Category Archives: Feature

Be the Best You Can Be

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Selling products to a specific industry is a business-to-business (B2B) type of selling, not retail selling. Although some of the principles of B2B selling are similar to retail selling, most are very different.

Principles Common to Both B2B and Retail Selling

  1. Satisfying your customers’ needs
  2. Treating your customers with respect
  3. Knowing your products’ features and benefits
  4. Being a good listener
  5. Following corporate guidelines

Key Differentiators for B2B Selling

  1. A sales rep must be a consultant and problem solver. More than being knowledgeable about your products is required. You must listen to customers’ needs, then show how your products and services
… Read the rest

Resistant Salespeople Can Prevent Consistent, Strong Sales Results

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Even though this article begins as a baseball article, in the fourth paragraph it quickly morphs into a sales article.

As my regular readers know, my son is a baseball player — a rising college senior (as of the summer of 2023) — and I still coach him in the batting cage when he’s home for the summer. I started coaching him when he was old enough to hold a wiffle bat. By the time he was thirteen years old, he responded to every piece of hitting advice with, “I know Dad!” He was no longer coachable (by me), thus … Read the rest

Thin the Herd — Terminate Non-Performing Employees

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There’s a term ranchers use when they are reducing the size of livestock by removing weak animals from the group. That term is “thinning the herd.” It could also be used in the workforce in relation to terminating non-performing employees, something most organizations don’t do nearly as often as they should.

Retaining employees who perform poorly is expensive both financially and emotionally. It costs a lot of money to repair the damage they do. That includes the time it takes to correct mistakes they’ve made, dealing with a significant number of customer complaints, driving down morale and creating friction as … Read the rest

Hiring and Partnering With Sub-Reps

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Just as manufacturers should weigh the financial benefits of hiring an outsourced sales staff vs. independent manufacturers’ reps, so too should reps weigh whether hiring a direct employee vs. working with a sub-rep is the best way to expand or cover a territory. That was just part of the subject matter covered during a MANAcast by John McNellis.

McNellis, a former MANA Board member, heads McReps, Inc., Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, a national multi-person agency that works with a mix of both direct and sub-reps. The agency has represented specialized component manufacturers for more than 48 years. It focuses on custom-engineered parts … Read the rest

Reps Opt for ESOPs

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What does ESOP stand for? As defined ESOP is an Employee Stock Ownership Plan. An ESOP grants company stock to employees every year. The stock value is based on the value of the company, while the number of shares awarded are based on how much each employee earns. Typically, it is part of a compensation package where shares will vest over a period of time. But, in reality, it is much more than that. Historically ESOPs motivate employees, increase productivity, improve worker retention, keep jobs local, contribute to business longevity, and much more.

While such plans aren’t for everyone, they … Read the rest

Making a Rep Firm Successful in Winning New, Profitable Lines — Most of the Time

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Competing for a line should be a well-planned process designed to win most of the time. There is no reason not to be one of the best, if not the very best, rep firm in your geographic area.

Being a great rep firm requires total discipline and an organized approach to how you conduct business. The key to winning is how you present your firm when talking to prospective new principals.

There is only one thing a prospective manufacturer wants to know about — sales! The business of a rep firm is obtaining and maintaining sales volume for its lines. … Read the rest

Is Service Part of Selling?

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Here’s a quote that prompted this article: “I like making deliveries. I look at that as end-to-end sales. I sell it, make sure everything goes smoothly and then finally I deliver it and make sure they’re happy.”

On the surface, it sounds good, right? I mean that makes sense except for one thing: the definition of a salesperson is someone who sells, not someone who sells it, takes care of all the paperwork, financing, etc., preps it, and finally delivers it.

I find that for whatever reason, whether it’s the fear of rejection, or simply not wanting to call on … Read the rest

Sales Pros Stressed Like Entrepreneurs

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Some sales pros are true entrepreneurs in that they own their companies.

