufacturers’ representative.

Reprinted with permission from The Reputable Rep, Success in Sales and Life, by Sig Schmalhofer.

Sales Preparation

Appointments

In this, the age of instant communication, appointments with customers and clients are critical. Surprise hit-and-run sales calls are rarely effective. The exceptions, of course, are drive-by stops delivering samples, literature, etc.

However, as discussed in the previous chapter, cold calls on a hunch, mining for business, should be in every reputable rep’s playbook.

Planning

I grew up in the business … Read the rest

How to Make the Agency’s Annual Sales Meeting a Major Business Development Tool

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The annual sales meeting will drive success.

Does your agency have an annual sales meeting? If you don’t should you?

My answer is an emphatic “YES!”

The meeting held late in the year or in very early January offers an agency many opportunities to plan, organize, and campaign for support for the following year.

It is the agency’s obligation, in my opinion, to put on a once-a-year meeting that sets up all of the employees of the agency and many of the principals for the New Year.

There are many elements that have to be addressed as a part of … Read the rest

Ways to Discover Great Sales Reps

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There are many ways to find productive independent sales reps for your company including referrals from existing reps, industry-specific associations, customers, employment companies that match reps and manufacturers, industry magazines and trade shows, ads, social media, etc. All of these work. However, I have discovered another way for locating high-quality ones that you can’t just look for.

The best way to describe my experiences discovering this non-traditional rep avenue is to observe your environment and the people you come across — even a waiter in a restaurant with an upbeat personality who exhibits some smarts and a strong work ethic, … Read the rest

Victimitis

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An illness we all can catch.

Victimitis is very contagious. It can be thought of as more contagious than the flu, and more devastating than an infectious disease. It can figuratively (and literally) destroy a person’s career, relationships and life. Yes, it is a made-up word; though rest assured the “disease” is real. It is real and it is dangerous. Like most contagious illnesses anyone is susceptible to contracting the victimitis disease. The key is to know how to avoid catching it and if you do catch it,
how to cure it quickly.

There are three key aspects of protecting … Read the rest

Teaching Your Organization to Learn

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Are things changing rapidly in your business?

Silly question, isn’t it? Of course they are changing. Rapid change is the distinguishing characteristic of the millennium.

Take that rapid change and add to it growing competition, increasing complexity, consolidations at every level, and increasing demands from customers and you have the recipe for a business climate that will turn anyone’s hair gray.

This rapid change whirling around every company puts great pressure on organizations to change themselves. Not only must the organization as a whole change, but the individuals within each organization must themselves change, learn and grow more rapidly than … Read the rest

Blast From the Past — A Digest of Successful Selling Ideas

MANA 70th AnniversaryThe year was 1947. Harry S. Truman was president, Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier, and on October 17, 1947, the Manufacturers’ Agents National Association joined the community of not-for-profit trade associations.

To celebrate our 70th MANAversary year, each Agency Sales magazine through October will include a “blast from the past” article from the early issues of The AGENT and Representative magazine, which eventually became Agency Sales.

These nostalgic looks back at how our counterparts from seven decades ago conducted their businesses and their lives are really eye-opening, in some cases because they conducted their business so differently from … Read the rest

MANA’s Record of 70 Years of Support

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This month marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of MANA. Earlier this year, MANA President & CEO Charley Cohon noted that since those early days of 1947 “…things have changed, and changed for the better” for independent manufacturers’ representatives and their principals. One thing that hasn’t changed, however, is the constant need for a place where reps and their manufacturers can learn how to work more efficiently with each other. If the words of several long-standing MANA members can be believed, MANA is still that place.

Just as several other long-standing MANA members, Elry Cramer can’t necessarily take credit … Read the rest

Lessons Learned From Sports Paved the Way for Rep

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Just as so many of his MANA-member peers, Tommy Garnett’s path to becoming a rep began with a family connection, but unlike many others he took a bit of a detour first.

In the past, Agency Sales magazine has described how professional basketball and baseball players have morphed into independent manufacturers’ representatives. However, Garnett, president & CEO of Garnett Component Sales, Inc. (GCS), Wake Forest, North Carolina, is the first professional golfer.

Departing the business of golf, where he was a member of the PGA of America, was hardly Garnett’s motivating factor for becoming a rep. “When I decided to … Read the rest

Amendment Strengthens Minnesota Rep Protection Act

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Further protection for independent manufacturers’ representatives was realized earlier this year when an amendment to the Minnesota Termination of Sales Representative Act (MTSRA) was signed into law by Governor Mark Dayton.

