When Do You Ask Your Manufacturer Rep For Sales Help?

Speaking as an ex-manufacturer, this is the process I would recommend to maximize your benefit as an integrator:

1) Meet with the customer, multiple times if necessary, figure out as many of the basics as you can: needs/pain points, do they have budget (how much)?, when do they want to have this implemented, what will their purchase process be (bids on same system, multiple quotes from integrators, etc). Get yourself to the point that you have a pretty good grasp of the overall opportunity, including timeline, budget, and things that could potentially derail it. Document all your meetings along the way (dates/times, people present, topics discussed).

2) Tell the customer you have a few companies in mind that you think could meet their desires, and you would like to bring the right people from those companies in to discuss the project further.

3) Go to your manufacturer sales guy, lay out of the project. Make it clear that you have control of the customer/project (this should be easy, based on your involvement in step 1 above), tell them you'd like to bring them in to discuss solution, do demos, etc.

4) Work with manufacturer sales/pre-sales to come up with some at least rough design proposals. Does not have to be too involved at this point, just something showing joint work/effort.

5) Schedule meeting with the customer/yourself/manufacturer. Introduce manufacturer sales person, let them lead majority of the meeting, demo/sell their product, etc. Go over your design proposals or general approach to solving their problem. Followup afterwards (next day), ask customer for feedback on what they thought of the presentation, etc. Give that feedback to the manufacturer from the meeting and/or use it to refine next presentation, or select alternative product.

This is simplified, and it is not always quite as easy as I have laid out, but in order to make your value and involvement clear, you want it to be obvious that you are in control of the overall process, and have the contacts and "pull" with the manufacturers to get meetings scheduled with them. If you jump right to bringing the manufacturer to your first meeting you have a greater risk of being marginalized, as the manufacturer is more likely to monopolize the meeting, and thereby the overall information flow and control of the deal. 

If you are using manufacturers reps, invite them in step 5, but in addition to, not in place of, the actual sales rep from the manufacturer. On a go-forward basis, you may be able to have just the rep in future meetings, depending on what is being discussed.

I would minimize involvement of anyone besides people from your company at the initial discovery-phase meetings. Build a relationship with the customer, as much as possible, before bringing others into the deal.

Also, following this process should set you up for any registration discounts or similar protections the manufacturer offers, which helps you, at least to some degree, if it ends up with multiple integrators being involved, through whatever mechanisms.

The longer you hold off notifying the manufacturer about the project, the less time a competitor has to marshal the resources to cut a deal with your customer.  Axis, and others have a project registration service and that's great for discounts, but I don't know if it has an NDA attached to it. I suppose you could ask or just tell them that you cannot disclose the customer name  until the deal is in the bag. If you want to give them plans and documents, redact the customer location and tell the manufacturer that its is out of town project.  Also, there may be some ramifications to your customer if the existing integrator finds out he's off the job. I have also seen cases where the existing integrator starts kissing butt so the customer has second thoughts. Then when the contract is signed, they go back to the same lousy service.  

You should establish a relationship with the manufacturer rep first, especially before bringing them to meet an end user. Make sure it is someone you can trust and rely on for help on the project. 

Be wary of any rep that hand's out his/her business card to an end user, it is not uncommon for an end user to reach out directly to the manufacturer for other options. 

Thanks, plenty of info. We have limited experience with a certain VMS, and the support has been less than desired from the sales team. Almost makes me want to switch.

I guess I could clearly tell the rep, hey no cards, all inquiries go through me.Your job is to help ME sell the system.

Very informative

As a rep, and previously an integrator for 20 years, I totally understand your concerns regarding project information disclosure.  You are correct to be concerned about the possible deliberate or inadvertent sharing of project information.  This can happen at the manufacturer and rep level.

Hopefully, you have relationships with other dealers in your area you can talk to, perhaps through a local dealer/state organization.  There are reps with whom you can leave your wallet on their desk, and others that, before shaking hands, you are best advised to put your watch in your pocket.  Thankfully, their reputations proceed them, and word of mouth is the best way to learn who you can trust.  An experienced rep partner can help you close projects with end users, as they have seen it all, and can make suggestions and answer the concerns expressed by your customer. They should also be known for their pre and post sales support. 

A good rep partner will ask you up front what the limits of conversation with the end user should be, what products you will allow them to talk about, and what to avoid. They understand that they cannot capture the entire project, but are there to support the products you have proposed.  Their hope is to build a trusting relationship with you so that you will think of calling them first for future projects.

Trust but verify.  Where have I heard that before.

If you are displacing the incumbent you should understand why.  Maybe you are just helping someone rationalize what they pay to their “preferred” vendor, or maybe you are leverage.  It happens.

Knowing how and why you are being brought in may alter your method.

I would be very cautious discussing a conversion with any of the incumbent products sales teams, tech support or reps.  If the customer is important to them, someone will figure it out.  If you haven’t done business with them in the past, you are not an opportunity, you are a threat.  Regardless of how nice they are.

Manufacturers teams can help you close sales.  Use someone you have faith in.  Someone you would share your personal financials with.

Assume the previous integrator and manufacturers will know about this.  Sometimes an accounting person lets it slip, a security or facilities person, another competitor.  Speed is helpful.

Give it a project number, not a name.  Don’t discuss what they do if possible.  Most likely the existing integrator has the products registered, or if they get wind they will get better value to offer than you, (value can be services also, not just price) unless they have damaged the vendor relationship, which is rare.

If you are really uncomfortable doing the job, it’s occasionally more profitable to walk away.

Just my 200 words worth.