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, networking and more. Most manufacturers’ representatives arrived in business having excelled in one or more […]
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 that statement; however, I believe principals and their reps can use this as an excuse […]
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 does happen. While most manufacturers understand and appreciate the value their manufacturers’ representative partners provide, […]
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 in the profession. There is a collective excitement in our conversations as we share solutions […]
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, showy, endless tapping and strutting — So don’t make a production number out of this, […]
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 jumped on a conference call with a client and before you know it, I was […]
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 the delegation so they could get to know each other. We asked each to get […]
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 activities as well — filling out online CRM reports, market research, succession plans, and more. […]
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 with the continued impact that technology and the tools that travel in technology’s wake. At […]
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 world, we borrow from the jargon of computer programmers and call this list of possible […]
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 after we are gone. If not, we at least create a means to support ourselves […]
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 project with one of the handful of manufacturers you are working with? The intention for […]
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 one form is taking over my life. Having recently met with my financial adviser and of course […]
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 to entertain alternate and new perspectives to what we are already doing well. The very […]
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 my general reluctance, its root and the net result of changes in general. I asked […]
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 for training, I was told that a particular Fortune 500 company was a house account. […]
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 of rep organizations they wish to represent them, there are some constants we all look […]
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 share the same challenges day to day. Hiring and firing of employees and the HR […]
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. In our world of 30-day contracts, it is easy to forget that our businesses are […]
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 start. I call all new members who join each month and I learn from these […]