Why LED Lighting Designers Should Work with Manufacturer Reps

To own a successful LED lighting design business, you can’t just sit around waiting for potential clients to call you on the phone. You need to have several ways to bring business to the table. One great way to generate new leads is to get friendly with a few manufacturer representatives.

Why would independent manufacturer reps need LED lighting designers and installers?

Independent manufacturer reps have clients that are looking for you and will be seeking your expertise. They generally represent more than one company and can carry lots of products and lines. They want to sell those products.

Without you, they have no business. They don’t sell directly to the consumer, that’s your job.

Manufacturer reps have been around for decades. They can be a valuable extended sales force for your businesses and you don’t have to pay their salary and commission. The manufacturers take care of that. Companies that manufacture LED light fixtures and equipment need the reps to sell their products and the reps need you to attract the clients who will be the end user of those products. You are the value innovation they need to sell, design, and install lighting systems.

When creating relationships with these companies, look for reps that are innovative and seek real-time money-making opportunities. Where they can really help you level up in your business is in the high-end spec market. The high-end spec market needs the design, install, and service solution you can provide. They’re not always aware it exists and they’re not easy to get an audience with. Manufacturer reps are in every major market throughout the United States. The largest and publicly-traded companies have reps strategically located to drive sales in the high-end spec market worldwide. Have you driven by hotel franchises and restaurants and thought, I would love to show these companies a proper lighting system? The manufacturer reps are your way into those locations. Without them, chances are you may not break into these bigger companies.

What about working one on one with a manufacturer?

While independent reps may represent a variety of companies, it’s also smart for you, as the owner of an LED lighting design company, to find a manufacturer to work with directly. When you develop a one-to-one relationship with a manufacturer that has a vested interest in your success, you’re far more likely to succeed. That company is going to teach you a ton and expose you to everything they know about the industry. You’re going to learn what to do and what not to do. And they need you as much as you need them. Just like the independent reps, manufacturers want to sell the fixtures and equipment they make. They want to do what they do best; make great lighting fixtures. They aren’t going out in the field to install their own equipment. That’s your gig.

Choose to work with companies that make highly effective, efficient, and long-lasting products. There’s nothing worse than selling fixtures that are doomed to failure. Do you want clients calling you at 8 pm on a Friday night because the lights you installed 3 months, 6 months, 2 years ago, failed during their daughters Sweet 16 pool party? Of course not.

Buy American made goods: Garden Light LED – an American manufacturer

We love to build relationships with LED lighting design companies and work with businesses, small and large, across the United States. Garden Light LED is a US-based, internationally renowned, LED landscape lighting manufacturing company. Based in Tampa Florida, we design, engineer, and manufacture high-quality, architectural and outdoor LED lighting equipment right in our own American factory manned by American workers. Over the past 21-years, Garden Light LED has provided lighting solutions and systems for millions worldwide and is recognized for its ingenuity and CNC machined quality products.

Our fixtures are built to last an unheard of 20 years. Your lights will be on at the pool party!

Keep it simple

It’s great to work with manufacturer reps and be recommended by them to clients but we have seen guys talk themselves right out of the sale by offering too many manufacturers and fixture options to the customer. This causes confusion and gives the client mixed signals and too many decisions to make. The process needs to be smooth and simple. You’re the expert.

This is where working with someone who represents only one LED lighting manufacturer you can trust comes in. You know your cost and margins upfront which allows you to be a better entrepreneur. You can make quick decisions if you need to negotiate to ensure you get the sale. The installers that choose to sell our products work on a 60% margin, meaning they generally see a profit of 60% when they use our products. This gives you some wiggle room. If you have a client that needs a little better price point, you can negotiate down to a 50% or even 40% margin and still be making a great profit. Sometimes price is the issue but not always.

If you’d like to talk with one of our sales reps, please contact us to discuss further.