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Patterson Dental

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Anonymous said:
Anonymous said:
I have reservations about this industry. A friend of mine just got fired from a top company. Here is what happened, the manager had an inside sales guy on salary and he wanted to promote him/get him off the books.....)

This is exactly what happened to me & I understand it happens a lot. I didn't believe it until it happened to me, but now I have a new job with a distributor with ethics.
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Which dealer did you go to work for?
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Re: Patterson Dental- Unethical firing

How they fired me after years of great service. **** PLEASE POST YOUR STORY. ****
I know there are lots of you out there that gave this company many years of service. They fired me in my greatest sales year. W2s to prove it. Appears managers may form alliances with certain reps. they mutually protect one another. When they want you to leave they start taking accounts away. DIRTY TRICK. CHRUN AND BURN.

They are hiring because they are getting rid of mature articulate salesmen/women who worked hard for years to build up the accounts. Paid out of pocket for office meals/expenses etc.

They pay new reps less which increases revenue. No future here. You are only as safe as a corrupt manager that has no boundaries in the ethics department.

POST YOUR STORY.............
 




this is totally false. I have been in the indutry for 8 years and the only reps that get cut or weeded out are the ones that are trouble makers or incompetent.

Even the guys I know that are complete a-holes, but SELL, never get touched or questioned. In dental sales, if you produce you stay....PERIOD. (unless you do things unethical or against company code of conduct)
 




Thanks for the honest reply...so you are saying this is a good place/industry to go?
I'm on outside looking in and it seems solid but so did pharma 5 years ago...don't shoot me I am a pharma rep but do work hard and am sick of all the bs I've had to put up with...
Dental appears to be a great move upwards...is this so?
 
















"What is the base salary for the Boston area?" = $ 666.66/mo.

"Anyone know if Patterson cares if you have a DUI on your background? Like 7 years or more old?" = Actually, I believe that is a requirement for employment. You must also fail the mental test.

"What are the base salaries for Pittsburg Region and is it negotiable?" = $ 26.50/wk and you pay expenses and provide car and cell phone. Non negotiable. Still interested?

"Dental appears to be a great move upwards...is this so?" = bwa ha ha ha. If you are lying in the gutter with vomit on your blouse, maybe.

"How they fired me after years of great service. **** PLEASE POST YOUR STORY. ****
I know there are lots of you out there that gave this company many years of service. They fired me in my greatest sales year. W2s to prove it." = Please read Death of a Dental Salesman, Willy Loman, now available on i-pad and kindle or eread on i-phone while in unemployment line.

Boo Hoo Hoo. Losers. Stay with 'Want fries with that.' Enjoy the noodle ramen.
 




Anonymous said:
"What is the base salary for the Boston area?" = $ 666.66/mo.

"Anyone know if Patterson cares if you have a DUI on your background? Like 7 years or more old?" = Actually, I believe that is a requirement for employment. You must also fail the mental test.

"What are the base salaries for Pittsburg Region and is it negotiable?" = $ 26.50/wk and you pay expenses and provide car and cell phone. Non negotiable. Still interested?

"Dental appears to be a great move upwards...is this so?" = bwa ha ha ha. If you are lying in the gutter with vomit on your blouse, maybe.

"How they fired me after years of great service. **** PLEASE POST YOUR STORY. ****
I know there are lots of you out there that gave this company many years of service. They fired me in my greatest sales year. W2s to prove it." = Please read Death of a Dental Salesman, Willy Loman, now available on i-pad and kindle or eread on i-phone while in unemployment line.

Boo Hoo Hoo. Losers. Stay with 'Want fries with that.' Enjoy the noodle ramen.
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Wow, what is your problem? Bad day or unhappy employee of Patterson?
 




Anonymous said:
"What is the base salary for the Boston area?" = $ 666.66/mo.

"Anyone know if Patterson cares if you have a DUI on your background? Like 7 years or more old?" = Actually, I believe that is a requirement for employment. You must also fail the mental test.

"What are the base salaries for Pittsburg Region and is it negotiable?" = $ 26.50/wk and you pay expenses and provide car and cell phone. Non negotiable. Still interested?

"Dental appears to be a great move upwards...is this so?" = bwa ha ha ha. If you are lying in the gutter with vomit on your blouse, maybe.

"How they fired me after years of great service. **** PLEASE POST YOUR STORY. ****
I know there are lots of you out there that gave this company many years of service. They fired me in my greatest sales year. W2s to prove it." = Please read Death of a Dental Salesman, Willy Loman, now available on i-pad and kindle or eread on i-phone while in unemployment line.

Boo Hoo Hoo. Losers. Stay with 'Want fries with that.' Enjoy the noodle ramen.
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this board is meant to be helpful, you obviously are disgruntled or just a poor sales rep.
 




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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Wow I have an interview coming up with Patterson, and I stumbled on this site, and I have to say I'm a little nervous! It's not a sales rep position, and all experience I have had with them has been positive so far, but now I'm just down right worried
 




I am considering a position at Patterson. Can anyone elaborate on what I could expect to make my first year with the base salary plus commissions? It is unclear from previous posts. I have 8 years of successful advertising experience and 40K-50K would not be enough.
 




I am in the South but here is the deal around this area. $35,000 plus expenses for a short time. It is a hard sell now because of internet prices. The dentists want you to match that internet price and visit their office a few times per month. The margins are getting lower and lower.

This is not to say that all reps. are doing poorly some are doing well. Most who are making a decent living have established territories from years ago. If you can make it 3-4 years you should be o.k.

