Malbicho: thank you Mr. V — a little angry are we?

Mr. V: “Let’s break down what ‘malbicho’ had to say piece by piece.”

Malbicho: yes because my comments and opinions are so ignorant that you have to break them down “piece by piece”.

Uuuu or better yet let papi teach you how to do that.

Mr. V: “1st of all: when you are invited to learn about a new business opportunity, should you be greeted at the door with sad, uninviting people?

Malbicho: wow that’s a tough question Mr. V

Mr. V: “Who wants to work for a company where everyone hates their job?’

Malbicho: oh Mr. V not me I better run to Primerica

Mr. V: “we invest money for our clients and most of the funds we market offer 8-12% average rate of return”

Malbicho: what’s the risk?

Mr. V: “And the funny thing is, most north Americans are in that very same predicament Hating their 9-5”

Malbicho: WOW Mr. V you really speak for all Americans have you considered running for president??

MR V: “The lack of nice cars and “fake” trophies. I love this one. Just goes to show how ignorant an uninformed this web logger really is. Hey ‘malbicho’ , Let me take the time to let you in on a little secret Read the Millionaire Next Door - by Thomas J Stanley and William Danko.”

MR V: “please, take the time to educate yourself before you open your mouth.”

Mr. Malvicho: ok happend with the fake trophies?? well thank you for educating me it sounds like you probably have a background in teaching. — Dear sir with all the respect in the world to Thams J and William Danko in today’s age my dog could write a book.

Although this sounds like it could actually be a good read. No pun intended.

MR V: “The majority of the richest people you know, DON’T DRIVE EXPENSIVE CARS!!! Idiot…. “

Malbicho: Controlling Anger — Before It Controls you http://www.apa.org/topics/controlanger.html just a suggestion MR V

MR V: “Warren Buffet, drives a Lincoln Town car” –

Malbicho: yes and he is a rare man would you not agree???????

Mr. V: “Side note for those reading: don’t believe everything you read on the internet!!!”

Malbicho: except for what MR V and his friend that work for Primerica write.

Mr. V: “this is a hybrid business model that cannot be explained in a 5 or even 10 minute conversation”

Malbicho: NO it cant — so come on in, spend two hours with us and see if this is a good mach for you… only positive thinkers, and does with a winning attitude will achieve great success. Now give me 150 dollar for licensing fees’ and oh if you have questions please hold on you will have to come to a second meeting.
All this after you have spent over an hour watching infomercials so yes it can’t be explained in 5 or 10 minute conversation.

On a side note: by questions I mean smart ones, for example can you send me a signed contract with exactly how my commission will be paid. ? —
Notice my question did not start with “if hired” REMEMBER from my first blog it’s your time, it’s your money they will hire anyone.

MR V: However, because Primerica is run by independant business owners, everyone presents the material a bit different. Your experience in one office will not be the same in another and that is probably the only downfall of the company.”

MR V: “So, I just basically tore apart your whole post”

Malbicho: all I have written is my personal opinion I do not hate Primerica, Primerica is what makes the United States great—- you the people diced what is best for you. MR V, nor the government or I can tell you what to do. You my friends have the freedom of choice.

If in employing or recruiting sales people they are willing lie and say anything well how do they treat their customers???

Mr. V: “What we do for our clients is right 100% of the time.”

Malbicho: yes and I satisfy my wife 100% of the time

Ps.
Peace to all I have wasted enough time on Primerica so this is my last blog so relax Mr. V, I have to get back to my life. I hope my personal opinions will be respected without you using insulting language.

by by MALBICHO

But here’s the thing. Most people associate material objects such as cars, a nice house, furniture, clothes etc with success… you SEEM to have a goal of $3M or earning 250K per year. That’s the key. You must be obsessed with attaining financial independance or financial freedom first, THEN you can get the car the house or whatever else you dream of. Until you are financially free, it’s ok to drive in a lincoln town car, or a honda civic, or live in a duplex.

