As survivors when we . . .

got the calls from our managers yesterday, most of us were relieved and saddened that some friends were let go. A few others were of the opinion that many of those let go deserved to go. No joke I am very happy to have my job and am looking forward to the changes spoken of at BMS.

However after thinking about both responses to the lay off, I mused because now that the 'miscreants' at the bottom have been lopped off, there is a NEW bottom 10%.

IMO the new 'scum', won't be getting laid off as a group nor will they receive a severance package. The new scum will be ridden hard and picked off one by one.

I'm happy to be crossing the bridge, but the superiority we felt yesterday will be short lived.

 

Don't be so naive that you think that all of the downsized reps you spoke of,are bottom-feeders,because they are not.Downsizing at each company is composed of sales achievers who are being cast aside because of age or geography.BMS has shown in the past that sales achievement doesn't matter anymore when it comes to downsizing!Wake up!One thing is for certain,you will not retire from BMS,THEY will retire YOU!!

 

Retire?! There is no pension anymore anyway, they encourage you to jump to other companies.

 

Wish they had....

 

I second that motion.

 

It is what it is and I feel for both sides! Those that were kept on will be beaten to death with metrics and busy work that really has nothing to do with success or sales. The writing is on the wall, Plavix and Avapro go generic and those that are gloating will also be scum and bottom feeders (Which is ignorant because the numbers are a joke). How can you be successful when they constantly change products and territories.

Those that were let go lost a career that once was a great job in a great industry, working for a great company. Those days are gone. Reinvent yourself and do something that is really "about extending and enhancing human life" and you will be better off and probably a whole lot happier. Change is never easy for anyone.

Good Luck to all.

 

OP here, please re read my post, paying particular attention to the words in quotes. In no way do I think the laid off reps are bottom feeders.

Part of the point I was making was that the smugness that survivors had was unwarranted and short lived.

Additionally now that they (the bottom 10%) are gone there's a new crew on the bottom
ready and ripe to be picked off.

 

I agree with the post and think it's important to put this in perspective.

The simple reality is that BMS lost the ability a long time ago to fairly and accurately measure sales rep performance. If we are honest, we all know that.

Unlike a HQ based job -- where falling in line and corporate brown-nosing etc -- are well understood requirements for success at BMS, the beauty of a sales job has always been that the numbers don't lie. There was an objective standard in sales. You could be a loser or an asshole but if th numbers were there, your were golden. Period. But then we learned the reality. The numbers do lie when they are based on poor data, subsets, extrapolations and poor calculations by incompetent people. And over time, after adjustment an re-adjustment and recalculations etc etc, we learned that this was the new reality.

In the Ivory Tower of Plainsboro, our leaders have long come to the conclusion that we simply wil not be able to rely on the sales data for planning and compensation over the long term. They simply cannot fix the data. And so there has been lots and lots of planning, consultants etc etc as our leaders try to figure out what the ultimate next step is. And since they love systems so much, it hit them. The answer was right in front of their eyes. It's not all about the numbers, it's all about the behaviors!!! And over time, that is becoming the new reality.

The problem with behaviors is that they are not objective, they are very subjective. We do and will increasingly find that (like all the folks in Plainsboro) our compensation and our jobs wil depend on what our DBM's and RBD's think about us. Does your dbm think you are aggressive enough, starting the day early enough, working hard enough, setting up enough dinner programs, showing enough energy and excitement at district meetings and being a team player making him (or her) look good.

So I have no idea how they really calculation the bottom 10% but I doubt very much that it was based on sales or based only on sales. I am confident it was based on behavior scores, the behavior scores given by dbm's. How exactly it was all really calculated is anyone's guess. I agree that with these folks gone there will ultimately be a new bottom 10%. I am just not sure that we will know if we're in it.

 

THis post was right on.

You will know you are a bottom 10% when:

your sample % is in the bottom of the district
your manager constantly coaches you about total office selling and Engage! for Impact.
your manager makes a big deal about the MPG call note percent
your manager makes a big deal about the number of times you communicate
your manager makes a big deal about what time you go on/off a talk point

Its all about behaviors now.

