The July 4th holiday traditionally represents a bit of a slow down in the Independent Rep Industry–aka “Dog Days of Summer”. Manufacturing pulls back a bit, retailers are busy closing out Spring/Summer inventory before Fall shipments come in, families are taking vacations. That is in a traditional year. 2020 has been far from traditional. Our […]

June is upon us. So much has happened, been written about and over analyzed in the first five months of 2020. I believe it is definitely time to focus on making the rest of 2020 a success, or at least make it more positive than negative. Buyers/Decision makers in all industries are active and looking […]

The independent rep world is slowly getting back to normal. There are some significant changes, in that many reps still cannot make live sales calls. They need to rely on phone, email and text to communicate with the decision makers. Yet contact rates are increasing, reps are searching for new lines and principals are searching […]

It seems like we have been under this spell for much longer that it has actually been. The Independent Rep world has definitely changed. Can’t make live calls, so its almost like we have gone back in time where the phone is the best tool … and the email. So reps with connections can make […]

The US is now over 3 weeks into the Coronavirus outbreak. Plenty of information on how this is affecting our individual and personal lives, yet how is it affecting the Independent Rep Industry? Since we talk with hundreds of reps and principals every week, we are seeing some definite trends taking place. There are many […]

The question of selling into Big Box accounts for the first time is one of the most frequent questions which comes up. It’s a pretty simple answer yet has several components to it. Many, many reps and rep agencies have great connections with category buyers at Big Box accounts. To find reps who can get […]

Independent sales reps are an extremely important factor for any manufacturer who wants to sell products to retailers. They can boost your business an amazing amount, but how do you know if manufacturer’s reps are the right thing for you? You’ll have to examine your business and determine your goals. First of all, it’s important […]

Hi, Tom Metsa your friendly 1099 rep expert here: Many companies have attempted at one time or another to hire a “full commission”, “1099”, or “independent rep”. This could be an individual, an agency, a distributor, reseller, etc. Regardless of their structure, there are 5 major reasons why these folks chose to not take on […]

Recruiting a new rep is similar to bringing on a new client, there are a lot of similarities. Some companies view that the rep should feel fortunate that they are reaching out or talking with them. Yet reps are approached every day by all sorts of different companies. Good reps can pick and choose their […]

The Independent Rep industry continues to grow along all business segments and is expected to hit new highs in the next 3-5 years. Many companies have heard of Independent Rep/Full commission reps yet are not sure if they would be a good fit for their organization. The key to a good Independent Rep or Rep […]