Introduction
Firstly
many thanks for your interest Icon, we are a network of professional freelance furniture and home furnishing agents from all over the world, who work together with a common goal to make money by combining our knowledge and skills to offer resources, products and services to our own clients.
We act as International purchasing agents and International manufacturing sales agents, driven by a desire to source and sell globally high quality products.
My name is Stuart Clarke and I am the founder and CEO of Icon. I would like to tell you a little about the history of Icon and how the Icon agency network works, so you understand the concept and decide if Icon is right for you.
I am British and have over 20 years experience within the furniture and furnishings industry, covering design, manufacturing, sourcing and sales.
I have been a freelance designer, international sales
and sourcing agent and also owned a furniture
manufacturing company.
It became apparent to me, that even though I had many contacts around the world I could not always service all my clients needs. I had
inquiries from buyers looking for products I could not source; and manufacturers offering me products to sell that I had no potential customers for.
I could see the concept of an international group of professional furniture and furnishing agents working together to develop international trade business would be of benefit to many buyers and sellers. After
2 years of research and a lot of hard work Icon was formed.
So what's
the advantages for us agents being part of Icon?
There are
lots of advantages, the typical sales / buying agent not
matter which country you are from are all very similar. This
is a typical agent:
An individual
person, working alone on a self employed basis, he
specialises in a product type (example home furniture)
sells or sources within a geographical area that allows him
to go home each night to the wife and kids. He is an expert
in knowing companies within his geographical location that
deal in his products. If a sales agent he usually will
represent 5-6 factories or wholesalers and have around 50
customers who buy from him, if a buying agent then usually
he will represent 5-6 buyers and have around 50 factories
they deal with. Both get paid commission only.
So what's
the problem with this?
The agent
doesn't have any contacts outside his own geographical area
that he knows well enough to sell or buy for, this is why
companies have to employ maybe 10 agents in each country to
represent them, and he has a limited number of products from
suppliers to sell, or a limited number of customers to
source products for. Being an individual he is busy and
usually has no free time to develop his business.
How can
Icon solve them problem?
Icon joins
all these individuals together into one big network. Many
experts like you with a specialist product knowledge and
contacts of there local area. So imagine now linking agents
from all over the world together, working and sharing
knowledge of suppliers and buyers, all with the backing of a
group of administrators, researchers, telesales team,
marketing team all working to support the agent, suddenly
the agent has gone from being a lone individual with little
support to being part of a very powerful international sales
and sourcing organisation.
This is
Icon!
Here is a
simple example about 1 product a sofa in reality this will
be many different types of products.
Joe is a
sales agent in United Kingdom he sells sofas
Fred is a
sales agent in USA he sell sofas
Lin is a
sales agent in Australia she sells sofas
Imran is a
sales agent in Dubai he sell sofas
Wang is a
buying agent in China he sources sofas.
Gunajar is a
buying agent in Indonesia he sources sofas
Mary is a
buying agent in Vietnam she sources sofas
Pedro is a
buying agent in Brazil he sources sofas
All agents
are working alone and all experts in knowing companies in
their local area that deal in sofas. Each sales agent
represents 5 factories and has 50 buyers in his area. Each
sourcing agent represents 5 buyers and has 50 factories in
his area.
Sales
agent example
Joe goes to
meet client A a wholesaler of sofas in United Kingdom.
Client A wants to buy a pink sofa with yellow spots. Joe
only represents 5 factories and none make a sofa like this.
Joe has no idea where to find the sofa to sell to the client
and so will never get this order.
However being
part of the Icon network Joe sends the buying inquiry to
Icon. Icon has a database of over 90,000 furniture companies
worldwide so we search through our database looking for sofa
manufacturers to contact with Joes inquiry. We send the
inquiry to all the other agents to look for the sofa in
their location. Suddenly Joes inquiry is being looked at by
sofa sourcing experts all over the world.
Wang in China
contacts us saying he has a factory that can make the sofa,
Wang gets a price and a picture and sends it to Icon. Icon
then send Joe the price and picture. Guess what? Joe gets
the order. Joe and Wang now get a percentage of the
commission paid to Icon.
In the mean
time Wang, Gunajar, Mary and Pedro have been talking about
Icon to all the local factories how Icon can sell their
products worldwide. All factories agree to use Icon as their
sales agents. The agents send pictures of all the factories
products to Icon.
We send out
the products to our sales agents Joe, Fred, Lin and Imran
and add them to our website.
Suddenly
instead of representing 5 factories Joe has got 200
factories products he can sell to his clients, meaning he
will get more orders as he can now offer more products.
Also Joe can
now say to his local clients Icon can find any product you
want, so from just being a sales agent he is now also
offering a buying service.
Buying
agent example
Mary goes to
meet client B a manufacturer of sofas in Vietnam. Client B
wants to sell his products overseas. Mary only represents 5
buyers and none want to buy a sofa like client B makes. Mary
has no idea where to find buyers for the client and so will
never get any order.
