Specialty audio and automotive electronics supplier AudioControl announced this week that it has selected Rich Jackson in Northern California as its Rep of the Year for their home products category. For AudioControl, Rep of the Year means that “independent sales organization that has delivered outstanding overall performance, dedication to the AudioControl brand and exceptional service” in their region.
Sales Reps
Savant Reorganizes Its Sales Force
BREAKING NEWS
Within a span of just minutes today, we began hearing from multiple sources around the country that something was afoot at Savant Systems, LLC. Word quickly spread that the company was terminating salespeople around the country, a move that was occurring in the wake of founder Robert Madonna’s return to the company to replace former CEO William Lynch.
What’s going on at Savant? Strata-gee digs deeper… [Read more…] about Savant Reorganizes Its Sales Force
Onkyo Internally Announces Major Sales Structure Reorganization
BREAKING NEWS
Four Major Brands to be Consolidated into Two Divisions
In a national conference call with sales reps yesterday, Onkyo announced a major restructuring of their sales organization. This overhaul involves consolidating their four major brands – Onkyo, Integra, Pioneer, and Pioneer Elite – into two newly-created divisions.
See more on this breaking news from Onkyo… [Read more…] about Onkyo Internally Announces Major Sales Structure Reorganization
Conflicts Force Aim High Audio to Split Rep & Distribution Businesses
Aim High Audio Sales & Marketing and AHA Distributing are separating, the company announced on Tuesday of this week. A prepared announcement from president and founder Chris Gilray, noted that the separation will allow each company to focus on its dramatic growth. Gilray will solely control the distribution business, while his partner Jon Perry will take over Aim High Audio’s representation business under the Precision Sales Group name.
We spoke with Gilray and learned about the competitive issues that drove this decision… [Read more…] about Conflicts Force Aim High Audio to Split Rep & Distribution Businesses
Two Rep Firms Join Forces to Create Mega NY Metro Rep
BREAKING NEWS
Deal Could Be a Blueprint for Rep Deals in Other Markets
We learned this week that two large New York Metro area rep firms have joined together to create a mega-rep firm offering an impressively large assortment of largely custom integration-oriented lines. The two firms are Audio Associates of Somerset, NJ and Thea & Schoen of Clifton, NJ…and the news is sure to shake up the market.
See the ramifications of this deal… [Read more…] about Two Rep Firms Join Forces to Create Mega NY Metro Rep
Rep & Distributor Sales Jobs Evaporating – 1 Million More to Disappear by 2020
Data Suggests a New Blueprint for Greater Sales Success
A long and proud tradition in our industry is the narrative of the individual sales rep or distributor salesperson schlepping through wind and snow to meet with one of their dealers lugging product samples and marketing materials, pitching his lines, getting a purchase order from the dealer, calling the order into his manufacturers and thus earning a sales commission. But data from Forrester Research, Inc. released last year shows that this tradition is rapidly diminishing, with market trends projecting the elimination of as many as 1 million B2B sales jobs – like those held by sales reps and distributor salespeople – by 2020.
See this surprising data on the rapidly changing B2B sales processes… [Read more…] about Rep & Distributor Sales Jobs Evaporating – 1 Million More to Disappear by 2020
Michigan Rep Says Betting on Retail Sales Teams is Always a Good Gamble
Rep Firm Holds Casino Night for Major Retailer’s Sales Staff – Everyone Wins, Especially the Sponsors
Walled Lake, Michigan-based sales representative company QMI, Inc. (The QMI Group) held a Casino night on Sunday, August 23rd for the sales staff of ABC Warehouse, a large electronics and appliance retailer in the Midwest. Sponsored by Pioneer and Polk Audio, the Casino night capped a 90-day sales promotion that allowed floor salespeople the opportunity celebrate their success, blow off some steam, and earn valuable prizes.
See more about The QMI Group’s ABC Warehouse Sales Associates’ Casino Night… [Read more…] about Michigan Rep Says Betting on Retail Sales Teams is Always a Good Gamble
Reps – Hire Them? Or Fire Them?
GUEST POST
Manufacturers in the CE industry have bantered this question about since the industry began. Should we establish factory direct sales teams or use independent sale representatives? Or maybe a hybrid of both? Varied levels of success and failure with any of these models riddle the history of our business. What works for one vendor may not work for another. Get 10 vendors and 10 dealers in a room and you’ll get 30 answers as to the most effective sales strategy, many of which would be valid. Which is one reason why the debate continues as to which selling strategy is best.
Let’s break down the many issues surrounding sales force strategy… [Read more…] about Reps – Hire Them? Or Fire Them?
Bodley Exits PPC to Start a Company Selling What? Why PPC, Of Course
When Belden bought PPC at the end of 2012, Eric Bodley thought this was going to be great news for both PPC and its Perfect Path line, where since 2009 he had led the charge in establishing the cable and satellite connector company’s locking HDMI connectors into the custom integration channel. And while he would argue that this acquisition by Belden was, in fact, a good thing for PPC, he soon came to realize that there was a challenge for him that was difficult to address.
That realization led Bodley to leave Belden/PPC and start a new company – to sell PPC… [Read more…] about Bodley Exits PPC to Start a Company Selling What? Why PPC, Of Course
Core Brands Awards The Bulk of Its Brands to Atlantic Integrated For NY Metro
Core Brands, LLC, a division of Nortek, Inc., announced Tuesday that Atlantic Integrated, a Rockleigh, NJ-based sales representative company, has been awarded most of its brands for representation in the New York Metropolitan region and Fairfield County, CT. This appointment is effective immediately and represents a realignment of the brands under one rep firm.
