wireless sales consultant

retail sales associate

sales representative

sales associate

sales lead

Salelytics

NOTE: Parts of this review are only influenced by the current circumstances of the COVID 19 pandemic and has influenced my overall score. Post pandemic, disregard COVID-19 based portions of the review.

GENERAL REVIEW:

Worked here for nearly 2 years as both a sales representative and a sales lead for their Target Mobile program, was successful in both roles and my store was often top 100 in the company. If you're a phone sales representative you'll find yourself with a fairly easy job working out of a Target location. Your ONLY responsibilities will be selling phones and phone related accessories to customers which you'll get commission pay on and keeping stock of all higher end cell phones. You don't need to worry about general retail work like stocking, or worrying about other departments, making your day to day schedule relatively easy if it's slow, and exciting and better paying if you're able to crank out sales. The only downside to your responsibilities is that you are expected to grab video games/consoles, and other duties that are completely not related to your sales goals or numbers, which can be frustrating especially as you WILL miss some sales opportunities when doing that. 

In short, if you're hungering for some sales experience this job is not at all a bad decision. I personally learned A LOT about sales and management from this job and it has helped launch a successful sales career for myself and opened doors to better jobs elsewhere. But the pay is low(Minimum wage+low commission compared to other cell phone retailers in the industry) meaning that if you've got any degree of sales experience, you're better off finding work elsewhere.

You won't really be answering to Target management as much as working alongside them, and as long as your store is making sales numbers you won't be visited much by actual District Managers, meaning that direct oversight for this job is minimal, especially if you're a sales lead. This comes with it's own pros and cons, and to be frank, the lack of District Managers are painfully overworked and overloaded whereas Sales Leads are given low pay and not enough responsibility. For instance, Sales Leads don't do any scheduling or real higher end management responsibilities for their store, and is instead put on District Managers for all stores in their district. Sales Leads are also not responsible for interviews for their store and is again but on District Managers/Captains, and you can't fire problem employees either as a lead(Once again a DM responsibility) which makes building a good team for your store as a Sales Lead nearly impossible. Support from DMs is painfully slow due to this responsibility overload. The only real pros to this setup is really that the job is fairly low stress due to lack of manager oversight, and therefore to be honest, you can end up getting away with quite a lot and getting paid for easy work.

I must also address job security, potential future employees must also be aware that the Target-Marketsource relationship isn't likely to last, so job security isn't 100% secured. Returns haven't been great from Marketsource stores, and thus Marketsource seems to be slowly being phased out of Target's mobile strategy. Most notably a massive layoff has just occurred(Although it is partially COVID caused), cutting 300 Marketsource locations from Target's stores, leaving only 800 left. That aside, I still must stress that due to how easy it is to get employed here, it's still a great opportunity for the sales experience alone.

COVID-19 PORTION OF THE REVIEW:

Everything from here on out is directly COVID caused, relates partially to Target side policies, and may not be relevant post COVID. Disregard once the Pandemic is over.

I'll be honest, both Target and Marketsource have been awful at handling the COVID pandemic, and were both large reasons for my departure.

Target has stopped store metering in many locations, and aren't strict enough on mask policies even in counties with mask mandates. This honestly raises risks for COVID to any working here and makes the job very stressful and hazardous , especially if you are at risk. I think both Marketsource's and Target's removal of Hazard Pay in the wake of a huge resurgence in the Pandemic and on the precipice of flu season when the Pandemic may be at it's worst is quite frankly, awful, and shows that the Hazard Pay policies from both companies were likely mostly posturing rather than an actual belief that employees should be receiving hazard pay.(DISCLAIMER. In fairness I must however note that Marketsource is AT LEAST currently offering a boosted commission rate in wake of the pandemic, which still boosts employee pay currently to those who make sales, and cannot be discounted).

I must also note that not all Marketsource locations allow paid leave by company policy even during the Pandemic, and even in counties/cities where paid leave in the wake of pandemic/illness is mandatory(like my own) it can be a fight to get HR to approve paid leave.

