Road Reps Vs. Showrooms – is there a winner?
2010/09/22 6:00 AM
Deciding to hire a sales rep, be it a road rep or a showroom based sales rep can be a hard decision. I know finding a reputable one(s) can be difficult. You are going to want to interview a lot before you make a choice. Just because one is right for your friend, does NOT mean you are going to feel the same way. This relationship is like a co-dependent marriage. You will both be dependent on each other to succeed and be happy. One that needs to have romance, understanding, compassion, forgiveness, admiration, and the desire to make it work. Your sales rep is going to prod you, annoy you, be demanding, be opinionated and all the other stuff you hate about relationships…..but is also going to praise you, admire you, and congratulate you too. It's all part of the game. Some days you are HOT, and others you are not. But it's up to you as the designer to keep things fresh. Think of it like cooking a new gourmet meal every week to impress your significant other.
If you are thinking about getting a sales rep or several…….
Before you take a big step like this, Ask yourself these questions:
- Am I ready to grow my business quickly?
- Can I handle a larger company?
- Is my manufacturing in place to handle the growth?
- Can I financially handle the growth?
- Do I want to work even harder?
When I first had my handbag line, I thought having a NY Showroom was the best idea I ever had. Well they grew my business 400% in the first year, but I was not prepared at all. I didn't know what was going to be expected of me as far as Tradeshow participation, nor did I have the capital to keep up. And let's not even discuss how much I didn't know about merchandising or how many samples to produce…….anyhow it was a nightmare…….but I was so proud of the 400% growth at the same time. A very mixed bag as you can tell. LOL right?
Here are a few tips for you so you can decide when the right time is for YOU. Decide for yourself if want to go big time right away, or start out with road reps whose territory is more manageable than a major showroom. My experts below have contributed their take on road reps vs showroom. YOU decide what fits for you.
Where to find road reps: http://www.infomat.com or http://www.greatrep.com
The Marts in Atlanta, Dallas, Los Angeles and NYC
http://www.americasmart.com
http://www.dallasmarketcenter.com
http://www.californiamarketcenter.com
http://7wnewyork.com
Related posts
There are 6 comments
Janie says: I vote road reps too–we’re in Larry Lucas Atlanta and Dallas showrooms but Larry also employs road reps all over a 13-state area. I can see both sides. I think a mix is absolutely best. You come at it with a one-two. But few reps do both. In our year in ATL showroom, we’ve netted about 13 accounts or so–but the road reps have done twice that and then some…
Sarah, these resources are invaluable. Thanks for going before and paving the way for us.
Thanks Sarah for the great information! What commission should we expect to pay a road rep or showroom rep?
As a start up stage apparel business this is a good view about sales reps. Since I am currently doing online-retail it is good for me to see other alternatives when we are ready to sale whole sale.
Tks Sarah!
@ Sarah – Thanks so much for putting together such a great post! No where else have I been able to get answers to my questions, and all in one place, no less! Much appreciated.
I think a showroom would be a great fit for my business. As long as the show room had a knowledgeable staff that can offer styling advice because I design, make, and sell handmade fashion accessories (mainly scarves and wraps that are incredibly versatile) so the one on one of a showroom is appealing. I am not opposed to trade shows or road reps, I just don’t think it fits with my business.
Leave a comment
Want to express your opinion?
Leave a reply!
Leave a Reply
Testimonials
I’m already getting orders from the email with the updated pricing that I just sent to my current st…
Makeupjunkiebags.com
Follow me on Facebook
I’ve learned plenty of lessons. I want to share some of those lessons with you right now, because I think they’re super valuable… and my hope is that you can learn from my mistakes and get where you want to go much faster.
Read on: sarahshawconsulting.com/failure-or-success/
#sarahshawconsulting #blog #business #fashion #apparel #boutiques #magazines #product2celebrities #consultation #contactanycelebrity #branding #entreprenette #marketing #publicrelations #sales
Do you think there's a difference between Fashion and Style?
#sarahshawconsulting #fashion #producttocelebrities
Keep your heels, head and standards high. 💜
#sarahshawconsulting #producttocelebrities
I had the pleasure of speaking with Mae Karwowski, the founder and CEO of Obvious.ly, a leading global influencer-marketing agency and technology platform. Mae shares some amazing tips on working with influencers and how you can forge relationships to build your brand.
Want to learn more? Drop me a comment below.
#podcast #maekarwowski #obviously #sarahshawconsulting #Entrepreneur #streetsmartMBA #PR #celebrities #business #fashion #celebs #celebrityaccess
Do you know how to set the right price for your product line? Lordy knows I sure didn’t when I first started my handbag line. But once I learned the correct way to do it, I never mispriced anything again! Now I want to share this method with you so you can be profitable and not wonder why you can’t pay yourself.
It took me years to figure out how to set the right price for my product line when I first started out, so I can imagine you might be in the same situation. If you are not sure if you are making any money, then there is a good chance you’re not pricing your products correctly.
Proper costing is the lifeline to your business and profitability. Taking into consideration and finding all the hidden costs, is the key. So many people forget little things that they add up and then BOOM, you are not making any money. Once you have the actual cost (cost of goods sold) then it is easy to figure out the wholesale and retail prices so you are always making money.
I’d love to share this formula with you. It totally saved my rear when I was in year 3….. Just thinking of all that lost money in the first 2 years…. I want to cry!
Drop me a comment with “PRICED FOR PROFIT” and I’ll reach out and connect with you.
