On 8 June 2023, on the JNAC (Journée Nationale des Agents Commerciaux), organised by the Fédération National des Agents (F.N.A.C.), Arnaud HETEAU, founder and director of HCA Consulting & Actions, received the George Hayward Award, which each year recognises an international commercial agent from among the 600,000 members of the International Federation of Commercial Agents (IUCAB) worldwide.
In 2023, the F.N.A.C. celebrates its 125th anniversary
Founded in 1898, the F.N.A.C. is not the acronym of a famous bookshop but stands for Fédération Nationale des Agents Commerciaux.
This professional organisation promotes, defends and secures recognition of the status of commercial agent from political and economic institutions in France. It is made up of a network of 11 regional professional chambers spread throughout France.
Thanks in particular to the work of the F.N.A.C., the profession of commercial agent is recognised in the French Commercial Code under articles L134-1 et seq. The definition is given here: The Commercial Agent is an agent who, in a self-employed capacity, without being bound by a contract for the hire of services, is responsible, on a permanent basis, for negotiating and possibly concluding contracts for the sale, purchase, hire or provision of services in the name and on behalf of producers, industrialists, traders or other Commercial Agents. They may be natural or legal persons.
The F.N.A.C. has a seat on influential bodies such as the UNAPL (Union Nationale des Professions Libérales) and the FIF-PL (Fonds Interprofessionnel de Formation des Professions Libérales).
Finally, the F.N.A.C. was a founder member of the IUCAB (Internationally United Commercial Agents and Brokers) in 1953. This organisation defends and promotes the profession of commercial agent at an international level in order to guarantee the smooth running of relations between principals and agents.
What is the George Hayward Award, the prize awarded each year by IUCAB?
Presented by Christian Rebernig, Secretary General of IUCAB, and Alain Tercimont, President of the F.N.A.C., the George Hayward Award has been presented since 2010 to honour the work and expertise of a commercial agent from among those who make up IUCAB, i.e. more than 600,000 agents worldwide.
George Hayward was the founder of United Sales Associates, a security and industrial sales agency established in 1982 and based in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. He has received dozens of awards and recognitions for outstanding service from the many associations in which he has been involved.
George Hayward was vice-president of the IUCAB from 2001 to 2008, and was always a fervent supporter of the association. Following his death in 2009, the IUCAB Board decided to pay tribute to him by creating this award to honour the passion and commitment of a commercial agent.
To receive this award, 3 conditions must be met:
have been a member of a national federation that is a member of IUCAB for at least 3 years
Have been working as a commercial agent for at least 5 years
Demonstrate financial stability and commercial performance.
As a member of CPFAC (la Chambre Professionnelle Francilienne des Agents Commerciaux ) since its creation in 2016, HCA Consulting & Actions easily met the first 2 criteria.
On the last point, HCA Consulting & Actions focused its presentation on the results of its digital strategy to develop its business. The implementation of the Monreseaudeau.fr media, as well as the management of the Monreseaudeau.fr team, were two examples of the commercial performance of HCA's clients.
The Monreseaudeau.fr information maps enable the site's subscribers to discover in a single map both the structural elements of the water market (data from the SISPEA) and the announcements of public tenders (from the BOAMP).
The George Hayward prize is therefore a fine recognition of the work accomplished, as well as a certain pride in representing France in this challenge.
The importance of joining forces
At the award ceremony, Arnaud HETEAU began by thanking Monique FERRAT, President of CPFAC, for having proposed and supported HCA's submission.
Alone we can go fast, but together we can go far
This maxim was then quoted to show the importance of joining forces and becoming a member of the federation.
Membership of the F.N.A.C., via CPFAC, was taken up as soon as the HCA sales agency was set up. From the outset, we wanted to meet our peers and the elders of the profession so that we could benefit from their experience and know-how.
This is an important point to emphasise, as it has enabled us to draw on concrete examples and move forward in building HCA's business.
To find out more about the sales agent profession, here's a short video explaining it: