Base plan reps, describe your typical day

Interviewing for a scratch territory position and would like to hear how your daily routine goes?

Just looking for a realistic idea of how this job is. I hear its a grind but would like to hear from you.

Thanks!

 

I recommend reading the almost 250 posts on the thread right below this.

My only question to you is....how old are you? If you are over 30, don't even think about taking this job. You are going to be given the absolute dregs of your branch's "customers". You will get all of the dogs and deadbeats that no other TM wants to deal with because they are deep in bed with a Schein or Benco rep or they are so cheap it isn't even worth going into the office. There is a reason no existing TM is fighting for anyone on your list. They've already taken whatever real business the previous TM had that left.

But if you have no better options, you can scrape by on the base plan for 2-2 1/2 years. But don't believe the BM when he says he has several tenured reps who will be retiring in the near future. That's 99% BS and even if it is true, you won't be the one getting any of his accounts. They will go to the other tenured reps that are buddies with the BM.

You've been warned.

 

I agree with the above poster... A little negative but very true. There is a ton of information throughout the threads here on CP. Here are a couple of my posts from a few years ago when I worked for Patterson that might give you a better idea about what the job entails:

The dealer rep job is different than any other job in the industry. Although you are an employee of the company you work almost like a contractor. The upside of that is that there is no cap on pay - top reps in the companies make upwards of 200-300k. Mind you these are the top 10 in each company and there are probably several thousand dealer reps at any given time. About half of the reps in my branch (13 total) make over 100k, but you have to work your ass off for a couple of years to get to that point. The top rep locally makes 15k/mo. After the initial business development period much of your business is residual so you might not have to work so hard at continually trying to prospect for new business.

With your background I would suggest that you negotiate with the manager and see if you can get a 50k or so base and an established territory. It is hard to get established accounts when you first start because they are not available for you unless someone has just left the company or retired. The current base comp plan gives you 5% of the GM of anything you sell as a bonus.

Patterson is a good company overall, with a good philosophy about taking care of the customer. Burkhart has a very similar business model.

The opportunity might be good or might not be worth your time. It is very dependent on the territory and the manager. Make sure you do your homework first before taking the job!

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Patterson is a distributor, so the products you sell are manufactured by other companies (Kerr, 3M, Dentsply, Coltene Whaledent - to name a few). You basically have several thousand products that you can sell. The idea behind a dental distributor is that it makes no sense for the dentist to purchase products seperately from every manufacturer out there, so you are a middle man that gets them what they need from one place. It is supposed to be a single source solution. You also sell equipment, software and technology products, although there are specialists that help you with those sales (and who get about half of the commission from them).

Depending on the area you are in Henry Schein will be your main competitor. Other competitors are Burkhart and Benco. Unfortunately there is little differentiation between the consumable products each company sells. The main differences are in the equipment each company sells. Patterson sells a lot of A-dec, which Schein can't sell, but they sell a lot of Pelton & Crane equipment which Patterson cannot sell. Burkhart sells both lines. As far as digital x-rays go, Patterson has an exclusive with Schick and Schein has an exclusive with Dexis. Patterson owns Eaglesoft (a practice management software), Schein owns Dentrix and Burkhart sells Daisy exclusively.

Each company differs in the technical service they offer as far as equipment repair, installation and support. You should ask dentists in your area who they use and why - that is usually a good place to get info and most of them are friendly enough to give it to you. Patterson has a lot of great tools to help you give your customers great service, but they are stronger in some areas than in others. In the stronger areas it will be easier for you to get and retain customers because they will probably have a good reputation in that area and the customers won't switch from you because of a problem with service or something else beyond your control.

This is a relationship based sale so it does take some time to get your territory off the ground if you are not given any established accounts. Generally people will stick with you after you hook them though, because you know their practice and you know what they use and the type of service they like to get. A lot of customers will stick with their dealer rep for most of their career unless they really mess something up.

