What Are the Fundamental Needs to Rep New Lines?
If you are an independent sales rep, the most important thing to your ability to make money is having enough lines to buffer any economic or market shifts. No kidding, right? But you can’t just go and rep new lines overnight, you have to be ready. And possibly more importantly, you have to look like […]
How to Become a Sales Rep: Is It Right for Me?
A question that inside sales rep employees ask themselves is, “How do I become an independent sales rep?” In constrained economic periods salaried sales jobs see bonuses disappear or commissions get cut. The thought that a sales person can make more money as an independent sales rep, rather than as an employee spurs the search […]
Top Ten Ways Independent Sales Reps Fail
Dealing with independent sales reps has very profitable benefits. Independent reps can increase sales of your lines by giving them exposure to markets they might not see otherwise. Plus they can easily and quickly sell lines to customers with whom they have existing relationships. These are just a few of the benefits you, as a principal, […]
Determining Commissions for Independent Sales Reps
The most common questions involved with hiring of independent reps relates to their compensation. Here are key elements to determining commissions for independent sales reps. There is no standard flat rate or easy answer. Fortunately, there is a very important guideline to keep in mind: Nothing motivates sales better than an attractive commission schedule. “How […]
Top 6 Sales Support Items Manufacturers Representatives Should Expect
These top six sales support items manufacturers representatives should expect from the manufacturers, distributors or sales managers whose products or services are on their line cards. Missing any one of these critical elements can seriously impact either sales or the rep’s sales relationship with the company …or both. » Training – Principals must train the […]
What to Expect When Dealing With Independent Sales Reps
Sales Managers Expectations of Sales Reps: Since your independent sales reps work for you, there are some things you as a small business owner or sales manager can reasonably expect of them. Call Reports Exemption – If you are used to working with in-house employee sales reps, you may be inclined to expect your independent […]
10 Features of a Sales Rep Agreement
When you are hiring new independent sales reps, the most important thing to get right is the sales rep contract. The sales rep agreements set the basis for your potentially long term business arrangement with every new sales rep. The sales contract is for the protection of both the manufacturer’s rep, as well as the […]
A Simple Checklist for Hiring Independent Sales Reps
In hiring independent sales reps to sell your line, there are critical steps to take so you have everything under control before you proceed. Setting these things in place ahead of time will avoid any delays to sales growth or potential failure of your relationship with your manufacturer reps. Prepare a contract! You will want […]
What’s the Big Deal About Independent Sales Reps?
An independent sales rep is an incredibly valuable asset for any company that sells lines or services to have! Essentially, you pay a sales rep to represent your line. It sounds simple, but it is in fact incredibly rewarding. The difference between a salesperson and a manufacturer’s rep is that rather than working for a […]
Screening Your Sales Reps
Your product is finally ready! After months of research & development, quality testing, market research, and so on, you are finally ready to start selling to customers. You may even have several independent sales reps interested in selling your products! Wait a minute, “how do I know which reps to use? Should I use all […]