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Sports Marketing International, SMI and Associates, SMI is a scam! Their ads are up all over the internet. CareerBuilder, Monster.com, Craigslist.com. Companies like this constantly change their name to avoid being found out and to avoid prosecution... their former name was Boomerang Marketing.
They will tell you they have "big wig" clients like the White Sox. This is NOT marketing. It is door-to-door dishonest soliciting. Dishonest to consumers and dishonest to their employees.
Please do not fall for their schemes! Sports Marketing International (SMI and Associates), and the like, prey on young, naive college graduates, servers, athletes. Sports Marketing International doesn't do a stitch of marketing consulting work for any sports teams (or any other place for that matter). This is straight up dishonest sales. If you are still working at SMI and Associates, I beg you to get out now!
Oh, and as an independant contractor (as that is how Sports Marketing International will "hire" you) you ARE required to file your sales on your taxes. The "manager" at this place (Greg) is encouraging employees at SMI and Associates to participate in illegal activities, such as soliciting in governmentally protected non-soliciting areas, and not file taxes. He is putting you in very illegal situations and manipulating you!
It is NOT normal to work long 10 hour days and no even be on the company's payroll. You are NOT your own manager (as the company tries to make you think you are), you have a sly, manipulative, fast-talking boss standing over your shoulder telling you you can't leave until you have sold all of your items!
Please, I beg you to NOT apply to this company, or anything affiliated with Doug Ascher, SmartCircle, SMI and Associates, or Sports Marketing International.
Meyers T.,
I'm curious... So you are currently working at SMI, but you are living in Miami, Florida? How's that commute working out for you?
I'm making these postings to protect young people from getting taken advantage of, with no gain of my own. For the record, I'm a highly motivated, upbeat, early-twenties post-graduate student.
I'm not sure who you are, but if I had a guess, you and anyone else defending SMI on these posts is likely one of the scammers that owns one of these unethical sweatshops and is taking advantage of ambitious, young students or graduates. You are just trying to cover your butt to save the company.
SMI promises their applicants the world, and tell them that it's only their own failures that are keeping them in the way of success. Of course it's true that hard work and motivation will get you far, and certainly those working under area managers (like Greg in Lombard) are working their butts off. But, let's be honest, here. They're not going to be raking in the dough until they leave SMI and their door-to-door sales and go for a real career.
The primary difference between Sports Marketing International, SMI, SMI and Associates or whatever they want to call themselves and a legitimate career environment is this: When you work for a legitimate company or organization, they INVEST in YOU. This is the core failure in my mind of SMI. When you are working for a company that values you as an employee, they want to keep you around for awhile. They make you feel like you are such a vital part of their company that they will give you things like 401k opportunities, health insurance, mileage reimbursement, continuing education reimbursement.
When companies don't classify you as an employee, but rather as an independent contractor, the obligation to provide such benefits is not longer necessary. This is how SMI operates. I currently work as a marketing independent contractor, and know that there are strict classifications that will determine whether or not a company can legally classify you as an independent contractor rather than an employee. One such stipulation, is that as an independent contractor, the company you are working for CANNOT specify what hours or days you must work. This is one of the many violations...
UPDATE: This company now has one more subtle variation of its name that it is going by, SMI, Inc. Creative, huh?
My guess it's a slight attempt at Search Engine Optimization, since at this point the sites getting the most hits when you Google SMI and Associates or Sports Marketing International aren't very complimentary to them...
Also, I just located this site which might be insightful to anyone checking out this company or any other company loosely affiliated with SMI, Inc., SMI and Associates, Greg Mertes, and the like and offers a bit of support for and post-traumatic victims! Turns out, SMI, Inc. is a part of something much larger than I had anticipated. (http://groups.msn.com/DSMAXTheAftermath/general.msnw?action=get_message&mview=0&ID_Message=36295&LastModified=4675705285592661227) If you aren't able to access this link, search for "DS-MAX" (which seems to be an affiliate group) or "DS-MAX the aftermath."
I've gotta hand it to 'em; The SMI, Inc. guys (or whatever name they prefer to go by at the time) are nearly as swift and clever in their scheming as Bernie Madoff, but also equally as sickening.
They've found ways to evade legalities, so far, but just wait... their judgment day and expose will come soon enough, if we continue to get the word out on them!
