by John Haskell When a principal changes its regional sales manager or general sales manager it can spell trouble for the independent rep firm. What can you do to accomplish these changes in a non‑threatening manner? One major caveat —

by Michelle Jobst, CPMR, Jobst Incorporated Cold calling — It can seem like an old fashioned and inefficient task. I would imagine that most salespeople enjoy other contact points more than this one. So why do it? When it is

by Douglas Bower That’s a very short declarative statement that brings to mind reps and manufacturers skipping through the morass of the business market place enjoying mutual profitability and growth. But underlying that declarative statement is a plethora of details that

by Stephen Fowler, President, PERCS A recent film, Arrival, presented a tale of potential catastrophe from disruptive change requiring massive adaptation. Aliens have suddenly arrived on earth, their presence mysterious: potentially benign but possibly threatening. Confronted with a new normal, we

by Roger Ralston, Tri-State Components, Inc. Should Your Business Enter New Markets? The answer may be “Yes,” but pause to reflect before making that jump. If you are considering expansion, even targeting new territories or new customers, the odds are

by Jerry Leth, Vice-President and General Manager, MANA Why is this important? We all know the definition of insanity, where we keep doing the same things over and over again and expect the results to change. To change the results,

by Greg Bruno, President, Midlantic Enterprises, Inc. Sales agencies and principals rely on each other, and our mutual growth is intertwined. Our mutual dependence is obvious for some but not so for others. There cannot be one winner and one

by John Beaver, GSA Optimum You have another new regional or national sales manager — and the person is a rep’s worst nightmare. Whether it’s your largest line or a basic bread and butter line, what should you do? Your

by Jerry Leth, Vice-President and General Manager, MANA I periodically receive phone calls from MANA manufacturer members telling me a prospective manufacturers’ representative requested a fee to take on their line. “I thought reps work on a commission basis only,

by Jerry Leth, Vice-President and General Manager, MANA A main purpose of MANA is to help our manufacturers’ representative members succeed and grow their businesses. A look at our membership shows significant diversity. Our largest member employs 53 outside sales employees,

by John Roba, The John D Roba Company, Inc. As a MANA member for over 35 years, I recall many outstanding articles Agency Sales magazine has written, covering everything from “Starting an Agency” through “Succession Planning.” In this month’s issue

by John Davis, Paul Davis Automation Just the other week, I was on an airplane traveling to a trade show. Given the close quarters of the typical airline arrangement, I could not help but overhear the conversation between the two

by Tom Hayward, CPMR, United Sales Associates Goal: Organize/Attend a Rep Council If you want to stir up the conversation amongst a group of representatives, ask their opinion as to whether Rep Councils are worth the time investment. Opinions on

by Charles Ingram, VP of Sales & Marketing, Eriez Magnetics “I’m a manufacturer, not a rep agency. Why should my company join MANA?” I hear this all the time. It’s a legitimate question, really. After all, the name of the

by Tim Ryder, President, Ryder Sales Agency, Inc. As a manufacturers’ representative we are reminded that it is a multi‑faceted livelihood; a business extending into other fields including sales, marketing, management, engineering, economics, technology, healthcare, human resources, law, finance, accounting,

by Danny Collis, President, Collis Group, Inc. I have been to so many manufacturer training sessions that the phrase, “Thank you for coming, we understand that time is your most precious asset” is ingrained in me. I can’t disagree with

by Jerry Leth, Vice-President and General Manager, MANA Spend time as a manufacturers’ representative, you eventually learn you can lose an important line for doing too good of a job. What? They fire you for being too good? Yes, it

by Michelle Jobst, CPMR, Jobst Incorporated When I regularly speak to other female sales reps around the country, I can’t help but recognize the real sense of optimism and momentum that has grown out of the connections among female reps

by Stephen Fowler, President, PERCS The old expression goes, “Don’t make a production out of this,” referring to the 1930s Busby Berkeley musical movies, when the centerpiece is a complicated, ornate dance routine, dominating the film, taking seemingly forever! Glitzy,