CONCLUSION:

In spite of all of the above, I still must conclude that this still a good opportunity for young people looking to kickstart a career in sales. I must still stress that  this is NOT in and of itself a career currently, and those looking to be employed here should learn from the job and move on to better employment once available.

MY RECOMMENDATION TO CORPORATE/MANAGEMENT: 

Boost sales lead pay and put more management responsibilities on the sales lead level and away from the District Manager level, i.e. have them schedule, be in charge of interviews, and allow them to more easily get rid of problem employees. DM's will be more free to offer more leads support and organize at a district level, and your sales leads will treat the job more seriously, be more loyal, and run much tighter ships, thus allowing you more revenues out of your stores for your investment, and thus make the shaky target-marketsource relationship more secure.

I'd also recommend changing the Marketsource attire. The current target branded t shirts are poorly made, are quick to fade, and lead to quick confusion and anger among guests who don't understand what we're here to do even after we've explained it. I'd recommend going back to the more professional looking plain black button up shirts.

Along with the uniform recommendation I'd recommend re negotiating our responsibilities with Target or just outright changing them faster if possible. Currently we're pulled away from the sales floor far too much to grab video games/other non mobile related accessories for guests, and to be frank, pivoting those into phone sales is nigh impossible, and in fact, the guests do not like being sold to when they're just there to pick up a video game. This takes us away from valuable opportunities approaching phone displays or accessories which are much more likely pivoted into an actual sale. Corporate earnestly needs to make a decision as to whether or not we're Salespeople contracted by Target or Retail Support. Being both is not beneficial to Target's or Marketsource's current goals.

What is the best part of working at the company?
I loved what I did. I enjoyed speaking with different people...there was almost never a dull day. However, at times I felt that my success, or at times...the lack there of was being controlled.
I enjoyed nearly all of the other sales representatives, and most of management; however, they did have a turnover in management and that's when the environment changed and not for the better.
Basically, I came to believe that after the management turnover, the room, including management became extremely clickish. Those that didn't fit into that circle were soon weeded out, I just happened to be one of them. 
I really enjoyed my job for the most part, until approx the last 3-6 months working there. 
They did allow you to put time in during both day and night shifts which really helped with sales, there were many times that in order to close a deal I needed to do day and evening call backs so I would just stay a few hours extra and most likely make an extra sale or two, and possibly an extra cash bonus.
I personally made pretty good money while working there.
The absolute best things about working for Market Source...as a single mom of a young son (7) I was able to drop him off at school each morning and be home just before he got off the bus! Also, if for any reason he couldn't go to school and/or I had nowhere to take him they allowed me to bring him to work with me. I'm not aware of many places of businesses that would allow that! I can say, they were good to the employees, summer parties...big yacht at the lake with BBQ and karaoke! Just a great time for all, including families, and end of year formal celebrations honoring top earners, and management throughout the company, awarding nice trophies along with cash rewards. 
Market Source is a great company to work for depending on the management at any given moment. I highly recommend this company to any sales representative that likes to work in phone rooms with auto-dialers etc.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The most stressful part of working at Market Source was keeping up with sales quota's. The quota's also determined your wage. Market Source, just as any other telemarketing phone room, had certain expectations and if you couldn't meet those expectations they had to replace you with someone that could, which is completely understandable considering it is a telemarketing "sales" phone room. Also on most days they offered incentives (mostly cash) for particular sale(s) set that day, which added up quickly, and between stressing about making sales quota's along with as many more as you possibly could for a higher wage, you also stressed over making the sale with what ever the stipulation may be offered that day to earn the cash rewards, because each of those incentives added to your annual wage! Those incentives also created a highly competitive (added stress) yet friendly and more fun environment in the phone room. 
As you can see, most of your annual income is in your hands. You just have to be there and be diligent, and also do your best to close your own sales, otherwise....you risk handing control of your earnings (highly stressful) over to the wrong person and you'll begin to lose sales.
Major stress is involved in any sales phone room and Market Sources' phone room is no exception! Once you step one foot in the door and until you step one foot out of the door your mind can only be about the people you will be speaking with and the sale. The "most" stressful part of working at Market Source...EVERYTHING!

