another rep gone - abbott nutrition

I made a career change after all of this and I became a formula one race car driver.

 

That is a very sad story. I know that you gave a lot of years to this company only to be crapped on at the end. Everything you said is true. I only have 17 years but have gone through the same bs you have. When it was mentioned that I was being moved to a Pediasure rep, I threw a fit and told them under no circumstance would I accept that job. I figured it would be dissolved in a couple of years. Amazingly they backed off. This was another brilliant idea by that twit Danielle.Whatever happened to Night Nurse Nation. Yes lets work 24 hours a day for this crappy pay and shitty bonuses. I would appreciate if you could tell us what area you worked. It would be helpful.

 

I am glad this has worked out for you. An amazing company.

 

Don't laugh but someone in my district went to TPC based on highest Night Nurse Nation calls. This rep had the lowest share in the district and everyone went ballistic. Needless to say they changed the criteria for the next year. You can't take this seriously

 

A classic Abbott story, repeated time after time: this SOP for pushing older reps out. All too common in Pharma as an industry.

 

More SOBs coming out with more SOPs to read this is a joke.

 

You may want to plan for YOUR "change of career": eventually it will happen to you to.

In Sales it is true that as you get older the pack leaders start to force you out. You're not as attractive, experience means you less coaching (i.e. your manager may feel less "needed"), are more likely to think more before asking "how high" when told to jump and, worst of all, cost more.

When I was young I didn't really notice where the older reps disappeared to. Only those who resisted, and were ostracized for it, registered. Being young, and never thinking that could be us someday, we often accepted the company line, the subtle "they should leave gracefully" undertone of disapproval that surrounded those cases.

As you get older, and closer to 50, you notice it more. Reps who where held out to you as mentors and those to emulate suddenly can't seem to tie their own shoe laces, and are treated with increasing disrespect by their managers. The public humiliation of a PIP is usually the final step. You get a little concerned, but still never think that will actually be you. You're not them, you're better.

In a blink of en eye, when I turned 53, I was one of those people too. When that hit me, on day 2 or 3, I received two calls from other DM's I have started with as reps and became friends with. Guess what, they had also been put on PIP's that week. One was 51, the other 54. As we talked, we of course reminisced about others in our peer group. We realized we were the among a handful left.

Over the next few weeks of networking, we found that literally dozens of peers that made it close to or just over 50 experienced the exact same treatment. Reps typically just under 50; managers typically just after.

During the PIP, the 54 year old negotiated a bridge to 55 and retired. He then found a good job. One of us beat the PIP, the other found a new job before the PIP ended. The one that beat the PIP found a new job 3 months later and left.

That was 5 years ago.

The same practice is going on. Except those being pushed out are not so lucky these days. Unemployment for those over 50 is about the same as recent college grads. But they can't go live in their parent's basement, and often have kids of their own in college.

You can make sport of what happened to this individual who just received the Treatment Sometimes we laugh when we're afraid. Human nature I guess.

But one thing you can take to the bank : for 90 - 95% of you, you will face the exact same thing in your lifetime. For you, things on the outside will be worse than they are today, with no pensions, reduced SS, increased medical costs, inflation, full retirement back to 68 or 70 for some of you, and your 401k's worth a fraction of what you thought.

 

all of my ex managers and team from accs in phila/s.jersey territory hate me
I was forced to salesforce.com and couldn't cheat and was then let go help
me pleeeasssseeee

 

I can't stop trolling on here

 

They are talking about the Festival Of Mud at Abbott.

 

Thank you for the honest assessment of our company. I know our company has been sued many times on age discrimination issues. Not sure why they continue this practice. Is the reduction in salary costs worth the loss of business. I guess it's not about the money but it's about control. The lesson here is if you have made it all this way, keep your mouth shut at meetings and always have a smile on your face. Manage the last part of your career like you did the first.

 

Good advice. The more docile you play, the longer you can make it. It can be hard to pretend that what comes out of Junior's mouth is new and brilliant. As you approach 50, you need to develop acting skills. Do what ever is asked, no matter what. Update your computer skills and lingo so you don't appear out dated.

If you can do that, You might make a bridge to 55.

As for age discrimination, that's almost dead as a risk. The proof you need to win a case is virtually impossible to get. At another company, a friend of mine was let go with no PIP, no warning, no hint of any performance or other issue. One day he walked in and was told that company wanted fresh eyes on his businesses (CPG sales manager). They hired to replace him 2 early thirties people, with combined salaries just slightly over his. 10 years ago that was all that was needed for a good case. Today, unless you have a smoking gun memo that says replace this guy because he is getting old, you have no case.

 

I have not looked at this site in many months. The stories above reminded me of exactly how I "left" AN and it is sad to read that this stuff is still going on. I have many fond memories of Ross and loved 16 of my 18 years there, I too went from TPC to PIP in less than two years.

 

The problem is when you excel in spite of clueless upper management. They think their micro-management is what did the trick. So they do it more. You excel, they take credit, you fail and it's all your fault. Good luck out there.

 

BINGO !!!!!!!!

 

Can't figure out which is worse, the original incoherent comment or someone in total agreement with the incoherent comment?

 

I see bobbing heads all day long at meetings in response to gibberish and spin. What is so surprising about this? Followers like to follow.

 

Back in the day there was a sales department that ran the company. Strong management and leadership with clear vision and direction. The marketing department worked in the background and developed sales materials to support sales efforts. The sales training department thoroughly taught new reps the fundamentals and new concepts behind new products being introduced. The bottom line was that everything was directed to sales. WE WERE SALESPEOPLE with a good working knowledge of nutrition. Reps were allowed (encouraged) to develop and use their skills in whatever way worked, especially with the different personalities we called on. It worked, and we grew to be the number one company in both infant formula and adult nutritionals along with the respect of the professionals we called on. The mantra at the time was to become a "helpful ally" on we knew our limitations. Strong relationships developed that enabled us to maintain and grow our business despite higher prices.

Somewhere along the way our wonderful company was hijacked by the marketing and sales training departments. No longer are sales important - in fact they are pretty irrelevant now.

The marketing department is made up up newbies who have never sold a thing in their lives and re-invent the wheel over and over without anybody realizing that all of their "new" concepts have already been done and discarded years ago. They last a year or two, leave, and are replaced with a new set of recent grads

The training department feels that they are the only ones who know how to sell and we must become clones of their styles, techniques, and dialogue. Continual role plays, certifications, scripts, videotapes, and mock presentations dictate meetings. Ridealongs with reps with evaluations on whether you said everything you presented, rather than effectiveness of the call, are the norm.

Did I mention that these trainers couldn't sell water in a desert or adapt to changing situation if their lives were in the balance but that doesn't matter. All they care about (from their insane, hitleresque manager) is cramming 10 hours of intense training a day at sales meetings.

Total focus on reports in salesforce.com and bonuses based on concepts (protocols) has made it easy for managers to get rid of older or "less favored" reps.

Bottom line is we are no longer salespeople, merely little robots who spout the new company lines.

Maybe someday we will go back to being salespeople who actually care about our customers.

 

I'd say you have been with the company 25-35 years. You have been to TPC 4-5 times. You have a market share of 80-95%, and the funny thing is that no one has asked your opinion about the business in years. I feel your frustration.

 

You should have joined NASCAR instead.