Why Telecom Or Fmcg Company Will Not Intrest To Hire People From Pharma And Insurance

Why would a telecom or FMCG company not be interested in hiring people from the Pharma and Insurance industries for Sales and Marketing roles?

Hi Sandeep,

Probably because the nature of sales is entirely different, the approach to the market is different, and the segregation is different. The marketing activities and promotional strategies are entirely different.
It all depends on the criteria the individual company sets :-)

Take care!

India is bitten by the Brahmin bug of purity. They refine all aspects of life and lose the best talent in the market who are more efficient and creative because of so many misconceptions of specializations.

In the West, all graduates are doing all kinds of jobs and they do not find difficulties in working in another profession.

- Partho

And that is how in the West they hire without using their head... and when they lose their jobs or when a recession hits, they run to countries like India hunting for jobs... oh so sad.

And vice versa too - when people don't get the job here in our country with good companies, or lose confidence in themselves - they run outside... you see, there any graduate is hired for any job :-D:-D

Hi Ash,

You have a misconception about the West... 😞 No one in the West prefers India. 🤔 India is the least preferred destination after Saudi Arabia... 😔 Western professionals join at the helm of affairs in India operations of MNCs, and they work for change. Their package is something beyond imagination. Very few Western professionals work in India with some special privileges. 😛

As far as recruitment is concerned, Western HR is attractive, retain, and reward strategy, hence no "faltu fanda" works here. Employees know their jobs, and the organization understands its potential and social responsibility. 😄 There is no exploitation. Just see how many frustration, victimization, exploitation emails you read on this forum... Is this HR? How Indian companies manage HR and treat employees like the 18th century... labor management? 💡

Partho
Partho

Parthasarathy, it would have been good if you could focus on the problem and see what solutions you can give. None of us are here to claim which country is better or which is not.

If you say that you are working in a place where things are really good, why don't you suggest some of those methods.

And I feel sorry for you - you claim that this forum is full of problems by Indian people...do you remember, there was a time (and still continues) where you have posted problems continuously, and you were even asked by a few people if you really had those problems.

A problem is not nation-specific, it is person-specific. What I see as a problem may not be a problem for you. What you see as a problem may really look silly to me. I guess the best way to deal with these situations is by providing solutions and not commenting on the nation.

[Quote: Parthasarathy]

You have a misconception about the West....:(
No one in the West prefers India. :confused:
India is the least preferred destination after Saudi Arabia......:icon10:

Western professionals join the helm of affairs in India operations of MNCs and they work for change, and their package is something beyond imagination. Very few Western professionals work in India with some special privilege..:-P

As far as recruitment is concerned, West HR is attractive, retain and reward strategy hence no faltu fanda works here. Employees know their jobs, and the organization knows its potential and social responsibility. :-D

No exploitations........see how many frustration, victimization, exploitation emails you read on this forum...this is HR? How Indian companies manage HR and treat employees like the 18th century...labour management:idea:

Partho

Dear Sandeep,

Obviously, due to the nature of sales, nobody would prefer a person who needs to develop new contacts rather than an experienced individual who already has a good grip on particular sales.

Regards,

Pankaj Chandan

Hey Ash,

I like your answers. You are a great philosopher. I know the country has no fault; its people who practice wrong are the problems. I respect your patriotism.

Yes, I agree, I have posted many problems, and CiteHR is great, but I was discussing the nature of HR problems being discussed, which tells us a lot about how employees in India are deprived of their rights and exploited.

I hope you don't misunderstand me.

Regards,

Partho.

Dear if u remember u were not discussing the nature of hR problems when asked by me, and other members you confirmed that in real you were facing such problems in your job also you mentioned that since you work hard you find so many problems remember?????????? anything ????????????? :icon1::icon1:

Sandeep put the same message on two strings. This string seems to have had more replies than the other, and I have copied my message posted on the other string.

Sandeep, like many, you also pose a very general question. Hence, it becomes difficult to answer. I would say that it all depends on what job you are seeking. I started out as an Electrical Engineer, changed my field to Industrial Engineering. Then, I had no problem moving from Engineering to FMCG. I got a break to teach part-time while working for an FMCG company; I also did my MSc while working. Then I moved to teaching without a problem (all in the UK). Similarly, I know people in marketing who have moved from Hewlett Packard to Adobe, Adobe to Symantec, and from Symantec to Avaya (a telecom firm). So, like Sam has said, it all depends on what you can offer. Have a nice weekend.

