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How Do You Find an Independent Sales Rep?

munruh

Hot Rolled
Joined
Jan 3, 2011
Location
Kansas
We are looking to expand our customer base. We just started out shop in 2012 and in general it has went better the first year than we anticipated. However both the other owner and myself find we are spending a lot of time making sales calls and visits. Are there any independent reps out there that rep small job shops? I know I worked for a machine shop years ago and they had a rep that represented four different shops. He got a small base pay and then commission on any work he would bring into the shop. How could we find such a person?
 
Whenever I want to find someone or something like that, I ask my tool salesman.

Where are you in the midwest? I know of several here in IL.
 
I agree with the above reply. I am in machine tools sales and I will always help my customers find work since I am out there visisting different places all the time. Talk to however you buy your machine tools form and they should help you for free. Its good business for them to help you in anyway they can.
 
Just get someone that wants to work!!
I hired the supposed best guy around. He rep'd the N half of Ohio for me. Did a great job until summer time. Then he stayed on his boat most of the time. I had suppliers calling me, wanting product. I started to ship them myself. Numbnuts tried to sue me for breach of contract. I called the suppliers and they all said they'd go to court with me. He disappeared.
 
I tried finding one a few times. If you're small enough, most are not interested because they can't make enough bucks from you. They'd rather make 10% off a few million dollar per year shop than one that's well under a million. I don't know what type of dollars you could produce in your shop, but that's been my experience.
 
If you can't get a referral, try either repplace.com or MANAonline.org (a membership organization of independent sales reps). With both I think you have to pay a fee. When we looked many years ago (before internet), we placed a small ad in the MANA magazine.

However both the other owner and myself find we are spending a lot of time making sales calls and visits.
This is the reality of being in the contract manufacturing business (aka "job shop"). You can't just be a competent technician/machinist/whatever, you need to work to get the business in the door. It helps a little to have sales reps, but not as much as you'd think. With few exceptions, they need to be managed and/or prodded continually to sell your line.
 
We hired a guy full time who sat at a desk and made calls. He was unbearable to be around, and ended up stealing from me, but it was surprising how many leads and RFQs we were able to get. I saw more RFQs in the first 8 weeks than I'd seen in the previous 8 years.

You don't need to find a high dollar guy who's an expert in sales, or machining. But the person needs to be reasonably personable, and dumb/relentless enough to not realize that he's inconveniencing people with his cold calls.

If you have a CMM, a quality manual, can make parts exactly to print, deliver them on time, and are happy to take simple jobs with a total value of $600-$1500, your services are in TREMENDOUS demand. We don't meet that final criteria, so we shop a little harder for the right customers. But it's amazing how many companies are out there looking to buy 1-5pcs of stuff, and how hard it is to do.
 
I'll second the MANA recommendation. A previous employer joined and had better than average luck with the sales representatives he met through that organization.
 
I would not consider anyone that dredges up a 5 year old post to spam,
as anyone I would want to represent my company.
 
I would not consider anyone that dredges up a 5 year old posting, just to spam,
as anyone I would want representing my company.

Especially one that can't compose a simple sentence:
"We are working since 40 years"

First impressions are still very important.
 
I would not consider anyone that dredges up a 5 year old post to spam,
as anyone I would want to represent my company.

The site comes up insecure on my browser and Goggling it comes up in German and translated it appears to be a company selling home heating systems.
 








 
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