OurSalesRep Inc. Beginnings

OurSalesRep Inc., a Boston area firm, specializes in business networking for suppliers and sales professionals serving the technology markets in North America. OurSalesRep provides sales resources to meet the needs of suppliers from around the world.

Having sales representatives in all major regions of the United States and Canada, OurSalesRep provides suppliers with the greatest number of professional sales representatives to serve their target customers and strategic markets.

Special programs and resources were created by OurSalesRep to provide sales, technical and management support for major OEMs in the Computer, Telecom, Medical, Storage, and Industrial sectors.

OurSalesRep Inc. was founded in 2006 by two sales veterans of the semiconductor industry. With decades of experience as OEM sales executives and entrepreneurial rep owners, the founders created a groundbreaking sales model, Virtual Direct Sales®, to meet the needs of its clients.

Background

Don Rheault and Vincent Cramer had the good fortune to spend their entire sales careers in the most dynamic and innovative industry of the last half-century - semiconductors. The "chip" business is known for its iconic entrepreneurs and the innovative companies that they launched. The semiconductor industry fueled the technology boom that has impacted us all. Rapid growth and expansion continues, with no apparent end in sight.

There is one critical factor that is limiting the success of the suppliers in the technology sector. A field sales organization is usually the weakest link in a supplier's chain of critical assets. For an industry that prides itself on innovation, Field Sales is the exception to the rule. There is no innovation to be found in field sales organizations.

Companies still rely on sales models and strategies that are no longer effective. Direct sales, manufacturer's representatives and distributors are not capable of meeting the demands of the technology industry. The problem is well recognized. A constant refrain among industry insiders is that, "The current sales models are broken."

The combined sales careers of Don and Vincent total seventy-five years. Their experience and collective insights enabled them to see the problem clearly. Their complementary perspectives enabled them to create an innovative company, OurSalesRep Inc., and a new sales paradigm — Virtual Direct Sales®.

A Two-Brainer

At a time when it is critical for suppliers to forge strong relationships with key customers, the field sales resources have dried up. The explosion of innovative startups and web-based marketing coincided with the implosion of field sales resources and customer relations.

Ironically, the sales personnel that suppliers require are plentiful. But, suppliers do not have the means to utilize those sales resources, until now.

Rheault and Cramer created OurSalesRep to be a powerful business network that creates the links to bring suppliers, sales reps and customers back together. OurSalesRep’s network is very simple and it benefits all parties. Some people consider the business model or OurSalesRep to be so obvious they often call it a no-brainer. In fact, it is a two-brainer. Operating independently, neither Don, "the Rep Guy" nor Vincent, "the Direct Guy" could have seen the solution.

A New Sales Paradigm is Born

Companies prefer to hire a direct sales force, but the cost is prohibitive. More importantly, a direct sales organization comes at a fixed cost. In today's dynamic and unforgiving economy, costs are critically important. Variable costs are preferred to fixed costs. Therefore, a direct sales organization is not a viable option for most suppliers.

Companies often select manufacturer's representatives as the model for their sales organization. This sales model provides them with a sales force at an affordable price. The Rep Model was effective for fifty years but today that sales model "is broken." Rep firms are fewer, and they are smaller. Compounding the problem, distributors are fewer and they are stretched too thin to fill the void.

As the owner of a successful New England rep firm, it was difficult for Don to provide his sales reps with the innovative products and services that their customers required.

As the field sales leader for young companies with innovative products and technology, it was difficult for Vincent to secure the sales resources that he needed to reach his target customers to win designs and capture business. As a director or VP of Sales for these innovative companies, Vincent's sales execution was limited by his ability to secure effective sales representatives. Rep firms could not afford to represent suppliers that lacked sales revenue and income.

The founders knew that the sales models of Direct, Rep and Hybrid could not be tweaked or optimized to resolve their specific problems. A new sales model must be developed. With the creation of OurSalesRep.com that model was created, and a new sales paradigm was born — Virtual Direct Sales®.

