Category Archives: Feature

How to Get Great Customer Service From Service Providers

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How can you get great customer service? How can you get an employee to go above and beyond to help you? How can you get an employee to work on your behalf because they like you?

Employees can work miracles for customers who appreciate them and are friendly and respectful. Be one of those customers.

If you want to get great customer service — which is something we all want — I recommend that you take the following steps. And they work whether you are conversing face to face, on the phone, or by email.

Step 1 — Be Friendly… Read the rest

In Hiring Salespeople: No One Size Fits All

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One of the most valuable bits of advice that came from a MANAcast on the subject of “Hiring Salespeople for Your Manufacturers’ Rep Firm” was that “one size hardly fits all.”

By that, MANA-member Phillip Ferrell meant that when an agency is faced with the task of filling a sales position, there’s no one approach that is going to fit the needs of all agencies.

Ferrell, president of Agri-Sales Associates, which employs 20 salespeople, explained that by and large, his agency has followed fairly traditional steps when it comes to filling vacancies. “However, your approach to finding new people really … Read the rest

Rep Firm Finds a Home

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If ever there was a “friendly camp” for a rep firm to call home it proved to be Gallagher Fluid Seals, Inc.

According to Chris Gallagher, CEO of the King of Prussia, Pennsylvania-based company, “When we learned from Dupont, one of the manufacturers that we work with, that the owner of its distributor in New England (IES Technical Sales, Danvers, Massachusetts), was interested in transitioning out of the firm, we opened acquisition conversations with the firm’s owner Mike Berry.”

Gallagher explains, “IES is a segmental distributor for Dupont Kalrez and deals only with targeted customers in the semiconductor and vacuum … Read the rest

Six Pricing Strategies for Success

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The price a customer will pay is a reflection of the value you create.

When learning about your prospect becomes knowing your customer, you can customize that value.

There are six things you should know and have in your prospecting tool belt before you present your next price.

1. Your Confidence Impacts the Price

Never allow a price to go out the door without legs being attached to it. In other words, allow your human presence to do the work. Don’t sit there and think, “Well, I’m not sure if they’re going to take it, so I’m just going to … Read the rest

What’s the Ultimate Sales Tool: Personality, Product or Price?

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Recently, I was consulting with a sales professional, and we were discussing his success, or lack thereof, with attracting new clients.

He had a serious challenge with landing new prospects: they would often avoid meetings with him or were simply unresponsive. Understandably, he was pretty broken up about it and quite demotivated. A career in sales is not for the weary, and his sentiments are often felt at some point by most sales professionals. However, in our oversaturated world, differentiation beyond product or price is key. In this article I’ll break down why and how you and your personality is … Read the rest

Is “On-the-Job” Training the Best Way to Develop Salespeople?

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In our surveys, CEOs indicate “on-the‑job” training as the predominant method of developing salespeople. If everyone is doing it, it must be OK, right?

I don’t think so. See if this sounds familiar. You are ready to expand your sales force, so you hire a nice guy who has some experience in the industry. You start him with a few days in the warehouse, have him sit in customer service for a week, and meet with whichever manufacturers’ rep happens to stroll in. You send him out with a senior salesperson for a week or so. Then, he’s deemed ready … Read the rest

Too Many Interruptions? Consider This

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Supply chain shortages, backlogs, and price hikes have caused increasing numbers of customers to voice questions and concerns that may have you and your team feeling pressured. Employees trying to finish a task for one customer may become flustered when “interrupted” with another request. That’s a formula for a bad day for a lot of people.

That’s why, when managers bring me in for team training, we talk about several guiding principles when juggling multiple customers.

Customers Are Not Interruptions

As LL Bean put it, customers are not interruptions to our work, they are the purpose of our work. Rather … Read the rest

Prospecting vs. Closing

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More than 40 percent of sales professionals say prospecting is the most challenging part of the sales process according to a HubSpot survey. Thirty-six percent said closing was the most difficult part while 22 percent cited qualifying prospective clients as toughest.