Everyone has a financial independance number. Yours might be $3Mill or 250K in stable income (that does not come from a job). But your goal should always be on acquiring that sum of money first so you are INDEPENDANT.. Not relying on the government for a pension, or your employer for a paycheck, or a President/Prime Minister to make your life better. IF you are dependant on those things, you will never make it.

And if you buy that big house, expensive car and all that stuff BEFORE you’re financially independant, you will never reach that FIN number. Try getting rich when you have a mortgage, property tax, mortgage insurance, hydor bills, maintenance, upkeep, mercedes car payment, mercedes car insurance, mercedes maintenance, kids, student loan, credit car bills, LOC’s, cable/wireless bills, the list goes on and on.. And this person probably makes 50-70K, which equals 40-55K after tax? (way above average income by the way).

And we look at that person who has the nice house and the nice car and we think “wow… he’s so special.” C’mon. Pure 30K millionaires out there. First you MUST aspire to reach financial independance.. . THEN you can buy the toys. not the other way around.

Hey malbicho, maybe you would know this if you PAYED ATTENTION to that meeting you went to! hahahaha…. ahh man, this is to easy.

But I hear you FB. I like nice things too. However, you gotta keep it in order of priority. My freedom means more to me than a nice car.

Cheers,

V

If you ever come to Montreal, let me know, I’ll pay you a beer
I had a lot of fun reading your reply. Man, that was a kick in the teeth hehehe!

Let’s break down what ‘malbicho’ had to say piece by piece.

1st of all: when you are invited to learn about a new business opportunity (whether it be real estate, franchising, any type of sales job) should you be greeted at the door with sad, uninviting people? Who would want to work for a company where the employees make the environment unpleasant? Who wants to work for a company where everyone hates their job? How about nobody!! And the funny thing is, most north Americans are in that very same predicament. Hating their 9-5, they only do it for that awful paycheck… So you hate on Primerica because they enjoy what they do? That makes sense…..

2nd: The lack of nice cars and “fake” trophies. I love this one. The “Financial Blogger’ said the EXACT same thing in an earlier post. And that just goes to show how ignorant an uninformed this web blogger really is. Hey ‘malbicho’ , Let me take the time to let you in on a little secret (like i did for the Financial Blogger). Read The Millionaire Next Door - by Thomas J Stanley and William Danko. This book is a compilation of research done by two authors in the profiles of ‘millionaires’. In his study of thousands of the wealthiest households in North America, guess what he found… The majority of the richest people you know, DON’T DRIVE EXPENSIVE CARS!!! Idiot…. please, take the time to educate yourself before you open your mouth.

Most of the “Rich” people GOT rich by being frugal. Investing their money over a long period of time and reaping the fruits of their labour. One of, if not THEE wealthiest men in America, Warren Buffet, drives a Lincoln Town car! Do you think less of him? You see, at Primerica we understand this. There’s no need to spend tons of money (that you don’t have) on a depreciating asset, to impress people you don’t even know. It makes no sense. Poor people do that. And by ‘poor’ I mean, your mindset is that of a poor person. Again, read some books on the subject and you will understand.

You have told us a lot about yourself and your values by making such a horrible statement that is completely false. Side note for those reading: don’t believe everything you read on the internet!!!

