What's your take on this situation?

09:38 AM

So there's only two sales reps at my company. Myself and a guy that started one month ago. It was painfully obvious from day one the my manager really likes this guy. We're talking man crush here. The new guy has several years of experience in the field and he's really a great guy. But the boss is crossing the line, in my opinion.
I start each week feeling like I can get through this if I only do my job well. After the sales meeting on Friday I'm completely discouraged by this favoritism. As an example, today in the meeting the new guy reports that he has two sales - one is held up by a no-compete legal mess, and the other is contract only and no check. Neither count as a sale yet. The boss was giving him the atta boy treatment for it, too.
I reported that I had not only sold two systems, but they were paid for in full and one of them was already installed and trained. I got nothing. Silence. Crickets chirping.
I haven't been in this job all that long myself - five months, to be exact. I've done alright in that time, but I was alone, since I replaced a fellow who retired and my mentor left the company 30 days after I took the position, leaving me with almost no training or mentoring, because the boss was always "too busy to help me." But the new guy starts and you almost can't separate them. He's in the boss' office being trained and mentored an average of 3.5 hours every day. I can't even get him to respond to my emails.
This isn't exaggeration, either. I'm trying to paint the most realistic picture, because I really need to know what you think I should do. So that's the big question. What should I do?
I could confront the situation, I could ignore it and try to "grow thicker skin," or I could start looking for another job. I just don't know.

Any input would be helpful right now.

Mr. Paul
I don't have a lot of experience with your situation, personally. However, these things have a tendency to work themselves out. In the one time that I was in your situation, I tied to stay focused on my role and that was to follow the selling process and generate business. Based on what you are sharing, the boss might not be the boss for very long if the situation continues. In sales, performance speaks louder than words and I say, keep focused on selling the way you have been and seek wisdom from outside channels.

Mr. Paul,

Are you a sales person or a sales professional? Like a physician a sales professional is constantly honing his or her skills regardless of the situation, circumstances or environment. There will always be favorites in any kind of human to human situation.

The beauty of being a sales professional is that you can vote with your feet. Sales professionals are always in demand, even in a recession.

It's your choice what you want to be.

It sounds like a frustrating situation for you. I don't blame you for being frustrated.

I agree with Steve. If you can hang in there awhile, my guess is that you'll be in a better situation to accurately evaluate this job in a few months. At that time you can decide if you want to stay.

I would recommend reading "The Dip" by Seth Godin (also on CD). It's a very short read (or listen), but it's all about deciding to leave or stay, even when you're in "The Dip". I've recommended it to a lot of people and I've gotten lots of good feedback from people who got something from it. It sounds like it's tailor-made for your situation.

The best to you...

The bottom line is, who's making the sales? It sounds to me like you are trying to compete with this guy. When you compete, you are coming from a lack mentality. The only competition is with in your self, to become the best you can be.

Get over it and celebrate your own accomplishments.

Thanks for the replies. You've helped me boil this situation down to finding another source for recognition and validation. That's too bad. I guess we can't all have great bosses, eh?
Jim, could you clarify what you mean by a "lack mentality?" I'm not sure I understand you completely.
Skip, I'll be looking for "The Dip" today.

	#1
Mr Paul	What's your take on this situation? So there's only two sales reps at my company. Myself and a guy that started one month ago. It was painfully obvious from day one the my manager really likes this guy. We're talking man crush here. The new guy has several years of experience in the field and he's really a great guy. But the boss is crossing the line, in my opinion. I start each week feeling like I can get through this if I only do my job well. After the sales meeting on Friday I'm completely discouraged by this favoritism. As an example, today in the meeting the new guy reports that he has two sales - one is held up by a no-compete legal mess, and the other is contract only and no check. Neither count as a sale yet. The boss was giving him the atta boy treatment for it, too. I reported that I had not only sold two systems, but they were paid for in full and one of them was already installed and trained. I got nothing. Silence. Crickets chirping. I haven't been in this job all that long myself - five months, to be exact. I've done alright in that time, but I was alone, since I replaced a fellow who retired and my mentor left the company 30 days after I took the position, leaving me with almost no training or mentoring, because the boss was always "too busy to help me." But the new guy starts and you almost can't separate them. He's in the boss' office being trained and mentored an average of 3.5 hours every day. I can't even get him to respond to my emails. This isn't exaggeration, either. I'm trying to paint the most realistic picture, because I really need to know what you think I should do. So that's the big question. What should I do? I could confront the situation, I could ignore it and try to "grow thicker skin," or I could start looking for another job. I just don't know. Any input would be helpful right now. Last edited by Mr Paul : 03-28-2008 at 09:38 AM.

	#2
Steve Martinez "Top Sales Expert"	Mr. Paul I don't have a lot of experience with your situation, personally. However, these things have a tendency to work themselves out. In the one time that I was in your situation, I tied to stay focused on my role and that was to follow the selling process and generate business. Based on what you are sharing, the boss might not be the boss for very long if the situation continues. In sales, performance speaks louder than words and I say, keep focused on selling the way you have been and seek wisdom from outside channels. __________________ Steve Martinez, Selling Magic

	#3
gstebbins "Top Sales Expert"	Mr. Paul, Are you a sales person or a sales professional? Like a physician a sales professional is constantly honing his or her skills regardless of the situation, circumstances or environment. There will always be favorites in any kind of human to human situation. The beauty of being a sales professional is that you can vote with your feet. Sales professionals are always in demand, even in a recession. It's your choice what you want to be. __________________ Gregory Stebbins, Ed.D. Peoplesavvy http://www.peoplesavvy.com/

	#4
Skip Anderson "Top Sales Expert"	It sounds like a frustrating situation for you. I don't blame you for being frustrated. I agree with Steve. If you can hang in there awhile, my guess is that you'll be in a better situation to accurately evaluate this job in a few months. At that time you can decide if you want to stay. I would recommend reading "The Dip" by Seth Godin (also on CD). It's a very short read (or listen), but it's all about deciding to leave or stay, even when you're in "The Dip". I've recommended it to a lot of people and I've gotten lots of good feedback from people who got something from it. It sounds like it's tailor-made for your situation. The best to you... __________________ Selling To Consumers Sales Training to Sell More™ Free sales tips newsletter at www.SellingToConsumers.com

	#5
Jim Klein "Top Sales Expert"	The bottom line is, who's making the sales? It sounds to me like you are trying to compete with this guy. When you compete, you are coming from a lack mentality. The only competition is with in your self, to become the best you can be. Get over it and celebrate your own accomplishments. __________________ Jim Klein - The "Sales Advisor" Helping salespeople achieve mastery, come "from the heart" and positively impact lives with perfect solutions. http://www.fromtheheartsalestraining.com

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