The Reps Speak Out

Staff -- Gifts & Decorative Accessories, 10/1/2000

Our July 2000 column-in which Toland's David Sands explained his reasons for replacing sales representatives with telemarketers and other sales methods-must have struck a nerve, because it continues to elicit responses from our readers. There were so many letters that we weren't able to print all of them. Here, Jaime Ross, from a Northern California and Nevada rep group presents the sales representative's point of view. Another writer, Texan Margaret Johnson, provides a dual perspective, having been both a retailer carrying Toland product and a sales representative over the course of her career. The third writer, Indiana rep Rosanne Klem, used to represent the Toland line.

Thanks for that provocative article. Maybe you should consider writing a story on what reps find reprehensible about vendors.

As for Mr. Sands, I believe he is making a terrible mistake. It's clear he never trusted reps in the first place. I guess he had to put up with us until we finished pioneering for him and developed a customer base. If there are other manufacturers who make his kind of product reading that article, they need to pay attention to the lack of a sales force and take advantage of his mistake.

Jaime Ross

Co-Owner and Manager of Sales at Elizabeth Reiss Associates Inc.

San Francisco

I am a sales representative working from the Dallas market. Prior to holding this sales position, I owned retail gift stores for 22 years. I remember Toland['s David Sands] when he started with director's chair covers. It was obvious he was struggling to find a direction for his company.

The Toland sales representative who called on my stores did not fit the image David Sands described. I would rate her an A+ for the years she called on my operation, in every aspect of her professionalism. I might add, she lived five hours away and visited often.

I recall when Toland started the telemarketing, behind the sales reps' backs. As a retailer, I found it confusing and annoying. My time was much too valuable to come to the phone-when my rep was doing her job.

Since I am now a middleman.I mean, sales representative.I was highly insulted by David Sands' attitude. We are much more than salespeople, to quote Dick Firestone in a recent interview ["Celebrate," Gifts & Dec June 2000, p. 278]; we are consultants with our store owners. We are all in this together as a partnership. We all make continued investments of time, knowledge, and skills. Sales representatives are the ears and eyes of store owners.

As I work my territory, I do have to question [Toland's] telemarketing skills; I see empty Toland racks every week.

Just for the record, if I were still a retailer, I would have dropped Toland, as I find telemarketers annoying; they remind me of the same annoying phone calls that come into my home at night.

I have one final question for David Sands. My question is, which of the two "g"'s is your company pursuing: growth or greed? The retailers today are changing, too-they can see through companies that lose their perspective.

Margaret Johnson

Sales Representative for New Endeavors

Austin, Texas

Toland and David Sands are greedy. I worked very hard for them, and established accounts that they never would have on their own. I kept the territory under control, thus protecting customers who ordered a lot, so that the shop down the street didn't order also. Sometimes Toland people call every shop in a town and pressure them to start as customers. They have no regard for the current shop owners, who get very angry when those smaller or newer shops begin selling Toland. I have heard these complaints frequently. One customer is tired of seeing Toland flags at T.J. Maxx and other outlets. [At Toland,] they don't realize how it affects the small retailer. Or maybe they don't care.

Another large manufacturer dropped all its reps in 1994. By 1998, it wanted us back. The market was saturated because of lack of control and because of mass merchandising. We went back to them, only to find out that the line had died because of all this.

I think that the only way to keep a great line going is to keep the customer base under control. This makes it special, and that is important to the manufacturer, the rep, the retailer, and ultimately the consumer. The mom-and-pop stores keep this industry going, and when companies use reps the way they do, and then go to a "better" way of business, they create a lot of negative feelings.

David Sands is wrong when he says that reps don't represent the whole line. I did, and I learned what people wanted and what they didn't want. I only tried to be honest with my customers.

I work for one manufacturer who takes care of problems and never complains about the good reps. They get rid of the reps who slack off, and reward the ones who don't. They do their part, and I do mine. It's a great relationship. I never felt that way with Toland. They always acted like we were not that important to them.

I hope David's article doesn't give other manufacturers the idea that they can control the market from one location. [With this strategy,] there is no one to come in and take inventory and suggest styles relating to a shop's design and area needs. It's going to be a cold way of doing business (and more work for the retailers) if all they get is a phone call asking for more orders.

I am a good rep, and I love to work for good manufacturers. I am loyal to my customers. I don't appreciate being used the way that Toland used me. Customers who appreciate reps don't like it either.

Rosanne Klem

South Bend, Indiana

If you're a rep or a manufacturer, we want to hear from you. To share news, issues of concern, or even input on what you'd like to see on this page, contact Eliza Gallo at (212) 519-7358 or egallo@cahners.com.