ExecRank Sean McDonald Scam - Misrepresents Service. Takes your money, refuses to refund once you see through their sham Novata, California Nationwide

I used to work at this company. Not this site, but I used to leave fake positive reviews on Glassdoor, Trustpilot, and the like as part of my daily routine. 

Sean McDonald openly brags about how he "told off" an angry customer disguised as another customer - "gaining the company tons of credibility." He has since been promoted to Vice President. Sam G. did a good job.

If you look, this company is ALWAYS hiring. That's because they are ALWAYS firing. Not because the job is difficult, but if you ask any questions about why way, way less than 1% of members find a board seat. When I was there, I watched them fire a guy without warning who had his first kid due in less than a month. The nicest girl I ever met was fired without warning for "being a bully". My direct manager was court marshaled from the marines for raping underage recruits. The place is a sess-pool.

1000 people sign up a month, about 40 cancel every day. I wish somebody could do something to stop them from ripping these people off.

Sam it's great that you love this organisation but many obviously DON'T and I am one of them. A GREAT selling job to get me involved - "thousands of companies looking for board members like you... PAID positions..." and then I find that most of them are charitable organisations wanting money from ME or work for free, and so on. So people don't enjoy giving their hard earned dollars away on false promises? Surprise surprise. I don't either.

When are they sgning you up to work for THEM?

To add to what others have said — I consider it a scam. I was approached by one of their agents, named David Kavrell. I got a highly scripted presentation that claimed I was an ideal candidate, would get all sorts of offers, etc. At no point was I asked if I had any questions, just went straight to the closing.

I had a question, however. I wanted to know why they used a subscription model of $200/month, rather than the more traditional model whereby they take a commission from successful matches. This question obviously upset him, as he quickly turned defensive, and made a rather obvious attempt at the whole “withdraw the offer” sales tactic.

That ended our call, but I got a really friendly email afterwards about how much he had enjoyed our conversation, and encouraging me to follow through. I then had a brief email exchange with him, which I am sharing here, verbatim, for everyone else:

My Email Response and Proposal

Dear David,

I am writing to let you know that I will no be signing up for ExecRank, at least not based on the pitch you made. And I wanted you to know the reasons.

I could go into the online research I've done about ExecRank, which has revealed a rather incredible level of unhappiness from past users. However, I wish to take a different approach.
 
 I asked you one question during our talk, a question that I consider critical to this whole equation -- your income model. You make money exclusively from signing up members for your services. You do not make money from actually placing them successfully on a board.
 
 And that means one thing -- that your sales must be driven by signing up as many members as possible, regardless of the actual qualifications, experience, or ability of those people. In fact, when I looked at the complaints that some of the people had about your site, I found that many of them were dreadfully unqualified, and highly unlikely to ever be considered for a position on a board of directors -- but they'd received the same sales pitch I did, promising all sorts of wonderful things.
 
 Now, in our interview, you said that you were confident that with my background and experience, I could get board positions. And I do think that I have valuable and unique experience and knowledge to offer, especially to those interested in doing business in China.
 
 So here is my proposal: I don't pay you a cent. You guys help me craft my resume, and you guys present it to all those thousands of boards that you claim to have lined up. And for every board position that you successfully place me on, I will pay you a commission of 20% of the value of the first year's salary for that position.
 
 Now, according to your own sales pitch, I should be expecting to be getting at least $50,000 per year from each board position. 20% of that would be $10,000. Which would be equal to four years of membership fees at $200/month. If you get me two such positions, that's $20,000 for you guys. That's a shitload more money than you will ever make from charging me a $200 monthly membership fee.
 
 Here's the thing -- If you truly believe that my qualifications are suitable, and that you can find me board positions, there is no reason whatsoever not to accept my proposal. The only reason not to accept it is that you are, in fact, not confident of your ability to get me a role on a board of directors.
 
 And if you are not confident in your ability to do so, why the hell would I pay you $200/month?

His Response

Thank you for your well thought out and thoroughly explained proposal. You are entitled to your opinion, but you are wrong. The reason we can not do as you asked is that it would be unfair to our current 10,000 members. I am sure that you can understand that. There are many reasons for people to write bad reviews, but I will leave you with just one thought. We are a month to month model, why would we do that if by letting you on and giving you access to all of our members you could find out how miserable they are?

