Charles M. Cohon, CEO & President

© 2013 Manufacturers’ Agents Nat’l Assn.

www.manaonline.org

Communication With Principals

Line Card Profitability Analysis

Best Practices

September

2012

2

3

4

• Best practice is ________.

5

• Best practice is frequently.

6

• Best practice is frequently.

• Email is great but __________

_______.

7

• Best practice is frequently.

• Email is great but pick up the

phone.

8

• Best practice is frequently.

• Email is great but pick up the

phone.

• Not just ________.

9

• Best practice is frequently.

• Email is great but pick up the

phone.

• Not just in a crisis.

10

• Best practice is frequently.

• Email is great but pick up the

phone.

• Not just in a crisis.

• Pack the _________ with

information.11

• Best practice is frequently.

• Email is great but pick up the

phone.

• Not just in a crisis.

• Pack the subject line with

information.12

Subject Quote 200# 8/32 1” Machine

Screws, $800.00, Factory

Stock, F.O.B. Cleveland

Subject RE:

Subject Quote

Subject FYI

Subject Your Request

Subject Quote Attached

13

• _____________once a year.14

• Get on a plane once a year.15

• _______________ trends, new

__________ product, new

trend in ______ industry.

16

• Product or market trends, new

competitive product, new

trend in vertical industry.

17

• Product or market trends, new

competitive product, new

trend in vertical industry.

• No ______, full ___________,

best to bring it up yourself

18

• Product or market trends, new

competitor product, new trend

in vertical industry.

• No secrets, full transparency,

best to bring it up yourself

19

• Trade show booth time,

windshield time.

• Application notes, successful

sales call

• Agency news

• Line card change. 20

• Employees _____ or gone.

21

• Employees added or gone.

22

• Employees added or gone.

• Know your audience,

___________ with them as

they ___________ with

you.23

• Employees added or gone.

• Know your audience,

communicate with them as

they communicate with

you.24

• Long sales cycles: _______

just to let principals know

the project is still alive and

you are making calls.

25

• Long sales cycles: e-mails

just to let principals know

the project is still alive and

you are making calls.

26

• Leads have to be ________.

27

• Leads have to be closed out.

28

• Leads have to be closed out.

• Reciprocate. Principals who

contact you frequently expect __

_________________________.

29

• Leads have to be closed out.

• Reciprocate. Principals who

contact you frequently expect to

be contacted frequently.

30

• Leads have to be closed out.

• Reciprocate. Principals who

contact you frequently expect to

be contacted frequently.

• Asynchronous: Email after

____________________31

• Leads have to be closed out.

• Reciprocate. Principals who

contact you frequently expect to

be contacted frequently.

• Asynchronous: Email after

normal business hours32

• If you have office staff, _______.

33

• If you have office staff, delegate.

34

• If you have office staff, delegate.

• To communicate with 30 year

olds, learn to ____.

35

• If you have office staff, delegate.

• To communicate with 30 year

olds, learn to text.

36

• If you have office staff, delegate.

• To communicate with 30 year

olds, learn to text.

• Discuss problems ____, manage

principal’s __________.

37

• If you have office staff, delegate.

• To communicate with 30 year

olds, learn to text.

• Discuss problems early, manage

principal’s expectations.

38

• If you have office staff, delegate.

• To communicate with 30 year

olds, learn to text.

• Discuss problems early, manage

principal’s expectations.

• Principals hate ________.39

• If you have office staff, delegate.

• To communicate with 30 year

olds, learn to text.

• Discuss problems early, manage

principal’s expectations.

• Principals hate surprises.40

“Don’t be _______ to your

manufacturer.

41

“Don’t be invisible to your

manufacturer.

42

“Don’t be invisible to your

manufacturer. I’m here to tell

you that you’ll never receive

the _____ you’re due unless you take

that _____.

43

“Don’t be invisible to your

manufacturer. I’m here to tell

you that you’ll never receive

the credit you’re due unless you take

that credit.

44

“Don’t be invisible to your

manufacturer. I’m here to tell

you that you’ll never receive

the credit you’re due unless you take

that credit. There’s no way your

manufacturers can know about ___

___________________ unless you tell

them about it.

45

“Don’t be invisible to your

manufacturer. I’m here to tell

you that you’ll never receive

the credit you’re due unless you take

that credit. There’s no way your

manufacturers can know about all

that you do in the field unless you tell

them about it.

46

“Don’t be invisible to your

manufacturer. I’m here to tell

you that you’ll never receive

the credit you’re due unless you take

that credit. There’s no way your

manufacturers can know about all

that you do in the field unless you tell

them about it. Now, does that

mandate call reports? ___________.”47

“Don’t be invisible to your

manufacturer. I’m here to tell

you that you’ll never receive

the credit you’re due unless you take

that credit. There’s no way your

manufacturers can know about all

that you do in the field unless you tell

them about it. Now, does that

mandate call reports? Absolutely not.”48

• Our reps communicate with us

by letting us know what their plans

are for the coming year.

