SALES REPRESENTATION BY AN INDIVIDUAL OR BY A REP COMPANY: WHICH ONE IS BEST?

Is it better to be represented by a single person or by a representation company? This is an interesting question. There is no single answer. Both have advantages and drawbacks.

Choose an individual to represent your company and he/she will devote his/her attention to your products. An individual does not represent many companies, except for rare exceptions. You can be assured that the individual will be dedicated to selling your products and will fight for your company interests. The success of selling your products will bring this individual revenue that he or she cannot pass. The individual will dedicate a large part of his or her time to your activity.

An individual can have good knowledge of the market and can have numerous contacts. This is especially the case with representatives that have worked for a competitor or for a company serving the same market. These representatives are rare, difficult to find, but once you find them they are generally very efficient.

Having a company represent your products can be more hazardous in terms of involvement in your products. A company will generally make a lot of effort upfront to promoting your products. According to the results of the initial campaign the attitude can change very quickly. Either your products sell and the company will invest time and competence to learn and promote your products.

Or your products have a slow start and do not bring immediate revenue to the company. In that case a company will turn more quickly to other more profitable products they represent. This will translate into low effort to learn your products, or by a change in the person responsible for your product line towards a more junior sales staff. It is important to detect these situations early and to address them with the company, and even why not change representatives.

As for positive aspects, a company will generally have a better market position and will probably bring more business. Companies have several representatives in the field every day who are listening to their customers to identify opportunities corresponding to the products they represent.

How these opportunities are dealt with is another crucial question. Does the company have a full time person in charge of selling your products? Do you always have the same contact person who knows your products? Or do you feel like you are talking to many different persons, none of which truly knows your products? It is important for a company to have stability in their personnel and to assign one person to your products.

Being represented by a company or by an individual is not always a choice. In many cases it is a choice by default that depends on opportunities that arise. Finding good sales reps is difficult. When you find one, whether it be a company or an individual does not matter much. The most important thing is to keep your rep, train it, and communicate with it constantly on what he needs to always better serve your market.

In the end a representative must be evaluated on his results. Even if it is difficult to quantify objectives from the beginning, you must let your representative know that he will be assessed on his sales. And this is true for a company and an individual alike. That way it is easier to quantify your satisfaction. It is also easier to let a representative go if sales are not up to your expectations.