Stay VERY far away!

These guys are SLEAZY! The closest they get to "Sports marketing" and "fine hotels" are selling seat tickets and scam packages using cold calls and door to door sales. JD Advertising is also Vertigo Marketing who is also HLM Group who is also Pounder, Inc, and likely many more false front names.

Stay very far away from these guys!

I don't know about that george, I interviewed with the company and had a great experience.

George, can you tell me some more.

Well, it never seemed really on the level to me. The office had one sign outside saying the name of one business and then a different business name taped up in the window on a printout. There were three people working at two desks, answering calls for at least two different companies, neither of which were the name on the wall plaque or the .com from the contact email. They keep you waiting for about an hour (everybody that day and once you get into the backroom for your 15 minutes of glory, you go through a strangely empty common area and then they explain how they work with hotels and sports franchises, the same thing they boast about in their 300 duplicate ads they post on every job board.

They sell discount ticket coupon books, one of those "Spend $80.00 on THIS and save over $800.00!" kind of things. They explain how they do all their own art (they contract it from printers and tell them what it should look like), and how they don't do telemarketing or e-mail spamming "because its ugly". Its really zero Marketing at all; its cold call sales and door-to-door stuff.

I was told they only had 5 positions available and they needed them filled ASAP and they only had interviews open for the next day, yet they still seem to keep posting ads for those same positions (entry level sales/marketing and entry level management) which was explained to me that there is no seniority so everybody comes in entry level and stays equal (???).

Nice enough folks, really. Just didn't come across on the level business-wise at all.

its true they keep you waiting over an hour then once you walk back there is one big empty room with posters on the wall with steps to follow for something then you finally sit down and they show you a piece of paper that is suppose to be impressive that they sell business to business or door to door and it's all comission based

I interviewed at one of these places and it was a joke. Same deal, office was suspect, two different desks running two different companies. I was told by the 20 year old recruiter who interviewed me that there were limited positions and to wait by the phone for her call between 4:30 and 5:00. If I was to get a 2nd interview, she would call then. Didn't hold my breath and realized this was bogus when I consistantly and constantly see their ads on job boards. They take up to much space when searching for legitimate jobs.

Well guys I think I have more insight on this business than anybody else so far. i was part of one of these companies and made it to the management level. ( you know the person that you sit down with for your interview) I was there for over a year before changing jobs. I went thru the whole door to door thing and built a team of people, trained them to be successful at it, and then was promoted to management. I will say that management is overated. You can make great money but the majority of managers do not. All these marketing companies share the offices in order to save money when starting up because there is not much money made in the first couple of years. There are no benefits and alot of travel. Travel is said to be optional (but if you want to advance it is not). There is no compensation for your travel. I would not recomend this job to any female because you may find yourself in not the safest of neighborhoods, however that is never intentional but does happen. I left the business becuase of the hours and the fact that you have to constantly rebuild your office and the final straw was that anybody can call up Smart Circle International (corporate office) and purchase your own office for $10,000 and not have to do any of the entry-level work.

On a positive note not all things with this company are bad. The atmosphere is great and the people you work our awesome for the most part. You gain great sales and leadership experience which helped me to land my job now which is great. I have a 8-5 job with weekends off and full benefits and a nice salary with company car. Even better than that i met my fiance in the company so I have nothing to complain about any looking to gain experience in sales or just have a good time this isn't the worst thing you could be doing. Companies love the fact that I have cold called in the past it is the best sales experience.

Hi George,

I applied to this company this morning and was offered an interview with them tomorrow. I decided to do some further research and found about a million job postings and THANKFULLY your comments. I called and cancelled my inter view.

I interviewed at a similar company several years ago in Raleigh and had the same experience, it was just fishy...

I appreciate your honesty! You just saved me time I could be using to distribbute resumes door to door with companies I know!

Thank you!

