What exactly is the scope of responsibility for an independent sales rep?
There are a lot of definitions of a manufacturers’ rep and it’s often a misunderstood profession. We see ourselves primarily as an outsourced sales resource. Reps provide a cost-effective solution to a manufacturer’s sales function. Our responsibilities to our principals are the same as a direct-sales force and that is to serve the customer. Within the aftermarket, the sales landscape has evolved over the years. We’ve seen a decrease in the number of factory reps and an increase in manufacturers relying on independent reps. What, in your opinion, are the benefits that manufacturer’s reps bring to the table? There are a lot of reasons why retaining a rep firm makes sense for manufacturers. Reps can be more effective with certain types of accounts and factory-direct people can be better with others. Sometimes a combination works best. I mentioned that reps are cost effective because we split the sales costs among several manufacturers and provide a fixed cost of sales that can be substan
