When evaluating, investigating a sales agency vs a dedicated employee platform? Agencies are utilized to jump start a business or product offering. Your business may also be void of C-level relationships with targeted accounts. Do I have the manpower or overall resources; especially if I am a start-up company or trying to tackle a new region or channel? Enlisting your inside sales or customer service representatives to travel, set meetings with agendas for action, and follow up to insure execution is obtained may not be a wise use of time diluting their main responsibilities that are more tactical in nature at the home office.  In essence, do you wonder if your salaried employees are generating enough ROI against T&E and the opportunity cost associated with being away from their standard responsibilities? It is a common question and reason companies consider agencies.

From a distributor perspective, many companies are too busy and understaffed to meet with every manufacturer trying to introduce a new product or service. Agencies that can bring multiple lines to each meeting maximizing time and creating efficiencies for the distributor, especially with long standing distributor relationships, will gain an audience every time typically with the decision makers. From an overhead perspective, many companies use outside legal, public relations, or accounting services. Why not enlist a portion of your commercial sales staff with an independent agency with a pay for performance platform attaching simple costs to carry that are variable in nature? Lastly, many companies are family owned and have very little outside perspective with specific industry knowledge. Does the agency understand or care to learn your business including concerns and risk? Sometimes, a candid impartial approach outside a family member or key management personnel can yield refreshing, insightful dialog leading to game changing decisions including personnel, P&L issues, new products to launch, or overall direction of your company.