The door-to-door / commission-only jobs thread (super dooper mega merge)

lala88

El Spearo wrote: »

Well thats easy to get cracking with...get onto wholesale in china and boom...easy...

i wish you the best, and beg you to act with caution when dealing with these crowds.

Have done work with sales companies before and wouldn't again. There is a company called Sales Sense whom i think should be highlighted more. They offer a wage etc but they way they do business is a lot worse as they have crazy targets. 20 sales a week and if you dont make it you dont get paid for the sales. At least the commission only ones will pay you for all the sales no matter how many sales one makes

irishjig69b

I thought sales sense went under last year? 20 a week, **** u would wanna be damn good

lala88

irishjig69b wrote: »

I thought sales sense went under last year? 20 a week, **** u would wanna be damn good

No there still around. always recruiting i wonder why that is? Have a very bad name from what iv heard. There is also a company in Thurles that work along the same lines cant think of there name off hand.

I dont understand how they can get away with it. I mean its in tehre best interest you dont make the targets as they will get more. There still being paid for the sales.

Deirdre5

lizzyxox08 wrote: »

I worked for an office under the PERDM umbrella for ten months. their main office was in Capel Street in Dublin, but i was in a different office, but did visit the Dublin office from time to time for 'Road Trips' where they put us up in a hostel, I think ours was like a tenner a night each! They guy driving us down there was told the expenses would be covered for petrol money, but weeks later he still hadn't received a single penny.

Anyways Our day started a half nine or, ten latest, if you weren't in by ten you were marked down as late (even tho in the interview you were told that you were self-employed and could choose your own hours) and then you were ignored for the day, and were also given the most 'negative person' in the office to be your team mate for the cold calling hours which are from half twelve to have eight Monday to Friday. (the hours from ten until half twelve are spent in the office listening to blaring music while being pumped up for your day on the selling field. there was a lot of chanting and brainwashing tactics that were used. i wont go into it too much but what i will say sickened me is that they look down on ordinary peoples jobs like in a shop or factory or talk about the fact that they didn't get this great 'opportunity that you were sooo lucky to have been given' I found that awfully strange cos in my eyes, nowadays if i found a job in a factory or a shop which paid the bills id be extremely lucky. Saturdays were 'optional' but then we were told if you didn't come in, it proved that you weren't serious about the business and the managers wouldn't want to waste their time working with you.

Also they use peoples family members to try and motivate you. For example they will ask things like, what does your mother work as, and what does your sister work as....?? And they you will tell them, and they will be like, well how are you going to feel when you are earning more than the two of them put together in just a few months of hard work?? Its really horrible i think the prey on vulnerable people. Also you start as a distributor, then will move on to a trainee manager when you hit a certain criteria, example seven sales for three days running, and when you prove you have a trainee manager mentality.

When you become a TM you are then brought into trainers meetings where you, the other trainee manages and the managers will discuss all the distributors in the office, what they doing bad, what they are doing good. Are they being negative about the business, what can we do to change that. Basically the mangers are brainwashing us trainee managers, to brainwash the new guys (distributors) who in time will then brain wash the next new guys and so on. they justified it by making it seem like we had a responsibility now, and that the manager had chosen us to train all the new guys and to 'show them how to make money' even tho us trainee mangers barely had the petrol money for that days work between us.

ALL the money you make in that business goes back into that business. Petrol money, lunch money, paying for your observations petrol money, buying them lunch. Giving people a loan of money coz they didnt make any sales so they can't afford their part of the petrol money, going out for crew drinks to learn the secrets of how to get promoted to the next stage.

Its just awful how they are STILL getting away with it. id warn any1 that is think of going to the interviews to stay away from them.

Yes I did one interview and an observation day selling Airtricty with Sabre Marketing in Galway. While waiting in their office, I heard them doing their 'atmosphere' thing before 'going out on the field'. When they came out they were so pumped, I thought they were leaving to go home!
These businesses need to be stopped. Surely their employees are so brain-washed by working 10-10 Monday to Saturday for **** money that they think it's normal.
Sorry, I know this quoted text is old, it's just strikingly similar to a company I had an interview for who failed to inform me properly of the job.

irishjig69b

So many of these so called companies out there at the moment, I don't think 1 of them pays a basic, the only 1 I know of is cpm but they like the rest of them are always recruiting on all the websites, I think billsave are the worst of the lot, the jobs they advertise for lots like good opportunities but all are door to door, should be a law against it, Mickey Mouse companies like these should be made say exactly what the job is, although they advertise through jobs.ie wich in its self is a brutal site for these companies. Atleast Fás have some savvy.