It's an entreprenurial position in a sense that you choose when to see your customers and how often, as well as which products you would like to promote at any given time. There are no activity trackers and (this one is crazy) no quotas. Your manager determines how well you are doing - but they want you on full commission as soon as possible. I think 2-3 years is generally a realistic amount of time for that.

Sorry for the novel but there is a ton of info. Hope this helps you!

 

Crying during the day and heavy drinking at night.

 

Realizing I was lied to (despite due dillegence).

Realizing 50% of my accounts were exactly what those at corporate said I should never set foot in.

Realizing my largest accounts had been swiped while I was in training and the branch manager would be of no help- and would not give an adequate / honest explanation of what happened.

Realizing that if my 'viable' accounts (actual DMDs- even though in collections / had never purchased from a major distributer / worked part time for a nother DMD owned by another rep) purchased 100% of thier products from me- I still wouldn't wouldn't earn enough $ to get off of base.

Realizing that the things in my control were far more minimal than I had been led to believe.

 

There is a reason that so many posts state “don’t take this job unless you are in your 20’s”.

The reality is this is one of the very few truly entrepreneurial (good) sales jobs out there.

However, almost everything folks are saying on this site is accurate. The probability you will grow your territory from 100k to 1.2M quickly enough to allow yourself to effectively transition off of the base plan is very very slim. Tenured reps do not give up accounts, quit, retire, or get fired very often. The most likely scenario for 85% of base plan reps is they quit their first year, or they stay until they are transitioned off of the base plan. At that point they quit because they can’t earn enough to cover their draw. It’s a great set up for Patterson because it eliminates the need to fire or layoff reps – avoiding litigation and/or severance.

If you are one of the 15% that survives past the base plan, you will end up making anywhere from 40k to 60k / year after expenses during the following years. Eventually, with time and if you work hard, you will grow your business and slowly raise your income. Most tenured reps (10-20 years) end up earning between 85k and 120k after expenses.

So, if I could do it all over again I wouldn’t have taken this job. There are a ton of other sales jobs where you can earn much more income with less headaches in a much shorter amount of time.

 

"So, if I could do it all over again I wouldn’t have taken this job. There are a ton of other sales jobs where you can earn much more income with less headaches in a much shorter amount of time."

Well said.

No Doubt, you will be pilloried by unexperienced desperate wanna bees out there looking for anything else but working a kiosk at the mall or a retail clerk at Sports Authority for minimum wage.

Retail just sucks worse than ever for anyone with authentic sales talent and demonstrsted dental knowledge and experience.

To the rest of, F u c kk yourself.

 

Avoid this position at all costs

I took this position and worked it for a few years. Was given nothing so to say and when reps quit, the senior reps were given even more? Why would you not give to your base plan reps to get them off of base sooner?

Anyways, parted ways with Patterson and got a job with higher base, company car, expenses, etc.

 

In all honesty, I think that's their plan. I got to a point where I was able to go full commission without being handed shit, and now wishing I had jump shipped before I was sent out to the wolves. If you have one or two bad months, you're screwed and in the hole. I unfortunately had some huge returns by shady Dr's (go figure) and just now got of the hole after 5 months. Without expenses it hurts big time. Patterson knows this and assumes these people are going to quit and will give you accounts to the veterans that have been there for 10 plus years. Almost seems like a pyramid scheme. So far, every rep I've seen that has been taken off of expenses quits within 1 or 2 years. One of these days these unethical practices will catch up with them.

So yes, don't take the job. Stay where you are and get into a position where you don't have a draw and get expenses for the duration of your employment. This is not a long term job. If you do take the position, do it for 2 years for the experience and the get the hell out.

 

It's easier to stick with it and make your way up to management instead of giving up after a few years. Unfortunately I've never come across a business that didn't have competition. Starting any business whether it's a restaurant, clothing store, marketing co, or a medical co requires a lot of had work and is not without risk. The weak don't make it at any company. Many younger people believe they are owed an easy life with no need to struggle or put in a huge effort. These people fail at this company. People who have a good attitude understand that starting and running a business is a lot work have a much better chance of making it. Sorry that you couldn't cut it, you should look within instead of trying to blame the company for your failure.

