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For many Americans, the Mormon faith is a great unknown. We’ve heard of the strict rules regarding drugs alcohol and even caffeine, and polygamy is often cited, but in truth, secular America probably knows Mormons best for popping up on our doorstep and asking us to join the faith.
Who would have guessed that this tradition of door-to-door missionary duty would lead to salvation of another kind? Apparently, the Orem, Utah-based (a town with a mostly-Mormon population) company Pinnacle Security did.
When millions of traditional jobs dried up last year at the start of the recession, at least 100,000 Americans became “direct salespeople,” otherwise known as door-to-door salesmen. More than 15.1 million people are now selling items such as cosmetics and household items door to door.
Pinnacle Security took this business model and ran with it, and now approximately two-thirds of Pinnacle’s 1,800 sales representatives for the summer are former Mormon missionaries. Although many former missionaries work for other direct-sales companies, Pinnacle has deployed them in 75 cities nationwide.
All Mormon men in their early twenties are required to work as missionaries for the Mormon faith, to test the fortitude of their faith and to spread the word of Mormonism. In effect, they’ve been training for this job their whole lives. Sent to foreign countries for a year at a time, these men become fluent in the languages of the countries: Spanish, French, Chinese, Russian, etc. They all grown thick skins and seem almost immune to rejection, and most importantly, they learned how to talk to people.
Interest in security products is up this year – a recession indicator – as people react to a perceived increase in crime that is not necessarily the reality. And while interest is up, the ability to pay for security systems is down. Many consumers interested in security products are unable to pass the credit checks Pinnacle requires. As Pinnacle struggles to attract consumers by charging less than a hundred dollars for installation and only $40 per month, it is apparent that the recession is hitting hard and that even weathered ex-missionaries will have to give it their all to clinch some much need sales.
-Justine Bayod Espoz and Kaitlin Cimini
Photo by Greg Robbins on Flickr