3rd: i can’t speak for other companies, but the reason that Primerica must sit down with potential clients/associates is because of the nature of our business. This is a hybrid business model that cannot be explained in a 5 or even 10 minute conversation. You see…….. people hate telemarketers, salespeople, business men. Everyone thinks people are “out to get them.” (I’m sure you watch a lot of news at 6pm?) So when someone asks me “what do you do?” It’s a tough question that requires a full explanation. Because I could say , I’m an insurance agent. But then the potential client will box you into that category and they will say “I already have insurance, or i hate sales people, or I don’t need it” Anything to get you off the phone and avoid being “taken advantage of”. The truth is, we’re not insurance agents. We replace whole life life insurance with Term. Term is better for the client 100% of the time. We ELIMINATE debt for clients, we invest money for our clients and most of the funds we market offer 8-12% average rate of return, we educate people about money… we offer Auto Insurance now, we provide unsecure loans at low interest rates (helping people who don’t have a home but have 20+% interest credit cards from Banks). And we do all of this inside a custom FREE financial game plan and deliver it to our clients, explaining to them exactly how they can reach their finiancial goals and dreams. All of these things can’t be explained in 5 mins, so yes, it makes more sense to sit down so we can show the individual how it all works. the more information you give someone, the more they think they know it all.

4th.. I don’t even know where you were going with this comment..

So, i just basically tore apart your whole post. You may have had a bad experience with a representative, and i respect that. But don’t come on the internet and ruin the whole company’s image for everyone else. What we do for our clients is right 100% of the time. That is non-negotiable. We do great things for people and we educate people about a subject that isn’t taught in school.. money! However, because Primerica is run by independant business owners, everyone presents the material a bit different. Your experience in one office will not be the same in another and that is probably the only downfall of the company.

Nice try though.

Cheers,

V

First as soon as I walked in they were extremely exited to greet me, actively shaking my hand and asking me all types of “feel good questions”.
As a person who has been in sales for all my life I can state that this is a tactic used to make people feel good and “important”. They target the inexperienced and “weak people” so they can sell services and make little to no money. HEY IF YOU have ever gone to one of this meetings just look at the cars they drive you will NOT be impressed, and they are the ones that have supposedly succeeded.

Second, look at alllllll the fake trophies and awards on the wall’s they even have five foot “gold” statues that look like a Grammy. – ha,ha,ha awards they gave themselves

Third, and this is the bigggggggest red flag to any scam you may encounter they will not answer questions over the phone or in person you have to go to a meeting where they will explain everything. BUT HERE IS THE BEST PART being in a meeting is like watching an hour long (or two) infomercial. They tell you how great the company is and put people up their to tell stories about how Primerica has changed their lives. And they stilllllllllll wont answer questions.

Fourth, number 4 I call this one surround sound. Yes folks this one is tricky to capture but what they do is separate and into a large circle and when their speaker finishes telling you how their lives was horrible before Primerica they all clap and you get a great surround sound noise as if all are clapping —— this my friend is taking selling to a new level I love it except it’s not for a good cause its to take your money for “licensing” fees and they use your time and money. I can keep going all day but people have to understand that PRIMERICA HAS NOTHING TO LOOS IT’S YOUR TIME IT’S YOUR MONEY, —- IF THEY HOOK 5 OF YOU INTO DOING THIS WELL THEY HAVE DONE THEIR JOB.

I’m not the most religious man in the world but god bless them – they will need it

P.S.
On a side issue when people act like they are wealthy, and have a job that can take you to the sky — fine take your time and look at their watch is it a Timex or a tissot ? Do they drive a 2005 BMW 330 or an old Benz ? Even then Use your conmen sense nothing in live is free, nothing in live comes easy… life is a fight between good and evil …

I am almost glad to see you around just joking!

Actually, you brought a lot of life on my Primerica Series Thx a lot!

In regards to your question. I think it worth a whole post. I’m working on it and I will prepare and answer for next week.

Cheers,

FB.

Guess who’s back!!?

You know what, since my first post on your blog, there has been an explosion of posts about Primerica… something like double the posts that were there before our initial conversations.. I can’t help but feel somewhat responsible for that! lol.

FB, I think you owe me some overides! Forget Primerica, break me off with some of that advertising money man! I swear, I won’t tell anyone. lol

But seriously, all jokes aside. I have some questions for you about mutual funds. Completely unrelated to Primerica, well not really:

Here goes.
I hear a lot of people talking about the turnover ratio in mutual funds. How exactly does the buying (and more specifically) the selling of funds by clients, affect the overall performance of a mutual fund.