 

"Sorry that you couldn't cut it, you should look within instead of trying to blame the company for your failure."

That means a lot coming from an anonomous poster who reccomends staying in a hopeless situation to eventually get to 'management'.

Another glowing example os Why retail is the dead-end it is.

The previous bilge was probably written by a branch manager in Keokuk.

Put your head in the oven and turn the gas ON high.

 

Hey dickhead. Who the hell said I failed? I grew my territory from $0 to $1.5 million in 3 years without being a kiss ass. It must have been nice for you sucking off your boss and getting a bunch of accounts handed to you. All I'm saying is that once you're put on full commission, there should be some kind of extra compensation such as paying gas, not taking away mileage, etc. It's a tough gig once you get taken off when your sundries sales barely covers your draw. Have fun drinking the kool aid and make sure to get those knee pads shined up.

 

Uh, the problem with your "this is a business" analogy is that it is totally false. Being a Patterson rep isn't like "running your own business" except the paying all of your bills part of it. The BM controls "your" business and can take accounts away at any given time. You aren't your own boss, either.

You are either a BM or someone who's been there 15+ years and is the beneficiary of all these reps who "couldn't cut it".

 

Absolutely correct and well said.

 

So, to sum this up, we all agree the job and the organization s u cks ?

 

Noone makes any money here no matter what the sales position... This is the worst job I have ever had and is pretty much laughed at on the resume.

 

Game, Set, Match.

Case closed.

Next topic.

 

Agreed. Having trouble getting into medical device sales which I really want to do because of having Patterson on my resume.. My advice to you is, if you can, get into an entry level medical device position and the sky should be the limit for you in the future. Patterson is a dead end unless you inherit a territory doing $800K to $1mil in supplies a year,

 

You would be better off not taking a job like this because of opportunity cost. You should be building a skill set that has more opportunity for future growth. This is not the business that it used to be and it is virtually impossible to create a territory that will sustain you after you move to commission only sales. This is NOT your own business. That is a lie.

The manager can and will take business away from you to pad the accounts of new hires.

Look at the turnover rate on these positions. I am sorry to say this but it is the truth and it may help someone avoid the traps of these immoral managers. All sales jobs can be challenging. Most goods can be bought on the internet.

Working for this company is a mistake. Most supply sales are like this. Margins run lower everyday.

What incentive does a company that pays you 100% commission have to help you manage your time and operating expenses?

If they cared at all about their employees they could pay base plus commission.

Funny....you pay all your operating expenses and your sleazy manager calls all the shots. CHURN AND BURN is the new motto of this business. They will run you to death for 2 years... lie to you constantly and set you up to be fired because you do not meet some ridiculous quota.

 

"They will run you to death for 2 years... lie to you constantly and set you up to be fired because you do not meet some ridiculous quota."

Nicely said, and I believe it to sum up perfectly the 'New Normal' in dental outside territory sales across the board.

Ask anyone who was in the implant space during the tremendous growth period of the early 90's how their typical day is today (IF you can FIND anyone from the era left on duty).

I chose to taper off and semi-retire early (luck me, huh?, no, thank living below my means and prudent rental real estate investing over many years, not to mention advancing age and reduced tolerance for dental B.S. ) rather deal with the little Hitler Youth punks 'running' (ruining ?) these once vibrant, challenging and sometimes great sales organizations moving forward. I HATE micromanaging and being micromanaged, fold stapled and mutilated.

I feel for the younger people working their as ss es off now, No future and No Money for these fascist creeps. I cannot even imagine in my worst nightmares working for places like Patterson or even worse now, being in wholesale calling on the same lame brain dullards.

The Worst and the Dullest.

I feel lucky to have been around long enough to have been in the right place at the right time a couple of times over a career....

Good Night and Good Luck.