Who is Primerica? Legit?

[alltherage]

Hey guys, I did a quick "fata" search but there are no real stories or information on these guys. I just got a call from a guy named Mike and he wants to set up a "Group Presentation" and then an interview. Everything about this sounds like a scam, but wiki shows them as legit. Anyone had any experience with these guys?

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by alltherage

Hey guys, I did a quick "fata" search but there are no real stories or information on these guys. I just got a call from a guy named Mike and he wants to set up a "Group Presentation" and then an interview. Everything about this sounds like a scam, but wiki shows them as legit. Anyone had any experience with these guys?

It's a financial marketing company. Not really a scam, but in line with those companies that push things like insurance on you. But I've had no experience with the.

[Cowboy89]

Scammmmmmmm!!!!!

[604flames]

Are they an affilate of Kramerica?

[MolsonInBothHands]

I have had extensive experience with them. They are a legitimate life insurance and mutual funds provider. The life insurance is their own, while they will sell most of the big name Canadian funds: MacKenzie, TriMark, AGF, etc. They provide term life insurance, and thrive on showing people, who have been taken by whole or universal life insurance companies, how to make their money work much better for them. Ask a London Life agent about them, and they will start spitting fire. If you are just starting out with your retirement and estate planning, I do recommend their seminars.

The potential downside, which isn't a big one if you are prepared: they are a multi level marketing company. They will eventually encourage you to continue with training seminars, get your life insurance license, as well as your mutual funds license. They will not continue to urge this path if you simply and prompty say you are not interested. If you do become interested in exploring that line of work, I don't see it much differently than starting in real estate in somebody's office. Since I have last been in contact with them, they have also expanded into providing consolodation loans, every they do is an effort for their customers to free up monthly income they can then invest with.

[Sylvanfan]

Yeah, it's sort of a pyramid type thing where you try to get people under you selling stuff like a lot of companies out there. Their big spiel is buy term life insurance and invest the difference from what I remember. I think they actually represent Citigroup of insurance/financial products. Basically financial planner types who think they can convert anyone to that type of job. But for the most part they are selling inferior products compared to a real financial planner that you'd hire.

[CaptainCrunch]

I wouldn't do it. Don't get me wrong you can make good money on it, and you collect residuals which can boost your income. But to be honest, your primary initial market is going to be your friends and your family. If you feel comfortable selling financial services to them, you'll be ok, there's no way I would do it, and I get calls from them once a week.

Plus there's no base salary for you to fall back on, so you have to really hustle to make money initially.

[arsenal]

I went to one a few years ago. It is usually early morning, on a saturday.
What you get to do is go sit in on one of their meetings, and listen to their success stories.

Basically, it sophitiscated pyramid scam hidden in the internals of a legit company. Primerica's parent compay is Citi Group Financial (I think).

So the person that called you and asked to come to the meeting is hoping you will sign on, because his paycheck depends on it. That's one part of it.

It is all pretty much sales. what you do is sell "financial planning" to families. It sounds like a great thing, but I didn't get any farther than the first meeting.

What really turned me off, was the guy who was running this "branch" said the following:
"I want to make a million dollars a year, and in order to do that, I need 10 people working under me, making $100,000 / year".
So your salary, is based on the numder of people under you, and the amount they make.

The presentation is all fluff. There is absolutely no substance. All they talk about is how much money you can make, and how wonderfull a company it is to work for. But the kicker is, they don't come out and actually tell you how they make money, or what they sell. I would kind of like to go back to one of these and challenge them again. Would be interesting to see what they have to say.

[Cowboy89]

It's a legal pyramid scheme, they make money by getting people with whole life policies to convert to term life policies on life insurance. THey are a subsidiary of Citibank, however it's run pretty loosely from the core corporation. They convince people to join their sales groups through an almost religious-like method. They usually recruit by going to mostly lower-class people and rope them in by making claims about how much money you will make and 'empowerment' by 'being your own boss' etc etc. In reality the only way to really make a lot of money through them is by hardcore cold calling and then setting up another chapter in another town. They will encourage you to sell to/ or recruit your family or convert their policies by making it seem like Primerica is a way for you to convert to a better way of live. Barely Legal (In the bad way), but still a scam.

[alltherage]

You know, I put my resume on Monster and all I've gotten called back for is this BS so far. Mind you i dont graduate for a month, so I haven't actually pursued anything, but I've only gotten calls from scams or crap jobs. This really pisses me off. How can people morally waste other people's valuable time like this!? I missed a day at school to go do some training for this M1 Synergy Marketing company, who presented door to door selling as "direct marketing." It was flipping rediculous.

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

I wouldn't do it. Don't get me wrong you can make good money on it, and you collect residuals which can boost your income. But to be honest, your primary initial market is going to be your friends and your family. If you feel comfortable selling financial services to them, you'll be ok, there's no way I would do it, and I get calls from them once a week.

That's pretty much why I didn't do it. Wasn't really comfortable with selling my parents and my friends' parents life insurance and managing their finances.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by alltherage

You know, I put my resume on Monster and all I've gotten called back for is this BS so far. Mind you i dont graduate for a month, so I haven't actually pursued anything, but I've only gotten calls from scams or crap jobs. This really pisses me off. How can people morally waste other people's valuable time like this!? I missed a day at school to go do some training for this M1 Synergy Marketing company, who presented door to door selling as "direct marketing." It was flipping rediculous.

