Spring Break
Utah based company lures "door-to-door" salesmen
By: Chris Hokanson
Issue date: 1/23/08 Section: News
Aaron, a junior sports management major, said he's never liked the idea of a salesman, but a job as a technician seemed good, especially with the promise of large earning potential.
"The biggest pitch was the money," Aaron said. "They would say that we would make a ton of money. I mean, it's commission, it's not guaranteed. But even the pay scale was shady, they cut corners wherever they could."
Selling door-to-door for entire summer means interesting stories, and Stone has more than a few.
"My first ten days in Washington, the craziest things happened. I had the cops called on me, I was attacked by a dog, a mentally challenged elderly lady talked crap about me throughout a neighborhood I was trying to sell in and I was assaulted by a 6'4'', 240-lbs-giant of a man."
Tyler Heald, a senior theater major at Arizona State, was recruited by Firstline as well, lured by the promise of excellent pay and a spot on a TV show. Heald did his summer of sales in Concord, Calif.
"A guy came up to me in the cafeteria and asked me if I wanted to be on TV. Right then, I thought it would be a bad idea, but I thought, 'Why the heck not? I'm in college,'" Heald said.
All three students said their experiences with salesmanship taught them valuable lessons about perseverance, communication and most importantly, ethics.
Stone and Heald said Firstline salesmen were taught to use shady tactics, including "slamming" potential customers by telling them they were getting a free upgrade to their current security system.
"You would end up making them think they were getting a free upgrade when really, they are signing a new three-year contract and paying more money than they had been paying in the first place," Stone said.
"After every sale, you had an accomplished feeling because you made a sale, but you also had a dirty feeling, because you just cheated or lied in some way," Heald said. "My managers and I went back and forth the whole summer, I would say something we were doing was wrong, and they would say, 'No, that's salesmanship.' Whatever got you in the door was fair game."
"The biggest pitch was the money," Aaron said. "They would say that we would make a ton of money. I mean, it's commission, it's not guaranteed. But even the pay scale was shady, they cut corners wherever they could."
Selling door-to-door for entire summer means interesting stories, and Stone has more than a few.
"My first ten days in Washington, the craziest things happened. I had the cops called on me, I was attacked by a dog, a mentally challenged elderly lady talked crap about me throughout a neighborhood I was trying to sell in and I was assaulted by a 6'4'', 240-lbs-giant of a man."
Tyler Heald, a senior theater major at Arizona State, was recruited by Firstline as well, lured by the promise of excellent pay and a spot on a TV show. Heald did his summer of sales in Concord, Calif.
"A guy came up to me in the cafeteria and asked me if I wanted to be on TV. Right then, I thought it would be a bad idea, but I thought, 'Why the heck not? I'm in college,'" Heald said.
All three students said their experiences with salesmanship taught them valuable lessons about perseverance, communication and most importantly, ethics.
Stone and Heald said Firstline salesmen were taught to use shady tactics, including "slamming" potential customers by telling them they were getting a free upgrade to their current security system.
"You would end up making them think they were getting a free upgrade when really, they are signing a new three-year contract and paying more money than they had been paying in the first place," Stone said.
"After every sale, you had an accomplished feeling because you made a sale, but you also had a dirty feeling, because you just cheated or lied in some way," Heald said. "My managers and I went back and forth the whole summer, I would say something we were doing was wrong, and they would say, 'No, that's salesmanship.' Whatever got you in the door was fair game."
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