Network: 1976 Redux? Have Things Really Changed?

TSB doesn't have to tell you things are bad.  Everybody knows things are bad.  People are out of work and scared of losing their jobs.  The dollar doesn't buy you squat, spine companies have gone out of business, or have been merged, shopkeepers keep guns handy in event, spine sales people are running wild, and there's no one anywhere that knows what to do.  The air is unfit to breathe, and food is unfit to eat.  We sit at night watching the news and have some local newscaster tell us we had fifteen homicides and forty-one violent crimes, while the economy melts down, and Congress dicks around with the future of this country. We know things are bad, maybe worse than bad.  No one wants to sell, no doctors wants to see your products, hospitals are building a moat around their complex to keep you out, insurance companies don't want to approve your surgery, and you can no longer play by the rules.  Rules?  What rules?  Everything goes.  It's like everything, everywhere is going crazy, so we don't really work that hard anymore.  Just leave us alone.

Well you know what, TSB is not going to leave you alone.  We want you to get mad.  We don't want you to protest, you're a generation void of any social conscience, we don't want you to riot, you wouldn't be able to handle the mayhem, we don't want you to write your Congressman or Senator, because most of them are never at work.  We don't know what to do about the depression, oh yes, by the way who ever came up with the "great recession," the Middle East, and crime in the streets.  All we know is that it's time that you get mad.  You've got to say, I'm a salesperson and I am not buying a doctors office lunch anymore.  God damn it!  My product has value and I am sick of feeding the herd at every surgeons office for the opportunity to genuflect, kiss the ring, and then get nothing more than lip service.  We want you to get up, stop your cars, open your windows, and we want you to yell, "WE'RE MAD AS HELL AND WE'RE NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE."  THINGS HAVE GOT TO CHANGE. There will be no more $300 dollar lunches, no feeding the herd.  The doctor needs lunch?  Buy him a sandwich, you're not selling to his staff.  After you do that, then we'll figure out what to do with the debt ceiling, raising hedge fund managers taxes, and speculators playing with oil prices.  But first you've got to say, "We're mad as hell and we're not going to take this anymore."

No fellow bloggers, it's not Howard Beale.  Oh Howard, if only you were running Zimmer Spine or even Orthowreck.  TSB is blogging in response to an e-mail that was received from a fellow salesperson regarding the absurdity of making a sales call and having to buy an entire office lunch for an opportunity to discuss one's product, and the potential of doing business. The result: "we have many hurdles to jump over before we can even consider using the product." WTF does that mean?  Considering the price of gasoline, the cost of parking, and lunch, its a wonder that many of you are not out there making sales calls. C'mon, how many of you are really making sales calls?  In all likelihood you are trying to sell between cases in the hospital where the surgeon has no time, unless of course he's your consultant, or best friend.  Companies want you to sell their products and increase revenue, yet, they don't have marketing collaterals, launch products without ancillary instrumentation, and have unrealistic expectations for growth, just go and read another marketing report.  The bottom line is if you really want to effect change, start out by boycotting the staff lunch.  They might be nice people, but what do they have to do with buying the product, you, and the potential relationship that you may foster with a customer?  If there ever was a place to start, now may be the time.