DIVE LOCAL
Dive Industry Sales Agents
 by Gene Muchanski, Editor
The Dive Industry Professional

Sales Agents in the diving industry are an indispensable component of the global diving business network.  From a trade level perspective, they are the links between the buyers and sellers of wholesale programs, products, and services, in our industry.  It’s from this general description that we will define what Sales Agents in our industry currently do and what type of companies they work for.

Although Sales Agents have been a critical part of our industry from the very beginning, their job description, function, and areas of responsibility have evolved, expanded, and changed over time.  There has never been a standard definition or job description for Dive Industry Professionals who perform the duties of Sales Agents.  Hopefully we can clarify some of the misconceptions about sales agents and their duties and responsibilities.

In the Global Diving Community, we have businesses that produce, distribute, sell, and service diving and diving related programs, products, and services.  These businesses make up the Global Diving Business Network.  They are part of the Supply Chain, which means they supply the diving community with the diving and diving related products we need to dive.  The major categories of goods that are produced for divers are diving equipment, dive training, dive travel, and lifestyle products. The are a number of industries in each category that produce these products and services.  The best way to understand the duties and responsibilities of Sales Agents in our industry is to look at each category and explain their unique channel of distribution and how Sales Agents fit in.

Diving Equipment Sales Agents: Diving equipment sales on a wholesale level are conducted by employees, contract salespeople, and sales companies.  In the case of original equipment manufacturers or specialty manufacturers, conducting wholesale trade with a Merchant Wholesaler, sales are usually handled by in-house employees.  In the diving industry, it has been the custom to include manufacturers and the wholesale trade as members of one stakeholder group that we refer to as Manufacturers-Distributors.  It makes more sense for me to refer to them as equipment vendors, or suppliers to simply matters.

If an equipment vendor is small or has a limited number of accounts, wholesale transactions are usually conducted by the owners themselves or a small sales department.  Their sales department might consist of an inside-sales person, outside sales agents, or a combination of the two. Rarely does a small equipment vendor go through the expense of hiring and managing a sales team of their own.  While these small vendors may have a few employees that conduct sales for them, we don’t classify them as Sales Representatives, Sales Agents, or even Sales Advisors.  We refer to these Dive Industry Professionals as employees of the manufacturer-distributor.

The larger equipment vendors are more likely to have a complete sales team, headed by a Sales Manager, and supervised by a Sales Director or a Vice President of Sales.  Equipment vendors in the past have used a combination of employee salespeople and private contractors for their sales team.  Companies that use private contractors usually employ a Sales Manager or Sales Director to manage their sales department.  Private contractors are classified as Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers, according to NAICS Code Sector 42, Subsector 425. That means that Sales Agents are members of their own stakeholder group, and the diving industry should treat them as such.  The Dive Industry Association recognizes Sales Representatives, also called Sales Agents or Sales Advisors, as members of their own Industry Stakeholder Group.  The full NAICS Code for Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers is 425120.

Repping Companies: An alternative to building your own sales department using hired sales managers and independent contractor sales agents is to hire a Sales Rep Company.  Sales Rep companies have been in the industry for many years but recently have grown in number and sophistication.  Companies like Riptide Sales Group typically represent multiple diving and diving related suppliers and manage their own sales team.  Independent Sales Rep Companies provide in-house sales and service, territory sales management, trade and consumer show exhibiting, and order writing during dive store visits, at consumer dive shows, and watersports trade shows.

Successful Sales Repping Companies have the potential to grow into full-service sales and marketing management firms by adding a number of marketing services that include press releases, marketing & advertising campaigns, as well as catalog, dealer price list, and website production.  Full-service Sales & Marketing Firms can become the predominant link between suppliers and wholesale buyers in the future global diving industry.

Different Titles for Sales Reps: In the diving industry, diving equipment salespeople are referred to as Sales Representatives, Sales Reps, Sales Managers, Sales Agents, and Sales Advisors.   Some companies refer to them as District Managers or Territory Managers to show they manage a given territory in addition to conducting sales.  Sometimes their title and responsibilities are defined by the territory they represent, like Northeast (NE), Southwest (SW), etc.  It all depends upon the company.  It is advisable to consult with your company Legal Advisor when dealing with titles and job descriptions for your employees and private contractors.