But all sales pros have entrepreneurial traits. When your job is to approach strangers, build a relationship and convince them to spend money, you’re entrepreneurial. When you’re a person who manufactures new business out of thin air, you’re an entrepreneur.

You could argue that the best sales pros have “entrepreneurial” personalities. That’s a good thing because entrepreneurs are savvy, driven and hard-working people.

The business world puts a lot of emphasis on entrepreneurism. We place successful entrepreneurs on pedestals and look up to them. Much of humanity’s progress … Read the rest

Steps for Managing Customers to Maximize Sales Success

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The professional sales representative is continually seeking better ways to manage his customers to maximize sales. How do you know which customers to call on, when and how often? How do you stay organized amid your phone calls, sales visits, paperwork and planning? Managing your customers is not complicated. It takes organizing and time management skills to develop a plan suitable to meet your sales goals. Finally, it requires a focus, and personal commitment to follow the plan.

Have you ensured your pathway to maximize sales success? Here are 10 proven ideas to manage customers and maximize sales.

1. Organizing … Read the rest

Did You Make the Sale? Or, Did You Get the Sale? Proactive vs. Reactive Selling

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During a meeting we recently hosted, we discussed the concerns and opportunities of 2023 in business. Like most business leaders, when talking about the success of the business, the conversation moves toward sales. Like many businesses, these businesses have been having great success over the past few years, and the concern is the success was coming to them not necessarily in a proactive way but more in a reactive way.

So, what exactly do we mean by proactive selling? It’s all about taking the initiative and being proactive in your sales behaviors. Instead of waiting for customers to come to … Read the rest

Did You Know That You Have Woodpeckers on Your Sales Team?

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The landscaper called me over to look at a tree on our property. He showed me the enormous hole and I asked, “What did that?”

“Woodpecker,” he said.

On one side of the tree, we had this perfectly cut, huge hole, and the other side of the tree had many small holes. I learned that the woodpecker that made the small holes was looking for food while the woodpecker that made the huge hole was making a home. Hunters and farmers.

Just like the two types of woodpeckers, salespeople tend to fall into the same two categories of being either … Read the rest

Creating a Career Path

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It’s a bit of an understatement to say Marshall Maguire followed a rather circuitous path to where he finds himself today — the head of Maguire Technologies, Salisbury, Massachusetts, a veteran-owned manufacturers’ rep agency.

Here’s the outline of that path he traveled: In 1972, with the end of the Vietnam War still three years away, Maguire joined the Air Force, where he was assigned to the Strategic Air Command (SAC) as an aircraft hydraulics/pneumatics specialist. At that time, SAC was charged with overseeing the protection of the United States in the event the Cold War ever escalated to “hot.”

Following … Read the rest

More Help for the Single‑Person Agency

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Time management and developing relationship skills were high on the list of topics that were addressed during one of MANA’s latest teleconference chats devoted to single-person agencies.

On the one hand, many of the chat participants made the point that they’ve been able to make sales while they work remotely away from the customer. “It’s unbelievable the amount of work we’ve been able to successfully complete without personally touching base with the customers. It’s interesting that looking back you had to bang on doors over and over if you wanted to be successful. But what we’ve found today is that … Read the rest

React With Deliberation

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I was cutting through an empty parking lot the other day and so was another driver coming in the opposite direction. As luck would have it, we were heading directly for each other, like a game of chicken.

I tend to yield in these situations, not because I am afraid of confrontation, but because I have learned to act with deliberation. So, I stopped, hoping that the other driver was paying attention and not looking at the screen in his hand. Thankfully, he was. But as he drove around me, he lowered his window, flipped me the bird and gave … Read the rest

Turning Gatekeepers Into Gate Openers

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Many years ago, I wrote a book that required me to conduct interviews with several professionals who had attained celebrity status. In many cases, I had to work with secretaries and administrative assistants in order to get the interviews. These “gatekeepers” played a huge role in determining whether their high-profile bosses would or would not meet with me.