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
I believe I've already summed it up. It is a high stress, yet friendly environment. Although at times it can be extremely clickish, which can be so extreme that it can end your employment. 
Aside from that most days everyone is having fun...trying to beat the other representatives to the sale that meets the requirements that earns them the daily cash incentive...which occasionally there may be more incentives than one. The room is buzzing with high energy and the good managers, are very encouraging. Everyone is very supportive of each other and excited when another make sales! For the most part Market Source is a fun and positive place to work, they offered great leads for the most part, and it was professional yet relaxed atmosphere.

This is the problem with this job.  Management only provides you with around 20 hours per week, only 8 hours Monday-Thursday.  Friday, Saturday, and Monday are 5 hour shifts, except on "Holiday Season," they up it to 7 hours.  The travel time is not reimbursed, and in the Los Angeles area that is always a long time from home to job to job to job to home.  One will drive an average of 2 1/2 hours a day,  and due to this it is very difficult to work more than three 2 hour shifts per day. 
     I do each visit correctly.  I do not brag, yet the truth is that I am good at this job.  One needs to log in on their phone to Natural Insight.  Then they need to say, "Hi," to the Store Manager, and proceed to the Login book.  At Staples they customarily have a visitor badge that we are also to wear along with the MarketSource name badge.  Then we proceed to set-up our table.  Setting up the Table is "Mandatory," but I know most of the Reps DO NOT DO THIS. I usually put 2 sale printers on the table, (larger ones to bulk up my arms so they are big, and I don't need to go to the Gym), put the ink cartridges of the printers on the table, if MarketSource is "INTO" Instant Ink at the time we put those on the Table, then I put Photo and Presentation on the Table, and then my Demo Pictures on the Table.  Right at the moment the company is "INTO" putting a printer on the table. Then we make sure all the Printers, Computers, Laptops, Toner Shelves, Cartridges, and Monitors are cleaned and look nice.  I also take and post pictures of my Table, Displays, and Bulk Stacks on a Social Site called Rodio, where my Team can see the pictures, and frankly, cover my you know what.  The pictures are also needed for doing your Call Report at the end of the visit.  SALES, is a very important part of the visit, and I walk from the Cartridge area, to the Printer area, and Computer area looking for Clients.  In a busy store this can be a little hectic sometimes, and one does not have the time or opportunity to spend too much time with an individual customer.  We also are forced to push SellPro, a Training Site to the, "RSA - Retail Sale Agents," where they win some prizes for course work, (if one is fast enough to claim them). They love these acronyms! The call report can be pretty long at the end.  These guys love to ask questions on the Call Report!  The stores have crummy Internet, and sometimes the Internet on my phone stinks too, so loading the pictures can take time. One needs to start their Call Report early enough to finish.  Then one takes puts the Stores Demo back, folds up the Table, and I then say Bye, to the Managers and RSA's.  
     It is a lot of work for a 2 hour trip to do it correctly!  One of the disturbing things is that they are having me drive to stores 17-22 miles from my home without compensation for mileage.  One has to also watch these Managers.  This program has tried to get me to cover a store 22 miles away, 1 hour there and back, (101 and 405 Intersection - You have no idea...LOL), and they try to get me doing the two hour job two times a week, so one of the days needs to be the job only, since they are stingy on giving hours.  They actually were trying to get me to go 2 hours from home for a 2 hours job.  I said NO on that idea! 
     The Scheduling people, Managers trying to juggle schedules, and trying to get me to do these long distance jobs are, frankly, getting me frustrated.

While I have enjoyed a portion of my time with MarketSource and I have learned a great deal that will help me in the rest of my life -- it does not absolve the company of what it is.  This is one of those positions that I knew going in to it that I would despise it, but that I had to button up and get my hands dirty to earn a paycheck to keep the bill collectors away.  I do not regret the position, but I wouldn't recommend this company to the worst humans in the world.  Despite all of the negative things I am about to say, I am determined to continue to perform my best as long as I am employed and seek to accomplish as much as I can for myself and for the company. I maintain a sense of hope that I can make a difference one step at a time, when I probably shouldn't.

