Arjoon Vohra – Sales at Procter & Gamble

What brands or accounts were you working on?

I was on the Walmart account handling P&G’s consumer healthcare brands such as Vicks, Crest, Pepto bismol, Clear Blue etc..

What was your biggest learning?

When selling to a retailer, talk about growing the market rather than only your product. The retailer will be more open to listen to your views and their perception of the opportunity is more positive.

Can you share a cool customer or consumer or category insight?

Depending on the category, consumers go to stores either due to their needs or their desires. Therefore, it is extremely important to know whether your category is something the consumer needs and then design the shelf and the price according to those needs.

What was your favourite part of the internship?                                                         

Presenting my final recommendations and seeing the business actually implementing my recommendations

What was a typical day at work?

I started around 8am and would check my workplan. I would prioritize the tasks I had on hand and schedule meetings with my manager and sometimes with the brand manager of my category. If I had a presentation to make for Walmart, I had to do some data analysis to form a story of the need of idea behind the presentation

What skills are important for this job

Data analysis (excel), presentation skills, public speaking, being methodical, process oriented, event hosting, communication and organization skills.

What did you least expect going into the internship?

I did not expect that most of my recommendations would be accepted by the business.

Any advice for first year MBA Students?

Work on your resume to show your marketing or customer oriented achievements, connect with upper years who have changed industry and switched careers to learn about the culture at those companies

What did you do before your MBA?

Product Manager at Morgan Advanced Materials

What are your post MBA goals?

Account Management in CPG