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Patterson Dental

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Anonymous said:
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!
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As an employee of Patterson Dental, this is dead on. 50-60K starting salary + expenses depending on how much dental sales experience you bring to the table. Plan on taking 3 years to go from this plan to the new Growth Plan. Average salary of a Patterson Dental Sales rep is 110K...however, most new reps will not have the patience to make it past the frustrating years.
 








I think they are firing or demoting senior people to pave the way to hire less experienced people at a lower pay scale. Because of competition the margins are getting lower everyday. Managers have to make their big salary so they cut back on their reps. salary. If it is more money in their pocket they will take from you to pad their pockets. Think about it....low margins will lead to cuts in salary. Instead of laying off people you cite low performance. This is dependent on how greedy your manager is. Not everyone is unethical enough to do this but some are. BE WARNED!
 




Anonymous said:
I think they are firing or demoting senior people to pave the way to hire less experienced people at a lower pay scale. Because of competition the margins are getting lower everyday. Managers have to make their big salary so they cut back on their reps. salary. If it is more money in their pocket they will take from you to pad their pockets. Think about it....low margins will lead to cuts in salary. Instead of laying off people you cite low performance. This is dependent on how greedy your manager is. Not everyone is unethical enough to do this but some are. BE WARNED!
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This is a ridiculous statement. Sales rep are on 100% Commission after their ramp up period. Everybody is on the same pay scale so why would you fire an experienced sales rep to bring in an in-experienced rep and pay them a ramp up salary??? You are speaking out of your ass.
 








I disagree with the previous comment on the ramp up salary. It is commonly cited that that salary is 1/5th to 1/4th of what a more experienced rep. makes.

2). Everybody is paid on the margin and margins vary.

3). If you have a weak economy labor will be relatively inexpensive compared to other more lucrative years.

4). If the products are similar as dental products are then one could argue that bringing in a lower cost labor force would be a top consideration.

Don't lie to people...this happens all the time and you can spin it anyway you want but it still undermines the hard workers in a company.
 




Anonymous said:
I disagree with the previous comment on the ramp up salary. It is commonly cited that that salary is 1/5th to 1/4th of what a more experienced rep. makes.

2). Everybody is paid on the margin and margins vary.

3). If you have a weak economy labor will be relatively inexpensive compared to other more lucrative years.

4). If the products are similar as dental products are then one could argue that bringing in a lower cost labor force would be a top consideration.

Don't lie to people...this happens all the time and you can spin it anyway you want but it still undermines the hard workers in a company.
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Why would you fire a sales rep who is producing and on full commission to bring on an inexperienced rep 40-50k/year????

The experienced sales rep has the relationship with the accounts and is getting paid commissions on margin - NO SALARY, NO CAR ALLOWANCE, NO GAS ALLOWANCE.

What percentage of Patterson Accounts buy from Patterson because they like Patterson as a company? What percentage buy from Patterson because they have a good relationship with their sales rep? I think you know the answer to these questions.

So what you are saying is that you would fire a 3 million dollar rep to bring in an inexperienced rep and risk losing 3 million in sales???

Besides all of that, do you know how much it costs to bring on a new employee? with drug testing, background checks, 2 weeks of paid training in MN, Benefits, etc...
 




Would Doctors stay if someone did not offer them cash incentives and extended free service for up to 5 years?? Wow that sweetened the deal.

How can it happen? Easy money, use the inside support staff's yearly bonuses to payoff the doctors.

I doubt this is supported by corporate?
 




I was the number one rep in my company on new business and I was sacked. I bought in more money than territory reps, but they just looked at how much money I made and assumed people could come in and handle the accounts.

So I was fired for not sending an email to my boss!!!??! It is insane. They are trying to cut bottom lines and I just don't get it. I was bringing in hundreds and hundreds of thousands and it was all new business.

Sometimes companies dont look at the information that they have instead they look at your cost and thats it. When did business change like this? I have never witnessed or been in such a position all my life.

Anyway I am now going after all my accounts and I have already won three of them back and I will close a 400,000 deal in 2-3 weeks once their contract is up.....enjoy those apples.

I think I will leave my calling card for my old employer.....?....?
 




They fired me after the best year I had with the company. W2s will prove it. They have your order history in the computer so it is easier for the new person they send in. Have other reps. had this experience? ***Please post your experience. I think this is going on widely in the company. I know of at least 7 fired or forced out in my branch. Everyone should know about this, it is unethical to say the least. I wish you all the luck in the world with your new job. It will take some time but I will not give up. Unethical management will hurt this company. Once people learn that the company is doing this no one will feel safe. No one is safe. They can break up your territory at your expense. **I paid my own expenses and built up those relationships. If they need to pay a lower salary I can understand that. Demoralizing good sales people to save a few dollars is not a winning strategy.
 




