Traveling Sales Crews ‘Buss Words’ and other useful information.
July 11, 2010
Ad
Runner: Member of the magazine sales crew responsible for placing ads in
the local newspapers for the purpose of recruiting kids into the business. In
many cases the Ad Runner is the crew manager or owner.
Blanked: No sales. A sales agent could blank a check or the whole day.
Books: Sales agents are
not actually paid like an employee of a company would be paid. They do not
receive a check. Their earnings are put in the book (see production). A daily
and weekly draw (usually 5 -7 dollars a day and 25 – 30 dollars on a weekend)
is given to the sales agent for personal needs.
Bunker Baby: A sales
agent that consistently sits on the bunker.
Business:
magazine
sales subscription orders.
Check/Pick
Up: the time that the car handler gives the sales agent
on one street (usually an
hour to an hour and a half).
Crew
Numbers: Every time a manager hires a sales agent, they are given a specific
"code number", which usually includes the manager's initials followed
by a number which was to be put on every receipt and check-in. As an
example: A108, which is the manager's
first initial followed by an identifying number (kind of like your driver license
number). Numbers used to make it easier to identify a sales agent at the main
office if they had any issues with an agent.
Clutch
Order: if a sales agent actually came back with any orders in the
spot check.
Contest
Partner (usually known as: "cp"): the person that the car
handler assigns you to get out on a street with.
Crew
Chief: Leader of the traveling magazine sales crew, also known as
the Crew Manager. Sometimes the Crew Chief or Manager is also the owner of
the magazine sales company. Note: Many times the crew
manager, crew chief, and the ad runner are all the same person.
Crew
Manager: see crew chief.
Car
Handler: Responsible for driving the van. Drops sales agents
off then picks them up later. In some cases the car handler also does
recruiting.
Cash
Agent/Cash Collector: an agent that is known for collecting a lot of cash.
Cash
Territory: usually the hood, or trailer parks (places
where it doesn't look like the people would write a check.
CIT
(car-handler in training): when a sales agent learns how to handle the car.
Late
Check: an "after hours" check that the car handler would give
you if they thought you did not have enough business (anywhere from
Check-In: Form used to
record what a sales agent collected on a daily basis (total sales). This would
include: cash, sales, production, checks. The sales
agent turns this form into the manager who then mails them to the main office
twice a week.
Deposit:
A
deposit fee is required to solidify the sale. This is a percentage of the total
sale and can be in the range of twenty to thirty percent (see production). This amount can be from cash or check.
Some magazine sales crews require the full amount of the sale. Other crews will
require a deposit plus a processing fee as a down payment. The balance of the
order is then mailed in by the consumer. Some magazine sales companies base the
sales agents earnings on a percentage of the total
deposits for a week. In this case deposit equals production.
Dirty
Canvass: Lies told by sales agents (spiel) to snow the Jones.
Do-Lo: when a sale agent is working the street alone.
DOOFUS: a weak sales
agent, or takes a long time to catch on.
Draw: a small amount
of cash that is given to the sales agent for personal needs. On week days this
amount ranges between 5 -7 dollars and on a weekend ranges from 25 – 30
dollars. Draws are subtracted from the sales agent’s profits that are stored in
their individual books.
Enforcer: Hired
by sales company to beat up kids with low sales. (see:
New York Times article and video dated February 21, 2007)
http://video.nytimes.com/video/2007/02/20/us/1194817097685/life-on-a-magazine-crew.html
Gretched: codename used
for weed when the sales agent is around the car handler or manager. Usually
used to let the other sales agent know that we the sales agent already had some
(weed) so they didn't have to buy anymore.
Hot
List/Credential: Laminated magazine list distributed
to mag crews from clearinghouse. As an example the National
Publishers Exchange produces a Hot List for the magazine sales companies it does
business with.
Independent
contractor:
Wikipedia Definition:
An independent contractor is a natural person, business, or corporation that provides goods or services to another entity under terms specified in a contract or within a verbal agreement.
Unlike an employee, an independent contractor does not work regularly for an employer but works as and when required, during which time she or he may
be subject to the Law of Agency. Independent contractors are usually paid on a freelance basis. Contractors often
work through a limited company, which they themselves own, or may work through an umbrella company.
See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independent_contractor
See: http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=99921,00.html
Itinerant magazine sales crew: a traveling magazine sales crew traveling from
place to place for the purpose of selling magazine sales subscriptions
door-to-door.
Jack-Up
Artist: a person that may not write a lot of sales, but is known for
writing large amounts of production at one time (can make one person buy $200
worth of books or more on a consistent basis)
Field
Agent: traveling door-to-door
magazine sales agent. Field agents are hired as independent contractors not
employees of the company. See Magazine Publishers of
Guidelines on Relations with Subscription Agents
http://www.magazine.org/consumer_marketing/educational_guides/1816.aspx
Joints
for Points: award system used by some sales crew managers whereby marijuana
or others drugs of choice are supplied to the sales agents if they meet a
certain sales quota. This award system was in use on
Jump: When the
magazine crew moves (jumps) from one town to the next.
