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.
