THE WHOLESALER® — JANUARY 2011•


IN THE CHANNEL REP RAP


nesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. The key contacts are Jim Marten, Brian Nielson, and Ron Docken at 952/854-7070 (office); e- mail: rdocken@mdnsales.com. • Meridian Marketing (Phoenix,


Liberty Pumps held its annual Rep Council Meeting in conjunction with the ASPE show in Philadelphia last month. Council members include: (front row) Charlie Fletcher of Delco Sales in Calif., Nev., and Hawaii; Scott Cooper of Cooper New England Sales in Conn., and N.H.; Steve Sutter of Hodes & Sutter Inc. in Mo.; and (back row) Randy Waldron, VP-sales/marketing, Liberty Pumps; Charlie Pongratz of GT Gordon & Associates in Wash.; Tony Bruno of Triumph Sales in Pa.; Charlie Cook, president of Liberty Pumps. (Not pic- tured is Chuck Schwabe, national sales manager of Liberty Pumps.)


Colmac Coil Manufacturing added Imbert Corporation to its exclusive network of sales representatives. Im- bert Corporation provides new and replacement plate fin heating and cooling coils, dry coolers and air- cooled condensers to the industrial process and commercial HVAC mar- kets in north central Illinois, north- west Indiana, southeast Iowa, and southeast Wisconsin. Imbert has been


facturer Representatives Inc. covers South Texas • Banks & Head Agency of Annis-


ton, Ala., covers Alabama and the Panhandle region of Florida. Mr. Steam appointed four addi-


tional manufacturers’ representatives, covering territories in the Northeast, the Southwest and the Upper Mid- west, and calling on plumbing and heating wholesalers and contractors,


Ariz.) will cover the entire state of Ari- zona as well as southern Nevada. The key contact is Steve Davis at 602/300- 0698 (cell); e-mail: steve @meridia- nmarketingonline.com. “We are excited about the opportunity to represent Mr. Steam, because of the value the company delivers to the marketplace,” said Greg McLaren of ProLine Sales. “In today’s business environ- ment, it is more important than ever to represent manu- facturers who produce qual- ity products, ship them in a timely fashion, and back them up with excellent cus- tomer service.” Steve Davis of Meridian


•93


Cordova, California.” Jordan Tatosian of Plumbing


Unique added, “I personally love the Oliveri line because of the pack- age program they offer with the sink grids and sink combo’s. I also love the quality behind each and every sink. I know with full confidence that when I sell Oliveri it will last them a lifetime. I have had some


Jordon Tatosian (left) from Plumbing Unique receives an ipad from Dan Klagenberg of Western Sales as part of a custom Oliveri rep program.


Marketing added, “We believe that Mr. Steam offers our customers the best set of features and benefits in steam generators and towel warmers. Our distributors, in turn, can then sell those same features and benefits downstream — problem-free — to their customers, while also attaining


clients say they have gotten com- ments on their kitchen sink, with how beautiful it is and the quality that is behind it.” At its national sales meeting in No-


vember, Watermark Designs went outside the typical sales meeting agenda, opting to use the time to deepen their relationship with their reps. The meeting kicked off with an intimate dinner, where president Avi Abel and national sales manager Greg Libbey challenged reps to start telling the Watermark story. The re- sponse was overwhelming. The meeting continued with a fac-


ProLine Sales Inc., Wyncote, Pa., will rep Mr. Steam in the eastern half of the state of Pennsylvania as well as southern New Jersey and all of Delaware; while Steve Davis (above right) of Meridian Marketing in Phoenix, will cover Arizona.


a manufacturers’ representative in the Chicago area since 1950. As principal of Imbert, Bill Toth has been with the company for more than 40 years and oversees an in-house staff of 20 sales engineers and support personnel. John Guest®


as well as bath and kitchen show- rooms: • ProLine Sales Inc. (Wyncote, Pa.)


USA named three


additional manufacturers’ rep agen- cies to its nationwide roster of inde- pendent sales agents. All three will focus on John Guest’s Speedfit® Push-fit Fittings product line for plumbing and heating applications. They are: • Plymouth, Mich.-based Sales


Service Plus Inc. covers the state of Michigan • Houston-based Alliance Manu-


will cover the eastern half of the state of Pennsylvania as well as southern New Jersey and all of Delaware. The key contact is Gregory E. McLaren at 215/517-7543; e-mail: gmclaren@pro- linesalesinc.com. • B & B Enterprises (Green Bay,


Wis.) will cover the entire state of Wisconsin as well as Upper Penin- sula of Michigan. The key contacts are Brad Brittain at 920/366-5051; e- mail: bradb.brittain@gmail.com; and Jed Grams at jgrams59@yahoo.com. • MDN Sales Company (Bloom- ington, Minn.) will cover all of Min-


their margin objectives.” Australian-based stainless steel


sink manufacturer Oliveri, with their Northern California rep firm Western Sales, has been developing custom programs in Northern California to drive sales in the territory. “These types of promotions are very success- ful,” said Dan Klagenberg of Western Sales. “Our latest Northern California Oliveri program was the ‘Oliveri Pro Sales’ contest, which awarded an Apple iPad to the territory showroom sales associate who achieved the highest sales in the Oliveri Profes- sional Series collection. The winner for the contest was Jordan Tatosian from Plumbing Unique in Rancho


tory tour. Everyone was amazed by Watermark’s vertically integrated, Brooklyn-based facilities, and they were happy to meet and shake hands with the very artisans who produce the products they sell. Discussions were conducted in a town hall format, triggering an open dialogue about Watermark’s capabilities and real so- lutions to make their reps and thus, Watermark, better.


“The open and relaxed format was


very energizing. I’m confident that it gave reps the charge they need to go out into the field and tell the Water- mark story,” said Libbey. “We all left Brooklyn on Sunday with the feeling that we’re on the brink of something huge; I’m excited for what’s next.” Abel added, “To me, the most im-


portant interaction is the one between a manufacturer and its reps —it’s crit- ical to build a solid foundation and solicit reps’ input throughout the process. The ball is now in their court to use what they’ve learned and max- imize sales.


n • Be sure to visit www.thewholesaler.com for web exclusive articles and videos! •


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100