Taking a gamble in life

[Gunny Highway]

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You have a wife, and someday soon enough perhaps a child to take care of.

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With a wife & kid, you're exactly what a sales organization is looking for - someone with a lot to lose who will work work like a dog to keep food on the table and a roof over your family's head. But at the same time these sales gigs are very high turnover so they'll have 100 more n00bs coming in on the day you leave so they don't care if you actually make it or not.

[Luv2DriveTT]

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they'll have 100 more n00bs coming in on the day you leave so they don't care if you actually make it or not.

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this is so important it deserves repeating. Sales is an odds game, just like poker. Sales management is also an odds game, you hire a ton of employees and throw them at the wall. Keep the ones that stick, toss the ones that don't. If you are 100% positive you will stick, then go for it. If you are not 100% positive and have no recourse if you do not, then wait a bit longer before making your move.

PS: I think Mike already knows this, I am a magazine publisher by profession. I hire cold-calling salespeople all the time; most don't make it more than 4 months. The ones that last longer are usualy keepers.

TT [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]

[sfer]

Hey Mike, your decision to take this job has a lot to deal with how you handle constant and persistent rejection from people who don't want to talk to salesmen. I have little doubt that you're the right personality to get in front of people and can sell your stuff, it's how you feel after a day where you made a dozen calls that went nowhere that matters.

Best,
Dave

[MaxPower]

Mike,

Is this one of these deals where they call you up and tell you to come to an event where they are going to present a great opportunity.

I got a call from someplace called Primerica which is a division of Citigroup inviting me to one of these. I didn't go since I realized that it can't be a very desirable job if they are cold-calling people in order to get agents.

Either way, I would be a little skeptical if I were you.

Take it easy.

[Ulysses]

Mike,

#1: Don't let them just give you the crap leads because you're the new guy. Be sure to get the Glengarry leads.

#2: This sounds very similar to what bad beetz did for a while. I will sound the BAD BEETZ ALERT.

[Evan]

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#1: Don't let them just give you the crap leads because you're the new guy. Be sure to get the Glengarry leads.

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Challah!

[swolfe]

What company? Is it Countrywide: FSL Div?

[bad beetz]

1. I did exactly this. It takes a certain type of person to do this and make a lot of money. If you're not that type of person you're one of the 80% turnovers.

2. I'm pissed ElDbeat me to the Glengarry quotes, so I'm just going to let it pass.

3. Stay out of this market. PM haakee. he will tell you why the peripheral jobs surrounding the housing marked are F'ed.

Basically, most people take these jobs because they get wide eyed at the possibilities. But end the end, the market is flooded with competition, and unless you have 1. You're own personal game (something the company can't give you) and 2. 80+ hour work week freakish drive (I'm talking RE agent slapping herself in American Beaty and listening to self helps tapes) you will sink instead of swim.

The top dogs earn 200K. you won't be able to do this for 5 years, and as an above average candidate (I'm giving you a little OOT props credit here) I still think you have about a 1-2% chance of ever reaching that level.

Stay the [censored] away from this job.

[bad beetz]

If you do this you need at least a year buffer of funds when you may not make anything. There is ROR (I didn't fully understand but it sounds like commision only. Don't know what that 2K is about)

[Mike Gallo]

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Mike,

Is this one of these deals where they call you up and tell you to come to an event where they are going to present a great opportunity.

Not at all. I helped one of their officers get a loan and he helped to get my account paid off. After we completed the deal we discussed what he did. He told me the name of the company and its location. Ironically they have an office across the highway from me. I made a few phone calls and worked my way in the door.

I have had many people have ask me if I ever considered this career and I never gave it much thought. I knew nothing about this industry. I decided to at least talk to someone to find out about it. Originally I offered to take the manager for lunch to get information, however, he told me to come into the office.

We spoke for about an hour and he told me to take an online test at my leisure sometime in the next week. If I scored well on the tests I would get called back for an interview.

I got home that night and took the online questionaire /personality test. They asked the same questions in varied forms. The answers consisted either of strongly agree,agree, do not agree or disagree,disagree, strongly disagree. They would ask a version of the question in the always, sometimes, never considered it, often,never. True False, multiple choice scenarious to check consistency.

Example, do you consider yourself competetive.. answer,, strongly agree,agree, do not agree or disagree,disagree, strongly disagree.

Would your friends consider you a competive person.. sometimes, always, sometimes, often, never never considered it.

Do you consider your self a loyal friend, strongly agree,agree, do not agree or disagree,disagree, strongly disagree.

If you had a friend trying for the same position as you, and you knew sometime would hold him/her back, would you tell the interviewer sometimes, always, sometimes, often, never never considered it.

If you had a friend trying for the same position as you, would you do everything in your power to help him/her since you know he/she needs the money more then you sometimes, always, sometimes, often, never never considered it.



A week later I got a phone call and he told me I scored well and he would like to talk more. I met with him for about an hour and we discussed the company. I told him I researched the company, however I knew little of what the position entailed. We talked some more and he told me he would like his district manager to meet with me for a second interview.


A week later I received a phone call. My contact said his district manager had several interviews set up for that day and he would like to see me also. I took the bait and met with him. I interviewed some more, then I had to take another series of tests. They had math problems and simple logic questions. They asked the same questions as the home exam only in different forms. After I took the test they asked me to sit in the lobby while they reviewed my test scores.

I waited about 30 minutes and they called me in. They told me more about the position and made me an offer. They told me they would mail me an offer letter and once I signed it and returned it, I had the position.

I got a call from someplace called Primerica which is a division of Citigroup inviting me to one of these. I didn't go since I realized that it can't be a very desirable job if they are cold-calling people in order to get agents.

Thats harsh

Either way, I would be a little skeptical if I were you.

Take it easy.

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I agree, thanks.