Hands Across the Water

If manufacturers’ representative associations like MANA are a good idea, why aren’t there organizations similar to MANA across the globe? Actually, there are. Left to right: Charles Cohon, CEO and president, MANA; Ralf D. Scholz, Germany, vice president; John Beaver, chairperson, MANA; Olivier Mazoyer, France, president; Christian Rebernig, Austria, secretary general; Enric Enrech, Spain, vice president; Axel Sturmberger, Austria, vice president; Jordi Marti, Spain; Ole Kristian Bull, Norway, vice president; David Johnson, United Kingdom, vice president. Associations like MANA support manufacturers’ representatives in Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Slovenia, Republic of the Congo, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and United Kingdom. Although, outside North America, what we call manufacturers’ representatives are referred to as “commercial agents.” These 18 country associations and MANA work together to advance the utilization of manufacturers’ representatives through membership in the Internationally United Commercial Agents and Brokers (IUCAB).

Recently IUCAB’s Executive Committee met in Chicago to share best practices and plan future activities to support manufacturers’ representatives. One of those best practices came to MANA in 2013 from Austria’s commercial agents association, Bundesgremium der Handelsagenten. MANA adapted the Austrians’ “explainer video,” describing sales force outsourcing, to English and it has since been viewed over 15,000 times on YouTube. MANA’s version of the Bundesgremium der Handelsagenten video has been viewed more than 15,000 times. MANA’s IUCAB membership also gets MANA representative members more visibility with European manufacturers looking for North American sales forces. IUCAB’s commercialagents-northamerica.com advertising and rep search platform is available exclusively to MANA representative members seeking European principals.

MANA leaves no stone unturned as we search for the best international resources to serve our members. We would welcome your help finding more and better benefits to include with your MANA membership. Please share your ideas with MANA today!

Rep Nightmares: Learning From Colleagues

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 this column is to provide new and old reps with horror stories from the field so that we can use our collective experience to help each other avoid some of the common and not-so-common pitfalls of our profession.

Succession Planning and Valuing/Buying/Selling/Merging Representative Firms

In this article we look at succession planning strategies to consider, pitfalls to avoid, and real-world examples of manufacturers’ representative firms that have successfully transitioned to new ownership. But first, a disclaimer. I am not a lawyer. I am not an accountant. This article will share with you some strategies to discuss with your lawyer and accountant, but this is not legal or accounting advice and it is not intended to replace the advice of the legal or accounting professionals who will be crucial to the success of your succession plan.

More Advice on Succession Planning

In the article that precedes this one, MANA President and CEO Charles Cohon takes aim at the subject of succession planning. As he draws upon real-world examples of why succession planning is so critical and addresses many of the how-to steps to take in order to get the job done, it’s worth noting that MANA and Agency Sales magazine have for years espoused the critical benefits of planning, forming and executing an effective succession plan. More than a decade ago, under the heading of “There’s No Success(ion) Without a Plan,” this publication pointed out that the existence of a workable succession plan is essential for any business that wants to ensure its longevity and success.

Eastern Canada MANA Members Meet

From a Michigan MANA representative member: I just wanted to tell you how useful the MANA website and resources were for me recently. I was struggling with a presentation and, in this instance, found exactly what I was looking for at the website. A few weeks later, the MANA resources helped me close on a nice deal that will bring in $50,000 in commissions a year. There is a wealth of information at www.MANAonline.org — and for any agency, new or old. It always amazes me when reps struggle to justify their membership dues in our association. Thanks to MANA, I don’t have that problem.