NEMMY Awards

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The NEMMY Awards aren’t just another accolade to toss on the shelf. These awards signify dedication to forging powerful and profitable relationships between reps and manufacturers in the electrical industry.

The 8th Annual NEMMY Awards Presentation will take place at the NEMRA25 Annual Conference, during the President’s Address! This year we’re proud to feature 4 impactful award categories.

Location: Orlando World Center Marriott
Date: Tuesday, February 4th 
Time: 7:00 AM EST

Submissions Open: 09/17/24 (12:00PM ET)

Deadline for Submissions: Friday, 12/13/24 (5:00PM ET), 

Don’t let the opportunity to celebrate your colleagues slip through your fingers. Submit your nomination today!

The Award Categories

Partnership of the Year Award

This award recognizes a rep-manufacturer team that demonstrates how they developed a more strategic plan/approach to create a more powerful and profitable partnership.

Rep's Choice Award

Nominated by a rep agency, this award recognizes the manufacturer that advances their value proposition to their reps by demonstrating a commitment to the partnership.

Manufacturer's Choice Award

Nominated by a manufacturer, this award recognizes the rep firm that is continually improving their agency and its alignment with their manufacturers.

Demand Generation Award

Nominated by a manufacturer, this award recognizes the rep firm who excels in driving customer interest and engagement through innovative and effective strategies.

Criteria for Nominations

Partnership of the Year Award

Criteria for Nomination:

Using the following criteria, describe how you have been able to work as partners to reach your common business goals, through any combination of two or more of the following:

  • Jointly developing and monitoring an annual business plan.
  • Using sales- enablement / support tools and processes to align your activities—technology, territory visits, customer service, new product launches, training, marketing and promotional tools.
  • Making mutually strategic investments (compensation plan, sales specialists, additional product training, etc.).
  • Top leadership involvement and a commitment to a win-win relationship.

Note: A Rep and Manufacturer should nominate themselves as a team

Rep's Choice Award

Criteria for Nomination:

Describe how the manufacturer you’re nominating generates superior performance through any combination of three or more of the following:

  • Communicating company strategy and value proposition to their sales network.
  • Providing superior levels of sales-enablement tools and service support.
  • Utilizing fair and equitable compensation models to drive sales growth.
  • Demonstrating understanding and respect of rep value by CEO/top leadership.
  • Investing in new products, support tools, technology, and process improvement.

Note: A Rep should nominate a Manufacturer

Manufacturer's Choice Award

Criteria for Nomination:

Describe how the rep firm you’re nominating generates superior performance through any combination of three or more of the following:

  • Effectively implementing an annual business plan.
  • Building brand preference and demand through effective selling at both the distributor and end user customers.
  • Providing superior customer responsiveness through highly trained and organized inside sales and customer service teams.
  • Deploying marketing resources to help build brand and end user demand.
  • Investing in sales training and professional development of its team.
  • Communicating effectively with all people/functions within your company.

Note: A Manufacturer should nominate a Rep

Demand Generation Award

Criteria for Nomination:

  • Effective use of market trends to shape strategies that align with customer demands. 
  • Development of unique and innovative approaches that stand out in the market. 
  • Proven success through measurable outcomes, such as increased engagement, lead generation, and conversions.
  • Use of tailored content and experiences that resonate with specific audience segments.
  • Effective use of the latest tools and platforms to enhance demand generation efforts.
  • Ongoing success and adaptability in driving customer engagement and demand over time.

Note: A Manufacturer should nominate a Rep

Past NEMMY Award Winners

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If you’re on the fence about making a nomination, let last year’s winners and their nominators guide you. NEMRA recently had the chance to sit down and conduct interviews with some of the standout individuals and companies from the previous NEMMY Awards. The takeaways are not just enlightening—they’re downright motivating.

Previous Winners

Nominator Notes: RAB’s commitment to fostering strong partnerships and empoweringtheir representatives with cutting-edge sales tools truly sets them apart. When you represent RAB, you become a part of a culture that values collaboration and growth.

