Harvard Business School Presentation "Outsourcing Selling"

Outsourcing SellingHarvard Business School

Charles Cohon, CEO & President, MANA

ccohon@manaonline.orgPhoto © Harvard University, Used With Permission

2Left: Dad’s 1943 Death Valley photo. Right: Dad enjoying more temperate climates back home.

Pictured: Death Valley (cropped) ©Brocken Inaglory, Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0

3Left: Dad’s 1943 Death Valley photo. Right: Dad enjoying more temperate climates back home.

Pictured: California’s Anza Borrego Desert © sumikophoto, fotolia.

4

Outsourcing SellingWhat is a sharing

economy rainmaker?

“Outsourcing Selling” with

“Sharing Economy Rainmakers”

• Who are they?

• How do I find them?

• How do I recruit them?

• How do I manage our relationship?

“Outsourcing Selling” with

“Sharing Economy Rainmakers”

• Q&A

Soda or Pop or Coke?

7Map by Matthew Campbell and Prof. Greg Plumb, East Central University (Oklahoma)

Sharing Economy Rainmakers

• Manufacturers’ Representative

• Manufacturers’ Rep

• Rep

• Manufacturers’ Agent

• Sales Rep

• Food Broker

• Commercial Agent8

Who are the

Sharing Economy

Rainmakers?

“This constant

travel is killing me,”

says Sam,

Regional Sales Mgr.

“I want to be my own boss,”

says Suzi, top distributor salesperson.

Hector, the subject matter expert.

“I don’t want to relocate,”

says Pat, Regional Sales Mgr.

“I have got to get out from behind

this desk,” says Joe, Chief Engineer.

With whom

will I be sharing

my Rainmakers?

16

http://issuu.com/signbuilderillustrated/docs/february_2015_signbuilder/24

February 2015

By Ashley Bray

Times Square: The most visited place globally

360,000 pedestrian visitors a dayOver 131,000,000 a year

Source: Wikipedia

One Rep’s Story

Came With Bragging Rights

•Voltarc Fluorescent Lamps

•Keystone Technologies Ballasts

•SignComp Ballast and Socket Raceway

Line Card Synergy

What do

Rainmakers

bring

to the table?

• Easier to find qualified talent by hiring

a manufacturers’ representative company that

has that talent on staff than it would be to

track down an equally talented person to hire

as a direct salesperson.

• With direct salespeople we have a good bit of

turnover, while some of the manufacturers’

representatives I work with are the same ones

I started with 24 years ago.

Joe Walsh, Sales Manager

Sign Products, Voltarc

Oversimplification

One salesperson for 50 states, or,

1/50 of a salesperson in each of 50 states

Map Source:

Wikidedia

22

Logistics and Diversity

One salesperson for 50 states, or,

1/50 of a salesperson in each of 50 states

Map Source:

Wikidedia

23

Why do Rainmakers

often earn more trust

from customers than a

direct factory

salesperson?

Patrick DooleyVP of Business Development

North Shore Neon

On a project like this, if you don’t have a professional like Yorston, you’ll spend way too much of your time and energy researching something that Yorston already has the resources already at his disposal for.

How to find reps?• Current customers

• Target customers

• Trade associations

• Other reps

• Mfrs. of non-competing

complimentary products26

Ask:

How to find reps?

• Trade show booths

27

• Online and print ads.

What should I expect in

terms of expertise in my

market segment and

knowledge of the local

customer practices in their

territory?

Subject

expertise

Local market

expertise

Are there Rainmakers who

would be a good fit for the

needs of my:

• Fortune 500 company?

• Mid-sized company?

31©weedezign fotolia

Michael Smith, VP of Sales

Lutron Electronics Co., Inc.

32

• Reps let us scale rapidly.

• IoT will explode.

• The only way we can put enough

people on the street.

• Factory trained for IoT products.

• Sales calls on Saturday, Sunday, and

on Thursday night. 33

Michael Smith, VP of Sales

Lutron Electronics Co., Inc.

