post an ad on craiglist.

How about recruiting someone from a local college?  Their hours might not be idea, but if they're a marketing major they can get some PR stuff done anytime of day or night.

quote:

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Originally posted by: alb
"I would love to rep a line in my spare time but I don't have much experience w/ retail.  I practice law during the day and occasionally work for a small boutique on the weekends.  How easy is it to learn?  i have a friend that does it and she told me I should try it sometime.  Maybe it's something to consider for when I'm on maternity leave.  Would designers even want to have someone w/ as little experience as me representing their line?  I think it would be a fun thing to look into but I don't want to waste my time if I need a ton of experience. "

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I would! if you are serious - send me an email!

From my experience with sales reps, I wouldn't go with anyone who isn't already established and very experienced. I tried hiring people that were new at it because I wanted to give them a chance and it never worked. Not that it can't, but I don't consider it worth the gamble and risking wasting my time. Most people just can't handle the rejection one always has to deal with doing sales, and get discouraged quickly at cold calls, especially. It's a tough job! I eventually found it was better NOT to have a rep than to have a bad one. This is because you not only lose the sales from accounts you already have (I can service them myself much better than those reps I had and keep the commission) but even worse was the lost POTENTIAL, the hope and energy I put into each one that was wasted and could have been placed elsewhere. And it drove me nuts not knowing whether or not the rep was keeping up on accounts when orders weren't coming in as expected.

I have since found the best place to pick up a good rep is at a trade show. I just picked up my new very established reps at two industry trade shows, one of them I met at a party there was acutally wearing one of my belts, the same one I had on that day! She already knew and loved my product and she is very established with many years experience and strong accounts for the other line she reps. The other came recommended some time ago from a sales manager for another company, and when I met her she was instantly attracted to my belt, the same one, incidentally.

Walk around at these shows, talk to people, and when you find someone you like, ask around about them. Do your detective work to find out if they have a good rep or not. Buyers love good reps and will always give them their time.

That leads me to another way to find good reps. Ask buyers for leads. And most good reps are already taken by the big guys, and they tend to get snapped up quickly when the word is out how good they are. If they already rep for a big clothing line, t's easier to get them to rep an accessories line than a second clothing line, which would be conflicting.

Oh, and don't take anyone who doesn't have cold call sales experience.

I hope this helps. Just some advice from someone who learned the hard way (kinda).

Aloha,

Donna

Betty Belts