An Observation

Discussion in 'Avanir Pharmaceuticals' started by Anonymous, Dec 5, 2013 at 11:29 AM.

Tags: Add Tags
  1. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    I am not an Avanir employee, but an Avanir investor. I spent over 20 years in a Fortune 500 company working in sales management and achieving a VP position before retirement. My company was very demanding of its sales people, but mostly fair. If you worked hard, and I do mean hard with long hours constantly focused on improvements, the rewards eventually would come. We let sales rep candidates know this during the interview process and everyone took the job knowing what to expect.

    Once employed, about 20% embraced the challenge and became peak performers. Sixty percent were middle of the road performers that could eventually go either way, but mostly just produced enough to get by and satisfy the minimum job demands. They were either coached up or out eventually based on their manager's standards and expectations. The remaining 20% were the low performers. Some were just bad fits and shouldn't have been hired, but most were talkers and not doers. They made excuses for everything and looked to blame everything and everyone else for their inability to produce. Most were incapable of looking themselves honestly in the mirror and admitting that they were the main problem. No, it had to be someone or something else.

    When their supervisor eventually implemented performance management practices to either get them to improve or get them out the door, the majority of these low performers would begin voicing concerns about how unfair the company was being to them. Those other "peak performers" were either butt kissers of management or doing something else wrong or unethical to get ahead. These low performers would spend all kinds of time and energy trying to drag their peers down to their unmotivated level instead of focusing on making any of the needed improvements to increase their performance and maintain their positions. I learned the sooner you got rid of these whining, over-inflated egos without substance, the better.

    I don't often come to this web site, but I do occasionally to read comments on the Avanir board. I have no doubt that some of the negative concerns posted here about the company are valid. I am more convinced, however, that the vast majority of the complaints posted here about the company are from the low performing 20% who take umbrage at the fact that they took a demanding sales job and are being (or were) held accountable for putting sales numbers on the board. They have over-inflated egos and don't like receiving negative feedback. Well, that's what you signed up for. You either make objective or make excuses. My opinion is Avanir is probably better off without these whiners.

    I have no axe to grind and this is just my two cents. For those Avanir sales reps still on board, I wish you continued success. I have a considerable investment in your company and think there are good times (and rewards for you who produce!) in the near future.
     

  2. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    For the 20% of the salesforce to survive 3 years... Kudos to them! They are the high performers you must be referring too. As for being an outsider investor I can share my 2 cents and it will be validated by others here. That many territories have had 3 to 4 reps in it who have not really achieved much success selling/promoting Nuedexta for the neurological condition Pseudobulbar Affect. Maybe as investor you are not aware but Avanir goes after/recruits/hires people who have documented success within the Pharmaceutical industry. They offer an excellent compensation package that starts with an excellent base salary that lures these high performing individuals. So what happens to these highly successful professionals who come to Avanir... Well they find out in a very short time that even though we have a not a very well known or understood condition, majority of Physicians would not even believe its debilitating or even a problem for their patients if they are able to recognize or diagnose it. The next thing they will find out is that upper management blatantly pushes the representatives to promote for other indications not approved in our package insert. In fact one of the sales directors has emphatically stated to representatives not to ever even discuss our indication. The exact quote from this director was "Never, ever, mention laughing". Another favorite quote I heard was from head of sales at the time said in front of our Chief Medical director and an entire district at a sales meeting to a representative who expressed a concern we were promoting off label "If you can't talk about more then laughing and crying then your counter parts will pass you by". Just so you know, that representative did not last here very long... & she was an incredible person and an extremely successful pharmaceutical representative before she came to Avanir. So just to be clear to you Mr or Mrs. investor, in every sales call a pharmaceutical representative is supposed to discuss their drug indication and no other uses of the drug(of course they are also supposed to discuss side effects, dosing, contraindications, etc...). These successful sales professionals will find out that the only way to be really successful(in the eyes of management) is to promote of label or just by luck a physician who has tried Nuedexta for PBA finds it may have other benefits or uses in other indications.
    My 2 cents to you as an investor, put pressure to remove some of our top management in our sales side or Avanir, specifically those with initials KK, MM, HH & DP, or it is going to get an huge fine from the FDA/Government & lawsuits from current & former employees, and tarnish the future image & reputation of this company.
    Congrats on all of your success by the way!
     
