Its been a long time since I have blogged about marketing or sales. Its been a long time since I have blogged actually. But something happened today which must be shared.
Most of you by now know that I am currently working with HCL Comnet as an Account Manager in the India Sales division. Being practically 'in training' for the past month and half, my eyes and ears are beginning to get attuned towards anything sales. Being a resident of Thane as I have often mentioned in my earlier posts, any place else in Mumbai is far away. Today I chose to come back home by train having had enough of traffic on the road.I am predominantly a train traveler and would prefer trains over buses anytime. Most of you who have traveled in the Mumbai local trains – otherwise called 'locals' – would be aware of the frequently annoying salesmen who travel along. Selling everything from pens to pens that are torches. Anything you buy normally costs 10 bucks. They come with loud noises making limericks and poems which makes you feel you would be robbing HIM if you buy his product for only 10 bucks!
However, today I saw a very different kind of salesman in the train. He boarded the compartment at the peak hour of 9 PM and stood in the most crowded part between the seats. Standing there, he started talking as if he was talking to his friends. It felt like he was giving a discourse! Extremely calm and extremely patient. He started explaining home remedies for common ailments that anyone in a family can suffer with. For some time I could not understand what this man who has the attention of everyone who can see him is trying to sell. His way of explaining was unique and his concern for the well being of my family seemed quite genuine. Finally, after almost 15 minutes of his well practiced and articulated speech, he started talking about a book which has everything he just spoke about and more! And guess what the price of the book was!
This guy according to me is brilliant! He came in calmly with a product which would be difficult to sell by just yelling out to everyone who does not want to hear. He surprised everyone by calmly talking about problems that everyone has had. So much so that people were leaning in to listen to him! In the end he sold 9 copies, made 90 bucks in 20 minutes and moved to another part of the compartment.
This guy:
- Knew the problems you have
- Knew how to tell you about those problems
- Had simple solutions to those problems
- It was cheap
- He made sure you noticed it was cheap. After all you spend 2 bucks a day on news, why not spend 10 for your family (says he, not me)
Ideal Musings 