subject: Are You Ready To Expand Your Sales Force With A Master Agent? [print this page] The master agent agreement is a written document that is made and entered into by a master agent and the company, and such agreement shall supersede and take precedence over all other written terms and conditions, which may be handwritten or printed, typed or stamped on any quotation forms, invoices, acknowledgment forms or purchase orders as entered into by either party with regard to the transactions as laid out in the agreement. This agreement shall also lay down and define the rights and responsibilities of the agent with respect to his acting on behalf of the company.
Mostly, the company will already have established the master agent program in order to take advantage of opportunities that are of mutual benefit to the company and the master agent, with regard to its products and which may be highly synergistic and will enable the company to better penetrate the market and in the process, compensate the agent for his endeavors on behalf of the company. The company may also categorize its agents in order to meet different working relationships and the main intention of the agreement is to consider the agent as being an independent contractor and not a partner or forming a joint venture.
The agreement shall define all the terms that are to be used and whose meaning is clarified through these definitions. Some common terms used in the agreement are client, commission, equipment, person, products, sale, marketing, principal, term, territory and trademark. Each of these terms are clearly defined so that there is no place for ambiguity and thus not open to debate or uncertainty.
The master agent is not an employee, franchisee, partner, dealer, distributor or reseller of the company and as a consequence must pay for his own expenses for performing the marketing functions and these may include paying taxes applicable to or arising from the performance of marketing on behalf of the company. It is the duty of the company to provide price lists as well as terms of sale of its products but the company has the sole right to change such prices and terms of sale as well as subscription for any of its products.
In case of an increase in the price of its products, the company shall give adequate notice to the master agent about such change. It is also the duty of the company to provide to the master agent all promotional literature, price lists, order forms, data, product information and all other items that are necessary for the master agent to perform his marketing functions. On the other hand, the master agent shall diligently use such material only for the performance of marketing on behalf of the company, as specified in the agreement.
The agreement shall also authorize the master agent to receive initial payments or credit/debit information on behalf of the company. All equipment provided by the company shall remain the property of the company unless otherwise specified in the agreement.
The master agent agreement is a thorough and important document that needs very careful wording and should be prepared and used only after exercising a great deal of diligence. In order to avoid unnecessary problems with the agreement, it is a wise course of action to buy this document from a vendor who sells it for low cost and which has already been thoroughly researched and prepared, keeping the best interests of the customer in mind and which will be ready to use off the shelf. Besides these advantages, the vendor will generally alter the agreement to suit individual cases and there is really no need to engage a lawyer or get costly expert advice as all these aspects have been duly taken care of.
