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"When you think about it, you realize that manufacturers' agents can do at least five things for a manufacturer that nobody - absolutely nobody - else can do."
"First of all, they can give a manufacturer a predetermined fixed cost. Sales costs are tied directly to goods shipped."
"Second, they operate on an incentive. They give the manufacturer an incentive program, which is the profit motive - the stimulus that whets a man's appetite to go out and succeed."
"Third, they can give local sales management, which is absolutely necessary in a competitive market like we are in today."
"Fourth, they offer the manufacturer a trained sales force. The training costs the manufacturer nothing, because it's part of the package they get."
"And fifth, the manufacturer enjoys the benefit of immediate access to his market. As a little example in our own area, here it takes a new man several years before he even knows where to go, much less how to get a reception."
- Lee Walters From Agency Sales MANA
Why do manufacturers need reps?
Because they get a fixed-cost package based on performance only that includes:
- Quick entry into a specific market
- Awareness of where to go and whom to see
- A great sales organization
- A proven record of accomplishment
- In-depth knowledge of the market
- A stable salesforce with continuity of contacts
- An unbiased, objective source of information
- Sales Rep's Advisor Alexander Communications Group, Inc.
Manufacturers Tell What They Find Important in a Rep Firm
Recently MANA conducted a survey of its Associate members to determine the attributes they felt were most important for the manufacturers' representative/agencies that represent them to have. These attributes were also confirmed at our recent Associate Member Counsel meeting in Cleveland during February of 1999. Following you will find the results of the survey (attributes listed in rank order):
- Technical product knowledge
- Rep's goals compatible with principal's
- After sales service
- Product/market training willingness
- Intelligence gathering
- Consultative selling capabilities
- Niche market specialization
- Margin enhance selling style
- System selling capabilities
- Three or more years in business
Source: Agency Sales MANA June 1999