Henry Newkirk is a happily married father of two. He was originally from New Haven, IN and currently resides in northwest, Indiana. He enjoys spending quality time with family and friends, being active and outdoors. Henry “Hank” Newkirk has several hobbies, which include fishing, hiking and (attempting to) golf. He is an avid Chicago Cubs, Bears, and Indiana University basketball fan where he attended college earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology.
Henry “Hank” Newkirk has been a pharmaceutical sales professional for 15 years, with promotions to field and national sales trainer roles, and earning multiple awards including President’s club. He takes great pride in his work and strives to be a resource to his clients and helping their patients through his efforts.
What do you love most about the industry you are in?
What I love most about the pharmaceutical industry is the challenge it presents every day and knowing that my efforts can improve the lives of my clients. It is exciting to know that every day presents a new challenge that will require proactive preparedness to take head on and deliver impactful results. That by my efforts, I can indirectly provide care and help improve the quality of life for my clients.
What keeps you motivated?
What keeps me motivated are goals. In every task I undertake, whether work or personal, I try to engage it with measurable goals that I can use to evaluate my effectiveness, and therefore alter if need be to elicit the maximum results, and ultimately improve the lives of my clients.
Furthermore, my dedication to bringing value to my clients keeps me motivated and engaged. While I am a sales professional, I’ve always gone into every interaction with the intent to be seen as a valued and trusted resource. For me, knowing that I helped my clients and indirectly cared for their patients is what motivates me. Finding avenues that my product can help improve the quality of their lives is what lets me sleep at night knowing I did the best option for them, and also what motivates me to be the first one out in the field taking on the next day’s challenge.
How do you motivate others?
I like to motivate my team members through contests or other goal-oriented activities. I feel that if I can challenge my team members in learning objectives with a focus on having fun in the process, that keeps their passion ignited and keeps them motivated.
Where do you get your inspiration from?
My inspiration comes from two sources. First, my family is my inspiration. My goal is to give them a happy and healthy life while instilling in them the same principles that our last name has represented for years: hard work, and treating others as you’d want to be treated. I feel those traits hold strong and are paramount in all aspects of one’s life.
Secondly, I find inspiration in setting and achieving goals. By visualizing these points as rings on a ladder, I’m continuously striving to climb up with each ring representing the next goal.
Who has been a role model to you and why?
Unequivocally, my father. He, like his father before him, didn’t have it easy and nothing was given to him. My father knows the definition of hard work and has shown by example that it involves hitting the pavement and not watching the paint dry. He showed me at an early age what it means to be a good man, caring husband/father, a hard worker, and someone who understands that the things in life that are sweetest, don’t come easy. To those before me that made our name synonymous with pride, respect, hard work, and dedication and family are values I hold dear and will continue to uphold for the rest of my days.
How do you maintain a solid work life balance?
My wife and children are my base. They remind me what is most important in this life. From being able to go through this life with my best friend, see my daughter show me the beauty of a butterfly in our garden, and watching my son get excited as a toddler at the thought of riding on the lawn tractor, it reminds me that all the efforts in the field to help the lives of others graces me a with purpose in my career and my family gives me a purpose in life. Whether it’s one minute or one day, whatever time I have with them gets my focus and my attention because I know all too well that time is fleeting and in the blink of an eye I’ll be sending my kids off to college. Then when I’m at work, I’m able to focus on each call and each interaction with resilient dedication and bring the best value to my clients.
What traits do you possess that makes a successful leader?
Compassion- I truly care about the betterment of everyone I work with.
Collaboration- I find so much value in working collectively as a team as two heads are always better than one, and so much can be learned when this is your focus.
Inspiration- I feel that I am adept at realizing what inspires my teammates and clients as well and utilizing this information to encourage them and motivate change to improve.
What suggestions do you have for someone starting in your industry?
Be dedicated to your clients, your company, and your colleagues. Go with a focus on learning to grow and learning to understand how to best serve each of them. This mentality will help you learn all you need to know to deliver your product with maximum impact and positively affect lives.
Be a 24/7 resource, not a 9 to 5 resource. Quality customer care is at the core of every successful endeavor and if my dedication is to be a resource to my clients, my efforts must represent that as well. Healthcare isn’t a 9 to 5 occupation and if your goal is to be a partner in their efforts, your dedication must be exemplified by your actions.
Lastly, be resilient in your assertiveness. What that means is to understand you will hear no, quite often in fact, but that “failure” means you just had a learning opportunity wherein to better focus your efforts. Your assertiveness (note, not aggressiveness), when founded in your dedication to bring value to your clients, will resonate with them and allow you to ascertain how to best serve your clients and be an asset.
What has been the hardest obstacle you’ve overcome?
There have been several, both in work and life. Ultimately, what I’ve learned regardless of the obstacle is a true test of your metal is when you can take insurmountable odds, whether from a business perspective, or outside evils, and you understand that they don’t define you, but that you define yourself by how you react. The choice is either to be stagnant and complain about it, or understand that obstacles are a part of life and your choice is how you will move forward, to carry on. You decide who you will become after you’ve made it through these woods. That with that obstacle’s weight on your shoulders, only you can dig your feet in the sand, channel all your strength, stand up, and move forward despite the headwind pushing against you. Ultimately, when you come out of the storm, you will be weathered, but you will be stronger and more real than you were before, and you are defined by that resilience, strength and learnt wisdom.
I saw a sign a long time ago that has stayed with me and captures this mentality I feel: “Difficulties in life are meant to make us better, not bitter.” Addressing hurdles as a part of life enables you to grow and empowers you to take on any obstacle with fortitude and strength.
What is one piece of advice that you have never forgotten?
I actually have three that stand out to me and feel they’ve been important to remember throughout my life. We’re all in this together, so “treat others as you’d like to be treated,” the best things in life don’t come easy, so “never give up,” and never let being outworked be the cause of losing out so “always be the hardest worker in the room.”
What trends in your industry excite you?
In neurology they are making great strides in Alzheimer’s disease and dementia care. My family has been personally affected by both and has seen firsthand the devastating effects it has on loved ones and their families as my mother battled Alzheimer’s for 13 years, the last 6 being in a nursing home facility. This disease steals so much from the affected and their families, and it’s inspiring to see that such a focus has been implemented to bring relief and hopefully one day a cure to this most terrible of diseases.
Explain the proudest day of your professional life.
The day I was promoted to the national sales trainer of the pharmaceutical company I worked for. This was a pinnacle goal I had set for myself; I was diligent in my preparation for it, and I was dedicated to not allowing anything to stand in my way of it. Being able to attain this goal and helping new and seasoned reps understand and grow truly showed me what my calling is in my career.