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Without good communication there can’t be a good rep-principal relationship, so MANA covers key points reps need to know to successfully communicate with principals. In today’s economy, all rep eyes are on the bottom line, so MANA provides a template and guidelines to assess which lines on your line card deserve the most and least attention, and which don’t belong on your line card at all.
Citation preview
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
62
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