In a Hotel Ballroom

In a hotel ballroom earlier this year one manufacturer publicly acknowledged a rep who was participating in an open forum that included manufacturers and their reps. “I’d like to shake this man’s hand. This is the kind of rep any manufacturer would like to go to market with.” Those words provide the perfect segue to the first in a series of articles that Agency Sales magazine begins this month.

The Perfect Rep in the Eyes of the Industry

More than four years ago, Harry Abramson, a frequent contributor to these pages, authored an article entitled “The Perfect Rep in the Eyes of the Industry.” That was the latest in a series of articles that Abramson, Electronic Salesmasters, Inc., Beachwood, Ohio, bylined describing the elements that need to come into play in order to create a more perfect relationship between reps and manufacturers. Readers of Agency Sales will note that those articles served as the springboard for a more than two‑year series of articles describing “Perfect Principals.” Now we shift our focus to the “Perfect Rep.”

Recognition of Nelson & Associates

The rep in the opening paragraph of this article who was publicly recognized at that industry meeting is MANA, NEMRA, ERA‑member Nelson & Associates, Santa Fe Springs, California.

Establishment and Growth

Established by Lee Nelson 32 years ago with its roots in the electrical industry, the agency has since been acquired by sons Kurt and Todd, both of whom are CPMRs (Certified Professional Manufacturers Representative). Since taking over the company in 1992, the sons have overseen the growth of the agency to the point where today it is viewed as one of the most successful manufacturers’ representative firms in Southern California.

Belief in the Value of Constant Improvement

A discussion on this subject could take any number of directions, whether it’s the pride the organization shows in its spacious headquarters location in Southern California, the wall in its offices filled with awards and letters of commendation, or the high profile the agency has achieved in the industries it services. For the purposes of this article, however, consider a recent innovation entitled the Vision and Values Forum.

Vision and Values Forum

According to Kurt Nelson, “This is basically a lunch forum that evolved out of the Kaizen continuous productivity improvement process. It includes Todd, myself, and a mixed group of 10‑14 of our personnel. It struck me that while as an agency we were experiencing success, I didn’t think we were truly reaching our potential. The idea behind the regularly scheduled forum meetings is that it would provide a time and place when employees would be able to get together with people from other departments and comment on: What we could do to make our jobs better. What could be done to make individuals’ lives better. How we could become more profitable as an organization.”

Third‑Party Accreditation

The proliferation of letters such as CPMR, CSP and RCDD* after the names of Nelson & Associates personnel is no accident or some sort of random alphabet soup. The CPMR designation that Kurt and Todd Nelson proudly display after their names is probably the most recognized designation in the manufacturers’ representative community.

Dual‑Rep Association Membership

As reported in the 2005 issue of Agency Sales, here’s how Nelson & Associates view their membership/participation in a number of associations: “Our commitment to work with leading-edge companies serving leading-edge customers means that we have to stay at the leading edge ourselves. One way we do this is through membership and active participation in the associations serving each of our market areas: AEE, APEM, BICSI, ERA, IET and NEMRA, as well as MANA…Not only that, but we also interface with NAED and NEDA, the distributor association serving our industries. The formal and informal education we derive is key to our drive to keep ‘pushing the envelope.’”

Endorsements for CSP

“If manufacturers’ representatives are to have any hope of keeping up with their good principals and distributors, they had better invest in the training and education of their salespeople. And that’s what Nelson & Associates, Inc., has done with its advocacy of the CSP program.” That’s the view of Gary Brusacoram, CPMR, Andrews-Johnson-Brusacoram, Minneapolis, Minnesota.