{"id":9703,"date":"2015-09-10T22:34:55","date_gmt":"2015-09-10T17:04:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/internshala.com\/blog\/?p=9703"},"modified":"2016-01-06T17:50:59","modified_gmt":"2016-01-06T12:20:59","slug":"internship-at-glaxosmithkline-consumercare-4095","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/internshala.com\/blog\/internship-at-glaxosmithkline-consumercare-4095\/","title":{"rendered":"Internship at GlaxoSmithKline-ConsumerCare – Arpit from IIM Ahmedabad"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Internship<\/a><\/p>\n

So take a chance and don’t ever look back. Arpit (guy at the extreme right) is pursuing MBA and shares his wonderful experience of internship days.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is an opportunity for not only the company to evaluate you but also for you to evaluate the field of Sales & Marketing\u201d, my guide said when we first met. I thought that I will be sitting in-front of the laptop for 8 hours a day trying to make sense out of random sales data thrown to me. Little did I know about the experience I will have in the next 2 months.<\/p>\n

I was posted in Chennai in the Consumer Marketing division (closely related to Sales). On the first day, I was greeted by friendly HR and Staff who worked in an office which had a mini library, pool table, Gym and a Foosball table. I was told to go to the market (basically the outlets) and start with my project. I had no clue what to do and how to do anything in a place which doesn\u2019t speak the languages I know without any transportation of my own.<\/p>\n

I spent around a week in high value stores observing the attendants while trying to communicate in Tamil and English. This was an experience I could have never got in a classroom. I observed consumers and attendant. I noted the sales calls they made, the costumer touch points and what competitors are doing. All the while, I made sure my guide gets a daily report. I learnt at a later stage that this would prove to be very important aspect in building relationship with my mentor.<\/p>\n

My project involved working closely with an external agency to understand how sales promoter works and the challenges they faced. I visited several outlets on a daily basis and talked to the promoters trying to get an insight. It was the first time I realized how important it is to build relations in the field of Sales. I submitted my report to my guide and my targets (KPIs) were set.<\/p>\n

After this, I spent days contacting vendors for the solution I suggested. It was a fruitful experience in negotiation and relationship management. Running against the deadlines while I was getting used to a new city and culture was something I never anticipated. I interacted with almost everyone from the sales and consumer vertical for my project work. I was surprised by how approachable and friendly everyone was at GSK. I understood how several sales channels work in tandem with each other. I also talked to outlet mangers, owners, customers and distributors. I realized how important it is to stay in touch with all the stake holders in the field of sales.<\/p>\n

Finally I came up with a training module for the promoters. To my surprise, I was given a green signal to implement my module. I traveled to several cities in Tamil Nadu and organized training sessions for the promoters. I have never heard of a company which let an intern formulate, plan and execute his idea with the willingness and confidence that GSK had. That\u2019s my internship in short.<\/p>\n

Now to sum it up.<\/p>\n