Where reps are, what to ask, and the six terms to write down before the first order.
An independent sales rep is the fastest way for a small brand to reach retail buyers it has no relationship with. The search for one fails in a predictable way: brands look for "a rep" instead of a rep who already calls on the stores they want, and they agree terms in a phone call that nobody wrote down. This is the order that works.
A rep sells your line into accounts and gets paid a percentage of what ships. That is the whole job. If what you actually need is somebody to build your linesheet, run your social media or manage your shipping, a rep will not do it and will resent being asked. Write down the accounts you want opened, by name where you can, and the territory they sit in. A rep who already walks into those doors is worth ten who do not.
Reps cluster around the buyers they already sell to. Trade shows and merchandise marts are where most brands meet them, because a rep's showroom is in the mart and their buyers walk the show. Rep groups and agencies list their lines and territories publicly. And on the protocol, a rep has a profile that says which brands they carry, which accounts they have opened and which market they work.
Ask which accounts they call on, how often, and which of their current lines are closest to yours. A rep with a competing line will not push yours. Ask how they get paid on reorders they did not personally write, because that answer tells you whether they think in accounts or in orders. Ask for two brands they represent and call them.
Commission rate, what it is paid on, when it is paid, who owns the account, what happens on termination and how long a rep is paid on accounts they opened after they leave. Every rep dispute in wholesale is one of those six things, and every one of them is cheap to settle at the start and expensive to settle after money has arrived. On the protocol the agreement is recorded, the commission is computed at settlement, and account ownership is a field rather than a memory.