POLYMEDCO????

I've had a phone interview with this company and am scheduled for the face to face interview this week. Does anyone have any experience with this company? I'm making a move from software sales trying to break into medical device sales. I see this as a stepping stone once I establish a track record in Labs. The past couple years I've had grossed $85 - $90k in software....what is the real $ expectations in Lab diagnostics? Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

My friend, my friend, my friend. I worked for Polymedco for almost 2 years. And I hate to be a typical cafepharma whiner, I really do. But this is the honest to God truth, you can make your own judgments: Polymedco has a 90% turnover rate. I started in 2003. There were around 30 reps at that time. Out of that 30, there are now 2 of that original 30.

Supposedly, the sales makeup has changed. They have a small number of outside reps, but the majority of the reps sell from their Chicago office over the phone. The bread and butter of our sales was in reagents for existing competitive equipment; Dade, Olympus, Beckman, etc... However, with the introduction of the PolyChem (a worthless piece of shit) the outside reps are to solely focus on that. I sold four Polychems before I left. I got in touch with a friend in customer service in their New York headquarters... she said three of the four were returned because the customer wasn't happy with the way they ran. They sell these things for $100k, when it only costs them about $5k to make. Your commission is nill compared to their margin.

Your success would depend on your tolerance of their BS and your ability to lie to your prospects. Personally, I had a real problem with that, especially when patients' health was at stake. But I was so afraid of getting canned, that I did it anyway. No matter how successful you are, you wake up every morning with the fear that by the end of the day, you won't have a job.

The two owners of the company are Drew Cervasio and Pete Welsh. You never hear from Drew, he's in NY. But Pete, you hear from ALL THE TIME. The only president of a company I know that calls the reps to harrass them about what they're doing with their day. If you miss one month's numbers, you're on notice. The second month, you're gone. It's that simple, although if you're only selling polychems, it may have changed.

One positive thing, though. Recruiters love Polymedco reps. I would have a message from a recruiter at least once a week. So when I left, it was easy to find another kick ass job. I personally helped a recruiter take away three of my fellow poly-hell-co reps away.

Do yourself a favor, run. Run as fast as you can away from Polymedco, you'll thank me.

 

It's been over 1 year since this was posted. Does anyone have any recent information about this company?

 

I doubt much has changed. I'm glad I read the feedback. I sent them a resume and got a call the next day. I won't be applying for the position based on what I've heard..

 

i interviewed and decided it was not for me. i could not find one customer in my territory that used their stuff.

 

I have been with Polymedco for over 1 year. The company is leading the nation in a new non-invasive Colon Cancer Screening test. The reps that contribute to the previous high turnover are your typical non-selling pharma reps. It takes a true salesperson to thrive at this company not someone who is looking just to sample drop. If you are serious about selling there is money to be made here, if you are not then you wont last 3 months.

 

I think Polymedco products are great. Please contact me at JSeibert@clslabs.com and forward info about that new test.
Thanks
Jim

 

First of all- Polymedco is not a good company to work for. If you want a company that respects you, that values the whole work/life balance, and that is fair, this is definitely not the right company for you. Let me put it into perspective for you, I have been here for less than a year (mind you, the only reason I am here is to gain medical device exp and go elsewhere) and there has been over 26 rep turnovers for only 36 territories. What does that tell you? Previous, outstanding regional managers have left b/c the Vice President of Sales and his "know-it-all" son who is also a regional manager think they run the show!! This company has a lot of hope...but it just doesn't have the right people in place on the exec team. If you have any questions, when the little blonde 20 year old calls you from the Chicago office make sure you ask her about the turnover issue at this company and see what she says!!
Nobody in this company is happy!! Ask anyone....

 

I worked for Polymedco several years ago. Sounds like things haven't changed. They had a high turnover when I was there. It's too bad. I didn't realize it until I left, how much I disliked the job. I was focused and quite successful, but they could be ridiculous with their demands. They churned and burned many great sales people. The experience did put me in a great position when I left there however.

Does anyone know if Tom Welsh still works there? He was my Regional Manager and a real nice guy.

To anyone who may in the future consider Poly, my advice is to go into it with a 12to24 month game plan. Get the Medical Sales experience and move on.

 

Who is the VP of Sales? Is it Pete Welsh or his son Jay? Jay had just graduated from college when I worked there. I could see where his ego could be an issue. What about Tom Welsh? Is he still there?