By Jeff Bloomfield, Founder & CEO, Braintrust Recently, I was traveling to a speaking engagement to an area of the country I had not been to in several years. When I left the office to head for the airport, I

by Jerry Leth, Vice-President and General Manager, MANA About 10 years ago, MANA led a dozen manufacturers’ representative members on a trade delegation to the Hannover Fair in Germany. The night before the fair opened, we hosted a dinner for

by Jerry Leth, Vice-President and General Manager, MANA When I owned my manufacturers’ representative business back in the last millennium, my principals wanted one thing from me — orders! Our members now tell me principals still want orders, but other

by John Sandifer, SanCo Sales, Inc. It is to be expected that with any major change in the way the independent manufacturers’ representative conducts his business that change is going to be accompanied by negatives and positives. So it is

by John Beaver, GSA Optimum How do you prepare to consistently execute a good plan now in your manufacturers’ representative firm? By studying past problems and challenges and having a response ready when those problems and challenges recur. In today’s

by Tom Hayward, CPMR, United Sales Associates Most MANA manufacturers’ representatives pride themselves on being entrepreneurs. We start our businesses from scratch and create something out of nothing. Ideally we work to create an entity that can be perpetuated long

by Ed Juline, CPMR, CSP, Mexico Representation What are the odds that your very first deal as a manufacturers’ representative turns out to be a long-term contract on $50 million in sales per year and you’re guaranteed to land the

by Craig Lindsay, CPMR, CSP, Pacesetter Sales & Associates I found it interesting when asked to write this article that there appears to be some karma in timing in my personal case, as it seems succession planning in more than

by Michelle Jobst, CPMR, Jobst Incorporated We can all be very busy as we remain focused on the day-to-day activities of staying in front of our customers. From time to time, however, it’s important to perform activities that allow us

by Greg Bruno, President, Midlantic Enterprises, Inc. Anyone who knows me well will recognize that it’s somewhat ironic that I’m writing on embracing change! That’s because I hate change. But being asked to write this has forced me to examine

I started in the pump business working for a distributor/rep in the Philadelphia area. About seven years later I took a position as a direct salesperson in that same area for a pump manufacturer. When I was at my employer’s Chicago headquarters

by Charles Ingram,  VP of Sales & Marketing, Eriez Magnetics The best manufacturer-rep relationships are those where both parties respect each other, understand their mutual expectations and have shared business values. While manufacturers may have some variations on the attributes

By Ken McGregor, CEO of McGregor & Associates Inc. What are small rep firms? One-person, five-person, 25-person…. The government classifies a small business as one that employs 50 or less. Regardless of the size of your rep firm, we all

by John Davis, Paul Davis Automation The timing of this article could not be better — since I have just earned CPMR (Certified Professional Manufacturer’s Representative) status through MRERF, which I highly recommend, the topic of strategic planning is top-of-mind.

by Jerry Leth, Vice-President and General Manager, MANA About a third of the new agent members who join MANA every month are start-ups. By start-up, we mean they have been in business anywhere from one year to just preparing to

by Danny Collis, President, Collis Group, Inc. I am used to putting ads in a local paper and seeing what comes of it. Yes, I just gave away my age. The problem today is trying to figure out which website

AKA: Thinking About the Unthinkable by Stephen Fowler, President, PERCS In 1905, nine Morse code strokes established an emergency distress code (or procedural signal or prosing). Now we think of SOS or “Save Our Souls.” The key was the simplicity

by Tim Ryder, President, Ryder Sales Agency, Inc. Serving on the Board of Directors for MANA was a great experience on multiple levels: Working alongside a professional MANA staff and successful independent representatives. Heading and participating on various committees (such as the

by John Beaver, GSA Optimum To which I would add, salespeople have got to sell. It’s surprising how much people do the things they’re paid to do during their work day long after their work day ends. Teachers use their

by John Roba, The John D Roba Company, Inc. As a long-time MANA member, I have found that one of the most frequently discussed subjects is call reports. Jerry Leth, MANA’s vice president and general manager, and longtime liaison to the

by Danny Collis, President, Collis Group, Inc. What is a Millennial? I’m not really too keen on labeling people or the generations that they’re a part of. That’s why I have trouble defining a Millennial. I seems as if every conference

by John Sandifer, SanCo Sales, Inc. There are primarily several types of situations where split commissions might pop up in today’s manufacturing world, including rep-to-rep split commissions and manufacturer-to-rep split commissions. No manufacturers’ rep particularly likes the discussion in either situation, but

by Charles Ingram,  VP of Sales & Marketing, Eriez Magnetics 1947 was a good year for my company, Eriez Manufacturing, as well. It was the year our founder, Bob Merwin, and Dean Thomas, a sales representative of what is now Dominion-Carolina Sales,

by Craig Lindsay, CPMR, CSP, Pacesetter Sales & Associates It seems to me that many of our manufacturers have either done away with or for some reason have lost interest in having rep councils in the last 15 years. When

by Jerry Leth, Vice-President and General Manager, MANA Back in 1988, I started a manufacturers’ representative business. Back then, we used fax machines to communicate with each other and thought that was high-tech. The world and consequently the manufacturers’ representative

