Best Version Media reviews

4.1

73% would recommend to a friend

(536 total reviews)
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Kevin O’ Brien

76% approve of CEO

75% positive business outlook

Best Version Media has an employee rating of 4.1 out of 5 stars, based on 536 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an excellent working experience there. The Best Version Media employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Media & Communication industry (3.4 stars).

Reviews by job title

536 reviews
4.0
Jun 4, 2015
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

To start with the positives, the people working at BVM, including fellow publishers, are incredibly nice and supportive. The culture is great, and there is unlimited potential for dedicated salespeople. The magazines are a great product. BVM has many happy clients, because they put the client first and foremost. Publishers and management truly want to help business owners improve their businesses.

Cons

Why I no longer work for BVM is this: it wasn't my thing. It is purely a sales job, and you are a door-to-door salesperson. You must make 40-50 cold calls a day to be successful, and garner at least 3 appointments a day. It's a ton of hard work, which is fine...but for the right person. If you are experienced in sales, you'll do great with cold calls, walk-ins, etc. The problem was I had no experience in sales and I disliked the walk-ins, cold calls, etc. I gave it a huge amount of time, but after a while, I realized I was unhappy and couldn't do this for 3 or more years. The other con is that in the weekly conference calls, management focuses on telling the "easy" stories; for instance, their #1 story is a female publisher (formerly a high school principal) who had no sales experience but went to print in less than a month. This is an absolute anomaly. They also have conference calls of publishers who go to print quickly, thereby not helping to improve the confidence of associate publishers who have yet to go to print. I kept feeling worse about myself with every call. I only heard 1 conference call where it took a female publisher much longer to go to print, and if you ask around with fellow publishers, that's the norm. I would honestly say if you go at this full-time, be prepared for 6-8 months of no income. That is more accurate. In regard to training, it was good but not great. You receive a ton of free training and sales materials, which is awesome, but when there's a training call, the "scenario" is always easy, for instance, a buyer who has a question or two, but always buys in the end. That's not how it works at all in the real world. Every sales appointment I had I was drilled and questioned and a lot of skepticism followed. I also think it depends on the area; if you are a publisher in a friendlier area (Southeast or Midwest), you definitely have an advantage over associate publishers in the more standoffish parts of the country. Also, I found that the people who were very successful at this job are stay-at-home moms, people who already have major contacts in their area, and those who have years upon years of sales experience.

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Best Version Media Response
11y
We'd like to correct a few important facts that we believe were unintentionally transmitted due to a lack of understanding by the reviewer. Before that, we'd like to state that we appreciate this former Associate Publisher’s review. There are many personal experiences he or she has expressed very well. It seems like it just was not a good fit - we believe this person will do well in his or her next venture. 1. Our average Publisher goes to print in their 3rd month. Some do it way before, others it takes longer. It is a factor of the number of appointments they conduct. If they spread them out longer or pack them in shorter, which is the primary determining factor for when a Publisher goes to print. Also, many earn income even before that period of time with other incentives available. 2. This is as far from door-to-door sales as anything could be. The reviewer is not familiar with sales and understandably miss-uses the term. It is a business-to-business model and appointments are generated in all traditional business ways; from networking, LinkedIn, drop in's and calls. 3. The role of a Publisher is much broader than sales (although the sales portion is paramount). It's everything a Publisher position would assume to include, but with a great support team at home office, helping produce and administrate the magazines. 4. We have only one former stay at home mom in our ranks (of over 100). She is GREAT at the role, but most of our people are professionals and entrepreneurs with excellent experience, including being former Publishers. 5. With hundreds of magazines in print throughout North America, we also have hundreds of success stories. In fact, the person referenced (who is great) is a peer of dozens who perform at or above her level. So, we aren't sure where the isolated example comes in. We are rich in success stories.
2.0
May 12, 2015

Couldn't work for free

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Positive people and company, but have to convince business operators to buy ads into your startup magazine.

Cons

No national ads or chain store leads from home office to help get you reach high baseline. Most would be best off starting their own magazine from scratch.

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Best Version Media Response
11y
We appreciate the reviewer taking the time to express his/her feelings. A few points: 1. The average failure rate of independent magazines is 75% with a few years. We have a 99% success rate. So, the odds are infinitely higher to find success with BVM. 2. Many of our publishers ran their own private magazines and are with us because our baselines are WAY below what they would be independently. 3. We have never failed to open a market due to demographics. And there hasn't ever been a market that we attempted 4 or 5 times.
5.0
Apr 24, 2015

Greatest company with the most amazing people

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The people, the leaders and fellow publishers; always there to help and guide you in the right direction. Meeting the great minds of business owners and being able to work closely and make a positive impact of your local residents.

Cons

I wouldn't say they're any Cons for the company. The only con would be if you weren't able to keep your head right; stay focused, believe in the culture, don't be afraid to ask for help, and don't get bogged down or lose sight. Tomorrow is always a fresh start.

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