Simhan

Dear Ravi,

I think it's enough, don't add fuel to the fire... :-D Ash and Partho expressed their opinions in the best possible manner. Differences in opinions are a part of life, and we have to accept the diversity in the personalities of different members. This diversity makes CiteHR the most coveted place.

Cheers...

Warm Regards,
Abraham

Partho,

You did get her backfiring at you, man. Your memories are short-lived. Ash backfired at you on your essay and thesis comments.

Am I right? :-P

Bhajiya

Dear Sandeep,

The reason is if you go for sales of financial products or pharma products, you need knowledge of that particular product. Why is IRDA training given to anyone? It's because knowledge of various policies is required to sell that particular product. For pharma, you may have seen B.Pharma, D. Pharma, B.Sc. graduates preferred because of their knowledge.

You need to understand one more thing: sales and marketing are two different fields. Sales is a part of marketing. Marketing is a very vast field; it includes everything from sales, telesales, advertising, etc.

In insurance or other financial product selling, the target is sales, the same in pharma sales, revenue generation. In insurance, you make agents; in pharma, you contact distributors.

In both manners, you are generating sales of your product that gives revenue to your company.

So in FMCG, you need to do marketing, make distributors, introduce your product into the market, make people or targeted media aware of your product or services. In FMCG, you are not selling; you are marketing the product up to some extent, in telecom also.

But it's your misconception regarding telecom, pharma, and insurance. Many of my friends change their jobs from finance to telecom. Yes, it's true, FMCG is a bit different because revenue generation idea is different there.

One thing I would like to say to Mr. Partha Sarthy, being an Indian National, it hurts us to listen to anything wrong about our country. So, sir, please mind your language from next time, don't say anything wrong about anyone's country because it directly hurts our sentiments and love toward our country. Let me tell you, one of my uncles holds a very good position in a reputed software company in the US. When anyone asks him about his success, he simply says it's all because of my country, my nation, India, who made me able to have this position today.

And Asha, for you, "Kuch Bhi DIL PE MAT LE YAAR."

Regards,

Shine

Not right. Kindly stop assuming things that don't make much sense :-)

Please see if we can stop this here and discuss the topic.

I think it is better to keep to the topic, and forum members should refrain from commenting on the rights or wrongs of others' way of replying.

Simhan

Read the question carefully.

What is the analogy between:
Telecom and FMCG
Pharma and Insurance

One is in manufacturing and the other is a service provider. Both are clubbed in one basket, which is not correct. It should be:
Telecom and Insurance
Pharma and FMCG

I focused on the subject and found this discrepancy, but people, as usual, without using their minds, start replying and arguing. What's this? Something is wrong with the question.

Partho

The question is not wrong; it is true that the FMCG and the telecom do not prefer salespeople from an insurance background. I don't know if the same applies to pharma as well. The sales approach of FMCG & telecom is different from insurance, which might be the reason I can figure out. FMCG & telecom depend on a dealer-distribution network for sales, while in insurance, it is through hiring agents or direct selling or bancassurance channels.

Hi Friends,

The posts were encouraging, and I think everybody was right in their assumptions. I truly agree with 'Shine' and making 'India Shining' through his views regarding the post by [B]Mr. Sandeep].

But yes, I would like to share with you regarding the diversities associated with 'Western' and 'Eastern' practices, since I felt to shed some light in this regard.

I agree with Mr. Partha Sarathi for his statement (I don't know how many CHR friends will forgive me for that). But his view of performance being (Partha— it's not recruitment, dear) is entirely a reward strategy. It's really true. Why? Because Western people (mostly Americans) have to prove their associations 24 x 7, whether in an organization or in their own home (perhaps the reason for high divorce rates). They know they have to perform everywhere, and that is their motivation. Hence, they don't mind having a contract system of employment and always perform in this background. Also, they know that if they don't perform, they are out (both at home and work). That's why many management schools prosper in the West, providing guidance to management aspirants and offering opportunities for those who want to hone their skills for success. (But alas—very few management thoughts succeed) (Theory Y).

