1) How long have your been an independent rep? Please list the companies that you currently represent:
I spent the first 12 years of my career as an in-house sales rep. Four months ago, I left Anonymous Content after 10 years to start my own independent sales management company. Currently, I represent Stink US and Ring the Alarm music.
2) Please define your responsibilities as a rep and how they have evolved over the years.
My biggest responsibility as a rep is to my directors and talent clients. Because I was trained in-house, I tend to invest a great deal in the talent that I am representing. I think that’s become even more important in the last five years or so with increased competition and various ways in which brands advertise. Connecting talent with content has become a much more focused and strategic process.
3) How has your marketplace expanded with the advent of longer form branded content and varied platforms? While agency creatives and producers remain prime contacts, have you extended your reach to clients, smaller boutique specialty ad/marketing/digital shops, entertainment cos., etc.?
A big goal for me this year and beyond is to increase my network into those various avenues of content. I think advertising agencies are still the powerhouses, but it is interesting what brands and content studios are doing. I don’t see why talent can’t have access to it all.
5) What are the advantages of being an independent rep? The drawbacks?
Four months in, I’m already enjoying the opportunity to work with different companies and people. I think it gives you a broader and more educated understanding of what is going on in the market. I miss being a part of a company’s culture, but my goal is to keep that alive by maintaining a smaller roster of clients.
