As the year comes to a close, it’s a great time to reflect on what has passed in 2023 and look forward to where we can make a difference in 2024. If you are reading this column, then you have likely survived the turmoil of the past several years, with product supply inconsistencies combined with major fluctuations in consumer demand. From my viewpoint, the industry is finding its new normal state of business with factories and retailers adjusting accordingly.
Some will be forced to cut back or go out of business, while others will be able to aggressively capture market share and grow. The trick for sales reps is to align themselves with the latter category of growing factories and retailers rather than the former declining category.
As reps, we want to work for that dream factory or dream customer on an extended basis. Luck and hard work come into play in getting the right package of offerings. Many times an outsider will see a successful rep as lucky for having great lines, not realizing that the harder the rep works the luckier he gets. Success breeds success, and good factories will find the hard-working rep.
More importantly, retailers appreciate the efforts a good rep puts in on their behalf, and they will want to buy from this rep if he or she represents something that fits because they have built up trust. It’s an endless cycle for the hard working rep. My New Year’s Wish for you is to work hard to be in a position to enjoy that cycle.
Many understand the importance of a rep to go into the retail store to train on the nuances of product. Retailers also understand how helpful it is to have a rep work directly with the factory to resolve complicated service or billing issues. My father used to quip that his job was to communicate what the retailer needed so the factory could understand it. He was an interpreter at times. Everybody loves the rep who can write orders. It is not the initial order writing, however, that matters as much as the future order flow that occurs by taking care of any problems quickly and efficiently.
What many don’t pay attention to in a factory’s relationship with the rep is just how important a good sales rep can be to growing the factory business. The rep’s have “on the street” knowledge of the retailer and can help factories make better products for the retailer’s needs.
I was reminded of this recently when I went into a family-owned Jerry Ryan’s men’s clothing retailer. If you think furniture is a tough business, try selling men’s suits when everyone wants to work from home! And yet the two brother owners pivoted during COVID to add a great selection of quality men’s casual wear and expanded their store footprint. As work gradually went back to the office, they still offered a selection of suits and jackets. I was discussing this type of independent men’s wear store with one of my sales managers, and he lamented there was no longer any place in his big metro where he could purchase quality men’s wear.
In conversation with those owners recently, they attributed some of the success in pivoting to their local sales reps who helped them merchandise quality products. They told the story of one big name brand in their industry that put ridiculous minimums on purchases to weed out the smaller/medium retailers. They also indicated some of the brands thought they could get rid of the local sales reps and do everything with a national call center and tradeshows. In both cases, they told the brand management that these vendors would be desperate for business in a couple of years. The factory responded by saying this local store had to get with modern times of doing business on the Internet. The brothers’ business is flourishing, the local independent sales reps who sell them have a wonderful account, and the two branded factories have gone out of business after giving up their local sales forces.
Independent sales reps are important in men’s wear … and furniture!
As I look to 2024 for professional sales reps, it will become even more important to provide service and value to our retail partners and good counsel to our factories so that we can deliver furniture that consumers want when they want it. Furniture is a wonderful product that enhances a consumer’s home. Many will be in the market for new home furnishings next year. As sales reps, our job is to make sure both the retailers and the factories have the tools they need to deliver consumers wants and needs in 2024.
May you have a happy and prosperous New Year.
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