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October 2026 by Amanda Wilson I am honored to be serving on the MANA Board. This opportunity has me reflecting on my journey as an independent manufacturers’ representative. I continue to be grateful for this profession and genuinely love what I do. No two days are the same. One day... Continue Reading
October 2026 By Jack Foster When a number of MANA members were asked if they could identify major warning signals that one of their lines was in danger of being terminated, they were quick to point their fingers in the direction of three major factors: Lack of performance on the part of the... Continue Reading
October 2026 By Jack Foster It wasn’t the first time reps had been called out for being “middlemen” and having their value questioned, but MANA members participating in an association teleconference call for single-person agencies were quick to respond to the challenge. In the... Continue Reading
October 2026 By Jeb Blount Every salesperson I speak to right now is saying the same thing: “Buyers are harder to reach, slower to commit, and more guarded than ever. It feels like the doors that used to open with a solid cold call or a well-crafted email are staying shut longer. And the... Continue Reading
October 2026 By John Haskell Everyone on the sales team needs to execute. Execution holds the key to a successful rep business. This is so easy to say but so hard to do. How does the rep organization execute on the most important elements of the business? What are those elements? Of course,... Continue Reading
October 2026 By Dave Kahle Q: Our “A” customers do 90 percent of our business. How much time or effort would you put into your “B” customers to bring them up to “A” customers? A: This is the kind of question I field in almost every one of my seminars. The... Continue Reading
October 2026 By Mark Hunter Every salesperson gets dropped into unfamiliar territory sooner or later. Maybe it’s a new industry. Maybe it’s a brand-new sales patch. Doesn’t matter. The challenge is always the same: How do you break in fast and start winning business? Here are... Continue Reading
October 2026 By Bob Wendover As much as they try not to, every leader has their favorites. These people are typically the top performers. They think independently and creatively. They exceed expectations consistently. They are the people most co-workers look to for guidance when the leader is... Continue Reading
October 2026 By Nathan Jamail Here’s what most executives don’t want to hear: when a sales team isn’t hitting its numbers, the first instinct is to look at the salespeople. Maybe they’re not motivated enough. Maybe they’re not working hard enough. Maybe you... Continue Reading
October 2026 By John Tschohl Almost nothing strikes more fear in an employee’s heart than a customer with a complaint. Most employees would rather have a tooth pulled without Novocain than deal with customers who aren’t pleased with a product or service they purchased from your... Continue Reading
October 2026 | Principal Focus By Jack Foster The subject of the importance of contracts is one that comes up frequently in conversations with manufacturers and reps. Each wants to be sure all the i’s are dotted and t’s crossed so that responsibilities and compensation questions are... Continue Reading
October 2026 By Scott M. Sanders The following anecdote is based on a true case study with some irrelevant derivations to protect confidentiality, while still imparting the essential points. Many sales reps contact us because they were denied commissions on known sales under the explicit... Continue Reading
