There has long been a debate within the world of business. Should companies bring their own sales professionals on board, making those individuals a part of their companies? Should they use an outside source to get real sales professionals who know what they are doing? The debate is endless in some parts of the manufacturing world, as companies go different directions when it comes to their decisions on who can push their products and who cannot. It’s becoming more and more apparent that independent sales agents are playing a major role in the resurgence for many manufacturing companies.
What’s the upside to using independent sales professionals? It’s a cost savings more than anything else. Companies need to get leaner in today’s competitive age. With the rise of many upstart competitors, the margins are getting smaller than ever. This leaves little room for sales people who are going to command big pieces of the pie. Instead, there is room for sales agents who can do the job without cutting too hard into the margins of the company. When manufacturers go with outside sales agents, they are cutting down their costs, becoming more efficient and giving themselves an opportunity to compete in the newly competitive world.
In addition, outside sales agents have already been vetted and have the necessary skills to compete. When a manufacturing company brings in new sales people, there is a period of adjustment that must take place. Those people need to be trained in order to do a good job. This costs the company both time and money. It makes life more difficult on managers who are trying to do a good job in this area. As it stands, bringing in sales agents to the company fold represents an expense and hassle that many cannot afford.
Independent sales people, on the other hand, already have the industry knowledge that will allow them to rep products in the field. Those sales agents come with specific skills that are applicable to the companies they work with. They know when the be aggressive and when to push back. They also have established channels where they can market the products. Many companies are finding that when they want the best results from their corporate sales, the right move is to hire people from the outside who qualify as experts rather than spending money on interior sales representatives.
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