I wish you all the best, but to determine not to proceed because of what a bunch of strangers say seems illogical to me.

Thank you for your time.

My Conclusions

His response only confirms my opinion. His claim that my proposal would be “unfair” to their members is patently nonsense — how is it “unfair” to pay a company for actual results, compared to paying them a monthly fee even if they do nothing whatsoever for you? Not to mention that the model I proposed is one that is used by hundreds of companies, and I don’t hear people complaining that it is unfair.

“If you get me results, I pay you. If you don’t get me results, I don’t pay you.” How is that “unfair”?

Then there’s the fact that, both in our phone call and in this email response, he fails entirely to address the question of why I should trust him, given that the company’s obvious business model is to sign up as many people as possible, regardless of their qualifications, since that is the only way that they can make money!

He also obviously misses the irony in criticizing me for listening to “what a bunch of strangers say”, while simultaneously expecting me to believe him — a stranger who profits from getting me to buy his service.

As I emphasized in my email to him, were this company’s services legitimate, and were they confident in getting board positions for me (and their other clients), they’d be idiots not to use the pay model that I proposed, as they’d make far greater profits. They’d get far higher revenue, while also significantly decreasing the complaints from their clients. After all, who’s going to complain? If they’re not successful, I pay nothing — and have nothing to complain about. If they are successful, I pay them a previously agreed fee, and I have a board position — again, nothing to complain about.

The only reason for them not to use this model is that they know they cannot deliver on their promises.

Sam G -

Why don't you simply share your real name and the names of the Boards you are sitting on? That would settle this rather definitively, wouldn't it?

Alternatively, why doesn't someone from ExecRank include testimonials from people sitting on the Boards, or in C-Level positions, at the companies posted on their sites? Or offer a money-back guarantee if users are not fully satisfied within, say, 30-60 days?

Sam G - you claim you have been a member for 9 months... that is $1800. Then you go into a long winded defense of ExeCrank with nothing to substantiate this 'amazing' time. 

What was amazing? That you paid $1800 and still have too much time on your hands?

What kind of work did they find you?

Did you make more than $1800? How much more? After all, if you made $1800, that means you have been working for nothing right?

How many boards do you sit on now?

Yeah, you sound like your cat fishing to me.

Glad I found this before I even called the guys.

Jock

I've talked to and been approached by a number of people about this company AND not one of them had a good experiance.

It's a scam.   Ask them for proof of one board position they've placed with any of the companies featured on their home page.  Guaranteed there isn't one!

So as someone who gets spammed (opinion) by ExecRank (Chris Beaver) weekly or so...

I thought about it.  Then I set out to do my research.  I am glad that the author took time to provide their feedback for us to read and make a decision on validitity.  I also believe that the Sam G. is more than likely a shill account for the company.  Come on - a real customer talking about Terms and Conditions...  Give me a break.

If the company had (has) any Executive effort in resolving this - they would come out here and provide their feedback directly and 'positively' address the the author's concerns/opinions.

They haven't (openly) so for now what is almost 5 months...  I guess they hope people won't research.  

Russian Proverb - Doveryai, no proveryai - Trust, but verify.

My action - ExecRank has now been marked as junk email.

 You are Sean. I can tell. You've made your point, weak as it is. You have nothing new to offer but you insist on continuing to reply because you must have the last word - this was the same as the conversation I had with trying to discontinue your service. I'm writing this last rebuttal and then I'm done, ok Sean? People need to know what your company does so they don't get scammed by you. Rebut this one more time with nothing new to say so that people know it's you.

Being retired myself I have plenty of time to "troll" the internet as you say. I don't know who Shawn is, and I don't much care either. My point remains the same regardless of who you want to believe I am. You didn't get your way, so you're throwing a temper tantrum about it. Maybe you're just used to getting your way all the time and this was a reality check you weren't prepared for, who knows. 

If you want something to work, you make it work. If you want to quit trying and cause a big stink, I believe it's safe to say you didn't give it much effort in the first place, but mostly, you're demanding that you deserve things that nobody else gets, regardless of where they do business. My response was due to the emotionally charged and childish foot stomping of a ripoff report you wrote here. I come to this site because often you will find well thought out and helpful tips to avoid TRUE scams. I have little patience for people who are just out for blood because they didn't get their way. You sir, are one of those. 

