Optimize your component manufacturing sourcing with Fontana Partners and Consultative Selling
Optimize your component manufacturing sourcing with Fontana Partners and Consultative Selling
Optimize your component manufacturing sourcing with Fontana Partners and Consultative Selling
Optimize your component manufacturing sourcing with Fontana Partners and Consultative Selling
Consultative Selling
BRINGING everyone together using dedicated manufacturers and the best process to create the right solution.
CONSULTATIVE SELLING means the proper engagement of Customers and Sellers alike. We learn about your challenges and opportunities in order to make improvements in your Supply Chain.
Communicating the requirements of the product, the benefits of the company and the needs of the customer are paramount.
“Need” focused selling improves the product development cycle.
All the Stakeholders are engaged. Consultation=Collaboration.
Coordinating operational parameters, quality manufacturing environment, proper use of materials and processes.
Ensure the commercial and technical relationship remains strong for the long term.
We endeavor to be a trusted resource. You can rely on Fontana Partners and our long list of Manufacturing Partners to provide the proper solution.
Fontana Partners' approach creates significant value for our Customers and Manufacturing Partners.
To this end we have assembled an impressive range of manufacturing companies that provide specific, unique and high-quality services. The manufacturers we represent have the following capabilities:
Plastic.
- 2K Molding
- Blow molding
- Die cutting
- Extrusion
- Fiberglass
- Injection Molding
- Insert Molding
- Machining
- Resin Transfer Molding
- Rotational Molding
- Rubber Molding
- SMC
- Structural Foam
- Thermoforming
Metal.
- Aluminum Extrusion
- Centerless Grinding
- Die Casting
- Fabrication
- Low Pressure Permament Mold
- Precision Machining
- Sand Casting
- Screw Machining
- Thixomolding
Packaging.
- Custom and Ready Wood Containers
- Heavy Duty and Eco Corrugated
- Plastic Sleeves and Pallets
Build the Best Supply Chain
On their own, each of our manufacturing partners provides solutions and has the ability to improve your supply chain. From time-to-time we can bundle more than one manufacturer together to provide a solution.
Reshoring and Total Cost of Ownership
With Reshoring on the rise FontanaParthers has been very active helping our customers realize cost savings by bringing component and sub-assembly manufacturing back to the United States using Total Cost of Ownership analysis.
- We can introduce you to the latest TCO models.
- Examine the latest Tariff Rules
- Help you focus your offshore/reshore strategy
- Improve cost, delivery and exposure
About Us
Not so long ago, I was in Detroit at a meeting and I hadn’t yet met everyone in the room. After the meeting one of the participants asked who I was and when I told him he said “you didn’t seem like a sales guy”. I told him “I stopped trying to be a salesman about 10 years ago”.
After the 2009 downturn, I really examined what it meant to be a Manufacturers Rep. Being a salesman wasn’t working any more, for me or my business. The process of running around with a briefcase full of samples, collecting RFQ’s, sending a quote, working out a price (always lower). It wasn’t working, and it doesn’t work. There is no value coming from the sales process in this game. I was a glorified message carrier and I wasn’t supplying value to the customer or principal. This is a recipe for failure.
The answer is the comprehensive approach, a complete range of manufacturing partners, creating an atmosphere of consultation and collaboration. Be a part of the development process, the problem solving, the testing and discovery.
By the time the development process is over, when the purchase order is written, it is obvious to the customer where the business should be placed.
I started Fontana Partners in 2003 after a 15-year career directing sales and sales forces for national and global plastic molding companies. Through these years of collecting, growing and nurturing customer relationships the foundation of Fontana Partners was solidified.
Developing and maintaining enduring customer relationships in the custom component manufacturing business demands a level of understanding and commitment that is not found in standard selling.
Fontana Partners is continuously working to understanding the needs of our OEM customers and properly blending those requirements into the operations of the companies we represent.
At Fontana Partners we will continue to expand our expertise and footprint to meet our commitments.
We are buying existing Rep Companies
Fontana Partners in committed to creating the finest Manufacturer’s Representative company possible. To that end, we are buying existing rep companies that have:
- A broad commitment to development and growth.
- Owners looking to maximize the value of their company into retirement.
- Looking for a succession plan for existing principals.
- Located in the industrial Midwest and Northeast.
Attention Principals
The payoff for a productive relationship with an outside sales force can be substantial. Properly handled… outside sales representatives will not just work hard to sell your products but can provide you with important information about the market in general and your competitors in particular. Outside sales reps are often more motivated than the internal sales force. They know more about the market and they are hungry for the business.”
—“Making the Case for Outside Sales Reps”.
Wharton School of the Universiry of Pennsylvania.
Fontana Partners is a highly successful manufacturer’s rep company celebrating more than 15 years in business. Founded by Scott Ripkey in 2003 Fontana Partners represents components manufacturers in Plastic, Metal and Packaging manufacturing for OEM customers.
What to expect when working with Fontana Partners
- Decades of successful and growing sales to OEM’s in the Upper Midwest.
- Well established and maintained relationships within customers’ accounts across all levels and disciplines.
- Timely reporting and feedback.
- Deep technical training and experience.
- Consultative selling that is focused on the customer and product to ensure the proper solution and to develop long lasting customer relationships.
- Concentrated marketing efforts using the latest tools and professional media.
- High closure rates that result from opportunities that are properly developed and fit well with each supplier’s expertise.
Fontana Partners is a pleasure to work with. They represent their client companies' interests as well as mine. They are prompt with information and assist with market relevant data. Fontana is not a sales company but a partner for future success. I truly enjoy working with this group.
"I have been engaged with Fontana Partners for nearly 10 years. One can always tout about Product Offerings, Project Management and Successes. However, I focus on 'Integrity is the resultant of Honesty'... The rest will come Organically ...... This is a truism of Fontana Partners"
"I have worked with many "outside rep groups" over the years. There is nothing "outside" about Fontana Partners. They are as integrated and key to supporting our customers, and growing our business as any of our employees. Scott understands our business and capabilities at great depth, which allows him to uncover our customer's needs and deliver them great value."