 

I, like most people worked for Polymedco very briefly. I don't know any Rep who has worked there for any long period of time. In fact since I left everyone that I knew at the company has moved on. In brief, working for Polymedco was the single worst experience of my life. They expect their reps to sale products without any type of support. I hardly ever could get firm pricing for my customers and technical support was weak as well. I never had a firm bonus or commision plan when I worked there. Everything seemed to change weekly or daily. The company had no business strategy what so ever and used fear as the main motivating factor for it's employees. I have never been more micro-managed in my life. I was not uncommon for a manager to call my cell phone at 8:00 or 9:00 at night or on a Sunday and want to role play my next day's sales call. I have never role played more in my life. I also thought that the tactics that they employeed we ethically very questionable. We were tought in training how to call the Doctor's offfice and pretend to be a paitent in order to get someone on the phone. There was absolutely no quality of life or work / life balance and the travel required was way more than they stated in the interview process. I was even told that they liked to keep their reps on the road beacuse they were more likely to work more hours if they were away from their families.
I am however grateful for a few things from my experience at Polymedco. It has made every job that I have had since then seem like a little piece of paradise and every manager that I have had since then seem like a dream to work with. My advise would be to run away very, very fast. Unless of course you would like to punish yourself for the next two years, because that's about the most time you will last.

 

Come on people, Polymedco is not nearly as bad as everyone is indicating. Is it difficult? Yes. Are there challenges? Yes. Are thing perfect? No. Polymedco is what it is, a small private company with an innovative product line and limited marketing assistance. As someone else posted “it takes a true sales rep” to succeed here, you have to put in a good amount of hours, stay focused and work smart you will succeed. If you can sell there is an uncapped commission plan with 6-7% going to the rep on every sale. Over 30% of the sales reps are awarded Presidents Club which includes a trip to the Bahamas. In summary if you are willing to put in the hours and can sale you will succeed here and make a lot of money if can’t you’ll take your experience and find something easier, as with anything in life you get out of it what you put into it. Stay positive.

 

I just found this site. I wish I had seen it before I had taken my job with Polymedco. It might have deterred me from taking the job, or at least forced me to ask some better questions and not just take everything they told me in the interview process at face value. Almost everything in the interview process that they told me turned out to be only partially true. Be very careful. If they talk about comissions in general terms or percentages, as to see a firm pay plan or commission table in writing along with your territory plans and goals. When I was there the commission plans changed almost every week it seemed and I never quite knew what I would be making. They always quoted very high numbers and I never made anything close. Also, ask very detailed questions about the amount of travel they require. That ended up being a whole lot more than they lead me to believe in the interview process. Also, ask about training and support. Their training program was very weak and almost like they made it up as they went a long. All in all, for a quality sales person, there are many many other better places to work out there. Places that offer more money, better training, better support, better management and clearer objectives. Make sure you ask them about their turn over rate and how long their average sales person has been with the company. This is a pretty good indicator I think of what type of a sales organization they are. If things haven't changed, I'm willing to bet that they have turned over their entire sales force yet again over the past year. Personally I would look elsewhere, there are many better sales organizations out there.

 

Stay Far Far Far Away from this company. Working here was the absolute worst decision I have made in my entire life, both personal and professional. They are the most, unprofessional, unethical, and morally off base group of people I have ever come across in my life. The avarage sales rep last less than a year. You are seriously better off with any other job out there than with this company.

 

I have been at Polymedco for almost one year and I did see many of the negative items that have been previously mentioned, but in recent months I have seen a change in the right direction. The goal of any sales rep is to have a quality product to sale and to get paid a reasonable commission for it. The products that Polymedco are high in quality and are now finally been perceived that way from the customers. The future is much brighter now for Polymedco then it was when I joined less than one year ago. If you are considering this job I would only take it if you can manage your own territory and can sell to high-end targets (not just your Family Practice Doctor down the street). Trust me the money is there you just need to be smart aggressive and persistent. Good luck with the search

 

Like most, I lasted a short time at this "great" company (of course, could'nt sell- ie lie and badger). I clearly remember my first day in the field and being told by my manager not to go into any office or account that had one of thier instruments. Why ? the accounts were steamed because the "stellar" product did not work and they did not want to face the doctors or staff because they did not want to be responsible for shipping the product back and taking the deduction hit.

