Summer Sales Jobs: 'You Get What You Put Into It'

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Today, a new breed of college students in sales is blasting the old traveling salesman stereotype away. The realm of door-to-door retail has now become one of the most lucrative summer employment opportunities around.

Whether they're selling encyclopedias or kitchen tools, young sales reps working for companies like Vector Marketing Corporation, the purveyors of Cutco knives, and The Southwestern Company, a reference book distributor, are becoming successful entrepreneurs who, with the right balance of ambition and shoe leather, pocket big summer paychecks, sometimes in amounts of $30,000 or more.

Many participants agree that there are valuable life lessons to be learned from these summer sales jobs, like independence, self-sufficiency and professionalism. Dave Proko, a former Southwestern employee and an alumnus of the University of Alabama, noted that money is the greatest allure, though he warned the profits are hardly "easy money."

The Southwestern Company, which started its student program in 1868, crafts its representatives with great care, Proko said. After steering sellers through a rigorous five-day training program in Nashville, Southwestern's home base, managers relocate their fledgling go-getters across the country. Students buy their books wholesale, then sell them for a"suggested retail price." Income is commission based, the convenient loophole being the retail price is"entirely up to your own discretion," Proko said.

Adjusting to a new locale could be difficult for some. Proko first landed in Beckley, W.Va., and was later transferred to Lexington, Ky., where he says Southwestern's sales training really paid off. He earned $10,000 that summer, but says he had to work for it.

"The motto for the summer is 'You get what you put into it,'" he said."I routinely put in 72-76 hour weeks."

Though Proko worked for Southwestern only one summer and said he wouldn't do it again, he now views the job as a kind of rite of passage and recommended it for other students.

"I can't say I liked it, but I'm glad I did it," he said."It's not exactly what they sell it to be however, it does go a long way in creating a good foundation for future success."

Matthew Michaud, a recent graduate of Ithaca College, and David Swartz, a junior at Virginia Tech, both worked for Cutco, performing scheduled sales presentations in the hopes of selling high-end cutlery to friends and family.

Everybody has a college degree now, said McDermott, who is 20 years old. She wants to do anything she can to put herself "above" others who will eventually be vying for the same jobs as her.

While the two had differing reactions to the company, Michaud criticized what he called Cutco's"scam aspect," while Swartz sang only praises, both agreed that as far as student employment goes, it's a pretty good gig.

Unlike Southwestern, Cutco sales reps arrive by appointment only. They are told to schedule 'practice demos' with friends and family members. "At the end of the demo," Michaud said,"you ask the person for a list of names of their friends who might be interested in a demo. This way you build a file of references to call so you are always going on referral and never blindly door-to-door."

"The scam," he continued,"is that you are telling people that you are doing a 'practice demo' when really that's where most of the money is made because people feel obligated to purchase from you because they know you. I didn't like it. It made me uncomfortable," he said.

Swartz, on the other hand, thinks highly of the company. He is still contracted to Cutco and plans to return this summer, though he concedes it's not for everyone. He said he's done nearly 100 demonstrations and once earned $250 in just one hour.

"It was the best learning experience of my life," he said."I would recommend it to anyone who wants to get money, get experience, learn about themselves and build their résumé."

© 2008, Young Money Media, LLC. All rights reserved.

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