MANA Is the Association for Manufacturers Who Require the Utmost Professionalism From Their Agent Partners
As a manufacturer that outsources the sales function to independent manufacturers’ agents, you want to create relationships with the most professional manufacturers’ agents willing to work with you. The more professional the manufacturers’ agent, the more they sell for you.
On the other side of the relationship, the manufacturers’ agents want to partner with the highest quality manufacturers willing to work with them.
How prepared are you to effectively work with professional manufacturers’ representatives? Take our short quiz to find out.
For those questions where you answer “No,” you will find a section in our “Steps to Becoming a Quality Principal” program where we provide resources that help you get to “Yes.” Invest some time and implement what you learn to raise your quality level. You will get a return.
The goal is to create long-term and mutually profitable relationships, a “Partners in Profits” relationship.
9 Steps to “High Quality” Status With Manufacturers’ Agents
There’s a lot more to high quality than just the products and services you provide. Product quality, on-time delivery, responsiveness to customer issues are a given. That’s not the focus of this program.
Below we outline the steps to achieve the characteristics of high-quality manufacturers, as seen in the eyes of a manufacturers’ agent.
Contents
- Understand the Manufacturer-Manufacturers’ Representative Relationship
- Select the Right Manufacturers’ Rep
- Create Fair and Balanced Written Agreements
- Develop Trust and Open Communications With Manufacturers’ Reps
- Form Rep Councils to Improve the Rep-Manufacturer Relationship
- Create Mutual Action Plans on How to Grow Territory Sales
- Set Up Territory Visits for Maximum Benefit
- Run Impactful Sales Meetings
- Develop Missionary Territories
1. Understand the Manufacturer-Manufacturers’ Representative Relationship
An understanding of the effective way to partner with your manufacturers’ representatives is crucial for developing long-term and mutually profitable relationships
| RESOURCE | TYPE |
|---|---|
| Analyzing the Manufacturers’ Rep-Principal Relationship | Special Report |
| Understanding the Outsourced Sales Professional | |
| Outsourcing Field Sales | |
| Working Together as Trusted Partners in Profits (7 minutes) | Video |
| Sales Reps/Manufacturers — Adversarial or Cooperative | E-Book |
RELEVANT AGENCY SALES MAGAZINE ARTICLES
- The Secret to Success With Reps: It’s Not Business, It’s Personal
- What Do Manufacturers Look for in a Rep?
- Agent-Manufacturer Evaluations Paint a Partnership Picture
- Trade Offs in the Relationship
- Achieving Better Results From Your Manufacturer-Representative Relationships
TELEFORUMS AND PODCASTS
Teleforums are hour-long conversations with people who know the topic. Podcasts are shorter interviews with knowledgeable people.
| RESOURCE | TYPE |
|---|---|
| Working as Partners in Profits | Teleforum |
| Understanding the Rep-Principal Relationship | Teleforum |
| Sales Reps and Manufacturers — Adversarial or Cooperative? | Teleforum |
| Outsourcing Selling Preview | Podcast |
Sync your phone to your car speakers and listen to the teleforums or podcasts as you drive to and from work.
2. Select the Right Manufacturers’ Rep
Learn the importance of and how to conduct a thorough interview and due diligence process. You want ensure there’s a high probability the relationship works well for both of you prior to signing the agreement.
| RESOURCE | TYPE |
|---|---|
| Selecting the Right Representative or Principal Partners | Special Report |
| Selecting the Right Sales Channel Partner (10 minutes) | Video |
| Create a Successful Rep Network (11 minutes) | Video |
| Get Them to Call You Back (7 minutes) | Video |
| Our 53 Best Interview Questions When Hiring Manufacturers’ Representatives | Blog |
| Rep-Friendly Policies to Include in E-mails to Prospective Manufacturers’ Representatives | Word doc |
RELEVANT AGENCY SALES MAGAZINE ARTICLES
- Dealing With Rep Turnover
- Getting to the “Emotional Favorite” Level
- Manufacturers Marketing to Agents
- A Primer for Selecting an Agency
- Red Flags That Make Reps Run the Other Way When a Prospective Principal Calls
- Top Considerations When Hiring Manufacturers’ Reps
- Searching for Agents
- Advertising for Agents? There’s Room for Improvement
Need additional help when setting up a manufacturers’ representative network?
MANA provides a list of Consultants Who Help Set up Rep Networks.
TELEFORUMS AND PODCASTS
Teleforums are hour-long conversations with people who know the topic. Podcasts are shorter interviews with knowledgeable people.
| RESOURCE | TYPE |
|---|---|
| Marketing Your Company to Attract Professional Manufacturers’ Representatives | Teleforum |
| How to Get Them to Call You Back | Teleforum |
| Selecting the Right Representative | Teleforum |
| Selecting the Right Sales Channel Partner (10 minutes) | Podcast |
| Create a Successful Rep Network (11 minutes) | Podcast |
| Get them to call you back (7 minutes) | Podcast |
Sync your phone to your car speakers and listen to the teleforums or podcasts as you drive to and from work.
3. Create Fair and Balanced Written Agreements
At the conclusion of the selection process, manufacturers sign agreements with their manufacturers’ representatives. These agreements need to work for both parties; otherwise, they work for neither. These agreements govern how the relationship will work and spell out the rules of engagement.
| RESOURCE | TYPE |
|---|---|
| Manual for the Creation of a Rep-Principal Agreement | Special Report |
The manual contains background and rationale information for the clauses found in a typical manufacturers’ representative agreement. You will also find sample agreements in it.