I honestly feel sorry for people just coming out of school, because for the most part the jobs are crappy and unpleasant. Its easier to get someone who's staring at student loans to sell meat door to door, then it is to get an experienced sales person to do it.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by rubecube

That's pretty much why I didn't do it. Wasn't really comfortable with selling my parents and my friends' parents life insurance and managing their finances.

Nice sales pitch tho. "Mon, Dad, we know your going to die, I just want to make sure that you have a meaty life insurance policy, so that I can not only get the commissions, but the inheritance"

Boy . . . thats grim.

[Slava]

If you are looking for work in the "more legitimate" financial services industry then feel free to PM me. I don't mean this as a shot against this type of organization, but its quite different from the work that most other financial advisors do: you can't work part-time in an industry and plan someones estate in my humble opinion.

My understanding of Primerica and a couple others is that you make as much money by bringing other people into the fold as you do in selling the products...

[Sylvanfan]

That is always the trade mark of these companies. Appeal to people on the lower end of the income scheme and promise them the world. Like don't make the most out of your 35k salary by doing this, this and this with it and it will grow to this. No, they preach the idea that you'll make so much money you can buy a monster house and the greatest sports car and the money will flow endlessly and you won't be able to spend it all. As a result most people never get past the first level and accomplish nothing in these setups.

A few years back I had a room mate who was going to get sucked in Quixtar and was going to their presentation and he asked me to come along with him. So I went and absolutely ruined the guys presentation to the point where he was physically trying to get me to leave his house. Apparently he didnt like my comments about if he knew his elbow from his butt about how to handle money. I suggested that since he was an electrician with a good income and minimal expenses that he should find a way to buy 2-3 houses in Sylvan Lake and rent them out. I heard about a year later that this guy who hosted the presentation had given up and was still working as an electrian just like he had for the past 25 years. Had this guy been focused on working his own money, and invested the money the way I told him to he'd be a millionaire now. But like a lot of people didn't have the menatality as to how to go about working for and building wealth.

[alltherage]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

I honestly feel sorry for people just coming out of school, because for the most part the jobs are crappy and unpleasant. Its easier to get someone who's staring at student loans to sell meat door to door, then it is to get an experienced sales person to do it.

To be fair, it was Direct Energy's services, but people just dont want to be bothered at home, and I am over qualified for that with my schooling. Not to mention, the way Direct Energy was presented was very deceitful.

Basically, my trainer would present it like this:

Did you know that Alberta's gas laws have changed and you now have a choice of who you want to provide it for you?

Right now you are on a fluctuating plan, and we can regulate it. Would you like to stay on the same plan or go regulated?

Ok, you want to stay the same? Just fill out this paper. (He gets them to fill out a Direct Energy application, little do they know they are getting switched from Enmax to Direct Energy.)

Have a great day!

[alltherage]

Originally Posted by Slava

If you are looking for work in the "more legitimate" financial services industry then feel free to PM me. I don't mean this as a shot against this type of organization, but its quite different from the work that most other financial advisors do: you can't work part-time in an industry and plan someones estate in my humble opinion.

My understanding of Primerica and a couple others is that you make as much money by bringing other people into the fold as you do in selling the products...

I really appreciate that, but Im a Marketing Major! The guy on the phone presented it to me as "direct marketing" again. I knew this was fishy!

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by alltherage

I missed a day at school to go do some training for this M1 Synergy Marketing company, who presented door to door selling as "direct marketing." It was flipping rediculous.

Those guys are seedy. I had a friend go for an itnerview with them and she said the whole interview was bascially the guy hitting on her and trying to get her to go for dinner with him.

[HelloHockeyFans]

Originally Posted by alltherage

You know, I put my resume on Monster and all I've gotten called back for is this BS so far. Mind you i dont graduate for a month, so I haven't actually pursued anything, but I've only gotten calls from scams or crap jobs. This really pisses me off. How can people morally waste other people's valuable time like this!? I missed a day at school to go do some training for this M1 Synergy Marketing company, who presented door to door selling as "direct marketing." It was flipping rediculous.

Well, it looks like you've learned to keep your guard up now, which is really all you can hope to do. It happens to everyone these days when they put their resume up on sites like Monster and Workopolis since it's an absolutely massive resource for companies involved in the pyramid schemes, etc. to use with a large percentage of resumes belonging to new grads like yourself, who are often a little uneducated (in terms of the number of companies out there that are scams, not education in the post-secondary sense), inexperienced, and sometimes even desperate to find some sort of work.

[alltherage]

Originally Posted by HelloHockeyFans

Well, it looks like you've learned to keep your guard up now, which is really all you can hope to do. It happens to everyone these days when they put their resume up on sites like Monster and Workopolis since it's an absolutely massive resource for companies involved in the pyramid schemes, etc. to use with a large percentage of resumes belonging to new grads like yourself, who are often a little uneducated (in terms of the number of companies out there that are scams, not education in the post-secondary sense), inexperienced, and sometimes even desperate to find some sort of work.

I am learning... hahaha. I guess thats the one thing I can take away from this. My brother put it best for me:

Usually if a company needs to advertise positions in the paper or online, they are not good to work for.

However, that advice is a little out of date now that EVERYONE needs people.