Favorite Manufacturing Sales Rep Award Nominees (Quebec)
Thank you for taking the opportunity to review the 11 nominees.
Access to voting can be found below.
Betty Mainguy – Rolf C. Hagen
Betty has a solid knowledge of the products. She always knows their performance. She offers ongoing support and is always there to help. She is involved in all our projects. Betty is always there when she can and promotes different products.
Donald Goulet – Oven Baked Tradition
Donald is passionate about his products, very knowledgeable and always mindful of his customers. He is always there for our company; whether it’s for answering a question, he knows how to find the answer! At any store’s internal or external event, Donald is always a partner of choice, ever ready to participate to any event, seminar, promotion day, etc. Donald is more than a representative; for us, he is a friend and especially a member of the family!
Franck Carle – PLB International
Franck is a really dynamic person who represents the company very well. He is proud of the product made in Boucherville and he gives us confidence in his product. Animals love the product. Franck helps the animal cause in many ways. First, he agreed to help us very spontaneously and to support a mother-kitten program—a program that so far helped save more than 200 kittens in just a few months. He immediately agreed to participate in the shelter assistance project by supporting mothers and kittens in several shelters. In my opinion, he is the best representative. I hope that he will win and that thanks to his generous action, he will expand his company’s clientele.
Not only does Franck have the experience of the trade, but he also has the experience of animal nutrition. The quality and level of information he provides are tangible and communicated well. His open, positive and welcoming attitude makes the approach enjoyable while building the necessary confidence in this universe. He makes himself readily available to address needs and answer questions. To establish a healthy relationship, he took the time to meet with me to get to know me and understand my needs. He regularly monitors my satisfaction level and consistently communicates information on the latest developments, news, activities, etc. He takes up the cause for any activity likely to promote the brand. He is available quickly when I want to reach him by phone for information. Proactive as he is, he gives me confidence in the brand and encourages me to maintain my business relationships with PLB. He knows how to support me in my efforts when I offer promotions to clients. During the Bas-Saint-Laurent dog show, he was in favour of supporting the organization since the values of good care and responsibility toward dogs are shared by both PLB and the Club canin du Bas-Saint-Laurent. Franck has a “family” attitude and an approach that reflects PLB’s image while respecting his own values.
Frédéric Bertrand – Oven Baked Tradition
Frédéric listens to the customer. He has a fast response time. For example, if he doesn’t have an immediate answer about a product, he inquires and returns with the answer within 24 hours. He is always there to support the store and boost sales. He offers good ideas for displaying and arranging products without giving us the impression that we are forced to accept his suggestions. We feel comfortable to arrange end-cap promotions with him, to his advantage but also to increase the sales in the branch. For each promotion proposed by the company, he comes to help us out and brings us the necessary explanations in order to make a nice profit that advantages both parties. His interpersonal skills, his listening skills, but above all his passion for his job make him the candidate of choice.
Jenna Saray – Rolf C. Hagen
Jenna is a very sweet and kind person, while taking her representative role to heart. She discusses her products and presents them with arguments (of interest and sales). She meets individually with the team members and answers their questions and asks about their satisfaction following the introduction of the products in the shops. Which values our teammates because it takes their opinion into account. His attitude and the information provided help to bring new knowledge to team members. Jenna has a lot of openness, listening and always trying to find a solution to the situation, no matter who she is talking to, from the owner to the advisor to the manager of the store! The simplicity of returns with the support of the representative is excellent for each of our stores. Jenna often goes to our stores, it helps the team and makes them feel important. We do not ask him to be present at events because it is not part of his job. On the other hand, she supported us when she was asked to help us put together gifts for sponsored events.
Luc Janelle – Oven Baked Tradition
Luc knows his products very well; you can ask him anything and he will always have an answer! Sometimes he even goes beyond our questions to inform us to the best of his knowledge. On several occasions he spoke to me about the ingredients used in animal feeds and it helped me understand why this specific ingredient was used. Regardless of the moment when you do business with him, Luc makes himself available, which is a plus for new employees. We can even ask him very specific questions to find out why one ingredient is used rather than another and he will always give us a detailed answer and make sure we understand well. He regularly visits the store to find out if we have any questions, but also to explain what’s ahead for his business.
In order to make the products well known to the owners and their teams, one must first master the knowledge of the products. In that matter, our candidate of choice, Mr. Luc Janelle, succeeds brilliantly. He has a real talent for explaining in simple terms the complexity of animal nutrition to the various stakeholders of the various retailers. He is passionate about nutrition and keeps up to date with all the latest developments in the animal world. He places his talent at the service of success while humanizing his business relationships, which is more than beneficial for clients. Everyone benefits from it through teamwork, perseverance with deep affection and a concern to serve well. The store will therefore have all the necessary tools to respond adequately to consumers wishing to be informed about products. Mr. Janelle is always there for his clients. He never refuses to help with in-store “demos” to promote the product, to organize training to meet employees’ and consumers’ needs, and he is always present during consumer shows. Luc is a true passionate of human beings and has a keen interest in people, seeking to understand and help them. Moreover, “listening to customers” is one of his great strengths. He makes a point of taking advantage of each contact to learn more about his clients’ motivation and thus innovate in his approaches with them. His dedication has an impact which is more than positive on our business and on the retailers, clearly demonstrating his commitment and support for the company. Drawing on his varied experiences to help his clients grow, Mr. Janelle organizes and actively participates in all kinds of customer events. He supports his clients relentlessly and makes himself available at all times. Every day, you will see before your eyes an enthusiastic man who works with his heart and his guts!
