My First Day on Job

My first job was in Zieta Phramaceuticals which was a sister concern of Cadila. I reached my first headquarter at about 12:00 in the noon. After checking in a hotel, I quickly got ready to go for work. Having performed reasonably well in the training program, I was bubbling with enthusiasm and was raring to go. I took out the doctor’s list and planned for a particular area; called Kuchehry Road.

First of all, I went to a chemist to make a call. As we were launching a new division, so we were told to do the detailing in front of chemists as well. The chemist was definitely not a new person on the job; unlike me. He hurriedly told me to tell the names of some key products and the name of the wholesaler and told me to just keep my mouth shut. It was quite bizarre for me as I was expecting him to lend his ears to me. Being unperturbed, I tried to open the visual aid so that I could do the detailing but I felt a big lump in my throat. My forehead was profusely sweating and I could not utter a single word in front of him. I was feeling dejected at not being able to perform what I was supposed to do.

After that, I went looking for some doctors but could not find a single signboard which could show the names as per my list. I went to another nearby area but all my efforts were in vain. I tried till 8 pm in the evening and finally gave up. I was unable to understand how to find a doctor; as per the addresses. Meanwhile, I must have met at least 10 chemists but could not do the detailing in front of any of them because nobody permitted me to do so.

Next day, my Regional Manager came for joint working. He probably possessed some kind of magic. The road where I could not find a single doctor the last day revealed so many doctors for my Regional Manager. He was equally at ease while detailing to the doctors as well as to the chemists. I was simply swept off my feet by seeing the virtuoso performance of my Regional Manager; in terms of ideal presentation in front of customers.

I meekly asked him, “Yesterday, I was unable to find a single doctor on the same road. But you could easily pick up them on this crowded street. I was tongue tied in front of all the chemists I met but you were at ease. Do I have what it takes to become a successful salesman?”

The Regional Manager calmly replied, “It is natural for any person on his first day on job. Do not worry you will also become a virtuoso performed within a week.”

After the day’s work was over, we sat for dinner in a restaurant. The regional manager did some pep talk to boost my morale. At the end of the day, I was feeling more confident of doing justice to my job.