Lauren

Why if something involves hard work, commission , and sales is it a scam ?? I worked there for 2 months until I got pulled back into active duty. I sold sports certificates, golf packages (I used them too, I played some great courses for free because of those packages), and spa packages (I gave 1 to my wife in fact). So, let me get this right, because they do outside sales and guys manage sales teams and they have a young office that they officially become a "scam" ? If that's the case, then every company is a scam. The guy who sells BMW's is being scammed because after the sale some of the profit goes to the owner of the company. The pharmaceutical sales rep is being "scammed" then because they sell drugs to doctors and the drug companies make them do it and they even KEEP some of the profit. Am I missing something ? Sales and Marketing go hand in hand. If you were a company, would you hire someone to place an ad on page 6 of a newspaper and hope people come in, or would you save the money, give it to JD Advertising in the form of unused inventory (rounds of golf at open tee times, seats at games that don't sell out, etc) and have them GO OUT and bring in new business. JD Advertising will thrive a lot longer than 90% of the businesses out there, because they go earn their job for their clients. If you want to get great sales and marketing experience, give'em a shot, I loved it there...

George in Charlotte, North Carolina said: These guys are SLEAZY! The closest they get to "Sports marketing" and "fine hotels" are selling seat tickets and scam packages using cold calls and door to door sales. JD Advertising is also Vertigo Marketing who is also HLM Group who is also Pounder, Inc, and likely many more false front names.

Stay very far away from these guys!

I worked for this company because I thoght it was ligit. It is a pyrimid scheme. I promise you the good reviews on this blog were made by JD Advertising employees. They read these blogs and try to defend themselves. It is all part of the game. The way this company works is they advertise everywhere to get anyone they can in the door. They hire as many people as possible as fast as possible. They will do 25-30 interviews a day. If yoou go in for one of these interviews you will see many other people in there waiting too. They tell you everything you want to hear so you will go out and do their bidding selling door to door. Then when you figure it out and quit there are more people to take your place. You WILL NOT get to management and you will waste your time.

Also you will be spending your own money on gas to get to these neighborhoods where you will be soliciting. You will be lucky to walk away from each day with $50-gas in your pocket for 12 hours of work 6 days a week. That's right I said 12 hours a day for 6 days a week. They do this so you will only be hanging out with them while they continue to fill your head with false promises. DO NOT BE FOOLED!!! I cannot believe I was such a fool to fall for it. These guys come in till they wear out their welcome then they move to another town. TUST ME IT IS A SCAM!!!

Thanks everyone for letting me know about this. I applied for it today and just received an email from them requesting that I call to set up my interview.
I read this and had to go back and read the email again, I really enjoyed this part of the email "congratulations on being selected, as there were many resumes that were submitted and reviewed" after reading these post I got a good giggle out of the email.

Thanks for the heads up

Oooh I am so glad that I read all these posts! I literally just got off the phone with these people 10 minutes ago and felt kind of fishy about it. I am going to email her back and cancel my appointment right away. My husband went to the same thing today and I told him that it was just a scam. He interviewed yesterday and they told him that they would call him between 4:30 and 5 and guess what they did! I hope he gets out of wherever he is soon! He has been there is since 12:30. What a bunch of bull! Thanks so much

I would also like to thank everyone for this information. I was scheduled to go to an interview tomorrow in CLT. I checked out the website (as my interview email told me to go there if I wanted more information) but all info in the website is vague! That set off the warning flags for me. It's cool for someone who likes door-to-door, but I'd have a real commute! I couldn't afford that.

Please, Im very interested in knowing how to buy an office if thats possible. I called the corporate office and they had no idea what I was talking about. They just gave me a number to one of the owners in my area. Please e-mail me or call me with more info.

Phone# 773 632 8970
email is mikelmcmortgage@gmail.com

That comment was for " been there in little rock arkansa"

3 YEARS LATER....They're bacccccccckkkkk. This time in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Yikes!!!!!!!!!!!

Yikes is right!!! They are now in Tinton Falls, New Jersey. They advertise NO EXPERIENCE NEEDED and after applying online they immediately e-mail you back with a request for an interview. They had 3-5 minutes to review a resume!!!

Just got a call from them but didn't fall for it I just kept asking if it was a straight commission job but she couldn't answer me she said the director would call me back!Glad to read all these comments just con firmed what I thought....
Thanks!!!

I received a call from them last Thursday when a lady promised to send me some info about the company, i received nothing so after the weekend i called them back and asked them once again to send me info about the company, all i received was directions to place so i called them back again and i was told that the manager will tell me everything i need to know...r u serious? you tell me first you will send me the info about the company and then you tell me the manager will tell me everything i need to know???

SCAMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Thanks for this folks. I remember something like this in New Brunswick a couple of years ago that I interviewed for. There were many people in the office, and I was there at least 2 hours. Nothing ever came of it. On a hunch I though I'd go online to see if anyone knew anything about the company. This forum came up. Thanks for saving me the time and the gas!!!

WOW... Heres experience i had working for the first couple weeks..
I too applied from an online ad that said Immediate hiring, 5 openings, yadadada...

PROCESS- confirmation email, said im lucky and was selected, set up interview

interview1- talked about the job, which was very off i'd say...come in next day interview 2-met with Manager, and Acct Exec..or w/e..he took me to a home depot, and interviewd me in the break room..than he showed me what he did, basically walked the store and stopped customers and asked if theyd like a free consultation on kitchen refacing...pay is 50bucks a lead...go back to office get interview 3, HIRED

first day work, i go in the atmosphere consists of big open space, 2 rooms where the owners/managers have desk...u stand for about hr than have the office meeting, where they talk about how many leads ppl did the day before...than ppl leave...u either do residential(door to door) or retail(in store) they say u aren't selling nething and we just give a free service as part of a promotion.. and u get paid from every lead..i crushed it my first cpl days... and for power its 90 bucks a lead..ALL bull..cuz when it comes down to it, u spend ur own money on travel and etc..and if u do 20 leads...ur most likely gettn paid on like 5...they said not 1 of my leads was generated or had ppl go...

ok well they dont explain that, and the fact taht my leads called me to tell me we ddidn't show up..i asked my owner, he said well we dont pay unless they generate,?? so i do my job and get u a lead and the company we promote for doesn't show up, so we dont get paid cuz our service sucks??? WOW...ok, and one of my leads actually had them come in, which was a family friend, and i was told it was never generated.. LIARS, so i didn't earn a dime, and i guarantee mgmt made money off of me...i worked everyday, and earned nothing,e ven tho i was told u just get the leads and we pay u for it...i did 15 powers in 3 days...thats supp to be 90$, and 3 home depots

which is 50 a lead...so all my hard work earned me nothing..and to add yes, they are always hiring and interviewing.they lie.. and they say u can become a manager in 4months...w/e, they scam ppl..and for the person saying sales, commision, blah blah...of course thats not a scam...thats called a job in sales...and ive had plenty but this is ridiculous, they pretty much r like KIRBY VACCUUMS AND CUTCO KNIFES, but id actually rate them below, and its funny because a person stated previously about the office...yes they had 2 owners splitting the office, no furniture all posters, 2 diff company names, the door window said marketing..hah JUST DONT WASTE YOUR TIME, be highly disappointed.. i mean if u can guratnee urself leads that WILL generate sure u can make some money...but i didn't get a dollar for over 15 leads my first week. i saw right thru them in 4 days and left.. YES THEY are now in TINTON Falls NJ.. focusing on kitchen refacing or home remodeling, door to door or residential(instore)

I had an interview lined up for what was supposed to be a SALARIED position for employment, but after reading all your comments I decided to call them before going.

I confronted the "Human Resource" person on a whether or not what I was interviewing for was a salaried position. She tried to avoid the question, than I told her about things I was seeing on the web about the company. I also told her that if it is not a salaried position I will not be interested. She finally caved and told me that all the company was looking for was non salaried people.

This company is a SCAM. I was assured up and down than I was going in for a salaried position based on things like "how much the director of the company likes your resume". I want to thank everyone that posted on here for helping me out. You saved me time, effort and gas money.

Good job, probably the best decision you made by doing the research and talking to the human resource lady..They would've just wasted your time and money for the first few days u worked there. Good Job, SCAM... LIARS... i wish this company would crumble with how unethical and immoral they run the show. . Good job Steve, you'll find a much better job. .

