The manufacturer’s rep: 

• Does not want to hold inventory or get involved in the shipping or customs clearance process 
• Represents multiple brands (typically in similar industries) that have different logistics programs and ways of international fulfillment 
• Will usually be based in a regional market and wants it to be easy for his Canadian dealers/customers to buy from the manufacturer they represent 
• May sell thru a number of different mediums: distributors, wholesalers, dealers, retailers, etc. 
• Is usually very helpful and is willing to talk to you and provide good information 

If you are prospecting a US company that utilizes manufacturer’s reps in Canada, you should always consider calling them for more information in the qualification process.  However, you should especially call them under the following circumstances: 

• If the US company is not currently an NRI, and has consistent volume to Canada 
• If Canadian dealers or customers have expressed pain points with the current buying/fulfillment process 
• If there is a lack of market share relative to the prospects US market 
• If they are already an NRI, but pain points have been uncovered with the current process, or they are not currently consolidating 
• If they hold inventory in Canada already, it is tough to convince the rep that the product should be out of the country and not closer to his market.  So the manufacturer’s rep is usually NOT the person for this 

Although the manufacturer’s rep will be willing to talk to you, you might only have a small window to get your point across, because some will try to push you to logistics or transportation department (which isn’t the worst if you get the decision makers name).  But if your goal is to learn what they are currently doing, you can call pretending to be a customer or dealer and ask about the process.  If you have established one of the first 4 points above are present, here are some good ways to get their guard down and get their attention: 

1. Introduce yourself and say you are with a Canadian based trade firm and logistics company that helps US companies sell better in Canada.   
   • If you already talked to someone and have a name, drop the name as well 
2. I get their guards down by saying “I know you are the manufacturer’s rep for _____, and don’t set up the logistics or anything, but I wanted to ask on thing that does affect sales:_______” 
   • “have you heard of or has the Non-Resident Importer program ever been looked at” 
   • “are you aware of some of the issues your dealers are facing with regards to cross border fulfillment? 
   • “______should be doing 10% in Canada vs what they are doing in the US, do you know if the numbers are close” 
   • “you guys already have a great model in utilizing the NRI program for Canada, but has consolidation ever been discussed to really take advantage of that being an NRI?” 
3. If you have done your homework and present the above questions properly, it should spark a conversation about how that specified manufacturer does business in Canada 
4. If you went a step further and looked at what other brands they rep, you can find out if one of them is an NRI and use that, or find out who competitors are that may be an NRI or holding inventory in Canada 
5. If they do not know what NRI is, tell them “we are a big proponent of the program, nothing we invented.  It was developed by Canada Customs years ago to help US based companies do business in Canada and make it easy for their customers to import.  Now it is seen as a precursor for US companies officially having their footprint here and gaining meaningful market share.” 
6. Having an important grasp and understanding of the NRI sale is important to keep this conversation going and the call valuable for the mfg. rep. 
7. In an ideal and many situations, they will think of other brands that they represent, where they wish “it was easier to import from them”, or they will complain of high shipping costs 
   • So be prepared to take many notes and pivot to other conversations or different brands 
8. If we do courier work for some of their dealers or customers that works great because we can say we work with Company X and they have expressed Problem Y.   

The end goal is to have the rep explain the import process (if you do not know it already).  However, ideally have their interest piqued on the NRI program, consolidating, or both.  If you win the call the next steps would be: 

• Your new friend will forward the perfectly succinct and informative follow-up you send them, to the CFO/controller/VP of sales to promote the need for NRI 
• They may also connect you with the VP of sales directly who may make the decision (because the manufacturer’s rep will have no say in this, and can only promote it to their brands) 
• Many do have direct contacts with the higher up logistics people, so a secondary meeting with them or more decision makers would be ideal as well 
• If they mentioned other brands that would see value in a talk with us, they connect you with the VP of sales or head of logistics 
• They will be your coach throughout the process, and do their best to get your speaking to the right people at your prospects head office, and will back you up as a reference