Can you say which business office(s) is/are doing this to reps who make a lot of money? What kinds of things are they using as an excuse to fire you? I have an interview with the company and don't want to pursue a job that cuts you as soon as you start earning. Tx.
 




So..... it is widespread that Patt is cutting reps with no justification and not just regionally? interesting... Patterson is definitely a douchy company to work for with lots of neo-political factions that you need to be able to navigate to survive in.
 




I am going in for interview tomorrow after passing all of the exams. The previous written messages concern me. I have heard nothing but great things about Patterson from friends in the industry including people that have worked for them for over 15 years. I already have a job offer at another company but wanted to keep an open mind and continue on with the interview process. My concern is that you usually only read negative comments on these blogs, most people that are happy don't take the time to write on these message boards.
 




to previous poster... after your interview my advice would be to think long and hard about taking the position....only do it if you are desperate for money. It basically has no long term career arc... even if they do give you a decent base up front, you will get a crap territory, and be treated as a 'rookie' for your first several years...babied along and micro managed by your branch manager, many of whom are douchebags by nature. In addition, you will be constantly pushed to sell Cerec and other technology which normally would be fine but at the same time you will be expected to pump up your sundries (supply) business as well, which is extremely difficult to do with the ridiculously high Patterson prices that they charge the customer. As a rookie, you will be expected to go along with whatever program the douchebag branch manager wants you to attend... most of which are a complete waste of your time. Most of the other sales people are not from the dental industry and while some are nice, others are really just one step above a used car sales person, which actually suits the position quite well because it is one of the farthest things from consultative sales that you will find in the industry. You will be expected to work with the manufacturer reps, and they will bend over to help you sell their products which on the surface is nice, however after a while you will be bombarded with useless info and boxes and boxes of their literature in their attempts to influence you, as well as having your douchebag manager force you to attend non productive networking events with those reps a few times a month. You will be given no practical real-world sales training, unless you consider the spin that they will choke you with during your 2 week training at the corporate office to be "sales training" lol. If you have not called on dental offices before it will take you at least a year to learn how it works and who to talk to, how to get in there and make an impact. In general as a dealer, you will be looked down upon by many dental offices, particularly those who hate Patterson due to problems that they had with the previous reps who were assigned to their accounts before you got them in your newly assigned crap territory. You will be assigned to work with a Cerec rep and also a Tech rep, which again on the surface sounds fine, but you will quickly find out that they are probably nowhere near as good of a sales person than you are, are hardly "consultants" and are just out for the sale as quickly as they can get it. Thats not to say they are all bad, but at least half of them are and would be just as well suited working at the local Toyota dealership. So good luck.
 




btw...the 15 year Patt vets "love" it because it is easy for them....Patterson was quite a different company and the industry was different when they started... but by now they have stuck around building their book of business and it is easy for them to just live out the remainder of their old age as order-takers. These vets typically are not hassled by the douchebag branch manager like the rookies are. In fact, they are not required to do much at all since they are all on straight commission by this point. There is a huge split in age differences between those veteran reps and the rookies and many of the old timers are a bit odd to say the least, and good luck getting any reasonable mentoring from them because if they do offer mentoring, in my experience it is tied to them using you to cultivate more leads for them if they are struggling. Massive egos among many of those vet reps, and if you are looking for a true picture of the way it will be for you...spend time talking to a lot of reps who have been there 3 years or less, if you can find any of them that are not fearful of talking to you about how it really is. If you can wade through the bs and keep a smile on your face, dont mind all of the mindless corporate time wasting that you will be asked to do...and can go out and sell...than that job is for you.
 




