So, I got a job offer today from a company called Primerica. The girl on the phone seemed very polite, talking in a lot of corporate elusive but positive doublespeak.
Anyway, after some googling, I found their website...along with a very large number of forums and other comments about the company being a pyramid scam
There's an interview type...thing of some sort...tomorrow. I could do that or volunteer with my girl. RIght now, I'm leaning towards the latter because this is ringing off too many bells for me.
Anyone else heard of the company?
#2
Chibibar
did you apply for it? if not, I say go hang with your girl.
#3
ThatNickGuy
No, they were referred to me by someone (somehow; they didn't say by whom or where). All they had was my name and number.
yea. sounds fishy. I bet they bought the name from a list.
I think one of my friend fell for that once. It is "technically" legit. They train you to become "financial consultant" where you would sell insurance, stocks or something independently and you get "commission" There is of course "training fee" where I do believe the recruiter gets a cut.
It is a job that you go out and either "hot call" or "cold call" people or talk with your friends and family to see if they need life insurance, financial help and stuff like that.
#6
Ravenpoe
I have a friend who worked briefly for them. Chibi hit the nail on the head. They're not technically a pyramid scam, but they are a really shitty place to work.
#7
Emrys
I was recruited by them and, yeah, you want to go volunteer with your lady.
If it was a choice between Primerica and prostitution, I would be tying up the corset and strapping on my walking heels.
#8
blotsfan
I went to an Amway recruitment thing, and it just got depressing. She drew out how it worked and basically made a pyramid, while trying to say that it wasn't a pyramid scheme at all. When I told her I wasn't interested she just seemed down, like she's struggling a lot with it.
#9
strawman
Primerica is a commisions only financial advisor job. It's not a pyramid scheme, but you don't get paid for the two hours of time you spent with the couple that decided not to invest in their IRAs, insurance, etc.
I've purchased from Primerica before, and I think we still have insurance policies with them. They aren't bad, but if you aren't prepared to do constant sales calls then you aren't going to make very much money.
#10
Jiarn
My ex-wife worked for Primerica for 8 months. She never saw a paycheck.
Go with Blush.
#11
Neon Pirate
Spend time with your girl...far better way to spend that time...
#12
PatrThom
To be successful in Primerica, you need to be good at sales, enjoy building and leading teams, have a talent for test-taking, and truly get off on talking to people. Lots of people. Sometimes repetitively. The business is biased so that the people who make the most money are the ones who attract/convince others to work for/under them. The more followers you attract, the larger commission you receive. The ones who do best are those who a) wholly buy into the concept (and treat it like a religion) and b) attract others who feel the same.
Turnover is extremely high. Pressure is high. Expenses are modest but relentless. Confidence is not as high as it once was due to the recent troubles experienced by their parent company (Citibank). The concept they sell (a package combining different financial products to cover a family's potential financial needs) is sound, but their prices are a bit above the market average (last I looked) and most families these days do not have an income large enough to be able to maintain their payments, meaning many carefully constructed plans fall apart as families divert money from scheduled payments away to other things.
Disclaimer: I used to be a rep. I was (and still am) totally behind the structured concept of financial preparedness (and having the tools in place), I just hate quotas and the act of pushing/selling to people, which ended up making it rather difficult to operate as a rep.