For help with agreements, MANA recommends you contact our list of Rep Savvy Attorneys.
What commission rates apply for the products or services my company supplies?
| RESOURCE | TYPE |
|---|---|
| Simplified Commission Rate Ranges | Survey |
| Commission Survey | Special Report |
RELEVANT AGENCY SALES MAGAZINE ARTICLES
- There’s More to Negotiating Than Just Talking
- Back to Basics: Why Contracts can be a Rep Agency’s Most Valuable Asset
- Concern With Split Commissions Never Ends
OTHER RESOURCES
VIDEO
| RESOURCE | TYPE |
|---|---|
| Extended Post-Termination Commission Clauses (7 minutes) | Video |
TELEFORUMS AND PODCASTS
Teleforums are hour-long conversations with people who know the topic. Podcasts are shorter interviews with knowledgeable people.
| RESOURCE | TYPE |
|---|---|
| Create Fair and Balanced Written Agreements | Teleforum |
| The Rep-Manufacturer Agreement | Teleforum |
| Key Elements of a Rep Agreement | Podcast |
Sync your phone to your car speakers and listen to the teleforums or podcasts as you drive to and from work.
4. Develop Trust and Open Communications With Manufacturers’ Reps
Manufacturers and their manufacturers’ representatives need to communicate in an effective manner. For communications to flow freely, the trust level must be high. These communications deal with relevant information that provides value for both sides of the relationship.
| RESOURCE | TYPE |
|---|---|
| The Value of Communication: From the Principal’s Perspective | Agency Sales |
| Are Call Reports Effective? | Agency Sales |
| Call Reports and the Rep | Agency Sales |
| More On Communication | Agency Sales |
| Drawing the Line Between Communication and Call Reports | Agency Sales |
| Maximizing Communication | Agent Communication Guides | Agency Sales |
TELEFORUM
Teleforums are hour-long conversations with people who know the topic.
| RESOURCE | TYPE |
|---|---|
| Rep-Manufacturer Communications | Teleforum |
Sync your phone to your car speakers and listen to the teleforum as you commute to and from your office.
5. Form Rep Councils to Improve the Rep-Manufacturer Relationship
Once you establish your manufacturers’ representative network, you want them to sell lots for you. You work together as “Partners in Profits” and an effective tool that fosters this type of a relationship is a Rep Council. The Rep Council provides focused feedback and recommendations on ways you can improve how you work with each other. You select a small number of your manufacturers’ representatives and sales management staff to make up the Rep Council.
| RESOURCE | TYPE |
|---|---|
| Open Doors by Building an Effective Rep Council | Special Report |
| Rep Councils | Teleforum |
| Agent Council Operating Charter | Guideline |
RELEVANT AGENCY SALES MAGAZINE ARTICLES
| RESOURCE | TYPE |
|---|---|
| Rep Councils Eliminate Us vs. Them Environment | Agency Sales |
| Listening When It Matters — Steps for Setting Up a Rep Council | Agency Sales |
| Manufacturer Fine Tunes Its Rep Council | Agency Sales |
| Real-World Tips for Effective Rep Councils | Agency Sales |
| The Case for Rep Councils | Agency Sales |
| Positives of Rep Councils Outweigh Any Negatives | Agency Sales |
| What’s the Value of a Rep Council in 2015? | Agency Sales |
TELEFORUMS
Teleforums are hour-long conversations with people who know the topic.
| RESOURCE | TYPE |
|---|---|
| Rep Councils | Teleforum |
PODCAST
| Business Networking Group 2.0 – The Rep Council | 4 minutes |
Sync your phone to your car speakers and listen to the teleforums or podcasts as you commute to and from your office.
6. Create Mutual Action Plans on How to Grow Territory Sales
| RESOURCE | TYPE |
|---|---|
| Mutual Action Planning | Agency Sales |
| Mutual Action Planning | Teleforum |
| Guidelines for Planning the Business Year |
7. Set Up Territory Visits for Maximum Benefit
| RESOURCE | TYPE |
|---|---|
| How to Handle Territory Visits | Teleforum |
| Passport Into Territory | |
| Maximizing the Value of Field Visits | Agency Sales |
8. Run Impactful Sales Meetings
| RESOURCE | TYPE |
|---|---|
| How to Run Impactful Sales Meetings With Manufacturers’ Agents | Teleforum |
| The Company Sales Meeting: Creating a Focal Point | Agency Sales |
| The Secret Strategy of Meaningful Sales Meetings | Agency Sales |
| What Makes a Successful Sales Meeting? | Agency Sales |
9. Develop Missionary Territories
| RESOURCE | TYPE |
|---|---|
| Developing New Markets With Professional Field Sales Agents | Special Report |
| Developing New Markets With Professional Field Sales Representatives (7 minutes) | Video |
| Developing New Markets With Professional Field Sale Representatives (7 minutes) | Podcast |
| Example of Agent Menu Services for Missionary Line Launch | Legal |
| Developing New Markets | Teleforum |
| Guidelines for Developing New Markets With Independent Sales Representatives | |
| Examining Contrasting Views on Shared Territorial Development Fees | Agency Sales |
| Pioneering | Successfully “Prospecting” New Lines | Agency Sales |
| Pioneering Revisited | Agency Sales |
| Shared Territory Development | Agency Sales |
High-quality manufacturers abide by MANA’s Code of Ethics