PPB April 2020

Jennifer Kruger Owner MW Reps Trenton, Illinois Jen Kruger covers a broad territory across America’s heartland—Missouri, Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska—as owner of her own multi-line rep firm. Asked about how many miles she puts on her car every year, her answer is short. “A lot!” she says. Kruger joined MW Reps as a partner in 2018 after working for 10 years for industry supplier Starline. Her first taste of the industry came with a job in the supplier’s accounting department. As she came to better understand the industry, she followed her calling into sales as a factory rep and never looked back, she says. Nominators: Eva Barnes and Connie Francis, Funk Advertising What makes her the best: “Jen is superb!” says nominator Connie Francis. “She is extremely personable and makes you feel like you are the only customer she has. She answers messages quickly and is always cheerful, polite and ready to help. When Funk Advertising was building momentum, she came to our office with a huge number of samples for us to view and spent more than two hours showing us products and answering our questions. That may not sound like much, but we are located in tiny Iron County in the middle of nowhere. She is a superstar in our office.” Her secret to success: I use my personality and energy to draw distributors and suppliers towards me. How distributors can help reps do a better job: I love when distributors open up to me and let me know who the end users are and which projects I can help with. We know our lines inside and out and are here to give you the best options for your clients. We might also think of ways to use an item or decorate an item that isn’t always obvious. The biggest issue facing reps today: It’s consolidation on both the supplier and distributor side. Many suppliers are consolidating in order to expand their product offering, but that can create competition overnight with other lines we already represent, which leads to challenging discussions or decisions. With distributors consolidating, we see relationships that we’ve enjoyed for years disappear overnight. One day, a distributor is our customer and the next day, they’re part of a different company that falls to another region or sales rep. It’s hard to let go of relationships that we’ve spent years building. Many of our customers have become our friends. What she wants distributors to know: We are here to help you with all our lines. We can get you ideas from each and every line very quickly and usually have something to fit from one or several of our lines for your project. Her alternate career choice: I would be a spin instructor. I love going to spin class. It makes me full of energy and feel wonderful inside and out. “I love when distributors open up tome and let me knowwho the end users are andwhich projects I can helpwith.” —Jennifer Kruger Best Multi-Line Reps | FEATURE | APRIL 2020 | 55