Skip to main content

Breaking new markets with a commercial sales agent


An atlas
If you can't afford to employ a dedicated sales person but want to target new markets, a commercial sales agent could offer the solution. Naomi Marks finds out how recruiting an independent specialist could increase your reach
A commercial sales agent is a self-employed sales person who will sell your goods or services in return for commission. Businesses usually appoint agents because they need specialist help in reaching markets in a particular sector or geographical location.
"They suit businesses where personal selling methods are preferred to arms-length sales channels, such as mail shots," explains Paul Brown, managing director of sales agent consultancy Agent Base.
"Agents can also help those with a fragmented customer base," he adds. "Many small firms use them to access domestic markets, but they can be particularly useful in selling abroad where different languages and customs can be an issue."

Sales agents as a cost-effective solution

Sales agents can be a cost-effective means of reaching a wide variety of markets.
"A lot of small businesses don't have the budget to justify employing a full-time sales representative," points out Brown. "It can cost £50,000 to £100,000 a year to keep one rep on the road. With a sales agent, if you sell nothing, it costs nothing. The cost is always in line with the profitability as they only earn commission."
An agent's main asset is the customers that they have relationships with. "Most agents have several hundred customers that they have been dealing with for years and they can put your product directly in front of them," explains Brown.
However, Brown warns that managers who find it hard to relinquish control may find the relationship difficult. "Agents will not deliver a company script, wearing the company shirt," he says. "They do not want to field constant calls from owner-managers. Most agents are running their own business and don't want to be micro-managed."

Finding the right sales agent

Your local chambers of commerce or trade body may hold lists of sales agents, but more commonly businesses source agents from a sales agent register.
It is essential to interview shortlisted candidates. Weigh up whether a potential recruit has a good reputation in your market place, knowledge of your sector and a portfolio of existing clients.
"You need to be sure the agent's customer base is congruent with your target market and they have a portfolio of complementary, non-competing products," advises Brown.

Write a watertight contract

As self-employed intermediaries, sales agents usually make their money from commissions on sales, although some may receive retainers or expenses.
Importantly, European law gives sales agents considerable protection so a contract must be drawn up by a solicitor. "By default, agents have a lot of rights - similar to those of employees, so you need a formal contract," stresses Brown.
If it all sounds rather daunting, Brown advises you remember the plus points of using a sales agent: in essence, getting your product into the hands of many potential clients you may never otherwise reach. "For many businesses, there isn't really an alternative," he concludes.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Top 10 Analytics Courses in India

http://analyticsindiamag.com/top-6-analytics-courses-in-india/ The demand for trained analytics professionals has witnessed a massive growth in recent years. The dearth of skilled manpower can be overcome with serious intervention at the education level and imparting training on specific Analytical and statistical tools. This goes to say that training in Analytics is of foremost importance to match the ever growing demand and dearth in supply. Yet, there is a severe dearth of good training programs in the field. In this article, Analytics India Magazine investigates nine courses on Analytics being offered by premier institutes of India. Certificate Programme in Business Analytics – ISB, Hyderabad ISB is offering a one year Certification in Business Analytics with an aim to create Next generation Data Management Scientists. The programme is designed on a schedule that minimizes disruption of work and personal pursuits. The program is a combination of classroom and Technology...

Online Education in India: Trends & Future Prospects

https://www.shiksha.com/mba/articles/online-education-in-india-trends-future-prospects-blogId-14763 With the development of technology, India has witnessed an enhanced acceptance of online education over a period of few years. Many students and working professionals have joined different e-learning platforms in the past few years in order to enhance their skills. And, looking at trends, the number of people adopting online education platforms is expected to increase significantly in the near future. As per a recent report released by KPMG India and Google, Online Education in India: 2021, the market for online education in India is expected to witness a magnificent growth of eight times in the next five years, i.e., from USD 247 million in 2016 to USD 1.96 billion in 2021. Such high growth in online education market is projected to be the outcome of increased number of paid online education users from 1.57 million in 2016 to 9.5 million in 2021. So, as the market for e-learni...

Popular Applications of Artificial Intelligence

AI is relevant to any intellectual task. [204]  Modern artificial intelligence techniques are pervasive and are too numerous to list here. Frequently, when a technique reaches mainstream use, it is no longer considered artificial intelligence; this phenomenon is described as the  AI effect . [205] High-profile examples of AI include autonomous vehicles (such as  drones  and  self-driving cars ), medical diagnosis, creating art (such as poetry), proving mathematical theorems, playing games (such as Chess or Go), search engines (such as  Google search ), online assistants (such as  Siri ), image recognition in photographs, spam filtering, prediction of judicial decisions [206]  and targeting online advertisements. [204] [207] [208] With social media sites overtaking TV as a source for news for young people and news organisations increasingly reliant on social media platforms for generating distribution, [209]  major publishers now use art...