1,050

34

Richard Peterson

VP of Global Sales

280

35

• Virtual Salesforce

five business cards

• EU-based

Multi-lingual technical support

• VAT and Customs

• Logistics and warehousing36

Dan O’Mahony, General Manager

Partners In Europe

Patrickswell, Limerick, Ireland

Rotterdam World Gateway

Phoenix Products Company Inc.

Container, intermodal and bulk terminals

CSX Intermodal Terminals, Fairburn, GA

Long Beach Container Terminal, L.A.

Phoenix Products Company Inc.

Phoenix Terminal Solutions

Container, intermodal and bulk terminals

Are there Rainmakers who

would be a good fit for the

needs of my:

• Fortune 500 company?

• Mid-sized company?

• Start up?

• 1983 Filled U.S. shelves with his TV Guide Game when Trivial Pursuit faltered.

• $3 million profit in eight months

• R&R case used in more than 100 business schools, 40% international.

• One of Harvard’s best sellers

Harvard Business School R&R

Case 386-019 November 1985.

“Reiss’s first task was to find an

interesting theme…Reiss discussed

these ideas with some of his closest

friends in the manufacturers’

representative business. Over the

years he had found them a source

of good ideas. One of the reps

suggested television as a topic.”42Harvard Business School R&R Case 386-019 November 1985.

• Young & hungry or well

established?

• What lines are complimentary to

yours?

• How and where to interview

–Phone

–In person43

How do I recruit them?

• Acquire new customers.

• Service existing customers.

• Repair your products.

• Integrate your products.

• Access to top decision makers

44

What do you want from reps?

• Sometimes there is only one.

• Gain fresh perspectives

• Trust but verify.

45

Recruiting Caveats

• As a partner.

• In writing.

• LOP/LOP

• Shared market development

fees.

How do I contract with them?

How do I manage our

relationship for maximum

productivity?

Some people try to find things in this game that don't exist; but football is only two things: blocking and tackling. -Vince Lombardi

Blocking and Tackling

2

35

19 Categories

1

4

20% of my time, 10% of my income

Appreciate the rep

rep friendly/part of the family

Appreciate the rep

rep friendly/part of the family

Communicates quickly and accurately:

reports, quotes, samples,

answers, quality issues

Appreciate the rep

rep friendly/part of the family

Communicates quickly and accurately:

reports, quotes, samples,

answers, quality issues

Collaborative style

Appreciate the rep

rep friendly/part of the family

Communicates quickly and accurately:

reports, quotes, samples,

answers, quality issues

Collaborative style

Pays on time

Appreciate the rep

rep friendly/part of the family

Communicates quickly and accurately:

reports, quotes, samples,

answers, quality issues

Collaborative style

Pays on time

Profitable

Appreciate the rep

rep friendly/part of the family

Communicates quickly and accurately:

reports, quotes, samples,

answers, quality issues

Collaborative style

Pays on time

ProfitableTrainingExclusive TerritoriesFun to work with

Great Products

Sales Tools

Synergy

Tech Support

Understands the rep model

Empowering

Golden Rule

Great Infrastructure

Great MarketingLong term approach

Skilled presenter

…want LEIA, to be Loved,

Encouraged, Inspired and

Appreciated.

It’s Not Just Business. It’s Personal.

Reps and salespeople

want …to KNOW you

care and they want to

FEEL like they are your

PRIZED RACE HORSES!

It’s Not Just Business. It’s Personal.

The companies who … get an

Unfair Advantage…• Are fun to work with.

• APPRECIATE the work that we do

for them.

• Take care of issues (quality,

quotes, lead time, etc) quickly!

Which of these costs money?

It’s Not Just Business. It’s Personal.

In Conclusion

59

+Speaker Evaluation

http://bit.ly/HBSevaluation

ccohon@manaonline.org

Outsourcing SellingHarvard Business School

Charles Cohon, CEO & President, MANA

ccohon@manaonline.orgPhoto © Harvard University, Used With Permission