At the same time, in Japan (East), they have a bonding relation, either with the family or with the employer (I'm sorry, Partha, for this). For the Japanese, employment means long-term employment (not like in the West), and they start as workers and grow based on their capability and competency through hard work. There are no management schools, but most management theories have originated from them (KANBAN, KAIZEN, JIT concept, etc., to name a few) and have been widely accepted and followed in the West. They work with commitment and a patriotic sense since they have no fear of retrenchments, as capable people are always placed in the right positions through internal filtering (Theory Z).

Finally, India (midway between America and Japan) has a lot of similarities and dissimilarities in both practices. We have both sides of the same coin—specifically, we allow a contract system, a performance-oriented culture, and on the other side, we share strong emotional, cultural, and family bonds.

My point in raising this is that we cannot simply copy and paste what other cultures follow. We have a varied array of industries working, supporting various management philosophies. It might be a gain or a loss; I can't say. But yes, our way is different.

Regards,

Jayesh Yohannan

Oh, it's actually sad that after being potential, still there are some unhealthy HR policies that make no sense.

Regarding Telecom, we understand that most companies have no poach with other Telecom Companies. That's understandable. But coming from the Insurance Sector and joining Telecom isn't a problem at all.

Don't lose hope, buddy. There are still some good HRs and HR policies in companies, so check out for one, I'm sure you will not be disappointed. I believe there may still be some companies that hire from Pharma and other domains. These people fail to understand that a salesperson can sell anything if they are hiring the right professional considering his last profile, HR formalities, and importantly understanding the caliber of the person they are hiring.

A salesperson is a sales-oriented person with full confidence and substance. No one can beat you. It's just that some companies would lose some potential people because of their nonsensical policies and irrelevant HRs, which is actually sad.

But no worries. Keep up the faith, buddy. I'm sure you will get what you deserve.

Trust me, there are lots of sales jobs in the market and even in times of recessions, these sales jobs are being paid highly. You can search on job portals like Naukri, Monster, etc., and you will find them in bulk.

Salespeople should never be disappointed. It's the company that is losing, not you. There are lots of sales jobs in the market. If you're not getting into one company because of their nonsensical policy, don't give up; try somewhere else. The caliber of any sales professional is never limited.

Wishing you lots of luck and goodwill.

Why would a telecom or FMCG company not be interested in hiring people from the pharma and insurance industries?

I may not have the best words to answer this question, but I would like to say that:

In telecom and FMCG, it requires a good understanding of products, markets, relationships with key persons, as well as a solid grip on and understanding of the business.

For product marketing, one must have thorough knowledge of the product and an understanding of the nature of the business, as marketing for OEM/Operators would be completely different from vendors.

Why would any organization prefer a less competent candidate from a totally different domain when recruitment is based on the principle of finding the best candidate at the right time for the right place?

If someone is keen on joining the telecom and FMCG industries, they must acquire thorough knowledge of the products and markets. Some organizations prefer B.E. or B.Tech graduates for telecom roles, which might hinder some MBA professionals in marketing who are actually very good in their particular field.

Hi Ash, great reply. I am happy to see another dedicated HR.

:icon1:

For marketing of any products, the following two basic things are required:

1. Product Knowledge
2. Product Application

The rest includes terms and conditions of payment, guarantee/warranty period, and supply chain management.

The rest is just passing time.

Bhajiya

Dear Bhajiya,

I think you are mixing up sales, marketing, and product distribution techniques.

It's not just product knowledge but rather 'how the product is positioned' and 'targeted' which drives the success of a particular salesperson.

If you look into FMCG and Telecom, you need to develop parties (distributors and retailers), fix the targets for each party in their territory, negotiate their incentive pattern with respect to the market demand and supply. It really requires specific skills which not only require target orientation but also skills relating to negotiation, demand forecasting, and the ability to push the sales of a product through the parties. Hence, any person who has a knack for these things can be successful in sales here.

But if you look into the sales pattern of the Pharma Industry, the salespeople have to frequent the doctors and make them brand ambassadors to push sales. Here, we only need persons who are technically oriented about the medicine, its combination particulars, and most importantly, how you cozy up with your ambassador with gifts and royalties. Your ambassador will, in turn, pull the demand from the retailers. Hence, a likely person will be a D. Pharm / B. Pharm / B. Sc graduate who can explain the technicalities better.

