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Outsourcing SellingHarvard Business School
Charles Cohon, CEO & President, MANA
[email protected] © 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
Outsourcing SellingHarvard Business School
Charles Cohon, CEO & President, MANA
[email protected] © Harvard University, Used With Permission
