Direct Agents Reviews

Pros

The Direct Agents work experience is one that cultivates learning and career growth. They have a hands on approach to learning with no limits. I was told from day one that the learning experience at Direct Agents would be unlike anything I had ever been apart of before, one that was in favor of advancement and moving up in the work place.

What I discovered from time on the job was that Direct Agents was indeed a place that would push me to new limits of knowledge and experience. They empower you to make important decisions, and encourage you to voice your thoughts and ideas to improving the company overall. Its that thinking that makes the company better every single day. Not just for growth, but for the betterment of everyone that works here.

I will also say that working at Direct Agents is for those that want to come in and work hard every single day. Everyone is very focused here, and truly takes the reigns on their responsibilities daily.

Our managing directors not only show up everyday, but they are also usually the first in and last to leave every night. They set the tone for the rest of us to follow. It's that type of leadership that makes working at Direct Agents so exciting. Everyday you can see positive things happening, and the people making it happen!

I recommend working at Direct Agents to those that want to take knowledge and experience to new levels. Those that are determined to do great things in their careers, those that are driven to succeed. If that's you, then this is the place for you!

Cons

I can't really say there are any cons. I would say at times it gets a little too quiet in the office, but that also goes to show that people are here to work and not socialize all day. But maybe some soft background music would be great.

Advice to Senior Management

The management here impresses me. It's very easy to see why they are the ones leading the company. They are all experts in what they do, and show true compassion in what they do every single day

Pros

Learned quite a bit about affiliate marketing

You can meet some great people because a lot of the employees are very cool.

The occasional work happy hour

Cons

Horrible work environment..dead silent. While they market themselves as an 'Agency' it is a sales machine. Limited TRUE growth opportunities. They'll slap a title on you and give you a small trophy to appease you and try to keep you happy. Poor communication (starting at the top) and a lack of real motivation. Let's not forget about telling you who you can and cannot hangout/talk to. They discourage you from going to lunch together as friends. Probably because they're scared we'll conspire about them. Money can be good, but it's also tough to make because one paycheck is automatically deducted from your commission as part of the 'ramp structure'. New publishers are tough to come by because people hold on to them for a long time and nobody is able to work with them if that's the case. Takes forever to get a simple answer/decision to a question or request you may have. You can forget about any type of social work atmosphere. You come to work at/before 9, stick your head down..crank out 9+ hours and leave at 6:30, although their hours are 9-6..NOBODY leaves at 6. Experiencing all of the egos, the office politics, the work environment, the poor communication..all helped me know what to look for in my next job. I mean, there has to be a reason why every single review on here is negative (with the exception of the two THEY wrote) .... Again, I met some great people, and learned quite a bit about affiliate marketing but I am much happier after having left.

Advice to Senior Management

LISTEN to your employees..don't just give them lip service and say what you think they want to hear. Take advice and ideas and follow through with them.

Pros

-money can be good...if you're able to make some
-you can meet some good people

Cons

-everyone is tough to get along with and tough to please
-many people are inexperienced and incompetent
-environment is very hostile
-does not allow for a high quality of life...if you're not willing to make DA your life, then you're not an ideal employee
-because commissions are on a draw, money is very hard to make
-commissions were cut 2 years in a row even though co. revenue grew 50%+ each year
-better titles are awarded instead of better pay
-employees are not valued at all
-they seek to motivate through fear
-turnover is unbelievably high..2-3 people leaving the co. in any given month is normal
-morale is very low

Advice to Senior Management

do a complete overhaul. value the people you hire and reward them for their hard work. a lot of really good people have left the company because they have not been treated well, and incompetent people have been rewarded for sticking around.

there are much better opportunities out there, and if you don't treat your employees right, they will leave.

understand that high turnover, in any company, in any industry, is a huge red flag and a definite cause for concern.

Pros

Nothing! Well, maybe rapid advancement but don't count on being qualified to work at any other company after advancing rapidly here just for the sake of a title.

Cons

I would not recommend any person coming to work for this company. In my opinion, the management is highly incompetent. The reason why they present opportunities for advancement so rapidly is because there is no one else qualified to be promoted. The people in management positions do not belong there. They are less experienced then some of their employees.

Job roles are not clearly defined and as they say they are hiring you for one position that is not the position you will necessarily be doing. They are very misleading and will use you for whatever their need is including as an assistant to do the work that they do not want to bother with doing.

The environment is very strict and not like any other agency I’ve seen in the business. You are not allowed to listen to music, socialize in any matter with inside employees or any outside friends. Consider yourself in prison for the day with no contact with the outside world other than for work only purposes. There is no privacy, no personal space.

