A new recruit can be a bundle of nerves in any job. This is especially true
for the sales because there is so much pressure to learn very quickly. I have
observed that seasoned managers do not say anything to a new recruit for the
initial six months. This period is considered to be a baptism with fire and
there is always a risk of the medical representative leaving his job during
this period. No manager would like to see the money spent on training going
down the drain by premature resignation of a new recruit. So, a new recruit is
always treated with kid’s gloves during this period. This story is about the
deep sense of dejection I felt on my second day on the job. This story is also
about how a simpleton helped me in not making the blunder of leaving my job.
On that fateful day, I must have called four or five doctors since morning.
To my immature mind, all those calls appeared to be highly successful because I
was able to narrate my sales pitch without much hiccup. After that I went to
meet a topnotch physician in the market. There was a big crowd of patients
waiting for their turns. I gave my visiting card to the compounder. Within five
minutes, the compounder asked me to go inside the clinic to meet the doctor.
I went inside the doctor’s chamber, wished the doctor in the most courteous
way and took a seat in front of him. Everything was going fine till now. The
doctor was in his late fifties. He was wearing striped shirt and a nice tie.
His bespectacled face further added to his aura. In front of him was a
greenhorn who was barely twenty two years old. I took out my visual aid and
began to vomit out what was taught to me in the name of sales pitch. The moment
I started, the doctor interrupted and said, “You appear to be a new guy.”
His tone did not sound friendly at all. I fumbled and said, “Yyyes Sir!”
The doctor’s tone became even drier, “It appears that your managers have
not taught you how to talk to a senior doctor. You should be aware that I don’t
meet medical representatives during daytime. If you want to meet me then come
to my clinic after eight in the evening.”
I said, “But I came here by following the protocol. First I sent my
visiting card through your compounder. I came inside only when you called me
in. If you don’t meet medical representatives during daytime then you could
have sent this message through your compounder.”
I think I was talking sense. But a fifty year old person with vast
experience, good qualification and high prestige in the society may not swallow
the fact that a guy in his twenties with a bachelor in science and working at
the lowest rung in a private company is trying to argue with him. The doctor
was furious at me and said, “Get lost from here.”
I had no other way than to leave his chamber. I was shocked and was in deep
mental agony. I straightaway reached my hotel room from his clinic. Within a
few minutes, I packed my bags and was ready to leave that city and the job
forever.
When I went at the reception counter, the receptionist asked, “What
happened? Did you find a house? Are you shifting to a rented house?”
I said, “No, I am leaving this job and going back to my hometown.”
That receptionist was an old man. He must have seen many new recruits
coming to his hotel to spend their initial days after joining the job. The
hotel was mainly frequented by sales guys; especially the new recruits. The old
man gave me a glass of water and ordered a cup of tea for me. He asked me to
sit down and said, “Calm down. Tell me what happened.”
I narrated the whole incident to him. He said, “It happens when you are
new. Don’t take a hasty decision. Finding a job; that too in a good company; is
not easy these days. Majority of people; who are even five years older than
you, are struggling to find a job. Sticking to a job is much difficult than
leaving a job but that is the way to go ahead.”
I was adamant and said, “No, I am intelligent enough to find even better
jobs. But I am not going to stay in this profession. This is not my cup of
tea.”
The old man tried to keep me engaged in endless discussions. After about
half an hour, he said, “The train to your home town must have left the station
by now. Stay here for tonight. Have a sound sleep. You can leave for your
hometown tomorrow if you wish. But I am sure you will change your decision by
tomorrow morning.”
I still remember that old man with a sense of gratitude.