Necro

My major problem with these companies - ethics aside - is they way they advertise their positions on recruitment websites. The fact that they are commission only is simply brushed over with terms such as 'performance-based' and '€300-€500 earnings per week average'. It's nonsense. The whole self-employed aspect really bothers me too. Someone who may not be completely savvy could earn a few weeks of wages before packing it in - and be left with absolutely nothing. No chance of signing on, just flung to the wayside because of underhanded tactics.

I recently contacted ASAI regarding the adverts of certain companies - and just yesterday I received a Secretariat's report which fully supported my complaint. My advice is that if you feel that you have been falsely led by these people - report them!

NabyLadistheman

Hey guys, just have a query would appreciate it if anyone can help. I was offered a position recently with a company called Sales Channel. It is a basic + commission role selling b2b for an energy company, basic is very low though.

Has anyone had any dealings here and from experience how hard is selling Esb b2b? I am not too keen to get into something I may regret!

irishjig69b

Run a mile, nobody here will give u a favourable answer to that crowd

Equality Enterprises

Hi everybody,

I know this is my first post here which leaves me in a terrible situation in regards to the replies from long term members and contributors of this particular thread, but please hear me out.

I have recently set up an online competition website that donates 50% of all profits to Irish charities. In order to get clients i have started to employ people as door to door sales reps. I know the majority of people who have posted in this thread are here to tell stories about how they were screwed by companies like mine, but this is why i writing this. When setting up this business i did my research, my research often lead me back to this thread which is definitely a positive thing for me, my employees and the business. Using your experiences and making sure that my company does none of those horrible misleading things that lead to disgruntled former employees, has really given me an opportunity to grow.

My policies are simple, effective and benefit the individual employee more so then me. Though after reading all 50 odd pages of this thread it was made clear to me, by you, that these things were all very important.

I do however wish that none of you had those bad experiences for two major reasons.

Firstly, nobody deserves to be treated that way, especially when applying for a job in door to door sales. We all know that this kind of work is something people fall back on or use to fill a void in employment or want as a very flexible casual job to make a few extra quid.

Secondly, your experiences have made life very difficult for me. Finding people willing to work door to door sales is hard enough before they read all these stories. After they do read them it is nearly impossible. I have ads posted on gumtree and indeed which are clear, honest and in no way misleading. Unfortunately, even with the unemployment rate at 14% I'm not receiving many serious applicants.

I believe my company is doing everything possible towards looking after the employees (of which i have 8 very happy current employees) but i am now turning to the experts for opinions/criticism/suggestions.

I am looking at implementing a holiday pay package, where employees who prove themselves by selling a consistent amount will be rewarded with the equivalent of their consistent amount for up to 4 weeks of the year.

Please let me know what you think and if you have any suggestions i would very much appreciate your input. Below is a link to my most recent ad and my website.

Mod note: If you wish to continue posting on behalf of your business you must have a Verified Representative account, please email reps[at]boards.ie

irishjig69b

Bad enough trying to sell door to door Eircom/Vodafone airtricty or them sorts, but trying to get charity donations, s hit I'd say that's v hard, good luck to ya on that 1

padma

Hi equality enterprises,

I don't understand your company. Are you saying that your company is a fundraising company, who bring in money through various fundraising events and door to door subscriptions, but only gives half of the money to actual charities. Is this correct? The other 50% is your profit. If so how the heck do you operate? Who decides which money goes to what charity etc. And how do you know what charity it is your donating to?

So for example, if you knock on my door are you representing a charity? Or are you representing a fundraising idea of hey, donate to us and we will give 50% of your money to a charity of our choosing and the other 50% will go to us?

Equality Enterprises

Padma thank you for your reply, all good questions which I'll do my best to explain.