I cannot speak on the Team Member position as I was hired in as a Manager.  However, consider the upcoming review and cut the hours by 50%, while cutting the pay wage by 30%, removing opportunity for commission bonuses, but keeping 90% of the same tasks and responsibilities.  It will not get you by, and is only "worth it" for students or as a second job for tight situations.

The Manager/Team Leader position will require an abhorrent schedule that will not mesh with any lifestyle or let you balance hobbies and personal goals.  You will have to be "All In" (as they say) with the job that does not return the favor to you.  The position is one that will never offer a chance of promotion, and will never provide a raise.  The minimum performance requirements go up every month regardless of how poorly the previous month may have went.  You are constantly tasked with duties that are not part of your job description or relevant to your work, and you will not be compensated for it.  Much of the results and opportunity you have available to you is out of your control making a majority of your effort wasted. Think of it like getting an assignment in detention with no bearing for any class instead of doing your already assigned and actually meaningful homework.

There are no co-workers in most situations.  Hope you can stand on your feet and walk around for 40 hours, talking to every moving human in sight.

The management above you personifies the definition of bad corporate bosses.  They impose policies and rules that not only don't make sense, but hinder your daily performance with no positive aspect to them.  In many cases, they compound into more problems and you have no choice but to go along for the ride.  They often have no idea what your job is, what you do, or how to do it. They often cannot provide you with answers or support or lead by example.
The company is an outsourcing company, so you will almost exclusively be left alone with nobody to monitor you, train you, help you, scold you, and essentially are allowed to provide any sort of daily summary you want without ever needing a shred of proof. Many people take advantage of this, and the corruption runs rampant.

The job security is next to nothing.  They will hire almost anyone who can pass a drug test.

Pros:
Freedom to do as you wish, for better or worse. Can often survive with continual poor performance. Many lazy loopholes that too many people take advantage of.

Cons:
Too many to provide in a summary. Read the above review for a general idea. Your social life will almost cease to exist.

One thing you must understand about this job is that you DO NOT WORK FOR THE COMPANY YOU GET PAID BY. You work for all intense purposes for Target. You are there to sell Targets inventory of Cellular Phones because they do not trust their own employees with such a task. You are literally there to fill a void, they will hire just about anyone who owns a cellphone to stand there and talk about cellphones, regardless of training. My training consisted of me talking to a "Manager" who literally just talked and talked about nothing pertinent to the job. You literally have to learn things on your own if you want to be able to know everything that's going on in that business. The district management is an absolute joke...they do not provide the tools you need to succeed let alone to do your job the correct way. I was hired as the sales manager for the department, and for 9 long months I was there by myself until the holidays. I was expected to hit goals that were designed for 3 or more employees each month, and granted I've had enough sales experience that every month I either hit them or came 2 phone sales short, the stress involved with trying to hit unobtainable goals was high. 
        Asking for help from the "Target" employees is literally like asking a wall of drying paint to do help you do anything. The simple fact is that Target does not want this third party company in their stores and they do WHATEVER they can to make the job as stressful as it can possibly be. I found myself the ONLY person working in the electronics department, even though there were at least 5 employees that worked there, so I would constantly be doing not only my job...but also Target electronics job which was not in the job description. If your a student in high school or in college just looking for a quick job to pay for the books or something and you don't mind being a slave to Target then go for it! Hey its money right? But if your going there for any prospects of moving up in the company or advancing beyond your ability....forget about it. This job is not the kind of job you want if you have a family you need to support. The pay isn't that great and the bonus structure is beyond worse than any other bonus structure I've ever seen in a company. 
There was not a single day I enjoyed going into that job except for the first few weeks of being new until I realizes that Target management in the Augusta,Maine store are simply a bunch of morons that do nothing but put things back on shelves because that's all they know how to do, and completely disregard when a customer needs help. When a customer does need help, the associates act as though its such a pain in their but because its taking them away from putting things back on shelves. Last I knew great customer service is what sold merchandise like electronics, not simply putting in front of someones face. My realization of Target from the year I worked in that store is that is in complete shambles compared to the Walmart store on the other side of town. I would MUCH rather go to Walmart than to Target in my area, there isnt anything you cant buy at Target in Walmart.....Target is simply a BIG RED FLASHY WALMART in disguise....