by Jerry Leth, Vice-President and General Manager, MANA Most of the time, manufacturers’ representatives and manufacturers get along fine. Sure, there are minor issues, but the two resolve those quickly and life moves on. Sometimes disputes become major and disruptive,

by Michelle Jobst, CPMR, Jobst Incorporated In May of this year I participated in my first meeting as a member of the MANA Board of Directors. As the first female to occupy such a position in the association’s 70-year history,

by Tom Hayward, CPMR, United Sales Associates “Exceed your customer’s expectations. If you do, they’ll come back over and over. Give them what they want — and a little more.” — Sam Walton As unbridled entrepreneurs, manufacturers’ representatives naturally evaluate

by John Davis, Paul Davis Automation I have to admit, when I was sent the prompt for this month’s “Editorial in the Field,” I was a bit jealous of the authors for the two previous editions of this column. Their

by Rick Campo, Founder, West-Tech Materials In 1992 when I started West-Tech Materials, the only thing people knew about a cloud was that it was in the sky. Working out of my house, as a single-rep operation, monthly I was calculating commissions

by Stephen Fowler, President, PERCS “Perfection, like beauty,” we’re told, “is in the eye of the beholder.” We all agree but don’t reflect on the lens. What is this mind’s “eye,” the eye that spies the perfect spouse, the perfect

By Greg Bruno, President, Midlantic Enterprises, Inc. A principal’s new product launch can be exciting, time-consuming and expensive for both a principal and a representative. Ultimately, everyone involved wants the launch to be successful and profitable. Getting to these goals

by Danny Collis, President, Collis Group, Inc. As I consider my 23-year history as an independent manufacturers’ representative, I’ve got to admit that I’ve really never encountered one! I’ve seen very successful reps — but not perfect ones. Wouldn’t achieving

by Jerry Leth, Vice-President and General Manager, MANA As a MANA member, you can learn from other members’ best practices, a membership benefit. Let’s face it: we live in a changing world and the change accelerates every day. New issues

By Israel Ginez, Eng-Mba, Gindustrez Trading Inc. I have seen many times how some Principals do not understand or do not want to accept the full extent of a company in business such as the Representation structures. This document will

By Howard Collier, Collier Corporation It happened to me. It was a number of years ago, I was calling on a major industrial manufacturer who consumed large volumes of brass rod. The brass rod mill I represented was getting ready

by Jerry Leth, Vice-President and General Manager, MANA When a manufacturer approaches a prospective manufacturers’ representative, the manufacturers’ representative wants to learn two things. First, does this company supply a product or service my customers need? If yes, the next

by Tim Ryder, President, Ryder Sales Agency, Inc. The adage of being a “Jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none” does not necessarily apply to independent manufacturers’ representatives. While the “business” end may require that we become “Jacks” of the many facets of running our

“Relationships and reputation drive success with manufacturers’ reps,” says an article in The Fabricator magazine written by Senior Editor Tim Heston. “Manufacturers’ representatives can help a shop grow and diversify. But finding the right rep isn’t straightforward. The rep and

by Ed Juline, CPMR, CSP, Mexico Representation The selection of manufacturers’ representatives can be one of the most overlooked yet critical activities that a sales manager or leader can undertake. Once the decision is made to include the use of

by John Beaver, GSA Optimum Or how about a remark from a prospective principal during an interview that the prospective principal liked the owner of the previous representative firm, but felt they just didn’t have the manpower to grow his

by John Beaver, GSA Optimum Whether you are playing in the World Series, or running for President of the United States, or interviewing for a new line, the outcomes will all have two things in common. Number one is that

by Danny Collis, President, Collis Group, Inc. As the result of the time I’ve spent in my career, I’ve had the opportunity to reflect upon the attributes one must possess in order to be a successful independent manufacturers’ representative. I

By Ed Juline, CPMR, CSP, Mexico Representation While being a manufacturers’ agent or representative is a well‑developed profession in the U.S. and Canada, the entire concept of outsourced sales forces is still mostly unknown in Mexico. Many of the reasons

By Jerry Leth, Vice-President and General Manager, MANA People ask me quite frequently, “Why should I join MANA? What does a MANA membership do for me?” When I started at MANA after retiring from a long sales career, I reverted

By John Davis, Paul Davis Automation In the October 2016 issue of Agency Sales, Charles Cohon — MANA CEO — provided an excerpt from MANA’s Executive Secretary, P. Edwin Thomas (MANA Minute — “MANA Featured in Billboard Magazine”). I am

by Craig Lindsay, CPMR, CSP, Pacesetter Sales & Associates I am sure for many Baby Boomers (like me) this question comes up on a regular basis and like many situations, we have options: Jump in with both feet and figure

