Sales Rep. in US to sell AVT (Go cart)

Re: [spiers] Sales Rep. in US to sell AVT (Go cart)


> I think it is too early to work with independent sales representatives...
if
> you have not redesigned the product to meet the needs of the market, then
you
> don't need to have a rep yet.
>
My wife and I are independent reps in the gift industry, and I agree with
John that you don't need a rep yet. You might, however, still want to find
and contact some as part of your design research. Since they are in the
middle of the industries they work in, they are in contact with more
retailers (who pass along what they hear from customers) than any other
group. For example, we sell to 300 independent gift retailers, and have
accumulated a large body of feedback and knowledge about how to design gift
products, at a level that few retailers or manufacturers would ever get in
touch with.

To find reps, you might contact dealerships of similar products to your
industry (be aware that some types of businesses may consider your questions
competitive, so you may need to pose as a "Geee, what's happening in your
industry" innocent, interested bystander approach. This is called
"industrial espionage" and everyone does it... including your competitors,
so you are shooting yourself in the foot if you don't include this in your
due diligence.) Others will be more than happy to help. Ask them if there
are reps they could recommend. (Note that most reps cannot and morally
should not, carry directly competing lines, so you may want to find reps who
sell related products to the same accounts, and may be looking to pick up an
AVT account.

Other ways to find reps:

Industry trade publications
Wholesale showrooms or marts
Attend industry trade shows/events
Contact manufacturers of related accessories, and ask who they use and can
recommend.
Contact/join associations (for example, in our industry, the United
Association of Manufacturers Representatives, www.uamr.com, is the
definitive choice. I am sure there is more more relevant to the AVT
industry.)

> You might find the book on Harley Davidson and how they got back into the
> market useful, they have a theme called "immersion in the culture of the
> market" meaning they redesigned the product based on what the customers
> wanted. They found out what the customers wanted by every harley davidson
> employee joining a motorcycle club. What ATV club have you joined?

The book "Radical Marketing" profiles ten companies, including Harley, on
this topic of immersing yourself in the customer culture.

Malcolm Dell

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