For your own sake, I hope you're able to see that in the end, most people aren't trying to hurt one another, and it doesn't make you feel better in the long run to be trying to hurt other people either. Best of luck to you. 

Sure...you're a "satisfied customer" of this scam. You're so overwhelmed with "board opportunities" that you actually have to SCROLL and here you are with plenty of time to troll the internet, find the numerous negative comments that people are making about your so-called "service" and disparage them. That's the beauty of ripoffreport.com. Once you file a report, you get to see when someone responds to it, Shawn, and I can tell it's you by the way you write. You've only further underscored the scaminess of your scam. No further need for me to respond. So, go ahead and write your next "rebuttal," last word freak. 

I've been an ExecRank member for over 9 months, and I've had an amazing experience thus far. I find your angry complaining to be quite comical considering the honest, straightforward, and transparent experience I've had with the company so far. Every single point you are complaining and stomping your feet about, were explained in great detail to me from day one.

ExecRank is a scam? A Scam is a dishonest scheme; or a fraud. I can only imagine one reason that you might have imagined this up, and that woud be that you weren't listening. They are extremely fourthcoming about their service, and they explain the cancellation policy multiple times, not to mention it's in the "Terms and Conditions" that you agree to when you sign up.

You claim that there is a 1 day window in which you can cancel your membership without being charged? That would be true if a month was 16 days long. How exactly is being charged for the next month at all contrary to the statement "you can cancel at any time"? It's true, you can cancel at any time. Did someone say "and you won't be charged a penny after saying you wish to cancel"? I think not. I was told that I would need to give 15 days notice ahead of my next billing date, so not to be charged for the next month. This is also not an unusual policy for any business providing a service. They have the same policy at the gym in which I am a member. I'm sorry that you seem to think you should be able to sign up for a service being offered, and simply pull out at a moments notice without having to pay another penny. In what world does ANY service offer an option like that?

You also claim that they are not posting "real" or "new" opportunities (or at least the ones they were sending you). When I signed up over 9 months ago, they had so many new opportunities being posted on a daily basis, I was having to scroll to find the ones I was looking at yesterday. Also, it was made clear to me from the beginning that I was going to have to be involved in my own membership by searching for opportunities. If you were relying on them to send you opportunities, and simply writing them off as fake, then perhaps either you don't have a very impressive resume, and wouldn't qualify for the types of postions you were hoping to get, or maybe you didn't make clear what you were looking for. I don't see either of those things as being anyones fault but your own. 

I personally know 3 people who have been placed in Board of Directors positions through ExecRank, and I have had my fair share of good luck myself. 

This argument is clearly flawed in its logic.

-- "If they really get "new" opportunities on a regular basis it would make the poaching risk even worse since that member, who knows he's resigning, gets exposed to those (allegedly regularly coming in) opportunities. If they were really worried about poaching, they would let you go as soon as you know you want to go." -- 

I would hope you would understand that when you offer a service to a paying clientelle, you have a duty to keep that service reserved for them, and others that are paying to use it as well. One of the best ways to keep someone from using any service at their own convenience, not for its intended use, is by charging for that service. Anyone who has taken the time, and is willing to pay for a service, is unlikely to want to rip off that service for their own benefit, because they are getting the same benefits all other paying members are getting. I'm guessing you don't have much experience in this area of business, otherwise that would be plain and clear to you. 

I think this comment proves that your intention here is to slander this company because they didn't give you what you want. 

--"It's not the money. I am ashamed to admit it but I have paid over $200 for a tie."--

You didn't pay attention, you didn't read the small print, you didn't search for opportunities and put yourself out there, and you didn't get a board position for "months" (whatever that means). You're frustrated, fine, but let's not pretend you're ashamed about spending over $200 on a tie, and let's not pretend it's not about the money. I feel for you because I can tell you are frustrated and wish you'd landed the board position you dreamed of getting, but in my opinion, quitting and throwing a fit isn't going to solve your problem. 

My advice to you is this; next time you aren't getting what you want with a service, get more involved, talk to more people at the company about it, ask what YOU can do to make things turn around, and ask very specifically about the best way to leave the service if you choose. That way at least you would have a chance for a good outcome. I am very pleased with my membership and I plan to stay on with ExecRank, I would recommend it to anyone.