<p>Been considering a summer job with Discovery Summer Sales, seems like it could be really good but has anyone done their program or know more about what it’s really like?</p>
<p>I’ve worked with Discovery Summer Sales the last two years, who were Genesis Marketing at the time. I’ve graduated now and am no longer working with them but can give you a bit of insight what my two summers were like. To start, the job is definitely not for everyone. Despite the ‘marketing’ recruiters will pitch you, it really is a door to door sales job, selling pest control…in 100 degree weather. The upside is if you do really well you are going to earn a lot of money. If you don’t do well your pay can be pretty bad for the hours put in.</p>
<p>I never had any previous sales jobs or experience so my first summer there was definitely a steep learning curve. Took me most of my first month to really start selling well and I was about average my first summer. The money can be made for those that do well though, you just have to be money hungry and take the job serious – there are a lot of distractions as you can tell some students come down just to travel and party. The experience is unmatched, as you do make best friends with the other students working with you 6 days a week 10 hours a day, and the weekends are usually pretty awesome. I did get to check out and see places I don’t think I ever would’ve without doing the job. </p>
<p>I’d say the thing I liked most about the job was that my pay was entirely on me and that really motivated me, along with the experience of being away from home meeting new people and seeing places I wouldn’t otherwise. The things I hated most would include the stress of the job, it really sucks when you sell an account and it doesn’t get serviced, whether the pest control company screws up or the customer cancels. It’s something they tell you to budget for, 15% of your accounts to cancel and not get paid, but still sucks when you see it happen, usually because the wife or husband comes home and cancels or they don’t pay their bills. </p>
<p>If you’re seriously considering working for Discovery then I would just recommend to talk to other students who are with the company to see what they really think, to make sure you get a better idea of what things are really like. I have no regrets working with them and made unmatched money I could’ve here in Canada but just know it isn’t for everyone.</p>
<p>Thank you for the feedback! Sounds like the experience is pretty awesome, but how much do students actually earn? What’s a realistic number of accounts you can expect to sell? How is the management? I think I could do the job I just want to make sure it’s not some scam or where only a select few actually make the good money they show you on the payscale.</p>
<p>The job isn’t a scam. I do get why people who first hear about the job are suspicious though, I definitely was. The pay is based on an incremental pay scale, meaning as you sell more accounts and hit higher commission brackets, you get paid that higher commission on all of your accounts - that’s why you can make so much, they don’t just pay you that commission for each level, they pay you the final, highest commission you reach on all your accounts. </p>
<p>My first year I finished about average with most other students with about 150 accounts and made $15,000. I was able to come back my second year and clear over $25,000. This last summer the average student finished maybe around the 150/175 mark but there was a first year sales rep who sold over 400 accounts and a bunch of others who did over 300 accounts. Making 40k in a summer suddenly makes the job a lot more worth it…We had one manager who sold over 700 accounts but he has been selling for years, he’s pulling in over 100k a summer. Real money can definitely be made, you just have to know not everyone is going to sell 300+ and make $40,000. If you’re ok knowing the average for first years is around the 150 account level of about $15,000 then go for it.</p>
<p>mypens66,</p>
<p>I am extremely interested in this program but it does seem fishy.
How much did it cost you for the trip overall? How much was your net profit?
Did you enjoy it? Was it really a great experience?
Did you actually win any of the prizes they are advertising?
