A growing company in a dying industry - Sales Cision Employee Review

2.0
16 Feb 2017
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

-Amazing view at the office in Chicago -Top notch gym -Caring colleagues -Free food occasionally -Espressos are free -New CEO said that sales reps age like fine wine, they get better with age and that really stuck with me

Cons

-Has the feel that the VC company is playing the managers like puppets. -Very unstable with droves of people getting the axe, a trend that's persisted over the years. -New CEO directly referred to sales team as revenue-generating widgets. Is that something they teach you in grad school? -Management taught a completely new sales methodology several years in a row rendering us directionless several years a row. -The process was ambiguous, un-tested, and un-refined. Current management played by a different set of rules leading to additional disconnect with reps. Marketing formerly supplied an ample amount of warm/hot leads and that's no longer the case. So you have warm-lead closers teaching new reps how to cold call. Does that make sense? -Unrealistic expectations for new reps. Not even 90 days into the job (30 of which are training) reps are being put on probation and job security threatened. LOTS of turnover. -Managers are given their own marketing leads that they dole out to those who they see fit, not clearly communicated how and why they choose certain reps #nepatism -My manager ruled with an iron fist, was a bit of a hot-head, and unprofessional behind the scenes. Knowingly leaving me rattled at times right before customer meetings and this was acknowledged and ignored by other senior leaders in the organisation. Left the door open for my manager give up on me in a very short amount of time. I truly didn't feel he cared about my professional development. -Hard to think about career advancement when you see so many people unsupported, underpaid, and struggling. During my tenure options were scarce to say the least. -Companies in the press release / media database space are dying because the advent of the internet and social media platforms make it easy for individuals and businesses to cultivate audiences without submitting a press release or pitching reporters/influencers. Thus, the recent consolidation under the Cision umbrella. Just my opinion.

Explore other reviews about Cision

5.0
30 Apr 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Good environment and people, great benefits, interesting work.

Cons

Anyone working night shift will see challenges related to that, but the work is interesting.

2.0
3 June 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Decent work life balance, some good teammates who care about each other and the company makes payroll on time (for most people)

Cons

The executives can’t stand each other and can’t make decisions, so the rest of us were left running in circles. Revenue has declined every year and it keeps getting worse. We had at least 4 layoffs a year and they never communicate them — one day your coworkers just don’t show up. Everyone is constantly looking over their shoulder. The best people have already left because they see the writing on the wall. The products aren’t good and aren’t getting better. They keep talking about Nexus but no one knows what it means or who even wants it. Numbers change depending on who’s presenting them and why. There’s no consistent story on targets internally, which makes it impossible to plan or prioritize anything. PE ownership and puppets in the C Suite meant that every decision gets filtered through “what does this look like for the exit” rather than what’s actually good for the business or the people in it. Compensation hasn’t kept up, especially after layoffs when your workload doubles and nothing changes in your paycheck. No real investment in development either. Bottom line: you’re a headcount, not a person. And they manage by spreadsheet not logic.

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