Total Marketing Associates
Total Marketing Associates (Team Total) is a 47-year-old, privately held manufacturer sales representative firm that connects consumer brands with major U.S. retailers—including Home Depot, Lowe's, Menards, Ace Hardware, and True Value—through field sales, telesales, customer support, and in-house creative services.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1977
- HeadquartersRolling Meadows, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Total Marketing Associates does
Total Marketing Associates (doing business as "Team Total") is a privately held manufacturer sales representation firm founded in 1977 and headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois, with a secondary office in Sussex, Wisconsin. The company operates as an outsourced sales force for consumer goods manufacturers, representing brands such as Conair Travelsmart, Brümate, Raindrip, Schultz, Jrk Seed, Sprayway, and Outward Hound to major U.S. retailers including The Home Depot, Lowe's, Menards, Ace Hardware, True Value, Do It Best, Orgill, Grainger, Meijer, Aldi, and Walgreens, as well as farm and agriculture distribution channels such as Mid-States Distributing and Blain's Farm & Fleet.
The firm's integrated service platform comprises six core offerings: Headquarter Sales (corporate buyer relationship management), Sales Connections (distributor and retailer access), Sales Channels (category-specific coverage across housewares, lawn & garden, hardware, pet, cleaning, plumbing, and seasonal goods), TeleSales (outsourced inside sales targeting co-ops and dealers nationwide), Sales Support (customer service outsourcing via the wholly-owned GroAccess Communications subsidiary, established in 2023), and Creative Services (in-house marketing, packaging design, web design, SEO, video, and merchandising). No proprietary technology platform is disclosed; value delivery rests on human relationships, buyer-side category expertise, and physical sales infrastructure rather than software.
Total Marketing Associates generates revenue through commissions and professional services fees earned by representing manufacturers in selling their products to retail buyers, with pricing negotiated individually per principal relationship. The firm is owned by three partners—Tom Dahlborn, Jim Hayden, and Tom Peel—supported by an executive team that includes former buyers and operators from key retail partners (a former Ace Hardware corporate buyer, a former True Value store owner, and an EVP with 46+ years of tenure). The company employs approximately 17 people across field sales, inside sales, customer support, creative, and finance functions.
Total Marketing Associates firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Total Marketing Associates
- Legal name
- Total Marketing Associates, Inc.
- Website
- https://teamtotal.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1977
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Total Marketing Associates (Team Total) is a 47-year-old, privately held manufacturer sales representative firm that connects consumer brands with major U.S. retailers—including Home Depot, Lowe's, Menards, Ace Hardware, and True Value—through field sales, telesales, customer support, and in-house creative services.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Total Marketing Associates is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Rolling Meadows
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Total Marketing Associates business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Manufacturer Representation Services: As manufacturer representatives, Total Marketing Associates earns commissions or fees for representing manufacturers and selling their products to retail buyers. They provide sales representation, marketing services, and customer support to manufacturers seeking to get products into major retail stores.
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels3 records
Total Marketing Associates product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Total Marketing Associates is an independent manufacturer representative firm that provides full-service retail sales representation, helping manufacturers get their products onto shelves and websites of major U.S. retailers such as Home Depot, Lowe's, Menards, Ace Hardware, True Value, and Do It Best. The firm also offers complementary services including telesales, in-house creative/marketing services (web design, SEO, packaging, video), outsourced customer support via its GroAccess Communications division, and category/channel management across home improvement, hardware, lawn & garden, and farm/agriculture retail segments.
Product overview
Total Marketing Associates (Team Total) is a manufacturer sales representative company offering a unified suite of sales and marketing representation services. The core offering consists of six integrated services: Headquarter Sales (corporate buyer relationships), Sales Connections (retailer/distributor access), Sales Channels (category coverage), TeleSales (outsourced sales team), Sales Support (customer service outsourcing), and Creative Services (in-house marketing/design). These services work together as an end-to-end solution—from connecting manufacturers with retail buyers to providing the creative and customer support infrastructure needed to sustain those relationships. The company operates as a single integrated service platform rather than modular products.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Headquarter Sales National headquarter sales representation service connecting manufacturers with corporate buyers at major U.S. retail chains including Home Depot, Lowe's, Menards, Ace Hardware, True Value, and Do It Best. Includes category support, sales presentations, advertising programs, forecasting, and merchandising coordination.
- Sales Connections Corporate retail sales connections service providing manufacturers access to national headquarter accounts and major distributors such as Orgill, Grainger, Meijer, Aldi, Walgreens, and farm/agriculture retailers.
- Sales Channels Retail sales channel exposure service covering home improvement, hardware, and seasonal outdoor living categories including housewares, cleaning supplies, hardware, pet, plumbing, pottery, lawn & garden, birding, outdoor furniture, and BBQ accessories.
- TeleSales Outsourced telesales service that extends manufacturer sales and customer service teams, targeting co-ops and dealers nationwide, conducting pre-show and post-show follow-up, promoting in-season specials, qualifying leads, and building relationships via phone, fax, and internet.
- Sales Support (GroAccess Communications) Outsourced customer service team structured by customer and region, providing personalized support, issue management, and coordination with field and office sales teams. Delivered through the GroAccess Communications division.
- Creative Services In-house marketing and creative agency service including marketing planning, graphic design, program development, in-house photo studio, website design, SEO, video production, signage, and packaging design.
Companies that use Total Marketing Associates
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Total Marketing Associates technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Total Marketing Associates partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
17 partnerships are on record, tiered core, secondary and minor.
