Deconstructing Distribution
Based on their analysis, if a benchmark 7 percent of sales expense is applied to an average $70,000 cost of salary, benefits and expenses, a publisher would need a minimum of $1 million in net sales per sales rep. With one rep for national accounts, anywhere from an additional one to 10 reps would be needed to cover the country, depending on how wide a reach is desired.
Eugene G. Schwartz is editor at large for ForeWord Reviews, an industry observer and an occasional columnist for Book Business magazine. In an earlier career, he was in the printing business and held production management positions at Random House, Prentice-Hall/Goodyear and CRM Books/Psychology Today. A former PMA (IBPA) board member, he has headed his own publishing consultancy, Consortium House. He is also Co-Founder of Worthy Shorts Inc., a development stage online private press and publication service for professionals as well as an online back office publication service for publishers and associations. He is on the Publishing Business Conference and Expo Advisory Board.