If you’ve been around this industry for a while you’ve probably read about, talked about or at least thought about the role of the sales rep in the business and how some people were predicting their demise.
Well, this is not one of those stories. In fact, it’s one celebrating the independent sales representatives and the critical role they play in the buying and selling of all the products we have here at the Dallas Market Center. It’s one of the reasons we made the role of the sales rep the cover story for the brand-new issue of our SPARK magazine. (Be sure to pick up a copy at this month’s shows or the next time you’re on campus.)
“There’s just no substitute for the in-person connection and the support of sales reps," I wrote in the introduction to the story. “Certainly, we have modern tools that can help make communications more efficient—if impulsive—but it’s the person-to-person exchange of ideas that matters most. That’s something we want to highlight as a marketplace.
“We are fortunate to have so many great rep groups based in Dallas. These are sales organizations who are closely connected with their customers for the long term. It’s an investment that provides tangible ROI.”
Reps have always been a backbone of the market center across all our gift, home furnishings and fashion categories. Throughout all our permanent exhibitor floors, they are the overwhelming core of the showroom mix, allowing us to show literally thousands of lines and brands. None of that would be possible without the role of the rep.
Coincidentally this month a new campaign in support of sales representatives is being launched. It’s called “Reps are Local too” and connects them with independent retailers, each supporting the other. “Sales reps are the often-overlooked lifeline of their communities, working hard to fill stores with new products and helping create local revenue so that every Main Street will thrive,” the rep group writes in the ad, which you can see in this new issue of SPARK. “Communities don’t directly benefit from online shopping, but they benefit in countless ways from the loyal work of local sales reps.
“So let’s embrace our local sales reps – the unsung heroes of independent retail.”
I couldn’t have said it better myself.
Cindy Morris,
CEO, Dallas Market Center
