RepCorner: Together We Serve

By Laura Thill

Marine Corps veteran Tanner Miller has discovered new opportunities since joining Cardinal Health

It’s not always the know-how that makes a sales rep successful. The right training can be just as important, if not more so.

Tanner Miller was one of the first to be hired by Cardinal Health through Cameron-Brooks, a Junior Military Officer recruiting firm that helps officers such as him transition from military service to corporate employment. Although the longtime U.S. Marine Corps officer brought no lab experience to the job, he came well prepared. “I knew I had a lot to learn when I joined Cardinal Health last April,” he says. “But in the military, I always had a lot to learn in a short amount of time, and this experience helped prepare me for my current position. Indeed, in the military, one learns to approach new situations ‘with humility, and seek out the experts,’” he explains. And, the strategies that have worked for him in the past appear to be serving him well today.

All the right moves
There was no question for Miller: Joining the Navy was the right thing to do, and he enlisted in 2003, straight out of high school. His first stop was Navy boot camp at Naval Station Great Lakes in Illinois. From there, he moved to Monterey, Calif., where he studied Arabic for an occupational specialty in U.S. Navy Intelligence. However, it wasn’t long before he considered training to become a Naval officer. “While I was in Monterey, I applied to the U.S. Naval Academy,” he says. While studying at the Academy, he traveled to Jordan to meet with Prince Hassan, at which time he found his Arabic useful. In fact, on more than one occasion he also met with Moroccan officials, and his Arabic “helped fill in the language gap” there as well.

In 2010, following his graduation from the Academy, Miller was commissioned as a Marine Corps officer. “Following basic officer training in Quantico, Va., I was stationed at Camp Lejeune, N.C., where I began as a platoon commander for a radio reconnaissance company,” he explains. There, he trained Marines, overseeing their wellbeing and preparing them to deploy in support of Marine Expeditionary Units across the globe.

Over the next few years, Miller filled a number of different positions, including that of operations officer at a Radio Battalion and signals intelligence liaison officer stationed in Europe – roles that afforded him the opportunity to work with U.S. and foreign military service members, drive current and future military intelligence operations and develop new training programs to meet developing operational requirements. “I often advised people of higher rank than me, as well as those in lateral positions,” he says.

Back to his roots
A Midwesterner at heart, as much as he enjoyed his years in the Marines, Miller longed to return to his Nebraskan roots. “I went through a junior officer recruitment program,” he says. When the program visited the base at which he was stationed in North Carolina, he took full advantage of its resources. “I prepared for a year with them, writing resumes and preparing for interviews,” he recalls. “In February, I visited a career conference, and one of the companies I interviewed with happened to be Cardinal Health.”

The conference itself was unique, notes Miller, in that it was as much a chance for him to learn about the companies as it was for the companies to learn about him. And, one thing that struck him about Cardinal Health was that the company “actively seeks new, affordable ways to deliver products to hospitals and reference labs, making healthcare affordable for patients that need help,” he says. “This is important to me, as my mom is a now five-year survivor of a rare, fast-growing form of breast cancer. If there is any way I can help support people who are in need of fast, reliable testing and results, I want [to do so].” In addition, during the interview process, it became clear to him that Cardinal Health employees often stay with the company for many years. “This, to me, was indicative of the positive work environment and Cardinal Health’s [concern for its] people,” he says.

So, in April, Miller joined Cardinal Health and moved from North Carolina to Lincoln, Neb. On the plus side, it was great for him and his then-girlfriend (today, his wife), Caitlin, to be home among family and friends. At the same time, “I had no healthcare or lab experience,” he says. “I knew I had – and still have – a lot to learn.

“But, in the military, I always had a lot to learn, in a short amount of time,” he continues. “This helped prepare me for my position at Cardinal Health.” People love to teach one another, he points out, and his colleagues are no exception. “I’ll meet with lab managers and supervisors and say, ‘I don’t have a background in this area. If you have a moment, could you show me around?’” It also has helped that his regional manager and teammates in surrounding states have “taken me under their wing,” he adds.

Time to reflect
The support Miller has received from Cardinal Health over the last several months has served him well. “The experience has been great,” he says. “Since hiring me, the company has hired three other veterans as well, so I know the leadership here is interested in [moving this program forward].” In addition, he lives – and works – by some tried-and-true strategies, which he strongly recommends:

• Seek out the experts
• Stay organized
• Collaborate with manufacturer partners and lab and purchasing staff to deliver quality products in a timely manner
• Stay informed, devise a plan and communicate that plan to the right people.
• Set personal goals, and stick to them
• Stay healthy, including following a nutritionally sound diet, exercising and getting adequate sleep

To be successful, sales reps must be team players, he continues. “The efforts of many are far greater than that of one,” he points out – a lesson he learned very quickly in the military, he adds.

Taking time to reflect is also very important,” notes Miller. “In the military, when things get stressful and chaotic, you must step back and remember why you are doing what it is you do: to benefit your country and its people.” True, Cardinal Health presents a different backdrop than the Marine Corps. “But, at Cardinal Health, I still work to benefit people.”