Retired a couple of years ago. The best thing about life after pharma is the ability to be honest about what you do every day.
Retired as well and you're right. Never liked what one had to do to meet metrics and the need to toot your own horn to stand out. The best feeling is an honest days work for an honest days pay.
Dude, after a while it doesn't feel like lying and cheating when you realize everyone including your boss is doing it. I sleep well at night. What gets to me is the mind numbing boredom of this job. I try to find something to look forward to every day, a movie, the mall, a toke or a poke.
"A toke or a poke!" Lol. Awesome. If I sold Bydureon as well as I banged soccer moms during the day I'd make COE every year.
Absolutely it doesn't feel like I am lying or cheating, because as you said, everyone is doing it! We are crawling all over each other, backstabbing to make ourselves look good, and lying to docs every day. But having said all that, I feel damn good about this so-called job! Yes, it's mind numbing, but I only work a few hours a day for great pay, so I don't care. This is the best non-working job in the world!
You are the type of slug who makes me sick. Why I do the work in the cylinder, you just cruise along, stop that. I work my behind off, i study my reprints and PI's why I have downtime waiting in offices. I also have dictated my core message on my phone and listen to myself as I drive between calls. In addition I plan out my weeks calls every Sunday so I know eaxctly which offices I will see everday and in which order. I make sure every office has a precall plan with an objective. I also organize my trunk and materials for the week on Sunday. I also go over my sales continium after every callvaski g myself if I sold anyyhing. Each day I like to enter in any expenses I had and write down my mileage. Carefully I deduct any personal mileage l had, such as commute miles to and from my territory, as well as any miles if I didnt have a lunch and learn and ate by myself. I am out the door by 7:15 to be on territory by 8am and get home by 5:45 Please try my method, I always work hard and put in a good days work. You will feel good about yourself and sleep better.
My territory moved and I would ALWAYS be out the door at 6:30 aem and get home at 6 or 7 pm. every single work day. I worked my ass off to do exactly as I was asked. You know where it got me? Written up. Treated like shit. Passed over for promotions. Told my messaging was not AZ up to par. Given less time to do administrative work and . . . I finally left. You know what I did not get? A severance. How about that! They could have taken the loser who is faking calls and would have given that asshole two or three months of pay AFTER asking him to leave. I was with AZ for three fucking years and always worked my ass off and was offered nothing. I think this place actually hangs on to game players. No harm. My new job gave me an exceptional on every rating. Management loves me and I love having my own business and doing a lot of problem solving without asking permission to shit. I feel sorry for the sales people at AZ. It is nothing short of a hellhole that fosters lying slugs.
Did that for 7 years. Finally, I got sick of bigger and bigger baselines. Trying to grow compared to others with less market share. In a growth only model, I have found to be average and stay in the middle. Never again will I get thrown under the bus for achieving exceptional market shares and profits for this company
The only people who survive in AZ for long have learned to stay off of the radar. Don't do anything to draw attention to yourself. Just stay in the mediocre middle and never ever volunteer for anything. Don't volunteer ideas, thoughts, opinions and most of all never volunteer to help with projects. Don't try to be the most interesting person in the world. Stay thirsty my friends.
+1 Never been in an industry were average was the safest place. Accelerate growth and it catches up with you. Almost sad that we have to play the games of baselines, instead of looking at true profitability of territories.
Market share growth to rate pharma reps is total bullshit. I.E. let's say you have your drug on medicare/medicaid and the company is not making any profit on the drug. You have a high market share but don't bringing in any profit. Take an area where a drug is not on formulary but the rep is creating scripts. That's profitable business. The company needs to look at sales dollars of profit the rep can bring in NOT market share. Reps in this company have been screwed to the wall over this. You take some pretty average reps in West Virginia (no offensive!) who have had their drugs on state formularies making more bonus and going to COE compared to other reps with crummy formulary situations and therefore less market share. However, who is bringing in more profit to the company. Oh well things will likely never change in this company.
That is exactly right. Funny I was thinking exactly that today. My IDP and year end ranking placed me happily and solidly right in the middle of average. It is difficult to not be driven to want another $1,000 in my bonus the end of January, or a bigger raise each year, but much much wiser to not fall prey to the insanity.
True, once you make your quota it is better to back off. You forecast will simply rise that much greater the next year. Miss those numbers and suddenly management starts looking at you in a different light. Don't tell anyone of course, especially counterparts, if it gets back to your DM you're toast.
Re: to original "Looking back" retired sales-- want to speak to journalist? To the original "looking back" poster on this board: Would you want to speak on the record or off the record about your experiences in sales at AstraZeneca to a journalist for a book especially if you worked on sales anytime from late 90s through now? I'm looking at Seroquel and I'm seeking to get the views of people in sales. I assume my confidential, temporary email address artstevens50 at gmail can be posted here while waiting for clearance from the moderator to make this query. Thanks, Art
