What do sales agents or producer's representatives do?

A sales agent and producer's representative are almost interchangeable. They differ only in the extent of what they do for the films they are representing and for the sake of this lesson, we'll call them sales reps.

A sales rep is tasked with using their connections with distributors and their knowledge of the industry's negotiating tactics to best sell the film. They must balance the strategy of selling to a distributor that can earn the film the most money in the long term, as well as get the filmmaker the best deal up-front.

A sales rep will pitch the film to distributors for acquisition, positioning it with certain limitations such as territories or rights, and negotiate on behalf of the film producers.

What do they charge?

A sales rep will cost you a commission that ranges from 10% to 15% of whatever the sales rep sells. This commission is due on all revenue that the producer's receive from the film. That means that if the film goes on to make $100,000, you're going to pay your sales representative $10,000 or more.

Some sales representatives, particularly international sales agents, may also charge expenses against your account that range from $10,000-$25,000 that they will recoup before they take their commission.

These costs are used to cover their travel to film markets, artwork and trailer creation, and other marketing efforts. I advise our clients to limit the recoupable expenses by setting an expense cap with their distributors and sales agents.

For reference, when we sell films, we don't charge expenses back to our clients. We work harder to earn more to cover our expenses, and I believe good sales representatives will do the same.

You Can Sell Without A Sales Agent

This can seem steep at first but keep in mind that a good sales rep will earn you more money than if you were to sell on your own because they know bigger players than you'll have access to and know how to negotiate for deal points that net you more revenue.

With that in mind, you can sell your film without a sales representative. If you have the business acumen to hustle and get your film into the inboxes of acquisition directors and vice presidents, you can make the sale on your own and save that commission.

Through this course we hope to teach you what deal points are worth negotiating for, what are worth letting go of, and how you can save yourself tens-of-thousands of dollars.