Should you hop jobs every year?

Published: Wed, 06/19/24

Updated: Wed, 06/19/24

June 19, 2024

TOGETHER WITH

Welcome back to The Quota. Can you believe we’re only two weeks away from July? Time flies when you’re in a near-constant state of fight-or-flight! In this week’s issue, we’ll tell you the story of Tupperware, share a Sales Fail about a big deal gone up in smoke, and give some advice to a job hopper considering making another hop. Let’s do this.

NUMBER OF THE WEEK

35-50

Between 35 and 50 percent of sales are won by the vendor who responds first.

Source: Growthlist

SALES ROUNDUP

Here’s what’s happening in the sales world this week:

An Iowa insurance salesman was sentenced to over 18 years in prison for defrauding elderly individuals and contempt of court. Zachary James Flaherty, 48, bilked over 30 people out of over $3m dollars between 2006 and 2023. Most of his victims were elderly, with the oldest victim being ninety-three at the time of the fraud. Many of the victims had limited financial knowledge. You can read more about the scheme and sentencing here.
A UK car salesman lost his lawsuit against a Bentley dealership after a court found that his employer did not act against the law. The salesman, Kenneth Purdon, apparently bought an ‘unsuitable’ bright orange Bentley which languished on the lot before being sold at a loss of £13,500, and eventually resigned from his position after allegedly being pressured by his employer. The court found that the dealership had been significantly underperforming throughout 2022 in used car sales, for which the claimant was responsible. You can read more here.

FEATURE

Image: Archives Center at the National Museum of American History

How Tupperware popularized a new business model and created millions of salespeople

Tupperware is a ubiquitous American brand. You’ve probably got a drawer full of polyethylene plastic containers in your home, and may even be eating cold leftovers out of a Tupperware at your desk in between making calls and sending emails. Tupperware became a staple in our lives not just because of its innovative product design, but because of a sales strategy that ushered in a new wave of unlikely salespeople in the 1950s.

Tupperware was founded in 1946 by inventor Earl Tupper, who designed and patented the colorful plastic containers that preserved food with an air-tight “burping seal.” While Tupper was the visionary behind the product, it was a saleswoman named Brownie Wise who developed the go-to-market strategy that brought Tupperware containers to households across the country.

Wise was a sales rep for Stanley Home Products before joining Tupperware. At the time, Stanley was already doing the home-selling parties that Tupperware would later become famous for. In the late 1940’s, Wise started her own Tupperware-selling business, Patio Parties, where she used the Stanley home sale-through-presentation model and recruited other women, mostly housewives, to host parties and sell Tupperware products. Wise realized that housewives were not only the ideal customer for Tupperware products, but that they could be the best salespeople for the product, as they raved about the product and were already hosting small get-togethers with their neighbors. This realization would end up being the center of Tupperware’s sales strategy. Wise’s work didn’t go unnoticed. She caught the attention of Tupperware executives and was hired in 1951 as the Vice President of Marketing, an unprecedented move as there were virtually no women in executive positions in America at the time.

Wise would go on to take the Tupperware parties national, not only helping the brand grow, but also allowing housewives to bring in a sizable income through commissions. The parties involved outrageous games and product demonstrations that included party hosts throwing sealed Tupperware containers full of grape juice across their living rooms, showcasing confidence in the product and its patented seal. Tupperware grew rapidly, and by 1954 the company was doing over $25 million in sales (the equivalent to $290 million in 2024) and had over 20,000 sales reps. Wise would end up being the face of Tupperware and became the first woman to grace the cover of Business Week. She hosted pep rallies, annual retreats, and offered lavish gifts to top selling Tupperware reps.

In the late 1950’s, Tupper was looking to sell the company. He would often get into disputes with Wise about the company strategy. Wise was fired in 1958. She would later go on to start her own cosmetics company. Tupper ended up selling Tupperware the same year. The company changed hands over the next few decades, before Premark International, the brand’s owner in 1996, spun-off the Tupperware brand into its own company again in an IPO. Today the company does over $1 billion in revenue annually and has over 3 million contract salespeople.

Tupperware has undoubtedly left its mark on American history as both an innovative product and a company that popularized network selling strategies that are still being used today. A testament to American innovation and design, The Museum of American History boasts an extensive collection of over 100 unique pieces of Tupperware, which isn’t quite as large as my grandmother’s collection, but nonetheless impressive. The story of Tupperware proves that with the right product and the right training and support system, almost anyone can grow into a successful salesperson.

