Josh Henry is a Manager, Inside Sales Group at RR Donnelley, a leading global provider of multichannel business communications services and marketing solutions with more than 52,000 clients around the world.
1) What is your educational background and how did it influence you to go into sales at RRD?
My journey through college was not the typical four-year degree most students go through. I surprisingly started in the physical therapy path as every high school athlete usually runs down, being a track and cross-country runner in high school I always thought PT was my next step in life. Until I was flunking out of a majority of my classes and ending my freshmen year with a 2.1 GPA! After my freshmen year I did some bouncing around in the business school until ultimately finding my niche in Economics. Money and metrics came easy to me and was something I enjoyed learning about immensely with my journey through UB. I still was not sure where I wanted to go after graduating and luckily Bob and Paul Kennedy (my future managers at RRD) had reached out mentioning I should apply for RRD through the internship program at UB. I gave it a shot and found out three months into my internship not only was I working for a large company but, the largest print and communications company in the whole entire world! From then on I found a new passion in print, packaging, label, and marketing sales. My internship turned into a 2.5 year tenure and eventually was able to move into a full time outside sales role within the WNY and PA regions for RRD. If I never explored the internship program at UB I would not be where I am today as a manager for the inside sales group 7 years later!
2) What does your company, RR Donnelley, do and what kind of jobs or internships do they typically offer?
RRD is the world’s leader in print and marketing communication services for companies across the globe. We service anywhere between local small business companies to a majority of the Fortune 500 here in the US and in all major continents across the world. Our main focuses of production are through our commercial print, label, packaging, forms, digital/e-communication, and creative/content service platforms. Our main focuses of internships are more so focused around sales opportunities but we do have operational type internships as well (plant management, finance, project management, etc.). Our job applications range from sales, plant operations, finance, marketing, project management, and everything in between. It is one of the few companies that has a job for every role segment that a recent graduate would be looking for. NOTE: Follow RRD on Handshake
3) What, if anything, do you wish you would have known prior to entering into sales?
It is all hindsight but just more insight on how to properly research larger companies. What to look for and how to apply it to the products/platforms you are selling. Sales is continued education if you are in the B2B (business to business sales) world, the sooner you embrace this the more success you can see in your career.
4) What organizations, clubs or internships were you involved in during college? How did those experiences help prepare you for your current role?
My main time spent outside of classes was either with my sales internship at RRD or the UB Boxing club. Both taught me numerous skills like leadership, consistent hard work, task management, and most importantly dealing with different personalities and people. Sales and most business-focused roles are based around people interaction. How to deal with different people and find an end goal that services all parties. Whether it was internally or with clients I would say nine times out of ten my main focus in conversation was how I could meet a middle ground with the opposite party and find a way to the finish line we could all agree on.
5) What are the biggest challenges that you typically face in your career?
As a manager, my biggest challenges either come from last minute client requests or plant issues that result in a project failing or not working up to the clients request. These are inevitable but the main point I tell my reps and those who I work with is it is all about how you handle the pressure and find a solution. There is never a perfect situation in the business world (and if there is it is most likely too good to be true!) and with this being said the main points to focus on are how will you overcome this issue and find the right solution for the situation. Sometimes there is not a positive end result but, how can you make the most out of a negative situation to find a resolution is always key. Keeping clients expectations realistic, and keeping the relationship intact will always result in a fair outcome in the end. It is all about how you perform under pressure.
6) What other advice do you have for anyone that would want to pursue working in sales or a management role?
Whatever company you work for, day one make sure you connect with as many people as possible. RRD is great about this, as a new person or tenured you can reach out to anyone in the company to have a conversation and they will take you up on it. I have had opportunities to talk to other reps outside of my region up to our COO and CEO, both in a casual and learning opportunity surrounding a conversation. People want to help people, and those who take the initiative to learn more and introduce themselves to others are usually embraced immensely. Do not be afraid to speak to someone because of a title, they were most likely in your shoes at one point and have great advice to share. Some of the best advice I have received has come from my upper management and their upper management, all with the same goal of helping someone out and teaching them tricks of the trade even if they are lower on the ladder. Embrace your leaders.
7) If a UB student wanted to talk with you, what is the best way to reach you?
I would say LinkedIn is the easiest way. I am constantly on there either posting or talking with connections. I am always looking for the next best sales rep as well and always have full time or internship positions available! RRD is a great company to come and work for!