We are not a fundraising company, we are a promotions and competitions company who individually donates 50% of profit. This is proving to be a successful sales point, people who are interested in the prizes hear that half of profits go to charity and they feel good about themselves. We do not do subscriptions at this stage, only on the spot transactions and also people can enter online. The profit margin is quite good(when i sell the tickets myself it is 100%) donating 50% to charity is a nightmare for any business, but we feel that it is an extra hook on the product. The money is transferred by myself to charities that i have chosen, I research the charities, get approval from them and then inform my workers which charities we are donating to for the particular prize draw.

Your last paragraph there is an absolute no, my staff have been warned that if they pretend to be representing a charity they will be terminated immediately after i find out. We sell tickets to competitions, the 50% charity donation is simply a marketing hook. Many people ask why only 50%? To this our agents reply simply by saying we are a competitions organisation, our 50% donation is merely a kind gesture that no other company in the world is prepared to offer.

I believe the Postcode lottery works on a similar basis, they donate 45p from every pound. They they are a lottery and the intricate details of the prizes are far different from mine. Lotteries are illegal unless you hold a lottery license, for which i believe you need a serious amount of capitol to secure.

padma

I wish you every success in your endeavors, but personally I can't see it being something I would personally do as it's a gambling game. That aside how did ye get a licence to operate such an enterprise. Was it easy? As you are collecting cash at the door is it an easy license to get?

irishjig69b

So your selling lottery tickets at doors?

statomosh

no offense but if someone called to my door selling lottery tickets they would be told to **** off no matter how much of a percentage is going to charity.i could just give that money to charity myself and cut out the middle man.

Boards.ie: Nicola

Equality Enterprises have been instructed to apply for a Verified Representative account to continue posting on Boards.ie.

alammc

In my opinion I have moved from Canada 7 years now and studied to be an Engineer with a qualified Degree , not that it meant didley squat , it was something I was into at the time. Im hearing all his about Limewire, Cobra CPM, Apco and the rest. I did start with a few of these guys selling and promised the sun moon and the stars by them at the time I did not buy into most of there company policies but I can say door to door sales is one of the best choices I have ever done in my life.

Guys you get back in life what you put in, and if you are weak and cannot accept you are not capable of the basic fundamentals in life of walking up to a strangers door and saying "hello" im Mr Joe Bloggs how's things ? then you have to ask yourself questions??

Such is life your social skills are 0 ... im sure the job you are talking ****e about is commision only ... Guys sales people are professional people and is one of the most enjoyable jobs out there..... take this advice from me im selling d2d for 7 years , I meet people everyday from all walks of life that invite me into there home for a chat and a cupa.

Remember its not about the person thats going to open the door , its all about the person who is knocking on the door

Enjoy....

padma

alammc wrote: »

In my opinion I have moved from Canada 7 years now and studied to be an Engineer with a qualified Degree , not that it meant didley squat , it was something I was into at the time. Im hearing all his about Limewire, Cobra CPM, Apco and the rest. I did start with a few of these guys selling and promised the sun moon and the stars by them at the time I did not buy into most of there company policies but I can say door to door sales is one of the best choices I have ever done in my life.

Guys you get back in life what you put in, and if you are weak and cannot accept you are not capable of the basic fundamentals in life of walking up to a strangers door and saying "hello" im Mr Joe Bloggs how's things ? then you have to ask yourself questions??

Such is life your social skills are 0 ... im sure the job you are talking ****e about is commision only ... Guys sales people are professional people and is one of the most enjoyable jobs out there..... take this advice from me im selling d2d for 7 years , I meet people everyday from all walks of life that invite me into there home for a chat and a cupa.

Remember its not about the person thats going to open the door , its all about the person who is knocking on the door

Enjoy....

So, what you are saying is, if you can't do door to door sales you are a weak person who has no social skills. That's pretty lame as if the whole reason of your fantastic social skills is to make money there not really very honest social skills.

Deirdre5

alammc wrote: »

In my opinion I have moved from Canada 7 years now and studied to be an Engineer with a qualified Degree , not that it meant didley squat , it was something I was into at the time. Im hearing all his about Limewire, Cobra CPM, Apco and the rest. I did start with a few of these guys selling and promised the sun moon and the stars by them at the time I did not buy into most of there company policies but I can say door to door sales is one of the best choices I have ever done in my life.

Guys you get back in life what you put in, and if you are weak and cannot accept you are not capable of the basic fundamentals in life of walking up to a strangers door and saying "hello" im Mr Joe Bloggs how's things ? then you have to ask yourself questions??