While people normally think of gatekeepers as problematic obstructionists, on a couple of occasions, I landed an interview only because of the gatekeepers. I befriended the gatekeepers in both of those cases and turned them into my advocates. They became my champions. … Read the rest

How Important Is Price When Selling?

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This week price has been coming up a lot on my coaching calls with sales reps, but there was one comment in particular that compelled me to write this article.

In a story related to a sale he made last week, a rep said, “I told the guy, ‘Look, you just tell me where the competition is, and I’ll cut my price to match it or beat it.’” After instructing him to never utter those words ever again for the rest of his life, he came back with, “Why not? It’s an easy sale every time. All I have to … Read the rest

Becoming a Preferred Product Representative

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A significant challenge for an independent manufacturers’ representative is satisfying the needs of many different customers. Your objective is to become a preferred product representative for each of them.

These customers include architects and engineers who specify your products; general contractors, construction managers and subcontractors who purchase your products; and your manufacturers’ marketing and customer service departments that provide you with sales support. We will look at how you can work effectively with each of these customer groups to become preferred.

Architects and Engineers (A/E)

Although every customer is important, one group, for example, requires the most attention and service … Read the rest

What Does Leadership Even Mean?

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Sometimes we get so caught up in what a leader should do, we don’t even really understand what it means. I thought I would take a quick stab at what leadership actually is.

Leadership is the art of motivating and guiding people towards a common goal. A leader must possess certain qualities such as vision, confidence, empathy and resilience to lead effectively. There is no one-size-fits-all formula for leadership, as it varies depending on the situation, context, and the individuals involved. However, there are certain principles and practices that can help leaders become more effective.

One of the most important … Read the rest

Empowerment: The Backbone of Great Service

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Empowerment is critical to any organization that wants to be a service leader. It is the most difficult skill to teach and get employees to use.

Empowerment means all employees have to make fast decisions on the spot in favor of the customer. The fear is that an employee may give away the store. The single goal of every company should be to have over-happy customers.

In Bolivia, I sent a lot of products via Federal Express to Marwan El Tine, VP of Service Quality Institute Bolivia.

After six weeks, he still did not have the products. I addressed the … Read the rest

Williston Sales Reviews Its History

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Nine years ago, Agency Sales visited S. Williston Sales Company. This year as the East Greenwich, Rhode Island-based agency marks its 15th anniversary, Steve Williston, the agency’s president and CEO, took the opportunity to recall several of the agency’s challenges and milestones. At the outset, Williston notes that the agency’s passion and efforts to succeed have firmed up the agency’s position as it serves the HVAC industry in its territory.

According to Williston, he learned the independent manufacturers’ representative trade in the HVAC/R industry from his father, a respected rep in the northeast region, which includes Upstate New York and … Read the rest

Five Key Factors in Choosing a Rep Company

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Whether you are already committed to the independent manufacturers’ rep business model, are switching from direct sales to rep-based sales or are just starting to build your sales force, there are many factors to consider.

Here are five of the most important factors to consider when choosing a rep company:

  1. Synergy between the rep’s lines and your products and/or services.
  2. Reputation and longevity in the territory.
  3. Number of existing lines.
  4. Number of outside and inside salespeople.
  5. Long-term plan.

Let’s drill down a bit deeper.

Synergy

“The interaction or cooperation of two or more organizations, substances, or other agents to produce … Read the rest

MANA Members Share Concerns

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MANA offers rep and manufacturer members opportunities to network and share concerns in teleconferences and MANAchats.

Dealing with customers they’ve never met in person and making face-to-face contact with customers in a post-Covid world dominated a MANA teleconference conducted by the association’s “A League of Their Own” (ALOTO), MANA’s special interest group for women.

Two of the discussion participants detailed what they described as unusual — but successful — relationships with customers with whom they never had an in-person sit-down meeting.

The first rep detailed, “I had been soliciting one customer for more than three years, but I had never … Read the rest

Personal Brand Quiz

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Test how your personal reputation stacks up.

