I Have Worked As A Field Sales Representative

Are there some instances that someone, particularly a salesperson, knocks on your door and offers you some products or services?

Is there a moment that someone has invited you to be a field sales representative?

Do you fully understand this job?

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As I read @Bjorn 's article a while ago about Inviting and MLM(Multi-Level Marketing), a moment of nostalgia rushed through me. I remembered all those things I did on my first job. And yes, my first job after I graduated from senior high school is being a field sales representative. It's very far from what I have studied in Senior High School, wherein I belong to STEM Strand (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). Though we have an Entrepreneurship subject, we are not well exposed to sales and practical experiences. I knew that I can't proceed to college yet because our family have a financial crisis at that time, so I look for a job first. My cousin who has the same religion as the Division Manager of that marketing company and currently having a summer job there invited me to apply.

But first,

What is a field sales representative?
• Field Sales Representative, as far I know and based on my experience, is a kind of work wherein people are deployed in the fields to promote products, as one way of boosting sales. What we actually do here, we are planning on a road trip every week to a targeted place and juice out all our products. We would knock from every house and talk to every person that is willing to lend an ear on the roads.

How did I end up working in this job?

Being bored at home with no income, plus an annoying drunkard that yelling at us every day pushed me to take up the offer. I hurriedly make a resume and went to their main office. I passed the written exam and interviews. On my first day, I was an observer. On my second day up to the 5th day, I was a trainee. Then by next week, I was a management trainee. I have undergone a series of training and orientations on how much we can earn, about the bonuses we can get from inviting and training newcomers, bonuses we can get as Team leaders, sketching debtors locations, filling up receipts, how to approach a customer, strategies on how to persuade a customer, and how to do inventory tasks.

Even though the products that we are selling are all herbal products and difficult to sell, we can still earn big time just by applying those strategies. Well, it's not the best job and it also has many flaws but I learned a lot in that and I have improved my self-esteem.

Do you know that Smart, PLDT, and Globe Network Companies also use this marketing strategy to boost their sales at WiFi plans?

Though this job is difficult and risky, there are still people who choose to apply for this kind of job. Even if they can only earn here on a commission basis, seeing some potential income there made them take up the challenge. My other colleagues are still working there until now and two of them are now managers.

What can they benefit from this kind of job though the income isn't fixed?

• MLM benefits

As they can invite people, they have now a percentage of the products that they sold. If you are promoted to a much higher position, you will have higher bonuses that will be received every weekend. If you can create a team and hit the targeted quota of products being sold, you can be promoted to a Supervisor or Manager, that depends on the criteria. In short, in every recruit you will have a percentage, in every trainee that is trained, the trainor will a percentage on their sold products, as the position gets higher the bonuses increases. If you're to take this job seriously and work hard, you can surely earn a potential income.

• Free Training & Seminars

The good thing is if you will apply there, the only requirement is if you are willing to take up the challenge and if you are determined. Even if you are not good at talking about sales and persuading customers, you will be trained every day before you set off to the field. There are many people there that will guide you on everything you do and help you conquer your shyness and build up your confidence.

• Free Travel & Lodging

Every week we are going to different places. If the place is much farther from the main office, we just look for a boarding house to stay and it is covered by the office. We only spend on our food. I don't know if this privilege is the same with other companies, maybe it depends. I have the chance to travel to places that I have never been to in our Region and it's fun.

If you can gain from it, there are also disadvantages. So, what are they?

• No Insurance

They don't cover this. They wouldn't also claim to be responsible if something happens to you in the field. They'll just donate a few to you to lessen your expenses and allow you to take a leave.

• No Philhealth and SSS benefits

Unlike other companies that pay a fixed income, they don't care if you have these Philhealth or SSS contributions to pay quarterly. They wouldn't even give a damn if you have those or you want to have those. If you want it, then take a leave, go to the institutions just by yourself, and apply for self-employed form, then pay it from your pockets.

In my experience, the Division Manager there is a religious person. He would invite their church minister there every night to preach after we're done with inventories and invite us to join their religion but since we have different beliefs, we always argue. As it happens often, the argument became personal. They would get angry with me if I didn't attend their worship service at their church. It does not concern my business relationship with them, so why I'm obliged to convert my religion?  That's what I thought. Then after 4 months though I get promoted to a Team Leader, I resigned.

This is the last road trip I have and the most productive week I have before resigning, back then at 2018. We are having breakfast and getting ready to set off.

Thanks for spending your precious time to read this article. Always be well and healthy, beautiful people.

Your peaceful writer but noisy in TG chats, is now signing off.

Both Lead Image and Closing Image are edited in Canva.