Dilemma - Representing a foreign company - Advice needed

[whiteflag]

I have been asked to represent a foreign reputable company that manufactures industrial machinery and they want me to promote them by placing various adverts in the local papers (which they have agreed to pay for) and my role as their sole representative would be to attend to the requirements of any customers that come through the adverts. The adverts will show my contact details but the foreign company has said that the adverts must show their website address.

The foreign company has committed to include commissions to me for any business that is generated through the adverts.

How can I ensure that I will be included in any business that is generated through the ads, as any viewer of the ads will be able to contact the company directly?

[Fergal]

Hi Whiteflag, welcome to Business Advice Forum and thanks for posting. (I've removed your other post - there is no need to double post your question).

It sounds like you will have to trust the company to some extent. However, you seem to be getting a pretty fair deal. Given that the company are paying for the local ads, if the customer purchases directly from the company there won't be any financial cost to you or any cost to you in terms of your time. Obviously you don't want to lose the commission, but at least even in this worst case scenario there won't have been any direct cost to you.

If the company in question are reputable they will want to look after and build strong relationships with their local distributors / agents. So hopefully they will be honest with you and pay you all agreed commissions.

It would also help if you build a strong reputation for yourself for that particular type of industrial machinery. The aim here is that potential customers in your local area automatically think of you when they consider the type of machinery that you sell. You want them to associate you with what you sell and to acknowledge you as an expert when it comes to this type of equipment. If they know you and you are approachable they will contact you before contacting the company directly.

Given that you are selling industrial equipment the number of potential customers in your target market is probably not excessively large. Would it be possible for you to telephone them all and arrange a meeting with each one to introduce both yourself and the products you represent?

Have you considered building your profile locally through networking at local business events, e.g. through your local chamber of commerce?

Will the company be providing you with promotional materials such as business cards and brochures?

You might also ask the company to list you as the local representative, for your particular area, on their website. They might even do this on their contact page. This would greatly help to ensure that potential customers who visit the company's website still contact you directly.

Good luck with it. Please let us know how it works out for you.

[Nazreen]

Or you can also ask this question directly to the foreign company that you're planning to represent but put it in a much nicer way. I believe they'll be more than happy to answer your questions.

But as Fergal has mentioned, trust is important in any business dealings. But if you still have doubts, then ask that they all put your agreement in black and white. I think this should already enough to clear your doubts.

[Hurbel2k]

I have been asked to represent a foreign reputable company that manufactures industrial machinery and they want me to promote them by placing various adverts in the local papers (which they have agreed to pay for)

If there is serious money involved, and a newspaper campaign does cost money, they should
- give You access to money in advance
- give some company guidelines to support You
- give other assets necessary for this job

on the other hand You don't sound to confident about how this whole advertising - customer management process works, neither do I. But I guess You should read some resources on this matter quickly.

Your contract should state in a definite way, how sales initiated by You are identified. Otherwise there is good chance to be ripped of.

[Cynthiab]

The company needs to give you a coded link as affiliate programs do. This way, anything that comes through the ads you placed will land on a particular home page which can be tracked with any stats program. If they're honest, they should give you stats or allow you to place your own tracker on it.

This won't show you sales, but it will give you an idea of the amount of traffic they're getting from your ads and that should help. For example, if they say there have been no sales, and stats show only two people clicked through, then likely, it's the truth. If they have 1,000s of clicks and still nothing, there's something wrong.

[Fergal]

A coded link is a nice idea, it could be related to your geographic area to make it more user-friendly for people viewing the ads. If you were in New York it could be something like www suppliersite.com/ny.

[scifi]

It can be possible that viewers from the ads can contact the company directly..but you can make a deal from the company that any viewer from a particular geographic region should be redirected back to you...Company will easily agree to this since there company wants to build its market in that particular geographic region where it had contacted you...I think it will solve your problem to much extent..!!:rolleyes:

[whiteflag]

These are some very good suggestions, and I thank all of you.
The company has agreed to pay for the ads which has only my contact details on it and not theirs, so any enquirers have no choice but to contact me. I think that's fair for them to do this.

[scifi]

Good ..Finally negotiations have brought you the desired results..nice to hear your output..!!

[Fergal]

Thanks for the update Whiteflag, it's great to hear that you got what you wanted.

Good luck with your new venture and please let us know how it works out for you or if we can assist you with any further questions.

[Nazreen]

These are some very good suggestions, and I thank all of you.
The company has agreed to pay for the ads which has only my contact details on it and not theirs, so any enquirers have no choice but to contact me. I think that's fair for them to do this.

Thanks for the update Whiteflag. If the ads contain only your contact details and that enquirers only contact you, do you have the resources to handle all inquiries? May I also know how you can handle those cases where the foreign company's decision is required, like those customers who like to bargain when they buy in bulk?