Success Stories

My summer sales experience was definitely a learning one. I probably picked one of the more difficult times in life to jump into security system sales, in that my wife was 8 months pregnant and I left a very stable full-time job in the hopes of making enough to put me through my last year of school without having to work. Everything happened for a reason, but if you put me in that same situation again knowing what I know now, I wouldn't do it again the same way.

I was a fairly successful first-year salesman, especially considering the office environment I was in. Our office started out with just over 20 reps, and within 1.5 months there were only 5 of us left. It wasn't the company's fault, nor was it the product/service's fault that things went to pot. As is often the case in summer sales companies, a decent 3rd year rep was made the new office manager, and he really didn't have the leadership skills to show us the ropes. His product knowledge was dated and he was easily distracted.

Anyway, my advice to anyone looking at doing summer sales for the first time is 1) join a reputable company, 2) don't just trust that because your friends have been successful that you automatically will, 3) find out as much about your office manager as possible and their success history, and 4) be prepared to work harder than you've ever worked in your life. Sales is not easy, and it's even more difficult to be 100% truthful and legit in everything you say and do. The pressure of making a sale and doing the right thing often conflict.

Also remember that, no matter what company you work for or what you're selling, people are buying YOU as much or more than the product/service. If you're genuine, honest, and kind you'll realize a lot more success than if you would otherwise. Be yourself, but be your best self. You'll feel a lot better about your efforts in the long run if you do.

In the summer of 2007 I drove out to Omaha Nebraska with a friend,we were convinced we were going to make bank over the summer selling dish network door to door. If I could go back and pick selling door to door again I would definitely do security systems. They might be a little harder to sale than maybe pest control or satellite but you make a lot more money per sale as well. It doesn't take long to learn how to sell door to door but it is still a hard job. I think the worst part is, the second most people see you they want you gone and they don't want to talk to you. Not to mention you are selling in very hot weather. With dish network we made $80.00 a sale if you were a first year representative and more if it was your second or third year. I sold from the beginning of may till the middle of July that summer. It was brutal and I made okay money. The problem is the money I made went toward bills to live out in Omaha-food, gas, fun, etc. It also wasn't planned very well because we were living in Omaha and Omaha has a cable company called cox cable. Well they pretty much dominate that city in cable, phone and internet. So after a week of trying that city out we decided to try elsewhere. the problem with that is for the rest of the summer we were paying to drive 30 minutes to an hour and a half away! Needless to say we spent a lot on gas. I had a good experience as for fun and all but not a good money maker. Also something important to know is that we received draws (money) every two weeks of enough money to pay for necessities. If you were selling more than what you were getting in your draws you would receive a check of all the excess money you made at the end of the summer. Well if you don't stay all summer because you get sick of it or whatever you no longer receive that end of the summer check. I left early cause I didn't want to do it anymore and didn't see a reason to. therefore I lost out on at least $2,000! just make sure you know what your getting yourself into before going out to do one of these summer jobs.

I have done summer sales for 4 summers and I keep coming back for more. It has been a great way for me to graduate from Utah State University debt free. While in school summer sales allowed me the opportunity to focus on school and other goals without constantly worrying about money. I never would have been able to study abroad if I didn't do summer sales.

I have recently graduated and while I thought I would put summer sales behind me after graduation. I think I will be going back for another summer.
Where else can you earn a years worth of money in 4 months?!?!

Last summer was my first attempt at summer sales. My brother-in-law told me to check it out. At first it seemed like kind of a risky industry, but I just decided to bite the bullet, go for it, and work really hard since I was so strapped for cash. It worked out great and I made 35K during those 4 summer months. I think my success came from staying positive, having fun with the customers, and always trying to out-sell our team leader. Selling with friends really helped keep me motivated and working hard.

Through summer sales, I developed a lot of people skills and learned how to communicate better with strangers. This will definitely help me build strong relationships in the business world.
This summer I am a manager over a small team. My goal is to make 50K. I honestly feel that the things I do, anybody can do. There is nothing to it besides a positive attitude and a desire to work.

I think people should put their bias of summer sales aside and really check it out. Some companies are sketchy, but there are still a lot of good ones out there where you can be VERY successful. Yeah, it’s hard, but working construction making 10 bucks an hour is hard too, and probably even worse. Even if you are the WORST salesman ever, you will make more through sales than any other job you could find over the summer.

Last summer I did summer sales for the first time. Some friends I knew had done it so I thought I’ll just give it a try. I didn’t know if it was going to work or not. I made over 30K. The keys to my success were practicing responses to customers’ doubts and hard work. It was important to set goals and be self-motivated. I can now sell myself in anything and I am confident. My biggest challenge was leaving my friends behind, but I was able to look to the future and know that I wouldn’t have to work during the school year. Now I will be able to invest in a condo in the fall.