For a lot of products working with a local sales agent or with a dedicated sales representative can be a good solution.
Especially if you have a customized product or service, or you want to work with a number of resellers in the country, an agent can be the one connecting these parties to your organization abroad.
Agents can be individuals, but I often recommend to work with established companies who already have a good network and where you are not dependent on just one person.
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Italy is one of the larger economies in Europe, but also a country with very different regions, ranging from rich to poor. Italy has a rich cultural heritage, with Rome being one of the oldest continuously occupied cities in Europe. The country’s official language is Italian, but there are regions where German, French, and Slovene are primarily used.
As of 2024, Italy’s population is estimated at approximately 58.78 million. The country has been experiencing a population decline since its peak in 2017, with a negative growth rate due to a higher death rate than birth rate and negative net migration.
The major urban centers include Rome, Milan, Naples, Turin, and Palermo. Italy is characterized by an uneven population density, with dense populations in the Po Valley and metropolitan areas of Naples and Rome.
Italy is known for its diverse industrial sectors, ranging from fashion and luxury goods to automotive and machinery. It’s a significant player in the European and global economy.
Italy has an economy which is divided into a developed industrial north, dominated by private companies, and a less-developed, agricultural south. The Italian economy is driven in large part by the manufacture of high-quality consumer goods produced by small and medium-sized enterprises, many of them family-owned.
If you don’t want to work with agents, you can always set up a local office yourself or try to sell your product from abroad. This all depends on the product or service and the ease to reach the right buyers. Be careful with the contracts that you close with agents. In many countries their status is well protected and you can’t take their recurring income easily away from them.
I always put a lot of emphasis on drafting a good distributor pitch. Even if you already have great sales materials for your end-users, this often does not make clear what the benefits are for a potential agent, distributor or retailer to work with you.
When you approach potential sales channels with your standard documentation, chances are high that they are holding of. If you make it crystal clear what are the benefits for them, like in the example presentation, you will get a much higher response rate.
Please note that it helps to put concrete data in your presentation. You may think it is sensitive, but just know the secret is in how you achieve the rotation or the low returns level, not in the data itself. So share it here, in order to get the right attention.
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