There is not any communication between employees and no interaction between departments to get a sense of the company as a whole. Employees are very micro-managed. I had no ability to make any sort of key decisions that an account manager would normally have. The owners are very ant-social and inexperienced.

Work load and hours can be crazy at times but what agency doesn’t have this.

There are much better agencies out there to work at so there is no reason to start working here unless the company changes.

Please note, all the said comments above are based on my opinion.

Pros

The soho location and offices are very cool. They are growing revenue wise exponentially every year and have a good reputation for delivering services in the industry.

Cons

No management structure at all, no communication within departments, immature Human resource capabilities. Office is a dead room, no energy. Very frugal when it comes to employees. Benefits are embarrassing.

Advice to Senior Management

I was hired in late July as a veteran sales person with solid experience selling to the enterprise space. I also am married with two young kids, a rarity in this youthful industry. I turned their initial offer down as the family medical offering was a joke. They came back with a semi- better plan and threw in a cash bonus down the line. Medical started 30 days after hire date. 4 days before the medical was to begin, I was suddenly let go due to "performance issues".

Um, I had no quota yet, had made a few sales and had a solid pipeline brewing all within 3 weeks. I also had negotiated a higher base salary than most. Truth was they did not want to pay my salary and contribute to the family medical plan and crafted some BS reason in place of the truth. Completely gross and despicable. Also my "manager" was the fakest person I have ever met.

Pros

Aside from being located in a great neighborhood (Soho), I cant think of one good reason to work at Direct Agents.

Cons

Management is horrible as most managers have very little to no experience in managerial roles. Directors are extremely frugal when it comes to most things. Matched 401k is promised at start of employment, however they match nothing. Vacation days are extremely scarce and very difficult to even get approved. Doctors notes are required if you are out sick. Bathroom breaks are monitored. Lunch is from 1-2 only so make sure to plan accordingly. If a client pays with a cc then merchant fees are deducted from your commission. All phone calls and emails are monitored vigorously. Performance is not indicative of evaluation as favoritism is clearly evident towards under-performing employees.

Advice to Senior Management

Hire individuals that have prior experience managing groups of individuals. Stop micro-managing your top performers as they will surely continue to leave, which has been the case for 5+ years.

Pros

it is good company to work for, then means u are wasting ur time

Cons

many thing to get improved

Pros

Some good manager
Some good company outings
Good learning of the industry

Cons

Its like your in detention
Leads and Prospects are held on too long by reps that don't do anything about the clients, but claim they own them.
Not much communication with your co-workers
Silent office, sometimes feels very dead to work at.
Not flexible at all
Expect to work long hours and if you leave earlier it looks BAD
Turn over ratio is beyond what I seen anywhere else. 10 in 9 out.

Pros

Direct Agents is a 40 person company that is now located in a new office in Astor Place, New York. The company was started by two brothers who are the Managing Directors of the company. For those who work hard, there is a lot of opportunity for growth at the company. The culture is very fast-paced, however the hours are not too long. People typically work 9:30 to 6:30, sometimes a little later, which I think compared to other professional jobs, is not too long.

If you are professional and hard-working, your hard work will pay off and you will be rewarded. It is great opportunity for young professionals because you get the opportunity to take on a large amount of responsibility and can grow into management very quickly. There are people here, who after working for a few years are managing teams and have become part of Senior Management. In addition, you really have the opportunity to share your ideas with Senior Management and make changes in the company. If you really want to be able to make an impact on a company, and contribute toward it's growth, this is a great company for you. If you do not like having the expectation for legitimate output everyday, and like a job with time to spend on facebook, or speaking with your friends ect., than this may not be a place for you.

The employees at Direct Agents are also great, and the company really focuses on hiring good, honest, fun people.

Cons

There could be more flexibility in regard to personal needs during the workday, however as you grow and prove yourself you earn more flexibility.

Pros

The only positive aspect in this company is employees. Everyone is great except the upper management that is constantly looking to save money at the employees expense. If you are in sales, you can do very well on commissions.

Cons

Horrible benefits. During first 6 months of you dental, you can only get your teeth cleaned. Many employees don't have any benefits even after working at the company for a while. Many people work late hours almost every single day for very small salaries. Don't get fooled by the frequent company paid happy hour drinks, the company's generosity end right there. Workload is enormous. The owners of the company are extremely controlling and like to micromanage. They are all about taking and very stingy on giving.

Advice to Senior Management

You really need to understand that your employees are humans that need to eat and pay their rent. If you don't want your employees to hate you like they do right now, consider a more or less descent treatment as far as salaries and benefits. Stop promising things you are not capable of giving.