darren anderson in Charlotte, North Carolina said: Why if something involves hard work, commission , and sales is it a scam ?? I worked there for 2 months until I got pulled back into active duty. I sold sports certificates, golf packages (I used them too, I played some great courses for free because of those packages), and spa packages (I gave 1 to my wife in fact). So, let me get this right, because they do outside sales and guys manage sales teams and they have a young office that they officially become a "scam" ? If that's the case, then every company is a scam. The guy who sells BMW's is being scammed because after the sale some of the profit goes to the owner of the company. The pharmaceutical sales rep is being "scammed" then because they sell drugs to doctors and the drug companies make them do it and they even KEEP some of the profit. Am I missing something ? Sales and Marketing go hand in hand. If you were a company, would you hire someone to place an ad on page 6 of a newspaper and hope people come in, or would you save the money, give it to JD Advertising in the form of unused inventory (rounds of golf at open tee times, seats at games that don't sell out, etc) and have them GO OUT and bring in new business. JD Advertising will thrive a lot longer than 90% of the businesses out there, because they go earn their job for their clients. If you want to get great sales and marketing experience, give'em a shot, I loved it there...

YOu love it there? you only work there for 2 months! Hello? Goerge work there for ayear and didn't even say you shouldn't work there. should I believe you or george?

I just got home from my "second" interview with JD(wave) advertising in Tinton Falls NJ. Quite an experience. After coming home from my first interview which of course when swimmingly I decided to do some research and came up with nothing but job postings and this forum. I decided to still go in for my second interview to see what was up and ask a few simple job related questions. The receptionist, Jordan Thompson/Vanessa? hands me a clipboard with with an agreement to sign. "I acknowledge that the Corporation has arranged a one day period for me to observe the business operation in the field." It goes on like this, Corporation this and Corporation that. It never says "JD advertising." Also the door to the suite was propped wide open obscuring the name on the front of the door. It read "Wave adv." So after sitting in the waiting room with two other gentleman for about 15 minutes, the receptionist asks if im done filling out the paperwork. I reply "No, before i sign anything i have a few questions." At this point the atmosphere completely changes. The receptionist breaks eye contact with me and motions towards an office in the back of the suite. The gentleman I interviewed with, Jason Haller, was sitting behind the desk while another man stood with his back toward the window. Jason appears nervous,"whats up? whats going on? what questions?" I havent said anything at this point. I take a seat, it wasn't offered. I ask "do you offer any kind of benefits package?" Jason responds "what?....benefits?...ummm. yeah after thirty days." I say "and what are the details, what is the package all about?" He replies "ummm I dont know. Youll have to speak to Tim Sullivan about that." I ask "what about sick days? vacation days?" Its at this point Jason becomes angry, frustrated and hostile. Certainly not an appropriate reaction to simple questions anyone would ask a possible employer before signing a contract. "of course not. no. we dont pay people to not work here....

part 2:
...i mean, we're here to make money. If you dont want to make money you can leave." I calmly say "have a nice day" and exit the office amking sure to return the pen to the receptionist before exiting the suite, and finally returning home.
Now, this is in no way an accusation of bad business practices or anything to that effect. This is simply an account of my experience earlier this afternoon.

John in Long Branch, New Jersey said: I just got home from my "second" interview with JD(wave) advertising in Tinton Falls NJ. Quite an experience. After coming home from my first interview which of course when swimmingly I decided to do some research and came up with nothing but job postings and this forum. I decided to still go in for my second interview to see what was up and ask a few simple job related questions. The receptionist, Jordan Thompson/Vanessa? hands me a clipboard with with an agreement to sign. "I acknowledge that the Corporation has arranged a one day period for me to observe the business operation in the field." It goes on like this, Corporation this and Corporation that. It never says "JD advertising." Also the door to the suite was propped wide open obscuring the name on the front of the door. It read "Wave adv." So after sitting in the waiting room with two other gentleman for about 15 minutes, the receptionist asks if im done filling out the paperwork. I reply "No, before i sign anything i have a few questions." At this point the atmosphere completely changes. The receptionist breaks eye contact with me and motions towards an office in the back of the suite. The gentleman I interviewed with, Jason Haller, was sitting behind the desk while another man stood with his back toward the window. Jason appears nervous,"whats up? whats going on? what questions?" I havent said anything at this point. I take a seat, it wasn't offered. I ask "do you offer any kind of benefits package?" Jason responds "what?....benefits?...ummm. yeah after thirty days." I say "and what are the details, what is the package all about?" He replies "ummm I dont know. Youll have to speak to Tim Sullivan about that." I ask "what about sick days? vacation days?" Its at this point Jason becomes angry, frustrated and hostile. Certainly not an appropriate reaction to simple questions anyone would ask a possible employer before signing a contract. "of course not. no. we don't

YES IT SEEMS LIKE A SCAM. THEY TOLD ME THEY DID NOT HAVE A WEBSITE . THE OFFICE SEEMED READY TO MOVE OUT, THE GIRLS SEEMED VERY STRANGE. I ALSO ASKED ABOUT BENEFITS GOT LITTLE REPLY. WAITING ON A SECOND INTERVIEW.

jenn when did you go?

