Pros
I worked at WestCoast Direct for 6 months, after leaving I felt it was best to give an honest review of what the work environment is like for people coming in.
You are a solid candidate for WestCoast Direct Solutions if you want to learn. I was a sales director in another firm prior to joining WestCoast and I can assure you, even I had a learning curve. If you’re young and really want to get experience under your belt, this is for you. You will learn so much it’s unbelievable.
I had a military background as well and therefore I was given leadership responsibilities within 9 days. What makes this amazing is that if you are hired, you will be eventually given advancement opportunities. If you’re young and newly graduated, you will be given the opportunities to interview, train, manage and publically speak. Be prepared to be moved around as their going to want to see what you’re good at. I learned more in my first 90 days here than in any other firm I've been in. If you’re trying to get experience not just for your resume but real experience that makes you feel confident in your future endeavors, this is the place.
What you put in is what you get out. This is sales and marketing, some people are more creative and or have a harder work ethic. I’ve seen people make 2,000 a week and i’ve seen people make less. It’s a commission + base model (depending on the program) so you’ll always have pocket change but if you’re joining just for pocket change then maybe this isn’t for you.
This is a very free thinking and moving forward type of organization. Be prepared to improvise and find solutions. This is great for people who have a personality of loving challenges and horrible for people who hate challenges. Good news is, once you move into a senior position, you can position your production team as you wish usually. Great way to experiment new ideas and try new things.
Right now they're looking to expand so there are a few openings to explore. What makes this slick is that I had a chance to go on a company trip to Mexico earlier this year. While there I met guys who were 21 who made 150k who were only a couple positions above me. But these guys were on point, disciplined, smart and always thinking forward. There is no regional in Vancouver right now, that position is at-least 500k a year. Don’t kid yourself it’ll take at-least 5 years of blood sweat and tears to get there. But if you can put in the work it’s yours. This is really a career to be apart of once you become a manager.
Bottom line, if you’re entrepreneurial, have a student mentality, and willing to work crazy for the first year. Then this is for you. In my experience, if you’re young, single, have a degree, have had started some business ventures in the past. Then you’re on their radar and that's a good thing. Really this is only for people who are disciplined and hardworking.
Money: You make it to management, the world is yours. Literally, these guys will fly you everywhere and invest crazy amounts into you. The average manager made around 250k- 500k, regional were 500k - 750k and VP was around 750 to a million plus. Don’t kid yourself though, it can take a year plus to get to management and be prepared to work harder than you ever have before. This is coming from someone in the Military. Each promotion is hard earned, it can take people 5 years to get to Regional using the same work ethic and another 3 years to get to VP. But I rarely have ever seen people with that work ethic. Most people spent around 10+ years to get to Regional and then 15 years in were VP’s. But hey, the production targets are well defined and the same for everyone. You hit em, then it’s yours
Cons
Time: The time commitment can be tough for some people, but I've seen a single mom with 3 kids work harder than anyone else and I've seen kids with no responsibilities fold. Generally however, if you have little responsibility and have the time to dedicate 150% to this job, then you’re fine.
Entrepreneurial: This is great for entrepreneurs who still want some mentorship on how to run a team and a business but, this is horrible for people who want to work administration like environment. I loved the environment but I can see how someone who's used to a status quo job wouldn’t do well.
Ruthless: These guys are ruthless, you could be great for 30 days, but if you mess up for 3 days then you’re given less attention. Now that's a good thing and a bad thing. What's cool about this is, you can change your reputation for better or for worse in 10 days. So you always have to be on point.
