The Converging Electrical and Electronic Worlds
January 16, 2017
One of the most fascinating developments through my time in our remarkable electrical industry is the introduction of the electronic world to the electrical world. From someone who used to telex orders into factories on a long strip of punched paper over a dedicated phone line to EDI today, it has been an unbelievably transformational experience. Once the genie was placed into the systems, as opposed to out of the bottle, it has been one technological enhancement over the next.
This merging of electrical and electronic worlds is not completely unique to the electrical industry, but it is distinctive in its impact on our lives. We are experiencing the first wave of this convergence in our generation, and while we always have a need to define all the various generations — Boomers, X, Y, Millennials — we are all still in this together to be the best we can be for all the players in the game. The Internet of Things, smart homes, smart building automation, smart grids, they all impact our professional and personal lives with the touch of a finger or the sound of our voice.
One of the key components of a CEMRA rep firm is to be adaptable to changing market conditions, product enhancements and customer requirements. This convergence will have a bearing on the structure of CEMRA organizations in the future as we incorporate the increase in technological expertise in the products and systems that the manufacturers introduce and the market demands.
Traditionally the CEMRA rep firms have enjoyed a sales organization that covers the market with a basket of goods to capitalize on synergistic selling skills. The sales teams would be educated on all the products that we represent and would have a working knowledge of these products. There would be a possibility that each firm would have “champions” for each line whose responsibility would be to have a deeper knowledge of certain aspects of that particular manufacturer. This would likely include the reporting responsibility, budget forecasting and KPI analysis. Historically, these products would be classified as stand alone products with defined parameters of performance. Product features benefits were well defined and our job is to promote these products into applications that fit quite nicely into these parameters. There will always be a certain amount of this product platform requiring these skills to be performed. Our CEMRA rep firms are excellent at delivering these products and services to market.
As we look forward, CEMRA rep firms are incorporating two technology drivers from our manufacturers:
· digital product enhancements
· information/communication systems platforms
This is subtly changing the sales execution in our territories. There is the potential to create technology silos of knowledge within the CEMRA sales team, working with the manufacturer’s support team to promote the more sophisticated system sells that are becoming dominant in our digital age. Second, and critical, are the communication strategies between manufacturers and rep firms. Communicating to the marketplace through our market network what our products and services are capable of will require professionalism and skill as the sell cycles for these enhanced products become more technical.
Manufacturers have tremendous access to electronic tools to make the sales process very powerful. It is possible to foresee a shift within CEMRA firms where there are more technical sales specialists and a fewer number of “general practitioners.” This is an excellent opportunity to hire young, technical sales people looking to thrive in a small business environment. However, the GPs of our world are still critical in identifying market opportunities, vetting out there potential, and putting the full sales team into motion to capture those opportunities.
The internal cross pollination of ideas and processes would do nothing but strengthen the growth potential for rep firms. It is possible that it takes more than 128 characters to develop a 5-year relationship with an industrial facility, but it is also possible that a live interactive graphic interface demonstration would assist in an introductory sales presentation for engineers and contractors moderated by a general practitioner. This too will be a fascinating convergence to observe.
As Murray Chamney noted in one of his previous CEW articles, the manufacturers are looking to be as efficient as possible and there is a great opportunity for CEMRA reps to assist in filling this gap with the appropriate response with resources and commissions. This adaptability of our CEMRA reps will be on full display to our market partners as we go forward in further incorporating the electronic systems defining our changing landscape. It is one of our association’s many strengths, and the manufacturers who recognize that our market knowledge and experience are invaluable in market penetration and growth will enjoy an outstanding relationship in our designated markets. It will be a fascinating transformation to watch and appreciate.
As the technology expressway hurtles us all towards AI, smart systems, robotics and all the data you can imagine in our lives, it will be important to remember we are operating in a human world. The human touch will still be a critical part of the decision making process. A CEMRA rep can bridge the technologies with our human touch with our customers, manufacturers and markets.
Good selling!
John Baron is President of Elec-Tech Sales Ltd., a manufacturing agent with headquarters in Richmond, British Colombia. John is on the Board of Directors and Executive of the BC Electrical Association, which named him BCEA Individual of the Year for 2016. John is also a former president of CEMRA, and active member of IESNA and NEMRA.
