Have you considered what you would do without Earthstar as partner?
How would you MANAGE SALES?
In many cases, suppliers like yourself hire a merchandiser to visit retailers and keep the face to face relationship with the retailers. This often represents a cost of $20-$25 per hour plus travel expenses to the supplier. The reality is that, it is an unbalanced risk model, with risk being weighed on the supplier, as there is little incentive, focus or skill for the merchandiser to nurture the retailer relationship.
How would you GROW SALES?
Hiring a semi-experienced sales manager brings an internal head count which impacts your bottom line by $98,550 per year (industry average cost of employing sales manager, as published by New Zealand Institute of Sales, 2015). In addition, this means having to work with HR issues and paying costs while sales may be low.

Photo: Andre Kong
How would you make sales SUSTAINABLE?
You may consider doing it yourself. This is certainly an option, as you have knowledge of your products. However, knowledge of market place is also key and experience has shown that business who handle sales internally, tend to work all hours “in the business”, losing sight of other opportunities which would have been captured if they “worked on the business”.
Have you experienced OTHER PARTNERS?
The foundation to good partnership is the “addition” of experienced and reliable capability to your business. Hiring other independent commission based consultants, with less experience, may appear cost attractive, however your aim should be to “buy-in” the much-needed capability to grow your sales. We continue to hear stories that solo agents are not wholly reliable, sustainable or a long-term solution.