Additionally: Legal issues.
If you are interviewing here or working here, be sure to challenge them regarding your status as an "independent contractor." Here are the qualifications regarding independent contractor vs. employee:
http://www.taxprophet.com/apps/active2/indep-mm.html
SMI, Inc. will wrongly (illegally) classify you as an independent contractor for their benefit and your disadvantage.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
i have formerly worked for SMI as an account director and i will tell you this every thing they do is illegal. please don't put your self in a position and work for them and end up going to jail. just like every one else said you will end up paying them to work there. yes it is strictly comissioned based, and yes there will be many days that you will work from 7am to 7pm and not make a single dime. oh and just to let you know the guy who owns the office is matt kelly. this guy is a [censored] bag. he has no solictors permits and its illegal to solicit any thing in this country with out a permit. and no they will not provide one to you, . they tell you they have them but if you look at the wall they have none in plain sight. and they wont givr you any to carry with you cause they dont have them as required by law. they promise you the world. a 2 year training program that has been condensed down to 6 months. more like a year. they do not pay you for your gas and you will use about 4 tanks of gas a week and make an average of 50 bucks a day. that wont pay your rent and it will barley pay for your gas. your required to drive your own car. there are quotas you have to meet every week. they say there isint but there is. if you want to take the chance like some hve and succeded at the company then go ahead. but ask your self if you want to rip people off for a liveing ? they go through about 100 poeple a week that they hire and either fire or the person quit. now as an indpendent contractor they cant tell you what to do or how to do it. you work for your self not them. but they try to make it seem a different way. but if you have a rocking body and a nice rack then you will have great success. other wise dont bother is just a bunch of bull ###. not to mention once you become a manager wich they say there hireing for you have to actually pay every " retarain" 50 dollars out of your own pocket every day after you get promoted. so once agin you go back to being broke.
I received the exact same letter as the earlier poster 'pasted' in response to my resume submission on CareerBuilder.com. Company name was Sports Marketing, Inc., and website is lasportsmarketing.com.
THANK YOU for these posts. I saved myself probably an hour or two drive to the Sherman Oaks office. I really despise these businesses and have been tricked into one before, lasting 3 days before calling it quits.
May they all burn down.
My response to their email:
Hi,
Thank you for your interest. Upon research, I've learned that your company actually engages in door-to-door selling, which unfortunately is not the type of "marketing" that I am interested in.
Thank you
im glad i found this web site and did my research... heres a copy of the E-Mail they send me
EVOLUTION
2801 South Fairfield Ave, Suite A
Lombard, Illinois 60148
630.963.2570
Hi!
Thank you for applying for a job with EVOLUTION. We are excited to inform you that management would like to meet with you for an interview! They reviewed your resume and feel you are qualified for one of our open positions. They also compared your resume to others received and feel that you have the right skill set and experience they are looking for in an employee.
This is our busy season and unfortunately interview times are limited. Please call our HR Department at 630.963.2570 to secure a time for an interview.
Sincerely,
Ashley White
Human Resources Manager
630.963.2570
Check out our WEBSITE
so i will not be going or calling no one for non this...THNX ALOT
Glad I found this website...I have an interview tomorrow with Ashley and had the feeling that this oppurtunity was a going to be a giant scam. This saved me a chunk of my day.
We are looking to put together a Class Action Lawsuit against this Sports Marketing International. Please contact ls90265@gmail.com. Please contact us only if you have worked for Sports Marketing International or if you purchased something from The Smart Circle that you cannot use.
OMG! I am supposed to interview with these ### tomorrow! I even asked the girl that works there her name is Lauren she was the one who called me and told me her manager wants to meet with me for an interview... So anyways half way into the conversation I told her that I felt like this was one of those scams, and she laughed it off, and told me I don't even have to work in sales that there is an event coordinator position that opened up.. What a SCAM! I am so glad I decided to do more research and found this site! I feel like going just to cuss little miss jennifer out, and then go shopping at Yorktown mall!
