Professional Development & Resources

Networking, Connectivity, Industry Advocacy and Continuing Education

 

Some of the most valuable learning occurs through networking on an informal, member-to-member basis, but organized activities and easily accessible resources, like the following, are also critical.

Browse these resources available to you as a member, that can yield an outstanding ROI for YOUR business.
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ERA Talks
ERA introduces its new monthly podcast series, ERA Talks. The series will feature informative and educational interviews with industry leaders in a quick conversational format.

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POS Reports
Thanks to Budde Marketing Systems (www.buddemarketing.com), ERA provides members with monthly POS Index reports. The summary reports include trend data for the past year or more.

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ERA Member Surveys
ERA conducts surveys of members and others in the electronics industry to help members benchmark their company operations and compare best practices with their peers. Results of surveys are emailed and always available online to all ERA members.

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Continuing Education

ERA Commitment to Performance Academic Research Projects, professional certification programs and other resource development are provided by the Manufacturers’ Representatives Educational Research Foundation – MRERF.

Programs include the following:

  • The CPMR (Certified Professional Manufacturers’Representative) program, for rep firm owners/presidents/successors, runs one week a year for three years (every January at the University ofTexas in Austin).
  • The CSP (Certified Sales Professional) program, for all salespeople, is a multi-day class conducted in various cities several times each year.
  • The MBP (Manufacturers Best Practices) program, for all manufacturing executives who work with field sales representatives,is a multi-day class conducted in various cities several times each year.

Visit MRERF.org.

EVENTS

ERA National and Chapter events provide outstanding opportunities for both continued learning and networking. In addition to attending how-to and informational programs, reps, manufacturers and distributors find ERA events give them access to their peers’ and partners’ experience and expertise. This is how new contacts are established and referrals are made. ERA events also offer the chance to exchange industry information and learn how fellow reps, manufacturers and distributors are solving current problems.

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ERA LIVE
ERA LIVE virtual discussion sessions and presentations will take place frequently throughout the year and will feature electronics industry experts and peers who will present a variety of hot topics.These sessions will be 1 hour in duration and facilitated by ERA staff. Anyone in the electronics industry is welcome to attend. There is no registration required.

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Annual ERA Conference
The general sessions and breakout seminars at the ERA Conferences focus on helping reps, manufacturers and distributors CONNECT with each other while learning how to BUILD stronger partnerships across all sectors of the electronics industry. The take-aways will be new ways for you and your company to PROSPER in today’s dynamic global marketplace.

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STEP
STEP (Sales Training for Electronics Professionals) is a live, virtual event targets frontline sales professionals and offers nine robust 75-minute educational sales training modules covering an array of topics. The training sessions will be conducted live by a mix of professional sales trainers and by industry sales executives. Attendees can expect a unique blend of sessions that will provide useful tactical takeaways, best practices and key tools to succeed at sales in today’s ever-changing market.

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Industry Events Calendar
ERA offers the searchable Industry Event Calendar, a tool to assist all users in organizing their personal calendars, as well as providing general information about all industry events.

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Local Chapter Activities
ERA begins where selling begins – in your territories. ERA chapters are your point of entry for fellowship, networking and idea exchange. Chapter meetings and activities provide programs of timely interest in an ideal environment for profitable interface with your electronics industry peers, partners and customers.

PUBLICATIONS & RESOURCES

ERA provides a library of publications, guidelines and educational tools, most of which are FREE to members.

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The ERA HoverMap® – The most widely used online, searchable source for finding rep candidates is the ERA HoverMap®.

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The Representor MagazineThe Representor Archive
Browse online or order your subscription now! (Members receive The Representor at no cost, but additional subscriptions for member firms and subscriptions for non-members are available.) ERA members are free to browse the online Representor Archive and download from of all Representor issues published in the past four years (have your member password ready).

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Quick Connections
ERA’s monthly e-newsletter provides members with a convenient way to catch up on business information, announcements and events of interest.

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Lines Available Bulletin for ERA member reps
Lines Available Bulletin is a search tool available to ERA rep members seeking to add new lines.

Lines Available listing service for manufacturers
The Lines Available listing service includes targeted e-mail blasts and an online, searchable bulletin available to ERA rep members. This service is FREE to ERA manufacturer members and is available as service-only options of 2 and 4 ads.

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ERA Contract Guidelines & Evaluations
ERA members, consultants and staff, often in cooperation with other electronics industry associations, have developed numerous sets of guidelines to assist reps and manufacturers in the daily management of their businesses. These publications are accessible in PDF or Word format. Hard copies of most documents are also available upon request from ERA.

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White Papers, Industry Standards and Forms
ERA periodically develops, co-develops and publishes industry white papers and forms based on its own research and/or cooperative studies conducted with other organizations, for the benefit of its members and the electronics industry. These publications are accessible in pdf, Word or Excel format. Hard copies of most documents are also available upon request from ERA.

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ERA Manufacturers’ Rep Toolkit
This presentation intends to directly align the ERA support tools with the Rep value that they validate and provide a link to those tools. By putting it in a presentation format we have created a “Rep Toolkit.” Reps can use the slides selectively or collectively as a support reference depending on the project or problem they are addressing.

EXPERT CONSULTANTS & PURCHASING PROGRAMS

Free phone consultations are available to ERA members for legal, tax, professional field sales, insurance, management and personnel recruitment advice from ERA’s team of rep-savvy consultants. ERA also offers members with purchasing discount opportunities from it’s Recognized Resource providers.

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Expert Access
Free phone consultations are available to ERA members for legal, tax, professional field sales, insurance, management and personnel recruitment advice from ERA’s team of rep-savvy consultants.

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Member Services & Purchasing Programs
These companies partner with ERA National to provide services and benefits tailored to meet the needs of ERA members.