Improving the viability of manufacturers’ representatives with industry‐based sales training initiatives

Approximately one million manufacturers’ representatives exist in the USA and their training needs are deserving of research attention. They are typically associated with small agency firms that have limited resources to arrange in‐house sales training – especially for new sales personnel. Thus, an industry‐wide survey was done to identify perceived training needs and potential demand for this program. These results provided guidance for creating an industry‐based sales training program that emphasizes personal selling and marketing skills as well as professional aspects of the job. These results also showed that agency size, program cost, and certification were important factors in demand.