What is the Role of the Independent Furniture Rep In the Future?

A couple of weeks ago I conducted a survey of Independent Furniture Reps. I was blown away by the response. Over 400 reps took the time to give their opinions on a wide range of issues as well as the state of their economy. Next week I will conduct a FREE Webinar to review all the results with those that are interested. Please watch this blog for more details as they get finalized. There is information below on how you can get the details emailed to you.The reason I brought this up is because the results I’ll discuss speaks to the very heart of the question of What is the Role of the Independent Furniture Rep In the Future? I got a number of great comments on last week’s post about the role of the independent furniture rep in the future. If you didn’t get a chance to read the article and the comments you can view it at Half A Century of Furniture Rep Wisdom

Because the Comments invoked some spirited discussion, I thought this week I would respond to a few of the folks that were kind enough to tell us how they felt. To my knowledge, I have not met these reps. But based on their responses, I am certain that each is a very successful, professional member of the furniture community. So here goes…

Jeff disagreed with the demise of the independent sales rep.

My response to Jeff- we are running our business under the same model as you sound like you are running yours. And you know what, our numbers are way ahead of last year and I’ll bet yours are too. I think those that are facing challenging times can learn a lot from reps like you who don’t worry about outside factors, but just try and do the very best job they can everyday for their retailer customer. Thanks for your comments and compliment.

Thom comments centered around a thought provoking question are you an asset or a liability?

My response to Thom - I still believe there is a need for the independent rep that provides value to the retailer and the factory. If a rep is not providing additional value to the distribution chain, these tough times will be a wakeup call. It sounds like you and Jeff are definitely assets to our industry and I appreciate your harsh reality question to everyone as to whether they are an asset or a liability. Ultimately the factories and retailers judge us on that question everyday whether we like it or not.
PS. I get and respond to calls and emails on evenings and weekends, and continue to operate as an asset to both my customers and my factories.
Geoff took exception to the comments in the article indicating I was not respectful of Ashley reps
My comments to Geoff - I’m sorry you took the comments in the article in the wrong way. I have the highest respect for the Ashley model and their reps as they have been able to pull off something few in our industry has ever been able to do. I know full well that Ashley uses an independent rep model. We would love to have every Ashley rep be part of the larger rep network in IHFRA so we can all move the industry forward together. Ultimately we all have to work together to educate the consumer on the benefits of new furniture. Whether it is an Ashley or other factory rep training sales people on the benefits of new furniture will help make sure the retail consumer sees a need in upgrading her home furnishings.
I think if you reread the column you will realize that it should be more of a wakeup call to factories and reps that compete with Ashley than a call to criticize Ashley or their reps. Ashley has the distribution model including trained factory reps who know their customers. Those independent reps who compete with the Ashley model in those price points need to know their customers and products as well and many times better than the Ashley folks because Ashley makes it easy for the retailer to buy from including POP, trained reps, and a distribution system second to none.
Reps and factories who compete with Ashley have two options. 1) Do nothing and hope good times return soon (which of course when business returns it will be different than it was — so this is no option) or 2) Figure out how to compete. Make a better product, provide more service, develop a niche you own, whatever. In all cases, we as reps can be an integral part. Ultimately whether you work for Ashley or another factory, the better we help make the ultimate consumer’s experience, the more we can advance the sales of furniture and build the industry. We do this through working as the liaison between the retailer and the factories.
Thanks everyone for your comments. Please keep them coming.
I have compiled the results of the Rep Survey and will be presenting them next week in a FREE Webinar. Watch this column later in the week for more details. You can also go to my blog at www.mikeroot.com and register for blog updates. I will email those on my list all the details on how to get the rep survey information and free webinar.