|
President’s Message
By Mike Kowalczyk, 2005 President
An
independent rep asked me the other day why he should join AIMRA? He said
he has a full plate of lines at the present time so "...what’s to be
gained?".
Well,
as those of us who been in the game for some time know, today’s full
plate can look mighty sparse in short order, especially in these times of
consolidation amongst manufacturers.
I
look at membership in AIMRA as good career insurance. The contacts I make
with other reps has helped me grow my business. And, obviously, the
contacts I make with FEMA members at our annual joint marketing
conference is really the best opportunity of the year to sit down with
manufacturers and discuss their sales/marketing needs.
Another
reason is that by becoming a member of our professional organization we
subscribe to a Code of Ethics that sets us apart from other reps. We need
to constantly remind our manufacturers that this is the case. To help you
with that, we are re-printing the Code in this newsletter. It is also on
page 3 of our printed directory.
I ask
that you carefully read the article in this month’s newsletter by the 2005
Conference Chairman Joe Seimas. We need to be sure that will fill our
room block commitment at the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas next November and
Joe spells out how we think this can be accomplished.
AIMRA Code of Ethics
As a reminder about our
professional responsibilities as a member of AIMRA, here is the AIMRA Code of Ethics. When you became a member of AIMRA you
subscribed to abide by these articles.
I will abide by the high standards of my
chosen profession and conduct my own affairs so as to earn the highest
respect of the manufacturers I represent and the dealers I serve.
I believe that in my dealings with my
suppliers and dealers I should conduct my affairs in accordance with the
laws of the land and the local regulations of the territory in which I
operate.
I believe that I must give the
manufacturers I represent the full and complete cooperation and if, at
any time, I believe I am not producing sales effectively, I will frankly
report this to the manufacturers concerned.
I believe my prosperity depends upon the
welfare of my customers and I will cooperate with them to the
manufacturers concerned.
I believe that good business is best
developed in an atmosphere of goodwill among competitors. I pledge myself
to use no unfair practice in selling.
I believe that the exchange of my
services and ideas for a reasonable sales commission is legitimate and
ethical, provided that everyone involved in each transaction is
benefited.
I will obtain and distribute among our
members through the Association useful and interesting information
concerning the profession.
I will make every sincere effort to be
honest, responsible and reliable and to conduct my business in such a
manner as to reflect credit upon my industry.
What Happens in Las Vegas…
By Joe Seimas, 2005 Conference Chairman.
By now
I’m sure you have seen the marketing slogan for Las Vegas: “What happens in Las Vegas, Stays in Las Vegas”. As the
site for our 2005 Joint Marketing Conference with FEWA
and FEMA, Las Vegas presents an exciting locale for what
we believe will be an equally exciting program of events.
The
headquarters hotel is the Mirage. Situated on 100 acres in the
heart of the Las Vegas strip, the 30 stories of the hotels gleaming
white-gold towers add drama to the Vegas skyline. The Mirage has been
designed with the tropics in mind. Lush foliage, waterfalls and lagoons
provide guest with a relaxing, serene atmosphere. Rich, topical colors,
carved teakwood and marble add graceful touches throughout the resort.
A
five-acre lagoon enhances the front entrance as well as a 54-foot volcano
(only in Vegas!), which erupts each evening at dusk and continues to
erupt every 15 minutes until midnight, spewing smoke and fire 1,090 feet
above the water.
Of
course, the casino is the centerpiece of the hotel’s amenities. But
there’s plenty more including a 20,000-gallon aquarium with 90 species of
tropical fish, a massive pool area, Siegfried and Roy’s Secret Garden and
Dolphin habitat and a full spa for men and women.
And, as
you may know, all this luxury doesn’t come without a price. The
conference room rate for all three organizations is $173 a night plus 9%
tax. This totals $188.50 a night, which if you’ve been to Las Vegas
lately is not that bad – gone are the days of bargain basement rooms and
$2 buffets.
Now
here’s where we need every member planning to attend to pay attention and
help AIMRA fulfill its obligations. In order to secure enough meeting
room space for the event, organizations have to guarantee a certain number
of sleeping rooms. If the organizations members do not use the contracted
number of rooms, the organization is charged the room rate – in this case
$188.50 a night for every unused room – unless the hotel is sold out that
night. Last year, in Orlando, we paid the hotel over $5,000 for unused
rooms. The sad fact is that we had members attending the conference who
were not staying at the headquarters hotel. While the member might have
saved a few bucks personally, the organization paid significantly.
When I
presented the scenario for this year’s meeting to the Board of Directors
recently they unanimously said that we couldn’t face another shortfall on
contracted rooms. So here’s the plan for this year.
When you register for the conference –
registration materials will be out in early July – you will pay your
conference fee and commit to a minimum of two nights in the Mirage. While this will all be spelled out on the registration
materials, I want to give everyone a heads up.
