Crafty Table: Sell It Yourself vs. Bring on a Sales Agent
- Gato Scatena
- Sep 11
- 2 min read
Updated: Sep 12
It’s one of the first big questions after you’ve finished your film: should I try to sell this myself, or bring on a sales agent? The answer depends on three things—how competitive your film is, what leverage you have, and how much experience you have negotiating distribution deals.
1. When Self-Selling Can Work
If your film is competitive—say it has recognizable talent, a hot genre, or a strong festival run—then selling your film domestically on your own isn’t a bad move. You’re not locked into an agent’s commission, and you can negotiate directly with distributors who already want what you’re offering. But here’s the catch: when you carve out domestic, you’re also carving out potential commission from a sales agent’s margin, leaving them only whatever territories still remain. And for the record, the effort that goes into selling international takes about the same amount of time and resources as selling globally, so taking N.A. off the table is taking juice out of the squeeze for an agency.For the more competitive projects, that’s fine. Agents know when they’re competing for something they’ll only handle internationally.
