Strong partnerships don’t happen by accident. They are built on trust, communication, shared goals and a genuine commitment to each other’s success. To better understand what makes wholesaler and manufacturers’ representative relationships thrive, I asked leaders from both sectors to share what is working, what could be improved and what each side needs from the other to build even stronger partnerships.

While their perspectives differ, their message is remarkably consistent: Success comes from working better together.

In the following conversation, Jessica Kolaitis, CPMR, vice president of operations, Tim Morales & Associates; Troy Joyce, president, The Joyce Agency; Mike Meiresonne, chief operating officer, Dakota Supply Group; and Mike Mullaney, vice president, relationship development, The Granite Group, share their insights on strengthening one of the PHCP channel’s most important relationships.

Distributor Perspective:

The Wholesaler: What are the most valuable ways a manufacturers’ representative can help your business succeed today?

Mike Meiresonne: Manufacturers’ reps help us succeed by providing pricing guidance, market intelligence, and product expertise that our teams need to sell with confidence. They also play a critical role in demand generation by calling on customers and working alongside our sales team through joint sales calls, which builds greater trust with our customers and makes it easier to win business. Their deep product knowledge helps our teams communicate value, especially when we are trying to shift customer preferences or introduce new solutions. Because DSG is an independent distributor, reps can trust that the leads they bring forward will be handled as intended, reinforcing a strong, mutually beneficial partnership — when we work together, we win together.

Mike Mullaney: Our manufacturers’ representatives have the greatest impact when they are in the same room at the same time as our contractors and Granite Group sales associates. This can be at events such as trade shows, trainings or relationship (fun) experiences. 

TW: What is the biggest challenge you experience when working with a manufacturers’ representative, and how could it be improved?

Mike Meiresonne: We encounter two main challenges: inconsistent engagement and competing priorities. Slow response times and a lack of follow-through — especially when addressing pricing, product issues, or customer needs — can impact our ability to serve customers effectively. Manufacturers’ reps often represent multiple lines, so their top priorities may not always align with our strategic goals. 

Differences across regions can also complicate alignment — it may be stronger in one area and weaker in another, depending on local relationships between reps, our sales team, and customers. There is an opportunity to improve both engagement and alignment by setting clear expectations and establishing more direct lines of communication with our sales leadership. When both sides are aligned on shared goals, the partnership becomes far more productive.

Mike Mullaney: Too often we experience inconsistent and low-productivity branch visits. It would be much more productive to set an agenda in advance so the branch can prepare and schedule the right staff members to be available. Another challenge is the territory size and/or number of distributors branches one representative is assigned to. Quite often, representatives are asked to make engineer and direct contractor job site calls in addition to covering more than one multi-branch distributor. 

TW: What information, support, or resources do you wish manufacturers’ representatives provided more consistently?

Mike Meiresonne: We would benefit from more timely and consistent delivery of market insights, product updates, pricing changes, and sales support tools. Up-to-date information is essential to serving customers effectively. Beyond information sharing, we also value rep insights into quoting strategies, competitive positioning, and how to best leverage manufacturer tools to win business. In-person training sessions are especially impactful, and the most effective reps simplify complex product information into a few clear, memorable selling points that our teams can apply in the field. Leading in-person customer training sessions at our facilities also helps build customer trust.

Mike Mullaney: The Granite Group has been in new branch growth mode for a number of years. It would be great if our manufacturers’ representatives offered Basics 101 training on the products they represent — for example, how a mini-split works or what sizes and shapes toilets come in.

TW: Looking ahead, what is one change manufacturers’ representatives could make that would strengthen the distributor-representative relationship?

Mike Meiresonne: The most impactful change would be deeper, more consistent strategic alignment supported by proactive engagement. When reps understand where we’re investing, where we want to grow, and how we’re succeeding in the market, they can better support our teams. This starts with more direct and consistent engagement with our sales leadership, along with more personalized communication. When reps take the time to connect beyond bulk marketing emails and clearly outline how a pricing or product change will impact us or our customers, we can build a shared plan with defined goals, clear roles, and mutual accountability that improves overall performance.

Mike Mullaney: Reps can help by being aware of new product launches and reinforcing announcements of current promotions. Often manufacturers fall short of getting the word out. Too often the marketing departments of our manufacturers feel that an email blast is all that is needed.

TW: What is something a manufacturers’ representative or agency has done exceptionally well that strengthened your partnership?

Mike Meiresonne: The best representatives operate as proactive, highly engaged partners who have a “win together” mindset. One example is a rep agency that anticipated a potential gap after our key contact retired and proactively invested in a dedicated representative to support a strategic product line. They worked closely with us to maintain continuity, support training, and identify growth opportunities — allowing us to retain momentum and expand the business. In another case, a rep team partnered with our sales leaders to build a focused growth plan, supported by joint customer calls, training, and consistent follow-up. Their insights helped refine our approach, and their engagement built trust with both our team and our customers. At their best, reps act as an extension of our sales team.

Mike Mullaney: We do not take advantage of them as much as we should, but we appreciate our manufacturers and rep agencies who have invested in a training facility or demonstration vehicles with “live” equipment. 

The Wholesaler: What do the strongest rep and distributor partnerships have in common, and what makes those relationships successful?  