Duties and Responsibilities: Sales Reps are responsible for opening up new accounts.  One of their goals should be to increase market penetration.  Sales Reps are responsible for maintaining their dealer base by periodically visiting their dealers, giving sales presentations, writing orders, and following up on their orders.  Their goal should be to increase market share for their company.   Sales Reps are responsible for training their dealer base pertaining to equipment function, equipment features & benefits, and equipment maintenance.  Sales Reps are the direct link between the manufacturer and the dealer. It is their job to maintain a strong business relationship with their Dealers and be their go-to person for all aspects of vendor-dealer relations.

Sales Representatives are usually called upon to exhibit at consumer dive shows to interact with their dealer base and many times to represent the company they work for.  Personally, I would prefer that company employees be hired to represent the company to the buying public at consumer dive shows while the Sales Representatives make it their priority to meet and interact with current dealers and any prospective dealers interested in carrying their line.  I honestly believe there should be a trade component at every consumer dive show, and I’ve shared that opinion with many shows & events producers.

Industry-Wide Sales Rep Survey: Dive Industry Association conducted an industry-wide survey for Sales Reps back in 2002.  Our research findings were used for many years to recommend policy and standard operating procedures for Reps and their companies.  We learned some very interesting things about this stakeholder group.  The average Sales Rep at that time, worked for 5 companies, managed 163 accounts, in a 7-state territory, and spent 183 days away from home calling on accounts.  Because of their company and product knowledge and their excellent dealer relationships, Sales Reps wrote over 1.2 million dollars in sales and enjoyed an average gross income that rivaled the salary of senior executive managers.  The downside was that they spent, on average, over $33,000 a year on business travel.

Sales Repping Has Changed: An interesting fact is that Sales Reps back in 2002 ranged in age from 41-60 years old with the average age being 52.  So, we knew 23 years ago that the average Sales Rep would be at retirement age today, which has actually happened to some degree.  Without a doubt, repping in the diving industry has changed in the last 23 years, especially since the covid pandemic.  There have been vast changes in diving equipment manufacturing and how they interact with their dealer base.  Sales and marketing campaigns have changed completely, and shows & events are no longer the leading venues for order writing.  Digital marketing has made extravagant changes to the way we promote and distribute our products, and face to face marketing has evolved into a hybrid form of, but still dominant, communicative sales tool.

Paradigm Shifts for Diving Industry Sales Agents:  In the past ten years or so, many of the industry’s senior Sales Reps have retired or sought employment in other industries and are no longer working in the industry.  There have been considerable mergers and acquisitions in the manufacturing sectors, which understandably has caused a significant realignment of the Sales Rep workforce.  A number of training agencies have allowed their Training Representatives to also work for diving equipment companies, as Sales Representatives. Some companies are using hybrid forms of sales and marketing concepts such as opinion leaders, brand ambassadors, social media influencers, and affiliate partners.  Considering the fact that the market for diving and diving related products has changed drastically, it is time to reestablish our channels of distribution for the programs, products, and services that flow from producers to consumers.  We need to reevaluate our producers, distributors, and consumers in the global diving community.

The 2026 Industry-Wide Sales Rep Survey: It is time to conduct the Sales Rep survey again.  We are asking all current Sales Reps to complete the survey.  We will start by defining how the industry moves products from sellers to buyers.  Are we still using Sales Reps?  Are they employees of the suppliers or private contractors?  Are suppliers contracting with Sales Rep Companies that provide marketing and sales services?  Is being an Independent Sales Agent the preferred sales career option in the 21^st Century?  Let’s conduct the research and analyze the data.  Then we (the industry) will be able to see how much momentum we have either gained or lost since the pandemic and with the development of the new market for diving and diving related products.

We have designed our survey in three parts.  Part one is linked here.  2026 SURVEY.  The survey is the same as in 2002.  The objective is to first define and analyze our current industry sales force.

Follow-up survey #2 will focus on the current tools and technologies that the industry sales force is using to bring suppliers and wholesale dealers together.  Follow-up survey #3 will be to look at the marketing tools and technologies that the industry uses to communicate sales messages to the final consumer.  We are counting on the Manufacturing-Distributor Stakeholder group to support this survey, and we are asking the Sales Agent Stakeholder Group to get behind our survey efforts 100%.  Thank you for helping to Build a Better Industry.

For more information about the Global Diving Business Network, contact Gene Muchanski, Executive Director of the Dive Industry Association, 2294 Botanica Circle, West Melbourne, FL 32904.  Phone: 321-914-3778.  Email: gene@diveindustry.net  Web: www.diveindustry.net

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