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Quality over quantity is a popular mantra people apply to many different situations. It’s one Indiana-based rep firm P-M & Associates takes seriously. According to Owner, President and CEO Michael Henderson, the company focuses on, ‘being more important to fewer people.”

“When choosing lines to represent, they have to share our vision and our core values,” Henderson says. “And we want to be sure that we can give them 100 percent of our effort.”

Henderson adds that the business is picky about the lines they pick up, ensuring the relationship makes sense and will be mutually beneficial. The strategy is working quite well for P-M & Associates – it is able to cover seven states via its three offices and roughly 42 employees – and the company is celebrating 50 years in business in 2024.

John Zoeller, chairman of Zoeller Pump Co. says doing business with P-M is just easier because of the shared values between companies. “We work so well together because we know where people stand,” he says. “Integrity, service, quality and innovation are all values both companies live out daily, and that makes is easier to do business because don’t have to worry about whether or not we align.”

A true story of continuous collaboration and successful acquisitions, P-M & Associates was founded by Fred L. Munds Jr. and Joe Q. Pindell when the men merged their two agencies in the late 1974. P-M & Associates still represents some of the original manufacturers today including Zoeller Pump Co. and Weiss Instruments. The company hired Steve Hullett in 1978 as an inside sales person. After purchasing P-M & Associates in the late 1990s, Hullett merged with another agency, G.E. Meyer & Associates, from there, Hullett and Rick Meyer ran the business until 2017 when Henderson acquired it from them.

Since 2017, P-M & Associates has made two other acquisitions leading it to be a rep powerhouse throughout Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa and South/Central Illinois.

Lead through change

The company was born out of the 1998 merger with According to Henderson, the company operates using the Entrepreneur Operating System (EOS) created by Gino Wickman and attributes this system to their exponential growth. Under EOS it is more about accountability than hierarchy and this allows a Central Management – Local Leadership mentality for decision making.

P-M & Associates has invested heavily in building a team of great leaders – the company has more than doubled its staff since 2020.

With a heavy emphasis on its core values, P-M & Associates uses several recruiting tools to build out this team, including a Professional Employer Organization (PEO), a corporate recruiting account on LinkedIn and Professional Recruiting Firms specializing in EOS.

“These tools are significant financial investments,” Henderson says. “But using them has allowed us to hone in on individuals who align with our core values, which is a nonnegotiable attribute for future team members.”

Solve for the Customer, Teamwork, Accountable Execution, Commitment and Lead Through Change are the core values that drive P-M’s business every day.

“I tell our people, ‘if you’ve made a decision in the best interest of the customer, you’ve made the right decision, no matter what,’” Henderson says.

Henderson says the core value that has served the company the most over the past several years is Lead Through Change.

“I think a lot of people would tell you that we've become a disruptor in the market. We've done some things that aren't necessarily status quo. And we do it because that's a core value of ours,” he says. “Being highly active on the acquisition front and resigning lines when we need to are a couple examples of this.”

The P-M culture is a mix between a sports team and a family. “We work hard every single day for one another like a sports team, and we love each other like family, but there are days we disagree,” Henderson says. “We hash out those conversations at ‘the dinner table,’ and we rely on our great leadership team to move the company forward through challenges.”

Pat Enderson, former principal of CK Dorman — a rep agency acquired by P-M in 2022 — says P-M & Associates is truly, “one big team.”

“There was immediate synergy among the teams, and we quickly became one big team,” Enderson says. “Everyone is willing to help one another; when there is a call to action it’s not difficult to find someone to help out — it’s always ‘I can do this,’ or ‘I will do this.’”

In addition to its core values, the company holds on tight to its daily mission – “Working to See People Win.”

“We're in business to see people win, not just for the people who work at our company, but the companies we represent and the customers we serve,” Henderson says. “We like to look at the bigger picture. If we do our job and make our quota with Zoeller, somebody on the assembly line might get a bonus. From there, that person might tithe to their church, or they might contribute to a charity, or put their kid through college; we need to remember the business is bigger than just our little world.”