I actually worked for the company in Lombard very recently and can tell you it is a little sketchy..i first went to the interview and when i walked in there were already 6 guys sitting in chairs...now what kind of professional company interviews everyone at once pretty much? not many..the interview was short and he said hed call me..sure enough i got the 2nd interview which was a ton of walking and i had no idea it was door to door sales...anyways i took the job just because i needed some money and everything they tell you sounds oh so peachy...needless to say 2 weeks after i started i quit i couldnt take it anymore...i woke up at 8 every morning left at 9 got there at 10 and didnt get home until 1030 every night...they day went something like this
10am-12pm... pitching circles..lots of notes...goals for the day..things you need to work on...lots of "positive" meetings where everyone gets in a circle and listens to the boss talk about what i like to call brainwashing sessions and its amazing to look around the room and see the glow on some of the peoples faces like omg that sounds sooo amazing i cant wait! and im thinking sure it does but how realistic are these things man get a frigen clue
12pm-8pm drive out to wherever you have to go for your territory (mind you there are no company cars, they dont have compensation for any of the tolls, its up to us to drive usually 30mins to wherever we had to go) lots of door to door soliciting...when i went out with my "leader" he would usually go to the door that said soliciting but when i went out on my own i chose not to because obviously these people dont want to be bothered.
after 8 u drive back to the office where if u get a certain number of leads u get to ring a bell or hit a gong...now for me i thought it was the dumbest thing ive ever been a part of in my entire life and ive played sports my whole life and athletes can be pretty weird about rituals and things of that nature.. now if there is 4 people in the office and 2 get there leads they hit the bell...if 2mins later 4 more people walk in and they have to hit the bell, even though i had already hit the bell i had to do it all over again because the people that just walked in didnt see it..i think one night i had to hit it around 6 times because ppl kept coming in (btw when u hit the bell afterwards u have to run in a circle giving everyone a high 5..stupid again) then after all that is over the newer guys have to go over goals you achieved that day and what yo need to work on...
basically alot of the guys that work there are good dudes its just most are brainwashed and i feel are totally fake, i on the otherhand couldnt take being fake everyday and pretending i enjoyed going door to door spending 12hr days talking to people with the potential of getting no money! they will tell you to look at the big picture ( meaning upper managment) and that what we do now is pretty much a sacrafice to the good life in the future..
I do not recommend this to someone who has a family and is a little older, you will never ever see your family because your never ever home, if your single and dont care about not seeing friends or family have at it but unless you like getting rejected 50-100 times a day then its for you!
Ya I got the same email as eli_jr. I emailed them just stating I was no longer interested. Glad I found this before driving all the way to Lombard.
Hi all, wanted to say thanks for the heads up on this company. I applied to their hotjobs ad and got a call for an interview shortly after. I asked, "wait a second, can you tell me a little bit about this position and what I would be doing before I drive to Lombard, IL for an interview?" The lady paused for one moment and said "Certainly, you would be doing business to business sales" and then said this is an entry level position which leads to management, etc. I paused and asked if I would be prospecting by cold calling and she said I wouldn't do ANY cold calling or prospecting. told her I wouldn't be interested in the position. It doesn't make any sense to do business to business sales with zero cold calling. It's an oxymoron.
All that said, the only reaso I questioned her about the position is because of the postings I saw on here. So thank you all again! Im sure I wouldn't have taken the position, but you all saved me a few hours of getting ready and going to this interview!
wow, literally close to a hundred or more resumes and cover letters sent out since my graduation in April and the only interview i get turns out to be a scam! haha, that a little depressing, but i owe everyone on this post a HUGE debt of gratitude (aside from the jerk-offs trying to save SMI and their ### affiliates) for saving me the 3 hour drive to Lombard, IL, just to catch the punch-line to one of the sickest jokes you could play on under-experienced recent graduates entering a terrible job market that would literally cling to any glimpse of opportunity.
Thank You, and best of luck to everyone on finding a LEGITIMATE career.
While never having worked for the company, I can tell you everything that has been posted about the hiring/interview process is absolutely correct. I went to the first interview and reading some of these posts makes me think that everyone was sitting in on my interview, that's how eerily similar they were. And guess what? I got that call back at 5:30 pm that evening stating I was one of the top candidates. I thought to myself...I have no marketing experience and this is what I thought was a marketing position? How could I be a top pick with zip for experience? Thank god for Google search and this blog otherwise I would have been that poor sap following someone around in the rain all day today, wondering what my life had come to. Hopefully, this bog will save more people from the experience.
