Reps do not contribute to overhead. They pay for their own office, computer, car and health insurance. Reps have contacts in the field and can often get product placement because they know the buyers and have previously worked with them. They know who might buy your products and, hopefully, have relationships with these buyers. Reps get you noticed in the marketplace, and you get to leverage off their existing relationships.
Reps are professional sales people who, at least in theory, are well-trained.
The manufacturer can get a sales force into the field more quickly and economically with sales reps than if hiring and training its own sales organization. This is especially important for a new company wanting to get off the ground. Balthasar uses 13 independent sales organizations that collectively cover enough markets to represent 90 percent of the buying power of the United States. It took slightly more than a year to attain this level of market penetration, which would have been impossible with a direct sales force. Sales reps have their own reputations.