Sales/Lead Generation - Lead Generation EverDry Waterproofing Employee Review

Time to give you the 411 on how this really works, and all the "if you fail you are lazy" is nonsense. The people who succeed simply have a kind face, sound knowledgeable and have their sales pitch down flat. They also know how to play dumb on the right questions, and play super smart when looking worried at the homeowner's walls. It's a talent, like being a street corner card shark. Unfortunately, it's almost as dishonest from my experience. You straddle the line of legal pitches. Of course, this is even true of AT&T sales, which is always telling customers "We've recently completed upgrades in this area, so we're out here introducing customers to our new services..." And you always say that. You, in fact, have no clue if upgrades have ever been done. And like that sales pitch, you are trained to say things like "I'm sure you've seen our trucks in the area." or "I'm here because we're working in your neighborhood, and neighbors usually share some of the same problems." Fact is, maybe there is a truck, maybe it was just the truck you road in on. But you'll say that little white lie every time. Starting off, you are on telemarketing auto-dialer (not all locations), knocking doors, or trade shows. Anyone who ever fills out a trade show card will be called, forever, and ever, until they answer, until they say not to ever call again. Had so many people called in Cleveland, OH, I would knock on doors during training and actually get people, at the door, tell me, "Get the h*ll out of here before I throw you out, and stop calling me!" Same is true of knocking doors. You will knock the same doors that have been knocked for years and years if the franchise has been around. I've had homeowners actually tell me, "You idiots where just here two weeks ago, leave me alone!" Be prepared for angry homeowners to tell you to get lost. Be prepared to be run off by police because this company doesn't actually get the permits city's require to solicit door to door. To their credit, nobody does, and the permit system is a joke. Usually, home owners will call them just out of anger. However, one note about permits. The company will do what most door to door companies do, print off an official looking name tag, usually with something on it that says "Permit". It's not official. It's to calm the home owners. Cops laugh at them. They know good and well that it's meaningless. But, don't get caught not wearing it. Homeowners are fooled enough that if they DON'T see it, you can guarantee the cops will run you off. For AT&T, I was never run off. You are in a suit and tie with an official AT&T jacket. And nobody calls the cops on AT&T. Even the cops will wave you aside. But EverDry is nobody. And where they are known, they are not particularly liked by cops because they are used to running them off. Many places don't even have official shirts, though some do. But it's a thin costume and a thinner name tag. You just hope to get your leads before the cops show up. And if you are in a location with an unmarked vehicle with no company logo, be prepared for many police run ins. Be prepared to be fired if you don't start producing your minimum number of leads, usually at Sales is basically a strong push tactic. As a lead generator, you promise a "free $150 (or whatever number they've made up) inspection, from a certified inspector not a salesman". As a lead generator, you will be taught how to look for windows, cracks, and such while knocking on the door. The company rarely actually "sells" a $150 (I've trained at the HQ in Cleveland, it's a made up number... no seriously, completely made up.) And if they do, it's because some real estate agent wants to rubber stamp a house as having a good basement. Fact is, they're salesmen, and "certified" by the company. Take the most gruesome pictures you can find in someone's basement and tell them, without telling them, that "Well, it looks horrible. You're at risk of (list all the risks to health and home financial ruin). Anyways, here's your inspection, have a nice day..." and then let the magic of the customer asking "Well, what do we do about it?" start working. Then tell them that they can rent their own backloader to dig around the wall of their basement, and other stuff no sane homeowner would do. And then add, "Of course, we have a patented system which takes a week, can be covered by 'financing' (home improvement loan aka second mortgage), for the low low price of $15,000 (average), and it's guaranteed for life." As most sales are financed by a second mortgage, be prepared to go "help people", but only in good neighborhoods... just not too good. If you go into too good of a neighborhood, the police will show up immediately, obviously. If you go into a poor neighborhood, the salemen will jump down your throat for sending them to people who could never buy the product. So much for "free inspection", huh? It's a sales call, period. You will look for houses between $70,000 and $150,000. Also, be prepared for no preparation! The team leader will usually decide purely on gut feeling where you will work on any given day. There's zero thought given to your work location, except to drive around looking for basement windows or ask the work crews where they will be working. You will look for other things, for instance, you want the lady of the house, not the man. You want the family, because parents are terrified of mold. Just remember, never say the M word, that's only for the saleman to use. And when I say salesMAN I mean salesMAN. I'm sure there are women, but I never saw one. The company thinking is that a woman is not an inspector and not seen as an expert. (Yes, the company screams 1970's thinking, but... I suppose it still works.) If you have no problem with most door to door sales, you probably won't have a problem here. However, you will soon learn that your job is to lie and create doubt. Nobody spends $15,000 on a basement that isn't foot deep in water when you walk up (very rare) without someone scaring the crap out of them. I chose to stop working for this company even with decent pay. I was making about $1000 a week and simply couldn't get past the fact that I was being paid to hint at lies to people to scare them into buying things they really couldn't afford. I still have my official EverDry manual put away with the official "scare tactics". You sealed the basement yourself already, you'll be trained to repeat word for word something like "Well, it's good that you've taken actions to waterproof your basement, but sealant only keeps the water from coming through the wall, and without a moisture test, your wall could be filled with standing water and crumbling without you even knowing it!" You're a walking infomercial, but this is like most sales, really. The difference is that they don't go with three no's like most companies. If you are at the door, and the door isn't fully closed on your face, you keep talking, period. You must, literally, have the customer to the point of nearly screaming at you to get away with a 1" crack still open in the door, and still talk. The company seems to be at pains to only allow two kinds of people in the world. People who love you, or people that hate you so much that they threaten violence. In total, the tactics used by this company really push the legal limits of hardball. The better you do this, the better you will work with this company. Just don't expect advancement ever. Also the work hours are completely different than most door to door. You will work from about 9 or 11 in the morning until you get your full team's leads. And unless you have a great day, expect to be out until sunset.