Advice - Anything changed?

Discussion in 'Applied Medical' started by Anonymous, Oct 5, 2013 at 9:11 AM.

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  1. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    Considering a position with Applied

    Maybe this post is pointless because I have read the last 20 posts which pretty much say to RUN!, but I wanted to see if maybe things have gotten better or are different.

    Background of me-

    10 years of device experience.
    Top 10% of reps each position over the last 10 years
    Income - 2012- $200K+, 2011 - $160K+
    Don't need to find a position, but definitely want to move (not leaving because of money, but other reasons)


    Things I was told-
    1) $130K-$150K first year. Told most make $50,000 salary and $15-$25K per quarter commission
    2) First $10K of commission should be easy and is just for doing your job for the most part
    3) Generous car allowance - $650 (or so) per month + miles (not 55 cents, but fair amount)
    4) Cover expenses such as $250 for cell phone internet + covers parking, meals (generous in per diem), etc above and beyond $250
    5) Cutting edge technology (20% of money goes back into innovating)
    6) No computer (which is fine because I have my own and would prefer to use it)

    A couple other various questions:
    How much is medical coverage for a family of 4 per month?
    Is the insurance good at least?

    Please also elaborate on 1-6 if you agree or disagree.
     

  2. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    If you base your opinion on a company from a handful of pissed employees who have nothing better to do than post on an anonymous message board, then you're going to get one opinion. These are the guys who'll complain about everything and have been since this site started. There are a lot of folks at Applied that are doing very well and enjoy the job.

    You're not going to get an honest answer on this site about these things.

    At the end of the day, the job is what you make of it. If you expect to be on the golf course 4 days a week, then ya, this isn't for you.






     
  3. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    I base my opinion on everything. I do due diligence on many different levels and want to more information is always better than less. While I can read through a lot of the over the top hatred it seems that there is a consistent theme across the board. One can tell that this is not just 1 or 2 people, but 6-10 people since the writing styles differ for many of the posts.

    These are the things I see that are red flags:

    1) Doesn't want to cover expenses fully. That is important to me. If my expenses are $600 a month I expect a company to reimburse $600. If that consists of parking, meals on the road, travel, rental cars, etc I expect to not be out my own money for company business.

    2) Pay that is inconsistent with what they were led to believe. If you tell someone that they are going to make $130-$150K first year then that is what they expect to be paid. If you say that non of those people work then how did "all" of those people get hired. What dies that say about management that they choose such poor individuals to work for the company. This is what scares me. My guess is that management is competent enough to choose good people for the most part and if those people are being misled into how much they will make then that is a big red flag.

    If I were interested in just playing golf I would not have had the success I have had so far. I do however expect that if I do A+B then I will be paid what they say. I know what doing my job and not doing my job consists of.
     
  4. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    C'mon, you know the game. If someone tells you that you're going to make $130-$150, is that for hitting plan? What if you don't hit plan? One year you may make $100 and the next year you may make $160 and the average still falls in that $130-$150 range.

    Cutting edge technology? Since when is a trocar or a clip applier cutting edge? They are commodities. You're dealing with various other vendors and the lowest price normally wins if the product isn't a total POS.

    Applied is normally reserved for people who are looking to break into device. If you already have 10 years of experience, you're better off looking for another company. This place is for people who are looking to get into the field and then get out to a better company.
     
  5. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    Again it was $130-$150K year one and more the following year. Putting 20% back into R&D is quite a bit and while a trocar may not develop anymore there can be newer devices that come out that are cutting edge technology. I don't expect everything to be cutting edge but would want some sort of pipeline of new products. I have no problem dropping down from where I was to $140K or so and having to work back up to $200K but I do not want to be in a situation where I work my butt off and due to unrealistic plans, no growth potential, negative views of the company make it so that I end up under $100K. That is unacceptable.
     
  6. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    Troll alert...what kind of douche is asking these questions seriously?
     
  7. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    Someone who cares about providing for his or her family? Someone who doesn't appreciate being lied to? Someone who wants to have a good career and likes what they do? Someone who wants to make a decent amount of money? Want me to keep on going? Obviously the above poster is another management troll that feels the need to defend Applied
     
  8. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    Really? Why shouldn't I ask these kinds of questions?

    SO I guess a douche who worked hard enough to make over $200K the last year and wants to make sure that he makes a good decision. I want to make a move to a place where I can be for a long time.

    I really hope that this is not a manager for Applied. That is definitely not the type of person I want to work with. I am going to give them the benefit of the doubt.

    Read the post below yours. Exactly what that person said.

    I'll hold up my part of the bargain, but I expect the company to hold up their part.
     
  9. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    Ya I defend Applied. I make good money, like what I do, and like the people I work with. Sure there are things that everyone bitches about. That's part of any job. Get over it. If you don't like it you can always walk. This company isn't for everyone. Nothing to get all sore about, that's just the way it is.
     
  10. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest


    One important piece of information missing from your post is what position you are considering. If it's a Territory Manager position those numbers are not realistic on an ongoing basis. You may have a blow-out year where you make that, but because your commissions are based on growth hitting your numbers every quarter is not going to happen, especially in the absence of new products to introduce. I don't know a TM in the company who has averaged $130K over a four or five year period.

    If you're looking at a specialty position like ALS the $130-$150K range may be more realistic.
     
  11. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    If you've been in the industry for ten years and can't see through the spin of Applied Medical then I don't know what to tell you except to give you some facts. They are not respected as a leading company, surely you know someone in your network with first hand experience?

