Gift Rep Sandy

House accounts are store buyers the vendor has been working with directly within the territory you are servicing.  How you can deal with a producers’ house accounts depends on what your vendor and you decided together is in the best interest of your mutual customers.  Here are some of the options to consider:

• Servicing all of the vendor’s house accounts.  Should you and your vendor decide to use this approach, it is very helpful for the vendor to send a letter of announcement to their customers.
• Servicing only certain specified vendor’s customers.  A list of these customer should be provided by the vendor.
• Servicing none of the vendor’s house accounts.  In this scenario, having a list of these accounts listed in the agreement lets you know which stores these include.
• Servicing the house accounts at a reduced commission level.  This arrangement works as a compromise to the either/or options listed above.

I have worked with vendors using all four of the options listed.  Having a detailed list of which accounts are house accounts and how they need to be handled is essential to the agreement as it will provide the information you need when approaching your potential buyers.