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My version of 15 by 15

You are naive if you think the CEO, top leadership, the marketing team and DCO's bust their asses for the millions they make. Corporate life is a game of survival by any means necessary. It is not about who works the hardest will get the most success. I don't know how some of the leadership can live with themselves by exercising tens of millions in options each year while the company continues to struggle and lay good people off. Maybe if Merck stop over paying the people who don't go out and sell to the customers each day and gave back that money to the constantly downsized salesforce, maybe the reps would work harder and feel more invested in the company. Who wants to give 100% to a company who lays off reps every year and rewards leadership with million dollar comp packages that do very little to actually bring in revenue to the company. Why don't you go whine to leadership about that or better yet, do what makes you happy because those of us who decide to work less are fine with it considering how Merck treats its reps.

You espouse the typical sales misnomer. The salesperson does not "bring in the revenue", the products do. Whenever revenue is down the blame falls on the quality and the competitiveness of the product. When the product is sells well you somehow believe it is about you. Both facets of this company are doing poorly.
 






Well, if you are talking about " sales" then you are right. Truth be known, they are not needed at all , much less 15. Everyone knows that. The " results" you think you " produce " are debatable. Everyone knows that too. Reps are a huge expense, and an even bigger liability. Their ROI is low, becoming more and more insignificant. The question now being answered is what to do with them? The answer is loud and clear. Get rid of 'em. Then you can " be there for your family" as much as you want. Just come up with a good line as to why they can't have the new house or vacation that your wife wants, or the car or the school the kids ,want when it's time. We may have different definitions of what we think our obligations are. My requirements require more than less than 40 hour work week. But your requirements maybe getting by with less and making do. Sometimes that's a hard sell to the family, but hey, you' re in sales. You'll think of something to tell 'em.

First of all thanks for your concern. Life is not about a new house or vacation. It's about love and caring. I don't need to come up with a good line for that. How was your day. We woke up , when to church to give thanks for everything we have. My wife made some great lobster bisque. We did math and reading with our kids. I organized my tool box with the help of the kids. That took longer with their help. :) Built a model car. We watched some chopped on the DVR together. Normally on better days we go outside. That did not cost to much. When the kids go to sleep my wife and I will have some fun. Sounds boring but if that's boring I love it. Tangible items come and go. The intangibles last a lifetime and are pasted down from generation to generation.
 












You are naive if you think the CEO, top leadership, the marketing team and DCO's bust their asses for the millions they make. Corporate life is a game of survival by any means necessary. It is not about who works the hardest will get the most success. I don't know how some of the leadership can live with themselves by exercising tens of millions in options each year while the company continues to struggle and lay good people off. Maybe if Merck stop over paying the people who don't go out and sell to the customers each day and gave back that money to the constantly downsized salesforce, maybe the reps would work harder and feel more invested in the company. Who wants to give 100% to a company who lays off reps every year and rewards leadership with million dollar comp packages that do very little to actually bring in revenue to the company. Why don't you go whine to leadership about that or better yet, do what makes you happy because those of us who decide to work less are fine with it considering how Merck treats its reps.

On a thread about how people don't work you whine about layoffs? Weird. What do you care? Most of you aren't working that much anyway. You think Merck doesn't already know that? Oh, yeah, "15", you want to keep getting paid indefinitely and rewarded for doing almost nothing. There's that entitlement mentality again. I look at the year-end report, revenues, returns, dividends , I don't see a company that's struggling. I DO see a bloated, over paid, under achieving sales force that's struggling. I do see a smaller general medicine portfolio that doesn't need all the sales people dedicated to it. I do see growth in speciality areas, like oncology. But chances are if you are in that division you wouldn't be on this thread because you'd actually have something to do. I do see a company with too many mouths to feed, so it still needs to trim the hedges. I'm sure that management sleeps just fine when they realize they are returning shareholder value. Work less until you work at Merck no more. Fine. You'll find something else or you won't. The sales rep is not so bad off , 401k, pension, severance, ect. If he's smart, but many aren't. You are hired to sell what you have, if you don't, can't or won't, or you don't have it anymore, you're not needed. That's how sales works. It's not a commune. It's a business.
 






Thanks for the details. No one cares, but I hope your kid passes math and your model car looks good in his room or whatever for what it's worth. Try Facebook. They may care.

That poor guy does not understand the Merck culture. I know one where they have a special needs child and was more concerned about upgrading their house rather than the needs of their child. I think that other poster was European or something. He was not born here. That's easy to tell. Who gets to church anymore? I don't know how they stay in business.
 






