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By Jeff Burton
These promises come from representatives of summer sales programs, who claim to have made amounts of money with the company. They range anywhere from pest control to security systems, but no matter what the product, they promise to make you filthy rich. So, is there any truth in their promises? Joe Barnard, a junior from Nibley, sold pest control last summer in Virginia Beach, Va. and is headed to Malibu Beach, Calif., in May. He has mixed emotions about the promises and the overall experience. "Sometimes those companies make it seem better than it is," Barnard said. "Reality generally isn't that good. But they are in sales and that is what sales is all about, tweaking reality." Barnard made around $20,000 in Virginia and will be a manager this year in California. He says there are definitely pros and cons to the whole experience. Barnard enjoyed the time and learned a lot from the experience. While going door-to-door Barnard said times were tough, but now he looks back and is glad he went to Virginia. "It's not an easy job and they make it seem like you have a glamorous life. Greed is what sustains you, and some days that greed is just not there." Barnard said once you get used to making that kind of money, your spending habits increase with the increase of your income. That's why he's headed back out to sell. Although he may not believe you will make as much as you are promised, Barnard says if you work hard you can still make more money than working a minimum-wage job here in Logan. "I got used to having a lot of money and being able to buy really anything I wanted. I miss making that kind of money," Barnard said. Another important insight reps won't tell you, Barnard mentioned, was expenses that you have to meet. He said some people assume that if you are promised $25,000 cash that is what you go home with. One thing Barnard and others have learned is that as a salesman, you must pay taxes on your income, which can be quite daunting. Also, the companies fail to mention the expenses you will have such as food, transportation -- which could include purchasing an automobile, in addition to gas -- and housing. It seems the big money promised may be attainable, but one should realize the difference between net and gross income. Peter Gibb, a freshman from Washington, D.C., was looking into the pest control sales this summer. He even flew to California to the take the test, but had some doubts. "I don't know about the money they promise you," Gibb said. "I think it may be kind of sketchy." Gibb was headed to Malibu Beach as well, but is reconsidering. Many students like Gibb are lured into the scheme by big promises. For starters, to get students' attention many companies will provide free pizza and other prizes just for listening in on their presentations about the company. When students arrive the food is there, and then the representative proceeds with his presentation that promises big bucks. Many of them are "success stories" and give personal testimonials of the product and its ability to be sold. "I think you maybe can make a lot of money, but it's hard to believe that they can keep some their promises," Gibb said. Another issue is the stability of the company. According to Barnard, there have been cases where the company has gone under and left the sales people, who were promised big success, "up a creek." When a company goes under they take their promises with them and there is simply nothing you can do. Brandy Henzi, a junior at Riverton High School, is a receptionist for a company selling Cutco Knives. She believes her boss, a 22-year-old, is going to make a lot of money. "He is sending out a ton of advertisements to high school and college-aged youths all over the Salt Lake area," Henzi said. "It is going to get very busy this summer with the amount of people that are going to want to get in on the money-making. I know he is going to make a lot of money." One sidenote on the sales programs like Cutco is the allegation of being a pyramid scheme. This structure sees those on top of the pyramid make a lot of money off of those at the bottom. The Cutco approach, like other companies, requires each salesman to buy their own set of knives to show customers at a "discounted price." Regardless of the person selling any knives or not, the person on top of the pyramid has just made that sale. If the person, like Henzi's boss, can get enough salesmen to buy the non-refundable set of knives, he will be successful. Research is an important thing to do before taking any job. A search on the Internet will help one find out more about a company. For Cutco many sites have been established to offer opinions of their experiences with the sales process: http://atlas.spaceports.com/~cesquire/vector.html However some people have defended the company, claiming they found success and that it was not a pyramid scheme at all. Here's a defense: http://www.letsgojeffs.com/forum/message/1543/ Not saying that one is right and one is wrong, but the fact that many have spent time and energy showing their experience with Cutco or another company should raise some questions that may want to be given more time and evaluation. With all this said, Barnard believes that although the process may be difficult and possibly at times a bit sketchy, you still can make a lot of money. "If you do your homework [finding out if the company is legitimate], work your butt off and believe in your product, you can come out on top."
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