Demonstrating how the MTSRA, codified as Minn. Stat. 325E.37, has evolved over the years, this is the third time Agency Sales magazine has reported on this law and subsequent amendments. Each time, further refinements have been made to the law — which was originally enacted in 1990 — to protect Minnesota manufacturers’ representatives that are covered under the Act. Parties involved in the successful efforts to strengthen the law … Read the rest

The Reputable Rep: Success in Sales and Life

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This month’s article is the fourth in a serialization of the author’s life and career as an independent manufacturers’ representative.

Reprinted with permission from The Reputable Rep, Success in Sales and Life, by Sig Schmalhofer.

Asking for the Order

There are countless ways to make a deal, close a sale, or get an order. The one common denominator requires the strategy sales reps are reluctant to use: asking for the order. Asking for an order should never be abrupt. The conversation should just flow in that direction. This is the final step of the process. But, let’s rewind to … Read the rest

California Rep Stays the Course

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A little over 10 years ago when Jon Crowley extended an invitation, we’re not sure he expected Agency Sales to take him up on it. But now, 10 years and seven months later, here we are.

At the end of a profile of his agency, Charles P. Crowley Company, he said “If you come back and visit us in just a couple of years, you’ll see that we’ve continued to grow and to take advantage of all the opportunities that are available to us.”

Was he right with his optimistic prediction?

In the March 2007 issue of this publication, the … Read the rest

Ways to Make Customers Feel Valued

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The famed author Thomas Merton said we value people, not for who they are but for their usefulness. This is the same mistake companies make with customers. They value them for their usefulness — for what they spend.

Customers see it differently — quite differently. As Gallup, Inc. researchers point out in commenting on the economy, “Consumers are spending money, but they’re more inclined to spend it only on businesses they feel good about,” not businesses they may like or where they’re treated nicely. In other words, their money is going where they feel valued.

Most businesses do a fairly … Read the rest

The Ultimate Survival Skill for the New Economy

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We’re living in incredibly turbulent times. In spite of newspaper headlines proclaiming growing employment and a slowly growing economy, many business people admit to a pervasive feeling of uncertainty and confusion about their businesses.

The well-spring of this uncertainty lies in one of the characteristics of the newly-arrived information age. Business people are being buffeted by an increasingly rapid rate of change. Consider this: In 1900, the total amount of knowledge available to mankind was doubling about every 500 years. In 1990, it was doubling about every two years. Today, according to some, the rate of change is doubling every … Read the rest

Blast From the Past — So You Want to Become a Manufacturers’ Agent!

MANA 70th AnniversaryThe year was 1947. Harry S. Truman was president, Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier, and on October 17, 1947, the Manufacturers’ Agents National Association joined the community of not-for-profit trade associations.

To celebrate our 70th MANAversary year, each Agency Sales magazine through October will include a “blast from the past” article from the early issues of The AGENT and Representative magazine, which eventually became Agency Sales.

These nostalgic looks back at how our counterparts from seven decades ago conducted their businesses and their lives are really eye-opening, in some cases because they conducted their business so differently from … Read the rest

Has the Rep Business Model Changed?

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When a long-standing MANA member was asked a few years ago to define the traditional rep business model he offered, “We’re expected to make calls, follow up, send in orders, and get paid.”

Because he was and still is a planner, an entrepreneur and a forward thinker, that rep would agree that today there’s much more to the job of an independent manufacturers’ representative. Any doubt to that thinking is put to rest in even the most cursory conversations with observers and participants in the rep business model.

For instance, consider that Charlie Ingram, vice president, sales & marketing, Eriez … Read the rest

MANA Seminar Stresses Professionalism

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In the previous article the subject of how the independent manufacturers’ representative business model has evolved over the years is discussed. That timely subject reared its head when Hank Bergson was asked to preview the subject matter of next month’s MANA manufacturer seminar.

Details for the MANA seminar may be found on the MANA website (www.MANAonline.org). The seminar is scheduled for October 5 and 6 at the Holiday Inn & Suites, Chicago O’Hare.

According to Bergson, president, Henry Bergson Associates, LLC, “If at one time the manufacturer outsourcing his sales effort to reps had the expectation that the relationship was … Read the rest

The Reputable Rep: Success in Sales and Life

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This month’s article is the third in a serialization of the author’s life and career as an independent manufacturers’ representative.

