by Lisa Wilson, L.S. Wilson & Associates, Inc. Recently I was reading the article in Agency Sales magazine entitled, “The Talk Part 2,” by Russ Sorrells. After reading the article, not only did I strongly agree with what I read, but I wanted to share personal experiences of how exercise, good nutrition, and mental health play such […]
by Charles Cohon, President and CEO, MANA A quote from Sir Winston Churchill reminded me how much of our futures were determined by the first manufacturer we worked with when we launched our rep firms. We rarely consider how our futures were decided when we signed up with a line that seemingly came our way […]
by Tommy Garnett, CPMR, CSP, Garnett Component Sales, Inc. If there is any common challenge that reps cite as they continue to enter the post-Covid sales and marketing environment, it’s that it has become ever more difficult to reach prospects and customers. Long-tenured reps recall the days of being able to reach prospects via their […]
by Charles Cohon, President and CEO, MANA “I just got a call from a prospective principal who has an exciting product but no existing sales in my territory,” said the MANA rep member who wrote to me for assistance. “The manufacturer said, ‘You’re calling on those customers anyway. It doesn’t cost you anything to mention […]
by Michelle Jobst, CPMR, Jobst Incorporated Last year’s Agency Sales articles about MANA’s 75th anniversary allowed me to mull over how MANA, the rep industry, and I have been reinvented over and over during my 29 years as a manufacturers’ rep. I am excited to share my perspective with you on these changes. When I became a […]
by Charles Cohon, President and CEO, MANA It’s always a pleasure to help a MANA member sort out a thorny problem and hear them say, “If there is ever anything I can do to help MANA, please let me know.” MANA VP and GM Jerry Leth and I have probably heard this offer hundreds of times. But we […]
by Keynae Agnew, CPMR, Agnew Pacific Enterprises, LLC “No one can whistle a symphony. It takes a whole orchestra to play it.” — Halford E. Luccock MANA’s “Partners in Profits” philosophy has contributed to so many successful rep-manufacturer relationships that when I saw research giant Gallup Inc.’s recent “Eight Elements of a Powerful Partnership” article, […]
by Sid Ragona, Ph.D., Ragona Scientific, LLC Follow-up is the most cost effective and underutilized marketing tool available to a sales force in just about every single industry; however, effective follow-up is considerably more involved than simply sending one or two emails to see if the prospect responds. While marketing is an important aspect of […]
by Charles Cohon, President and CEO, MANA Celebrating MANA’s 75th anniversary last year led me to reflect on how MANA has transformed how reps and principals work together. Part one of this series started to look at ways MANA has changed the rep industry just since I became MANA’s CEO and president in 2011. Part […]
by Charles Cohon, President and CEO, MANA Celebrating MANA’s 75th anniversary last year led me to reflect on how MANA has transformed how reps and principals work together. In this two-part series, I look at ways MANA has changed the rep industry just since I became MANA’s CEO and president in 2011. Rep Search Reinvented MANA’s […]
by Charles Cohon, President and CEO, MANA It’s a common reason for reps to call MANA — but the reason this rep was not getting paid was not common. I’ll let the rep explain. “My business model is not unusual,” said the rep. “I have a geographic territory with all my principals. I call on […]
by Marnee Palladino, MARN, Inc.; edited by Stephanie Bray Maybe it’s “third time lucky,” but this editorial, I knew what we were going to write about. Possibly because back in 2020, we told you: “Next up? Evaluating the automated email-marketing platform that directly integrates with our new CRM to streamline our efforts.” Well, we not only […]
by Charles Cohon, President and CEO, MANA The year was 1947. Harry S. Truman was president, the World Series was televised for the first time (the New York Yankees beat the Brooklyn Dodgers in seven games), and Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier. And on October 17, 1947, the Manufacturers’ Agents National Association joined the […]
by Jerry Leth, Vice-President and General Manager, MANA I owned and operated a manufacturers’ representative business back in the last decade of the last century. How I communicated with my principals (and vice-versa) differs from the communication options available today. Back then we used landline phones, fax machines and the U.S. Postal Service. Manufacturers’ representatives […]
by Lisa Wilson, L.S. Wilson & Associates, Inc. I recently saw the movie Elvis, the story about the rise and fall of Elvis Presley. There is a man in the movie by the name of Tom Parker (“The Colonel”), played by Tom Hanks. The Colonel latched on to Elvis because he could see early on how talented he was. The Colonel, of […]
by Charles Cohon, President and CEO, MANA One of the best parts of being MANA’s CEO is the opportunity to have conversations with MANA members. Conversations with reps. Conversations with manufacturers who are already working with reps or who want to learn how to work with reps. For the last two years, most of those […]
by Charles Cohon, President and CEO, MANA “I want to hire some reps for the new product I am bringing out in six months,” said the manufacturer who called me. “Can you help me?” My response was not what she wanted to hear, but it was what she needed to hear. “I’m glad to hear about your interest in […]
by Tommy Garnett, CPMR, CSP, Garnett Component Sales, Inc. Selling through independent manufacturers’ representatives can be a very rewarding business partnership if a few key areas are taken into consideration. The first step is for the manufacturer to understand the rep-principal model. MANA can serve as a great resource for those manufacturers who have never […]
by Charles Cohon, President and CEO, MANA A very successful rep recently called to share his experiences with Market Development Fees (MDF). “MDF are an excellent way for manufacturers with no existing sales and no name recognition to access a more experienced rep like me who usually would not take on their product line. “Normally, […]
by Jerry Leth, Vice-President and General Manager, MANA There is no doubt that how salespeople interact with customers differs now than just a few years ago. Not just due to the COVID‑19 pandemic — it changed even before that. Technology and younger generation customers with different values impacted salesperson/customer relationships. Meeting with customers in‑person became […]