Would you like to know what surprised me most about these survey results?

The fact that prospecting only had 40 percent.

I believe that prospecting is the most important part of the sales process and the one that causes the most stress, worry and procrastination among people who sell for a living.

When speaking to sales reps, I sometimes … Read the rest

Closing the Knowing‑Doing Gap

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Perhaps you’ve seen it in the people around you. The purchasing agent who fails to act on a decision she knows is correct. The customer rep who spends too much time thinking through decisions that should come automatically. The supervisor who lets people slide in their performance rather than working to correct behavior.

When I was a new boss, I hired someone who listened intently to all the training. She had the smarts to do the job, but she couldn’t seem to act on any decision that involved an element of uncertainty. I thought she just needed more training, so … Read the rest

Rep Adapts to Market Needs

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MANA isn’t alone in celebrating its 75th anniversary this year. Joining the association in achieving that milestone is Altherm, Inc., an independent manufacturers’ rep firm serving the plumbing and heating industry. And if there’s anything the agency can point to as a reason for its lengthy and prosperous tenure, it’s adaptability and flexibility.

“In dealing with the manufacturers that we represent, they’re always talking about the importance of alignment,” explains Tom Gallagher, president of the Ridgefield, New Jersey-based rep firm. “They’ll always tell us how important it is for us to be aligned with what they hope to achieve. What … Read the rest

MANAchat Explores Supply Chain Concerns

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Extended lead times, increased prices, supply problems, and pushback from customers combined to provide plenty of subject matter for a three-day MANAchat earlier this year.

An interesting side effect of the aforementioned, according to the 21 reps who participated in the chat, is that some reps find themselves having to fend off requests from principals to consider accepting commission cuts since higher product pricing has resulted in increased commission payments.

Discussion on that subject emphasized that all parties (manufacturers, customers and reps) are faced with the prospect of dealing with increased pricing. While those higher prices may result in higher … Read the rest

Choices for a Successful 2022

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There is only one thing we can’t make more of and that’s time. The new year is nearly half over — what do we want to make of it?

I choose to look at 2022 as the year of unlimited opportunity, and I see that not only for myself, but for you too. Regardless of where we’re at today, it’s how we choose to use our time moving forward that matters.

It’s time to make some decisions. What choices can I make for this to be the best year ever?

  • Saying “No”

I can’t do everything. “No” is going to … Read the rest

Need a Sales Superstar? Tips to Help You Hire for Drive

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Identifying, attracting and hiring high-achieving salespeople requires patience and discipline, especially given the current talent shortage. It may be tempting to fill an empty role (and save yourself time and work) by hiring someone who’s merely qualified, not driven.

However, compromising on the caliber of your hires is not an option: The quality of your salespeople directly determines the quality of your results. Here are five things you can do to find and hire the most driven high performers.

1. Attract High-Drive Candidates With Targeted Job Listings

High-drive people are attracted to high-drive situations, so that’s how you should position … Read the rest

The Truth About Closing Deals

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Do you want to be more effective at closing deals? If so, you might need to change your way of thinking, because closing is actually “an act of service.”

So says sales consultant James Muir in his report, “The 7 Deadly Sins of Closing and the Statistical Truth that Will Improve Your Sales.”

“Your customers expect you to help them make the positive changes that will bring about their desired results,” says Muir, who is also author of the best-selling book, The Perfect Close. “They expect you to encourage them to become better than they are…. Be their coach … Read the rest

Why Prospects Ghost You and What to Do About It

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As salespeople we’ve all had the situation where a decision maker told us they were interested, asked us to follow up at another time, and now after several follow-up calls and emails, we can’t get ahold of them and can’t get them to return our calls. So, why are prospects ghosting you and what can you do about it?

The #1 Reason You Get Ghosted: The Prospect Was Never Really Interested to Begin With

Solution: Make sure people are actually interested. If someone tells you to get back to them at another time, you can’t let that sleeping dog lie, … Read the rest

Landmines in the Rep’s Path

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Avoid planting and setting off landmines in the manufacturer-rep relationship.

