Serex manufacture’s Reps and Agent Services
Many manufacturers rely on distributors to sell their products. The issue is that many distributors have so many products in their line that they can rarely really represent the manufacturer’s product effectively. In some cases the distributor will carry competing products that in fact, dilutes loyalties. In other cases after the initial introduction of the manufacturer’s product it gets lost in the large number of skus the distributor may be carrying.
At Serex we act as the manufacturer’s advocate in a given region, providing the following:
- Continuously connecting with the distributors making sure the distributor is performing
- Providing support with key accounts
- Doing joint presentation to prospective accounts
- Trade shows in the assigned territory (Additional Costs TBD)
- Figuring out Logistics, Warehousing and Storage if necessary
- Helping the Manufacturer understand regulatory compliance in the assigned territory
- In some cases helping with the compliance applications
- Basically being the manufacturer’s eyes and ears in the field
Many manufacturers expect the above from their distributors but unfortunately many distributors become simple order takers as they are not structured to effectively represent the manufacturers products like a manufacturer’s representative.
Plans of Action
We believe that uniform messaging and product training are key. We not only spend an inordinate amount of time preparing our reps to truly reflect the manufacturer’s value propositions, but their values too. We take the responsibility of being the manufacturer’s representative very seriously and spare no expense making sure we are up to the task. We take every measure to represent as thoroughly and professionally as possible. Our goal is to have prospects and clients want to deal with us before going to the manufacturer directly.
We meticulously document, train and backup our representatives with a proven sales process (result of 25+ years of experience) that guarantee results. As a framework our (I-P-T-E) process is imparted on all the reps working on the manufacturer’s account and includes the following:
Identify (I)
- What problem the product is solving
- The ideal demographics
- Ideal geographies
- Target market(s) is (are)
- Competition and differentiators
Prepare (P)
- An ROI Analysis, how much does it cost not to use service or product
- An ROI analysis on cost of using competition
- A “Why list” with talking points
- An “Objections and Rebuttal” document
- A competition strength / weakness document
- Decide with manufacturer on which marketing channels to use
- Trade Shows
- Telemarketing
- Web Marketing
- Social Media
- Old school print & media
- Etc.
- A presentation deck
Train (T)
- Representatives on:
- The Why
- The message
- Ojections & Rebuttals
- The ROI
- Scripts
- Actual product training for assigned representative
Execute (E)
- Set appointments
- Setup our CRM & Marketing automation tools
- One on one sales
- Call centre campaigns
- Business process automation
- Sales and marketing systems
Note: Some elements above may incur extra costs
Compensation
As one can see from the “Plan of Action” section there is a lot of work that is done prior to making the first call. We believe that everybody needs to have skin in the game. As above, a representative is a person that represents the manufacturer, and is not a wholesaler or a distributor. As such the representative almost acts as an employee of the company. In order to get a representative up to speed in a given territory it is obvious that some time is required:
In order for a representative to be proficient at the above, an investment in time is required. Taking this into account and to make the compensation as balanced as possible for both parties, Serex is compensated on a two pronged sliding scale basis composed of a retainer plus a percentage of gross sales for a given territory. After an agreed upon time the monthly retainer is reduced and a higher commission on territory sales replaces the drop in retainer. It is obvious from the above that the retainer does not begin to cover the costs of getting everybody up to speed, which is our skin in the game.
For compensation schedules, please consult with your Serex Representative.