
Originally Posted by
TAPPER
BigBrad,
Most Kirby distributors will pay new hires for a period of time and then transfer them to a commission only program by offering increased earning potential once they get a handle on things. In these cases the new hire is set up as an independent contractor from day 1. Since taxes are not taken out your roommate needs to keep good records and be prepared to pay in at least once a year. (most do it quarterly)
If he is a salaried employee with taxes being taken out then this distributor is running things more like a car dealership. The pay is more stable but the earning potential isn’t as great. Just keep in mind after a few months to learn the ropes no sales = no job. (this goes for any sales organization, not just Kirby)
Either way, the potential to make good money selling Kirby’s is the real deal. They have been around for decades and are second to none when it comes to performance and durability. If your roommate has what it takes to make it in direct sales the biggest obstacle to his success would then be the distributor.
To achieve long term success in the Kirby business one needs to work from salesperson up to an area distributor as fast as possible. If you don’t advance you will not last. Since the distributor essentially controls the advancement an unscrupulous person could find reasons to delay things in an attempt to squeeze every last bit of profit out of a good salesperson. A good distributor will understand the mechanics of the business and encourage growth. Although less profit now, the volume sales in the future will make up for it ten-fold.
I’m not so sure I would classify them as poor souls. At age 19 I made just under 40K my first year selling Kirby’s door to door with nothing more than a GED. (this was fifteen years ago) Every quarter the Kirby Company (not the distributor) offers all expense paid vacations for individuals who met sales quotas. I won numerous trips around the country, Mexico, Bahamas, etc that were 1st class, 5 star all the way. My distributor was 28 and living large. Nice new home, closet full of $1500 suits, handful of $10,000 watches, new Porsche and Caddy in the drive. Not bad for some uneducated “kids” IMO.
When we worked, we busted ass averaging 12-15hr days, 6 days a week, most holidays, in all weather conditions. When we played it was just as intense and it’s not hard to burn out in this environment. Add to that the lack of real business knowledge (a few business classes at the community college would have come in handy) and very liberal tax deductions (seemed like a good idea at the time) and your back at square one again.