Some businesses are tough. But few are as demanding—or as precarious—as running a successful manufacturer’s rep agency.
Consider:
- Your income is 100% commission.
- Your contracts with the manufacturers you represent are only guaranteed for 30 days, meaning you effectively must earn your renewal every month.
- The value of your company is typically no more than a single year’s commissions—compared to the multiple of earnings that some other businesses command.
There’s very little margin for error in the rep business, so it’s no surprise that in my more than 40 years in distribution, I’ve found agency principals to be some of the sharpest, hardest working, and savviest business leaders anywhere. In fact, if I want to know what’s going on in a distribution channel, I call my manufacturer’s rep friends because they are more plugged in and informed than just about anyone else.
These views were reinforced in October from the 20th to the 23rd when I had the honor of emceeing the 53rd Annual Conference of the Association of Independent Manufacturers Representatives, or AIM/R, in Scottsdale, Arizona. The quality of attendees, presenters and networking was top-notch and while I was there to help manage the event as the emcee, this experience wound up becoming a major learning occasion for me.
You Must Take Time to Sharpen the Saw
The theme of the conference was “Working on your business and not just in it.” We’re all familiar with this advice, but it’s difficult to make time for working on your business when you’re swamped with day-to-day challenges, opportunities, and surprises. Arguably, attending any industry conference helps you work on your business, but some events are better than others. The AIM/R 53rd Annual Conference was among the best I’ve seen, starting with the lineup of speakers.
- Gino Wickman, the founder of EOS® Worldwide and the author of Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business, and other books designed to help entrepreneurs succeed, led a 3.5 hour workshop to kick off the conference. Wickman is the world’s leading authority on how to run a business effectively and he did not disappoint. In clear, compelling, and entertaining fashion, Wickman delivered a masterclass in entrepreneurial management.
- AIM/R firms sell primarily in the plumbing and heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) sectors, and the organization provided two major distributors to take the stage at various times during the meeting:
- Hajoca: Steve Ferry, Division Manager and Sean Kelly, President and General Manager of Emco, a Canadian subsidiary of Hajoca.
- Winsupply: Steve Coen, Director of Business Development and Luke Muszynski, VP, Vendor Relations.
These are among the largest and best-run distributors in their industry, and it was fascinating to hear the constructive and direct dialogue between these individuals and the reps at the meeting.
Other speakers included:
- Economist Chris Kuehl, Ph.D., with Armada Corporate Intelligence, who (as always) delivered a fascinating update on the economy.
- Inside Sales expert Mark Peck, who described how an effective outbound inside sales program can build sales productivity and results.
- Branding and marketing expert Teri Slavik-Tsuyuki of tst ink., on “How to Build Your Brand + Stand Out in a ‘Sea of Sameness.’”
- CoMetrics CEO Paul Giudice, who updated the group on a new performance benchmarking service his company is providing AIM/R. This provides invaluable data so principals can understand how effectively their companies are operating vs. peers.
- Brooks Hamilton and Tim McLaughlin with AI Strategy Advisors, who led a fascinating workshop on artificial intelligence and how it can transform your business.
- In addition, there were outstanding breakout sessions on, “Buy/Sell: The Good, The Ugly & The Exciting;” “From Founder to Future: Tailoring your Succession Plan;” and “Employee Benefits to Attract and Retain.”
In addition, the entire AIM/R executive committee took the stage for an extended town hall. And, of course, the conference featured awards, memories, and a preview of next year’s event, which will be in Napa Valley.
My Takeaways as Emcee
As emcee, I had a front-row view of the extensive planning that went into this event. I was honored to work with Conference Chair Jeff Blair, President of Barclay Sales, Stacey Woldt, Executive Director for AIM/R and others. This was one of the best-planned events I’ve ever been involved in, and it showed in Scottsdale with both in the quality of the program as well as how smooth the event was.
The bottom line is that the hard work in advance of the conference paid off. 2025 – 2026 AIM/R Chair and President of Preferred Sales Inc., Michelle Lewnes-Dadas told me, “The AIM/R Annual Conference is truly the highlight of my year. It’s one of the few times I can step away from the day-to-day demands of running our agency and focus on working on the business instead of just in it. Many of the foundational elements of our business have been shaped by insights gained at this conference—it’s an investment that pays dividends year after year.”
2025 Conference Chair Jeff Blair, President of Barclay Sales Ltd., was justifiably pleased with the event and is already focused on next year. “It was an honor to see the results of all the volunteers who came together to make this a great learning and networking experience. I look forward to seeing everyone in Napa in 2026 to share what we have done to improve our businesses and get new ideas!”
Stacey Woldt, Executive Director of AIM/R, pointed out that the organization, “Has intentionally developed and expanded the annual conference in recent years. During the last decade, the event has grown from 250 to more than 600 total attendees. Sponsorship support from all sectors of the supply chain has increased tenfold. Each year, we close the conference wondering what in the world we will do next year to top this year’s experience.”
The 2025 event will be hard to top. But I believe that if the attendees at this event apply the lessons they learned, they’ll be sharing a lot of success stories at the 2026 event. And isn’t that what a great association meeting should accomplish?
Ian Heller is the Founder and Chief Strategist for Distribution Strategy Group. He has more than 30 years of experience executing marketing and e-business strategy in the wholesale distribution industry, starting as a truck unloader at a Grainger branch while in college. He’s since held executive roles at GE Capital, Corporate Express, Newark Electronics and HD Supply. Ian has written and spoken extensively on the impact of digital disruption on distributors, and would love to start that conversation with you, your team or group. Reach out today at iheller@distributionstrategy.com.