Page 50 - Lighting Magazine - August 2013

The Role of Reps

24-hour availability
Ive been a lighting rep for 35 years, but my frst sales job was in the i make it a
petrol-chemical industry. Thomas Industries was one of the frst lighting
companies I repped, along with Litecraf of California, which was owned priority to
by Stan Johnston, who later became a rep. It was while representing Lite- answer a
craf that I frst met fellow rep and long-time friend David Stark of Lighting customers
Concepts International in Arizona. question
One thing that has changed with the advent of technology (i.e. cell within
phones, email) is a reps availability. I make it a priority to answer a cus- 30-45
J.M. McVAY tomers question within 30-45 minutes. I enjoy the freedom of running minutes.
SAN DIEGO, CA a business, but I am disappointed to see that there are very few young
people coming into the rep business.

building relationships
This is my 25 anniversary as an agency owner; the industry has been good to me. This is a
th
relationship-based industry and building and maintaining those relationships are key.
You cant live for today and forget about tomorrow. There are no guarantees in this business. A
good rep has to plan for the future. When we had a downturn a few years ago, I didnt lay anyone of
and I made sure I was able to give everyone their holiday bonuses. I paid myself less money to ensure
they were taken care of. You cant replace good people easily especially in this business. There is a
lot of technology and know-how involved in lighting. I have a great staf; one of my full-timers, Carol,
has been with me for nine years.
Its no longer the [era] of the one-man rep frm. We carry 95 percent of the customer service load
for our vendors, and our customers rely on us for that service. Our rep ofce is designed to support
the distributors and specifers. As my business has been growing and we keep hiting our goals, Ive ex-
panded my staf. Good reps need to invest in their business every day, whether its with time or people.
CHAS LASSOFF
CRL LIGHTING AGENCY
there are no guarantees in this business. NEWTOWN, PA
a good rep has to plan For the Future.

theres misses Face time
not a lot The rep industry has changed in that its goten more im-
oF young personal, thanks to technology. There is less face-to-face
blood interaction with the advent of email. On the positive side,
coming technology has made communication easier and faster you
into can fnd something out for a customer in minutes [on the
the rep computer] right at your fngertips. On the downside, technol-
business. ogy dilutes some of the personality of the business. Its not
you have a handshake business anymore. There is still a lot of oppor-
to go out tunity in the industry, however, expectations are higher than
ROBERT HUBERT and Find ever from the manufacturers as well as the retailers.
SWI LIGHTING them.
CHICAGO

48 enLIGHTenment Magazine | august 2013 www.enlightenmentmag.com