The perfect opportunity... for the right person - NOTE: I could be wrong! This is based on 3 days of experience - Entry Level Marketing Vantage Employee Review

5.0
4 Sept 2014
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Short Version: Truly incredible coworkers and leaders Superb corporate culture Quick advancement opportunity Almost unlimited earning potential Paid crash course in business TL;DR Version: You get to work with AMAZING people who really care about their coworkers, who have their priorities in order, who are working to grow as people and as professionals. The corporate culture is just really fantastic, and there is insane earning and advancement potential. It is a promising program which will teach you almost everything about owning and running a business. They do this because they are looking to train future management ASAP. Employees who perform well can expect to advance in the company within 2-4 weeks and begin training new recruits. Those who continue to excel can expect their own office location and their own staff within a year. I spoke to multiple people who had advanced that quickly. HOWEVER...

Cons

Short Version: Unpaid Training Pay based on commission Sales position High-pressure quotas No job security No benefits Poor work-life balance Demanding schedule: 9 hours M-F + 6 hours Sun TL;DR Version: The three day, 8-9 hours a day training is unpaid. Candidates are informed of that, though they have to ask carefully. I don't think that's deviousness on the part of the company; I think they pay structure is just complicated, and it's easy to get confused or misunderstand. The entry level position is a sales position, and it does involve approaching strangers at a retail location all day long, up to 50 people per hour, in order to pitch them a product or service. The things you pitch are of good quality which are useful to the right consumer, but customers are understandably resistant to being approached for any reason. The earnings are commission based. There is a minimum wage safety net, but anyone performing at minimum wage level will be asked to leave in short order. Employees are scheduled for 8 hours, but are paid for 7, because there is a mandatory 1 hour lunch, which employees are very subtly discouraged from taking (by their peers, not by managment) in favor of gaining more sales. In addition, many employees stay an additional unpaid hour in the evening to gain more sales. This all sounds bad, but it makes a certain sense from a commission-based standpoint, since pay in centered on leads, not hours. The pressure to perform is intense. While your team is motivated to help you succeed, and then will try to teach you and refine your approach, if you don't get the numbers, you will be cut. There are no benefits at any level of the company as far as I know, though I never asked directly about the salaried upper management positions. Those who advance to the 3rd level (2-3 months) seem to have enough money to not need them. This is a great position for charismatic people with nerves of steel. Those who can hack it are richly rewarded. Final notes: I am the ultimate skeptic, yet in three days they managed to convince me that they were everything that they seemed to be. I strongly encourage those who fit the profile to try it out. But if you have some nagging doubts after three days, if you just don't know if it's for you, don't beat yourself up, or let the company tell you that you aren't working hard enough. This job is not easy. It is not for everyone. If it's not for you, appreciate the opportunity you got, remember the experience fondly, and move on. Maybe come back to this site and write about what happened. ;)

Explore other reviews about Vantage

5.0
27 Jun 2023
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Everything was good. Nothing went wrong

Cons

Everything was good and convenient

1.0
19 Feb 2013
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Staff is upbeat and very positive.

Cons

This place is MLM-style marketing although Vantage prefers to sell it as direct marketing. The job entails having to power walk all day long chasing down customers within The Home Depot to convince consumers to agree to an appointment with a designer. Vantage simply does not pay you enough for what they ask you to do. If you manage to pass your probationary period (in which you work for free) and become full-time, they pay you minimum wage of up to 40 hrs a week (no overtime is compensated, but trust me they expect you to work about 50+ hrs a week) OR commission. It's really really rough work. No benefits are given. There is an 80% turnover rate for a reason. It's easy to see why there's always so many new faces in and out of their office every day even though there's promise of big money. It's simply not worth it. Watch out. If it acts, looks, and talks like a pyramid scheme company...then it probably is a pyramid scheme company.

24
avatar
Vantage Response
12y
Vantage strives to provide a positive work environment with career opportunities to all that join our team. It is our intention to always act in the best interest of our team members and our clients. We are sorry to hear that your experience working as part of our team did not fit your career goals and we understand that our industry is not for everyone. Vantage is, however, a reputable company that operates legally, ethically and with professional partnerships that serve the interest of our clients and our team members.l We work directly with major home improvement retailers, as in-store marketing representatives, generating qualified leads for key services. Vantage is a privately held company that operates in accordance with California state labor laws and strives to conduct business practices with integrity and excellence.
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