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Nominator Notes: A Commitment to Marketing and Strategic Business Development Planning. Demonstrating and Building Brand Preference and Demand Generation through In-Depth Knowledge of the Local Markets, Channel Partnerships and Relentless Focus on the End-User.

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Nominator Notes: Yusen’s proactive approach towards business planning has been the driving force behind MaxLite’s remarkable growth in the New England market, which has surged by over 50% in the past four years. This level of growth is a testament to Yusen’s strategic thinking and ability to execute on a plan. Yusen’s expertise in building brand preference and demand, along with demonstrated investments in marketing, professional development, and product training, has brought a significant “Value Add” to the table when working with distributors and contractors. 

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Nominator Notes: Larry Rodgers, President of Synergy Electric Sales, had tons to share about his experience nominating Encore Wire for the Rep’s Choice Award. He highlighted Encore’s consistent support, educational initiatives, and a solid commitment to long-term growth. Winning the Manufacturer’s Choice Award in the same year also gave a morale boost to the Synergy team. Larry’s takeaway was crystal clear: Focus on long-term partnership goals and invest in agency infrastructure for a mutually beneficial relationship.

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Nominator Notes: Christy Tilton, Head of US Professional Trade Sales at Signify, nominated Synergy Electric Sales for the Manufacturer’s Choice Award last year. In our conversation, Christy talked about the critical importance of strategic partnerships, which aligns closely with NEMRA’s ethos. Synergy Electric Sales set themselves apart with a forward-thinking approach, significant technology investments, and a focus on diversity and inclusion. Their quick adaptability and top-tier customer service also scored them major points. The key takeaway? Leverage technology and focus on your brand presence. Christy stressed how the NEMMYs provide an ideal platform to spotlight agents who really go the extra mile.

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Nominator Notes: Stuart Hall, Principal Owner at KMS Sales, and Jeff Richter, Regional Segment Sales Manager at Eaton, were co-nominees for the Partnership of the Year Award. Their interview circled around the fundamentals—communication, trust, and fair commission structures. They highlighted the importance of identifying and closing opportunities and maintaining a talent pipeline. Winning the NEMMY was a milestone for both companies, signaling their commitment to fruitful, long-term partnerships. The duo emphasized how invaluable continuity, consistency, and even friendship are in building strong partnerships.

Award Photo:

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Winners Notes: Through leading sales and sales related initiatives on TEAMS calls, Bill Waltz and the Atkore leadership team demonstrated their understanding, support and advocacy of their sales representatives. 

In addition to driving product innovation, taking the commodity out of commodities, and providing supporting marketing and sales tools, Atkore implemented a bonus program which resulted in a significant boost to the bottom line for their reps.

Winners Notes: In recognizing John Moore & Associates, Manufacturers touched on many of the elements highlighted in the Rep of the future studies. Having a clear corporate strategic plan and always looking for innovative ways to promote their manufacturer’s… top that list.

JMA consistently collaborates on strategic business development plans, regularly discusses growth initiatives and new opportunities in their markets and is thoroughly engaged at the contractor, engineer, and end user levels, ensuring manufacturers that JMA is driving demand and brand preference for their brands.

Winners Notes:

For over 30 years Legrand and Lyle Williams Company have been building on a partnership based on the core belief that the Manufacturer/Manufacturer Representative relationship is built on trust, integrity, respect, and the pursuit of excellence.

In 2021 the expansion of the partnership between Legrand and Lyle Williams Company and the joint execution of an aggressive sales plan culminated in unprecedented territory growth and market share gain. 

Both parties noted that this performance would not have been possible without the strong partnership that integrated mutual investments in technology, territory engagement, customer service, marketing, and other support tools with a common pursuit of excellence.

Have an idea you would like to share?

WE WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU​ ON WHAT YOU BELIEVE WOULD MAKE THE NEMMYS EVEN BETTER!