entry level sales representative

inside sales representative

Strategic Value Publishing

Management is obsessive about their KPIs, and time worked, as well as having an incredibly high turnover rate, last but not least DO NOT EVER BE LATE (being stuck in dead locked traffic is not a good enough excuse). Their metric for 20 pitches in a day is just north of what’s realistically doable for a new sales rep, I had no issue but I was experienced going in. They’re scheduled time for some random reason has you starting earlier on Fridays than the rest of the week, but also leaving an hour earlier as well. If you are in the office on time at 8am and decide to use the restroom or get water and don’t make a call until 8:03 or 8:05 they will consider you late. Their turnover rate I would estimate is 95% inside of six months. Their outreach and sales goals are quite literally just north of what should be expected realistically. Lastly, and my biggest gripe, they let more veteran employees have access to sales tools that give them an advantage when selling to customers, and also give them qualified leads. As a new sales rep they will tell you all leads are provided and no prospecting is required, this is utterly untrue and an outright lie. They expect you to stay after closing to do research on your leads and majority of your leads are random pulls from internet databases. They are actually not true “leads” at all as majority don’t have any pertinence to the product you’re selling and you will spend much your time being hung up on by businesses. Your coworkers are great, it’s a fairly fun environment, the pay is good, good health benefits, and if you play your cards right you can gain enough favoritism to be part of the in-crowd and you can have a career there. The manager I want to say is a good person and fairly understanding, but “it” rolls downhill if you know what I mean. I’m my short time there I saw close to 30 people come and go, long time employees included. Like I mentioned in the header. A very 5/10 experience. The hood is not entirely out-weighed by the bad, but their corporate structure hinders this from being a company that I’d want to sell for at all. 

Strategic Value Publishing is a company where hard work pays off. You reap what you sow here. If you come in with a positive attitude, a willingness to learn, and the ability to put effort into your work then you will soar high in this company. This is a 6 figure plus salary job (once you hit commission) where you are not expected to work AT ALL outside the hours of 8am-5pm. Jobs like this are few and far between. You are not expected to make a single sale for the first 90 days of employment, but if you trust the process you will undoubtedly make that first sale way before 90 days. All that is expected during your first 90 days is to learn the process and to put effort into learning the process. Management spends so much time ensuring that you not only have the tools you need to succeed in the company, but that you DO succeed. I want to emphasize the job isn't necessarily easy but if you come into work with a "I can do it" attitude, you will excel at SVP. On the other hand, if you aren't willing to come in and work hard, you won't last here.

You are expected to make 200+ calls per day get out 20 to 25 pitches per day. The leads that are provided are not good or bad. We have to follow the script to a T new people come in from different locations throughout the company and to teach us their way of doing the job and it’s very conflicting when you’re new and trying to find your way to be successful in this position. High micromanagement from top reps and upper management very stressful work environment can barely talk to other coworkers we are watched all day every day every pitch we do that call is critiqued by corporate and by the manager in the office. Very stressful a lot of gray area in the sales process and in what we were actually selling. Overpromised on commission very hard to hit a quarter of $1 million dollar goal to get 20% commission on each sale the department that actually publishes and creates the ad in the publication can cause you to lose your sale, or don’t do their job correctly to collect the proper information to get the ad correctly installed on the publication will cancel your sale for not capitalizing first and last names in the CRM system a lot of gray area with how the company is ran.

Base pay across the board for this position starts at a base of 60K. In some cities it can even be higher. Earning compensation is impossible 300K a year in sales is needed before making commission. High turnover rate, 200 + cold calls a day. This is not fun. It is very easy to burn out, and get discouraged. This is a call center. Manager micromanages, but definitely knowledgable on sales, and Ive had worse.  This is a great ENTRY LEVEL job. You are not meant to stay with this job for years on years. Every company has its flaws, but I respect SVP for their fair compensation. Do what you are asked and try to close as many deals as you can. Bonuses, incentive trips, good company culture, relaxed attire, EXCRUCIATING WORK. Remember, this is a job that from 8-5 you are being yelled at by people all day, no internet access for research, forced to work 40+ hours, and it can be extremely dehumanizing at times. If you want to put in the work, and obtain a good base salary, learn, and then leave come! 

I worked here for a few months. The base pay drew me in, as well as their false advertisement of a great commission structure. You are forced to sit at your desk and make 200+ calls a day. Youre manager hounds you on every call and yells at you what to say. 0 room to be your own salesman. You will harass companies for weeks to speak with the business owner, just to be told they have no affiliation with the project you’re working on. The leads they give you are horrendous: you’re calling random companies that have no correlation to what you are calling them on. They remove internet access from all the computers. They want you to fail. The top agents are barely touching commission and are still treated like the rest of us, like dogs. The only decent thing here is the base pay. But they won’t keep you if you’re not selling. Horrible training. 

What a great company!  They minimize your responsibilities to make the job super convenient. You don't handle any invoice chasing or account management, you simply sell and earn money. 


-you're given all your leads and they are all qualified and good. Most sales reps get sales their first day. 
-you get to work in many different markets and learn a lot about the world and how different entities collaborate together in the sports world, transportation world, and government
-our manager in Charlotte has done the job we are doing at the highest level and coaches us through every sale while giving us all the credit and development we could ask for. 
-sales trips every quarter
-great peers around you

This is a sweat shop of callers working with guns to their heads everyday to make sales or you’re basically out. If you don’t sell, you’re gone. What you’re selling is so incredibly useless to the clients that even if you do make a sale, the cancel rate is incredibly high. It’s a forced competitive work environment where other people’s wins feel like your losses. The manager micromanages you every single day and flies off the handle if you mess up. The turnover rate is like 90%. If you need a steady $60k income for 2-3 months, then apply but don’t come into it thinking you’re going to last because virtually no one does. I was fired for low numbers and I watched this happen to a score of people before me. Good for a bit of experience in sales and that’s it. 

Everyone at the Pittsburgh branch is friendly and supportive, the manager especially does everything he can to help you succeed. There is absolutely zero pressure to work outside 8-5. Ultimately its sales so it does fall on you to produce results and it truly is up to how hard you work. As with any sales job there's pressure to make sales which can be stressful. Also have to mention for an entry level sales job the base salary is more than fair and if you put in the work every single day and trust the training you can make a lot of money here and have a lot of fun doing it. 

What is the best part of working at the company?
One of the most toxic and unprofessional environments I’ve ever worked. Trainers screaming in your ear, taking over your calls and telling you what to say rather than following a script. If you enjoy verbal abuse and getting your underpaid. This is the job for you!

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The Culture of the company. Coked up managers screaming at you all day

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Verbal abuse, load call center where you can’t even hear yourself on a call

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Getting yelled at, eat lunch, get yelled at, come home

It’s a great job at first. Great pay, great coworkers (the other underlings I started with), and our direct manager was great. I would like to say it’s the nature of the business but really it’s the company. Hundreds of cold calls a day hoping someone bites and buys an ad. Then after the initial purchase process is started you better hope they follow through or else it’s your fault. I was let go about 2ish months into the job without a warning or conversation. That was at the direction of the upper management in NYC not my direct manager. I will say the people that thrive here have the Wolf of Wall Street memorized and are the stereotypical yuppies. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Entry level sales representative 16 salaries reported	$57,813 per year
Inside sales representative 7 salaries reported	$60,000 per year

Working at Strategic Value Publishing: Company Overview and Reviews

Strategic Value Publishing

Strategic Value Publishing Ratings

Popular jobs at Strategic Value Publishing

Job Seeker Tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected