The Nail That Sticks Up Gets Hammered Down

“I’ve become great friends with one of my reps,” said the manufacturer. “But he still is reluctant to give me blunt constructive criticism about our company. My rep says: ‘The nail that sticks up gets hammered down,’ which is why I started our rep council.”

A rep council is an advisory board assembled by a manufacturer from their rep sales force to provide feedback and advice to the manufacturer’s sales and management team.

Why Do Manufacturers Have Rep Councils?

• Unfiltered Feedback: Because the rep council submits a group report to the manufacturer’s management team, individual reps don’t worry that their comments will be held against them.
• Comprehensive Market Information: Rep councils gather information about customer trends, competitive pricing strategies, marketing initiatives, and customer trends from the entire rep network and assemble it as a single document for the manufacturers’ review.
• Engaging Manufacturers’ Management With Reps: Top manufacturer managers often have misconceptions about reps, so meeting with reps during rep council sessions helps the management team understand the reps’ roles and needs.
• Engaging Reps With Top Management: Nothing builds rep enthusiasm to sell for a manufacturer like feeling it has the ear of top management. Reps give more effort and make more sales for manufacturers when they connect personally with their manufacturer’s key decision-makers.
• Trust: A rep council demonstrates the manufacturer’s support and understanding of reps’ roles, leading to increased trust between the manufacturer, better relationships, improved communication, and more sales.

What Do Rep Councils Get for Manufacturers?

Increased commitment from the rep sales force and more sales.

What Do Rep Councils Get for Reps?

More sales, bigger commission checks, and long-term relationships with their manufacturer partners.

How Do You Start a Rep Council?

MANA members can download our Special Report, Open Doors by Building an Effective Rep Council, in the member area of www.MANAonline.org.

Various Career Beginnings of Reps

A number of independent rep agency owners can point to having started their careers on the manufacturing side of the desk. At the same time, however, over the years Agency Sales magazine has profiled reps who can point to a variety of other career beginnings. Included in those are law enforcement, teaching, and even former professional athletes (golf, baseball, basketball). Add to that list the career path — commercial banking — traveled by Mike O’Malley. According to O’Malley, president of Asian Medical, Inc., “I was a commercial banker for more than 10 years lending money to small- to medium-sized enterprises …

Industrial Supply Association Announces the Promotion of Brendan Breen to Chief Executive Officer

The Industrial Supply Association (ISA) is pleased to announce the promotion of Brendan Breen, formerly the association’s president, to the position of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) effective September 1, 2023. This key promotion reflects ISA’s commitment to fostering continuity, stability, and ongoing growth within the organization. The decision to promote Breen was taken in acknowledgment of his exemplary performance, strong alignment with the organization’s vision, and commendable leadership in driving ISA toward achieving significant milestones. Commenting on the promotion, Rob Keenan, president of SECO Tools and ISA board chair, stated, “Brendan has demonstrated an outstanding level of leadership and proficiency …