Another concern of mine is the whole issue surrounding MERs and fees associated with mutual funds. If my fund is reporting a 10% rate of return, isn’t that After the 1.5% or 2.3% MER has been deducted? Meaning, if a fund reports 10% rate of return it really did 12 %or 13% before fees were deducted? The reason I ask is because, if my fund is averaging 10% after fees, why do I care about the fees? 10% is 10%. Ultimately, that is the goal I am concerned with - hitting 10% or better on my overall performance. So, even if the MER was 5%, if the fund is averageing 10% over a 20 year period, should I really care?

Cheers,

V

However, based upon my limited exposure to the company, I must say that I have to come down on the side of Primerica’s proponents on many of the issues that have been brought up about the company. Let me preface this by stating that I am pretty skeptical about the company still. As with most people, the whole pyramidal nature of sales overrides does make me question the legitimacy of the sales structure.

That being said, all of my experiences with the company thus far have been very positive. I have been shocked to see so many descriptions of people arriving at Primerica overview meetings and being met with an immediate demand to furnish contacts and to sign up or get out. The only contact list that I have been asked to come up with is for my own personal benefit, in order to give me an idea of who I might be able to go to in order to begin my business. No one at Primerica has requested that list from me, nor have they even so much as requested a phone number of anyone on my contact list. My RVP has been very involved in my training, and since he has a PhD. in Finance Economics, I don’t believe that anyone could say that he is unqualified to be training me. It is true that I will not get paid for any sales that are done during my training sessions, but to my mind this makes sense, since it is my trainer, not myself, who is doing the presentation and I am just along for the ride.

I will admit that the presentation given at the company overview is highly motivational and is tailored to appeal on more of an emotional level than on a logical, intellectual level. Again, this is sales, so that makes sense to me. In my experience, 90% of sales are emotionally driven rather than logically based. The advantage with Primerica is that the sales done in the company truly does benefit the customer, as well as the agent making the sale. It is true that Primerica may not be the absolute best in every category of every product that it offers, but is there any highly diversified company that accomplishes this goal? Usually, the top contender in any category is going to be a company that focuses exclusively on that category. Since Primerica’s goal as an organization is to act as a full service financial brokerage, they try to offer a broad assortment of products that will meet the needs of the people the company is trying to help. Jack of all trades, master of none. I’d say that characterizes Primerica fairly well. However, that being said, even though they may not be number one, I would say that Primerica is probably in the top ten percent of companies in each of the areas in which it provides services. In some areas, it is rapidly rising towards the top, such as in its refinancing of mortgages. To my knowledge, Primerica is one of the only companies in the country that offers personal refinancing of mortgages that is not hurting because of the sub-prime mortgage market meltdown. This is because they offer a decent product with no frills, and hidden surprises. Again, I would say that this characterizes the majority of products that Primerica offers.

It is true that sales overrides are one of the easiest ways to make money in the company, and that because of this, recruiting is a major focus of many of the offices. I would have to say that this is the area that makes me the most uncomfortable with the company. I do believe that in order to recruit others, the person recruiting should have a good idea of what they are doing and what kind of company they are recruiting people in to. To this end, I have decided not to recruit anyone until I have obtained my Life Insurance licensing and have been with the company for at least 3 months. If I’m going to recruit people into the company, I want to make certain that I can give my word that what I am recruiting them into is good and that it works.

However, I think that this highlights another of the excellent things about the company: the freedom to handle your business how you want, within certain limits of course. Though it is recommended to me to recruit others, I have shared my concerns with my RVP, and he is completely supportive of the decision I have made not to recruit until I am more sure of the company.

