2019

I believe there will be a buyout. All the signs are there. It is coming.

 

Actually, most of the tenured reps work their tails off. All of the ones that I know work much harder than these newbie reps. It is absolutely false that these people fly under the radar. How very insulting. As far as changing with the times these reps have done that too. You know how I know this? It is because the same people go to Presidents club year after year! That is due to hard work, not flying under the radar.They have excellent relationships and have no problem changing with the times. This sounds like Mary, and Mary my advice to you is wake up! You guys have it all wrong. JM is tenured manager that has won Regional RSM year after year and you assume because he is tenured ( old) he is clueless. You make the decision to bring someone who has been with the company for a year and promote them to ABD but pass up JM. Just stupid. The only problem the rest of us see are GP, MH, CC and CB. All of you are clueless. Your theories are inaccurate and archaic thinking. Perhaps you should all go back to Business School.

 

He would be accused of insider trading if he knew of a buyout. It actually indicates that there will be no buyout.

 

he starts at the end of q3 because of British law. You cant just quit and start somewhere else. You have to serve a transitional period.

 

We can’t be bought out. We are 1.3 billion in debt, underperformed for the past 11quarters and the stock continues to tank (So glad that I didn’t participate in the employee stock option program).

 

Don’t worry QB will save us.

 

Heard Wayne C outline all the problems, offer no solutions. I believe the Wolfpack is a great idea, but also a figment of his rhetoric - Every one of these VPs needs to be managed out. ATMs for Flexi and skin are helpful, ATMs for Home health are a waste of money. Anyone with Medtronics in their background needs to be shown the door. Way too much nepotism in hiring and promotion. Not enough promotion from within based on achievement, knowledge, dedication and merit. Territory alignments are beyond ridiculous , it's obvious that whoever thought them up doesnt understand how the business works. George, where are you?

 

Any change to sales organizations end up with a lot of reps on the wrong side. Seems like that could just be the case here. That being said, Anderson buying $100k of stock doesn't mean all that much

 

This all reminds me of the nightmare back in maybe 2007 2008... when the insanity really began. We created all these additional business units with many reps calling on the same clinicians, but just different product lines. We went from 2 business units for LTC and Acute Care with both carrying full lines. There may have been retail reps in there as well. Then we created so many specialty business units in each space and added Ostomy, Burn, Flexi & Wound & Skin, Negative Pressure, etc to the point many of my key decision makers WOCNs and NPs) at top facilities started telling me "You know I like you and always do my best to fit in time for you but there is no way I can see 3-4 reps from ConvaTec". History seems to be repeating itself to a certain degree. smh

 

I think a lot of these posts are spot on. Senior Management, Dr. Howard, Dr. Fine, Dr. Howard, is truly the problem. One simple business topic I learned back in the 1970's was that products and services certainly have a life span. Ever hear of the "bell curve".
When I was selling for CVT in the 80's and 90's, a little in the 2000's before retiring, I'll never forget how management drove hydrocolloid down our throats for 25 years. It was still part of our comp plan in the early 2000's with Signal. While competition was chipping away with foam dressings (that's right, foam, coming out in the 90's), Collagen dressings, NPWT, etc., we were pounding away with DuoDerm, Thin, CombiDerm (which was DD w a pad), Signal etc. Then came hydrofiber in mid 90's, how's that growing now folks? How about FMS in 2003? Killed it for several years, then what? Great OR entry with Ag Surgical, but I hear that was launched 10 years ago. My point is CVT leans on a technology and just doesn't keep expanding in that space such as more OR products, products for incontinence (skin care is dead, it's the same stuff Vestal reps sold in early 80's). I keep in touch with a few old "tenured" people, and they are still throwing punches but tell me they can't get in to see customers many times. Why do WOCN's want to make time to talk to CVT reps? Talk about Solutions 5step? seriously? (Solutions algorithms launched in the 90's as well) CVT is dying, a slow painful death and it's simply not going to turn around because you change senior management every 2-3 years. I also hear a lot of field managers are new, and they may even have posted on this sight saying things like "quit your whining etc." These people have no clue as well, they never been there done that. Just ask around the country. How many massive new conversions are happening lately? You always have a few people who get lucky, but really. Hearing about major new wins? I am told it's a very rare mention on "Town Halls". How many contracts has CVT won lately? How many major health systems have converted to CVT ostomy? Hear those announcements often? You would if they were happening, fact is, there not. This house will implode, and probably soon.