Has it helped you in the future based on what you learned and what you experienced?</p>
<p>Thanks a lot.</p>
<p>Is there a link to this program? I can’t find it…</p>
<p>This review says something completely different to the posters above. The average is much lower than 15K. Also I wouldn’t be surprised if the guy who posted this thread and the guy that answered both work for the company.</p>
<p><a href=“http://genesismarketingreview.blogspot.ca/2013/03/genesis-review-truth-about-genesis.html”>http://genesismarketingreview.blogspot.ca/2013/03/genesis-review-truth-about-genesis.html</a></p>
<p>Hawkace – the link for the program is <a href=“http://www.godiscovery.com”>www.godiscovery.com</a></p>
<p>10giraffe1 – I think that Discovery does a good job of marketing the sex appeal of the job so it can come off fishy, but once you really look into the job you’ll see it’s the kind of job of extremes. Obviously they’ll tell you about all the reps at the top end and all the cool stuff they do, and not talk much about the bottom reps, so I’d suggest using the averages to base your decision on applying. I’ll be honest in saying it’d be unlikely for you to go down your first summer and make more than $30,000, which is what seems a lot of reps come down their first year expecting to be better than everyone else. If you’re good coming down and working 6 days a week to make likely around $13,000-17,000, with always the possibility of more or less, then you’ll probably end up satisfied.</p>
<p>My costs would include:
- $250 in gas to and from the US, $125 each way (carpooled with another rep)
- $375 for travel insurance and half the cost of the work permit
- $500 approximately for my gas costs during the summer
- $200 ($50/month) for a prepaid cell phone plan (used my Canadian cell with a US SIM card)
- $1500 approximately for groceries and eating out
- $1000 give or take on random expenses mostly on weekends, doing touristy stuff</p>
<p>Call it roughly $3,500-4,000 that I spent overall. I came away with about $21,000 in profit this past summer, and my first year came away with about $12,000 in my pocket after it was all said and done. I did get to live for free though, so that’s about $2,000 or so I saved from spending if I stayed in Canada.</p>
<p>I personally had a great experience in and out of work my two summers, I really did enjoy it. I came down looking to work hard though and had a pretty good grasp on what to expect.</p>
<p>I actually did win a few prizes! I won tickets to a Whiz Khalifa concert, some gift cards and then the best was definitely the MacBook I won in a March madness style sales tournament. A lot of the incentives they do are just office wide though that everyone gets, and then I got to go on a year end cruise through California and Mexico for signing on to return the following year. The prizes and incentives are definitely one of the things that make the job worthwhile outside of the money.</p>
<p>I do feel like the job has helped me in terms of the future, you really do learn in depth about communication and interpersonnel skills, it may be a sales job but the intense training in sales techniques and overall persuasion are useful in almost every day to day thing we do. There isn’t a rep who doesn’t come back from this job without increasing their confidence level and frankly I feel if you can finish a summer and be successful knocking doors, it gives you a much better perspective and ability to handle future jobs ahead. The job is just so much more real world experience that is end of the day dependent on you, which really forces you to learn what they’re teaching you.</p>
<p>Anyways didn’t mean to ramble but hopefully this answers some of your questions!</p>
<p>Jackssk – one of my managers this past summer was a sales rep the same year the poster of that review came down, and most everything of what he has in his review is not what I experienced. I was told that rep left after the first week – there are always the weaker rep or two that will leave at the start of the summer, this has happened both of my years. You can take it for what you want but if you’re actually looking to work for Discovery then talk to more reps to know how the program actually is rather than one rep who came down and quit after a week. I wasn’t working with the company yet that summer but what I’ve experienced is that the pest control company Terminix handles all the licencing and permits, I got paid according to the payscale I signed in my agreement, and they do seem to hire Canadians because they have a lot of past reps refer new reps at their universities and it is such a demanding job that the turnover would be a lot higher from local workers. Moving away to the job for a summer really does ensure you’re more committed. From other experienced reps I’ve worked with they have talked about how the company has improved a lot since they got involved 5-6 years ago, however I obviously never got a chance to work with the ones who didn’t return. </p>
<p>Is this only for college students? I’m still in high school… @mypens66</p>
<p>Unfortunately it’s only for college students</p>
<p>@mypens66 You seem very committed for someone who just ‘worked’ for this program. Combined with your post history only ever existing on this topic - it’s pretty evident you are one of the owners for this company.</p>
<p>@jackssk and you seem very committed for someone that worked for the company and packed up after a week, three years ago. This job definitely is not for everyone. especially the soft type. Combined with your post history its pretty evident you are a disgruntled employee. </p>