CONTEST WINS

Contest Wins Do Not Mean Much

My first professional sales job was with Armour Meats selling hot dogs, bacon and other processed meats to grocery stores in Northern California.  Boring job – hated it.  We had a District Sales Force of eight, a Regional Sales Force of 16, and a National Sales Force of 40.  While I was not the lowest ranking sales rep, I was certainly ranked or near the bottom nationally, and was definitely ranked last in our District.

One morning our DM announced a contest,  We had 500 cases of short coded bone – in hams stacked on pallets in our warehouse, and he announced that whomever sold the most hams by that Friday would get a $200 bonus.  I had a grocery chain up in Santa Rosa who loved buying short coded merchandise, and so I called him, told him about our promotion, and he bought 300 cases.

I won the contest- hooray!  But I was still the lowest ranked sales rep in our District, and I held that dubious distinction all the way to the end of my tenure.

Contest wins mean nothing to a Medical Manager.  In their eyes, ANYONE can win a sales contest ANYTIME.  It does not mean that the rep is successful.  It means that either the candidate is lucky, or has a favorite client in which they could unload merchandise.  Or it could mean anything. What it does not mean is that the candidate is a top candidate. The Cleveland Browns are the worst team in the NFL. But if they defeat the New England Patriots in a Sunday afternoon football CONTEST, does that make them a top tier team?  NO.  It means that they were lucky or great for one day.

I have seen many great candidates with superb accolades throw contest wins on their resumes. All that does is muck up the works.  And a great many pharmaceutical candidates throw contest win after contest win on their resumes as if that indicates success in their role.  In fact, many managers dismiss these contest wins as nothing more than resume fillers designed to cover up a candidate’s poor rankings or lack of production. These candidates would be better served if they spoke about revenues, rankings, percent to quota, new accounts opened, market share, etc.

That is what is going to get them in the door.  Does anyone need some ham?

We can help draw out your top accomplishments and display them properly.  Please check out our resume revision packages. And please -your comments and questions are always welcome.  Please check back in for more updaters.