Reprinted with permission from The Reputable Rep, Success in Sales and Life, by Sig Schmalhofer.

Sales Foundations

Cold Calls

Prospecting is typically a cold call, but a cold call with a purpose.

Possessing the fearless willingness to walk into a sales call where “you know no one” and “no one knows you” is critical. In the story below, a wholesaler sales rep investigates a potential new market. The result was a career changer.

“I came out of college at … Read the rest

Someone Is Out to Get You. Count on It!

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Most of us work at finding ways to do a better job, advance in a career, and become more successful. That’s commendable, but we may differ on how to go about getting there. While most are straightforward, tackling one challenge after another, others do it differently and their actions leave marks that affect our success.

Most of us can’t choose our co-workers, team members, or business associates. Nonetheless, we can avoid being blindsided by those who, often unintentionally, would throw us off course. Here is what to look for:

  • Those Who Act Too Quickly

In school, they raced to get … Read the rest

No Regrets as This Rep Winds Down

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More than three decades ago, Frank King took to heart some rather out-of-the-ordinary encouragement and began what has been a 34-year career as an independent manufacturers’ representative.

According to King, FLK Assocs. Inc., Orchard Park, New York, “MANA member Joe Cook, Eastern Technologies Inc., Raleigh, North Carolina, and I were living the same apartment complex when he said to me that I was in the wrong business. He explained that I was never going to make a lot of money unless I owned the company I was working for. He said that as a rep I could make as much … Read the rest

The Benefits of Working With a Professional Sales Coach

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Every professional athlete that makes millions of dollars every year has at least one coach that works with them every day.

Each pro athlete wants to be the best they can be and they rely on their coaches for guidance on a daily basis. These athletes love having a coach because they want advice on how they can improve and they are open minded to making positive changes. Pro athletes know that spending money on a coach is a great investment for them. For the very same reasons professional salespeople need a sales coach. Having a coach is a very … Read the rest

Standing Still Can Kill Your Business

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The Importance of Ongoing Training!

I find this statistic unbelievable — The U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics found that companies with fewer than 100 employees gave only 12 minutes of manager training every six months. Organizations with 100‑500 employees provided just six minutes.

The following statistic is even more proof that ongoing training is essential for employee development and the growth of a company — a long-term research project commissioned by Middlesex University for Work Based Learning found that from a 4,300 workers sample, 74 percent felt that they weren’t achieving their full potential at work due to lack of … Read the rest

Don’t Be Blinded by Your Own Ego

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“The most successful people never stop learning.”

During a recent book signing a woman was checking out at the Austin airport store where my most recent book, The Leadership Playbook, was being promoted. The cashier asked her if she would be interested in buying a copy. She responded, “Nope, I work too much as it is, so I read only fun books.” A conversation ensued on what she did for a living. She answered, “I am a management consultant.” She was then asked if she thought that leadership or business books would benefit clients or herself. She responded, “Nope, I … Read the rest

Blast From the Past — A Digest of Successful Selling Ideas

MANA 70th AnniversaryThe year was 1947. Harry S. Truman was president, Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier, and on October 17, 1947, the Manufacturers’ Agents National Association joined the community of not-for-profit trade associations.

To celebrate our 70th MANAversary year, each Agency Sales magazine through October will include a “blast from the past” article from the early issues of The AGENT and Representative magazine, which eventually became Agency Sales.

These nostalgic looks back at how our counterparts from seven decades ago conducted their businesses and their lives are really eye-opening, in some cases because they conducted their business so differently from … Read the rest

Should Reps Blaze the Pioneering Trail?

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Initiate a conversation on the subject of the how and why of representing principals that have no existing business in a territory and it’s inevitable that independent manufacturers’ representatives, prospective principals and business consultants will very quickly address the concept of shared territorial development fees.

Simply stated such fees are those paid by the principal to the rep during the period of time the rep develops business in the territory where no business previously existed.

The continued timeliness of the subject was proven when speaking with Hank Bergson, president of Henry Bergson & Associates, LLC, and the former president and … Read the rest

Teaming Up on the Pioneering Effort

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Manufacturers should be teammates with all their independent manufacturers’ representatives. When a principal wants a rep to take on their line and there is little or no business in the territory, it shows great respect when the principal offers to pay the rep — for a period of time — to pioneer the line. This is simply practicing the “Golden Rule.” The manufacturer would not expect to have one of their direct employees go to a specific territory to work to create business and then not pay that employee. So why would they treat a rep differently?

There are several … Read the rest