K-Designers Reviews

Pros

You really can make some great money, you just have to work hard and pay attention. The commission can be very generous, but they are a lot of factors you need to watch out for and sales are hard to come by. Management was straight forward about how commission could be messed up, but did not get very detailed. obviously if you forget to charge the customer for a product but promise it to them, your commission will suffer. The only thing is, there are 10-20 other charges they do not tell you about so you have to pay attention to detail, what management says, and put the pieces together. To get the whole list and figure it out correctly. If you work hard, want to travel a lot, have some savings to get things rolling, pay attention to detail, and don't mind being a pushy sales person, you will make 70-150k. To make that kind of money in the real world you need to either take a job no one else wants, or work a job that is harder than others. This is a job that is a lot harder than others and compromises one morals. If that is worth 70-150k (I thought it would be too at first) then go for it.

Cons

-appointments set by company are invalid. The customers do not agree to the appointment and do not want you their. We worked on pushy techniques to get into the house. Things such as just picking up your bag and walking in when they open the door, and other intrusive exercises. The commission they pay is great, but there are a lot of factors that will affect and pull out commission that they do not tell you about directly. You can pad your numbers by overcharging the customer, but then, its are harder sell. I did not research the company first and that is a mistake. My girlfriend did the second day I started and brought everything to my attention. After doing my own research I felt sick about the job feeling as if I was tricked and about to get screwed over. I brought this up to management and they were very supportive of it and did not shy away from the issues. The Minnesota branch is the most successful and honest branch, but it is still difficult to make money for the first 4 months. 4 month learning curve on the sales techniques (hard closes, putting pressure on customers, calling them out if they say no, and pushing their patience) and also on the presentation. I would work a 10-8 and then spend 4 hours at home reviewing notes, presentation techniques and how to close. I went to school for business and took sales classes so there were no surprises on the process, except how much you have to push the customers. Other sales companies I've worked for use the same consultative selling techniques, but do it the right way and actually help their customer out.

Advice to Senior Management

Maybe just let the new marketing directors know how much work, money, and time they will need to start making money.

Pros

Potential is there, with a decent payment system for Marketing Directors. The actual work done for homeowners is quality, and the product is quality.

Cons

Upper management abuses the 1099 status of marketing directors, and finds reasons not to pay them for their honest work. The system is corrupt and ineffective, and most certainly not cost-effective. Almost every corporate sales person in the United State these days is able to track their income online, and able to trust that their hard work will be rewarded with an actual paycheck.

Advice to Senior Management

You could make somuch more money, as in revenue, as in U.S. dollars, income, cash, bottom line dough in your pocket - by treating your sales force with respect, and by nurturing them as a valued resource. I only speak $$ because that is the only way I can see that upper management might respond. I have no hope that they will do this because it is ethical. The CEO is ultimately responsible for this unethical behavior. A corporate culture is determined at the top.

Pros

I met some nice people

Cons

All of these nice people left K-Designers within 5 months. Out of 15-20 MD's, only 3 of them have been there 2 yrs or more! The manager tells you there's a really low turn-over rate, but he's lying! I've never slept better since quitting this job. Everything they tell you is a lie, they put their MD's in constant financial trouble, and the whole company is just unethical.
I overheard a manager talking to a female MD who was uncomfortable going in to a home for whatever reason, and his response was "too bad. You need to go back and knock on that door!" I couldn't believe it. They really don't have a clue what it's like to run a business with women in 2010. As a previous manager, I know how to handle both male and female employees, K-Designers just doesn't get it.
Last, when you do finally quit because you're broke, frustrated and you're car is falling apart, they keep your commissions. If and when they finally give them to you, there is always some reason why it is substantially less than it should be.
I wish I could take back the 4 months, $4200 in expenses (no exaggeration), and 10K miles on my car! Lesson learned.

Advice to Senior Management

STOP LYING to people!!! The managers even put a fake positive post on this review board (the only one w/ a rating of 4). They told us they do this often. I've also been told by a manager that he was told to lie to the MD's about his sales. Be honest and ethical -how do you sleep at night Mr. Judson?

Pros

If you are a one-time closer you can make alot of money. You do recieve recognition for your accomplishments but they are limited.

