Prior Sales Job Questions / Backgrounds

[user79]

I am towards the end of my background investigation and have a question for you guys. I have been doing security system sales for several years now. In the last 8 years I have been with three different security companies always leaving on good terms. Some months I make my quota, some months I destroy my quota, and others I miss it. This is the game of sales. The last company I was at no-one hit their yearly quota except one person who has been there for 30 years. In outside sales if you miss your quota it is not because you aren't doing your job. You cant force people to sign on the line. My BI called my boss recently and my boss told me he said all good things about me. The BI wanted to now if I was hitting my numbers or not. At the time of the phone call I wasn't at my numbers and my boss told him this. Can't fault the guy for telling the truth. Now I wish he called this week because my sales are through the roof and I am #1 in my office. Sorry to be long winded but my question here is in general do BIs understand the nature of a sales job, or is it since I am not hitting my sales figures at the time of the phone call I look like I am not a good worker?

[BaseballFan]

Maybe some of the LE officals can correct me, but I find it odd that a BI would question your boss upon sales numbers, unless it pertains to effort rather than unsuccessfully selling products in a down economy.

With that said, your attendence, relationship with co-worker, superiors, customers, etc. and the remainder of your background (criminal record, credit history, drug usage, driving record, etc) will be of more importance than monthly sales.

[DeltaV]

Sales numbers are how a salesman's performance is quantified, so asking about sales numbers is indeed asking about job performance. I wouldn't say that not hitting your sales quota is going to hurt you (you're not applying for another sales job), however it is one way that your performance is measured.

If I were your BI, I would be more concerned with the fact that you've had three jobs in eight years. While being at a job for two to three years may be acceptable in the private sector, agencies want to hire people who are going to stay for an entire career.

[rohardi]

If I were your BI, I would be more concerned with the fact that you've had three jobs in eight years. While being at a job for two to three years may be acceptable in the private sector, agencies want to hire people who are going to stay for an entire career.

That is a very valid point Delta, I don't know if you have any sales experience prior to becoming a LEO or not. With a sales job there are more factors involved than just your performance or amount of effort you put in. If you work for a company that doesn’t give you the tools to make money you will find your self looking for a company that will give you the tools. For the most part what I'm talking about when I say "tools" I mean sales leads (Lead = qualified people to contact that will be interested in what your selling). If I am not given a good amount of quality leads, my numbers will be low, I won't make any commission and I will find my self looking for another company which will have the tools I need.

This Is one of my main reasons for wanting a career in law enforcement. I'm looking for stability. I sold mortgages for 4 years and You will need to go where the money is. I had some of the most rewarding pay checks of my life in that field. I also had some of the worst. My last job in the mortgage industry was with Countrywide this was by far the worst job of my life. No one hit their numbers or maid any money mainly because we had no leads. I will cross this bridge when I come to it but my BI investigator for what ever department I get on will have a hard time getting in touch with any of my past employers in the mortgage industry seeing as they have all gone out of business. Thankfully I am working for AT&T now doing sales and I am absolutely crushing my numbers. I've been here just under a year ever since my countrywide office was closed...

[user79]

You are right on about needing the tools to get the job done. The difference with my job is that I was used to getting very little if any leads. The problem I had was even after I sold a job the company I worked for would find a way to screw up the installation and I wouldnt get paid. Its like I did my job, but the other part of our business didnt do theirs. I cant sell and install the jobs. I never understood how some of these companies screwed up so bad and stayed in business. The straw that broke the camels back was when I sold a $75k job and the day of installation came and no-one showed up to install the job. I did all I could but after a week of no shows the company I sold the job to took their business somewhere else.