The only danger of being a 15, particularly if you have been with Merck for a long time, is if that 15ing is all you are. If you are not using some of your extra time to build new revenue streams or obtain education and skills for today's world, then when the ax falls (and it will), you will have nothing but a very impressive brag book of your accomplishments as a master buggy whip maker in a world of 3d printed automobiles.
 






I'm a self-described "15". It's not possible to be more wrong in your assessment of me. Perhaps it applies to some 15's, but certainly not me. I don't whine about anything. I don't belong to any culture, I just know that Merck has thrown every person I've ever respected here under the bus and I fully realize I can be next. So I decided to buy a business and I spend far more time working on that than I do here. After all, this job is looking very temporary. I'm not a victim and nobody owes me anything. To say that the "entitlement crowd" makes me sick is an understatement.

You can spew whatever trash you like. You can assign whatever labels you like. The simple truth is that Merck has long since lost its way and lost the trust of many once-loyal employees, myself included. I've watched them destroy more lives than I care to remember over the last ten years, without so much as a blink. I believe this company is evil to the very core and I'm more than happy to give them the minimal effort in return for their minimal loyalty. I don't feel bad about that one little bit. When I leave, I will be leaving with a smile, knowing that I have won. My colleagues that didn't better prepare for their departure have all given me the advice to do EXACTLY as I am doing.

I don't care what you or any any other Merck loyalist thinks. I only respect the opinions of intelligent people. With your lack of vision, you obviously don't qualify.

FU MERCK

Bingo! Winner! (Certainly not a whiner…)
 






This I agree with. Merck " destroyed lives"? Too melodramatic, and just not true. I was laid off by Merck, in the depths of the recession. Shocked,disappointed, afraid? Yes. Shake my fist and curse the whirlwind and blame the " evil" corporation? No. I had a severance, pension, 401k, went and found another job and survived. The 15's were kept, still had a paycheck and STILL chose to NOT work. The Merck safety net is a hammock for some. ANY change to the comfy, cosy, cushy pillow, they don't like.You are right. The model is obsolete. Has been for almost 20 years. Some can adapt. Some can't. My impression of the whiney 15 is that's someone who can't. They have no other skills. It's a fuller brush sales model in a Wal-mart world. That's really the source of their anger and frustration. Trust me, I've been with many pharma co.s, they ALL treat their sales focus the same more or less." Merck lost its way"? Not really. Go somewhere else. This IS the way. Merck people were spoiled and shielded from the reality of real corp. life. They didn't know it, now reality hits, they don't like it. I've been treated much worse by companies before and after Merck. Could be it's not them. Could be its " you." Hence " 15". Good luck with that plan.

Have you been to the Fuller Brush website? It's actually really impressive. You didn't even get that much correct, let alone anything else.
 






Here is the 15 in his natural habitat. Here is typical Merck. " I was the most decorated Merck rep, in history" blah,blah,blah. " I was a 15."

Translation: We all know the numbers are bogus ( hence " 15") oh, BUT MINE were valid! I wasn't a " poor performer"!
Sure. You and the DM play golf togather during the week while everyone else made calls? Then at the end of the year all the " decorations" went to you, to the puzzlement of the rest of your district? Is that how it worked? Most likely.

Which is it? It can't be both. You can't throw rocks at the system, at Merck, at the " numbers" then turn around and brag about how GOOD YOU were. It doesn't work that way. If it's all bogus , then so are you. But you don't get it. Probably never did. You frankly and obviously don't have the head for it. You were so good you didn't have to work out at it? Sorry ain't buying. Yeah, and there's a bridge in Brooklyn ...

This is THE example of "Merck sense of entitlement. " - I deserve every thing that came my way even though I never worked very hard." Say, how many were in your " cluster." Sounds like someone was pulling the numbers, it just wasn't you. You just took credit. Seen that all too often too. But I'm sure all your , err, " decorations" still decorate your wall.

You read a whole lot into that guy's post that simply wasn't there. He's right; you are an idiot.
 






Have you been to the Fuller Brush website? It's actually really impressive. You didn't even get that much correct, let alone anything else.

That's right because people order off the website. They don't use sales people anymore . I read a book a couple of years ago and it said there as ONE fuller brush salesman in the entire world. He's probably retired by now, and there's none, as will soon be with Merck. That's the point you idiot. God, you are stupid. Go apply there, after Merck cans you.
 






You read a whole lot into that guy's post that simply wasn't there. He's right; you are an idiot.