In marketing terms, your company’s net promoter score indicates your customers’ willingness to recommend your products and services. Bringing this concept closer to home, ever wondered how likely people are to recommend you personally? For example, would your supervisor go to bat for you to support you receiving a pay raise? Are your competitors hearing about you from your customers and considering offering you a job? The likelihood of these kinds of recommendations is based on what I call your “Trust Equity Score.” The higher your trust equity, the more inclined people will … Read the rest

How to Promote Your Brand Tastefully

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It’s a story as old as Hollywood — a teenage movie star eventually turns into a washed-up drug addict with a collection of orange-jumpsuit photos.

It’s also a story as old as professional sports — a star athlete is arrested for punching an autograph seeker in the face.

We commonly see celebrities behaving badly in public, and because of that, the word “celebrity” can have a negative connotation. Nevertheless, society is obsessed with fame and fortune. In fact, some people do outrageous things just in the hope of achieving celebrity status.

Viral social media videos and reality television shows have … Read the rest

Strong Personal Relationships Are Key to Closing More Sales

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A strong personal relationship is one in which the customer fully trusts and likes the architectural sales representative (ASR), whether they are a direct hire employee or an independent manufacturers’ representative.

The customer is interested in a partnership that is equally valuable to him and to the manufacturer the ASR represents. For any product or group of products, the customer is willing to give most or all his business to that manufacturer.

There is a perception today among many in the commercial architectural products marketplace that personal relationships in selling are less important today than in years past. Information is … Read the rest

A Frustrating Problem Costing You Time and Sales

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Recently I met with a new sales rep who’s been in sales for a little over six months.

He’s made two sales; he should be closer to 30. I started by asking how many sales calls he’s been making, how many proposals he’s presented, what he’s been saying, and what his overall process has been. It didn’t take long to identify his problem.

Keep in mind that most prospects are simply trying to get rid of you. The average executive has 52 hours of work on their desk and gets 200 to 300 emails a day along with 25 to … Read the rest

How to Lead When It Feels Like the Sky Is Falling

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As an executive coach and business owner, I know balancing everything in today’s economy can be hard. Unfortunately, you can’t hit a pause button when leading an organization. We must find a way to win despite the odds. Here are a few tips to help keep you on track and in control.

Leading in a Turbulent Economy

First, let’s be clear about one thing: just because it feels like the sky is falling, it doesn’t mean you have to be buried by it. As a leader, you’ve got to slap on your superhero hat and create a way to make … Read the rest

Middle Manager Burnout Is a Real Thing

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Slack Technologies conducted a survey a few months back that found 43 percent of middle managers feel burned out. You may be one of them. There were a lot of reasons given, but one of the biggest concerns was being caught between corporate return-to-office policies and the employees who complain that they don’t see the need.

As much as the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has indicated that there seems to be a considerable shift back to office work since the beginning of 2023, this is not true across all industries. More important, it is not just about whether a … Read the rest

Past Practices Can Work Today

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When Mills Rendell, formerly with Rendell Sales Company and now the president of Zeus Battery Products, read “Is This the Future for Many Outside Salespeople” in the September 2022 issue of Agency Sales, it caused him to reflect on his career as a rep. It also reminded him that there’s no room for excuses if a rep is having difficulty getting in touch with customers and no substitute for hard work if a rep is seeking a path to a successful career in sales.

According to Rendell, “There’s no need for me to go into a great deal of … Read the rest

MANAchats Let Reps Share Concerns

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Whether it’s considering if the role of the rep is changing, sharing tips on how to use technology to maximize productivity, or offering advice for getting in front of ever-elusive customers, regularly scheduled MANAchats have become a welcome meeting place for association members. Those and other subjects were addressed in recent sessions of the chats that were participated in by numerous MANA members and took place over several days.

Contacting Customers

As noted in another article that appears in this issue of Agency Sales, the lasting impact of Covid and other variables have made it more difficult for reps … Read the rest