Get better results from factory reps

Distributors that develop specific goals and strategies for working with factory reps can achieve above average results.

by Richard Vurva

Do you see measurable sales growth after working with factory reps? If not, you may need to rethink how you utilize this vital link between you and the manufacturer. All too often, joint efforts between factory or independent reps and distributor salespeople amount to ineffective tagalongs, with the rep riding shotgun while the distributor salesperson makes his or her scheduled stops that day.

With greater planning and goal setting, however, manufacturer reps can be a valuable ally for distributors of all sizes. They can provide extra feet on the street and offer technical support and training to end-users that distributors may not possess on staff. In some cases, they may even help distributors reduce their need to carry inventory.

Extra feet on the street
One of the most obvious ways distributors can utilize manufacturer reps is on sales calls to end-users. With a limited field sales force, distributors often can’t spend as much time calling on key accounts as they’d like. A trusted factory rep can step in and handle some of the account load for the local distributor, freeing up valuable sales time.

Even though the distributor salesperson may not be there, the rep’s presence on the account demonstrates that local distributor’s commitment to serving the customer. When a rep, who is one step closer to the factory, calls on a customer, he or she often captures the customer’s attention in ways that the local distributor salesperson cannot.

That said, one thing to guard against, warns Hardy Hamann of Hermes Abrasives in Virginia Beach, Va., is redundancy.

“The two sales efforts should complement each other,” he says.

Bring in factory reps when they can provide technical support that you don’t have, or to help train your salespeople how to sell their product. Don’t expect them to close the sale or to call on customers that your people can better serve by themselves, he says.

Technical expertise
Another key benefit reps bring to the table is their technical expertise. Because they specialize in one product or a specialized product segment, they generally have more product knowledge than a distributor salesperson who may represent hundreds of product lines.

“Manufacturer reps specialize in product knowledge and can offer application-specific solutions that are in a customer’s best interest,” says Gary Maczik, vice president and general manager of Saginaw Supply Corporation in Saginaw, Mich., an abrasives and cutting tool specialist. He says reps can be particularly valuable allies when a distributor serves as the commodity manager or integrated supplier for a large industrial facility.

“The commodity managers are busy trying to keep the plant running,” he says. “While the distributor handles the day-to-day task of keeping the plant supplied, a factory rep can bring in new technologies that the customer might not be exposed to otherwise.”

Inventory backup
Reps can also support distribution by carrying inventory. A growing trend among some reps is to stock inventory for shipment either to a distributor’s warehouse or direct to an end-user on behalf of the local distributor. Any products that a rep keeps on his shelves helps reduce the distributor’s inventory and carrying costs.

“Many independent reps inventory products for the manufacturer, taking over some of the traditional distributor functions,” says Hamann. “The customer wins by getting the product within 24 hours. The distributor wins by being able to offer fast service on more products without stocking in his facility. And the manufacturer gains advantages by having market experts manage their inventory.”

Product sales training
Distributors increasingly rely on reps to provide product sales training. Many reps drive demo vans or trailers to the distributor’s site to introduce new products to salespeople and teach basic product features and benefits and sales techniques. Some, like Turpin Sales and Marketing in the Boston area, operate a technical training center.

“We bring distributor salespeople in for training at least two or three times a month,” says David Turpin.

He says the service helps fill a need for product training that many manufacturers provided distributors in the past, but eliminated in order to cut costs.

“Product training is essential,” he says. “Our intention is not to make salespeople experts in the product; it’s to show them what products are available, demonstrate specific features and how the customer will benefit from those features.”

Distributors understand they must do more for customers than simply show up and ask for orders, Turpin says. End-users expect distributor salespeople to bring them new technology and introduce new products that will improve their manufacturing processes. He says manufacturer reps can help satisfy that need.

Know who you can trust
Distributors must be wary of unscrupulous reps. Almost every distributor can cite at least one example of a rep who went into an account on his behalf and then tried to peddle another product that distributor didn’t carry or shared confidential information about the account with another distributor.

“We do not share confidential information. It’s a privilege to be taken into a distributor’s account and we have to guard that relationship,” says manufacturer rep Andrew Feucht of Voight Enterprises in Vancouver, Wash.

He urges distributors to check into the reputation of the individual reps they deal with and the quality of the rep firms. Find out if the rep belongs to an established organization like the North American Industrial Representatives Association (NIRA), which encourages professional conduct among its members. In fact, one of its written goals is “to elevate ethical standards, improve business operations and provide more efficient service to principals, customers and the industry.”

Feucht says he prefers to make the first call on an end-user with the distributor salesperson so the end-user can identify the connection between his local supplier and the rep.

“I don’t want any misconception about why I’m in there. I like to go in and define this relationship. Then I can go in later on follow up calls to handle specific issues,” he says.

Better planning needed
Distributors should demand greater planning between their sales teams and factory reps. Before inviting a rep to spend time with your sales force, establish specific objectives. If it’s to introduce a new product, find out which type of industries the product serves. Then, require your salespeople to come up with one or two accounts to introduce the product.

Distributors that demonstrate their knowledge of the local marketplace and establish a strategy for growing sales within specific customer segments find greater success capturing the attention of reps.

“I used to allocate a whole day to spend with a salesperson. Now I’m more focused,” Feucht says. “I typically work with a distributor salesperson for a couple of hours or a half-day. During that time we hit specific accounts rather than going on their normal call schedule and have anywhere from 5 percent to 75 percent of the calls not pertinent to my products.”

Better planning not only helps distributors and reps make better use of their time, it also demonstrates respect for the customer’s time. Remember, the ultimate goal is to help the customer’s bottom line, says Maczik. Customer needs change from time to time. Enhancing the customer-supplier relationship requires identifying and qualifying those needs, then working with your factory rep in whatever way best suits the customer.

This article originally appeared in the September/October 2002 issue of Progressive Distributor. Copyright 2002.

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