The Value & Role of an Industrial Manufacturer’s Representative

Have you considered hiring a manufacturer’s representative for your OEM business? 

As a manufacturer, making the effort to get into your target market on your own and build valuable relationships requires a lot of time and dedication which you likely don’t have to spare.

After all, you’re busy running the manufacturing side of your business and making sure all of your products consistently meet your quality criteria while simultaneously developing new and innovative productions.

Unfortunately, running a successful manufacturing business requires a lot more than just an impressive product. In such highly saturated markets, a reliable way into your target demographic is crucial.

By partnering with a manufacturing representative, you get the best of both worlds.

What is a Manufacturer’s Representative?

A manufacturer’s representative is an indispensable asset used by manufacturers looking to reinforce their market relationships and selling capabilities through pre-existing connections and expertise.

With experienced representatives, a manufacturer gains the opportunity to focus on core processes, business development plans, and product quality, all while the rep steps in as the pre-connected sales and growth backbone of the business.

A manufacturer representative’s job is to ensure that you, as the manufacturer, are fully supported within your target market for growth and profitability.
Because representatives work on commission, they are always motivated to make their manufacturing clients successful by helping drive sales, improve customer satisfaction, and increase the bottom line.

Let’s discuss the value and role of an industrial manufacturing representative a bit further –

Manufacturing Representatives: Then & Now

For the most part, the manufacturing representative industry began to develop around World War II.

At the time, Industrial manufacturing was rapidly growing, with many new companies looking for ways into their target market.

In recent years, the business of manufacturing representation has grown steadily and offers more now to the manufacturers than ever before.

Agencies today provide much more than just a strong sales force.

With the right representatives, manufacturers stand to gain continuity, long-lasting business relationships, and extensive market share opportunities.

Manufacturer Representatives: Value & Responsibilities

• Building & Strengthening a Customer Base

One of the most significant responsibilities for a business is the management and development of its customer base.

It is a manufacturing representative’s job to take that responsibility head-on by identifying and infiltrating your potential customers through marketing and networking.

The representative will then pursue prospects to understand their manufacturing needs and make valuable business connections.
It is crucial to understand that a new client rarely goes straight to a manufacturer.

Instead, they build a relationship with reputable and experienced representatives to determine whether or not they are interested in moving forward with your product/services.

• Driving & Closing Sales

Once a representative has made a connection with an in-market prospect, they will begin to work closely with and pursue that business by emphasizing the value that their manufacturer brings to the table and why they are the best choice for that prospect.

Often, reps will assign a team member to each branch of production their manufacturer offers.

Each team member will equip themselves with product knowledge and/or examples of work, such as; audio-visual presentations or samples to showcase the product quality and point out how it meets the prospect’s needs.

• Building Valuable Relationships that Last

Building long-term business relationships are always the main goal for a manufacturer representative.

Because sales reps work on commission and fund their own sales force expenses, long-term relationships are the most beneficial to both the manufacturer and the representative for a good ROI.

A rep needs to become intimately familiar with the business they represent as well as the end-user in order to build relationships that last and make sales.

Even after an initial sale, the rep will continue to follow up with the buyer to ensure that all of the customer’s expectations have been met, inquire about any additional concerns, and introduce new products into the relationship.

Reps work diligently to stay in contact with clients to continuously provide optimal customer service and secure contract renewals or services as the relationship matures.

• Reputation & Experience

Manufacturer representatives are all about reputation, experience, relationship building, and continuously increasing profit for the manufacturer they represent.

The best part about hiring a sales representative is they already come with everything a manufacturer needs to become successful.
Sales representatives know your target market, and already have the crucial relationships you need most.

Through years of in-depth manufacturer representation, a rep knows how to get you to your target audience and make your sale for you.

If they didn’t, they wouldn’t take you on as a represented client because they would never make a profit.

As you can see, there are many advantages to hiring a manufacturer’s representative.

Because of their (we don’t make money unless you do) approach, partnering with a rep is a foolproof business decision designed to make manufacturers successful and aid them in dominating their market share.

Making the Connection with an Expert Manufacturer’s Representative 

As a busy manufacturing company, heading full-throttle into your target market alone is a daunting task, and doing so may require years of work to build even moderate success.

With an experienced manufacturer’s representative on your side, focusing on your manufacturing business’s internal aspects while simultaneously developing a strong presence within your market has never been easier.

Give us a call today at 713-829-4484 to learn more about what our highly experienced and ambitious sales reps can do for your business!

With our fast-track-to-success representation, we’ve got everything it takes to make you successful.