Such is life your social skills are 0 ... im sure the job you are talking ****e about is commision only ... Guys sales people are professional people and is one of the most enjoyable jobs out there..... take this advice from me im selling d2d for 7 years , I meet people everyday from all walks of life that invite me into there home for a chat and a cupa.

Remember its not about the person thats going to open the door , its all about the person who is knocking on the door

Enjoy....

That's all well and good but forcing a product down someone's throat 24/7 in order to make some sort of living is not something I would be proud to say I do for a living.
Especially knowing the fact that some fat cat at the top of this corrupt pyramid is gaining most of the profits I have worked hard for.

Esoteric_

Deirdre5 wrote: »

That's all well
and good but forcing a product down someone's throat 24/7 in order to
make some sort of living is not something I would be proud to say I do
for a living.
Especially knowing the fact that some fat cat at the top of this corrupt
pyramid is gaining most of the profits I have worked hard for.

Agreed. I'm a sales rep (not door to door, or on-street, thankfully), and I honestly despise the whole 'forcing the product down peoples' throats' aspect to it.

I'm not on commission only, I get an okay basic, but I'm good at the job, I hit all targets, I make good commission, and it's still soul destroying to be perfectly honest.

I'm lucky in that I somehow am good at the job, without lying to people or being forceful, but I feel so sorry for anyone offered commission only. I did d2d for a short while with a different company, and will honestly never do it again. It's a sham of a job.

Mongfinder General

alammc wrote: »

In my opinion I have moved from Canada 7 years now and studied to be an Engineer with a qualified Degree , not that it meant didley squat , it was something I was into at the time. Im hearing all his about Limewire, Cobra CPM, Apco and the rest. I did start with a few of these guys selling and promised the sun moon and the stars by them at the time I did not buy into most of there company policies but I can say door to door sales is one of the best choices I have ever done in my life.

Guys you get back in life what you put in, and if you are weak and cannot accept you are not capable of the basic fundamentals in life of walking up to a strangers door and saying "hello" im Mr Joe Bloggs how's things ? then you have to ask yourself questions??

Such is life your social skills are 0 ... im sure the job you are talking ****e about is commision only ... Guys sales people are professional people and is one of the most enjoyable jobs out there..... take this advice from me im selling d2d for 7 years , I meet people everyday from all walks of life that invite me into there home for a chat and a cupa.

Remember its not about the person thats going to open the door , its all about the person who is knocking on the door

Enjoy....

You get back what you put in? Eh no. You get what you get.

cojack101

alammc wrote: »

In my opinion I have moved from Canada 7 years now and studied to be an Engineer with a qualified Degree , not that it meant didley squat , it was something I was into at the time. Im hearing all his about Limewire, Cobra CPM, Apco and the rest. I did start with a few of these guys selling and promised the sun moon and the stars by them at the time I did not buy into most of there company policies but I can say door to door sales is one of the best choices I have ever done in my life.

Guys you get back in life what you put in, and if you are weak and cannot accept you are not capable of the basic fundamentals in life of walking up to a strangers door and saying "hello" im Mr Joe Bloggs how's things ? then you have to ask yourself questions??

Such is life your social skills are 0 ... im sure the job you are talking ****e about is commision only ... Guys sales people are professional people and is one of the most enjoyable jobs out there..... take this advice from me im selling d2d for 7 years , I meet people everyday from all walks of life that invite me into there home for a chat and a cupa.

Remember its not about the person thats going to open the door , its all about the person who is knocking on the door

Enjoy....

My level of distaste for that post is through the roof. I was in sales for 1/2 a decade, as an account manager and a sales manager. The basic salary your employer pays you is a sign of appreciation and recognition of basic human needs. A basic salary is as fundamental as access to a bathroom, or water. Sales is an up and down game. A basic salary offers security and protection. An employer worth 1/2 his salt knows that and that's why they offer it to you. Its to tide you over when leads dry up, you hit a bad spell, you get the flu, or have to take a week off because your child is in hospital.

You might say I have zero social skills for not accepting working conditions like that, I say you are a lemon if your kissing the ass of the guy at the top of the pyramid to thank him for paying you the lowest possible remuneration and giving you zero security.