However being
part of the Icon network Mary sends the sales inquiry to
Icon. Icon has a database of over 90,000 furniture companies
worldwide so we search through our database looking for sofa
buyers to contact with Marys inquiry. We send the inquiry to
all the other agents who sell sofas.
Suddenly Marys inquiry is being looked at by sofa sales
experts all over the world.
Fred in the
USA contacts us saying he has a buyer interested in sofas,
Mary gets a price and a picture and sends it to Icon. Icon
then send Fred the price and picture. Guess what? Fred gets
the order. Mary and Fred now get a percentage of the
commission paid to Icon.
In the mean
time Fred, Joe, Lin and Imran have been talking about Icon
to all the local companies how Icon can source products
worldwide. All companies agree to use Icon as their buying
agents. The agents send all the inquiries from the buyers to
Icon.
We send out
the buying inquiries to our sourcing agents Wang, Gunajar,
Mary and Pedro.
Suddenly
instead of representing 5 buyers Mary has got inquiries from
200 buyers she can source for, meaning she will get more
orders.
Also Mary can
now say to her local factories Icon can sell your products
worldwide, so from just being a buying agent she is now also
offering a sales service.
Understand
the concept?
We are now looking to expand Icon and are looking for freelance professional sales agents, who have experience in our industry to join the network
which will help develop the network and also their own business.
Icons success is built upon the drive and dedication of individuals who are committed to being successful in their own right and not afraid of a little hard work along the way.
Job description
(top)
 As an agent in the Icon network you will be promoting the groups worldwide services and products to potential clients in your local area. Take a look at the
Product
Categories on our home page
now imagine all the manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, garden centres, interior design companies, hotel chains etc. in your area that buy or sell these products. Icon can offer either sales and marketing services or sourcing and buying services to every one... all are potential clients.
Depending on which country you live in and if any agents are already in your country, will determine how large the geographical area you will be covering, but this will be agreed beforehand.
Hopefully you can now start to see the tremendous potential of being part of the Icon network.
We have divided our market into the following main market sectors: Home furniture,
Hospitality furniture, Contract furniture, Garden furniture, Office furniture, Lighting,
Interior accessories, Bathroom and Kitchens, Components Raw
materials and machinery.
You can select to specialise and market our services and or products to companies in your local area in one market sector, or if you want to.. go for it!, and market our services to companies in numerous different sectors ...the choice is yours.
You can work as a freelance Icon agent either on a full time or part time basis.
Who can apply? (top)
 Formal qualifications are not important to us, what is important, is you are well connected with companies in your local area and have a drive to succeed and make money.
You will have a minimum of 5 years B2B sales or buying experience with an excellent sales track record of opening new accounts, exceptional negotiation skills and be well organised. You need to be able to work under pressure in a fast environment, and be self motivated.
Preference will be given to applicants already working as sales or buying agents either freelance or employed within a sales company, trading company or international buying office. You will be fully experienced in any of the following product markets sectors; home furniture, contract and hospitality furniture, garden furniture, office furniture, furniture parts and consumables, lighting, home accessories, handicrafts and gifts, soft furnishings or bathroom products.
You should ideally have an existing client portfolio to offer our services and products too. Existing clients are likely to be any of the following: manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors, retailers, interior designers, architects, garden centres, hotels and restaurants or property developers.
Have an excellent command of both written and spoken English.
Applications are welcome from both individuals or companies worldwide
Your agency agreement
(top)
As we are all professional agents. You will sign an agreement with Icon which will grant you licence to use our name and market our services within your agency territory for the duration of the agreement. It outlines the geographical area, commissions you will receive, when they are paid to you, what sales targets have been set etc.. so everything is documented and clear.
We do not put any restrictions on you, like some companies do. This gives you the freedom to simply add our agency to your existing business or job.
We agree with you realistic sales targets on what we expect you to achieve in terms of sales turnover for your agency territory. The more product market sectors you have, the larger the sales target will be.
Client agency agreements (top)
All clients that wish to engage Icon as their sales and purchasing agents, need to complete
our online agreement with us which is a legal document stating that Icon are acting as their buying or sales agents, and that they agree to pay our fees on any companies we introduce to them. The contract details all the terms and conditions of the trading agreement, so both parties are fully aware of their obligations to each other. If
you have introduced a client then the client is informed
you are their account manager and their local point of
contact.
So hopefully now you have a better understanding on how the Icon agency network works.
So do you have what it takes to be an Icon sales and sourcing agent?
If this idea has excited you, then your half way there. We can assist, advise and help you develop your Icon agency, but its your drive and determination to succeed that will make you successful.
If you would like to apply to join the Icon network then please click on the button below and complete our agents application form. If your application is of interest we will contact you with information on commission structures etc and follow up with a telephone call to discuss your application.
Look forward to receiving your application
and thanks for your time reading this.. We are all
stronger together.
Stuart Clarke -
Managing Director and Founder
Apply Now
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