Canadian Music Trade - October / November 2019 | Page 9

FROM THE FLOOR...
By Peter Janis
Sales Reps Get
No Respect!
Part 1
T
hinking back to 1976, when I start-
ed working at Steve’s Music Store
in Montreal, I can still remember
the good reps. They were the
ones that would come into the
store and, instead of merely waiting for Steve
to be free, would invest time in training the
store staff by showing us new products, ex-
plaining the latest features and functions, and
essentially, giving us confidence to recom-
mend their products. As a young salesman,
the vets that invested time in me were the
ones whose products I would support.
Different Approaches
Over the years, I have come to realize that
there are different types of reps. There are the
old “milk run” reps that go from one shop to
the next, buy coffee and donuts for the staff,
chat about the dog, and then go through
the laborious task of paging through their
catalogs. I remember one guy that worked for
us at Fender named Bill that was exactly that.
He would get up every day and slug it out.
Bill was a nice enough fellow but he had no
passion for or interest in music; his dream was
to drive a semi. When we added technology
brands like Akai and Alesis to the portfolio, he
had to go.
At the other extreme are the reps that do
anything to make their month, such as take
questionable orders, bypass credit, and then
leave management to clean up and collect the
bills. I recall hearing stories of deals being done
back in the 1970s at the Chicago NAMM Show
where drugs, booze, and prostitutes would
be sent to rooms to get the order. When the
dealer got home, he might realize what he had
done and subsequently cancel the order.
Really good reps bring a wealth of knowl-
edge to the dealers – and not just pertaining
to products. They can discuss market trends,
bring forth new sales and marketing ideas, and
because they see many different stores, can
help the dealer to optimize display space by
sharing what they’ve learned from their travels.
One of the best reps was a fellow in
Toronto named Garry who would go into the
store, do an inventory of floor stock, check or-
ders, and check back-stock. He would then go
to the buyer with a suggested order, making
the buyer’s job easy. Garry was all business
and a real pro.
Independent vs. Captive Reps
In the U.S., most manufacturers use indepen-
dent reps. They carry a variety of lines, some
of which are “staples” that pay the bills while
others are “hopefuls” that may one day explode
into success. Reps are constantly juggling lines
in an effort to find the next big thing. If, after a
period of six months to a year, a brand is not
moving, the rep will often drop it; a good rep
knows that she only has so much bandwidth
or time in a day. It is also worth mentioning
that the staple brands deservedly get most of
the attention as they are the ones that pay the
salaries and gas for the car.
Then there are odd-balls that just seem to
have the magic touch. I recall one rep down
in Atlanta that had a trunk full of catalogs.
When he called on a dealer, he would cover
everything from guitars to microphones to
toilet paper and light bulbs. The guy would
get up early every day, work his ass off, and
was often cited as the top rep for most of his
lines. Dealers loved this guy; he knew his stuff
and he was always very respectful.
Radial Engineering hired independent
reps when we first got going in the U.S., and
we had some really good ones. A problem
we experienced was that after we appoint-
ed a rep to carry our DI boxes, we added
Microtech- Geffel microphones. Since one
of our reps was already carrying a mic line,
due to a conflict of interest, he could not
represent ours. So, I went at it on my own. I
recall going into Sweetwater to show them
the mics and when the rep found out, he
was so mad, he resigned our Radial line. This
demonstrates how some reps view the deal-
er: “They’re in my territory; therefore, it’s mine.”
Reps spend years developing relationships
with dealers and when they bring you in the
door, they (erroneously) believe that they
own the exclusive conduit to the dealer.
A good rep understands their task and
realizes that if they don’t do the job, the man-
ufacturer will be forced to find an alternate
route. For a new manufacturer, reps provide
access to important dealers because they
know the buyer and can at the very least
arrange a meeting.
In Canada and most other countries
around the globe, captive or full-time reps
are the norm. This is primarily due to the
distribution model in the music and pro audio
industries, whereby most brands are repre-
sented by distributors that carry a wide range
of products. This affords them the ability to
pay the rep sufficiently well to do the job.
It always astounds me when I hear of
major companies in the United States that do
not have their own captive reps. I suppose
they prefer the independents as they do not
have to cover travel or employment costs. The
reps are also kept hungry because if they do
not produce, they can lose the line.
I recall being in the car with a rep near
the end of the month. He must have received
a dozen calls that day from his major line,
looking to close deals to make the month.
The pressure was surreal.
More in part two next issue…
Formerly the president and CEO of Radial Engi-
neering Ltd., Peter Janis has been in the Canadian
music industry for over 40 years, working in retail,
distribution, and manufacturing. Peter now offers
consulting services with his firm Exit-Plan, where
he assists business owners in increasing their sales
and enhancing the attractiveness of their business
in preparation for retirement. For more information,
visit www.exit-plan.ca.
CANADIAN MUSIC TRADE
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