The problem is that management can take territory away from you anytime to give to new hires so they can get them off the books and on to plan 3. I have heard from a former manager that their goal is to put as many people on the street as possible. The problem is that you need hundreds of accounts to get a good territory. This is all about market share. PLEASE do not compare yourself to veterans of the business. Everything is different now.

Best wishes to you. I personally would invest the time somewhere else.
 




Anonymous said:
I am in the South but here is the deal around this area. $35,000 plus expenses for a short time. It is a hard sell now because of internet prices. The dentists want you to match that internet price and visit their office a few times per month. The margins are getting lower and lower.

This is not to say that all reps. are doing poorly some are doing well. Most who are making a decent living have established territories from years ago. If you can make it 3-4 years you should be o.k.

The problem is that management can take territory away from you anytime to give to new hires so they can get them off the books and on to plan 3. I have heard from a former manager that their goal is to put as many people on the street as possible. The problem is that you need hundreds of accounts to get a good territory. This is all about market share. PLEASE do not compare yourself to veterans of the business. Everything is different now.

Best wishes to you. I personally would invest the time somewhere else.
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You would suggest the time elsewhere, where do you suggest? Manufacturing rep? I came from pharmaceuticals and that is drying up too.
 




I honestly believe going to school for RN, OT, PT or pharmacy would be a better use of time. 4 years will pass while you are building your territory. If you use those 4 years for a health care job or building your own business some greedy self serving manager will not be able to take your territory away at the drop of a hat. You lost your pharma job didn't you? You probably did a good job and now you are trying to rebuild. I am sorry things have changed but I think if you are not the academic go to some obscure school and get a healthcare diploma. Even respiratory therapist make more than beginning dental reps. and they went to community college which is a viable option. HAVE SOME PORTABILITY. If you speak with ALL veteran reps. they will tell you the market has changed in significant ways. I think most people should count on 1/2 their previous salary. Do not get a MBA right now. I wish everyone the best and hope that most will return to school and get a degree where they can market something that can not be bought on the internet. Ex. dental hygiene / barber/nurse.
Good luck...
 




I have read many of these post, and can agree, and disagree with many of them. I have been selling something or another for my entire career. In that time I have been a top producer, or at least the top 10% in every job I have ever held. I discovered the Dental industry by mistake while looking for something in the medical industry. (Same business model.) After doing an extensive amount of homework on my own, and talking with several dental distributors, I chose to go with Patterson. I cannot speak for every branch, but I have had a wonderful experience. Has it been easy? No! Has it always been fun? No!

The people that are successful in this business must have thick skin, and understand that things worth having are not "given" to you. You have to be self deciplined, and patient. I took a complete scratch territory and built it up to quite a successful territory in less than 2 years. I should double what I did last year at the pace I am tracking. I didn't do it by sitting around complaining. It has to be done by hard work, period!

I could sit on here and bash Schein, Burkhart, Holt, Benco, Midwest, Patterson, or whoever. The fact of the matter is that they all have positives and negatives. Do your homework, find where you are a cultural fit, and if your not willing to work your ass off at any of them......choose another career.

I hope this helps some of you that are on here wanting to know what it is really like. This career has been the most humbling of any I have ever had, but I believe in the end it may be the most rewarding. I was used to going straight to the top of the sales force in every other career I have had. This is much different, and you must understand that going in. It is a slower process to build long term relationships, and win accounts from reps that they may have been working with for 15-20 years.

Best of luck to you!
 








Anonymous said:
I have read many of these post, and can agree, and disagree with many of them. I have been selling something or another for my entire career. In that time I have been a top producer, or at least the top 10% in every job I have ever held. I discovered the Dental industry by mistake while looking for something in the medical industry. (Same business model.) After doing an extensive amount of homework on my own, and talking with several dental distributors, I chose to go with Patterson. I cannot speak for every branch, but I have had a wonderful experience. Has it been easy? No! Has it always been fun? No!

The people that are successful in this business must have thick skin, and understand that things worth having are not "given" to you. You have to be self deciplined, and patient. I took a complete scratch territory and built it up to quite a successful territory in less than 2 years. I should double what I did last year at the pace I am tracking. I didn't do it by sitting around complaining. It has to be done by hard work, period!

I could sit on here and bash Schein, Burkhart, Holt, Benco, Midwest, Patterson, or whoever. The fact of the matter is that they all have positives and negatives. Do your homework, find where you are a cultural fit, and if your not willing to work your ass off at any of them......choose another career.

I hope this helps some of you that are on here wanting to know what it is really like. This career has been the most humbling of any I have ever had, but I believe in the end it may be the most rewarding. I was used to going straight to the top of the sales force in every other career I have had. This is much different, and you must understand that going in. It is a slower process to build long term relationships, and win accounts from reps that they may have been working with for 15-20 years.

Best of luck to you!
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best post i have read.
 




Recently interviewed for a Territory Sales Representative position in California. After reading these boards, I'm wondering what percentage is true vs. disgruntled ex-employees. Territory is brand new, building from scratch. Does anyone know the salary range, benefits (how long after you start do they kick in), car allowance, cell phone allowance, PTO, etc. I've heard salary is guaranteed for a few years, but then does it switch to 100% commission? Or does it go to lower salary/high commission potential? Any (valid) input is much appreciated.
 




Anonymous said:
I am not a math whiz but I am good and my job and with my customers...I got so fed up I just started guessing. It was hard! And the situational questions were a joke!
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You probably wouldn't be a good fit for patterson if you can't get through the test. I'm just saying...
It does require somewhat of an IQ to do this job.
 




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