Best To Stay Away - Account Manager 512 Solutions Employee Review

2.0
25 Dec 2014
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

-Pay is better than McDonalds, if you are a good salesman -Offers minimal, contribution (you pay) healthcare after 3 months -Training is sufficient, depending on who is training you. -Better than cold calling or door to door sales

Cons

-You will be selling DirecTV in Walmart, all day everyday. -Will literally hire anyone who can pass a background check. If you make it to your second interview you will be hired. These are salesmen they are trying to sell you on the second interview at chick-fil-a (which they will not pay for, if you are such a good catch why are they not bothering to invest $5 in you by the second interview). Look for basic sales techniques during your interview i.e. indifference, taking control, not being salesy, etc. This is what you can expect to be taught to sell. -If you cannot close your first sale by the end of day 5 prepared to be let go. -Work week is Thursday thru Monday 11am-9pm (you will be encouraged to get in at 10am and stay as late as 11pm to make a sale). Say goodbye to your nights and weekends. -No holidays (Walmart is busiest then), vacation days, personal days, sick days (unpaid and require a doctors note), etc -Required to come into the office everyday before heading out to "the field" (i.e. walmart), to hear sales techniques, practice pitch and motivational from 11am to 12:30pm. Flat out waste of time, which you are not paid for. -You will begin to notice everyone who gets "promoted" receives no pay increase, only additional time consuming tedious responsibilities. -Commission only payment. Base pay is consider supplemental and must be repaid -Claims that Account Mangers make around 30k a year. This is a flat out lie. Account managers make 15-20k. -You will use your own personal vehicle a LOT and will not be reimbursed. Some locations are over an hour away (Temple, Lagrange, Marble Falls, etc) -Makes you go on BS business trips to Waco, San Antonio and Dallas. Where YOU PAY for gas, food, hotel (better be prepared to share a bed) or local managers couch. -Encouraged to mislead, not lie, to make sales. -Everyone likes to talk about the big picture and expansion, when the reality of the situation is 95% of reps don't make it a year with the company and only a fraction of a percent make it to branch manager, ownership. Ask about turnover rates. Remember good companies invest in good people, bad companies leach the life out their employees and view employees as expendable commodities. -Even if you make it to branch manager (i.e. ownership) more offices close within 2 years than stay open. -Claims owner make a fortune in sales and overrides. If you believe this boy do I have some prime waterfront real estate to sell you. -No realistic career path -Cult like environment, everyone in the office drinks the coolaid

Explore other reviews about 512 Solutions

5.0
22 Oct 2014
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Let me start off by saying I have worked at 512 Solutions for over a year, and today is the first time I even bothered to read the reviews on this website. There are many more positive reviews than negative ones, and I completely understand where the authors of each one were coming from. Everybody has different experiences, dependent on many different variables, and everybody is entitled to their own opinions. Here is mine.... Since day one, I have been supported through my journey with 512 Solutions. This was my very first job in a new city where I knew absolutely nobody, and I suddenly had over 20 new friends. Positive people attract positive people, and negative people give up on everything anyway. I DO NOT do drugs, of any kind, and never felt uncomfortable or disrespected because of that. I HAVE worked in the real world. I have a degree in marketing and a background in marketing research, sales, and promotions. I came into 512 Solutions looking for experience in leading teams and managing people, and was given the management training program breakdown during my interview. I was given all the knowledge needed to make sales in my very first week, and started making sales immediately. I have never had to rely on the $300 base pay that is still in place for me, and I'm still here a year later. I have full medical, dental and vision insurance through Blue Cross Blue Shield that I get through 512 Solutions. Yes, we work with WalMart. WalMart is the largest retailer in the country, with thousands of people walking through the doors on a daily basis, and it simply doesn't make sense for us to set up elsewhere. I guess we could go door to door, or cold call people. The opportunity for management is real. I have seen three people promoted to management since I started a year ago. Their names are Brandon, Jeff and Erica. Jeff did my interview and coached me, and now he runs his own office. I have learned so much in the past year about how to actually APPLY the marketing knowledge I spent 4 years studying in college. Due to "lack of experience", and a saturated market of recent grads looking for entry-level marketing positions today, the fact that I was able to start making money at 512 Solutions on day 1 of working with the company is hard to beat in the REAL WORLD. 512 Solutions adds value to people, regardless of their background, education, age, gender, etc. In one year I have been flown to California twice, because I worked hard and earned company invitations. Once to San Francisco for a company retreat, and once to LA for a conference. These were both amazing experiences that other companies would require years of dedication from employees before covering this type of venture. Before working with 512 Solutions, I had never been tubing on the river, played disc golf, played laser tag, played competitive sand volleyball or carved pumpkins as an office and had the company pay for everything. I literally did ALL of that in the past 3 months. My family also attended many of these events with me! I am now at the point where I am pushing for the next management position at 512, and am extremely excited for my next step. I love the people I work with, and am HAPPY that many of the people who have started and quit, left. Negative vibes aren't appreciated at 512 solutions. This isn't for everybody, but I wouldn't wanna work with everybody ;)

Cons

I understand how may people shy away from a company who allows their employees to work off commission. I was quite hesitant about the pay structure when I started. However, I have learned that performance truly does differentiate the successful from the average. 512 Solutions expects their employees to be positive minded and to have the ability to perform all the time. Their training program is designed to train people in sales AND management simultaneously. So YES, I have many responsibilities! I also have great coaches to help me through my journey. People who want to "do it their way" usually struggle. Anybody who has written a negative review on this site, never got past the sales phase. It is apparent to me that they were not meant to manage or lead people to begin with, probably due to their lack of drive or resilience. This program is strategically designed to shape and mold people to become leaders. People with leadership qualities do well in the business world, as well as in their outside lives. People without high personal accountability do not do well here. People who have excuse making tendencies do not do well here. People who cannot control their emotions and run at the first site of a new challenge do not do well here. Other than that, everybody does VERY WELL here! 512 solutions does expect a lot from their employees, but they also invest much of their time and resources into developing their employees and providing them with great opportunity. WE also have A LOT of fun. I have walked home with $1000 paychecks, and we get paid weekly, but I only get out what I put in. And THAT"S THE REAL WORLD.

6
avatar
512 Solutions Response
11y
Thanks so much for your honest feedback! You're right, this isn't a cookie cutter position that is the right fit for everyone. But for those with true work ethic, and relentlessness towards their goals, there is plenty of opportunity to do big things at 512 Solutions.
5.0
23 Apr 2013
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

I never write reviews, but I felt I should after talking with a few of my friends who also just graduated. I realized how lucky I am that 512 Solutions is where I started my career. A lot of my friends are still waiting tables or feel like just a number in a corporate job, and my experience has been very different. I've had a lot of support and training about business with 512. The company has a lot of stability with high client demand, which I think is why they're so hands on with training and developing the team. New ideas are supported, and I've already learned a ton, especially about leadership development. And the whole team is friendly and the environment is drama-free.

Cons

It's my first sales job so I'm not the best yet, which is frustrating. It also can be difficult to be pushed to take new things on all the time. I'm pretty sure I work more than most of my friends at other entry level positions.

6
avatar
512 Solutions Response
12y
We appreciate your review! Thanks for your feedback on having more networking opportunities with management in other cities-we are getting together this weekend in California! It is always smart to learn from others that are successful in the industry you want to be great in.
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