4 ms·

"Because you need to earn a living for one thing. " Then make a better product, a more valuable product.

MisterBastahrd 13y ago
Perhaps you should learn something about sales instead of being so incredibly obtuse. When an employer sends a salesman out to sell his product, he is sending him out on the company dime to wine and dine customers and get them to sign that contract for services rendered or product delivered. This costs the employer a great deal of money. The salesperson is worth nothing except for the relationships he can create between the employer and the client. These business relationships are created on behalf of the owner, not the salesperson. So when a salesperson leaves a company and then decides to use the information he gathered during his tenure there to create new business elsewhere, he is essentially stealing what he was hired to create in the first place. I don't know of many companies that allow their employees to walk off with proprietary information, and information related to core business functions is certainly proprietary. "Create a better product" doesn't fly. Anywhere. Not even in California. They simply call the list of customers a "trade secret" and sue your ass when you decide to start dialing them up at your fancy new employer.
- chris_mahan 13y ago
  But the real reality is that it's the salesperson the client is forming a relationship with, and that it's the salesman they trust to get stuff done. Also, companies often like to hire experienced salesmen _because_ of their rolodex. (Do they still use rolodexes?)
  - MisterBastahrd 13y ago
    Companies don't trust sales reps for the most part. They use them, but they don't trust them. Hence the trade secrets clauses in their employment agreements. Companies like to hire experienced sales reps because of their contact list? Sure, because if that employee's former employer hits them with a lawsuit, they can fire the employee and settle out of court. It's worth the potential risk. At the same time, there aren't many companies that are going to stand behind a brand new employee when they know he's probably holding onto data that is considered a trade secret. What happens when your previous employer fired you for using data you stole from a previous client? Good luck taking years to build back your reputation.

Perhaps you should learn something about sales instead of being so incredibly obtuse. When an employer sends a salesman out to sell his product, he is sending him out on the company dime to wine and dine customers and get them to sign that contract for services rendered or product delivered. This costs the employer a great deal of money. The salesperson is worth nothing except for the relationships he can create between the employer and the client. These business relationships are created on behalf of the owner, not the salesperson. So when a salesperson leaves a company and then decides to use the information he gathered during his tenure there to create new business elsewhere, he is essentially stealing what he was hired to create in the first place. I don't know of many companies that allow their employees to walk off with proprietary information, and information related to core business functions is certainly proprietary. "Create a better product" doesn't fly. Anywhere. Not even in California. They simply call the list of customers a "trade secret" and sue your ass when you decide to start dialing them up at your fancy new employer.

chris_mahan 13y ago
But the real reality is that it's the salesperson the client is forming a relationship with, and that it's the salesman they trust to get stuff done. Also, companies often like to hire experienced salesmen _because_ of their rolodex. (Do they still use rolodexes?)
- MisterBastahrd 13y ago
  Companies don't trust sales reps for the most part. They use them, but they don't trust them. Hence the trade secrets clauses in their employment agreements. Companies like to hire experienced sales reps because of their contact list? Sure, because if that employee's former employer hits them with a lawsuit, they can fire the employee and settle out of court. It's worth the potential risk. At the same time, there aren't many companies that are going to stand behind a brand new employee when they know he's probably holding onto data that is considered a trade secret. What happens when your previous employer fired you for using data you stole from a previous client? Good luck taking years to build back your reputation.