Got called today by a Lauren, and had also received an email yesterday, the very same one that was copy pasted a couple of posts up there. I had submitted my ### resume (as in "No marketing experience at all whatsoever" ) at careerbuilder and got a response in the evening. Gotta say, since I'd been job hunting for a while and been sending emails out for quite a while, I was really jumping for joy when I got that email. Since I didn't leave a definite answer with Lauren, I decided to do some research and found this website.
I'm glad I didn't have to endure the travel to Lombard, and that I didn't have to go through some bs interviews and followups, but I'm feeling really salty right about now.
Oh, and they're called EVOLUTION Advertising. Here's their pathetic website: http://www.evoadvertising.com/
I sent them my resume through Monster.com and they sent me an e-mail urging me them to call them as soon as I was free, as it has been finals week (and I got my computer stolen over thanksgiving break) I haven't had time to deal with it. I got a voicemail today from a woman named Shannon about an interview, which seemed...well, desperate. I'm glad I did a little research before I got my hopes up too high.
I have been working so hard for the past 3 years since i graduated...never did i think i could find a decent job where i could build with the company and get a job right away as an in training manager.
I took time out of my day to help these jerks sell fake gift cards so some guy could sit pretty and drive his nice car around and sit in a beautiful home on 6acres so i couldnt get a ###in pay check! YOURE OUT OF YOUR MIND! i have never felt so let down in my life...this absolutely gives me no hope for my future..
i spent the last 30 dollars in my pocket so i could put gas in my car to drive 40mins away, work 10 hours at an event i didnt get paid for, and drive home in a snow storm..thanks alot doug ascher i hope you dont end up in jail by the way!
I just went on an interview with SMI today and I hate to break it to you believers, but it is all a scam. My interview was scheduled for 1030 this morning and when I got there they made me wait for 20 minutes before they even talked to me. The office was tiny and the "suite" consisted of what seemed to only be 2 offices and one break room. They were playing B96 in the "lobby" where I was waiting (real professional, guys) and when answering the phones instead of saying, "Sports Marketing International", the receptionist was answering as a different name, which now I can't remember.
My interview with Kelley, who is supposed to be a partner in the company, only lasted about 10 minutes. All he did was ramble on about what they do, the structure of their 6-10 month training program, and asked me a few questions whose answers could clearly be found on my resume that Kelley was looking at. There was no mention of salary, benefits, hours, or even a job title I would have. He informed me that he was interviewing 15 people and that only 4 would make the cut. At the end of the interview he left no room for me to ask questions that I had (again, highly unprofessional) and said I would hear back from them between 4 and 430 if I got a second interview. When I walked out of the office there were about 6 people waiting on the lobby for their interviews. The one thing I noticed was that they were all considerably older than me. I was clearly the only "applicant" fresh out of college.
I was not expecting to hear back because I thought the interview was terrible, but sure enough at about 405 my phone rang and it was Kelley telling me, "Congratulations! I've narrowed our list of 15 down to 4 and you made the cut". I'm assuming I "made the cut" strictly because of my age. I was told that they wanted me to come in on Monday for a full day (9-630) to spend time with their team and see them in action. I was told to dress for the weather and wear comfortable shoes. This day, however, was apparently supposed to be a second interview. I don't know about you, but I've never heard of an interview lasting 9 hours. And why would they bring someone into the field who isn't even hired yet?
I decided to do a little more research about the company and stumbled upon this site. Thank you for all the comments from people exposing the scams of this "business". Makes me feel a lot better about not returning on Monday. I'm going to save my time, energy, and gas. And to the 3 people out there that are defending this company - you're full of ###.
I would like to know why Sams Club cares so little about their customers that they would bring in such a scam into the stores.
Ring Sams club corporate office and ask why they support a compay that is lying to the customers?
Let's get them out of Sams club
[protected].
I worked for Lindsay Fatta's LBF Advertising in Burbank almost ten years ago. It was an offshoot of Matt Kelly's Orange County office. Not a day goes by that I don't think about the time I spent working there. It's very interesting to see that these guys are still operating under their third or fourth name. I've read a couple of these responses and thought I'd add my own personal experience.