IF YOU LIKE THIS NEWSLETTER YOU'LL LOVE THIS BOOK

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How long you can get away with being “new” until you’re held accountable
How to make it look like you’re sorry without giving up any power
How to find a workplace friend and make a workplace enemy
Camera position: how to set up your laptop for maximum dominance
Organizing your calendar while leaving time to cry
The rules of the kitchen (stealing someone’s yogurt is literally a crime)
Writing a letter of resignation when you’ve already been resigned from day one

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MEME OF THE WEEK

Source: Instagram -- Sales Humor

QUIZ

When was the “Wolf of Wall Street,” Jordan Belfort, arrested?

A. September 2, 1998
B. January 19, 2001
C. November 28, 1788
D. July 29, 1993

SALES FAILS

Each week, we bring you the most cringe-worthy sales moments from across the web. To submit your sales fail story for consideration, click here. (Don't worry, you'll remain completely anonymous).

Here is the story of how I lost the biggest deal of my life. I can look back on it now and laugh, but at the time, I was miserable. It was going to be a life-changing amount of money for me and when it collapsed, I felt like a loser who had failed at one of their big shots in life.

This was close to fifteen years ago, when I was still a young-ish pup. The deal in question was a very big contract which would have paid me over $200k in one shot. At that point in my life, I had never made more than just over $100k in a year, so this would be my chance to pay off my student loans, buy a house, and basically do all the things I’d been dreaming about for years.

It also blew up in the worst way possible, at the last minute. We had literally sent over the contracts to sign and I traveled to the company’s headquarters to make sure I was there to answer any final questions and that everything would go off without a hitch. When I got there, they kept me in the waiting room for hours, which made me start to think that something was wrong.

Eventually, they sent some random person who I’d never met before into the room to talk to me. The executive who I had been dealing with wouldn’t even answer my calls. The person they sent was like a robot. He looked at me with dead eyes and said that unfortunately, there had been a last-minute change of plans and that they were going to “delay” signing the contract. Of course, this gave me hope, but I would soon find out the only reason he put it that way was to get me out of there with as little drama as possible.

In reality, some high up executive had vetoed the deal at the last minute, probably to save money, even though we had a good product. The worst part of how everything went down was the lack of transparency, and the fact that nobody had the guts to just tell me they were pulling the plug. But it was a learning experience too. I know that if I got through that and got back on the horse, I can do it again and again if I have to. But I still remember how my heart sank. What an awful feeling.

Anonymous Location withheld

GRAPH OF THE WEEK

Source: LinkedIn Poll -- June 2024

WORTH A PEEK

What are the qualities of all the best sales reps in today’s world? SaaStr founder Jason Lemkin recently made a LinkedIn list which covered the most important ones nicely. Check it out here.

ASK THE QUOTA

Want to submit a question and be featured in our advice column? Click here. (Don't worry, you'll remain completely anonymous).

Dear Quota Team

I’ve been with my current employer for just under six months. It’s pretty good here, but recently, one of the guys I worked with at this company left to go work for a sort-of competitor. He says everything there is better and he is trying to convince me to go work there too. It’s tempting, but I haven’t been here that long and I also haven’t really stayed at any one job for longer than a year so I am wondering if it makes sense to keep hopping around. He does say the leads are good and management is better than what we have here, but, like I said, I don’t really think where I work now is that bad. Any advice on what I should do?

Pondering in the Northeast

Dear Pondering

Hopping around in sales is super common, and there are plenty of people out there that say it’s the best way to get paid what you’re worth.

That being said, if you’re switching jobs every year, how can you possibly build a serious pipeline or even find out what you’re capable of with a little prolonged effort? Granted, you might get a higher base, but it takes at least several months to get up to speed on a product and get some prospects in the queue, so what does that give you, another nine months to get things rolling?

Our advice is this: stay where you are. Think of it as an experiment. Ask yourself, “How far can I get if I stay here and try for two years instead of one?” With enough effort, you can build a nice pipeline and a year from now, you might be rolling in the dough. A year is not a long time, and as you get older, the years go by faster and faster. Stick it out and put in the work. Leaving will always be an option, but staying can have a pay off too.

Quiz Answer: A. Jordan Belfort, the Wolf of Wall Street was arrested on September 2, 1998 (you can read the source article here)

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Today's email was written by Ken Kupchik, Erica Furgiuele, Steve Rado, and Emily Hill.

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