by Charles Cohon, President and CEO, MANA “There are worse things than unsuccessfully trying to find a direct salesperson,” said the manufacturer who called me today. Let me tell you about the call. Most of the phone calls I’ve gotten from manufacturers recently start out like this: “I have been trying to recruit a direct […]
by Marnee Palladino, MARN, Inc.; edited by Stephanie Bray Just like the last time, I found myself wondering: “What should I write for this editorial?” Trying to pick an apropos topic (not already covered by my fellow board members!) was proving challenging yet again. We thought about continuing our story from last January (after all, […]
by Charles Cohon, President and CEO, MANA Next year marks MANA’s 75th anniversary. A milestone anniversary often prompts discussions about how much has changed over the years. Discussions like: “In the future, will there still be manufacturers’ representatives?” Yes, many things have changed. But when customers buy mission-critical products that make the difference between keeping […]
by Michelle Jobst, CPMR, Jobst Incorporated In a crazy year with plenty of uncertainty, the WomenReps 2021 conference was conducted in Bloomington, Minnesota, in July. Even forest fires in the northern part of the state did not stop the event. It was a much-needed connection point for women in the sales representative business. Women from around the […]
by Charles Cohon, President and CEO, MANA Helping manufacturers work effectively with reps is a primary reason MANA exists. So, manufacturers call all the time with questions about switching to reps. Until today, their reasons were pretty much always one of these three: “I need a salesforce that already knows best prospects and is a […]
by Tommy Garnett, CPMR, CSP, Garnett Component Sales, Inc. Long-lasting relationships between manufacturers and representatives are beneficial to each party and the customer as well. This relationship begins when the manufacturer reaches out to the representative and solicits professional representation in a specific area or on an account-by-account basis. The information exchanged in this initial […]
by Charles Cohon, President and CEO, MANA It’s a little bit like science fiction. What would a rep do if, one day, that rep woke up to find that the names of the companies on their line card were the same, but those companies were all subtly different? The people at the factory were subtly different. […]
by John Davis, Paul Davis Automation My dad was, and continues to be, a great mentor for this second-generation manufacturers’ representative firm owner. Over the years, he has imparted a great deal of wisdom gleaned from years on the road and refined by countless hours of reflective windshield time prior to the days of cell […]
by Charles Cohon, President and CEO, MANA “Based on my recent experiences, common courtesy is not common practice with reps,” said the manufacturer. “And, frankly, the absence of basic common courtesy gives the entire rep industry a black eye.” Is this manufacturer right? Let me share his story, and you be the judge. This manufacturer […]
by Kenneth Russell-Murray, ElectraSpec, Inc. As the restrictions related to COVID-19 begin to lift, I would imagine many of us are eager to begin meeting our customers face‑to‑face. Zoom calls have become the norm, and perhaps many of us can’t wait until this is no longer our only means of communicating with our clients. Given the […]
by Charles Cohon, President and CEO, MANA Last week a MANA rep member thanked me for MANA’s work to champion Shared Market Development Fees (SMDF). In recent years, said the rep, manufacturers have become more and more receptive to SMDF, which he credited to MANA’s efforts to familiarize manufacturers with SMDF. SMDF are monthly payments a […]
by Keynae Agnew, CPMR, Agnew Pacific Enterprises, LLC One of the benefits of serving on MANA’s Board of Directors and the Health Industries Representatives Association Board of Directors is that I get to meet and speak with many other manufacturers’ representatives. They have lots of different ways to go to market, and the products they sell […]
by Charles Cohon, President and CEO, MANA Until We Had to Do It Experts tell us that after 18 months of quarantines and pandemic, “The New Normal” is coming. Part of that “new normal” will be that things we “knew” could not be done, pre-pandemic, actually could be done. Quarantines and a pandemic have forced […]
by Jerry Leth, Vice-President and General Manager, MANA Manufacturers have a choice when it comes to selling their products or services. They can hire direct (W2) sales employees or outsource the sales function to independent manufacturers’ representatives (1099 Independent Contractors). Which makes the most sense? Some people use economics to make the choice. Which alternative […]
by Charles Cohon, President and CEO, MANA “I get plenty of voicemails, and I actually return lots of those calls,” explained the anonymous executive. “When I don’t return a call, it’s often for reasons like these: “You called four times without leaving a message. Each time you called, you disrupted the call I was on […]
by John Beaver, GSA Optimum “I feel the need, the need for speed.” — Maverick, Top Gun It happens every time someone sends you an email. It happens every time someone leaves you a voicemail. It happens every time someone sends you a text. Every time someone reaches out to you, that sender’s internal clock starts […]
by Charles Cohon, President and CEO, MANA You have heard it from MANA, from manufacturers, and from reps. In the new normal, manufacturers that sell through reps have significant advantages over manufacturers with a captive sales force: In uncertain times, customers don’t take risks with untested vendors. They turn to trusted, proven resources for the products they need […]
by Lisa Wilson, L.S. Wilson & Associates, Inc. A fellow sales representative on the West Coast, who happens to sell for the same principal that I do, recently phoned to let me know that the company management wanted to know from her, why I did not want to renew my contract. My initial response to […]
by Charles Cohon, President and CEO, MANA What is backselling? It’s how savvy reps invest a little time every month to ensure their principals understand those reps’ value. They communicate with principals as if the line were in jeopardy even when it is not because they know that anything they say after the line is […]
by Michelle Jobst, CPMR, Jobst Incorporated When will the dust settle? What will the “new normal” look like? Although we might have a peek at individual changes, it is not possible to completely comprehend the effect of all the recent changes. That fine‑tuned crystal ball is still not available for general distribution. Here’s what we […]