 

Actually there is still a decent demand for our products. I do not struggle to make appointments with clinicians. We are slowly but surely expanding our product portfolio’s. The #1 problem is a leadership team that is clueless and does not listen. We have non stop backorders. Why? Fix it!!! We have useless time wasting calls such as war room. We still do not have an adequate marketing team. I am not sure how many more times leadership can be told that the war room calls are 100% a waste of time. There is no value being brought from this call. All it is doing is taking us out of field and preventing us from selling. What is the purpose of this call? It is not working. End War room calls now! Quick Base is another story. This leadership team does not listen and is very out of touch with how the sales process actually works for our products. Demanding 6-10 calls a day. That is IMPOSSIBLE!!! That right there makes it so clear that this leadership group has no idea. The only reason clinicians say they can’t meet with me lately is because she has 4 different Convatec reps calling on her due to the new territory alignment. The new alignments are another example. Most of us are driving and flying much further than before. More travel time usually equates to less time in front of customers. Most of us have talked about how our follow ups have decreased drastically since because we are now stretched so thin with ridiculous windshield times and flights. Let’s not forget that most of us have family and kids to take care of. I think this team fails to realize that there is such a thing called work life balances. It has actually made most of us less efficient. OP you are right when you say that it is probably the new, inexperienced RSM’s posting on here saying “leave then”. It is is because they are clueless. I agree we do not always need to change upper management every 2-3 years, but in this case this team needs to go!! If they stay I think this company will not make it. Find an excellent leadership team and then keep them after you clean house on this moronic leadership team.

 

stay retired. You have no clue. “Town halls”?? Lol....

 

Retired my ass... you still work for ConvaTec or you wouldnt know so much of what is going on.
You are right about product life cycles and ConvaTec hasn’t adapted to the changing environment. The sales force hasn’t adapted either, many still blame everyone else for their lack of performance. I have never heard more complainers in my life from one company. Pack your bags and leave if you can’t stand the heat.

 

Funny. I have worked at Convatec for more than 10 years and I have never heard more complainers either. Do you want to know why? It is because the upper management team has never been as bad as it is now. This has turned into a toxic work environment. Do yourself a favor and stop blaming the sales reps and take responsibility for your own stupid mistakes. I love how management loves to blame everyone but themselves. Denial.

 

Question for you Asshat! Who’s fault is it that SCD is on backorder? The sales force? Lol. Get your head out of your ass and stop blaming the sales force. Excuses, excuses, excuses. How long did it take for us to get our numbers or Cogno’s this year? Are you going to blame that on the salesforce also?? Nice try. Moron.

 

Big ninny convention, (management meeting) next week, Code name Nitwit. Heard the agenda will include:

1. Hiring 50 more ATMs because current ones are growing our business in leaps and bounds
2. Further dividing the sales force creating yet another division, (what they'll be seliing TBD/Customer targets TBD, What is being tossed around: these reps will be responsible for driving 5000miles a week and logging their travel in a new section of quick base).
3.Ways to further mess up our comp plan and Cognos
4.The addition of 7 new ABDs from Covidian/Medtronics worst of the worst team
5.An outside speaker will discuss "How to kiss ass discretely, while using stupid business buzz words to seem like you're more intelligent than you really are while saying absolutely nothing" the second topic will be "Baffle them with Bul sh it"

 

How about a little Havarti cheese or sharp cheddar with your whine - might help you cope with your fricken misery.