Jessica Kolaitis: All relationships are built on trust and candid, ongoing communication. The strongest rep distributor relationships are built on these pillars. It’s important to understand each party’s role and identify alignment. For example, the rep’s goal is to gain 110% market share for the factories represented. To that end we write specifications, call on contractors, installers, and end users to create demand for our factories. At that point it is critical we remain neutral and allow the end user to buy from the distributor who has earned their trust. Our wholesale distributors also want maximum market share. They utilize relationships, logistics, pricing, etc., to earn business from the contracting community. The best relationships communicate effectively, recognize each other’s role, and align resources to the benefit of all. 

Troy Joyce: Open and honest communication will always be the cornerstone of this important relationship. Our strongest partnerships are built on trust and mutual respect for the value we each create in the channel. It has always been a priority to schedule “alignment” meetings with our distributor partners. These meetings give each of us a chance to lay out our priorities and goals for a set period of time, create milestones for measurement of progress, and allow time for feedback.

TW: What is the biggest challenge experienced when working with distributors, and how could it be improved?

Jessica Kolaitis: Occasionally we experience situations where distributors wish to keep project details very close to the vest. In many cases, we have extensive knowledge of a particular opportunity and already have the project loaded into our quotation system. The more transparency we have, the more likely we can reply promptly and accurately. What’s more, this allows us to make a wholesaler aware of a special price, or caveat related to the project. 

Troy Joyce: While some of our wholesale distribution partners do a great job of marketing to our channel — the majority, however, depend on us, the rep. Our agency calls on all channel partners — contractors, engineers, architects and designers, developers, code officials — and our wholesale partners. Our manufacturers depend on us for the promotion of new product launches, existing product enhancements, price changes, supply chain disruption, code changes, promotions, events etc. Over the last 10 years I have seen the rep community invest heavily in their marketing resources. Partnering with our manufacturers we distribute relevant content consistently to the market using thoughtful email marketing, social media, local industry publications, and of course our inside and outside sales teams. Perhaps working together to amplify communication to the market could be an improvement. 

TW: What support, communication, or engagement do you wish distributors provided more consistently? 

Jessica Kolaitis: Distributors are on the front lines. Their feedback helps us address the obstacles they encounter. Whether there is a performance issue, or a pricing concern, we can’t address a problem we are unaware of. Open channels of communication are critical to healthy rep-distributor relationships. Together we can provide better outcomes for the contracting community. A practice that builds a stronger supply chain for all concerned.

Troy Joyce: We consistently struggle with gaining feedback regarding quotations, both for projects and potential stocking positions. Our agency’s strategy has always been to create upstream demand for our manufacturers with the contractor and specifier community, so in turn the inventory our wholesale partners support us with will move and they will realize profit. Our agency, for example, has seven people solely calling on the specifier and facilities channel to drive demand. Tracking the success of those efforts requires feedback from our wholesale distributor partners as that is where the ultimate product submittal and purchase are executed. Whether positive or negative, this communication is what we all need. No one likes to deliver bad news, but ultimately that is how we learn and improve.

TW: Looking ahead, what is one change distributors could make that would strengthen the distributor-rep relationship and create greater value for manufacturers, reps, and customers? 

Jessica Kolaitis: Periodic meetings with senior management are a great way to find alignment, and frankly, misalignment. Such visits help all concerned focus their efforts on mutual objectives and avoid conflicting interests. Taking time to identify alignment is the first step to stronger relationships. 

Troy Joyce: In a word — training. The rep and manufacturer community all seem to agree that product and process training is a top priority. We are working closely with our wholesale distributor partners to engage in as much practical product and process training as possible! The trades need our help. The relationships created when you are sharing practical knowledge with a willing learner are solid gold. Without a bunch of patient plumbers willing to take time and answer my non-stop questions I am not sure where I would be today. That next generation coming up in the trades needs all of us to put product in their hands, show them how it works, where it goes in the system, why they need it, and where they can get it!

TW: What is something a distributor partner has done exceptionally well that strengthened your partnership and helped drive mutual success? 

Jessica Kolaitis: This goes back to communication and alignment. A healthy, candid, and ongoing, level of communication between the management team and local stakeholders is critical to mutual success. Distributors and Reps who take the time to have these conversations, to develop and execute action plans will ultimately find disproportionate success. When working in tandem, the parties can grow their mutual interests more quickly and efficiently.

Troy Joyce: Building on everything above, I’ll provide a few examples of things that have worked well.

Creating a new associate training program — we have worked with several of our wholesale partners to develop curriculum necessary to understand product at a basic level and build confidence. Some of our manufacturers have incredible online learning platforms that allow new associates (or seasoned vets) to take short online courses to expand their knowledge of existing products or new innovations. The online curriculum reinforced with consistent in-person training seems to be the best recipe for success.

Promoting counter events with collaborating on marketing and pre-selling efforts. Sometimes counter day events and product promotion shows can fall flat if not promoted properly. We have had our most success with these events when both the rep and wholesaler work together to market and promote. It is also great if the manufacturer and the wholesaler work together to develop a promotion or discount to draw the trades to the event.

Along the lines of project quotation feedback above, we have developed a simple shared document with one of our wholesalers that has proven useful. Based on feedback from a meeting, we developed an organized shared document that lists the projects that were quoted and manufacturers that were on the quote. This allows the wholesale outside salesperson or project manager to provide feedback when they have time rather than calling and emailing.