Unfortunately, some people abuse that freedom and operate their Primerica businesses in ways that most people would consider unscrupulous. This is a very unfortunate reality of the world in which we live. Any time freedom exists, unscrupulous people will exist to take advantage of it. Show many any large corporation that does not have unscrupulous people in it, and I will buy their product 100% of the time. Show me any corporation whose profit making focus is entirely sales based that does not have a lot of unscrupulous people working for them, and I will buy whatever they are selling. I don’t think these problems are unique to Primerica, and I think that people within Primerica are aware of the problems that do exist. This past Tuesday night I met a woman who left an office where she was on a 200 person team and moved to the office at which I am working because she felt that the way things were run at the old office was unacceptable.

However, I would say that this is the fault of the individuals, not the fault of the company. My RVP is personal friends with A.L. Williams, the gentleman who founded Primerica, and as V stated above, Primerica was founded in the beginning to help people who were being taken advantage of by large insurance companies. What V did not mention is that one of the primary motivations for Mr. Williams to do this, is that when he was a child, his family was taken advantage of by one of these companies, and when his father died with a whole life policy barely able to cover the costs of his funeral, he learned that the agent who had sold his family the policy could have sold them a term policy for the same price that would have helped his family through the loss of their primary provider. As he got older, he learned that this failing was not unique to his family’s agent, but was standard practice in large insurance companies. Thus, Primerica. Though I do agree that Primerica has lost the claim to exclusivity in its business practices, I do believe that the company as a whole, and many of the individuals in the company (myself included) are genuinely interested in helping people become financially secure.

Another complaint that people make is that Primerica is not really interested in helping people, since the agents and the company itself make commission off of the sales that we perform under the auspices of “helping others.” I think that this complaint is one of the more ludicrous that I have seen. Is it simply not possible to help others and make money at the same time? I don’t think so. Primerica is a business, not a charity, so making money is one of the goals. However, I think the business model of Primerica is unique (at least in my experience). Before any sales attempts are even made, a Primerica representative will furnish the client with a fairly complex Financial Needs Analysis (FNA) that provides strategies for families to get out of debt and start saving/investing for their future. What makes this unique is that Primerica charges the client absolutely nothing for this Financial Needs Analysis. The way Primerica makes its money is that, after presenting the FNA to the client, the agent offers them the financial vehicles they need to make the FNA a reality. However, the client is under no obligation to buy. They can take the FNA, take the advice it gives them, and use the products of any other company to make it a reality. How does the consumer lose in this arrangement?

Going back to the company overview, one of the common complaints that I have heard about Primerica is that the sales overview makes it sound as if making money at Primerica is easy. It could very well be possible that in some Primerica offices, this is the way that it is presented. However, in my experience, this is not the case. At the company overviews I have attended, my RVP gets in front of the audience and says straight out that this business is not easy. He says it is very hard work. What he says is that the business is simple, and I agree that it is, since all you really have to do is present the financial data to the customer and let them make up their mind.

As for allowing people with no advanced education to handle the sales aspect of the company, I do not see how Primerica differs from any other company. Every Primerica representative must pass the same State certified examinations to obtain their licenses as the representatives from other companies. They must complete the same number of training hours each period to retain their licenses. I have been told that I am not even allowed to mention Insurance or Securities products until I have been properly licensed, so I do not believe that this is a fair accusation to make against the company. In addition to the required training hours for the licensing, my office also offers classes twice a week in order to further my education.

Finally, in the research that I have done online, every single complaint or accusation that I have seen leveled at Primerica has been from some one who signed up to work as a representative or attended a company overview and did not like the experience. I have yet to see one complaint from a Primerica customer who has been dissatisfied with the company. Again, as with most companies, I am sure there are consumer complaints, but these seem to be far fewer that those of disgruntled ex-employees.

Thanks so much for your time. Sorry to ramble on like this, but it was actually very helpful for me to clarify some of the thoughts and doubts that I had about the company.

In closing, I love your blog, and you have definitely gotten yourself another loyal reader. Thanks so much!