Manufacturer Rep. job?

Jeremy Bender

Platinum Member
With the possibility of retirement from my corporate gig looming in 5 yrs. I'm interested in getting involved in the music industry. Specifically equipment.
Anyone know how to go about becoming a rep. for a company that makes the tools we love to use? Drums, cymbals, sticks etc...
 
Reps are rarely company employees anymore, they're independent (read: self-employed) and typically rep multiple non-competing brands. You pretty much need a prior career path in MI retail or with an MI company, I don't think there's a way to simply jump in. It's a safe bet that you won't get any training with a company.

Also, the reps I know work their butts off. There's a lot of regional travel involved, and they deal mostly with independent store owners who have to watch every penny they spend. It's not easy, the products don't always sell themselves. I suspect there's an element of masochism involved in wanting to be a rep, not unlike wanting to be a pro drummer!

Bermuda
 
Thanks for the real-world knowledge as always Bermuda. Yeah, sales can be a rough profession to say the least.
It's interesting to learn about how the manufacturer/distributor/rep/dealer/customer chain works though. Travel I can deal with as I've been on the road 46 weeks a yr. for the past twenty years.
Cracking the industry nut will be the challenge for me.
 
I would find a product that I truly believed in myself, either by having owned or used it and start there. For example, I can the number of times on one hand that I've played a Paiste cymbal. Although they make great products, I would be more likely to pursue a sales rep job for Zildjian or Sabian because I have a lot of real-world experience with their products. I have a friend who is a sales rep for Pearl drums, and he used Pearl drums for many years before pursuing a sales position. I know he travels a lot.
 
Jeremy, with your knowledge, experience and background have you given any thought to developing your own equipment line?
 
On top of what Bermuda said, most of those jobs rarely open.

I know guys who've been reps for 20+ years for the same company. A few others may have switched companies, but because they already had the connections, they weren't unemployed for long.

That said, there has been some turn over in the last few years as a few long time industry vets retired. At the same time, many jobs also disappeared with all the mergers that have happened in the last few years (Promark->Evans, Vic Firth->Zildjian, etc) leaving plenty of experienced reps looking for work.

That said, for whatever reason, Tama has always had different people in and out.

And with smaller companies, like Crush and Soul Tone and such, getting more mainstream, there might be some opportunities out there.
 
Jeremy, with your knowledge, experience and background have you given any thought to developing your own equipment line?

Wow thanks! But no, I've never thought of doing that to be honest.
I guess I've always done what most people have done and that was to buy what you liked from what was already being made by a company- whether drum, cymbal, stick and so on.
I also kinda feel that the market is saturated (at least here in the states).

I agree with others when it comes to the importance of really believing in a product yourself before trying to represent it and it's company to others.
 
i've worked in music retail, a drum tech, a drum company, temp work at a drum company and for a former artist rep, and with my experience i can't even find a job driving a forklift. by the way...i've been out of work for 8 1/2 years (though i'm not only looking for gigs in the music biz to pop up, those are few and far between as it is)

as noted above, a instrument rep is usually a indie and they have many companies they promote. one guy who worked for KMC (which had their local wherehouse here til they closed down) would go to music stores in his territory taking orders. i recall his territory was so-cal and nevada, maybe more. so he would be on the road pretty much everyday incl weekends.

let's not forget mom and pop music stores are few and far between these days. g.c. owns a few online stores and even they're struggling.

as much as it sounds good on paper and i hate to detour you from maybe doing a gig like that...don't bother. get a job with security. you might be the lucky one who knows someone and get's their foot in the door, but its best to have a back up plan.
 
Funny, but didn't Hal Blaine get a job as a security guard when his career took a downturn? And he was right in the middle of the LA music scene!
 
Not much to add, but I do want to say: congrats on having retirement from the corporate world on the radar.

I dream of that. But, it will never be for me.

Enjoy.
 
While it might be tough to get in the door with any of the bigger manufacturers, you might actually find the reps easier to approach, and maybe they can use some help. Some of the independent reps actually have 2 or 3 people on staff. You might be able to find a busy local rep and offer to help. That way you can get to know the companies, the dealers, and the local market, and start to build your experience and reputation, to the point where you can jump off on your own.
 
Having been a rep as well as managing rep firms for 2different manufacturers I can tell you that they are looking for people with sales chops. Usually the path is to first work in music retail. From there, they will find you.

I wouldn't think it's job you retire "to". It's a lot of hours per week (60-80 typically).
 
Interesting and informative responses. Thanks everyone.
Time will tell if it's something even remotely possible for me.
 
Back
Top