The biggest thing to remember with brokers is that they will 100% amplify a successful product, brand, and sales process. They will not save a stale product, brand, or sales process.
We hear from so many brands that they are onboarding a new broker after not seeing success selling the product themselves and they prepare themselves for this to be a cure all solution. Brokers (and most salespeople) can only expedite the success of a product or brand that has some sort of baseline success already.
There are amazing brokers out there both regionally and nationally who can help you grow your business, but we want you to be mindful that no broker is going to fix a broken business.
Here is what we look for in a great broker partner:
1) More than just contacts
If your buyer is saying they know your buyer well and they can walk your product into an account given their personal relationship with that buyer, run! Just run in the opposite direction. Buyers change seats every 6-18 months now and most of them are young professionals. It is not 20 years ago where a personal relationship is going to be the gold stamp for your brand. You want a broker who has good fundamentals, understands your category and the retailer intimately, and who resonates with your brand. You don’t want a broker who is just bringing a relationship to the table.
2) Team
Stay away from small 1-2 people broker teams. We love brokers who have street teams in place that are constantly in the stores. This is much different than 1-2 fractional sales professionals. Those professionals can be great because they often represent a small portfolio of brands and they are great generalist salespeople. We are talking about small broker shops that are regional and only deal with a few retailers. They just don’t have the footprint to make sure your brand is successful once they do open up the account.
3) Cost structure
Unless a broker is going to act as a fractional VP of Sales, then you want to stay away from a monthly retainer. Way too many brokers will just collect their monthly check and not work past that. They don’t care if you eventually churn, because they will just fill that spot with another brand. You want a broker who is maxing out their commission % and taking a small monthly retainer or none at all. The best brokers make their money on the commission, which is fine by you, because that means they are selling more.
We have a great network of brokers that we work with here at WeStock, so feel free to reach out if interested at
Brokers