I worked for Target Mobile for both the Airport Road and Cedar Crest Targets and while the work itself was easy and non-stressful, everything else was god-awful. Management was terrible and non-communicative with favoritism being VERY prevalent among managers and team leads. Team leads would go off and take hour long lunch breaks, go away from the sales floor and talk to Target employees, and overall be terrible examples of leadership, yet they never get in trouble. While they do this, a normal sales rep would forget to do a simple task once and get written up immediately. Management would also lie about Target AP telling them what you do during your shift by watching you on the cameras (Target AP aren't allowed to tell anyone about that sort of thing unless it pertains to a theft investigation). Overall, they don't care about you. All they care about is numbers.

The commission system is a joke. Its a points system that makes little to no sense. You barely get anything for what you sell. They'll tell you at your interview that you'll make $200-800 each month in commissions, but that's a straight up lie. My average commission check was $50. The highest I made in commission was $170 something, and that was solely on Black Friday sales. Now I never sold that many phones, mainly because the store I worked at didn't get a lot of customers who wanted to buy phones. But others in my district that had way higher sales numbers than me got less than what I got some months. Marketsource Target Mobile actively screws you out of money. It doesn't help that you're supposed to present yourselves as better than a normal Target employee yet you get paid the same amount they do.

The only good things I can say about this job was that the Target employees that I worked with were very nice, and that the job itself was one of the easiest I ever had. But you will get screwed over by management multiple times and it never stops. I now know why Sam's Club kicked Marketsource out and started their own mobile department. If Marketsource employees keep stealing large quantities of phones from Target like they've been doing recently, I won't be surprised when Target kicks them out too.

If you want a sales job, look anywhere but Marketsource.

I spent 3 years with this company, and though it is the easiest money I've ever made, the frustrations and the let downs were too much to handle and I eventually left. 

PROS: you are, in a sense, your own boss. 
Learn much of the disastrous decisions made within corporate culture. 

CONS: The bonus/commission program is constantly changing. You never know how much your commission check will be because they don't give you a way to track your sales. Before I left, the commission program worked as such: each thing you sell is a point. Depending on how much you sell per pay period, you get so much points. Those get divided by the number of hours you work within that pay period. That number gets put on a scale of a dollar per point. Confused? So was everyone else... They are another company promising "unlimited earning potential" to attract applicants, but when you get down to it, you're not going to earn more than $300 per 2 weeks. Thankfully, there is a base pay that covers the slow times, but they took away any chance of getting a raise. 
I was contracted to work for Target Mobile. I met many wonderful people. I noticed though, that both Target and Marketsource don't talk to each other below the corporate level. So things that get decided on between either company, don't really trickle down to the floor level where it needs to. On the store level, Target wanted us to do one thing, Marketsource another. So there's this constant push/pull for overall strategy and expectations that became a constant frustration. 
You are unable to influence decisions.
You are unable to reprimand employees.
You are unable to fully create your own schedule.
If you want to grow within the company, they will dangle the carrot in front of your face FOREVER, constantly giving you hope and then snatching it away because of whatever reason, and then replacing it with a new, yet different carrot.  
The employees who were smart, left early on for better opportunities. I got to the point where I was telling, Corporate, HR, Tech assistance, and book keeping how to better do their job since everything rarely worked out as planned or promised, including, operations, pay and sales strategy. 

If you are in a bind, and can walk, breathe and pass a drug test, you will get hired, NO PROBLEM. Get paid, but use the opportunity to look for your next job.

Where do I begin? I worked for Target Mobile when it was under Radio Shack, and while that wasn't pleasant, I'll say that it was at least light years ahead of MarketSource. 

Your job is to hold the kiosk up for 8 hours a day while begging people who just went into Target to buy diapers, toys, groceries, literally anything besides cellphones, to buy a cellphone. Depending on your district, your DM might not be as strict as others when you sell less than what is expected, which for job security isn't necessarily a bad thing I suppose. Also, I was pretty fortunate to have a great DM, one of two reasons I stayed for as long as I did honestly.

