Pros
Profit Sharing (although it only really kicks in after 5 years!) Free car (your family and neighbors will hate seeing it though) Good Training
Kontras
The people that work for Grainger and enjoy it do not work in Territory Sales. This division is so full of problems, speed bumps and issues that Grainger restructures it every few months. But, because they don't address the underlying problems, it never gets better. First, Grainger hires Sales Reps that are (mostly) straight out of college for "entry level" jobs. The problem is that this is not an entry level job. To be successful as a Territory Sales Rep, you should already have at least a couple years experience in outside sales, know the basics of corporate culture, and be familiar with complex, long sales cycles. Sure, you can try to sell some hammers and screwdrivers to your customers but, you'll never get to goal that way. TSRs can burn out very quickly without ever reaching goal because no amount of training can make up for real experience. Expecting a new sales rep who requires basic training in such things as "getting to work on time" and "tuck in your shirt and wear a belt", to go out and sell a complex "Inventory Management System" is short-sighted, at best. At worst, it results in high turn-over and huge amounts of customer DISsatisfaction. In fact, customers are so turned off by seeing entry level sales reps all the time that they actually stop using Grainger for their MRO needs. The good news for TSRs is that Grainger is so desperate to make them feel "valued" that they prevent the Managers from taking the necessary steps to bring a TSR up to goal or help him/her to exit the company. Many TSRs coast along at Grainger for a year without hitting a sales goal before anyone on the Leadership team permits an MTS to do anything about it. Of course, if you are a TSR that is reaching/exceeding goal, it's kind of frustrating to put in all that hard work when your teammates are coasting. Managers of Territory Sales have it worse. Instead of being able to focus on growing sales, increasing market penetration and/or assisting TSRs with negotiating and closing sales, MTSs are reduced to little more than summer camp counselors. Leadership of Territory Sales is so concerned about "retention" that they neglect to stress accountability for achieving sales goals. The result is that MTSs are judged by how happy their team members are. Have an unhappy TSR on your team and you will be written up. And don't think that it will matter that your team has been hitting or exceeding sales goals every month- you're performance review will be based on anything but sales results. MTSs are expected to coddle and hand-hold TSRs which can and does interfere with the Manager's ability to hold team members accountable. Also, while TSRs are to be retained at all costs, there seems to be no such "retention" plan for MTSs. Since sales numbers mean little, the only chance an MTS has at "succeeding" and/or getting a promotion is to make sure all his/her team members say nice things about them to Leadership. If you are actually goal driven and enjoy working hard to earn commissions, bonuses and other sales incentives- this is NOT a job for you. If you really want to be a Leader and be able to effectively coach those that are ready, willing and able to improve their selling aptitude and close more deals - this job is not for you.