Doing Money Work in a Door‐to‐Door Sales Organization

Previous sociological accounts of money have focused on meanings that attach to types of money but have given insufficient attention to how these meanings arise out of and are sustained by their use in interpersonal interactions. In this case study of a door‐to‐door sales company, we use a “cultural toolkit” conception of money meanings to show how managers and salespersons draw on these meanings to get things done. We examine how money meanings are used in three settings: (1) the salesperson–sales prospect interaction, wherein the presentation of self takes center stage, (2) the managerial relationship between the salesperson and his or her manager, and (3) salespersons' time “between doors,” when they attempt to make sense of their situation and motivate themselves to continue. We show how money work is used for persuasion, worker control, decision making, and impression management.