 

Vincent Cramer "The Direct Guy"

Vincent began his career as a design engineer with Raytheon Company in the Boston area. His expertise was engineering, but his passion was sales. Over the years, Vincent succeeded in the spectrum of positions from Sales Engineer to Vice President of Sales and Business Development.

Following his early success at Fairchild Semiconductor, Vincent joined Signetics/Philips in the Boston office. He succeeded as a member of the sales team and took a lead role in managing the company’s largest customer, Digital Equipment Corporation. His tenure at Signetics/Philips culminated with him as the leader of Eastern Area Sales.

Following the experience of working for Fortune 500 Companies, Vincent joined his first startup in 1982. VLSI Technology radically changed the semiconductor industry in the development of circuit design software and chip fabrication. VLSI Technology redefined the industry methods for the development of user-defined integrated circuits. This business model came to be known as ASIC – Application-Specific Integrated Circuits.

At VLSI Technology, Vincent grew sales revenue from $0 to $25M in 3 years. Vincent opened the “first in the industry” ASIC Design Center and created strategic engagements at many accounts, including Wang Laboratories. Wang sought to solidify its business and technical relationship with VLSI Technology. With Vincent as the key link between the two companies, Wang secured a 15% equity position in VLSI Technology.

In recent years, Vincent held leadership positions with innovative young companies, including Cirrus Logic, Quantum Effect Devices and PMC-Sierra. The unique products and technologies that he has supported include DSP, ECL and Gallium Arsenide circuits, embedded processors, OC-192 and OC-768 telecom circuits.

Vincent is the founder of Winchester Consulting Group and author of Cramer’s Cube. He is recognized as a leader in the confluence of Diversity, Collaboration and Innovation. Vincent has published articles and editorials on the topics of leadership, workgroup collaboration, collective intelligence, diversity and innovation. His writings and interviews have been published in Chief Learning Officer, Workforce Performance Solutions, Diversity Best Practices and The Boston Herald.

Vincent’s published articles are available at http://cramerscube.blogspot.com/

He is the cofounder of OurSalesRep Inc., the creator of Virtual Direct Sales®.

Vincent holds a BSEE degree in Electrical Engineering from Manhattan College.

Don Rheault "The Rep Guy"

Don began his career in the Advanced R&D group of EG&G. As a Senior Scientist he contributed to the success of strategic national projects for the Atomic Energy Commission and the Department of Defense.

Don left the research laboratory to join Fairchild Semiconductor as a Sales Engineer in the New England office. Fairchild was the prototype for Silicon Valley startups.
In Fairchild’s dynamic sales environment, Don established a unique expertise as a specialist in Distributor Sales and Management. In that capacity, Don was crucial to the rapid growth of Fairchild’s revenue and account base utilizing franchised distributors. It was an untested and controversial sales channel at the time.

Don joined Harris Semiconductor to develop a direct sales force and create a distributor sales network, enabling Harris to enter the high volume commercial market with its military ICs. At Intersil, a Fairchild spin-off, Don created a manufacturer’s rep network to supplement a small direct sales team. Sale growth rates exceeded 80% in five successive years. Don was recognized as Sales Manager of the Year, two times.

Don moved from OEM sales to rep sales when he joined A/D Systems as a minority owner. A/D Systems represented National Semiconductor in New England and became its largest revenue producer in the country, with sales exceeding $100 million dollars. Don grew his accounts from essentially zero to over $50 million, and was recognized as the Salesman of the Year, three times.

As an entrepreneur, Don launched Compass Technology, a Boston area manufacturer’s rep firm that is highly regarded by suppliers and customers. Don has represented more than 60 companies, from innovative startups to multinational corporations such as NEC. As the representative for NEC in New England, annual sales grew from $300K to $100 million. Compass Technology received many awards, including Rep of the Year, two times.

With his extensive sales background, Don recognized that the incumbent sales methods were no longer effective in meeting the needs of suppliers, customers and sales professionals. He is the cofounder of OurSalesRep Inc., the creator of Virtual Direct Sales®.

Don holds a B.S. degree in Physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.