The opportunities to plant landmines in your agency’s path are many and occur every day.

Trying to list many of these landmines results in a clear picture of how many there are and how many can really damage your business. Being aware of these landmines makes everyone in the rep firm a better rep and better partner for the principals you represent.

Communication Gaps

No regular program of communication to keep principals up to date and looking forward.

“We never hear from those guys in Ohio. Their business is not … Read the rest

The Four Cs of Handling Irate Customers

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Business owners and employees face a special challenge when it comes to dealing with customers who are unhappy with your service, your products, your lack of attention, or a myriad of other things.

How you handle those customers can have a direct impact on your business. If you don’t handle them well, customers will leave you — and take their money with them.

Their patronage — and their money — become even more important when you realize that it will cost you 10 times more to attract new customers than it will to retain current customers. For example, if 50 … Read the rest

The Importance of Reps Marketing Themselves to Principals

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It’s critical that independent manufacturers’ representatives market themselves to existing and prospective principals just as if they are a product or service. That was just one of the important bits of advice offered by John Haskell (aka Dr. Revenue) during a MANAcast earlier this year.

According to Haskell, “When dealing with principals, the first thing the rep has to do is to think of themselves as a product. It’s important that they think that way. They’ve got to build themselves a business profile and a marketing plan that makes them look desirable to manufacturers.”

Haskell, a frequent contributor to Agency … Read the rest

We Are the Same, But Different

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Lamps are different, but light is the same. — Rumi, 1207-1273 AD

Travel across the Atlantic Ocean, and you’ll often discover that things abroad may seem the same, but also different. And, in the process of learning about things from international lands that are the same but also different, you may develop a deeper understanding of the familiar things from home.

For example, on both sides of the Atlantic, commission-based outsourced sales forces are a popular, cost-effective way for manufacturers to go to market. In North America, manufacturers’ representatives; and in Europe, commercial agents.

Are manufacturers’ reps and their European … Read the rest

Planning for the Best

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Do you want this year to be your best year in business and sell more than you’ve ever sold before? If so, here are four tips, plus two bonus tips, for having your best year ever.

Tip #1: Determine Why It’s Critical You Have a Great Year

What are you capable of if you set your mind to it? Pretty much anything, right? So, whether or not you’ll have your best year will pretty much come down to how compelling your reasons are for making it happen. Find your why in positive reasons for making this your best year and … Read the rest

The Future of Customer Service: Buying Trends to Capitalize On

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Have you ever seen this much marketplace disruption?

The year 2022 marks my 30th anniversary of client companies bringing me in to work with their sales and service teams to grow their business. Over my three decades of speaking, training and writing on the topic I’ve never seen a shift in customer buying behaviors as dramatic as those we’ve recently experienced during the pandemic. Consider how you and your organization can capitalize on the following big three trends.

Buying Trend #1 — Convenience Is King

The pandemic exploded online buying, particularly at Amazon. Interestingly, Amazon doesn’t sell products. It sells … Read the rest

Tips to Get More Referrals

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Without a doubt, the easiest, most efficient and cost‑effective way to build your business is with referrals.

You simply cannot say, “But what if we haven’t been in business long enough to get referrals?” Excuse me, you’ve been on planet earth, haven’t you? That means you’ve got friends. You’ve got acquaintances. Referrals don’t just come from people who are actively doing business with you.

There are some great ways to integrate asking for referrals into your sales process. I’ve got 10 to share with you.

1. Build a Referral Network

Collaborate with other people who are like you, who you … Read the rest

Why You Need to Serve Those Beside You

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We cannot exist in a vacuum, whether we would like to or not. At work, it is essential to successfully collaborate with our colleagues and other leaders in the middle to get the job done right. Now, while I acknowledge the resistance to collaborate between groups may at times not necessarily stem from us, we still have to be accountable by doing the right thing. This is why serving those beside you is important — it’s about being mindful about your actions and those of the people you coach.

