Why Sales Reps Are Assets for Manufacturers

Why Sales Reps Are Assets for Manufacturers

If you are the manufacturer or distributor of a product, you know that a good sales staff increases in importance as you grow. When you are just starting out, wearing the sales hat yourself may still work, but it eventually becomes difficult to juggle the unique skill set and travel that sales requires with the other responsibilities required of an entrepreneur. At some point, it becomes more useful to have a salesperson whose focus is exclusively set upon finding new and servicing and growing existing buyers for your product. Like many other commonly outsourced tasks, you’ll find that leaving sales to an experienced expert pays off more than trying to do it all yourself.

The Headaches of Hiring

While the advantages of a sales staff may be obvious to a manufacturer, the headaches that go along with staffing up are equally clear. You may not be ready for or interested in taking on the costs that come with having an internal employee – health insurance, a salary, and a set of policies governing their conduct. You may also not have the time to take on the managerial responsibilities that come with overseeing an internal sales team. Fortunately, staffing up in sales does not need require bringing on employees and can be done even more effectively by hiring outside manufacturers reps.

The Advantages of Manufacturers Reps

Aside from avoiding the headaches of organizing an internal sales staff, what else do manufacturers reps bring to the table? The answer is plenty. Manufacturers reps operate on a commission-only basis, meaning that they don’t get paid unless they make you money. They have existing strong relationships with your target buyers and, in many cases, their bosses. They have deep knowledge of the customers, their company and the industry. They also carry multiple product lines, which can help you get in the door faster in a variety of places and accelerate sales.

Manufacturers reps can be found across North America, so contracting with a rep can provide exposure in markets far from your home office without the travel costs you might otherwise incur. Overall, the risk of expanding your sales efforts is decreased when you bring on a manufacturers rep, since they operate on commission and there are fewer sunk costs to consider when dealing with the poor performance of a sales rep you hired internally.

Finding the Right Manufacturers Rep

As a manufacturer, there are many ways to find a sales rep that can provide the benefits previously described. At RepHunter, we make the process easier for manufacturers thanks to our database of reps that allows you to search and/or filter by industry keyword, location, years of experience, and more. We have a deep reservoir of reps thanks to our pricing schedule, which allows manufacturers reps to sign up for free. Our service is designed to maximize the ability of manufacturers and experienced reps to find one another and build sustainable and mutually profitable relationships.

When you are trying to kickstart your product sales as a manufacturer, consider using an independent sales rep to meet your goals. You’ll find a manufacturers rep can take you far when it comes to building your customer base and ensuring your product meets with success.