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Editor’s Note: What follows is some sound advice from a highly successful manufacturers’ agent in the southern United States. Frequent Agency Sales Magazine contributor B. Dean Baum wrote this letter to the editor, which appeared in the June 2001 issue of Agency Sales. Baum’s... Continue Reading
Let me state here and now that if you are not a disciplined person — and by that I mean in both your work and financial habits — you should stop now and consider some other career direction. If you have financial discipline — I’m not talking about resources, I’m... Continue Reading
by Robert Blanding, N.E. “Mac” MacGregor and Brad Starr, CPMR Cost Factor: Principals Your contract with a given principal will have a great bearing on your initial cash flow. If the contract calls for a termination (longevity) clause (more and more are), then as a new... Continue Reading
by Robert Blanding, N.E. “Mac” MacGregor and Brad Starr, CPMR Cost Factor: GeographyGeographical variances to be considered include facilities and services, travel costs and time. The costs of many items vary from state to to state and city to city. Even within a given territory,... Continue Reading
by Robert Blanding, N.E. “Mac” MacGregor and Brad Starr, CPMR Some Advice and Recommendations The best advice is to run lean and mean! Minimize expenses, but don’t run so leanly that you fail to appear (and be) professional. To survive, you must watch your expenses and keep... Continue Reading
The close of this article would be an excellent time to close your browser and begin to formally analyze your financial strength. You must list all monetary obligations, including all short- and long-term liabilities, either on your books or anticipated, plus all assets you have. Here again... Continue Reading
Successful navigation of the learning curve coupled with strategic planning are the bywords most commonly cited by independent manufacturers’ representatives as they describe how and why they’ve done what they’ve done to get started. For starters, we visited with Jeff... Continue Reading
Satisfying a Financial Need Michael Sackett started his agency last year after several years in outside sales for a distributorship. His agency, Aero Manufacturers Corp., Yorktown Heights, New York, serves the aerospace industry, a market he worked in for 16 years. “My major interest in... Continue Reading
Making an Impact on the Market When Jonathan Ward, Jonathan Ward Associates, Atlanta, Georgia, opened his doors last year, his initial thoughts zeroed in on the typical business marketing considerations. “By that, I mean conducting the sniperlike pursuit of market objectives,” he... Continue Reading
Let’s assume you are still highly motivated and want to continue your quest to become a commissioned manufacturers’ representative. You’ll need to review the matter of primary concern — how much money does it take to get started and survive for two to three... Continue Reading
Many of the guidelines I am recommending are the result of not having anyone to ask advice of in the early days. This resulted in my making some pretty dumb mistakes, which fortunately were small and not financially crippling. My own experience, as well as that of many others, has been that... Continue Reading
A Sales Agent Walks a Tightrope As an agent you will be a person in the middle. You have two people to keep satisfied; your principal and your customer. And since you are running your own business, you have to keep yourself satisfied. This isn’t all that easy a job. You will quickly... Continue Reading