On the other end, in insurance - you have to sell the 'risk' to the customer rather than the 'insurance'. The more you highlight and make the customers aware of the risks, the more successful you will be. But here you will have to deal first with your advisors and agents who will be your sales representatives. Train them on insurance terminologies, plan targets for everybody, support and guide them, and follow up to convince their customers for you to be successful. Hence, a likely person would be a B. Com / MBA (Finance) / MBA (Marketing) with a commerce background.

Hence, you see a variable pattern of 'skills - competency match' required for 'selling the products' in each industry. Thus, after being in a particular industry for a long time, it takes time to know the sales tricks and trade secrets of any other industry. Hence, the management generally prefers a guy or girl who has been trained in their own industry to save on the opportunity cost and training costs.

With regards,

Jayesh Yohannan

Well, whether it's pharma, telecom, or insurance, the domain doesn't matter. A salesperson is a salesperson; he can sell anything. It just depends on hiring a person with good caliber and zeal. If proper 'Training' had been there, the problem wouldn't exist in HR. In that case, the issue arises if they don't appreciate people from other domains and lack the caliber to choose someone with a combination of 'Knowledge + Potential' rather than just having knowledge and no ability to sell the products.

Don't worry, buddy, there are still companies that exist who hire people with good caliber and potential. Keep trying. Good luck.

Well, Ms. Rashmi, I appreciate it, but when you say "Knowledge + Potential," I ask you - 'Knowledge' based on what?

In India, we have a Division of Labor system where we equip our knowledge based on our interests. Therefore, a Medical Representative with a B. Pharma background may not understand the financial tools and jargon of the Insurance/Financial industry. Consequently, it will take more time for them to learn these. So, how can they 'deliver' their potential when an MR is recruited as a Sales Rep for Insurance/FMCG/Durable Products/Telecom Products?

Please refer to the concept of the Right Person at the Right Job and at the Right Time.

Most of the marketing profesionals are MBA in Marketing after their Graduiation in Science or Commerce.
Thie B.Phamra & D.Pharma introduced in early 1990's before that all Medical Representatives were only BSc. Look We have recruited many sales professional but all of them were not specialised but they knows how to close deal and negotiate, how to quote the price and many such tricks of trades.
For Sales and marketing no speciualization except expereince is required. basically I have appointed many Country Head - Marketing but none were specialsied in specific fields if we are in life saving jackets that doesnot mean he should be rubber technologist to become sales professional for our product.
This is thinking is something unusual from mainstream where as I said we Indians are bitten by the barahminism bug...and we search purity in all aspects of life that is not correct aproach in the process we loose many good talent beause of out dogmatism (Bug).
Partho

Dear Partho,

I am sorry, but I did not buy your arguments. If your company is making business by selling a Life Saving Jacket, and for suppose – you appoint a mediocre Manager who had never known about your product, its quality specifications, its performance in different temperature conditions, I don't think he can be able to connect with your product and sell your product to various customers worldwide - since you don't know how your product will perform in various conditions. Being your product so crucial, in fact, if it were me, I would never take any chances that keep my company and its stakeholders in jeopardy. Excuse me.

And if you think that sales means managing the target because one had experience in that, that even you can also do it... No need to purify yourself.

But please don't post any unnecessary arguments that will lead to nowhere. Thanks.

Regards, Jayesh

Hi Rashmi Bhalerao,

As I have mentioned, knowledge + potential make a difference rather than just having knowledge and no potential to sell things.

So, if you want to know what 'knowledge' means, it's nothing but the product knowledge. If product knowledge or training is offered to the right person with the caliber to capture things, it won't make a big difference. Ultimately, one with the right knowledge and ability to sell things can only be an asset.

It's not a medical line wherein only a doctor can treat patients. It's sales. I personally feel that the sales line is not at all a limited profile. From a broader point of view, looking from the HR side, I think a person from insurance or telecom, given good product knowledge about pharma or vice versa, from A to Z, can be an asset. However, companies and HRs are limited by certain policies that sometimes really make no sense.

I understand the first priority should be given to someone from the pharma line for a pharma 'sales' job, etc. But it's an unhealthy practice to not give an opportunity for an insurance person to enter telecom or vice versa. It's sales. It's not medicine, navy, or another field.

It makes no sense to not give opportunities to individuals in the 'sales' profile. One should be liberal to choose, and opportunities should be given to the masses. It's not necessary that an actor is meant only to act. They can be a singer, a dancer, or anything if they have that talent, ability, and zeal to learn more.

