Ad description
An ad on a recruitment website was titled New Business Sales Consultant - London. Canary Wharf, London. £15,000 - £20,000 per annum, pro-rata, OTE ... Job type: Permanent, full-time". Further text included "When you sell products and services for the largest single provider of electronic security in the nation, you've got a leg up on the competition already … We are expanding our elite sales team with dynamic, forward-thinkers who are ready to grow with Kreative Client Solutions … chosen individuals will be self-starters creating their own business and using proven and disciplined selling techniques. Responsible for securing profitable package sales and upgrades to new and current customers. Maximise customer satisfaction and retention by initiating post installation follow-ups" and "Present Sales presentation and proposal to prospects, identifying positive features and advantage of our products and services over those of the competition". Under the heading "Job Description" it stated "We're expanding our elite sales team with dynamic, forward-thinkers who are ready to grow with Kreative Client Solutions. Become a member of our sales team and you'll enjoy unlimited earning potential, generous incentive plans and extensive marketing support". Under the heading "Duties and Responsibilities" it stated "Sell products within assigned territory, maintaining assigned sales quota and following established guidelines." Under the heading "Skills" it stated "Available for local travel throughout the London area".
Issue
The complainant challenged whether the ad was misleading because it did not make clear that the position involved door-to-door sales.
Response
Blue Ocean Outsource Ltd said there were multiple roles within the company and described the responsibilities of an admin role as an example, which did not involve door-to-door sales. They said the New Business Sales role involved working with their main client, which outsourced its customer service and new customer acquisitions. They said that successful applicants were self-starters who had to create their own business and use proven and disciplined sales techniques. They said the main priority of the self-employed role was to sell security products within a territory within the guidelines set by the security company for which they provided outsource services. They said the role required sales staff to visit customers face to face and believed the ad made this clear.
They said the recruitment process for the application involved meeting potential applicants face to face and explaining the role to them, before then deciding whether they were suitable for the next round of interviews where they would spend a full day observing one of their Independent Sales Advisors.
Assessment
1. Not upheld
The ASA considered that in the context of an ad description for sales within the area of private electronic security systems, the claims such as "Sell products within assigned territory", "Available for local travel throughout the London area" and "Present Sales presentation and proposal to prospects, identifying positive features and advantage of our products and services over those of the competition" made clear that external sales were a significant part of the role and considered that most applicants would be aware that this translated to door-to-door sales and business-to-business sales. We therefore concluded that the ad was not misleading
We considered the ad under CAP Code (Edition 12) rules
3.1
3.1
Marketing communications must not materially mislead or be likely to do so.
3.3
3.3
Marketing communications must not mislead the consumer by omitting material information. They must not mislead by hiding material information or presenting it in an unclear, unintelligible, ambiguous or untimely manner.
Material information is information that the consumer needs to make informed decisions in relation to a product. Whether the omission or presentation of material information is likely to mislead the consumer depends on the context, the medium and, if the medium of the marketing communication is constrained by time or space, the measures that the marketer takes to make that information available to the consumer by other means.
(Misleading advertising) and 3.7 (Substantiation) but did not find it in breach.
Action
No further action necessary.