Believe the posts above. Polymedco has had numerous openings for sometime now since no one will take the job due to the limited time of employment and product line. If you do take a job, Enjoy the sales trainer. Scwint, smile, liquor- in that order.

 

The common thread that I can identify with all the posts on this site is almost everyone spent way too much time complaining and not enough time selling. This is not a pharmaceutical sales job where everything is given to you; this is a sales job where you have to work to get paid. They pay is far better then most entry & mid level medical jobs but it does take someone who is self-motivated to excel at it. I would guess that 95% of the negative posts on this site were form people who got fired so evaluate their comments accordingly. For those who were able to stick it out things have never been better at Polymedco. The products I sell are well received and the sales cycle is a lot shorter then it used to be. I’ve been here a couple of years and I am on pace to break $100,000 this year, and I honestly think that is just the tip of the iceberg. It’s not easy here but it is rewarding

 

Sounds like one of the execs caught wind of the onslaught of butchery to Polymedco and decided to post some "positive" remarks. Nice try...not buying it. For those of you who want to know the truth about Polymedco, just keep reading. In all honesty, the main product they continue to push is a great product. It has a clinical edge over the competitor's product and is recieved well in the medical community. The whole problem is Polymedco is such a small company they do not have the clout of a Boston Scientific or J & J to make in-roads at the teaching universities where the thought leaders are practicing medicine. They like to think a douche-dick named Jeff Goodman has all the connections and can sell the product like Tommy Boy. Well, NEWSFLASH, he is the most unprofessional person I have ever worked along side with...PW should do his company a favor and drop that guy!

Also, the company is unwilling to spend money on marketing the product, thus putting all the honus on the rep's backs to market and sell the product. Obviously, the upper mgmt. has never heard the old adage, "Spend $1 on marketing, see $7 returned in revenue." So, that is why you see a lot of rep turnover...the reps DO IT ALL! No support system whatsoever....

The good news about Polymedco, as stated in a previous reply, is the recruiters LOVE Polymedco reps. They know the reps are burned out and underpaid thus looking to jump ship. So, the light at the end of the tunnel is usually a better medical sales job. I have to give thanks for the experience Polymedco gave me too bad they don't have their shit together to keep the good reps!

 

Holy SH!T.

The violence, the hatred, the truth!!!

Short and simple is that this job is not for everybody. The truth is that this job is not for most people. I left about a year ago (on my own), but was a top salesperson for the company. If you are not currently in medical sales and have a chance to interview then the answer is easy, INTERVIEW. The turnover is as high as every says it is, but that is good also. This shows that if you come over to the company and suck it up you will have a lot of opportunity if or when you decide to leave. Pete Welsh the President has over stayed his welcome and that is known by the entire company including the NY staff. If you have medical experience and they are offering a crap load of money then use your best judgement. Will money outweigh the stress you are about to receive (and if Pete is still running the company then you will receive stress).
If you have experience except nothing less than a 55k base
If you are an entry level rep coming into the field 42k base

Happy job hunting!!!!

 

I just found this thread and there is a lot of truth written here. Here are a few items about my Polymedco experience:

- The job almost destroyed my family. There is absolutley no Work / Life balance. The company and it's managers have no respect for personal time or space. I should have clued in in the interview process when the manager said that he needed to "see my home office." What is that about? What kind of professional wants to go into your home as part of the interview process. The travel will be way more than they tell you upfrount. There will be late night and weekend conference calls. My manager used to call me to "role play" the next days sales calls at 9:00 p.m. or on Sundays.

- You will get no support in your sales process from the company. Many times I was out selling product that I could even get pricing for. Try selling a product and having absolutley no idea of the price. Talk about loss of credibility.

- Their training program seemed as if they were making it up as they went along.

- Every other sales rep. that worked there with me has since left the company. I think most lasted less than a year. Many quit without any other job lined up. That's how bad it is.

- They trained you to decieve customer to get in the door.

- The commission plan changed almost monthly. The always promised big money. It never came.

- They are a HR nightmare. While I was there I heard upper management make many sexist and racist comments.

My advice would be to under no circumstance take a job with this company. The only good that came of it, is now when things get bad, I can tell myself it's not near as bad as when I was with Polymedco.