Vector Marketing - A scam for your soul

[MattHanson1990]

Last year I worked for Vector Marketing, which is the company in which sales representatives try to sell high-quality kitchen cutlery under the Cutco brand. At the time I was hard-core desperate for a job, so I applied to them and got the position. It's not a door to door sales job like many think. You start doing demos of the products with friends and family, some of whom you eventually sell to. And then you get recommendations from them to do demos with. You have the option of purchasing a sample kit for I think around $80 USD or lending a kit for free. But you keep the kit if you purchase it. I didn't sell anything my first month with the company, but starting in July and lasting through September, I sold a couple sets along with individual pieces. Many people I didn't get recommendations at all, and I was told "you need to do this approach instead of that one". They were kind of like PUAs in the dating scene. To this day I realized I had to act fake and phony in order to actually be successful selling kitchen knives. Some of the things they had me do felt taboo and creepy, but they told me ways to get around it, like telling the person to tell the person he/she recommended me to that I would be calling before I called them. Also, I didn't have enough contacts to call, so I was pretty much SOL.

Vector Marketing is not a scam job like many think, but from experience, it's a scam for your soul; you'd have to be someone you're not when working for them. My advice is if you're authentic and down-to-earth, DON'T work for Vector Marketing. There are BETTER opportunities out there like freelancing/self-employment doing what you love or looking for jobs overseas like TESL.

[chanta76]

Matt,

I heard of vector marketing and I actually went on one interview. I didn't go for it because I figure there are better sales jobs. If you like sales try real estate or finance . The hours can be long and there is no guarantee you make money but if you work with a good mentor you do have a better chance. Being a sales person is little bit pua but it's more in my opinion putting your best foot foward.

[fschmidt]

The bottom line in America is you have to lie to be successful. There are simply three choices: lie, be poor, or leave America. I chose to lie.

[Winston]

That company is still around? What about selling Kirby vacuum cleaners? Lol.

I went to a training session with vector marketing in the 1998. I answered an ad for a high paying sales job with "no experience necessary". Lol. When i showed up, I was the only trainee. The presentation was impressive and the knives were incredible in their performance. But they were expensive, like 250 dollars for a set I think.

I didn't continue the training after the first day though because I had a bad feeling about it. Because firstly, I was new to Washington and didn't know enough people to sell to or do demos for. I only knew my girlfriends family and did not want to sell to them. Secondly, I didn't feel good about trying to sell to my family and friends anyway because it would feel like taking advantage of our friendship for commercial purposes which doesn't feel right. Same with multi level marketing like Amway and Market America.

To do well in such jobs, you have to both be a good salesman and have a big wide social network as well. I had neither.

They told me that you didn't have to be good in sales and that you could just follow a script during the demo and the product would sell itself. Yeah right.

Also if these knives are so good why aren't they sold in retail stores? That's what I never get.

[Winston]

The bottom line in America is you have to lie to be successful. There are simply three choices: lie, be poor, or leave America. I chose to lie.

You chose to lie? In what way? I thought you are an honest down to earth type.

Or instead of lying, you can spend years acquiring a skill like becoming an engineer or computer programmer or architect, right? I don't think most people are good at sales.

[fschmidt]

You chose to lie? In what way? I thought you are an honest down to earth type.

My instinct is to be honest, but after being completely broke for a while I decided to overcome my instinct. I lied to get high paying consulting jobs. I lied on my resume. I lied to venture capitalists to raise money. This is the American way. (I won't discuss my current lies for practical reasons.)

Or instead of lying, you can spend years acquiring a skill like becoming an engineer or computer programmer or architect, right? I don't think most people are good at sales.

Being a good engineer or computer programmer is pretty much worthless today. The morons doing the hiring have no idea how to judge the quality of an engineer or computer programmer. The Dilbert cartoons give an accurate portrayal of the life of an engineer in America. Or watch the movie "Office Space".

[chanta76]

Being an engineer , doctor etc..takes years of schooling and not everyone can afford it or have the aptitude for it. Sales is probably a job that easiest to find but also the hardest to do. I don't think you have to be dishonest to be a sales person. I did sales as part of my career path. It's about building relationship. If you lie to customers or clients they find out down the line and they won't work with you. But if your honest up front and give them a good service they will refer you to their friends and family.

But I agree sales is not for everyone because you have to deal with allot of rejection and it can be a grind.

[Ghost]

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[MattHanson1990]

That company is still around? What about selling Kirby vacuum cleaners? Lol.

I went to a training session with vector marketing in the 1998. I answered an ad for a high paying sales job with "no experience necessary". Lol. When i showed up, I was the only trainee. The presentation was impressive and the knives were incredible in their performance. But they were expensive, like 250 dollars for a set I think.

I didn't continue the training after the first day though because I had a bad feeling about it. Because firstly, I was new to Washington and didn't know enough people to sell to or do demos for. I only knew my girlfriends family and did not want to sell to them. Secondly, I didn't feel good about trying to sell to my family and friends anyway because it would feel like taking advantage of our friendship for commercial purposes which doesn't feel right. Same with multi level marketing like Amway and Market America.

To do well in such jobs, you have to both be a good salesman and have a big wide social network as well. I had neither.