Oh , OK, Mr. " I am an ambiguity mind reader" you tell us, what was there?

The point is you 15ers brag about not working, which by definition means your job is useless, it doesn't matter if you're there or not, which means any " numbers" are bogus but then you try to turn around, using the same bogus numbers thinking it proves how good a sales person you are. Sorry. Dichotomy doesn't square. You are an idiot if you think it does, but you'll find out on interviews. Let's try it in reverse since you are re-medial. The " numbers" are bogus, you don't matter, which means you are SO disposable and expendable. I don't care if you are 15. But you can't come on here and brag about all the awards you've won, how good you are, how skilled you are. The numbers are bogus, your job is bogus, the " awards" are bogus, you are bogus. Be 15, cool, whatever , but you can't BS a BSer. You should have got a real major instead of " marketing." Now you are just waiting to be canned in your bogus job, so you can, hopefully, if you are lucky, land another bogus sales job. That's the definition of idiocy if you ask me. Either way, you're screwed.
 






Oh , OK, Mr. " I am an ambiguity mind reader" you tell us, what was there?

The point is you 15ers brag about not working, which by definition means your job is useless, it doesn't matter if you're there or not, which means any " numbers" are bogus but then you try to turn around, using the same bogus numbers thinking it proves how good a sales person you are. Sorry. Dichotomy doesn't square. You are an idiot if you think it does, but you'll find out on interviews. Let's try it in reverse since you are re-medial. The " numbers" are bogus, you don't matter, which means you are SO disposable and expendable. I don't care if you are 15. But you can't come on here and brag about all the awards you've won, how good you are, how skilled you are. The numbers are bogus, your job is bogus, the " awards" are bogus, you are bogus. Be 15, cool, whatever , but you can't BS a BSer. You should have got a real major instead of " marketing." Now you are just waiting to be canned in your bogus job, so you can, hopefully, if you are lucky, land another bogus sales job. That's the definition of idiocy if you ask me. Either way, you're screwed.

Blah, blah, blah blah.

When I leave this sh!thole, I'll lose $150K in annual income. Of course, that's less than half of what I currently earn.

Oh the beauty of being prepared. I guess that Marketing degree isn't so bad after all. (just kidding. Never took Marketing.)

God bless the 15's.
 






Have you been to the Fuller Brush website? It's actually really impressive. You didn't even get that much correct, let alone anything else.

Wow, how dense. What sales model is STILL using door to door sales people, which is what pharma reps basically are? If you think you will get more than 5 years in this industry cold call knocking on doctors doors, with your " fuller brush" sample case you are denser still. It's a 19th century selling model. Was outmoded about 20 years ago. You missed the window. The glory, big money days of pharma are long over never to return. You missed your window. If you are a 15, using this time for " career development" trying to improve yourself you're smart. If you are doing this behavior because you just don't want to work, you want to play more golf ( like the original 15 guy) you are lazy and stupid.
 






Wow, how dense. What sales model is STILL using door to door sales people, which is what pharma reps basically are? If you think you will get more than 5 years in this industry cold call knocking on doctors doors, with your " fuller brush" sample case you are denser still. It's a 19th century selling model. Was outmoded about 20 years ago. You missed the window. The glory, big money days of pharma are long over never to return. You missed your window. If you are a 15, using this time for " career development" trying to improve yourself you're smart. If you are doing this behavior because you just don't want to work, you want to play more golf ( like the original 15 guy) you are lazy and stupid.

F off troll, you know nothing about reps or sales Now go shovel shit on the farm immigrant inbred
 






























It is not about working harder. Its about modeling honesty and character for your children. If you want to "raise them right" as you say. Or maybe you believe in "do what I say, not what I do".

Want to model something for your children? Start a business and grow it. Show your horrible employer that you don't sit around like just another Merck rep, praying not to be the next to get shoved out, and clearly tell your kids that they should never grow up to be reliant on some hellhole like Merck. Also, let them know that cleaning Merck's clock for around a half-million or so (and growing every day) on your way out the door is a display of poetic justice. I can't stop smiling. I wonder how big that number will get?

FU Merck.
 






Want to model something for your children? Start a business and grow it. Show your horrible employer that you don't sit around like just another Merck rep, praying not to be the next to get shoved out, and clearly tell your kids that they should never grow up to be reliant on some hellhole like Merck. Also, let them know that cleaning Merck's clock for around a half-million or so (and growing every day) on your way out the door is a display of poetic justice. I can't stop smiling. I wonder how big that number will get?

FU Merck.

Another generation with no character. Nice legacy.