- The Home DepotcoreMajor national retail partner. Ken LaBuda leads and coordinates sales and retail support activities for The Home Depot, particularly with Live Goods Buyers, Christmas items manufacturers, and merchandising.
- Lowe'scoreMajor national retail partner. Tom Peel manages The Home Depot, Lowe's accounts as part of National Accounts management.
- MenardscoreRegional home improvement retailer. Jim Hayden manages all sales efforts for manufacturers within Menards.
- Ace HardwarecoreNational hardware cooperative. Jim Hayden manages Ace Hardware accounts and Ryan Fagan joined from Ace Corporate office.
- True ValuecoreNational hardware cooperative. Tom Peel manages True Value accounts; Matt Wood manages True Value Hardware Corporate as Power Equipment and Pottery Manager.
- Do It BestcoreNational hardware distributor. Listed as a key retail partner and distributor connection.
- OrgillcoreMajor hardware distributor. Listed as a key distributor partner and retail partner.
- WW GraingercoreIndustrial distributor and retail partner. Tom Peel manages Grainger accounts as part of National Accounts.
- MeijersecondaryRegional retailer covering grocery and drug store shelves. Listed as a connection for reaching retail buyers.
- AldisecondaryDiscount grocery retailer. Listed as a connection for reaching retail buyers at grocery and drug store shelves.
- WalgreenssecondaryNational pharmacy chain. Tom Peel manages Walgreens as part of National Accounts.
- BFG SupplyminorHardware distributor. Listed among hardware distributors partnering with Total Marketing.
- Foster'sminorHardware distributor. Matt Wood manages Fosters as part of distributor management.
- Rural King SupplyminorFarm and agriculture retailer. Listed among farm & agriculture retail partners.
- Mid-States DistributingminorFarm and agriculture distributor. Jim Hayden manages Mid-States Distributing and affiliates.
- Blain's Farm & FleetminorFarm and agriculture retailer. Jim Hayden manages Blains Farm & Fleet accounts; listed in testimonials.
- GroAccess CommunicationscoreA U.S. based outsourced customer call center and division of Total Marketing Associates. Provides advanced technology and customer contact services. Tom Dahlborn coordinates with GroAccess for customer service outsourcing and small package fulfillment.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Total Marketing Associates competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Crossmark: Crossmark delivers sales, marketing, and retail services to manufacturers and retailers, including headquarter sales representation and in-store execution. It overlaps directly with Total Marketing's manufacturer-rep and category-coverage offering.
- Ansira: Ansira provides marketing services spanning brand-to-demand, channel, and customer experience programs to consumer brands. It is comparable as a B2B services partner helping manufacturers drive retail-channel outcomes, with overlapping expertise in creative, digital, and customer engagement.
- Cramer-Krasselt: C-K is an independent creative/advertising agency with a longstanding retail-shopper practice serving major CPG brands. It overlaps with Total Marketing's in-house creative services (packaging, video, web/SEO, signage) at a larger, more full-service scale.
- The Integer Group: The Integer Group is a retail/shopper marketing agency that helps brands win at retail through strategy, content, and execution. It is comparable to Total Marketing in serving manufacturer clients' retail-channel objectives, though it is heavier on marketing/creative than direct field sales representation.
- Advantage Solutions: Advantage Solutions provides sales, marketing, and retail merchandising services to consumer goods manufacturers, including in-store representation and headquarter sales support. It is comparable to Total Marketing as a third-party sales force serving brands' retail-channel needs, albeit at significantly larger scale.
- Acosta: Acosta is a large sales-and-marketing agency that represents CPG manufacturers to retailers across North America. Like Total Marketing, it earns commissions selling manufacturer brands into big-box retail buying offices, but operates at a much larger scale and broader category footprint.
Others
- Repsly: Repsly provides field-team management software for CPG sales reps and merchandisers, enabling activity tracking, photo reporting, and store audits. It is comparable to Total Marketing as ecosystem infrastructure for manufacturer-rep firms, though it serves as an enabling platform rather than a competing agency.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Total Marketing Associates social profiles
Digital presenceTotal Marketing Associates financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Total Marketing Associates leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles17 records
Total Marketing Associates subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Total Marketing Associates funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Total Marketing Associates M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Total Marketing Associates
What does Total Marketing Associates do?
Total Marketing Associates is an independent manufacturer representative firm that provides full-service retail sales representation, helping manufacturers get their products onto shelves and websites of major U.S. retailers such as Home Depot, Lowe's, Menards, Ace Hardware, True Value, and Do It Best. The firm also offers complementary services including telesales, in-house creative/marketing services (web design, SEO, packaging, video), outsourced customer support via its GroAccess Communications division, and category/channel management across home improvement, hardware, lawn & garden, and farm/agriculture retail segments.
Is Total Marketing Associates a public or private company?
Total Marketing Associates is a private company. It is classified as management employee owned and is currently operating.
When was Total Marketing Associates founded?
Total Marketing Associates was founded in 1977. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Total Marketing Associates based?
Total Marketing Associates is headquartered in Rolling Meadows, United States, in the North America region.
How does Total Marketing Associates make money?
One revenue line is on record: manufacturer Representation Services.
Who are Total Marketing Associates's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Crossmark, Ansira, Cramer-Krasselt, The Integer Group, Advantage Solutions and Acosta. Repsly is listed as an others.
Does Total Marketing Associates have an API?
No public API is recorded for Total Marketing Associates.