Primerica Alert Coon Rapids Minnesota

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*UPDATE: Primerica recognized by Rip-off Report a business opportunity well worth considering - it's not for everyone but many representatives make solid commission incomes. Primerica takes appropriate action against representatives conducting themselves improperly, pledges 100% commitment to customer service.

About three weeks ago I was called by a lady who was calling from home who said she works for an organization that was hiring and wanted to know if I was interested. I asked her what company and she told me a local financial company and that she got my name from a referral from one of her clients.

Two weeks later after playing phone tag (no fault on either part due to my work schedule) I was given another call confirming if I was still interested. I said sure. She then told me during this conversation that she is a recruiter from Primerica and that her husband does the interviewing and that he would give me a call to set up an interview.

Curious, I asked her if she saw my resume and from whom she had gotten a referral from. She admitted they had got my name from a marketing list and she said they normally don't get it that way. She also asked for me to bring in my resume. Also, it sounded like I was already accepted to be hired. She told they needed me to feel it was a good fit after I asked if I was. I found it odd a company offering employment without any knowledge of who you were.

He did give me a call and set up an interview so I went down to this local office for it. That's when he took my resume. I was a little surprised he did not question much on my working background. The only resume items he inquired about were what I did now and he also noticed I had prior management experience.

After that is when I got the true insight about Primerica. It sounded good at first. He mentioned they were a division of Citibank and how they had the number one assets in the world, not sales which is Wal-Mart, and that they are focused on helping middle class America get out of debt.

He showed me how their plans help people by paying on mortgages and saving for retirement at the same time with the money they saved. Also, they sell life insurance. He told me that it's not about the rate but about how much you save. After listening to the last part about rate is where I feel one must be extremely cautious about employment and doing business with Primerica.

He mentioned how its commission based only, not based pay with commission. Also, while one is not selling you make no money. You do not get paid any base salary for training, meetings, ECT.

You have to generate your own leads; they do not provide you with any. You do not cold call, which I found a good thing but I found bad they don't help you with any sales. All sales come from word of mouth. He told me that he wanted me to come up with 25-50 names of people I knew and then get about ten of them to come in to listen to how Primerica helps people. He claimed he did not care if they bought or not and that it was for experience and training only.

The way you got paid was a commission on mortgages (just over 5%), investments, and life insurance. Once every three months you also got paid a commission for the total amount of business you currently have (1%).

The goal he said was not to get you selling much but to be a trainer, who in turns opens his own office in approximately five years. Once you own your own office you get a commission on everyone in the office who is selling (I believe he said 1%).

The beauty he said (which is what he does) is that you can make money even when you are not selling. He did warn me however that hard work is required. He did also recommend you keep a part time job right away because income might not be there.

You do get feed $199 up front if you accepted employment to cover training for licenses, and other fees in the future, but he said it would be reimbursed once it was completed. However, he did mention that an expense (sorry, I don't remember for what) would cost approximately $300 out of my pocket, not right away, but it would not be reimbursed when it came up. Also, training sessions were at night. He recommended two to five nights a week. He said he would personally train me during the day if I came in then as well.

So what's my warning and opinion? It sounds scary. Having worked in credit unions for four and a half consecutive years I know the financial industry. I felt the interview was a sales pitch, not a job interview. I also did not get any feeling that Primerica cares about its customers. Why would a reputable company have people who are not financial advisers sell financial products?

There are many companies who want your talent, and you get paid normal wages for training and bonuses/commissions for outstanding work effort. Commission does not bother me. What bothers me is why should you give two to five nights a week and day time hours for free training? What's the company got to lose? Nothing, since they are not paying you for relentless hours of training, not giving you benefits, no 401K, and no sales leads to go on. Why work for an organization like that?

I am not the person who can sell a product knowing I am doing no good for the consumer and just looking at getting that next big sale, especially from friends and family members. I am a highly ethical person and I know that's not right. Also, I am very good at noticing these tactics from companies as a consumer. Remember the good rule of thumb, If it's too good to be true it usually is?

It was misleading how they said they got my referral; it was not from a client but a marketing list. All of these things are why I declined the position. Also, when I tried calling the office to decline the employee did not have a number I could reach the guy I had an interview with. He said he knew who I was talking about but did not know any way for me to reach him and he could not hand out that information if he did. Is that not a red flag? I did finally find a sheet of paper that I wrote his number on when he called to set up the interview thanks to my caller ID. Good thing I did.

One last point I want to make if you are still thinking about working for Primerica. What are the chances of making the same amount of money you want with this company verses another when Primerica provides you with nothing unless you sell? What if sales volume is slow and you are finding it hard to get new sales? What are you going to do if you rely on this job only to pay the bills, plan for retirement, maybe save for a vacation or get married? Is it really worth it knowing there is no security but promises of the possibilities which are not guaranteed?

I hoped all of this helped. I purposely left out names of who I talked to because I don't find that ethical and I want this writing to be about the company, not a target against any individual. Thank you for reading.

Justin
Blaine, Minnesota
U.S.A.

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