In my book, Serve Up, Coach Down, I write quite … Read the rest

The Cost of Compromise: Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Lower Your Standards When Hiring Salespeople

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Especially given the current talent shortage, it’s hard to find good salespeople. Lowering your standards to fill an opening — no matter how desperate you might be — could be a fatal mistake.

As the economy (finally) heats up, hiring managers are desperately trying to fill sales openings. Faced with stiff competition for a small pool of applicants, you might be tempted to compromise on the quality of new hires. It’s easy to rationalize: Thanks to the pandemic, the nature of sales has changed. The role is less forward-facing than it used to be, and anyone can give a virtual … Read the rest

Remember and Use a Customer’s Name

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Customer service has many elements that allow you to deliver superior customer service. I believe your name is a precious possession, and when a company uses your name, it elevates the customer experience.

People value their names and the capital they bring to any conversation, interaction or relationship. People love to hear their names. More than any other word in any language, their names often sound best to their own ears. It gives them a jolt when recognized by a friend or acquaintance. That recognition almost always generates an immediate, positive reaction that affects the upcoming experience for the better.… Read the rest

Following Words of Wisdom

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Tom Schoenauer Jr. is more than happy he heeded the words his father spoke years ago; and not only did he heed those words, but he also took them to heart.

Schoenauer’s father, Tom Sr., served as the vice president of sales for a manufacturer that sold its products through a network of independent manufacturers’ reps. Among his duties in that position were hiring, supervising and paying reps. According to the younger Schoenauer, “Growing up I spent a great deal of time working in the shop. One thing I’ll always remember my father saying when he was writing out reps’ … Read the rest

Reps Should Find Their “Yellow Tux”

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“Be different.”
“Be remarkable.”
“Don’t be a ‘me-too’ salesman.”

Those are just a few valuable words of advice from someone who knows what he’s talking about.

While Jesse Cole works in a world far away from that of independent manufacturers’ reps, the lessons he’s learned along the way to becoming the owner of two multimillion-dollar baseball teams can serve as a roadmap pointing to success for reps.

In addition to owning the Savannah Bananas and Gastonia Grizzlies minor league baseball teams in the Coastal Plain League, Cole is the founder of Fans First Entertainment and the author Find Your Yellow … Read the rest

Increase Sales by Getting Back to Basics

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The greatest in any field of endeavor have always been great at the basics.

Vince Lombardi, the great Green Bay Packers coach, said football comes down to two things: blocking on offense and tackling on defense, and his great Packer teams spent 80 percent of their time on those in practice. Red Auerbach, who coached the Boston Celtics to eight consecutive championships, had his players practice free throws and shots from very short distances over and over again. Bruce Lee, Pavarotti, Tiger Woods, and all the other greats have always known the importance of focusing on and mastering the basics … Read the rest

Why the 80/20 Rule Doesn’t Work

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Today I’m going to stir the pot a bit.

I want to talk to you about the 80/20 rule and why it doesn’t work. Yep, there, I said it, it does not work. Wait, wait, wait — just give me a minute to explain here. We’ve been conditioned to think that if we achieve our overall sales targets, despite how and who got us there, we can celebrate it as a win. But I’m here to tell you that tolerating mediocrity in a sales team is an empty victory. You still with me? Ok, great, let’s get into the why, … Read the rest

The Ultimate Sales Improvement Skill

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These are incredibly difficult times for salespeople. Competition in almost every industry continues to intensify. At the same time, customers seem to expect more and more service and demand lower margins. Most markets are rapidly changing, and it’s hard to keep up with the changes in technology and products. Covid has produced an unprecedented change in just the last 12 months.

Rapid Change

As a consultant, I work with executives and salespeople in a variety of industries. And almost invariably, during my first interview with a new client, I hear words something like this, “You need to understand that things … Read the rest