Salespeople versus the rest of us?
Oct. 8th, 2008 06:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jim_pSo the story is making the rounds about how, despite being in the financial crapper, AIG went and threw a big expensive bash for its top salespeople at a tony resort. Their defense was something about "rewarding and retaining" their best performers.
I'm reminded of a similar thing back when I was working at DEC. They, too, had an annual Hawaiian bash for their top salespeople, and there was some outrage when they continued to hold it in times of mass layoffs and belt-tightening. Again, the line was spouted about the need to reward good performance.
Excuse me, but are salespeople really cut from such different cloth from the rest of us that they need to be coddled in this manner? Down here in the trenches, my reward for good performance is keeping my job. In a good year I might even get a pay raise. Do salespeople really need the carrot of a Hawaiian junket dangled in front of them in order to perform? (To be fair, DEC salespeople were paid salary but no commission, so some *might* say that this reward for exceptional performance was deserved, but still it's a far better reward than mere mortals received).
What is it about sales culture that they don't even think twice about doing this kind of thing even as Rome burns?
I'm reminded of a similar thing back when I was working at DEC. They, too, had an annual Hawaiian bash for their top salespeople, and there was some outrage when they continued to hold it in times of mass layoffs and belt-tightening. Again, the line was spouted about the need to reward good performance.
Excuse me, but are salespeople really cut from such different cloth from the rest of us that they need to be coddled in this manner? Down here in the trenches, my reward for good performance is keeping my job. In a good year I might even get a pay raise. Do salespeople really need the carrot of a Hawaiian junket dangled in front of them in order to perform? (To be fair, DEC salespeople were paid salary but no commission, so some *might* say that this reward for exceptional performance was deserved, but still it's a far better reward than mere mortals received).
What is it about sales culture that they don't even think twice about doing this kind of thing even as Rome burns?
