Frequently Asked Questions 
What is a Manufacturer's Representative?
 If every manufacturer could build exactly what the users
require in design,
quantity, quality, usability and on time delivery, then every product
would eventually find a use. The end result is a well-balanced use
of resources; otherwise, call fantasy land. This is a picture of the real world.
As you can see, the tiles usually don't always fit together so easily.
For a variety of reasons
manufacturers might need help getting
products to end users.
One example might be that the manufacturer's
resources (people, materials, and capital) are limited, and they cannot
actively seek new customers. Large manufacturers rely almost exclusively
on mass merchandisers and they require an often-insane advertising budget. This forces
the giant manufacturer to leverage their economies of scale
in order to generate the cash needed for mass merchants and high profile
advertising.
The majority of the time, large assembly line operations have to balance quality with
production costs with an acute sense of the bottom line. This is
where the smaller manufacturer has the edge. They are able to produce higher quality products
that appeal better to the public at large at a fair cost, but with limited marketing and advertising budgets. Often times a new product requires
training before it can be sold, installed or used properly, or must be installed
by trained professionals, in either case this limits who can buy the product. Another
possibility is that the manufacturer is unfamiliar with the market in
which they are selling their product.
Since the advent of global
marketplaces, this last example is quite common.
If such situations occur, manufacturers often enlist the help of an area
representative. Sales Representatives always know a great deal about the
particular nuances of the marketplace. Reps are also knowledgeable
about the existing products and the need for new ones. One of the other
strong attributes of a Rep is the strong relationships that they
maintain with everyone within the distribution chain. The primary mission of all Manufacturer Sales Representatives is to inform and train a great
number of distributors, dealers, and users.
The manufacturer's representative then becomes the eyes, ears, and voice of
the manufacture in a given area. Manufacturers' Representatives help bring all the 'tiles' together and then strengthen
the bond between each one. A Rep is often the grout or the mortar in the mosaic...
 A
Comprehensive Look
A major MRERF (www.mrerf.org)
educational venture informs top executives in America's top companies about the benefits they receive from the rep system of outsourced selling. The educational message, presented as a special supplement in Fortune Magazine's Industrial Manufacturing and Technology edition, in November of 1999, reached close to a quarter-million CEOs, COOs, CFOs and other top executives. Countless more will see the reprints, either in print or here on the web; download the Fortune Magazine article.
Q: How many manufacturers use
representatives?
A: According to the Research Institute of America, more than
50% of all U.S. manufacturers (and up to 95% in such fields as the
plumbing industry) use representatives, exclusively or in combination
with direct sales forces. While small companies may go the rep route out
of economic necessity, even mega-corporations find it productive to
utilize reps to efficiently cover particular market segments or specialized niches.
Q: Can I buy directly from your company?
A: No, we set up distributors all across our
territory to handle direct and commercial sales. We can certainly point you to
one of our distributors that is closet to you. Please call us or
email for specific information until our distributor locator is finished on
our website.
Q: Can I contact you directly for other information?
A: Absolutely! We can handle almost any request that you
can come up. We routinely handle service questions, literature
requests, technical questions, delivery and lead-time questions, general
problems, distributor referral and anything else that may come to your
mind. We boast an inside sales staff of five individuals at your beckon
call. Give them a try, they are the best in the business!
Q: Can I visit your
showroom?
A: We do not have a showroom as we are not
distributors of our products; therefore, there is not a showroom to
visit. We would normally route you to one of our distributors that
can be handle you on a personal level.
Q: I am having a problem, can
I get some assistance?
A: Sure! That is one of our many roles that
we fulfill. Our distributors handle hundreds of product lines within
their company. Because of that, it is impossible for them to become true
experts on are given line. This is where we come in. If we
do not know the answer immediately, we have the resources to find out
promptly.
Q: Who is responsible for
service after the sale?
A: Most all of our manufacturers that we
represent offer a standard warranty that covers material and/or
workmanship, but not labor charges. If you purchased the product
from a contractor, which is the recommended path, the contractor should
handle any warranty issues that arise. If you purchased the
product directly from one of our distributors, you carry the burden to
service the product within the parameters of the manufacturer's
warranty. This is why we always recommend purchasing your products
through reputable contractors.
Q: Can you recommend a
contractor?
A: Basically No. We deal with so many
contractors that singling a few out would be unfair to the others that
are just as qualified. Once you locate your own contractor, we can
certainly tell you if we have ever dealt with them. On the other
hand, if the product that you are interested in requires a certified
installer, we can certainly refer you to them.
Q: What lines do you have ?
A: You must be a registered user to acess a list of manufactuers. If you desire a listing,
please contact us during normal business hours and we would be glad to
help.
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