 

This was a grossly irresponsible reorganization for many reasons.

I wish they had called and offered me a package or a job because I have other job options available to me. I would have chosen the package. When they made the call to keep me, I guess they arrogantly assumed I wanted to be here...and I really don't. This is another gross error by the 3 idiots: M, R, and R. You only want people that really want to be here.

I see the handwriting on the wall with Plavix and Avapro basically done and the CV drug delayed. If dap is also delayed, then there will be a mass exodus of people at year's end too. It's difficult to give your best effort when you know the bottom will soon fall out as the 3 idiots have no clue.

I went and started interviewing and I'm going to pull the trigger the last 1/2 week in March.

I do say I have been well treated and wish everyone the best, but senior leadership is simply not good enough here to navigate the company through the next 3 years.

 

Uhh, in NSS you will be monitored on the first four of these all the time. Doesn't matter where you are ranked. Have never heard anything on that last one.

 

The leadership here is a joke, and it is worse than other companies. I have worked at other places, BMS sucks! The data analysis and IC is horrible, Lenyo and Rita head up IC - they have no idea what they are doing. IC is what your promotions, etc are based on. Boy that is a confidence builder!

 

Agree with the last 4 or 5 posts. They put into words many of the things I have been thinking. I am a survivor but I am disgusted. It's time.

 

NSS doesn't moniter sample percentage from my experiance. They shouldn't, its not a sample driven division like garbage CV/MET

 

This is the mind set of the under 35 pharma rep.....behavior driven....no idea about selling because they never had a chance to learn.....too many behavior issues
No knock on them at all...this is what they were taught
Alas, pharma is in the death throws

 

does anybody know what happened in Albany, NY? Who was let go and who wasn't? is A.L. still the manager there?

 

1. Last time I looked, most NSS meds were paid for by medicaid/medicare dollars.
2. Last time I looked at the conservative agenda, crazy people were not worthy of tax payer dollars.
3. Last time I looked, most mental health care facilities in my state and others were closed, sending crazy people to the street.
4. Last time I looked, crazy people rarely know they are crazy, much less know how to williingly seek medical help on their own, follow through on filling a first prescription, much less the refills necessary to keep them from nutting up.
5. Last time I looked, Abilify was on its last hurrah with patent expiration within the next 2 years.
6. Last time I looked, NSS as a division does not currently have any phase 3 drugs in the pipeline.
7. Last time I looked, CV/Met has a nice roster of at least 2 drugs, if approved, that will get me to retirement.
8. Last time I looked, NSS is a walking dead division with that needs to go somewhere, sit down, stop thinking they are all that, and shut the heck up.
9. Last time I looked, we all are in jeopardy, no matter what division you come from. Tighten up the ship and be supportive.

 

it is a bridge to nowhere pharma is disgusting now andhas been for the last 5 or so years

the industry is changed , government rule...no block busters...if you are under 45 and in parma you are phucked

 

Who wrote this? You must be one great sales person. If you do these behaviors or not it doesn't mean your in the bottom 10% or that your a great sales person. Does communicating sell Onglyza? Do our dumb talk points on Compliance sell Plavix? Do Dr's even care about MPG? Oh and I forgot sample% means you actually feel good about a call because you got a signature, not because you sold something! HAHA Give me a break. You have no idea what it means to actually sell. All BS aside.... Medical Sales got it right... Performance and actual real monthly numbers. No wonder they hate pharma reps! It's people like you that have taken our industry from the objective to the subjective. Everyone is so afraid at BMS to tell the truth in fear they might lose their job.

 

I think (hope) the poster was being facetious. If those things are happening to you, it means you have been (subjectively) TARGETED as the bottom 10% whether you are truly in the bottom 10% sales number (objectively) wise or not. The points the poster listed are clues to the rep to start looking.

If those things are happening, you can rest assured that a warning letter is on its way.

That was my take on the post.
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