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God Save Me
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I write this to put closure to a part of my life that almost cost me
my life and Marriage.I worked for the Pacesetter corp in the south
east.I was in the alarm buisness and was looking to move up into a
higher paying sales job.I interviewed with Pacesetter and was
immediatly put into sales training.It is a 10 step program that is out
to nail the weary.I was very good at selling the product because I
believed what I was selling was the best product on the market.I did
not know any better because I had never investigated prices of
windows,siding and other things.I became an assistant mgr quickly and
was to train others on how to get the sale.I will tell you what I
know, Bare with me as this was an extremely painful part of my
life.The sales system is set up on a ten step program. First you must
prepare.Drive up to the house having your weapons ready.When you get
out of the car look towards the house and wave.This was so that if
someone was peaking out they would think you saw them and would feel
awkward if they did'nt answer the door.You were suppose to find
something to talk about when you pulled into their
house,bassboat,landscape,dog anything.The warm up was to take atleast
45 minutes.This is in their training program!You are not to talk
buisness even if the customer was directing you to their window or
siding or whatever.If you started talking buisness before this,you
were giving up control in the house.Then once you got done talking
about everything under the sun you whip out a video.It is harley
Schrager thanking you for letting us visit you home.The big
owner!!Then you pull out this big blue flip chart and tell the amazing
storie of pacesetters beginning and the wonderful company you are
looking at.Blah,Blah,Blah.Then its off to the inspection.Every home
needs work and you are taught to show these dramatic problems that if
not taken care of now will cost you thousands later.Scared yet!Then it
is off to the product demo.I will speak more on this later.then a nice
preclose.Does this sound familiar.Mr and Mrs Jones I think we both
agree that its not a matter of if yuor going to have siding
installed,its a matter of when right?Well thats why We made this
special trip to see you tonight.You see we at pacesette dont have
jobbers that bring us buisness.It'smy responsibility to keep a
constants flow of orders coming into the company and there are 3
reasons this is so important.1st the people at the factory.These are
craftsman with families that put out a great product and we have never
had layoffs and aren't going to start now.2ndly and a little closer to
home is my installers.These are guys I work with.I know their families
and kids.I want tokeep these guys working.We don't want to lose these
great installers they are the best in the buisness.And the last reason
Mr Jones is this is what I do for a living.This is how I feed my
family.Simplyput folks I need your buisness and I will do what ever it
takes in order to earn your buisness tonight while I am out to see ya
instead of putting this work off to a later date.Let me ask you a
question.If I can do three things.If I can show you price that you are
going to love.If I can show you a payment that won't take bread and
butter off the table that will be affordable.and If I can show you a
way that I can save you a tremendous amount of money!Would there be
any other reason why I could'nt earn your buisness tonight while I am
out to see ya!! This is the preclose taught word for word
to pacesetter reps.Every customer heres this.It is the guilt pre close
to make you say why sure you could earn my buisness.Then you are
taught to put out your hand and shake theirsnand say thanks folks,I
appreciate it.Then the long awaited hard close.Sart out high and sit
on it.We taught several manipulating closes to tongue tie even the
hardest customer.Closem ,Closem, Closem!! I taught this course
week after week after week. Let me first apologize to the people I
sold.Forgive me for I did'nt know what I was doing.God has made me pay
for what I have done.I have been stricken with anxiety disorder.Panic
attacks and fear of death everyday I wake up and anti deppresents are
my life now because of the stress and anxiety at the hands of
pacesetter.We were sent out of town one week in town up to a 100 mile
radius and one week to a drive town away from our families in some
sleezy motel with a perdium of sixty dollars to cover our expenses.We
spent our own gas money and would have to room together in these one
horse towns to prey on people that did'nt know any better.We carried
fax machines to the motel to fax in our sales at night.The sound of
that fax machine going off in the morning with our leads for the day
in backwoods usa.We were taught to look for that clear handled storm
door on houses.To go up and knock and ask the person how their door
was working like some quality control person then try to sell them on
what ever product that they did'nt have of ours.Our cars were pilled
with window samples,siding samples and cabinet refacing samples,door
samples.And the worst of all storm windows.We were taught to go to
window leads and tell the people they did'nt need windows.Their
windows needed help but not replacement.We were taught to switch them
to strom windows at $400.00 a piece.I have put storm windows on
windows that you could push out of the house with you hands.Put them
over rotten windows.Storm windows are your bread and butter we were
taught.We preyed on the uneducated.Taught to look for thye people that
did'nt want us at their home.We went over tremendous scrutney over
every appointment asked why we did'nt sell them and what we should
have done diffrent to have gotten them and blamed for not following
the steps when we did'nt sell.The roads were long and to all the
little kentucky towns elderly,and uneducated.You were had before you
answered the door.We were paid commissions and then had them taken
away when the installer did something diffrent when he got there.No
vaseline for the customer at pacesetter.The worst one I ever had was a
flooring lead.I sold a lady a laminate kitchen floor for a small
kitchen for almost $10,000 dollars at 15.9% interest.I am sorry
lord.Please forgive me.I was a snake in the grass for you Pacesetter
and you almost cost me my life.You did cost me my Morality.Phil and
Harley Schrager will burn in hell for what they have done to people.I
just hope they did'nt take me with them.This is the truth!!Pacesetter
is a scary place that you should stay away from.Don't bite the
apple.The snake is lying.Please don't use my name in this column,but
please post it.Maybe I can help someone instead of hurt them and the
Lord might forgive me if I make some sort of restitution.Thanks for
this site.It needs to be here.
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JMO
Dan O.