I'm going to give a brief description of how my summer went including the good and bad things about Incite Marketing.
Pros
My manager was a cool guy that cared about the sales reps.
The activities we did together as a team were very enjoyable.
I got paid the front end percentage. It was about 75% of each contract I sold. (Please read Cons)
People on the doors were generally reasonable and were fun to talk to.
I worked HARD, and learned a lot in a "difficult market" and learned a lot about who to trust.
The sales tactics weren't as shady as some would say they are. I feel like I can be honest and still sell.
Cons
-I did not receive my back end check in October. I'm still trying to get a clear answer as to why.
-The only people I know who got paid back end checks where the ones that said they were going to work for Incite next summer, or said their friends were looking into summer sales.
-I was very positive, even defending our managers and Incite against the more negative of my room mates only to get screwed.
-I know of several of the regional managers leaving Incite to join different summer sales companies. I've been contacted by two of them.
-Johny Hebda former owner was fired for embezzlement. Is that where my back-end check went?
-We were crammed into a $700 3 bed room apartment 7 - 8 guys. (some of which got out of paying utilities which my good friend that stayed the entire summer had to pay. He lost several hundred because Incite wouldn't do anything about it) 8 guys paying $500 a month in rent equals $4000! $4000 a month for a $700 apartment. Do the math.
-If your room mates don't make any money, and you're the only one with a car, you'll end up burning about $1000 in gas money. I'm not mentioning car repairs. I drove easily 90 minutes a day getting two and from the area.
-I got a call not too long ago with a voice mail saying something like "We have this check, and we don't know where to send it to, please call us back." When I called back It was just a re-recruiting call.
-In the contract I signed, they said we work 8 hours minimum, but it was very high pressure to work a lot longer. It was up to 12 hours a day (including team meetings, pick up, drop off and lunch). I respected my manager, and realized he needed to hit a quota. But it was a real strain on my summer. I knew it would be a huge commitment, but I didn't know it would be that huge.
-Incite had a TERRIBLE relationship with the pest control company I was working for. The branch manager didn't ever want to back the sales reps up. I don't blame him.
How my summer went financially over all.
-I'm going to use rough numbers. If I am too specific, I'm afraid they find who I am and find some other way to screw me. I sold about 50 accounts over the summer. I made under $3750 (75% of the contract value) I was charged $250 every two weeks for rent for 4 months of the summer. That's $2000 dollars of rent. $3750 - $2000 = $1750. I spent about $1000 in gas driving sales reps around who weren't making sales to pay gas money. $1750 - $1000 = $750. I spent about $35 a week in food. That brings me to a grand total of $190 profit. After tithing and replacing a couple of belts and tires in my car, you can see I lost a lot of money. That leaves out the $1250 back end (not including my $150 rent deposit) which was never returned. (Whether that was for sloppy room mates or not, I'll never know)
I'm not complaining about the amount I sold just the dishonesty and lack of regard for loyal employees who argued on behalf of them. Like every sales rep, I had discouraging days, lazy days, and distracted days. To be realistic and honest, I could have sold 10 more over the summer. I'm just giving you a realistic picture of how well you'll do with no previous sales experience as a first year rep. I know I would do a lot better next summer because of what I learned if I sold again with a higher commission and wiser about getting my own place to stay. But I would NEVER go through Incite or any other marketing company. Stick with the actual pest control companies sales teams. You'll cut out a lot of this middle man garbage.
Summary
If you're going to work for Incite Marketing
KEEP ALL YOUR PAPER WORK you sign at the beginning of the summer.
KEEP DETAILED NOTES OF EVERY PERSON YOU SOLD Including contract value, name, address and phone number. (Things get lost when money is involved to companies like Incite)
WORD OF MOUTH PROMISES DO NOT MEAN A THING. IF YOU'RE GETTING A HIGHER COMMISSION OR IF YOU NEGOTIATED RENT REDUCTION, HAVE IT IN WRITING.
I will retract, or revise this if things are fixed. I don't want to be given any special favors or bribes and I will not give my name. But if Incite decides to make it right of it's own free will to my friends, and former co-workers and pay everyone what they're owed, no matter the amount, I'll take this down.