MANA includes a significant number of benefits with your membership. Each month we highlight a benefit that could help improve how you operate your manufacturers’ representative business.
Are You Looking for New Lines to Represent?
If so, MANA helps in many ways.
- Use the LineFinder® directory
Log in to the member area of the website and under the logo at the top of the display, click on LineFinder®. Once you click on “I agree to the above terms” you will be taken to where you start your search. Before you do that, you may want to watch or read the Tutorial. Once you are ready to go, click the green “Start Your Search” button which takes you to “Step 1: Select Product or Service Classification.” Select the product classifications you are interested in, then click “Continue” at the bottom of the page.
When the results come up, click on the blue “Download Excel file” button. After the file opens, go to the “ProdServDesc” column (the last one on the right) and start going through the results. If you find a description you like, check out their website in the “P” column. Like what you see? Leave that one in the file and go on to the next. Don’t like it? Delete the row. When you are done with the file, create an email and copy the email addresses into the BCC address bar so the recipients don’t see who else is getting the email. Send the email and wait for the principals interested in learning more about you to get back to you.
- Use MANA’s advertising programs
Some manufacturers place ads looking for manufacturers’ representatives and click on this link to view the current ads. You may also get emails from MANA with ads.
You are not done yet, one more step to take.
- Update your RepFinder® profile
Make sure you fill out all the fields in your profile, particularly “About Us.” Be sure to describe the products or services your manufacturers’ representative business sells. If that section is blank, manufacturers delete that one from the results. Log in to the Member Area of the Website and click on “Update My Member Profile” to make changes to your profile.
Also, if you don’t have a website, consider getting one because manufacturers also tend to delete from the results those without one. Go to step 8, “Leverage Technology to Maximize Productivity” of the “Steps to Rep Professionalism” to get help with this.
- Market yourself as the go-to manufacturers’ representative
When high-quality manufacturers search for a manufacturers’ representative, because they are one’s manufacturers’ representatives want to represent, it gets quite competitive. To sign up with these companies, you need to market yourself as the manufacturers’ representative that will outperform the others the principal interviews.
Log in to the member area of the website and click on the “Steps to Rep Professionalism” program in the “Professional Development Resources” section, then on step 2, “Connect With High-Quality Principals That ‘Get It.’” Check out what’s under the “Resources” heading.