Vector Marketing

Dionysus · #1 05-03-2004, 05:34 PM

I see flyers and booths all over my campus from this company. I know a girl in one of my student organizations who works for Vector, she likes it. According to what she told me, their jobs sound appealing. On the other hand, I've heard both bad and good things about Vector.

Has anyone worked for Vector or is currently working for them? Pros and cons working for them?

swissmiss04 · #2 05-04-2004, 12:16 AM

Step away from the Vector Marketing! Argh. I interviewed and got a job only to find out I would have to buy almost 200 bucks worth of merchandise, not to mention that in my area most people didn't make nearly what they were told they would. You'll sell (if I'm not mistaken) knives like how some people sell Pampered Chef or Avon. If that's your bag, then go for it.

tld221 · #3 05-04-2004, 01:31 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by swissmiss04
Step away from the Vector Marketing! Argh. I interviewed and got a job only to find out I would have to buy almost 200 bucks worth of merchandise, not to mention that in my area most people didn't make nearly what they were told they would. You'll sell (if I'm not mistaken) knives like how some people sell Pampered Chef or Avon. If that's your bag, then go for it.

cosign! please! step away from the vector...they show up at college fairs and put their flyers in campus papers theyre a scam. the nyc headquarters (which i got sucked into for an "interview") was this makeshift office with foldable chairs, tables, and everything. the "ceo's" office was a closet with a desk in it.

theres more to the story, but point is, dont let them fool u. $15 an hour my @$$. theyl try to get u to buy the knives for $200.

Vector = cutco

*also, stay away from prepaid legal services. same concept, except youre selling monthly legal services to people. first, youhave to buy the service ans "startup" kit, which is a crappy manual and CD-ROM.

DeltaGammaStar · #4 05-04-2004, 11:55 AM

I have to second what everyone is saying about Vector Marketing.

Yes, they are a complete marketing scam. Just like other scams, they have you come in for an interview and basically go through one of their sales to give you an idea of what you would be doing. They are pure commission sales, and pretty sleazy overall. They sponsor two days of unpaid traning and during that time ask for the names and numbers of people you could sell to and try to teach you the ways of selling "such a high quality product that we aren't allowed to advertise for it." Give me a freaking break.

You are forced to purchase $200 worth of Cutco knives just to get started, and it isn't even a full set. The more you sell, the more products you can get a hold of to demonstrate to your customers. It is a complete waste of your time and leaves you with a dirty feeling afterward.

Hope this helps...

- Colleen

PhiMuLady150 · #5 05-04-2004, 12:13 PM

ditto ditto double ditto on what everyone else has posted. my lil bro got caught up with them and finally after a month of me and my parents shoving reports in his face + him getting frustrated and hararassed by his manager at least 5 times a day(yes she would call 5 times a day), he quit. Not a good path to go down, trust me

Imperial1 · #6 05-18-2004, 06:08 PM

A GREAT BIG CO-SIGN ON EVERY RESPONSE! VECTOR AND CUTCO ARE BOTH FULL OF CRAP. Don't even apply for their internship!

Imperial1

TigerLilly · #7 05-18-2004, 06:28 PM

Ditto, ditto, ditto. I saw their ad in the paper and went for the interview. It looked shady right from the start -- they were in a VERY temporary office in a strip mall. Everything was folding and the entire office looked like it could be taken down within a few hours.
There was a group interview where they basically try to sell you on the idea of their products being all great. THEN they explain to you about how you have to buy the kit and are supposed to sell the knives and stuff to your family/friends/neighbors/whoever you can guilt trip into it. You have to find your own customers, they provide no help with that.
After the group interview they called each of us back for an individual interview. The interviewer was doing all this weird psychoanalyzing stuff; I remember he said something like: "I wish you would have spoken up a bit more during the group session, but I get the feeling that you're the type of person who wants to make sure your customers know everything about the product, is that right?" WTF? It was very strange but at that point I already knew things were shady. Then they invited me back for the second day, a day of "free job training" as they called it, acting like it was a huge privilege to be offered this opportunity. At that point I could tell everything was fishy and said, no thanks, I'm outta here.
I had meant to go back a few weeks later and see if the office was still there, but I got a REAL job and didn't have time.
STAY AWAY FROM VECTOR!!!

lovespink88 · #8 06-02-2009, 05:34 PM

Am I the only one who knows two different people who sold Cutco knives, liked it, and made a ton of money? lol

DrPhil · #9 06-02-2009, 06:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lovespink88

Am I the only one who knows two different people who sold Cutco knives, liked it, and made a ton of money? lol

As with every "sell this for us, make tons of money" opportunity, there's more to the story than the people you know tell you.

They work for every bit of that money.

