LARRY: District Sales Manager job profile

During his nine-week rotational internship program with McKesson Pharmaceutical, Larry worked in operations, retail and institutional sales, the Customer Care Center, and the Financial Services Center. After graduation, he accepted a pharmaceutical sales job as a retail sales manager. “I was nervous about going to work for such a large company right out of school because I didn’t want to be just a number,” he says. “But the team was very welcoming and patient to a green kid straight out of college. They never hesitated to share a successful practice, give words of advice or help me find an answer.”

Larry was recently promoted to district sales manager, which he attributes to his appetite for knowledge. “I made sure to understand our value proposition, the competition, and the industry and its challenges. When you know what’s out there and what your customers expect, you can hit the ground running.”

“It’s customers who make our jobs possible,” says Larry. “And the people we get to work with in this business are first class.” He has similar praise for his colleagues. “It’s one big team approach,” he says. “We want to be the best at what we do, and we continue to win in the marketplace because of this focus.” That philosophy was clear when Larry and his team volunteered for the Hurricane Katrina relief efforts—a great example of the ICARE Shared Principles that McKesson employees live every day.

Eventually, Larry would like to take on the challenge of a vice president of sales role, or perhaps move from pharmaceutical sales into marketing or training. He advises new hires at McKesson to “ask as many questions as you can. That way, you can learn all the different things this company does and find out what you’re most interested in.”