I don't even know where to start- First off, you will be under constant stress to make 100 phone calls a day. In the beginning this is fine because you need to build your book of business, but over time there are better ways of doing business than making cold call after cold call. Management likes to tell you that you are your own boss and can manage your time but they are constantly looking over your shoulder even when you are killing it. I have never been babysat or "time copped" so much at a job and I was bringing in good money for the company.
You will have a weekly meeting where you can see how much money you are making for the company. You will hear how great you are but don't expect a raise. When I asked for a raise I was told that "raises aren't really something that we do here and to give myself a raise by bringing in more business." Management, take a look around your meetings and look at peoples faces; nobody wants to be there because they are tired of hearing how much money they make YOU while they get to dress down instead of getting a raise or a bonus. The company will buy you bagels or let you dress down to show their appreciation when you have all time highs. While these are nice gestures, lets be realistic: everyone is there to make money and support their family, so share the wealth. The benefits are decent but they are VERY expensive and I've never paid so much at any other job for benefits.
For this year England has implemented a training program called 4dx. The program is a complete waste of time and I don't know of one employee that can honestly say that they like the program or that it helps them be more productive.
Every sales job has its challenges, but be prepared to be on call 24/7 in this industry. The regular work schedule is from 7am-4pm. A couple of times a year you are expected to take an after hours phone for an entire week and are expected to answer the calls at ALL times. Don't expect to be paid for this even though you will be working overtime and you will also be required to come in that Saturday as well. Advice to management: hire more people for after hours, or, why don't YOU try taking the after hours phone and see how it goes?
THE BIGGEST PROBLEM: I have been in sales for over 10 years and never have I come across a company that paid you less the longer you were there even though you brought in more business. You have a NEVER ending sales ramp and after about 1 year it becomes impossible to hit your goal. The longer you are here, the harder it is to stay motivated. This is because even if you bring in more business you still won't hit your goal. Management knows that this ramp is a joke, but they obviously don't care to change it. They don't care to change it because they actually benefit from you not being able to get over 100%.
This year about 7 senior account managers have left the company and they were very hard-working and the best employees. Management, how many good people do you have to lose before you realize your system is broken? I can't even count the number of people that have suggested that changes need to be made and have offered good alternatives. Nothing ever becomes of it. Management will usually respond with "we will look into that" or they will make a note on that employee's profile that they shouldn't be promoted.
Promotions: I am still in shock of how some of the people in upper management are there with their lack of knowledge of what really happens on the floor. Let me give you an example of the type of director that we look up to here: This director fell asleep in a board meeting with one of our clients and for some reason this person is celebrated and is a director? Last time I checked, I got in trouble for being on ESPN for 5 mins (during the World Cup), but it's ok for a director to fall asleep in a meeting? I guess this goes to show that if you are buddies with management it doesn't matter what you do, as long as you say yes and proceed as a robot.
In my time there, I saw various people hired from the outside while the people on the inside of the company never even knew there was an opening or chance for promotion. Stop overlooking the people that are in the trenches- they could very well make the company better and be very good leaders. Just because someone doesn't agree with everything you say and has ideas for change doesn't make them a negative person.
Marketing: We have a marketing department but I'm still not sure what they do besides give us fun facts about upper management There is a system that generates leads but 90% of the leads we get from marketing are complete garbage.
