Matt Reich, CPMR CPSC, of Rocky Mountain Integrated Solutions, Bluffdale, Utah, has earned the Certified Professional Manufacturers’ Representative (CPMR) designation. Reich is one of over 2,000 sales professionals across the United States, Canada, and beyond to achieve the CPMR certification.

The designation denotes a level of education and commitment beyond the ordinary. The CPMR program was created especially for manufacturers’ representatives after nearly a decade of research and development, with the cooperation of a variety of representative trade groups. To become a CPMR, Reich attended three five-day sessions of on-campus classes totaling 24 classroom hours each year and also passed a rigorous examination at the conclusion of each session. In the final year, each group completes a case study applying what they have learned developing a strategic plan and presenting it to their peers and evaluators.

The CPMR training program creates a uniform understanding of the issues important to the development and success of a representative firm. By completing the training, each candidate is making a long-term individual commitment that increases their own professionalism as well as raises the standards within the sales profession throughout all industries.

Manufacturers’ representatives are a cost-effective way for manufacturers to get their products to market, allowing the factory to focus on their core competency of manufacturing. With the combination of longstanding customer relationships and in-depth territory knowledge, reps provide more substantial sales coverage for the synergistic factories they represent than an individual salesperson can. By outsourcing the field sales function, manufacturers pay only for results and typically gain more expertise and continuity of coverage than a direct sales force provides.