Smith reviews

Hard to get away from work as a salesperson. Overseas customers and buying locations mean you have to check emails and information at home and in the evening if you want to keep up, or get ahead. This is not the place for people wanting a "9 to 5" job. I was told about lots of company events, parties, and extracuricular activiites, but they are not held as often as it was made out to be. The ones we have are fun and nice, but seems like we are always hearing about how great it was in the "old days." Not sure if the managers of the other departments (HR, Operations, IT, Acct.) hold their employees to the same level of responsibility as the Trading managers do for salespeople. We are often the first in and last out, and other than Operations, the only ones that seem to have a vested interest in looking out for Smith. Many employees in other departments seem to come and go as they please, and I thought they would be there to support Trading more. There is a lack of communication from management (lower, upper, and ownership) regarding things going on with the company sometimes. I am buying into the culture, my co-workers, our business, the managers, the owners, and everything I can do to be the best I can. But we don't always get great feedback on how the company is doing, or what direction the company is headed. I guess I am new compared to most of my co-workers, and shouldn't have high expectations, but it is always good to get feedback and know what is going on.

For some, not having a clear path for promotion could be frustrating. Tenure is not as important as results, so they definitely don't reward you for just showing up. I don't have a problem with this, but you do hear belly-aching from some older employees that believe they get past by for younger people sometimes. Internal competition for accounts is tricky. The person sitting next to you may be your friend and co-worker, but they can also be your competition. Most are good at teamwork, but some are very protective of their accounts. It would be nice to get to travel more to visit customers and go to trade shows. I understand it is "inside sales", but maybe a budget should be set for each customer for marketing or business development purposes. Very little interaction with the ownership. Other reviews commented on lack of leadership or upper management, but the office managers and higher-ups at HQ seem to be around all the time. They don't exactly micro-manage, but they are very accessible. However, the owners have lots of other things on their plate, and not sure how much time they can dedicate to all that is going on at Smith. Smith can be a roller coaster of success and failures. Maybe that is just Sales in general, but the peaks and valleys can be difficult to manage. Have a great month and getting a big commission check is awesome, but having a slow month and not getting one can suck.