CraigSca
12-08-2003, 12:14 PM
Well, 'tis the season, I suppose.
A little background - I work as a Pre-Sales Technical consultant for a professional services/proprietary hardware company. The consultants are paired with salespeople and we mutually schedule customer meetings, etc. There are a few offices, but most of us work out of our homes.
My manager called me last week and asked if I'd be available on Monday for a meeting. He would be in the area, visiting a local office and meeting a few other people as well. I had nothing scheduled, so we decided to meet at the airport. I rarely see or hear from this guy, so I was a little dubious. Well...he comes in as I'm scheduling follow-up calls with potential customers later in the day. He tells me to take my time...I do, and eventually end my call and meet him for lunch. As we sit down, out pops the thick envelope and the words, "It's always hard to do this..." One of the most surreal moments of my life. I kept it professional, but I did let him know that I never liked hearing from him, because whenever I did, it was bad news.
I had a SUPER first quarter (150% of quota) and pretty good second quarter. Third quarter for the entire area (the entire Northeast) STUNK. For the year, I'm above quota and on schedule to make President's Club. Yet, I am gone. The company bought our main competitor in April, had a large layoff because of this in June, and I guess this is the pre-Christmas follow-up (ho, ho, ho!).
I'm 34, and I've been there since I was 25. I was told it had nothing to do with performance, it's based on the new direction of the company, number of people the area could support, etc. Yada, yada, yada.
I've seen 3 CEOs come and go, 7 VP of Sales, 4 Area Sales Directors. It's all about customer relationships in this business as the top people don't stick around too long. Sigh...not really sure what to say. It just STINKS.
A little background - I work as a Pre-Sales Technical consultant for a professional services/proprietary hardware company. The consultants are paired with salespeople and we mutually schedule customer meetings, etc. There are a few offices, but most of us work out of our homes.
My manager called me last week and asked if I'd be available on Monday for a meeting. He would be in the area, visiting a local office and meeting a few other people as well. I had nothing scheduled, so we decided to meet at the airport. I rarely see or hear from this guy, so I was a little dubious. Well...he comes in as I'm scheduling follow-up calls with potential customers later in the day. He tells me to take my time...I do, and eventually end my call and meet him for lunch. As we sit down, out pops the thick envelope and the words, "It's always hard to do this..." One of the most surreal moments of my life. I kept it professional, but I did let him know that I never liked hearing from him, because whenever I did, it was bad news.
I had a SUPER first quarter (150% of quota) and pretty good second quarter. Third quarter for the entire area (the entire Northeast) STUNK. For the year, I'm above quota and on schedule to make President's Club. Yet, I am gone. The company bought our main competitor in April, had a large layoff because of this in June, and I guess this is the pre-Christmas follow-up (ho, ho, ho!).
I'm 34, and I've been there since I was 25. I was told it had nothing to do with performance, it's based on the new direction of the company, number of people the area could support, etc. Yada, yada, yada.
I've seen 3 CEOs come and go, 7 VP of Sales, 4 Area Sales Directors. It's all about customer relationships in this business as the top people don't stick around too long. Sigh...not really sure what to say. It just STINKS.