We hope
that you understand the need to enact such a policy this year. For the
vast majority of our members who have always stayed at the headquarter
hotel nothing will change. Please look to this website and in your
mailbox for program details on the conference. We have a terrific
location and plans for the program are coming along very nicely – you
will walk away from the conference definitely better prepared to face the
daily challenges of the rep business.
Sad News
1986
President, Ted Stansbury, recently reported the passing of Joe Morgan, Morgan
Sales, Co. in Bradenton, FL. Joe was a charter member of AIMRA. He
was also a member of the Horse Shoe Pitchers Hall of Fame.
Ted
wanted to say hello to all AIMRA members and let everyone know he’s doing
just fine. He can be reached at TedStansbury@earthlink.net
Termination: The Most Important Part of Your Contract:
The
typical language I generally prefer to include in my version of a sales
representation agreement is set forth below. This is drafted with the idea that the sales representative
is being paid “life of part” commissions:
In the event of the termination of this agreement,
representative shall be entitled to a commission for “life of part” for
all parts, products, projects or programs, which are in production as of
the effective date of termination.
The representative shall also be entitled to “life of part”
commission for all parts, products, projects, or programs for which an
inquiry or request for a quotation was received prior to the effective
termination date regardless of when production is commenced. Additionally, the representative shall
be entitled to “life of part” commissions for any parts, products,
projects or programs which representative can demonstrate it was actively
working on as of the date of the receipt of the termination notice. Representative shall provide a list of
such parts, products, projects or programs within 30 days after receipt
of the termination notice.
The
purpose for including the above language regarding requests for
quotations or inquiries is to protect against a situation in which the
manufacturer’s representative is responsible for generating an inquiry,
which ultimately results in an order. For example, the inquiry may be for
a new program for five to ten million dollars in annual sales. Once the
principal is aware of the inquiry, it could terminate the representative
and quote the job directly without including a commission, bypassing the
representative. If the manufacturer’s representative was responsible for
generating the inquiry, he should be paid a commission regardless of
whether he happens to be terminated prior to the time the job is quoted
or the purchase order is issued.
In many
cases, the manufacturer’s representative will work for years at the
engineering stage trying to get his principal’s products specified into a
program. The inquiry or request for a quotation may not be issued until
after the principal’s products have already been specified. It is not fair to have the principal
accept, without compensation, the benefits of the manufacturer’s
representative’s efforts in obtaining the request for quotation.
If a
lesser term than “life of part” is to be included in the agreement, the
following could be used:
In the event of the termination of this agreement, the
representative shall be entitled to post-termination commissions as
follows:
(a) For all parts, products, projects or programs which are
in production as of the effective date of termination, the principal
shall pay to the representative a commission on all shipments made within
36 months from and after the effective date of termination regardless of
when payment is made;
(b) For all parts, products, projects or programs for which
an inquiry or request for a
quotation was received prior to the effective termination date, the
principal shall pay to the representative a commission on all shipments
made within 36 months from and after the start of regular production,
regardless of when payment is made.
(c) For all parts, products, projects or programs which
representative was actually working on prior to receipt of the
termination notice, the principal shall pay to the representative a
commission on all shipments made within 36 months from and after the
start of regular production, regardless of when payment is made. Representative shall provide a list of
such parts, products, projects, or programs to the principal within 30
days of the receipt of the termination notice.
There is
not point in having an agreement that gives you a fair commission rate if
the principal can terminate the agreement at any time and be absolved of
any liability to pay you commissions on business, which you obtained. Too
many times I have seen written sales representation agreements, which
allow a principal to terminate the agreement on thirty days notice,
without any further liability to the salesperson. As far as I am
concerned, this is the worst possible event, which can happen to a
salesperson, whither an independent manufacturer’s representative or an
employee salesperson. There is
nothing worse than spending years pursuing business only to be terminated
without the payment of the commissions you were expecting, once the
business is obtained. In fact,
the principal focus of my practice is to prevent this from happening to
my clients.
The key
principle is that you should be paid for what you do. If it takes you three years to obtain
a purchase order which will be generating sales for five years, your
contract should be set up to require the principal to compensate you for
at least a significant portion of that five year period.
Feterl Manufacturing is Growing
Randy
Bauer, CEO of Feterl Manufacturing Corp., announced recently the purchase
of the manufacturing rights for all models of PUG CATV’s and Dig-It
compact tow-able backhoes. Mr. Bauer said that the two distinct lines
will be manufactured in Feterl’s Salem, SD facility.
Plans for
production for the CATV’s is to begin in early August. The Dig-It line of
tow-able backhoes are planned to be in production by the spring of 2006.
Feterl
Manufacturing Corp. has manufactured innovative agricultural and
industrial products for over 50 years. Mr. Bauer stated Feterl is known
for high quality, commercial grade products and these two new lines will
compliment their core competencies.