This article from the July 1949 issue of The AGENT and Representative magazine (which eventually became Agency Sales, the Manufacturers’ Agents National Association (MANA, www.manaonline.org) monthly magazine, tells the story of an independent sales rep whose customer convinced a manufacturer

By Kenneth Hooper, President/CEO, NEMRA When a sales representative looks across the landscape of professional associations they will see a near-boundless variety of choices. Some choices are defined by vertical representation and industry-specific expertise. Other choices provide diverse representation focusing

By Tom Hayward, CPMR, United Sales Associates Sometimes change is naturally accepted and sometimes not. If change happens to us, typically we get to work right away as we must adapt and survive. For manufacturers’ representatives, if we lose an

By Tom Hayward, CPMR, United Sales Associates So really, as a MANA rep member what has MANA done for you lately? Well, you get the iToolbox e-mails, and with each month a new Agency Sales magazine arrives. Good stuff. Oh,

By Greg Bruno, President, Midlantic Enterprises, Inc. Every principal that works with representatives will say that they want more time from their representatives. But very few seem to make a consistent effort to win the hearts and minds of their representatives and

By Stephen Fowler, President, PERCS How to plan ahead so you can ask the right questions of customers and principals. Alice asked the Cat, “Which way ought I to go from here?” The Cheshire Cat responded that “…depends a good

By Jerry Leth, Vice-President and General Manager, MANA I graduated from college with a mechanical engineering degree. My first job was as an assistant to the plant engineer at an instant coffee plant. Thirteen years later, I left the coffee

Save the Life of Your Manufacturer-Rep Relationship By Jerry Leth, Vice-President and General Manager, MANA In June I attended the MANA Attorney Forum and AMRA (Alliance of Manufacturers’ Representative Associations) meetings. At both events, I heard a recurring theme: when high-quality

A MANA member offered us this guest blog post, with the understanding that it would remain anonymous. One person’s perspective on taking a commission cut to close a deal follows. There are occasions when a principal will ask a rep

By Tim Ryder, President, Ryder Sales Agency, Inc. My dad recounts a story from his early days as a salesman. One of his competitors showed up for a sales call at the purchasing agent’s office. He started the call by asking

by Danny Collis, President, Collis Group, Inc. I was personally brought into my first rep council in 2001. I was shocked and honored that they asked me (first Canadian rep) to be associated with this long-standing tradition at this company.

by John Beaver, GSA Optimum I’ve often said that principals who use “crack the whip” tactics on their rep sales force are essentially exercising the most expensive (and least efficient) management tool possible. This is because principals who “crack the whip”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Why don’t they teach about manufacturers’ representatives in business schools?” It’s a common question from MANA members, and one that has triggered MANA’s outreach to the academic community, most recently at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business MBA

A MANA representative member recently called for help working through a difficult issue with a sub agent. A few days later, he followed up with this email: “Hi Charley, “Based on our conversation I was able to win an extra

I just got back from what turned out to be one of my favorite business trips of all time. Now, I have visited some amazing cities on business, including Tokyo, London, Stockholm, Salzburg, and Helsinki. So when I tell you

Involving a lawyer is the worst way to launch a rep/principal relationship, except for all the other ways that have been tried. (Apologies to Winston Churchill.) With all due respect to MANA’s friends in the legal profession, one thing I’ve never

When a manufacturer requires call reports from a manufacturers’ representative, does he or she jeopardize the independent contractor status of the manufacturers’ representative and risk becoming responsible for the employer’s share of social security tax and the federal unemployment tax

Once you make initial contact with a list of manufacturers’ representatives who are interested in representing your line, the interview process begins. The interview will probably happen in two phases: A phone interview to establish that there is serious mutual

It’s the same reason so many people love Coca-Cola™. Associations. People associate the flavor of Coca-Cola with happy events: a baseball game, a picnic, a childhood birthday party. The flavor launches memories of those happy events, so naturally many people

“My principal suddenly wants weekly call reports and quote updates,” said a MANA representative member. “I need to spend my time selling, not writing reports. And isn’t there some sort of IRS rule against call reporting for independent contractors like

“So, how did things turn out with that quote we prepared for Acme Corporation?” Following up and reporting on open quotes is a task principals frequently assign to manufacturers’ agents. And there are any number of apps and cloud-based document

As the largest North American manufacturers’ representative association we often get questions from manufacturers and representatives about best practices and how to maintain long-lasting, mutually-profitable relationships. In this post we share 11 recent questions and our replies. Should the manufacturers’