The commission structure is laughable at best. I remember selling 20 phones individually under the new points structure and only getting $50. Selling 20 phones individually isn't even normal under most circumstances. The average per team member is more around (8-10) per month mostly. 

The company promised 50 cent raises to employees after 6 months of employment, but took that away. They also took away paid vacation hours/sick days as well. 

It's extremely difficult to activate new service for a customer since the company is so paranoid with fraud. They make you ask for a credit card for a second form of ID and a lot of people just don't have one. Doesn't matter. No credit card, no phone. 

The company doesn't do a very through background check. The team members they hire in are terrible and have no business being near the kiosk. 

The company is losing stores. Just a few weeks ago they had to close down 55 stores nationwide. So while job stability as far as performance is semi stable, the fact that they took away raises due to lack of funds and as a result are closing stores down is a major red flag. Also, for the stores that did close down, employees were only given a week notice to find something else. Extremely unprofessional. 

Overall, I do not recommend working for this company and if offered the position, you should think long and hard before making a final decision.

Starting out they out on a great show, talking about how flexible they are and how well they get along and how you can work in other fields.  It’s all lies, and smokescreens. 

In reality, the recruiters have no real idea of the positions they are putting you in, they seem to read off a job description but when you actually are trained in and do the job it is completely different. 

The company gives you a barebones training, just enough to get you by then throw you out to do the work saying if you can’t perform to goals right away your gone. They give no real help on the job if you have questions and nobody is dedicated to help you ‘support is not in the budget’.

As for management, what management?  They are barely accessible, they keep telling you to speak to a sr rep. The managers are supposed to meet with you weekly, your lucky if they do and if they do it’s maybe for 15 minutes.   They demand quick improvement but don’t put in the time with you to help you improve. Now if you mess up they are fast to meet with you and give you no time to understand how to fix things. ‘Well you need to fix this and meet goal. We expect you to fix this right away’

They give  breaks. If you can call them that., 10 minute breaks are not enough to do anything.  Every other company gives its employees at least a 15 minute break.  And  forbid you go a minute over they act like you just put the company in the poor house. 

They do have a work life balance from the aspect of once you punch out your done, but they are so inflexible with schedules that you almost have no life on the days you work. 

The work environment is toxic. This is almost encouraged with the very open and obvious favoritism system that exists. You know exactly who you can’t offend, complain about, or get on the bad side of because they will ensure your day is ruined. 

The only perk of this job is working at home…. If the systems work.  If the internet is down, power goes out, system crashes,  they expect you to drive into the office and work,  oh and any time you miss because of this is unexcused and you have to make up or suffer the consequences. 

Do yourself a favor, stay away.

The amount of benefits, vacation pay & sick leave pay looks amazing on paper however, when you opt to use your vacation or sick leave you MUST put it in months in advance because you have to have it approved 48 hours in advance AND each program can only approve so many hours of vacation per month. MANY employees end up forfeiting there vacation pay as they are unable to use it as they've (management) have approved too much time off for the month. 
Management is sup par at most. The lack of communication is ridiculous. You have one manager tell you what is expected and another tell you a different group of criteria is expected. When you make it known that you were told two different things they will tell you they will "look into it" and you never hear a response. Nothing is in writing what is expected of you only what is suggested. 
You are expected to be at your desk and anti social for 8 hours out of the day. Yes you may leave for bathroom breaks but if your bathroom break is too long you will be questioned. 
Salelytics offers bonus pay to there employees however, if you have an extremely high bonus they will question you for falsifying records and/or PIN you so they can negate a portion of your bonus (ie. 25%, 50%, 75% or 100%). 
As for growth within the company it is very possible to grow. If your wondering if you get a raise as being with the company 2, 3 or even 4 years the answer is no. Everyone is paid the same regardless of experience and regardless of tenure.
Salelytics is formerly known as West Business Solutions don't be fooled by the name change its still the same games as before. The job offers that are available are based on available contracts. Downfall is if the company wants to pull the contract from salelytics/west they can and your out of a job.
So if your looking to be micromanaged into a robot and don't want a raise for your dedication to stay and improve, then this my friend is the job for you. I would urge that you get everything in writing before agreeing to any sort of promise for wage/time off.

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