Mathieu Ménard – Royal Canin
Mathieu knows his products very well. He knows their effects and is always seeking knowledge to better advise his clients. He has a passion for his job and loves customer service. He is not afraid to ask questions and get information if he does not know the answer; he does not say just anything to his clients. He often comes to present informative demos for our clients (3 to 4 times a year). He takes the time to stay with us, the employees, after office hours to train us well. All my employees have his phone number, email address and can also contact him on his Facebook page because he can answer their questions 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Once, he even answered me on a Friday night when he was just coming out of the shower to go out for the evening. He took the time to help me solve my problem. He answers us even on vacation. He never turns off his cell phone. When we make a decision with a client, he is always behind us, supporting us. He helps us tremendously to give the best possible service to our customers. Mathieu is always ready to follow us in our wildest ideas to help our company’s business. Four times a year, we draw prizes that thrill our customers: TVs, bicycles, BBQ smokers, patio heaters, travel credits, dog watering cans, etc. In addition, once a year, we do our Refuge-o-don with Royal canin. Last year, we managed to raise $3,000 in one week. Mathieu is passionate about customer service and always puts his customer before his own pleasure! I warmly recommend him for this nomination.
Pierre Maheu – PLB International
Pierre is present at the company’s activities such as presentation of door prizes to customers and distribution of samples. He makes himself available to the customers and works closely with the merchant on various promotions and product marketing. We can count on him at all times and he calls us back quickly. He is very thorough during his visits; he checks the expiration dates, the cleanliness of the products and ensures the organization of new promotions. Pierre is always there for our sidewalk sales, birthdays, holiday promotions, advertising campaigns, etc. His collaboration is omnipresent and very valuable. In five years, PLB is the only company that has grown continuously, stood out and still stands out today. For the first five months of 2018, we recorded a 24% increase for PLB, thanks in large part to Pierre and his ongoing efforts.
Regular contact with us, retailers
Undisputed professionalism
Immediate answers to all our questions
Training available at all times
Person with very good interpersonal skills
Pleasant to be around
Pertinent documents
Help for the set up
Open to a lot of ideas to sell the merchandise
Every time we organize special weekends, he goes for it, is very present and participates by distributing various samples and discounts.
Richard Lépine – Rolf C. Hagen
Richard has been an instrumental piece for Hagen in the Quebec city and east territory. He has built up relationships with customers that are unsurpassed. I have managed sales reps across Canada and I can tell you that Richard’s compassion and making the right decision has helped make many pet specialty retailers in Quebec flourish. Richard is consistently concentrating on making sure the Pet store employees are knowledgeable in Pet nutrition to make sure they are educating the consumer with the best of information. Richard conducts a truck load sale event for his customers in Quebec every year, he stands out by encouraging at least 10 Hagen employees to attend the event, including sometimes ownership. This has now become a trend and expectation!!
- Truck Load Sales
- Training Events/Seminars
- Demo Days directly to consumers
Demo days directly to consumers is something that Richard Lepine is passionate about. As a dedicated Rolf C. Hagen Inc Employee for many, many years, Since 1986!
Tony Gagnon – PLB International
Tony is very available. We held a sidewalk sale that was not very busy and he stayed until 5 p.m. with all his equipment, approaching customers with exemplary professionalism. Answering the phone is not given to all representatives, but with Tony, we always have an answer that satisfies us. For the past three years, Tony has himself participated in all our events without ever sending us a delegate. In addition, he has the company’s best interests at heart. Tony is a representative who lives up to the expectations. If there is a representative to reward, it is Tony Gagnon!
Tony is on the lookout for sales and non-sale operations. He takes everything that does not find a taker in the store and suggests other ways of doing things and making other products. He makes suggestions and helps toward a better merchandising. When I organize adoption days for dogs or cats, he offers to be present and explains himself his products to the customers. This increases my sales and refreshes the memory of our own clerks who learn more about the various products, which is a good thing. Without putting pressure, he kindly offers his products and more! If we’re busy, he takes care of our customers, helps people put heavy bags in their car, whether it’s his products or not! He even answers questions about our products that are not even his! He offers surprise bonuses or unannounced promotions, which makes customers happy and increases their loyalty to my store!
Anis Saba – RC Pet Products
Mr. Saba always kept us informed about new products as soon as they are on the market and allows us to return products that have not sold. He is always available to help solve our problems quickly and efficiently. He puts at our disposal the catalogs and the displays necessary for the presentation of his products. Mr. Saba is continuously open to helping us during promotional events in store, by being on site when he can and by offering discounts or free products. Mr. Saba is always there for us and his courteous ways are also why he is very appreciated.
