ZB Surgical

Recruiter is claiming $90-$100K base... at plan $200... "territory is in great shape - with good book of business"...

Any of these claims valid?

 

We can't even manage our own books. If they claim there's a "good book of business" ask them to show you. Then hold them to those claims once you realize they were unfounded. Or simply, run the other way.

 

You have been hustled. You are guaranteed that base. A wise man once said, Show your work. While you negotiate your pay ask them to explain your compensation in regards to commission.They'll give you some half ass conversion formula that they don't even understand. Ask them to show you growth percentages in each product category you will carry not only in your territory but across the country. Regardless of territory, you will see negative growth. Ask them to explain in writing and DETAIL your compensation variable. Ask them to show you their sales tracking record. They have no clue. Ask the recon reps that you will depend upon to open doors how they feel about Zimmer Surgical.

If you continue to pursue employment with Zimmer Surgical after that point then you're asking for a world of disappointment. Do yourself a favor and look back on every single post that has been written concerning Zimmer Surgical. We are a dying division based on robbing Peter to pay Paul. We have inferior products and require superior profit to equal out poor management and lack of knowledge when it comes to finance structure. Lastly, go apply with Stryker Instruments if you have any talent. They will you you more with superior products.

 

I'll save you the trouble of having to ask a Recon Rep, whom you depend upon to open doors, how we feel. The minute Surgical cut our commissions to low single digits, we deleted Surgical from our cell phones.

 

You hit the nail on the head.Surgical is a dying breed. With out innovative products. All old products. We have been a making hemovacs since the 60's. Nothing left there they can't make somewhere else cheaper. Still alot of quality issues. Honestly, wished when they merged that they would of spun us off to Stryker. Experienced employees are leaving rapidly and being replaced with unexperienced newbies who think they have all the answers. They profess a new culture. ........all smoke and mirror. If you have no trust and no integrity. ........YOU HAVE NO CULTURE! Hate to see it going down the tubes, but there is no stopping this freight train. THEY ARE NOW TOO BIG FOR THEIR BRITCHES! Absolutely to leadership! From the top down. Employees will never stand behind a company they do not trust. Sad but true.

 

Where is the opening?

 

Universal Power. Nationwide. With an option to include magic.

 

Is it full time magic or part time?

 

The culture is getting worse each year. This might be a good place to start in medical device to get experience but its not a place you want to stay for the duration. Alot of unhappy reps with problems getting accurate and timely sales data and tired of the broken promises of "we are in the process of acquiring/buying" new products. Most of the managers hide out and try to ignore the obvious. Product portfolio gets a big yawn in the innovative/exciting department except for Bactisure which is not the product you are going to make quota with.
Somehow we hit our number in spite of many reps missing their quotas. MAGIC! or Clawback!
Capital is largely tied to compression therapy pumps and the need to sell many Intellicarts, oh and $8,000 dollar tourniquet pumps that you will need to sell. Power is nonexistent. But wait its coming next year. If you want to sell me too, low dollar disposables (compression sleeves, tourniquet cuffs, saw blades, manifolds, pulse lavage water guns (its not made in puerto rico, go take take Brand S's business!) while being held to high quarterly numbers and pressure this is your place. Also make sure you know being put on a plan means.

 

can someone explain the bonus structure

 

There is no true bonus because the bonus money comes out of your at plan commission

 

Great question. So you're offered a base salary. It's not great but truth be told most companies (with legitimate products) don't offer a base worth mentioning. Then there's the good old fashioned compensation plan. In most cases, your commission (at plan) will match your salary. You'll be told there's a great deal of business out there in the pipeline and that the world is your oyster. There is a "bonus" involved but it's essentially your own money held hostage against gains you won't make. Without going into detail let's just say healthcare budgets aren't quarterly driven but your "bonus" certainly will be. You won't get the bonus and this year there's a strong chance 30% of the salesforce hits quota. But somehow, in some strange and mysterious way the division will meet it's goal. This is a doozy called GAAP or Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.We just learned how to count a year or two ago so forgive our past indiscretions. Let's just call it two winks and a handshake for the time being. It's a majestic creature.

