We all recognize the importance of introducing business school students to the concept of manufacturers’ representatives so new executives, sales managers and regional managers at our principals won’t balk at having outsourced sales forces. MANA’s most recent success in this area was presenting at Harvard Business School. We hope you will enjoy MANA CEO Charles […]
A MANA newsletter reminding manufacturers to give their representatives ample notice of visits to the field prompted MANA member Ed Bobacher to write to MANA and report the opposite problem. Ed kindly allowed us to post his email on MANA’s blog. Another trend we have noticed becoming too frequent is the lack of manufacturer visits […]
MANA’s Nominating Committee is pleased to announce the three candidates to join MANA’s Board of Directors who will appear on the January 2016 ballot: John Davis – Paul Davis Automation (Ohio) Stephen Fowler- Process Equipment Resources and Consulting Services (New Jersey) Ed Juline – Mexico Representation (Mexico and Atlanta, GA)
Free Registration at http://bit.ly/HBS_MANA Harvard Business School has invited MANA CEO Charles Cohon to present “Outsourcing Selling” to its MBA students at its centerpiece Spangler Center, and also has invited the business community to sit in. In addition to Harvard Business School MBA students, Harvard […]
Thursday, October 22, 2015 – Sands Expo Center, Las Vegas 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m For Reps: The Biggest Sale You’ll Ever Make: Your Representative Firm Presented by the Manufacturers’ Agents National Association (MANA) Room 401 2:15 p.m. to 4:15 p.m For Manufacturers: It’s Not Rocket Surgery: Successful Sales Force Outsourcing with Independent Manufacturers’ Reps […]
Do manufacturers and reps need a manufacturers’ representative contracts to formalize their relationships? Consider the experience of Baby Boomer representative David Reese* who remembers the days when a handshake deal with a manufacturer could last for a whole career. “The person whose hand you shook had been with the company for a decade so he’d […]
“At one point our organization grew to over 1,300 employees. Most of the head count was in a sister company, called Ready Set Service, we started specifically to perform in-store service for Home Depot. This involved a lot more HR management and no real sales and marketing, so I was happy to sell off my […]
Congratulations! A prospective new principal has just called and the conversation has begun! And, ideally, it should be more of a conversation and less of an interview. After all, you are assessing this prospective principal’s fit for your line card just as much as this prospective principal is assessing your fit with his or her […]
Yorston and Associates, a manufacturer’s representative and consultant agency for the sign industry, officially teams up with Vantage LED, an LED sign manufacturer, and both companies found that beyond the specs and features of any product or service, it’s the people and trust that make the difference. For more details visit http://www.marketwired.com/press-release/Yorston-and-Associates-Finds-a-Natural-Partnership-With-Vantage-LED-2026175.htm
And that chance is in the subject line. Consider a customer with emails in his or her inbox with the following subject lines: Subject Line: “Your RFQ 8854 Our Quote 11876 3,000 Machined Steel Rods $7,000 Net, Four Week Lead Time.” Body Text: Includes the quote information from the subject line and specifies standard terms […]
Wow! Sometimes I get a letter that just knocks me back on me heels because it’s so perceptive and well-written! I received just such a letter from Steve Anderson, Anderson Agency, Inc. a few days ago. Steve’s manufacturers’ representative company has been a MANA member since 1987. With Steve’s permission I am reprinting his letter here. I hope you will […]
The Electronics Representatives Association (ERA) has announced that Bob Evans, CPMR, president of EK Associates, Inc., of Palatine, Ill., is the most recent recipient of the Ray Hall Spirit of ERA Award. Evans has served as the chair of ERA’s Chapter Leadership Council (CLC) since 2011, is closely involved in developing the member and […]
Read the blog from MANA’s CEO at http://blog.rephunter.net/not-daniel-boone-cant-pioneering-says-manufacturers-rep/
Sometimes you get an email that just makes you feel good to be part of the representative industry. A very successful representative just shared his story with me and agreed that I could share it with you, as long as I kept the story anonymous. This is the kind of story that reminds you why […]
By Jeffrey Simon Jeffrey Simon is CEO of RepHunter.net, an online resource that helps manufacturers find representatives and representatives find new lines. Jeffrey can be contacted toll free by phone at 877-895-2909 or by email at jas@rephunter.net An independent sales rep should expect to be treated as a valued partner who can help the manufacturer […]
MANA is pleased to announce the election of two exceptionally well-qualified MANA representative members to MANA’s Board of Directors. Each will serve a two-year term that starts May 1, 2015. Biographies for John Beaver and Danny Collis follow below. Please join us in congratulating them. If you are a representative member and are interested in […]
MANA welcomes this very insightful guest blog by Jim Perritt, North America Sales Manager, Product Assembly Adhesives, LORD Corporation. Our business is industrial adhesives sold mostly through distributors who engineer applications. Some of them were selling into the sign market and we felt that there was more business in that market for us. Lord Adhesives had a long history […]
Charles, I found your short article about the #1 Rule To Avoid Commission Cuts and found it to hit very close to home. I have a current situation with a principal located overseas that repeatedly takes a very lackadaisical approach to paying commissions due on time. When commissions are paid, there is a very vague accounting […]
The Nominating Committee of MANA’s Board of Directors is pleased to offer two exceptionally well-qualified MANA representative members as candidates to serve a two-year term on MANA’s Board of Directors. Ballots will be distributed to eligible MANA members in the January 2015 iToolbox electronic newsletter. Balloting closes 8 PM Central time on Friday, February 20, […]
Representative Bob Lindsay* and manufacturer Charles Edwards* agree: “If you want to be a platinum representative or find a platinum representative, take a lesson from geologists. Where do you find the metal platinum? Most often in nickel or copper mines. So if you want to find platinum, look for nickel or copper.” How does this […]