John in Long Branch, New Jersey said: part 2:
...i mean, we're here to make money. If you dont want to make money you can leave." I calmly say "have a nice day" and exit the office amking sure to return the pen to the receptionist before exiting the suite, and finally returning home.
Now, this is in no way an accusation of bad business practices or anything to that effect. This is simply an account of my experience earlier this afternoon.

i think your experiences are hillarious, i worked for the company for 6 months i was assistant manager and left to go into business with a friend but i cant believe that you actually asked about sick days, do you think its ok to go to a possible employer and ask if you will get paid for not working? if you want sick days go teach 4th grade gym class , you applied to a sales marketing firm do you think people are there to save the manatees? people are in business to generate business its too bad you have that employee mindset a little entrepreneur can make a man very rich. and what makes you think that your entitled to hearing about employee benefits before you fill out an information sheet and meet with the manager, did you really think you were signing your life away? You acted in a wrong way and in an unprofessional way... does a doctor get paid if he doesnt take care of sick people? What happens to a lawyer if he cant find someone to defend? Sales and marketing is about making money and if you didnt get the answers you wanted to on the phone then you should have stayed home or went and interviewed somewhere else. I no longer generate business for JD advertising however if i hadent worked their I wouldnt have been able to become so successfull in my current line of work. John in long branch you drive in the slow lane and watch the clock minute by miinute and do the countdown until lunch, you are a W2 worker, all you people that judge something before you give it a shot shoot yourselves in the foot

I've only worked for the company for about 3 months, but all of these other comments people are putting sound fake and it looks like they're just trying to get everyone to avoid working their because it didn't work out for them. Well I worked part time the first few weeks, and my trainer was Russ, an awesome guy!, Russ and Jason held up on their parts very well and helped me through the whole time I did work there. I worked full time for about a month and then quit on my own because of MY OWN FAULT, NOT because I thought it was a scam, or they were sleazy, or any of that. The money IS REAL if you put your mind and heart into it, and I would reccomend working their if you have that mentality because who would be stupid enough to pass up an opportunity like this?!?! Overall my experience with Jason and his company was amazing, I had fun, and i learned a lot that will also help me in my future. TAKE ADVANTAGE AND APPLY NOW GUYS!

Tim Owens in Asbury Park, New Jersey said: I've only worked for the company for about 3 months, but all of these other comments people are putting sound fake and it looks like they're just trying to get everyone to avoid working their because it didn't work out for them. Well I worked part time the first few weeks, and my trainer was Russ, an awesome guy!, Russ and Jason held up on their parts very well and helped me through the whole time I did work there. I worked full time for about a month and then quit on my own because of MY OWN FAULT, NOT because I thought it was a scam, or they were sleazy, or any of that. The money IS REAL if you put your mind and heart into it, and I would reccomend working their if you have that mentality because who would be stupid enough to pass up an opportunity like this?!?! Overall my experience with Jason and his company was amazing, I had fun, and i learned a lot that will also help me in my future. TAKE ADVANTAGE AND APPLY NOW GUYS!

B_ _ _ S_ _ _ !

The office is almost empty, you can tell it is a b. s. opperation.

I just had my first interview with the Tinton Falls location. Guy took me in and said how they advertise with home depot..etc. He said I will receive commision for every lead I get. But you guys are saying the lead has to be generated to actually get money? I said I would come in tomm for the second interview where he said I'll go out on the field with a manager. So should I turn it down? And if it is a scam, how do they get away with it and who is in on it? Does home depot know?

Dont waste your time, unless you have nothing better to do............and maybe make nothing...probably make nothing. I went for first interview also, and canceled my second interview.........when they called me to remind me of my second interview ( who does that), I told them I was not coming in, it is BS, and they said nothing.

The good things you read about the company...They post themselves.

The good things that read about this company,,,they post themselves.