Then about 1 month into your position you'll realize that 90% of your product portfolio is terrible and it's track record is mortifying. You'll also realize that most of the products you carry are considered nothing more than commodities at this point. Stryker Sustainability, Cardinal Health, Owens & Minor, Medline, etc., will sell your reprocessed product or a "me-too" to hospital for pennies on the dollar making you obsolete. They don't care about "clinical excellence". They care about the bottom line. Healthcare, after-all, is a business folks. Would you pay $10 or even $3 more for a widget that in all reality is subpar or equal to another product for less if you were signing the checks?

Now, nurses and support staff will absolutely love your new shiny tourniquet (that you need to sell for thousands of dollars) which is comforting until the materials manager and OR Director tells you Stryker has offered to place tourniquets for free as long as they buy their cuffs. Cuffs that are much cheaper than you can offer. However, you must sell capital. It's the name of the game in this market space. So what happens when your competitor offers capital at well below market or even places it for free based upon a disposable agreement?

Long story short, your base business erodes, you can't sell enough capital to make ends meet and your kids start eating corn dogs every day and questioning your ability to bring home the bacon. You'll also start to realize that your "support staff" is nothing more than fresh faced college kids in Dover promised a sales job down the road. They're paid so little that they couldn't care less to process your paperwork, purchase orders, or track down a disaster in your territory. Some have even been brainwashed to think sales reps are living the dream. God bless their little souls.

Did that help explain the bonus structure?

 

based on the last couple posts, it doesn't sound like the recruiter has been too upfront with me. I hear words like "innovative", "market leader", "great culture", but someone is fibbing, either them or the people posting here.
If it is so bad why are all of you there? Obviously something made you think it was good idea to go there and stay there?
As far as the bonus plan, well, it does not sound like there is not one, at least not in the sense of what I consider to be one (based on what I read here).

 

You’re right, there is a structure and there is a quarterly incentive plan that is like many companies out there....this can’t be the worst in the industry. However, just understand that if you don’t achieve your quarterly quota which can be tough due to budgetary purposes or just a slow base business through that quarter, then you will not receive your “quarterly bonus check”. And as mentioned prior, your quarterly bonus check is taken out of your “at plan” commission.

So let’s just say your quarterly bonus is $3000 and your at plan commission is $100,000..if you miss 1 of your quarterly quotas, your new at plan commission becomes $97,000 etc.

Again, this is not crazy and is pretty straight forward as they want to drive quarterly profits for wall st. But also understand that at the end of the year, your quota achievement bonus is ALSO taken out of your at plan commission..so if you miss quota by 1% you lose the complete attainment check, which would be about $10k out of your inital $100,000 bucket. Which now leaves you with $87,000 at plan commission..hopefully this helps! Good luck

 

sounds like its a bonus if you actually get paid "at plan"

 

Who is about to hit their quota and collect their at plan income (errr..."bonus")

 

Does anyone have any info about the open territory in Chicago? Run rate? At plan comp? Previous Rep? Manager?

 

well over midway through the 2nd quarter and nothing seems to be improving here, in fact seems to be getting worse. Apparently, we missed our Q1 number but none of us know because they dont tell us.
Tenured reps are leaving or being asked to leave. Even the Rep of the Year from 2017 has left.... I think they realize Sales Rep II's are not going to make the money they want here and don't care if they leave. They can try to win on price, with our commodity based portfolio, by programming sales rep I's with little experience to go win on price, and paying them less.
How much longer will this be a viable division on its own? The product bag is getting ready to expand but into a market that is saturated with numerous competitors and all have a more well-balanced portfolio in that market.

No numbers/data available to us, or the wrong data? why is accurate data so hard to come by here?
Managers lead by scare tactics because they are scared themselves. Seems they are scared of the guy who is their boss, yet no one knows what he actually does.
From what I hear, I would expect a fair number of reps currently here now, to be gone within a year or less

 

“Managers lead by scare tactics because they are scared themselves. Seems they are scared of the guy who is their boss, yet no one knows what he actually does.”

You just described the entire company right now....When Ray was in charge we all felt part of a team working towards a common goal. Now is more like being in a foxhole, with no CO, and the guys next to you have no interest in watching anyone’s back save their own.

Sad times for what was once THE dominant player in the space.