Missionary to Salesman

[I.J. Reilly]

Someone at the NYT thought it was interesting enough to write a whole article about former missionaries becoming alarm salesmen. Personally, I avoided those recruiters like the plague on campus. There were times in the year when it was unfit to frequent the Wilk at all. I hated the whole bait and switch aspect of the enterprise, and most all that I talked to were sorely disappointed by their experience.

That being said, did any of you here on the board do the door-to-door sales thing, either before or after your mission? What was your experience like?

[JohnnyLingo]

That being said, did any of you here on the board do the door-to-door sales thing, either before or after your mission? What was your experience like?

I never did it, but one of my roommates in college did, and apparently he was quite successful somehow. He always had enough to pay for tuition, books, room, food, etc. and bought a new car with cash.

I never asked him any details, though, so maybe he was actually selling drugs.

[Surfah]

My buddy did it for several years and still sales on occasion. He sold satellite TV. He was incredibly successful and made gobs of money. He's one of those guys in the adds that's pulling in 90-100k in a summer.

[CardiacCoug]

Someone at the NYT thought it was interesting enough to write a whole article about former missionaries becoming alarm salesmen. Personally, I avoided those recruiters like the plague on campus. There were times in the year when it was unfit to frequent the Wilk at all. I hated the whole bait and switch aspect of the enterprise, and most all that I talked to were sorely disappointed by their experience.

That being said, did any of you here on the board do the door-to-door sales thing, either before or after your mission? What was your experience like?

We have literally dozens of LDS Returned Missionary APX Alarm salesmen attending our ward this summer. They are pretty annoying -- my wife says that it seems like our ward has turned into "EFY for couples" because most of them are married and give off the newlywed vibe.

I'm glad I have never had to go door-to-door for anything -- even on my mission we didn't tract because we had plenty of teaching opportunities without tracting.

[DU Ute]

Someone at the NYT thought it was interesting enough to write a whole article about former missionaries becoming alarm salesmen. Personally, I avoided those recruiters like the plague on campus. There were times in the year when it was unfit to frequent the Wilk at all. I hated the whole bait and switch aspect of the enterprise, and most all that I talked to were sorely disappointed by their experience.

That being said, did any of you here on the board do the door-to-door sales thing, either before or after your mission? What was your experience like?

Great article. In our ward, we refer to the summer influx of BYU students working as door to door salesmen as the pest control boys, but the term covers the alarm peddlers as well.

[jay santos]

Someone at the NYT thought it was interesting enough to write a whole article about former missionaries becoming alarm salesmen. Personally, I avoided those recruiters like the plague on campus. There were times in the year when it was unfit to frequent the Wilk at all. I hated the whole bait and switch aspect of the enterprise, and most all that I talked to were sorely disappointed by their experience.

That being said, did any of you here on the board do the door-to-door sales thing, either before or after your mission? What was your experience like?

I never did it and don't know much about it, but I know quite a few guys who made a ton of money doing summer sales--pest control it seems like was the most common.

[JohnnyLingo]

I'm glad I have never had to go door-to-door for anything -- even on my mission we didn't tract because we had plenty of teaching opportunities without tracting.

Tracting sucks, but some of my best mission stories are a result of going door-to-door.

[DU Ute]

We have literally dozens of LDS Returned Missionary APX Alarm salesmen attending our ward this summer. They are pretty annoying -- my wife says that it seems like our ward has turned into "EFY for couples" because most of them are married and give off the newlywed vibe.

I'm glad I have never had to go door-to-door for anything -- even on my mission we didn't tract because we had plenty of teaching opportunities without tracting.

Exactly.

[TripletDaddy]

We had an announcement last week from the pulpit....Bishop said that the Stake Presidency wanted to remind all of us that ward directories are private and for Church business, not for business or solicitation.

Everyone looked around at the summer alarm guys sitting in the back.

[KillerDog]

I worked at a casino in the summers after my mission. I wonder if someone wants to write an article about that.

[byu71]

My buddy did it for several years and still sales on occasion. He sold satellite TV. He was incredibly successful and made gobs of money. He's one of those guys in the adds that's pulling in 90-100k in a summer.

A friend of mine's two boys are back in Florida selling Alarm Systems. Neither served a mission, but they are LDS.

He told me they could make $100,000. In my mind I was thinking, you are full of it.

If that can happen, I have a son who is a dang good salesman. I think I will tell him to do that during the summers and take the rest of the year off.

[Surfah]

A friend of mine's two boys are back in Florida selling Alarm Systems. Neither served a mission, but they are LDS.

He told me they could make $100,000. In my mind I was thinking, you are full of it.

If that can happen, I have a son who is a dang good salesman. I think I will tell him to do that during the summers and take the rest of the year off.

It's possible. It is. My buddy bought a home south of campus while he was in school with money he made. He just bought his second rental property there.

The key though is to bust your ass, sell a ton and work your weigh up the ladder. That's when you really start making money.

[beefytee]

The fact that these kids make so much make we leery of buying an alarm system, since they are obviously a ripoff. It seems like APX is advertising and sponsoring everything. They obviously have money to blow.

[I.J. Reilly]

I don't use the term "douche" liberally, but I think that it is pretty applicable to many of the guys that are seriously involved in these door-to-door sales stuff.

And K-dog, as far as working at the casino, did they give you a cut of the tips? I could see this as being fairly lucrative and much more exciting then door-to-door selling. Perhaps I only see the glamorous side of the casinos.

[KillerDog]

I don't use the term "douche" liberally, but I think that it is pretty applicable to many of the guys that are seriously involved in these door-to-door sales stuff.

And K-dog, as far as working at the casino, did they give you a cut of the tips? I could see this as being fairly lucrative and much more exciting then door-to-door selling. Perhaps I only see the glamorous side of the casinos.

I did a number of things, I waited tables (not much different than most restaurants), I tended bar in the showroom and at the steakhouse, and I worked as a service bartender on the floor. The floor was the best, the cocktail waitresses would have me make their drinks and then they would tip me out at the end of the night. They were a fun group of girls who thought I was an oversized "Ken Doll" for them to play with.