  3. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    Testy investor and wrong and blinded in soanu fronts. My guess is...not an investor but rather MM or Rohan or someone of the like. Interesting write up and very much blinded I am a top performer and am trying to get out of this hell hole.
     
  4. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest


    Sorry, paranoid one, but I am who I said I am. An Avanir investor and retired corporate sales manager. BTW, "top performers" in sales don't read and write on message boards during the work day. They hustle and try to overcome obstacles. You and some of the other whiners here should try it.
     
  5. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    False, oh so observant one.
     
  6. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    Ok. You win Mr Big Investor. Also, "big" investors don't typically get on Cafe Pharma now do they. What are you worried about? Loser. Can't sleep at night. Michael not giving you the blow job you think you are entitled to. You're not an investor. You're a cancer
     
  7. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    That's a good one. Hi ..my name is big Investor and I am on cafe pharma! Didn't you know your other investor friends who have more money than you don't waste their time on these sites. Looks like you need more of something to do than troll this loser website as you so call put it.
     
  8. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    I think Mr Big Investor is frustrated that his stock is at 4.18 right now. Only loser investors have the time to get on cafe pharma. Is this Henry? Come on Henry. Your wife kick you out of the house for sexting all those female reps
     
  9. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    Spoken like a true sales professional. Back at this message board already? So, this is how you spend your work day as a "top producer." Top producer of whiny, delusional BS.
     
  10. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    Hey top,producers at this company are done by noon. I sold Nuedexta off label all morning and got my scripts I needed to stay on top. Thanks for asking.
     
  11. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    Mr investor, you are such a pompoms stuffed shirt.
     
  12. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    This is funny....highly doubt an "investor" big or small would post on this site---nice try.....regardless, the poster's arrogance is the kicker..who are these people?
     
  13. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    These people might be the frustrated Upper Management people scrambling to put out fires every month...so it seems. You know...the Rohan's of the world, Michael, Keith, etc. Even if it is one of our big time investors then that is even funnier as to why would a big time investor even care about a site like CafePharma. How hilarious. What a weird thread to start.
     
  14. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    It's shorts vs investors. Good try Avanir Management.
     
  15. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    Guess you haven't met Tradestoxx11. He infiltrates all kinds of boards, even antagonizing a board meant for physicians and med students only. Nothing stands in his way of lifelong pump artist for Avanir.
     
  16. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    Funny post. No way any investor heard of Cafepharma. I am even more disgusted for the way our senior leadership acts. Who does this? Only someone who is scared for the truth
     
  17. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    Not true... If you go to the financial message boards they will reference Cafepharma often... I am not sure much weight is given to the comments here tough... The person who started this thread I am sure is bogus though one way or another... My hopes is Monday is an announcement of change in our leadership..
     
  18. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    I am the person who started this thread. I'd like to thank the breathless juvenile who keeps replying trying to come up with something clever to write to discount my post. I obviously hit a nerve and you between the eyes and I want to thank you for proving my point in spades! The truth hurts, doesn't it?

    This will most likely be my final post here on this thread as I've said my piece. I will let you have the last word as I know that is important for "talkers" like you.
     
  19. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    To the former corporate VP now Avanir investor who started this thread... Is this a juvenile response?
    One ? for you... Do you think possibly there truly could be issues with how this company "has" been run? I emphasize has b/c many here believe Monday's teleconference may announce some major changes in our leadership. Or that we are being acquired... & since the company removed our "poison pill" making it easier to be acquired, basically we as employees have been lied to over & over again by our CEO KK by saying we do not want to be acquired and that we want to become a Mid Cap CNS Biopharmaceutical company.
    Sorry if my comments seem juvenile...
     
  20. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    You obviously missed my earlier comment in the first post that I have no doubt that some of the negative concerns posted here about the company are valid. This site is primarily for Avanir's sales reps and I felt compelled to respond here with the comments I shared to communicate with many of the company's reps and share my sales management experience. IMO, the conversations here often seem dominated by the people I described as the angry "low perfomers" in my earlier messages.

    I contribute with some regularity on the YH Avanir message board and have often voiced concerns there about Avanir's management. I would welcome changes, including a new CEO and VP of Sales. They have had 3 years and are ultimately responsible for the disappointing Nuedexta launch and the embarrassing shareholder value. I don't believe you are the "juvenile" who I was referring to earlier, but I would hope this post allays any concerns they or others have that I'm really KK or MM or anyone other than what I have claimed to be from the start. An Avanir investor and retired corporate sales manager.