Well, this will be my first post, but as a female SSR (entry level sales rep for those who may not know the sales rep business structure) I feel the need to explain a few things. First off, like looper84 mentioned already, SSR's are paid on a strict 40 hour ONLY salary. We are considered specialist with no MIP benefits that all other management sees. There have been MANY weeks where myself and my coworkers had so much work to finish when our 40 hours were maxed that we basically volunteer our time. The reason being...we can't let the customer down and ruin our personal reputations in the sales field for 3 hours of unpaid work. One reason you may not see a rep in the center is because we are suppossed to be in the field...that's how you make sales.
At times I feel the SSR role may be the toughest of the sales rep positions. Here are a list of normal requirements for an SSR (at least for my district)
-6 Sales calls per day (30 total for the week minimum)- this makes it difficult for us to focus on making QUALITY sales calls that will in the end grow the business, our main goal. A good sales call can last over an hour plus, however good sales calls lead to a lot of follow-up work including running pricing agreements, technology implementations, and anything else a customer may request (you should hear some of those!
-I have to relocate 6 letter boxes this year, all that have to grow over 2 pieces per day (tougher than it sounds!)
-Remarket 8 letter boxes that lead to a 2ppd increase
-Visit my extended centers and somehow manage to pry leads out of RIGHTFULLY disgruntled drivers (please don't think I dog the drivers, their my favorite people since day one as an OMS, but PLEASE don't take it out on me!)
-And remember, if I have a bad day, I can't show that $hi*, I've got to maintain a smile good attitude...no customer wants to buy from a Debbie Downer. Try that one out on after being dispatched with 150 stops on a day you requested an 8 hour.
...at this point I've realized that there's too much to explain all of what I do, it's so ridiculous how much they can expect from one person to accomplish in a week, but I swear at the end of the week I'm ready to pull my hair out, slam a tall boy or two, and I don't think about work again until Sunday night. Also remember, we take the heat for just about everything and are constantly putting out fires.
Anyways, I could rant all day and defend the sales reps, but I'm sure it varies from district to district, I just know that I try my hardest and do the best I can. I feel I should be paid MORE than just my base salary, which isn't much...don't let the washable JC Penny suits fool you! (Washable to avoid paying for drycleaning!) It's getting draining to be selling and not seeing anything for it, and it's a job in itself to stay motivated each day. At least all others are eligible for SLIM visa $. But I'm just hoping something good will come from my hard work, whether it's with or without UPS.
By the way....I have a gym membership and consider myself in pretty good shape...and my workout buddy is another rep I work with and he's pretty cut. We vent a lot at the gym
We do have a couple fatty's though, I won't deny that, but let's not generalize.