WDM Group no value, no growth Carlsbad California

Having been a former employee at WDM Group I felt it was necessary to give my views on working with this company.  I worked there only for 4 months but it felt like a lot longer, I think it felt this way because it was the exact same thing over and over again which made it feel like you worked in a prison.  And 4 months was a long sentence for me that felt like years.  When I left an got another job I dropped to my knees after I walked out of the office and threw my hands in the air like Tim Robbins did after he escaped from Shawshank prison.  It was a great feeling.  

This is a company that doesn't run the business with any real logic, they developed a system which they stick to, a process that has worked for them in the past but years later, times have changed, industries have changed, the platforms of digital media have changed yet they still continue to run the company the same way, same processes, same business model.  This is the biggest reason why they are a struggling company.  The expectations have stayed the same.  They have run through so many list generators who call the same associations over and over again that the ground beneath them is getting smaller and smaller.  Some associations have even banned WDM Group from calling them, they refuse to work with them all because WDM Group isn't 100 percent honest with them about how they generate revenue.  This is why they ask the list generators to work overtime and on weekends, they want them to find other avenues of finding leads either with conferences, government bodies...etc.  Research Directors have to make 100 calls a day and spend three hours on the phone.   They also have a rule that the companies that they call have to have a revenue stream of 30 million a year to qualify.  The reason for this is that their advert prices are so foolish high that they think a successful 10 million dollar company doesn't have the suitable trades or suppliers to support those costs, so with that the companies that qualify under the WDM rules has shrunken even more, less companies to call.  I have worked for other digital magazines before and after WDM Group and they don't even use the association or angles to get a company featured, they do it by building a strong re pore and having a eye-catching product.  WDM group products (the digital brochure) all look the same, all written the same, the final product lacks any creativity or impact because thats not what they are all about.  

So the pressure for a list generator to constantly work 6 or 7 different associations backfires because they associations need time to review the opportunity which could take weeks considering some associations meet only monthly to discuss opportunities like this.  And this is normal and logical for any association to do this.  But WDM demands that association gives the green light after the first email or call so without getting 100 approval from the association which pisses off the association.  They then don't want to work with them.  I've heard of at least 5 or 6 major associations in different industries back out and tell WDM Group to never call them again.  They are banned from even calling them.  All because the Mangers and Directors want money in right away, speed up the process, don't take the time to build re-pore, get the lists in....its again, not logical. No matter how tight an angle is, no matter how good they buy in is, processes take time with companies and associations, and WDM Group doesn't understand that and that's why the model is shrinking beneath them.  

The only reason they are still in business has nothing to do with how the magazine looks, or the buy in with the associations, or any other buzz words they use to make it look like what they are doing are industry reports and are leaders in digital content.  They repeat the same processes hoping to get someone new that hasn't heard the business model yet.  They love new CEO's or Marketing Manager's that don't know what the business model is all about, that's the only reason they are still in business.  They pray that that person on the other end of the line is clueless when it comes to these things.  Great way to keep the company afloat.

This pressure that the Directors put on the staff is the reason that the employees aren't giving it 100 percent, or why the turn over rate is so high, why the writers are recycling editorial, why the morale is down at every office, why list generators fake call stats, or fill out bogus reports.  

One truly feels that they are not apart of a company working there, you feel like your degarding yourself.  You feel soul-less working there.  I think anyone that works there can agree.  Your not adding anything to your personal growth, your stuck on a wheel, apart of a system that is broken.   I would like to think that the employees working through out WDM Group are good people, and they deserve better, those who think its a great place to work, you are a kool-aid drinker, wake up and take a closer look at what they stand for.  

My sentence is over, I walked out of Shawshank with my head held high.