Jomar Group can vouch for P-M’s ability to help people win. Noah Dinger, vice president of sales, explains that Jomar’s sales have grown tremendously since partnering with P-M. “We joined P-M in 2018 during a challenging time for our Indiana business,” he says. “From where we started in that market to now, sales have grown just over tenfold. P-M took a leap of faith on us and it’s paid off for everyone.”

Ongoing succession

P-M & Associates knows that participation in industry associations is a valuable way to line up the future success of your company. The P-M team is highly active in the industry via groups like ASA and AIM/R to PHCC, MCAA, ASPE and ASHRAE. Henderson says participation in these groups and their events is instrumental to the growth of the business.

“When you look at these groups, we’re all working toward the same goal of bettering the industry and our companies,” he says. “Our people always come back from these events inspired and they’ve built their own peer networks to turn to.”

P-M is always planning ahead – according to Henderson, the company already has its first level succession plan in place, even though he’s not retiring anytime soon, and they’re proactively working on a level two succession plan.

“We have a bench full of trained, skilled, young talent,” he says. “These industry events are a great place to expose our young talent to the industry that they’re going to be a part of and lead for the next 30 years or so.”

Investing in a bench full of young talent is an attractive pull for manufacturers as well. Morris Group International is a newer partnership for P-M, and Mark Marini, vice president, says he is excited to work with P-M’s “young and aggressive team.”

Adapt to change

Having been in the rep business nearly 30 years, Henderson has witnessed the evolution of the role of manufactures reps. He says one of the most notable changes is the rate at which rep firms need to make decisions.

“The rate of change today in the rep business is the slowest it is going to be; it will only accelerate every single day from here,” he says. “The cost of doing business skyrockets each year, so to keep up with that while remaining competitive in the marketplace, you’ve got to be on track to achieve exponential growth.”

According to Henderson, all sectors of the PHCP-PVF business today have to practice fast and effective decision making in order to remain competitive.

“You used to be able to mull over a decision. Whether that was a capital investment or a line change, or a market position, you could really dive in and mull it over,” he explains. “Today those decisions have to be made quickly, and if they're not made quickly, they'll be made for you, and you might not like the decision that's being made.”

Henderson adds that P-M has invested roughly $6 million in facilities since 2020. “You have to be willing to invest in facilities, technology, data and people that help your business make decisions faster,” he says. “The rate of change and people's willingness and ability to adapt to change quickly is what's going to determine the future for reps and manufacturers.”

One of the changes rep firms are experiencing is the marketing expectations their manufacturers have today. With its in-house podcast, active social media and talented marketing team, P-M is a leader when it comes to marketing for reps.

“Whether that's through social media, our podcast or webinars, direct mail or email campaigns, etc., our marketing really encompasses a holistic approach,” Henderson says. “We still do a lot of marketing on the ground level like counter days or customer events. And we have invested a lot of money in the technology for podcasts and videos. In 2023, our marketing efforts generated hundreds of thousands of customer engagements across our marketing platforms — that’s a lot of exposure for the companies we represent.”

Providing value

Dickson Dunsworth, former principal of Mission Specialty — acquired by P-M in 2019 — says making it to 50 years doesn’t happen by accident. “This milestone is a testament to the founders of this business and their vision,” he says. “It’s been amazing to see how quickly the company has grown while achieving impressive success the whole time.”

Although the company is celebrating 50 years, Henderson’s eyes are set on the future.

“We’re going to continue to look for companies to acquire and new team members that bring value to our group,” he says.

Henderson says P-M is also looking at channel diversification, one example being its new division, P-M Hydronics. “We want to diversify our business to meet the needs and changes our manufacturers are seeing.”

When speaking to long-term company goals, Henderson says that’s simple – the company has those in writing and they are discussed at every leadership meeting.

“We don't want to be the same rep next year that we were this year, and we certainly don't want to be the same rep we were five years ago,” he says. “Our goal is to provide value in the marketplace, grow our business and continue to lead through change.”