Find sales agents or sales representatives in Thailand

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.

Connect directly with a trusted export advisor in Thailand

Our local consultant will help you find the agents or representatives or for limited target groups we can be your agent!

    Get in touch with:

     

    Your first name

    Last name

    Your company email

    Mobile number

    What is your company website?

    Where is your company based?

    What can we do for you?

    This site is protected by reCAPTCHA, our privacy policy, the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

    Set up your sales force in Thailand

    Thailand has a population of about 70 million people. It’s a popular tourist destination, famous for its beaches, temples, and cuisine.

    The Thai economy, with a GDP per capita of approximately $6,000 USD in 2023, is diverse, encompassing agriculture, manufacturing, and tourism. Agriculture is significant, with rice, rubber, and seafood being major exports. Manufacturing, especially in automotive and electronics, is also a key economic driver. Tourism is a major contributor to the economy, attracting millions of visitors each year.

    Thailand’s main imports include electronic components, machinery, and crude oil, vital for its manufacturing sector and energy needs.

    Major cities include Bangkok, the vibrant capital; Chiang Mai, known for its historical significance and temples; and Pattaya, a famous beach resort town.

    Travel to Thailand for a better impression

    The best preparation for doing business in any country is visiting it. This way you can experience the culture, check the shops and build your network.

    Where it comes to hotels, research shows that if you check these platforms, in 80% of the cases you have the lowest room rates.

    Alternatives for working with agents in Thailand: local offices or distance selling

    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.

    Agents

    • Agents represent you in the country and have a limited negotiation room.
    • They often sell not only for you, but also for other parties.
    • A good agent already has a network in your target market and can start selling directly.

    Local offices

    • Local offices are a costly option, but give you full control on your sales.
    • You have to send someone over and hire local staff and office facilities.
    • This gives the opportunity to do local marketing and business development from within the country.

    Distance selling

    • If you product can easily be delivered and serviced from abroad (like software) this may be a good option.
    • Video conferencing is more accepted now and can limit travel.
    • Lead generation may be done with SEO, advertising and email marketing.

    How to convince an agent to work for you?

    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.

    Previous slide
    Next slide

    Frequently asked questions

    First check whether your product normally is sold through an agent in Thailand, or that other distribution structures are more common. Then determine the characteristics of your ideal agent, and find a number of these, or outsource this search. When you approach the first few, you will learn what they find important and who your competitors are, and you can get a feeling of the commissions they want.
    As in any country, convincing a a company with a good salesforce to put your offering in their assortment is difficult. Also in Thailand potential agents look at the rotation of the product, how easy and often they can sell it, and multiply this with the margin they can make on it. The result should be higher than they earn now from any competing product. Only if you have proper sales data, for example from other countries, they will engage in a discussion with you.
    Sales representatives will always look at the time they have to put in the sales of your product versus the commision or retainer they get. If you are already active outside Thailand, and you have data from other sales reps you work with, this will make it easier to convince them.

    Find sales agents in other countries