Anonymous said:
to previous poster... after your interview my advice would be to think long and hard about taking the position....only do it if you are desperate for money. It basically has no long term career arc... even if they do give you a decent base up front, you will get a crap territory, and be treated as a 'rookie' for your first several years...babied along and micro managed by your branch manager, many of whom are douchebags by nature. In addition, you will be constantly pushed to sell Cerec and other technology which normally would be fine but at the same time you will be expected to pump up your sundries (supply) business as well, which is extremely difficult to do with the ridiculously high Patterson prices that they charge the customer. As a rookie, you will be expected to go along with whatever program the douchebag branch manager wants you to attend... most of which are a complete waste of your time. Most of the other sales people are not from the dental industry and while some are nice, others are really just one step above a used car sales person, which actually suits the position quite well because it is one of the farthest things from consultative sales that you will find in the industry. You will be expected to work with the manufacturer reps, and they will bend over to help you sell their products which on the surface is nice, however after a while you will be bombarded with useless info and boxes and boxes of their literature in their attempts to influence you, as well as having your douchebag manager force you to attend non productive networking events with those reps a few times a month. You will be given no practical real-world sales training, unless you consider the spin that they will choke you with during your 2 week training at the corporate office to be "sales training" lol. If you have not called on dental offices before it will take you at least a year to learn how it works and who to talk to, how to get in there and make an impact. In general as a dealer, you will be looked down upon by many dental offices, particularly those who hate Patterson due to problems that they had with the previous reps who were assigned to their accounts before you got them in your newly assigned crap territory. You will be assigned to work with a Cerec rep and also a Tech rep, which again on the surface sounds fine, but you will quickly find out that they are probably nowhere near as good of a sales person than you are, are hardly "consultants" and are just out for the sale as quickly as they can get it. Thats not to say they are all bad, but at least half of them are and would be just as well suited working at the local Toyota dealership. So good luck.
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you sound like a disgruntled ex employee who couldnt hack it in the dental world. if you would have spent as much time working as you do writing crap about Patterson, perhaps then you would have made some money.
 




Actually those comments are very welcome here as they represent an insightful and truthful look at what it is like to work for that company. Since many people here may be considering working for Patterson, it is vital to them that they see a real world view of how things work over there. Those comments are not alone as others here have echoed similar sentiments. Keep em coming.
 




Anonymous said:
Actually those comments are very welcome here as they represent an insightful and truthful look at what it is like to work for that company. Since many people here may be considering working for Patterson, it is vital to them that they see a real world view of how things work over there. Those comments are not alone as others here have echoed similar sentiments. Keep em coming.
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I am not sure what you mean by "real world" being that this never happened at my branch. Our employees are very happy and dont have these types of issues. Patterson is a decentralized company which means each branch is run as its own business. To speak about Patterson as a whole is wrong, to speak about a specific branch or manager is very understandable.

Patterson is a great company to work for, always has been since 1877.
 




Anonymous said:
to previous poster... after your interview my advice would be to think long and hard about taking the position....only do it if you are desperate for money. It basically has no long term career arc... even if they do give you a decent base up front, you will get a crap territory, and be treated as a 'rookie' for your first several years...babied along and micro managed by your branch manager, many of whom are douchebags by nature. In addition, you will be constantly pushed to sell Cerec and other technology which normally would be fine but at the same time you will be expected to pump up your sundries (supply) business as well, which is extremely difficult to do with the ridiculously high Patterson prices that they charge the customer. As a rookie, you will be expected to go along with whatever program the douchebag branch manager wants you to attend... most of which are a complete waste of your time. Most of the other sales people are not from the dental industry and while some are nice, others are really just one step above a used car sales person, which actually suits the position quite well because it is one of the farthest things from consultative sales that you will find in the industry. You will be expected to work with the manufacturer reps, and they will bend over to help you sell their products which on the surface is nice, however after a while you will be bombarded with useless info and boxes and boxes of their literature in their attempts to influence you, as well as having your douchebag manager force you to attend non productive networking events with those reps a few times a month. You will be given no practical real-world sales training, unless you consider the spin that they will choke you with during your 2 week training at the corporate office to be "sales training" lol. If you have not called on dental offices before it will take you at least a year to learn how it works and who to talk to, how to get in there and make an impact. In general as a dealer, you will be looked down upon by many dental offices, particularly those who hate Patterson due to problems that they had with the previous reps who were assigned to their accounts before you got them in your newly assigned crap territory. You will be assigned to work with a Cerec rep and also a Tech rep, which again on the surface sounds fine, but you will quickly find out that they are probably nowhere near as good of a sales person than you are, are hardly "consultants" and are just out for the sale as quickly as they can get it. Thats not to say they are all bad, but at least half of them are and would be just as well suited working at the local Toyota dealership. So good luck.
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While the above is cynical and not written in a positive light, it's not false, and depending on the area of the country and particular make up of the branch, it could be dead on.

If you are getting a scratch territory, it's not easy. If you are hired and given an established territory, and/or someone dies, retires or gets fired, it's MUCH easier.

Patterson is a great company, but there are many reps who fight and scratch for years just to make 60-80K.
 




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