Ensuring Success for You and Your Rep

A few weeks ago I wrote about key factors that influence why sales reps choose to represent your brand.

Those factors include:
• Good marketing; Branding
• Exclusivity of product
• Appropriate price points
• Focus
• “It” factor

Those points focus on your product. Some other key points that influence why a rep might work with you, or might continue to work with you, focus on, well… you.

The Rep Relationship

Build a strong relationship with your rep, to ensure that you communicate well. Think of it this way: you’ll want to keep in touch with your rep to see how sales are going with your brand. She’ll want to keep in touch with you too, to see what new products you have in the pipeline, share customer feedback and discuss selling strategies. You might talk or email daily, or at least several times per week. That dialog tends to be easier, and more fun, if you genuinely like each other.

Consistent Communication

A point that goes hand in hand with this is that reps sell more for you when you return their calls and emails. Not in a week or two weeks but within 24 hours. I often hear the “excuse” that family life has spun out of control and there just wasn’t enough time in the day…blah, blah, blah. A buyer who needs an answer from a rep won’t wait two weeks to get it. The buyer simply buys from someone else—probably your competitor. Likely your rep has been working hard to close the sale and if she loses that sale, in part, because you didn’t have time to call back with the answer on when the new shipment of goods will arrive, you’ll have one peeved rep on your hands…

You don’t have to wait for your rep to call you either. Call, check in and say thank you for the sale. Reps tend to be praise-junkies and just saying thank you will often increase your product’s sales.

Professionalism

This leads us to professionalism. When dealing with reps, fall back on the courtesies of friendly professionalism. In addition to returning calls and emails promptly, respect and trust what your rep can do for you. Understand that sales might not happen overnight—especially in this extremely competitive economic environment. Being a professional partner means success for you, your brand and the rep.

Learn the Industry

Another part of professionalism is learning the industry ins and outs so that you are better able to support your rep’s sales efforts. Take the time to understand the timing of the 2 major selling seasons and the dates of all the national and regional markets that are appropriate for your brand. Plan your product development according to those dates. Your Spring Summer 2010 sales materials should be ready to go—and en route to your sales rep now. If you show in Atlanta, materials should have been shipped out two weeks ago, since that show runs July 8-15th.

What Sales Materials?

Reps need stuff to sell your brand—catalogs, post cards, line sheets or sell sheets, a good website, order forms, show specials, samples and even freebie product. Create them, supply them and update them often. Imagine attending a networking event without business cards. You probably won’t add that many people to your network, since they won’t remember who you are—or have a way to contact you. Sending a rep out on the road without sales materials is pretty much the same thing. We meet and greet, we sing your product’s praises and, unless we leave your catalog, we probably won’t ever close that sale when the account “has open-to-buy dollars in August.”

Commission

In addition to being praise-junkies, reps respond well to commission checks. Set up a system for paying commission and stick to it. Half a dozen of the brands that I rep pay religiously on the 1st or 15th of every month. Their checks come with statements and a scrawled Thank You! I’m not likely to resign a brand that cares about me enough to worry about my financial needs and ensures that I am paid promptly and consistently for the work I do. I am however, very likely to sell those half dozen brands to my top accounts before I show any of my other lines.

The take-home here is that a rep is an ancillary but very important part of the success of your organization. Communicate consistently and professionally, understand the industry, provide sales support and financially incentivize your rep to increase your rate of sales success. It’s a win-win for both of you.

Next week… The nuts and bolts of line sheets, catalogs and order forms.

Lara owns and is the primary sales rep for LJBryn&Co., a Midwest-based, independent rep group specializing in children’s gift, toys, gear and apparel. www.LJBrynAndCo.com