Global Fastener News

PERSPECTIVE: What Reps Want: Pay for What They Do

John Wolz

Manufacturers who want extra services from reps should be prepared to pay for them, several reps at a Specialty Tools & Fasteners Distributors Association symposium agreed.\
�If manufacturers want monthly call reports from rep agencies, then the reps want another point or two in compensation,� one roundtable participant explained.
Manufacturers shouldn�t ask for reports they aren�t going to read and follow up on. One rep told of sneaking test sentences into reports to see if the manufacturers even read items that required responses.
Good reps can�t be moonlighters looking for easy money on the side, several agreed. �You must know your product and be able to train distributors. You must be able to communicate to customers what the product can do,� one rep described the full-time job. �You have to be out calling on customers. To do it right, it cannot be a sideline.�
�Reps must have not just a working knowledge of products but be versed on changes and up to speed.�
Reps don�t see their job as just dropping off catalogs and trying to get through the day. �The A sales team should be talking to the A team.�
Reps� Suggestions for Manufacturers:
� The manufacturer and rep relationship should be a partnership. When the supplier introduces a new line, �then we�re going to support him.�
� Select a test market for new products before going regional or national.
� Use informative packaging, spiffs, PowerPoint presentations, simple application sheets, custom merchandising that tweaks products for specific markets and joint sales calls.
Keys to relationships with vendors are headed by compensation, followed by marketing cooperation.
� �Manufacturers need to communicate expectations,� one rep asserted. �And they need to tell us changes or else when we think we�re doing a good job they are unhappy with us.� Joint end user calls make sure everybody is on the same page.
� Discounts through reps should be kept level with �big boxes.�
Reps� Suggestions for Reps:
� Reps need to tell manufacturers what they are doing. �Sales may be up, but if they don�t hear from you they think nothing is happening.�
� Don�t spend time training distribution employees with less than six month�s experience. The turnover is too high.
� Be a marketing company instead of a sales company.
� Work industry meetings so �people know your name.�
� Be aware of who loves you � distributors or manufacturers?
� If a rep can�t stock a product, will a competitor next year?
� The first way for reps to increase their value is to increase sales. �The more business I can write, the more important I become to the manufacturer.�
� Reps need to not only take orders and follow up on sales; they also need to be out making sales calls.
� Keys to success include references, networking, relationships and visibility in the marketplace. Join industry associations and attend conventions.
� Be honest when dealing with manufacturers.
�FastenerNews.com