Dive summary:
- Mike Silagadze is the CEO of education software company Top Hat Software, and he has been focused on recruiting Groupon [GRPN] reps for a few years now. Recently, the resumes have flooded in, with some of Groupon's best people trying to find another job.
- After the company went public, new sales leadership was installed and salespeople have informed the Wall Street Journal about changes to commissions and transparency on goals.
- Recently there were reports that Groupon CEO Andrew Mason invited veteran salespeople to a dinner to hear their complaints and rumors started trickling to the reps that he would be handing out perks at the dinner. As it turns out, Mason did not hand out perks at the dinner. Instead, he forgot to have food ordered and got pizzas delivered at the last minute.
- Groupon's salesforce comprises 45% its entire workforce.
From the article:
Groupon Inc. is facing a new hurdle: strains on its sales force.
Such pressures are a boon to people like Mike Silagadze. The chief executive of education-software firm Top Hat Monocle Inc. said that over the past month, his Toronto start-up has received hundreds of résumés from Groupon sales representatives who may want to jump ship. Mr. Silagadze said he interviews a couple of such people each day.