Lines Available
SSI Maxim
Company, Inc.
P.O. Box 1954
Kilgore, TX
1-800-346-4781
903-984-0793
csteeley@ssimaxim.com
http://www.ssimaxim.com
Chris Steeley, President
& Pete Godfrey, V.P.
Territories: Nationwide
Product: Ready to use
granular herbicides for industrial and farmstead applications
IKG Design
2909 E 12th
Street
Vancouver, WA 98661
503-544-7772
(No fax listed)
ikgdesign@comcast.net
http://www.ikgdesign.com
Israel Geck, Owner
Territories: U.S.
Product: Frames-mirror/picture
custom and standard
Production
Stamping Corporation
301 E Vienna Ave.
Milwaukee, WI 53212
414-977-6847
414--962-7144
kcutts@productionstamping.com
http://www.productionstamping.com
Keith Cutts, Director of
Sales & Marketing
Territories: IA, MI, MN,
OH, WI, IL, and Chicago. Will work selected accounts; open to discussion
of other states
Product: 50 yr old stamping
manufactures 56-100 ton; component assemblies, minority status, QS-9000;
deep draw to 8” .011 to .625 thick. Parts .50 to 9ft length; progressive
dies – full engineering and design staff. Robotic, TIG, MIG, Resistance
and spot welding – state of the art manufacturing systems. Auto, tier,
ag, off road, appliance, small engine, truck, electrical/motor and other
industries
Lines
Available Listing from First Quarter~
Maschio-Gaspardo
USA Inc.
1300 19th Street, Ste 120
East Moline, IL 61244
309-75503764
309-755-4345
preid@maschio.com
http://www.maschio.com
Patrick Reid, General
Manager
Territories: SD, ND, NE,
MN, WI, IL, IA, MS, KN
Product: Rotary Tillers;
Finishing, Sickle Bar & Boom Mowers; Planters; Shredders
CAS
Manufacturing
1924 E 4th
Street
Grand Island, NE 68801
308-384-9747 ext 475
308-384-8966
seimk@chiefautomotive.com
http://www.chiefautomotive.com
Kerri Seim, Dir. Contract
Services
Territories: All US
except Nebraska
Product: Steel
Fabricator, parts or complete products
SBC Reps
19327 Santa Rosa
Detroit, MI 48221
313-833-2388
nbushell2004@hotmail.com
Natausha, Owner
Territories: Nationwide
Ransom
Associates Systems
18943 Lawrence RD
Shawnee, KS 66218
912-631-5131
ransomassociates@aol.com
http://www.ransomassociates.com
Ron Ransom, CEO
Territories: KS, MS, IA,
NE
Product: Lab Casework,
Technical Furniture, Lab Equipment, Clean room & Hospital Products
AIM-Joraco
347 Farnum Pike
Smithfield, RI 02917
401-232-1710
alewis@joraco.com
http://www.joraco.com
Andrew Lewis, Director of
Sales
Territories: North
America, South America, Overseas
Artco
Chemical Inc.
64 Hannay Lane
Glenmont, NY 12077
518-436-4676
518-436-4703
demarco@capital.net
John DeMarco, President
Territories: Mid-west,
South
Product: Hay / Feed
Preservatives and additives
HVAC
Warehouse
429 Hill Street
London, ON n6B 1E7
519-679-1415
519-642-4344
bcasdwc@yahoo.com
http://www.thehvacwarehouse.com
Dave Crackel, President
Territories: All of
Canada
Product: Sheet Metal
Forming Equipment
Automated
Systems of Rockford, Inc.
4792 Stenstrom Road
Rockford, IL 61109
815-874-5038
815-873-8619
ckluzak@asrmfg.com
http://www.asrmfg.com
Charles Kluzak, Vice
President
Territories: IL, WI, MI,
IA
Product: CNC Machining,
Large Capacity Machining, Welding specializing in Aluminum, Design &
build custom automation
Temco
S.A.
Av Italia 5620 A
Montevideo, AL 11400
598 2 6061151
juanfial@temcosa.com
http://www.temcosa.com
Juan Fiol, Manager
Territories: No limits
Product: Canine Beverage,
‘Pet-Up’, is substitute for water that incorporates all the necessary
nutrients & vitamins. ‘Pet-Up’ has been tested for two years in dogs
of different breeds, ages and sizes and has demonstrated to be a great
benefit for the animal’s health.
AW
Dynamomter, Inc.
131 E. Main Street
Colfax, IL 61728
1-800-477-2511
309-723-4951
mike@awdyno.com
http://www.awdynamometer.com
Mike Barclay, Sales
Manager
Territories: New England,
NY, PA, ND, Part of MN & SD
Product: PTO dynos
| 
E-Newsline