I am not here to advise or discuss India's labor or cultures in the East or West, as I find it very irrelevant to go out of the box. We are here to discuss how we can help masses acquire the right job. The best way is by giving an opportunity to the right person.

For example, I even think that an MBA is just a formality. Even an undergrad, if given good training and if they have the ability to learn, should also be given an opportunity. Dhirubhai Ambani, Bill Gates, etc., were not MBAs.

It's just that opportunities given to an individual make a difference, and it's all in our hands, since we are the ones to make company policies.

Thank you.

Rashmi Bhalerao

Well Ma'am, I duly acknowledge your point of view. You have your bargains, and I have my weights. My notion is — let's learn from each other rather than brickbatting. As I said, we are all right in our suggestions. But your and my applications change as situations change. Let's learn and encourage others to follow. I posted what I knew. It depends on you and our friends to experience it. We have our lifetime for that. What we write here may not be worthy after 5 years down the line — 'Remember Change.' We should always be forward-looking to new suggestions and experiences.

Sorry if I might have hurt many ideologies in the making.

Dear seniors,

I think it was a wonderful and healthy discussion about this topic, but I think a salesperson can sell everything depending on their knowledge, capacity, and zeal to learn everything provided by training. As Asha Ji rightly said, the nature of sales is entirely different in Telecom and FMCG. However, one thing is that Pharma and Insurance people are very hardcore salespeople. They sell both products and concepts. They are well trained in both areas, but the problem is that these companies (Telecom and FMCG) will not even give a chance to those people who truly deserve the job.

According to Rashmi Ji's point of view, it's just that opportunities given to an individual make a difference, and it's all in our hands.

Hello,

Now this is a late entry compared to my last post here.

Mr. Jayesh Yohannan: That was an interesting debate, and I did learn a few useful things. And Sandeep - this would be the best message: Right talent for the right opportunity, coupled with the right attitude - makes it the perfect match.

As already quoted earlier: when we are looking at knowledge - why should we look at someone else when we already have people possessing knowledge in the "particular" industry we are hiring.

When availability is more/sufficient, I guess we can go in choosing what's the best available.

And there are also times when the availability is scarce. For example, I was once looking for Plot Sales. Here we have only owners of a huge portion of land doing the sales by themselves with known groups, or agents/brokers who do it on behalf of them. A very few good companies are in plot development (purely), and again the quality was not that great (like the kind of person we were looking at).

Something closer to this would have been Apartment/Residential houses salesperson, but we chose to go in for selecting Insurance or Mutual funds salesperson, who would have a good track record in the last 5 years and must be in a Manager position.

So if you see the above - it's again the availability and then the quality.

Dear All,

This discussion is sidetracking the major issue due to out-of-proportion essay and thesis writings by some members. HR is not marketing products, but marketing has HR strategies to recruit the best talent in marketing. Our discussion has prolonged due to a low IQ level.

Kind Regards,
Partho

Hi Partha,

I appreciate your observation because I also realized that this seems to be an abnormal discussion taking place on a subject which has limited HR scope for intervention, as described by you. We, as HR, believe in talent hunting, and if marketing is the subject, then as HR, we focus on his skills, strategic expertise in sales promotion, Product Knowledge and Product Application, Ability to discover Client Inventory, opening new accounts, success rate in closing deals, Presentation Skills, etc.

Regards,
Abraham

Sandeep,

It's good you realized what's beneficial for you.

The best thing is, the point is that you have got motivated, that's what matters in the end. There may be some practical replies given by some HRs out here.

But my personal suggestion to you would be never to get demotivated anytime by any reply which may be practical but given in an unhealthy fashion.

It's not necessary what experience these people had or seen, it's everywhere. Some people are just limited to those old concepts of selection. Opportunities should be given to everyone, and then the best should be selected. But giving opportunities is very mandatory; that's my personal point.

Lectures and philosophies keep coming and going. In simple language, I would like to tell you to keep yourself open as per your interests and keep trying.

There are still good HR policies by some broad-minded HRs who are educated in a real sense. So keep your breath holding and never give up. Keep trying since sales have no limitations. Lots of jobs and lots of openings. Hope there would be some practical HRs rather than bookish ones.

Cheers,
Rashmi Bhalerao