They told me that you didn't have to be good in sales and that you could just follow a script during the demo and the product would sell itself. Yeah right.

Also if these knives are so good why aren't they sold in retail stores? That's what I never get.

I remember feeling the same way but at the group interview. I had genuine friendships I didn't want to take advantage of for commercial reasons either. For instance I'm close friends with a girl I've known since my friendship, and she's authentic and down to earth; I didn't want to take advantage of that friendship for commercial purposes.

Vector Marketing as I said before is a scam for your soul; it's like they take your soul and never get it back.

[Winston]

Being an engineer , doctor etc..takes years of schooling and not everyone can afford it or have the aptitude for it. Sales is probably a job that easiest to find but also the hardest to do. I don't think you have to be dishonest to be a sales person. I did sales as part of my career path. It's about building relationship. If you lie to customers or clients they find out down the line and they won't work with you. But if your honest up front and give them a good service they will refer you to their friends and family.

But I agree sales is not for everyone because you have to deal with allot of rejection and it can be a grind.

That really depends on what you are selling and what company you work for. Some sales jobs require more deception than others. Some jobs require you to UPSELL the customers to higher priced items or service plans. You can't always just give the customer what he or she wants only. Selling amway or timeshare for instance, takes more deception and lies because the truth is not pretty about them and they do not really offer good value for what you pay for. If you sell clothes then you just give them what they want but you have no commission either.

Commissioned salespeople have an incentive to upsell and push customers into buying something they don't need. If all you have to do is sell them what they already want then it's easy and there's probably no commissions for you either.

If you were selling cars, you'd have to upsell a lot because they are big ticket items and you only get good commissions on higher end cars. Some sales jobs require more bullshit than others.

You can do ok in sales by being honest with people. But not a great salesman. Even I did ok in sales when i sold cell phones for cingular wireless. But I just barely made quota and I was honest and down to earth and informative. Other people did much better cause they had a more charismatic personality. Some have a personality that works well in sales.

Of course if you are passionate about what you are selling then it helps a lot. I'm definitely more passionate about selling the happier abroad solution than I am about selling anything else. Lol.

[Winston]

I've heard of Vector, but never tried it. It sounds very similar to those multi-level marketing schemes like Amway. I've seen several of those, and the people who do them always have a creepy vibe - cult-like, really. And they will say how successful they are, while not having a dollar to show for it. It's scary how people can be roped in and how much they are willing to sacrifice for the scam.

I got hit up by an Amway guy once, at one of my previous jobs. He was really creepy and touchy-feely. I knew something was up, but didn't know what, so I kept my cool. Well, he eventually gave me an Amway card and asked for my phone number, which I foolishly gave to him. I had heard of Amway but didn't really know anything about it at the time. I looked it up online and thought, "Oh, shit, what have I gotten into?" A week later, he kept calling me and leaving me voice mails, each more desperate sounding than the last, eventually saying stuff like, "I love you brother, just call me and tell me when you can come to the seminar, OK?" I ignored his calls for weeks until I finally texted him and told him I wasn't interested in the scam.

Yeah MLM is very cult like and you have to recruit people too. So its even harder than regular sales jobs. Plus you have to lie and mislead people. You aren't selling a real product in MLM. You are selling a DREAM of being independently wealthy to others. Plus you gotta get in early at the top to profit from it since most people fail in it.

There's also too much fakeness in MLM. I've been to MLM meetings and the bullshit and hype is off the charts. So fake and phoney too. It's like they use positive thinking and optimism to mask the truth.

But vector marketing is not MLM. It's direct sales. You do not have to build a downline or pyramid under you. But I'm sure if you recruit people into it you will get some commissions from their sales.

[Winston]

I remember feeling the same way but at the group interview. I had genuine friendships I didn't want to take advantage of for commercial reasons either. For instance I'm close friends with a girl I've known since my friendship, and she's authentic and down to earth; I didn't want to take advantage of that friendship for commercial purposes.

Vector Marketing as I said before is a scam for your soul; it's like they take your soul and never get it back.

Lol how exactly do they take your soul and never give it back? They don't have you sign a blood oath contract like the Freemasons. And they do not have the power of Satan to bind your soul. Lol. If you don't feel right while working for them you can just quit and get your soul and conscience back. How do they keep your soul exactly? Aren't you exaggerating? Lol

[MattHanson1990]

I remember feeling the same way but at the group interview. I had genuine friendships I didn't want to take advantage of for commercial reasons either. For instance I'm close friends with a girl I've known since my friendship, and she's authentic and down to earth; I didn't want to take advantage of that friendship for commercial purposes.

Vector Marketing as I said before is a scam for your soul; it's like they take your soul and never get it back.

Lol how exactly do they take your soul and never give it back? They don't have you sign a blood oath contract like the Freemasons. And they do not have the power of Satan to bind your soul. Lol. If you don't feel right while working for them you can just quit and get your soul and conscience back. How do they keep your soul exactly? Aren't you exaggerating? Lol

Lol yeah I was. But had I stayed with them I would've continued acting really fake and artificial. Speaking of which, I heard you would have to act fake if you work a service job in America. If anything I'd rather work in a hostel.

[Ghost]

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[HenryGeorge]

This video sums up the cult of having to be fake and positive in America or else...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5um8QWWRvo