Cons

I have to say the company overall is i it to make alot of money for themselves and if they don't make enough you make nothing. There are alot of extra fees they charge you that you are unaware of. There is a potential to make good money but you need to give not 100% but 150% of your time and money.
You need to be a road warrior youmight get told you only need to trave one week a month but its not true, and you TRAVEL not 100 miles but 400-800miles. You need to pay your way with gas, hotel, and food. Unless you sell while you're gone you will not get paid anything. I myself went on a trip one week had some car problems and ended up spending over $1,000 in car repairs, hotel, gas, and food. During the trip I did not have one valid appt. so I got NOTHING but spent oer $1,000 to make $0. So if you have money to blow and like to travel this is the job for you.

Advice to Senior Management

Be prepared to be a baby to the company. They will have you doing everything a manager should do PLUS more. and you lose the chance in selling and making money. Do not accept the job stick to being in Sales there. Your base will not compare to your commission you made as a MD.

Pros

The income at K.D is what you make it. Several yrs. ago, it was very common for reps with little or no experience to make substantial $. Now, obviously, things have changed. You can still make $ but you can't just rely only on company leads. Another benefit, which can be better in some aspects than the $, is that you can make your own schedule.

Cons

1) The leads can be really be suspect at times. Higher-ups at K.D. refuse to admit this but from time to time you will run appts in very-low income/distressed areas. You will have quite a few denied appts. and no shows. If you rely on the leads, it truly is a numbers game.
2) You will travel. I did a min. of 40-45K/yr. If you are a regular,commission-only rep, you will do this on your own dime.
3)HIGH turnover - Very few reps make it long term. Most flake within the first month or two for various reasons (travel concerns, money, false expectations) As a result, morale can be very low and cynical.
4)Company can be really shady when it comes to paying commissions. Issues can include being charged for the wrong product, wrong pricing. They will fix it although sometimes it's like pulling teeth but this can obviously be very frustrating.

Advice to Senior Management

Really doesn't matter. Larry is going to do what he wants anyway; that's why several of the branches are struggling, especially Denver, Phx. LA branch was closed last summer.

Pros

I really think that they have very good products and I would use their windows and siding on my house.

Cons

- You will work every waking minute. 12 hour days are common and I've worked as many as 17 hrs in one day.
-The leads they give you are bogus leads. Half the leads won't let you in the house and the other half are unemployed and won't be spending $20,000+ on windows or siding.
-You will travel hundreds of miles to a lead just to find out they are unemployed, you will pay all your own gas, hotel, and food expenses.
-Your only day off is Sunday.
-Your presentation last for 3 hours and that if they don't buy. If they buy you can expect another hour and a half doing paper work.
-If you don't make the sale and don't take them to rock bottom price, you manager will send you back.
-They flash copied checks of high commissions but will lie to your face or avoid any concerning questions you have.
-Out of my class of 8 in training, I'm the only one that actually went on sales call. A the rest quit.
-The company has constant hiring and training going on to keep up with all the people that quit, turn over is about 90%, one question they will lie or avoid.

Advice to Senior Management

Stop lying to people and make this a ligament sales job. You have a good product but your methods of practice are horrible. Your sales people want to know that you are on their side, so offer some incentives to prove they aren't just disposable items to you.

Pros

No micromanagement, self-driven position that you can prospect anywhere residentially, flexible hours, amazing commissions when everything goes right, lots of employee/management feedback and training.

Cons

1099 position - everything out of your pocket!, pre-set leads could start at 8pm on a weekday, construction industry - lots of unknowns to be aware of, prospects very sensitive to economy.

Advice to Senior Management

Keep up the trainings and motivational speeches! It's really up to the sales associate to succeed or not. One must be willing and able and have a financial cushion.

Pros

They are the first in-home home improvement company that followed through with what they tell their customers they will do.

Cons

1. Bizarre compensation program - tiered so that the more volume you generate, the more they pay you. Problem is that it isn't any easier/harder the more you do.
2. Bizarre appointment sets. Less than 20% of the appointments they set did the homeowner truly agree to the appointment. Usually they committed just to get the telemarketers off the phone.
3. Bizarre ledger process. Reminded me of the "company store" setups that I learned about in high school. They make sure that anything they can charge their reps for, they do.
4. Pricing to client is significantly higher than competition. Their products and service are great, but I don't know that they are 30% better than their competition.
5. Initially I liked the sales approach as a Marketing Director. Unfortunately, the way the sales process is set up the rep quickly goes from being a marketing director to either pushy salesman or begging salesman. I ended up feeling like the stereotypical sales character in the Simpsons.

Advice to Senior Management

1. Simplify
2. Fully support the Marketing Director concept or drop it.