Blatant favoritism. Reps with gold territories are the bread and butter. During slow periods, upper management will tell you to talk to these reps to see 'what they do to earn business'. Waste of time. They will give you the same ideas and strategies you yourself already know. Fact is, their territory has a great demand and market compared to others. It's nonsense that these reps continue to get praise for sitting on a chair all day, receiving inbound calls and emails for activations above those that actually go out in the field and put in effort to find business. Especially during the slow periods. There is a high turnover rate for a reason. Upper Management also set unreasonable goals. Goals such as matching your prior year numbers, even though they stripped a major territory you had last year that you don't have now...
I won't even get into the nonsense that is SPOC accounts.
I encourage and recommend anyone during the hiring process to ask about your territory. Do your research. What the numbers were year after year as well as the success of the previous rep. Actually see if there is demand and potential in that market. Remember, you are just a number.