Former Drug Sales Rep Tells All (LYNN)

[Guest guest]

Maybe the person wasn't after "big money" only the truth. Once he got the goods, he bowed out so he could tell the tale...

True enough that money makes the world go round but even I know a few people that just want enough to get by and would rather not have all the cash...

 

Kenneth T

 

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Lynn Ward

Saturday, April 05, 2008 5:50 PM

Re: Former Drug Sales Rep Tells All

At 04:18 PM 4/5/2008, you wrote:I KNEW someone was going to send this.......I got it earlier along with the rest of Mercola's articles, and frankly, it made me laugh.........just a couple of comments. What do people think sales reps do? Part of what he talked about is common in most industries. Sales men or women smooz potential customers. Take them to expensive dinners. Whatever. Depending on the dollar value of what they're trying to sell - the goodies get better as the value of the account goes higher. But, as an aside, some docs don't take anything more than a couple of samples, or pens, or mugs - or things like that. He said he'd "heard talk" about helping pay for a pool - I doubt he had any proof, or actually knew anyone who did that. If he had, he would have said so. Remember too, that that sort of thing is against the law - so IF anyone did do it, they would be pretty circumspect about it.As far as the salaries go - sales people in just about any industry are often the most highly paid - that's how the company makes it's money! Of course they get bonuses and so on......But, I'm willing to bet, this guy couldn't make the cut - that's why he's not doing it anymore. He probably didn't even make whatever quota they had, or what they considered to be standard for someone like him. Do you really think he would have given up such a lucrative job by choice??So, while some of what he said may be true, bear in mind you're hearing it from someone, who in all probability, didn't live up to the expectations they had of him.........so they canned him.........sounds like a severe case of sour grapes to me.......Sales people who are good at what they do, can make an extraordinary amount of money.....Lynn

Dr. Mercola's Comments: Shahram Ahari must be one of the drug companies’ worst nightmares; he is one of the few who has witnessed the corruption firsthand, and then moved on to speak out about it.By now, it’s old news that drug companies use extreme sales tactics to influence doctors’ prescribing habits, but to hear the extent of just how far things go -- buying doctors’ swimming pools or using sexual innuendos to make sales -- is still shocking."The nature of this business is gift-giving," Ahari said, and indeed it seems that in the world of pharmaceuticals, everything has a price. http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/04/05/former-drug-sales-rep-tells-all.aspx

[Guest guest]

At 01:45 AM 4/6/2008, you wrote:

Yeah...........right.........like I so believe someone would

" infiltrate " a company by going into sales.......I'm sure

you've known salesmen or women - there are certain personality

characteristics which make one a good salesperson. And I'm not talking

about Joe Schmo selling hardware.......or Betty at the dress

store.

Plus, if you want to " get the goods " on a company, sales isn't

the place to do it - someplace in management is usually where the secrets

are stored........

I've known a lot of people who are satisfied to just get by - of course,

most of them didn't have much of a choice, but I've known a couple of

people who quit high-paying jobs to live the " simple " life -

usually they've gone through some mental changes, or acquired some

beliefs..........

But, sorry - I don't buy it - I'd be curious to know what the

" whistle blower " was doing now.............I'll tell you one

thing - he wouldn't be able to get a job in any of the pharmaceutical

companies, nor, probably a bunch of others either. News travels fast.

And, as I said, if he actually DID have proof, he would have said so.

Nope. I'm willing to bet he wasn't a salesman for very long - because he

couldn't cut it, rather than all of a sudden growing a conscience. Plus,

he probably knew from the get-go what was expected and what he would need

to do to try and sell his product. If nothing else, they would have gone

over it in training........

One other thing - companies don't hire just anyone off the street and

start them at $50,000 plus perks, bonuses, etc., as he asserted he was

making. New salespeople start off lower, then get more and bigger bonuses

etc. after they've proved themselves. If, and I say if, he actually was

making that kind of money, he would already have been a seasoned

and proven salesman.......or, at the very least, have been

" blooded. "

Lynn

 

Maybe the person wasn't after

" big money " only the truth. Once he got the goods, he bowed out

so he could tell the tale...

True enough that money makes the world go round but even I know a few

people that just want enough to get by and would rather not have all the

cash...

 

Kenneth T