• What are your succession plans? If

anything, we lose sleep over that one.

• Are you adding any lines? Dropping

anyone?49

• What are you doing

differently in the territory now

than you were before?

• Do you need any product or

market training?

• Any trade shows in your territory

that we should know about? 50

• What do you need from

us that you’re not getting?

• Just let us know about those

matters and we’ll work

much more effectively

together. 51

52

53

54

55

• An inch wide and a mile deep?

• Market and/or product

segmentation

• Getting better at what you are

already good at.

56

• Eliminate ___________.

57

• Eliminate distractions.

58

• Eliminate distractions.

• Becoming valued

_________ instead of

commoditized generalists

59

• Eliminate distractions.

• Becoming valued

specialists instead of

commoditized generalists.

60

61

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My Line Card & Commission Income

Alpha $180,000 India $23,000

Bravo $200,000 Juliet $24,000

Charlie $150,000 Kilo $25,000

Delta $50,000 Lima $2,000

Echo $40,000 Mike $3,000

Foxtrot $47,000 November $4,000

Golf $46,000 Oscar $5,000

Hotel $22,000

$821,000

63

Nurture

Grow

IdealProfitable

Retain

&Monitor

Risky

12

MonthProbation

12

MonthProbation

Six

MonthProbation

No

Brainer

Swift

Action

Danger

How many of your top 3 lines are a good fit for thi s line?0 Lines 2 Lines1 Line 3 LinesH

ow d

oes

this

line

’s in

com

e co

mpa

re w

ith

your

top

line

that

is n

ot in

you

r to

p 3?

$50K

$40K

$30K

$20K

$10K

$1K

64

• Assess current profitability

• Assess for future profitability

• Benchmark prospective new

lines against long term plan

• Re-allocate sales resources to

profitable products.

65

• Future potential

• Door opener

• Sales support

• Ease of doing business

• Competitive prices66

• Responsive

• Flexible

• On time

• Quality

• Repeat business67

• Post sales issues

• Reporting demands

• Long term commitment to reps

• Sales leads

• Commission on time

• House accounts68

• __________ pending the

line you really want

69

• Placeholder pending the

line you really want

70

• Placeholder pending the

line you really want

• _______ market where

you want to be a player.

71

• Placeholder pending the

line you really want

• Emerging market where

you want to be a player.

72

•80/20 Rule

•Return on investment

(ROI)

73

• Trending toward becoming

specialists instead of generalists.

• Broad versus narrow is a delicate,

market by market balance.

• Too narrow is not a sustainable

market.74

• Broad generalist reps

“compete with the ______ for

commodities.”

75

• Broad generalist reps

“compete with the Internet for

commodities.”

76

• Broad generalist reps

“compete with the Internet for

commodities.”

• Insurance agents and travel

agents can’t match _____ and

__________ on commodities.77

• Broad generalist reps

“compete with the Internet for

commodities.”

• Insurance agents and travel

agents can’t match Geico and

Travelocity on commodities.78

• How can you capture the

most income for your

value-adding activities?

79

• Skill sets must be transferable

from one industry to the next

so reps can maintain flexibility.

• When coal goes away your

skills have to carry you in

recycling and energy.80

Internet-savvy young

customers are further

along in the selection

process by the time you

get the call. 81

The first call tends to be more

about refining the customer’s

needs because:

82

• The simple stuff is done, or

• You have to explain why their

D. I. Y. approach won't work.

•Capture the “expertise

premium.”

• Instead of delivering the

information, you curate

the information.83

Control the conversation and

provide a unique, tough to

duplicate solution. 84

• Rep as problem solvers and

expert advisor

• Customers w/o engineers

want complete solutions

that savvy reps can design85

• Customers who want to push out

the rep having a harder time if

the rep ________________

_________________________

________.

86

• Customers who want to push out

the rep having a harder time if

the rep builds the package

around the products in his or her

line card.

87

• Customers who want to push out

the rep having a harder time if

the rep builds the package

around the products in his or her

line card.

• Share sales leads __________

_______________. 88

• Customers who want to push out

the rep having a harder time if

the rep builds the package

around the products in his or her

line card.

• Share sales leads between

manufacturers. 89

• Sometimes your specialty or

your principals’ specialties

drift over time.

90

–It could be the rep.

–It could be the principal.

–It could just be a bad fit between

a good rep and a good principal.91

Inordinate amount of time without

results.

• You can grow out of line.

• Rep or principle can get stale.

• Are you are cannibalizing your

time?

• Niche products may only have one

to two opportunities per year.92

• Market and/or product

segmentation

• Ideally a customer could buy 5-6

of my lines.

93

• Who gives you the best leads?

• Find lines to fit the white

space.

• Reevaluate cost/benefit

annually.94