    So here:
    -R&D expenditures are actually about 12% if you read the s1 filling.
    -Over half of that money is actually spent on automation and efficiency upgrades to reduce costs not new technologies for patients.
    -The only unique product was Gelport which is eight years old and already took most of the market. All other products were a "me too" product. The next generation of products (energy) is over ten years behind the competition and is already at least 3 years late from launching.
    -They complain about bundling holding them down and unamerican it is then design their 5mm instruments to only fit with their 5mm trocar.
     
  12. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    The above poster is dead on. They put very little money into R&D, they cut expenses by trying to reduce printing costs, manufacturing costs, or other insignificant areas that have no affect on its customer base/patient population. I'm not going to get into the lower than industry avg salaries, cheap budgets, or refusal to support education programs, courses, no lunches etc because those points have been beaten into the ground 100 times on this board. A friend of mine who still works at Applied told me the venture capitalists are extremely angry at Said for not selling the company by now. They obviously know that trocars have become something most hospital systems do not care about anymore and it has become something like band aids and gauze pads: every hospital needs them, but noone cares as long as they hold air and don't break throughout the course of a procedure. I remember when I did OR sales 7+ years ago and Applied was coming into this one hospital for an evaluation. 60% of the doctors had no issue, 40% screamed and yelled in the beginning but after they used their trocars for a few cases it was a non issue and the savings Applied apparently was promising this hospital was too much to pass up. I don't know what else Applied sells but their reputation is definitely sketchy.
     
  13. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    Thank you two for the above posts. This shows me a few things:

    1) You are better taking over a "dumpster fire" territory rather than a well performing one which is extremely rare in med device sales. Almost every company I have seen you are best off taking over a great territory. Since you are paid so much on growth a well performing territory will be harder unless of course the company is has a poor reputation that it won't matter

    2) The better you do the more you screw yourself in the future. For example if I grow 20% then the next year I screwed myself because I have to grow more now. Had I underperformed that 20% and grown by 10% then that would be my new benchmark. Seems sort of counterintuitive.

    3) Innovation in manufacturing, while good for the company, is bad for the rep. If trocars go down 20% in price then I have to make that 20% up somewhere else since I am paid on $ of growth for the most part.

    Position BTW is a TM position.

    This is the sort of insight I am looking for so thank you all for posting. Keep it coming as far as I am concerned. More information is better.
     
  14. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    Take any insight you see on an anonymous board like this with a grain of salt. What you read is part of the truth, not all of it. It's also highly biased and not the opinion of the majority of the sales team.

    Just something to keep in mind.
     
  15. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    Absolutely. But what it allows me to do is more due diligence by asking the correct questions to the company. Now I can give examples on expenses and make sure that they would be reimbursed (what if scenarios). It also allows me to ask what 3 random TMs made in random areas (documented of course and I pick the areas of course). If a company says TMs make between 130 and 150 then I would expect 2 out of 3 to be around the 140 mark. If I ask and they either won't disclose that or all 3 failed to come close then it is obvious why. There are a slew of other scenarios/questions that come to my mind based on all of the posts. It also allows me to reach out to physicians I know and ask them if certain things here bother them (such as the 5mm instruments/trocar).
     
  16. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    My ligation specialist tells me to lead with our 5mm clip applier.......in an account where we have no trocar business. What the expert hasn't figured out is we can't sell our 5mm trocar into an Ethicon account because our 5 won't go down their 5. So then my DM gets involved and says to go to purchasing, get surgeon support, convince materials they have to have our 5mm clip applier because its the only game in town!!!!! That right there, ladies and gentlemen, is typical Applied Medical arrogance. Rather than win a little battle here and there, and eventually work your way up progressively, Applied would rather have it their way or the highway. If they can't have all the business, whats the sense in even trying? We'll just screw our reps in the meantime. And remember when we pushing the 5mm solution 2 years ago? Might as well throw that idea out the window too because our dumbass engineers designed our 5mm retrieval bag to only go down our 5 trocars as well. Which reminds me.......what moron came out with that study that says 70% of all GB's can come out through a 5mm port? I have conservatively asked 5-6 DOZEN surgeons this question in the 2.5 yrs I have been here, and not ONE has taken me seriously. Thank you applied for making me look like a fool in front of my surgeons and building zero trust. Now go input your 4th quarter opportunities, we expect all of your accounts to be using fixation by Hanukkah
     
  17. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    Wow, a little pissed aren't we? It's clear by your rant how short sighted you are and don't understand anything about the strategy or where the market is going.

    And you're right. The global plan for Applied is to screw the reps. Because Applied hates it's reps. It's reps are so useless the whole reason they're in business is to screw the reps. it's all about you isn't it? To screw you?

    Applied's engineers design things that their dumbass sales reps complain they need because they can't sell what they already have. They don't make shit up just to make it hard for you. Get a fucking clue.

    At the end of the day, Applied doesn't need to help you look like a fool, you do it all yourself with your ignorance and arrogance.



     
  18. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    Newsflash jerkoff: we asked for a 5mm clip applier, but we didnt ask for one that only goes down our trocars. The above response is a typical uninformed Applied mgr answer. What's next? A true Large clip that only goes down our 12's? It wouldn't surprise me if Applied's super elite engineers are busy trying to reinvent the wheel out there in RSM
     
  19. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    Well how are the engineers supposed to read your mind about what YOU want? Next time YOU should be more specific about what YOU want so YOU can do easier sell.
     
  20. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    Nice English! What boat did u just get off?