And on a final note: The joy of checks and balances on boards.ie is that when your account info is Join Date: Apr 2013 Posts: 1, I can and am indeed delighted to tell you to F.O. back to jobs.ie and spit your poison lies about a great life selling door to door there, not here. .

cojack101

Equality Enterprises wrote: »

Padma thank you for your reply, all good questions which I'll do my best to explain.

We are not a fundraising company, we are a promotions and competitions company who individually donates 50% of profit. This is proving to be a successful sales point, people who are interested in the prizes hear that half of profits go to charity and they feel good about themselves. We do not do subscriptions at this stage, only on the spot transactions and also people can enter online. The profit margin is quite good(when i sell the tickets myself it is 100%) donating 50% to charity is a nightmare for any business, but we feel that it is an extra hook on the product. The money is transferred by myself to charities that i have chosen, I research the charities, get approval from them and then inform my workers which charities we are donating to for the particular prize draw.

Your last paragraph there is an absolute no, my staff have been warned that if they pretend to be representing a charity they will be terminated immediately after i find out. We sell tickets to competitions, the 50% charity donation is simply a marketing hook. Many people ask why only 50%? To this our agents reply simply by saying we are a competitions organisation, our 50% donation is merely a kind gesture that no other company in the world is prepared to offer.

I believe the Postcode lottery works on a similar basis, they donate 45p from every pound. They they are a lottery and the intricate details of the prizes are far different from mine. Lotteries are illegal unless you hold a lottery license, for which i believe you need a serious amount of capitol to secure.

Cathyht

There's a difference between having social skills and a hard neck. Anyway, it's really annoying people coming knocking on your door in the evening. If I want to buy something, I'll go out and buy it, please don't come to my house and interrupt Fair City, Chores, Housework, Making the dinner and eating it, Gaps between Mum's taxi time, Chill Out Time. I am a nice person and sometimes have bought a ticket or something because I feel sorry for the person at the door. But it is not really a great career move to inflict yourself calling out pestering people in their homes.

In fact one guy recently was a bit pushier than the rest, he wanted me to change to this bill provider or that something at 8 pm one evening. I think he thought HIS sense of purpose was going to overpower what I wanted to do. Now that's a way to get a gal's back up. So I politely said excuse me, I was just going out the door for a walk and you can give me a leaflet. He said NO, you HAVE to sign NOW to some utility bill provider or other to get the great deal. I said No I don't, in fact I'd have to think about it for ages before I'd move. He actually became aggressive and said WHAT was that you said? So I kindly reminded him he had come of his own accord, uninvited, and he better keep a civil tongue in his head and immediately remove himself from my property and my drive or I'd call the guards. Some of these guys and girls I feel sorry for, but some have the cheek of the devil, I want to have neither a guilty or annoyed reaction answering my door. I'm certainly not giving them my name, address, details, and signature at the door in a 5 minute rash decision.

I can amuse myself and look online and see who has the best phone, electricity, mobile offers. In this day and age there are many other ways of imparting information than sending out people desperate for work to do such an unpleasant job. Everyone is much more security minded now, and so they should be, only the most gullible would give their details and signature to a stranger.

irishjig69b

Esoteric_ wrote: »

Agreed. I'm a sales rep (not door to door, or on-street, thankfully), and I honestly despise the whole 'forcing the product down peoples' throats' aspect to it.

I'm not on commission only, I get an okay basic, but I'm good at the job, I hit all targets, I make good commission, and it's still soul destroying to be perfectly honest.

I'm lucky in that I somehow am good at the job, without lying to people or being forceful, but I feel so sorry for anyone offered commission only. I did d2d for a short while with a different company, and will honestly never do it again. It's a sham of a job.

You should be in the dail, ur that good

Esoteric_

irishjig69b wrote: »

You should be in the dail, ur that good

What?

irishjig69b

Meaning u must be great

Esoteric_

Are you... speaking in English right now?

irishjig69b

Meaning u must be good, telling us how great u are and all that crap

Esoteric_

irishjig69b wrote: »

Meaning u must be good, telling us how great u are and all that crap

I never said I'm great. I'm good at my job. I was using it as an example that you don't have to be pushy to be a decent sales rep, because I completely disagree with the forcing sales on people policy that most d2d companies employ. Maybe actually read my posts before attempting to slate me.