So what are a manufacturer's options when it comes to sales? Adding a direct sales force to your payroll can be expensive and risky. A direct sales person must be trained in both product knowledge and selling skills. Once put into the field, most manufactures will allow six month and then expect a return on their investment. If the results are not there, then the manufacture must start all over again.

Another method is to use independent sales reps that only get paid on results. Sounds like to best route to go but there are downsides. Sales reps sell for a number of different manufacturers and thus your product offering may get the attention you expect. Also independent sales reps set their own hours, choose the customers they call upon and sell the products of they choose. Sales reps also want to take over existing business in their territory without earning it or expect to get paid for any missionary work they may do to develop new accounts. This also can be expensive and risky.

Even though there are downsides to using sales reps, there are benefits that far beyond a direct sales force. A properly selected, trained, managed and motivated sales rep network can produce results and keep your marketing and sales overhead down. Here is the process of developing a productive sales rep network.

The first step in developing productive sales rep network is finding and selecting the right sales reps. Easier said than done. It is estimate that there are over 90,000 sales reps in the US that sell everything from cleaning supplies to airplanes. Finding to right reps is like finding a needle in a haystack. The places you can look are business to business yellow pages, association directories, putting up signs at trade shows, asking customers where to find good reps, internet rep search engines, sales representative associations, word of mouth, etc.

The second step in selecting the right sales rep is to review the rep's line card. A line card is a list of the companies and products a sales rep represents. The line card will indicate the product mix. Your product line must complement the products on the line card. Sales reps specialize in complementary products and industries. Also the type and quality of manufacturers the sales rep presently represents can indicate the skill level of the prospective sales rep. A word to the wise, sales reps that have too many lines, normally to not have the time to pitch everyone's lines.

Once a candidate is selected via the line card, the next step is to contact the sale rep. This can be done by mail, email and phone. Keep in mind that the good sales reps already have a revenue stream from their present principals and thus you will have to do some selling for the sales rep to carry your line. Some manufacturers think that sales reps are just waiting to pick up another line. The opposite is true. The good sales reps will not pickup a line they don't think they can sell. For these reps, it's a waste of time to carry to many lines. Other factors maybe the sales reps may have a conflict and/or their plate is full. The average of sales reps contacted to those who are interested is about 4:1. So don't get discouraged if you find that there is some work involved.

Once you and sales rep has had an opportunity to review each other materials and there is still interest by both parties, then an interview is in order. A face-to-face meeting is very important either in the field or at the manufacturing plant. It recommended that the manufacturer met the sales rep in the field. This way the manufacturer can see how the sales rep place of business.