Partnering with a manufacturer’s representative with the knowledge, experience, and connections you need to thrive within your sector of the manufacturing industry is incredibly important. Choosing the right manufacturer’s rep for your company’s growth could mean the difference between your business dominating its target market or struggling to get in.
But how can you be sure you’re investing in the right partnership for your manufacturing business?
In this article, we review eight of the top questions you’ll want to ask a potential manufacturer’s representative before committing yourself to their services. With the answers to these questions, you should have a clearer understanding of what your company stands to gain from such a partnership and whether or not the investment is right for you.
Let’s begin –
Understanding a manufacturing sales rep’s process for gaining new leads and growing your business is crucial. It’s essential to evaluate how leads are acquired and what techniques are used on an ongoing basis to scale your success.
At Doherty Associates Inc., we use our website and weekly email blitz to generate new business for our clients. We also regularly conduct customer calls and do our part to help manage vital business relationships.
A manufacturer representative’s ability to acquire new leads on a regular basis is vital, but the way those leads are managed once acquired is equally as important when it comes to ensuring your business’s growth and success within your target market.
At Doherty Associates Inc., we carefully manage all of our leads internally, along with the help of the principals we represent, to ensure we maintain hands-on involvement, quality control, and maximum productivity.
When meeting with a manufacturing rep, don’t be afraid to ask for an outlook of potential markets your manufacturing business could benefit from as a result of the partnership.
At Doherty Associates, Inc., we’ve been a successful manufacturer’s representative agency for over 35 years. We are happy to provide potential clients with our impressive database of customer names and places to which we can present your business, as we are very well established within our territory.
Understanding a potential representative’s territory is another important part of ensuring you’re manufacturing business is a good fit and will be set up for success from the beginning.
At Doherty Associates, Inc., we service Texas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma, with our primary territories within those areas being Houston, Dallas, Austin, OKC/Tulsa, and Northern Mexico.
Another way to gauge whether or not the partnership is a good fit for your manufacturing company is to inquire about marketing efforts performed by the rep on behalf of their principals.
At Doherty Associates, Inc., we keep the presence of our principals active and at the forefront of their target market space by sending out an email blitz every week for different industries and the existing clients we represent.
When it comes to growing a manufacturing business, participating in trade shows is a great way to grow your customer base and expand into new market spaces. Not all representatives take advantage of trade show opportunities or adequately manage their potential, so this is always a great question to ask a rep.
At Doherty Associates, Inc., we are always highly active in the trade show space for our principals. We do our very best to seize every opportunity for growth and expansion by making your service/product offerings well-known and following up on every single lead.
Asking a potential representative about their strengths when taking on a new principal is another excellent way to gauge what you can expect from the potential partnership.
At Doherty Associates, Inc., we are highly adept and well within our space when working on projects for our new clients, especially when selling highly engineered metal/plastic components to various industries.
A manufacturing representative’s succession plan may not be at the forefront of your mind early on, but it is a significant consideration.
One thing that will never change is that the manufacturing industry is always looking to the future – What comes next, and how do we continue success and growth tomorrow?
That said, when choosing a representative for your manufacturing company, you’ll want to keep in mind that you are adding a vital extension of your business. Hence, the security of your company’s efforts for success (both now and in the future) is essential.
At Doherty Associates, Inc., we understand this concern and are committed to our client’s success as well as the security of that success, which is why we have a comprehensive succession plan already in place that we are currently in the process of making happen within 2023.
If you’re interested in partnering with an experienced manufacturer’s representative like Doherty Associates, Inc., or have more questions about how our team can set your manufacturing business up for success, contact us today at 713-829-4484.