This may seem like the million dollar question but, honestly, it is not. Would you want to work for you? That may seem like a silly question, but sales representatives are merely 1099 employees - cheap help!
First, you have to have a good product. Assuming you do, you need to make everything clear before you start working together.
1. Pay regularly and on time. Reps need to know when you will pay them and the payment needs to never be missed nor delinquent. Never. If you are late, more than likely they have other lines that are not. It does not matter how much they like you or you product line, business is business.
2. Arm them with marketing tools. Amazingly, most companies do not equip their sales representatives with the right pieces they need to show the line. If you have independent sales reps or showroom reps they need:
a. Product samples
b. Product catalog with pricing
c. Leave behinds (could be catalog)
3. Social Media tools. What social media are you involved with? Is there a way to engage reps if they would like to be part of it. This could easily help to grow your base and increase the number of people knowing about your organization.
4. Website. Serious companies have professional organized websites. At the very minimum, your reps name and contact information should be easily found on the site. A pet peeve of mine is that many companies allow ordering through the website, thus bypassing the sales rep. Representatives should be given fixed areas so when an order comes through such a source they will be credited. Otherwise, why would they want to promote your company?
5. Regular Promotions. There are generally two types of promotions. One is where an incentive is given to a Sales Representative for what they accomplish and the other is an incentive for the customer. Companies will benefit from planning this a year out. Know in advance the months you will do something for the reps and the months (or seasons) you will offer something for customers. Make sure that your representative have the information before you EVER start promoting it on your website, email blasts, etc. The best way to undermine a rep is to send out a promotion before they have it. The absolute minimum lead time would be a week.
So, look those items over. How does your company stack up? Would you want to work for your company the way it is now? If so, send me an email, I'd love to check you out. If not, get to work. These are not hard fixes but they do take being consistent.