Mag Crew: Door-to-Door
Traveling Magazine Sales Crew.
Mag
Crew Names: a.k.a.‘s for
the actual magazine sales company or clearinghouse. As an example: Y.E.S. (Youth Employment
Service) was the a.k.a. for Subscriptions Plus owned and operated by Karleen Hillery
in the Wisconsin March 25, 1999 van rollover that killed seven kids and maimed
five for life. Subscriptions Plus was not a clearinghouse but had contracts with
two magazine clearinghouses: National Publishers Exchange: https://www.npemags.com and Publishers
Consulting Corporation: http://www.mag-full.com. The magazine
clearinghouse in turn have contracts with the individual publishers such as
Readers Digest, Condé Nast, Hearst etc … (for more information on magazine
publishers and clearinghouses: http://www.travelingsalescrews.info/google%20search%20traveling%20sales%20crews.html
The mag crew names are the names of the
individual magazine sales crews. Magazine sales clearinghouses and magazine
sales companies in many cases can have multiple sales crews with multiple names
but each of the individual sales crews is controlled by a magazine
clearinghouse and/or magazine sales company.
Magazine
Company Owner: The president of the magazine sales company.
MIT
(manager in training): when an agent starts to learn the in and outs of the business in
hopes of becoming a manager. (I did that for about a year as well)
MPA: Magazine
Publishers of America trade group for magazine publishers. http://www.magazine.org See Letters to the
publishers: http://www.travelingsalescrews.info/letters%20to%20the%20publishers.html
What Mainstream Publishers Don't Want You to Know About
Door-to-Door Magazine Sales: http://www.houstonpress.com/2008-07-17/news/what-mainstream-publishers-don-t-want-you-to-know-about-door-to-door-magazine-sales/1
http://www.rickross.com/reference/ssg/ssg13.html
Mirror
note: when a person gets 2 or more sales in one check
(order) with at least 50 dollars on production (it goes on the mirror as
"inspiration" to let everyone else in the van know that "Miss
Jones" DOES buy books!!!)
Mirror
Note Name: a nick name that the sales agent would put on their mirror notes
just to add a little fun (example:
"golddigger" "booty-booty: yea-eh")
Note: a piece of paper
given to the car handler at the end of each check to let them know what the
sales agent picked up, whether it was a blank or a mirror note, or anything in
between.
NFSA: National Field
Selling Association - trade group for magazine companies: http://www.nfsa.com. Many of the magazine sales
companies and clearinghouses are members of the NFSA. A number of door-to-door
cleaner sales companies are also members of the NFSA. Austin Diversified
Products which sells a cleaner product called Adavnage
Wonder Cleaner is an example. In fact Nathan Edwards the owner of Austin
Diversified Products was a former president of the NFSA. The current president
of the NFSA is Vincent Pitts who owns and operates Palmetto Marketing and
Sunshine Subscription Agency.
In September of 2006 the NFSA removed their
Members list from their official website. However, many of the individual
magazine sales companies and clearinghouses still list the NFSA as their trade
group. DMPG archival web history also documents the NFSA as being a member of
the MPA.
The following is a list of active NFSA members
as of September 2006:
Alliance
Service Company, Inc.
(847) 253-7766
FAX (847)
253-7795
Sandra M. Hall
halltbreds@aol.com
American
Community Services, Inc.
(219) 879-7248
FAX: (219)
874-7677
Levan
P. Ellis
(708) 333-7644
FAX: (708)
333-4775
cs1@advanage.com
Nathan T. Edwards
Chapel Sales
Inc.
(856) 858-7245
FAX: (856)
858-9709
info@chapelsales.com
Tracy Lynch
Ken Squires
Fidelity Reader
Service, Inc.
(239) 659-0009
FAX: (239) 659-0032
Belo Kellam
Go Doors, Inc.
(202) 989-1300
FAX: (202)
898-0832
Otis Garrett
(303) 674-8252
FAX (303)
679-9909
Cody Payne
cody001@earthlink.net
Interstate
Subscription Service
(210) 340-0002
FAX (210)
340-2608
Thomas Roach
Magazine
Fulfillment Services
602-978-4700
Fax: 602-978-4709
Robert Spruiell
National
Chemical Company
Sal
National
Publishers Exchange
16120
(727) 524-3600
ext. 1320
FAX (727)
538-0254
Karen Roberts
Pacific Coast
Clearing Services, Inc.
Suite 104-C
(253) 851-8586
FAX (253)
851-8415
Kenneth E. Fryk
James Knight
Palmetto
Marketing, Inc.
(954) 341-8135
FAX (954)
341-6918
Vincent R.
Pitts
Pro-Tek Chemical Inc.
Glenn
Phone:
208-366-2231
Fax:
208-366-7676
Prpteus
Enterprises, Inc.
(630) 530-0300
FAX (630)
530-1123
Andrew S. Hortatsos
Publishers
Consulting Corporation
(219) 874-4245
FAX (219)
872-8961
info@mag-full.com
Ruth E. Mokrycki
United
Family Circulation, Inc.
