Sageworks Reviews in Raleigh-Durham, NC Area

Pros

The atmosphere at Sageworks is second to none. Very positive and very upbeat. The upper management really helps you succeed.

Cons

You have to make a lot of calls. The leads you are given are accountants, but if you get a territory that has been dried up, you will have little success moving forward.

Advice to Senior Management

Pay attention to your employees more. There needs to be a structured way all managers should handle lower level employees. Some employees have more success due to which manager they have.

Pros

Great place to meet people, especially if you're new to the area and recently out of college. Casual dress is a nice perk too. It's a great place to get a paycheck and skills on your resume while you look for other jobs....which is pretty much what most people do while at Sageworks (at least in the sales side).

Cons

You get burned out making calls day after day. It's very uneven from team to team how you are treated, depending on your sales manager. There's always a fear of making your revenue goal, otherwise you're cut. Because of constant firings and people quitting, its hard to get familiar with people because you know they won't be around long. Also feel like Big Brother is always watching....which they are!

Advice to Senior Management

Focus on developing sales people more and maybe there wouldn't be as much turnover. Reward achievements so people don't want to leave for better offers.

Pros

- Great People
- Generally fun atmosphere
- Management is very, very upfront
- Opportunity for growth
- close-knit team

Cons

- Management is upfront but offered very little direction. Just focused on making calls and said everything else would fall in line
- Very hard to make a decent living until after 4th month.

Advice to Senior Management

Offer a stronger base and make moves to fix the attrition rate.

Pros

-The people you work with are all recent college graduates who are all in a similar situation, which makes it easy to gain friends and relate to others.
-Depending upon your sales manager, you have free reign to work as you please within the work day.
-There are dogs in the office that always provide some entertainment.
-If you are willing to disregard your moral compass at times, there is a lot of money that can be made.

Cons

-Do not come to this job because you believe you are looking to join a "Sales Leadership Program", it doesn't exist. The only difference between the "Program" and a regular salesperson is the way they are compensated. After your first week, you become the same as everyone else and your overall sales "training" is over.
-Whether or not you are in the "sales leadership program", you can be fired at any time if you aren't hitting revenue goals, no exceptions. The sales team is a literal revolving door for people coming and going.
-Sales territory does matter. If you inherit a sales territory that has been thoroughly mined through by someone who just left the company, you will be a severe disadvantage when compared to someone who doesn't.
-In order to bring in revenue with the top sales people in the company, you will have to compromise some of your ethical integrity. Even the people who claim to do well while being truthful and honest are not, they have merely succumbed to the environment within the office.
-Some of the sales managers are only capable of management through micromanagement, while constantly sitting over your shoulder and informing you of how many calls you have made.
-You are misled as to when and how you will receive bonuses. Aside from the first bonus, the only way to receive a bonus to hit your revenue goals, no exceptions.

Advice to Senior Management

-I realize you have to mislead people in order to bring them into the company in droves (I was misled), but you could at least be a little more up front about what people are getting into in terms of the negative aspects of the job. I am not referring to the cold calling either. The calls are not difficult to complete, and I never had a problem making that many calls.
-Don't encourage the practice of misleading prospects on cold calls or web demonstrations. Simply turning a blind eye to the suspect sales tactics still counts as encouragement. I know that many times this is what brings in revenue to the company, but it truly becomes disgusting after a while.

Pros

I've been a software developer at Sageworks for 7 over years and really enjoyed my time here. Because of our flat organizational structure, employees have a lot of input into the strategic direction of the company. Personally I've gotten to play a major role in determining the course of our software architecture and technology choices. We also get to wear a wide variety of hats, ranging from software development to server administration to customer focus groups. These dynamic responsibilities have kept me growing both professionally and personally. I've seen both my salary and benefits evolve as the company has grown as well... stand-out perks include working remotely / from different countries. The quality of hiring is very good as well - we have a great team to work with and positive people who genuinely care about building great products.

Cons

We often pull long hours, especially during weekend product releases. Also, if you're not used to a fast-paced environment or don't like playing different roles / being stretched at work, Sageworks may not be a good fit for you.

Advice to Senior Management

We are getting better at this, but I feel like we need more personal recognition happening in our individual teams. The people who know you the best are the ones who can most credibly affirm you.

Pros

They do let you dress casual and play ping pong.

Cons

If you enjoy a boiler room mentality, being mentally and verbally whipped to sell, then it's a great place to slave. The employee nickname is slaveworks. Their web based financial analysis application is weak. One larger bank actually used the term cumbersome and inflexible. I could only sell to small community banks. They have employees use their own credit cards for expenses and reimburse at their leisure- typically late. One employee actually came to me and said the COO at the time and now President said if you don't hit your goals in the first 30 days your fired...It equates to fear based selling.

Advice to Senior Management

The organization burns through strong talent by trying to micromanage a very capable workforce. If you have to micromanage a talented work force maybe you should reevaluate your senior management structure and style. It doesn't seem like the best use of time for a COO or the President of a company. Sell the company to those that can take it to the next level.

Pros

If you are a self starter you can do well and develop good skills for your next career.

Cons

Not a startup anymore, but still runs like one. Until this changes the ceiling is low.

Pros

I've been given incredible opportunities and lots of responsibility. Far more than any other place I've worked, even when I was at other places for much longer periods of time. Management rewards results and hard work, not just saying the right things.

Cons

It is not a negative for me, but you have to be comfortable to work in a fast paced environment.

Advice to Senior Management

I love the company-wide focus on serving our clients. Continue to recruit smart people who have ambition - part of why I like being at Sageworks is being around other really smart people.

Pros

freedom to come up with your own process.
great people.

Cons

very hard cold calling accountants and bankers
long work hours (it is sales though)

Advice to Senior Management

hire selectively

Pros

Good work. Interesting job profile.

Cons

None. It's a pretty good place to work.

Advice to Senior Management

None. They do a great job.