Timing Matters
Adding a commission sales channel too early can waste your time. Adding it too late means you've missed months or years of potential revenue. The key is recognising the signals that your business is ready.
Signal One: Your Product Is Validated
You need at least a handful of paying customers before you bring on agents. Not because agents can't sell unproven products, but because you need the confidence that comes from knowing the product works. You need case studies, testimonials, and real pricing that's been tested in the market.
If you're still iterating on your core offering, focus on direct sales first. Use those early conversations to refine your product and messaging. Then hand a proven package to your agents.
Signal Two: You Can't Cover the Market Alone
This is the most common trigger. You're getting traction in your home market but you know there are customers in other cities, states, or industries that you simply can't reach with your current team. Agents extend your reach without extending your payroll.
For Australian businesses, this often looks like strong sales in one capital city but no presence in the others. Or solid traction in one industry vertical but no time to pursue adjacent markets.
Signal Three: Your Margins Support Commissions
Do the maths before you launch an agent channel. If your gross margins are below 30%, you may struggle to offer commissions that attract quality agents while remaining profitable. The sweet spot for most B2B products is gross margins above 40%, which lets you offer 10% to 20% commissions comfortably.
Signal Four: You Have Sales Materials Ready
Agents won't create your sales materials for you. Before you recruit, make sure you have a clear product brief, pricing documentation, a target customer profile, and ideally some case studies or social proof. Zepys lets you package all of this into a single product listing that agents can review before they apply.
How to Start
Begin with two or three agents in your strongest market. Learn what works. Refine your brief and commission structure based on real feedback. Then expand to new markets and more agents.
The businesses that succeed with agent channels are the ones that treat it as a real channel deserving of investment and attention, not as an afterthought or a way to avoid doing sales work themselves.