(770) 831-7733
FAX (770)
831-7040
James Clair
Rick Clair
United
Subscription Agency
(772) 563-0308
FAX: (772)
562-6156
Charles Key
Universal
Subscription Agency
(702) 795-0038
FAX (702)
795-0039
Steve Ingraham
Untouchable
Sales, Inc.
(219) 874-4245
Steven Paul
World Wide
Circulation, Inc.
32008
Harper
(810) 415-8078
FAX (810)
415-4874
Barbara Mroz-Perez
Xtreme
Marketing, Inc.
PMBC-335
(678) 541-7130
FAX (770)
831-7040
ximpres@aol.com
Mr. Angel
The
NFSA has created a new website at: http://www.nfsa.com.
However this website is completely void of any contact information and does not
list a single member. Here is the most current contact information for the
NFSA:
215.564.1627 | FAX: 215.564.2175
Contact
the president of the NFSA:
Palmetto
Marketing
Vincent
Pitts
(954)341-8135
(954)341-6918
Fax
office@palmettomarketinginc.com
http://www.palmettomarketinginc.com
Pad
Case/Packs: Usually a large leather wallet that contains a receipt book, the
hot list, magazine titles, and on occasion some form of
identification. The pad case is carried by the magazine sales agent
when going door-to-door.
Points: The point system
was created by the magazine sales company owners as an insentive program
for the sales agents. Points are acquired by selling magazine
subscriptions/books. Earning points towards a vacation is a common practice.
When selling magazine subscription to the perspective customer (‘jones’) the sales agent will in many cases tell the ‘jones’ that they are trying to earn ‘points’ for a trip to
Europe or Hawaii. Points are also used in some cases to determine a sales
agent’s financial compensation that is put on the books.
Power
Agent: when a sales agent is known to consistently write a lot of
business all the way around (sales, cash, and production).
Power
Houses: Homes in nice neighborhoods. They are big houses and presumably
have a lot of money.
Processing
Fee: The amount of money required to process a magazine subscription. May be compared to shipping and handling fees. This amount
may vary but is usually around $12.00.
Production: an accounting
process used by some mag crew owners which allocates profit from the sales
received by the sales agents. For the sales agent the deposit equals
production. A processing fee is added to the originating order and is similar
to shipping and handling but is not part of the production. As an example a
$12.00 processing fee will be added to a magazine or book sale. A deposit fee
is required to solidify the sale. This is a percentage of the total sale and
can be in the range of twenty to thirty percent. The processing fee and the
deposit are then added together. This is the amount that the consumer must pay
the sales agent. In some cases the remainder of the balance can be mailed in.
In other cases the total amount is due when the magazine subscriptions order is
placed. Using this process the sales agent is only paid from the deposit.
In some cases the sales agent's profit on the
books is calculated by the total amount of deposits (production) for that week.
One magazine sales company breaks down the sales agents profits in the
following manner:
If total deposits are equal to or greater than
$700.00 the agent receives 50% of the total deposits.
If total deposits are between $699.99 and
$500.00 the agent receives 40% of the total deposits.
If total deposits
are $499.99 or less the agent receives 30% of the total deposits.
Many of the sales agents are paid from a
percentage of the total deposits.
Production = deposit.
Deposit is usually between 20 - 30% of the total
magazine or book sale and does not include the processing fee.
Sales agent - cut = 30% - 40% or 50 % of
production (deposit).
Sales manager - cut = 70% - 60% or 50% of
production (deposit).
The remainder of the money goes to the magazine
sales company owner/clearinghouse and the publisher. This is why you the
consumer pay a 300% mark up on a subscription to Readers Digest when you
purchase the subscription from a magazine sales agent. The magazine sales agent
gets screwed, you get screwed for being such a dumb
ass, while the magazine sales company/clearinghouse and the publisher get rich.
Note: This accounting system varies between the
various magazine sales crews and companies.
Room Scholar: Slang term for door-to-door salesman. A person involved in direct sales.
Room
Leader/Room Captain: one person in each motel room that is "in charge"
Sales
Agent: a magazine sales person that goes door-to-door selling
magazine subscriptions. Also referred to as a Field Agent.
Spiel/Sales-Talk: The
sales pitch: a school-spiel, cancer-spiel,
Spot
Check: Usually anywhere from
Stretch
Check: An extended time period that a sales agent has in a neighborhood (usually
3 hours to all day). Stretch Check usually happens when the car handler is mad
at the agent and doesn't feel like dealing with that person, so they just drop
them off and give them a time to be back at the corner (the check time).... or
the car handler is planning on doing something that day (usually something they
don't have any business doing) and they just let the sales agent do their own
thing for most of the day so the sales agent is not in the car handlers way.
Territory: anywhere a sales
agent goes to knock on doors.
THE
BUNKER: the last seat in the van reserved for people with the lowest
amount of sales.
WABs: Weak-ass
bitches: Sales agents who come back without any sales. A WAB is lower than
dirt.
Write
A Lot Of Business: selling a lot of magazine subscriptions.