There are things I learned working for this business that I still carry with me today. I learned to be early to everything, how to build, break, build (A very useful tool when teaching a trade or skill), and most importantly, that a positive attitude helps you accomplish twice your goals.
But despite those few bonuses, the entire DS-Max, Cydcoor, SMI, or whatever they are calling themselves this week, is a hustle. For all of you defenders out there, consider this: They lie to you FROM THE VERY BEGINNING. Saying that they only have 6 spots available out of 25 applicants is a complete falsehood. If you're an owner, you take every single applicant. Why wouldn't you? That's another warm body out their earning you money. Now if this were a real business, they would just be straight with you. I mean if the opportunity is so good, why do they use "fear of loss" to get you to take the job? Same thing with that "We've never had a layoff" line. Of course they haven't. Why fire someone who you never have to pay?
Also, this job is dangerous. You are knocking on the door of one hundred complete strangers a day. I sometimes found myself hawking Pizza Hut coupons in gang territory. I had guns pulled on me as I stepped onto people's property. I was even attacked by a pit-bull and had to spend the night in an emergency room. Lucky for me, I had my own car so if I ever felt truly in danger I could get away quickly. I would tell Lindsay and the team leader about the dangerous territory only to see them send a small 18 year old girl out to the same spot the next day. I heard horror stories from a lot of the women who were put in some bad situations while trying to get a 25 dollar check from a guy.
I built a pretty big team more than once, and people above me would point at situations like mine and say "See, it can be done!" But they always lied when they promoted someone's situation. I heard them tell new guys that I rang the bell every day, that I was on the verge of ownership. When the new guys would ask about it, I'd tell them the truth. I share an apartment with 5 people and was barely scraping by. I would get pulled aside and told to project like I was doing better than I actually was. That didn't sit right with me.
Finally, to anyone in the business right now. I ask you to take a good hard look at where you are. Are you living in a place you like? Are you truly getting out of this business what you are putting into it? Are your taxes in order (This is a big one, especially if you've had someone in management "teach" you how to do your taxes, because you are a cash business -remember : Independent Contractor- you have a huge target on your back when it comes to audits)? If your answer is no to any of the above, you should walk. Believe me, go out there and apply that 5 and 8 at a real job and you'll be shocked at the opportunities you'll find opening up to you and the promotions coming your way.
I just moved to the LA area and like most of the posters. I too went to school for graphic design. While in school, I was sucked into retail management to pay for school. It has taught me a lot about customer service and branding. What people see, think when they see marketing, what makes them buy. Customers can be crazy. They want the bottle that is COMPLETELY FULL and pay NOTHING for it. Currently I am still a retail manager and have been looking for Marketing and Advertising jobs. I didnt want to loose focus of my goal which it is to promote events for better causes, whether they be for hospitals, cancer awareness, going green. I want something bigger, that educates the community and world about ways to protect themselves or help themselves in someway. So in the past few weeks, I have been looking for jobs. I replied to the craigslist ad for a company Prestige Marketing Inc and there are a few other listed but I didnt apply, bc I know nothing about sports. I felt this would be great! I have retail experience and management experience, and I want to be in Marketing and Promotions. This could be my first step into the industry. I got a cal this morning form an odd number. (818)907- ****, they left a message to call the back, yet when you call it immediately hangs up. I called [protected] (the number which was left on my voice mail). The text says, "User Busy" and hangs up. I went to their website and the numbers listed are both faxes, though one says Office (818-907-7469fax and 818-907-0749office). At this point, I logged onto my account to email you directly and I came across this message sent this morning from your team. The number listed [protected] is a disconnected number. This to me sounds like they do not want to be reached. For a company to be as large as it says it is and doesn't have a single working number.. make me have suspicious thoughts about who they are and what they are really doing. So, I looking up the number through google search and came across these complaints. Sound all too familiar. they sent an email this morning saying they wanted to set up an pre-interview and background check, then an email saying she forwarded my info to the hiring manager for an interview bc she feels I am a strong candidate.
odd how we never spoke yet she wants to move forward, please be careful when looking for jobs, the type and resentation may seem great but there are many dishonest ppl in the world and think where you live.. LA, capital of acting. They can talk the talk, but make sure they support what they say. If it doesn't add up, then something is wrong.
hi
cool
my name is Ali
in UAE