SydneyK · #10 06-03-2009, 09:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lovespink88

Am I the only one who knows two different people who sold Cutco knives, liked it, and made a ton of money? lol

I know only one person who sold Cutco and she loved it. She was a marketing major, though, and the salesmanship involved was right up her alley. Also, she walked away from the job with a great set of knives.

I got a full Cutco set as a wedding gift and I absolutely love it. I've used them almost daily for years and have no complaints. I actually wish I knew someone who was currently selling so I could have a contact for extra pieces.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrPhil

As with every "sell this for us, make tons of money" opportunity, there's more to the story than the people you know tell you.

They work for every bit of that money.

Sure they do - what's wrong with working for the money you earn? It's not like it's illegal.

DrPhil · #11 06-03-2009, 10:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SydneyK

Sure they do - what's wrong with working for the money you earn? It's not like it's illegal.

The below post explains what the phrase "you work for every bit of that money" means.

agzg · #12 06-03-2009, 10:00 AM

My hometown is about 15 miles away from Olean NY where Cutco/Vector is headquartered. Actually, my aunt lives about 5 houses down from the CEO (or owner I don't remember whether they're publicly traded or not) of the company. My dad's next door neighbor is one of their engineers (he actually designs a lot of the knives).

Needless to say, everyone in my hometown has some sort of set of Cutco knives in their house, and they truly are very very nice. The fun thing about having a design engineer next door was that my mom was able to get any type of knife she wanted, even if there wasn't currently a design for that function. She got a "Christmas ham scoring knife." That one probably didn't go into production.

Anyway that's beside the point. The door to door sales is something I tried to do once and failed miserably at. I give people a lot of credit if they can love it and make money at it. The worst thing, I think, about the way they sell their knives is that if your contact no longer sells, you have to go through the trouble of calling to find out who to contact if you want a specific knife.

We're lucky - since most everyone in my area knows at least one person that works for the company it's much easier to get our knives from them than it is elsewhere in the country. It's also much easier to work for Cutco in my hometown area versus here in Chicago or elsewhere just because you're so close to their headquarters and most people are absolutely willing to buy something when their sales rep comes around just because they know and trust the company. The Cutco sales rep is pretty welcome at any door in my hometown.

ETA: I guess my point is that people who work for Vector Marketing go through similar trials and tribulations as those who work for any other company that uses direct marketing and door to door sales. Not everyone is cut out for it, in fact, most people aren't, but if you like it and work very very hard (and I mean very very hard) you can make a lot of money at it. If you hate it, you're not going to work hard (because you hate it) and you're not going to be an effective sales rep to make a lot of money.

DrPhil · #13 06-03-2009, 10:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by agzg

...and work very very hard (and I mean very very hard) you can make a lot of money at it....

Exactly.

This is only for people who have no earthly alternatives and who would be content at a job where there are no "safety nets."

agzg · #14 06-03-2009, 10:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrPhil

Exactly.

This is only for people who have no earthly alternatives and who would be content at a job where there are no "safety nets."

Well - for some people who are very good at it they do have other alternatives but you're right about being comfortable with no safety nets.

It's really just like any other direct door to door marketing campaign. You've gotta be comfortable with it and you've got to bust your ass just to make any money, but if you are comfortable and do bust your ass (and like it, you really have to like it), once you start making money you make A LOT of money.

I've never heard of having to pay for the first knife set (for demonstrations).

People need to remember though that I come from a very atypical environment as far as Cutco specifically goes. My dad gave me Cutco for Christmas this year and I don't know ANYONE from home who does not have Cutco in their kitchen (even if they have other knives on top of them). It's given for holidays, weddings, graduations, housewarmings, the only time where it's really inappropriate is baby showers. Sales reps in my hometown area are treated very very well and most of the time they have customers calling THEM. I'm sure it's very different elsewhere and that those who don't live in Western New York have to work 20x harder than someone who does.

DrPhil · #15 06-03-2009, 10:47 AM

I hear ya, agzg, and your experience is definitely unique.

Here's mine:

10 years ago, in the summer between undergrad and grad school, I wanted to sell Vector. If it worked out, I'd consider selling Vector after that if my assistantship fell through.

I was the only person beyond a high school education in the presentation. While everyone else was completing the application, the presenter called me into his office. He told me that this isn't the job for me, it will be tedious and miserable for me. He urged me not to go through with it because, as he said, people with education and other experience are less likely to put in the HEAVY time and effort that it takes to make Vector worthwhile.

So, if it works for some people, great. But, people need to know what it takes going into it and carefully weigh their options. Personally, my time and effort are worth more than what Vector can offer monetarily and, besides, Vector isn't a resume` building experience for me.

I feel similarly about PrePaid Legal and Mary Kay, although I liken those to sales CULTS.