Softchoice Reviews

Cons

There's a lot to learn and soak in and success is not always immediate, but what you can learn in a short period of time outweighs that in my opinion.

Cons

Serving larger clients with international needs become more difficult.

Cons

-Extremely low pay, not competitive, and incredibly complex commission structure
-Quick overturn of sales reps, a constant revolving door of territory sales reps
- Sometimes feel micromanaged

Cons

Unless you are working at headquarters, in Toronto, then you probably aren't bringing your dog to work or getting any of the perks that others mention that come with working for Softchoice. Softchoice tries to position themselves as an IT solutions provider but, with the exception of a few offices, they don't invest in the technical resources to enable sales to do what is being asked of them. They rely on parachuting technical resources in from other markets for projects or relying on 3rd-party resources, which often prices them out of the projects or if they are lucky enough to win one, it makes the projects such a mess that the projects do not end up being successful ones and do more damage to the customer relationship than good. Softchoice is still good at managing Microsoft agreements, selling software, and selling renewals. Unfortunately, all of those come at pretty low margins, so you have to generate a lot in sales to make any real money. Margins are pretty low on the majority of what they do. Account Executives have the ability to sell higher margin hardware and services but most customers are going to purchase those from a partner who has local delivery resources. Make sure to ask questions about what kinds of technical resources are available to you because all markets are not created equally. Softchoice has partially abandoned quite a few markets but instead of pulling out of those markets altogether, the just choose to leave them there struggling to make it.

Cons

Compensation is more than livable but depending on the market you're in, may not be competitive as other salaries in the area. Salaries are relatively uniform across the company (people in low cost of living areas make out very well!). That said those other companies are not looking to hire people new to IT sales, nor offer the same level of training and career development.

Cons

Lagging in areas compared to other tech companies in terms of benefits and perks (unlimited PTO is popular where I am, free lunches, etc) for example, they had a new Softchoice shirt and if you want it, it’s like $35.
Reselling in general is not profitable compared to getting the entire revenue of the deal
While it is growing, the reselling model is becoming obsolete in the IT space so who knows how long that growth is sustainable.
Lots of internal systems and red tape to get stuff done.

Cons

Management transitions made for tough training period

Cons

Sales centered to the core. When I started, I inherited the majority of my accounts from former employees that have quit or fired due to poor performance. So when I introduced myself to my clients, they were already done with Softchoice and moved to a competitor. Then I was still responsible for hitting my sales numbers for accounts that will never spend another dime with us. Talked to my manager, he helped a little as best he could, but I was simply not set up to succeed where other people inherited great accounts and barely worked to bring in the sales. No complaints, just kind of a bummer hand to be dealt.

Cons

You will need a translator to understand your commissions. Commission structure changes every year and is pretty horrible.

The environment is horrific. Everyone gets drunk at noon and comes back to work (or doesn't). Some of the worst management I have ever seen in all of my career. Half of them haven't worked anywhere else so they have no respect for anyone who has a different way of approaching business or has a different personality and isn't a "good ole boy."

Most of the engineers have left. I am not sure how they're still in business. They have a horrible reputation in the territory.

If you missed your chance to be in a fraternity in college, this can be your time to shine. Sexual harassment and alcoholism for everyone!

Cons

Difficult to hit quota if you absorb poor accounts, work-life balance is awful, and pay is not competitive to industry standard.