You want to bring your new product to market as quickly as possible, but you’re on a tight budget. You don’t want to spend the time or the money putting together a sales team, so what are your options?
One consideration is working with independent sales representatives—sometimes called manufacturers’ representatives or manufacturers’ agents—who sell products or services to customers directly for the company or companies he or she works for.
Reps typically work as commission-only independent contractors, so there’s generally no initial risk in hiring them. But you may have to dole out a higher commission for each sale. That might be worth the price if you want to test the market, or if your product will benefit from a demonstration or your customers require constant explanation of new products.
One place to look is a rep-matching service like RepHunter. net or RepRight.com. Or visit well-known trade shows to meet with independent agents. You can also search for independent sales reps on LinkedIn. Depending on your industry, typical commission rates run anywhere from 5 to 25 percent of the sale, according to the Manufacturers’ Agents National Association.
In this chapter, we looked at a variety of marketing and sales techniques you can use to spread the word about your initial products and services. In the pages ahead, we’ll take a look at next steps, including getting to truly know your customers, and staying innovative so you can continue to meet their wants and needs.
