The company that has assigned the agent to work with its products, i.e. the agent’s contracting party, is usually called the principal. Since the agent only collects and receives orders from the customers, it is not the agent who sells the goods to the customers. Instead it is the principal and the customers who are the contracting parties of the purchase agreements regarding the products. The principal also delivers the products to the customers and invoices to the customers.
In return for its work, the agent receives a commission on the sales that the orders generate.
An agent must act independently in relation to the principal. This means that the agent must run its own business and bear the risk and costs for this. The agent always pays its own salary and carry the corresponding social security contributions. An agent also determines its own working hours and general working conditions.
In order to be classified as an agent, the cooperation with the principal must also have some duration. This means that the agent must be hired to do more than just a single sales assignment.
Helena Waker, CEO Trade Partners Sweden:
“Working as an agent is a fantastic and fun profession with room for lot of creativity, travel and the opportunity to develop your own business. I have been active as an agent for many years and with Trade Partners Sweden behind me I felt confident that I always had the best agreements and understood the terms which helped me in negotiations and to get the best terms for my company.”