What is Club 35?

Club 35 is an organization comprised of a select group of professional representative agencies for the sole purpose of exchanging ideas of ways and means to improve the working techniques of their own sales agencies and to help improve the industry as a whole.

 

History and Activity

Club 35 was founded in 1979 by Darrell Wright – then a leading manufacturer’s representative based in Dallas.  Attending the first meeting were twenty-two (22) rep groups from six different regions of the country.  Club 35 has since grown and evolved to include 35 rep agencies from all parts of the United States and Canada.  The organization holds one major meeting each year and meets on other occasions around major markets and in conjunction with the National Trade Association (GHTA) conference.  The agenda for this annual meeting includes informative guest speakers, as well as panel discussions specifically directed toward principals, sales managers and operations managers of member agencies.  Topics covered have included hiring, sales meetings, organization, taxes, computers/technology, telemarketing, motivational tools, interviewing, selling an agency, sales force automation, voice mail, training, display, networking and much more.

 

Benefits of Club 35

Club 35 provides an opportunity for manufacturers’ representatives to learn and benefit from the experience of other rep groups in the industry, by sharing innovative ideas, success stories, and information about what is happening in their respective businesses.  At each meeting, members get to examine the different ways they handle the various challenges in their everyday operation.  It is also a great community to learn from key speakers what is happening in the industry – trends, problems, solutions.  Club 35 enables its members to be more productive, educated and successful as manufacturers’ representatives.  Members are able to share information, to discuss business trends in a confidential forum and to get comparative ideas from their fellow members.  It is a great opportunity for the representative agencies to better themselves and their business. 

 As one member sums up: “Club 35 offers its members good networking, good friends and good ideas.”

 

Website

The Club 35 website – www.club35.com – offers both members and non-members alike information about the organization’s history and purpose, Club 35 membership, and other valuable documents on the subject of agency selling.