SWITCH TO FAST TRACK

Economic climate in 2015 and onward will challenge MSMEs in more ways than one. Employers have a choice that will make things not only easier but durable for them. What such a choice can be? Develop leadership with in the firm; at the lowest level. Such leaderships at work place will become your competitive edge and help you switch to fast track early.

Most people want to know, what will in involve? How can I choose a leader among the pack? How to enlist him for development, with in the working hours? Can something go wrong?

Such thoughts are perfectly justified. First of all, it is not about making an announcement of Internal Leadership Program. Before making any move, please study your delegation style. On what basis you have been delegating work of supervising or overseeing a chunk of work. Have you been choosing some one for whom you have developed fondness, or some one who is very affectionate, or someone you fancy?

I know of an organization which is now suffering due to a senior salesperson. How? Some two decades ago when the owner once gave him a personal errand which owner's wife had requested. She might have suggested to make use of a person who has to be out in the market. Owner requested this person to do the needful and report to his wife. When the owner asked, "This is my personal work, will you be able to do it?" The salesperson replied, "Sir, I am your Hanuman, you can rest assured." [According to holy Ramayana, Hunuman was Lord Ram's Man Friday and more.] That person is still in the same frame of mind and the world around him has changed a lot. This method of delegation is not a productive one, though it may be a satisfactory one for some bosses. So, how to chose people who have potential to become a leader with passage of time?

First of all focus on persons who have the ability to tutor. Pay special attention to those who have been spreading rumours and unproductive ideas that are against the firms objective. Basically short-list those who are better communicators and their ability to tutor will help them become better 'coach' some time in future.

Next thing to focus upon is their consistency at work place and their ability to independently handle an assigned task. If you spot any weakness in their working, get involved and make it an area of development for the person.


Now some tactics of taking this process to next level.

Year 2015 has unfolded new strategies of Government of India to make our $ 2 Trillion economy into a $ 20 Trillion economy. You are aware that such a transformation wouldn't be possible unless each and every participant in the economy, read your work force, increased its own out put on daily basis.

In quest of leaders, you have focused on (1) Good communicators, as they would easily develop coaching skills; (2) persons you have found to be consistent at work place, in terms of presence and quality of their out put.

Your next stop would be to short-list them further on the basis of their authenticity. Here is a way to check it through your observations.

Check them out for any pretentious behaviour. See if they tend to pretend, what they may not be. Eliminate pretentious persons from your short list.

Next see if they are able to 'do what they say'. Meaning their deeds and expressed thoughts display closeness.

Finally, observe the choices they are making. Look for a person who is making value based choices, whenever an occasion arises.

Now make such person sensitive towards customer satisfaction, internal and external customers.

When it comes to Customers, almost everyone believe himself to be an expert. Such a feeling stems from two main causes: (1) Everyone is a customer too. (2) One's own perception, habitual way of thinking does not let a person see other points of view easily. David Ogilvy had furthered this point. He said, "Consumer isn't a moron, she is your wife". Though in Indian context many would like believe, "Consumer is not a moron, she is your Mother-in law. Those who understood the message gained very much and are known to have kept it hidden.

And based of these and a few other other reasons, everyone is comfortable with his views on relationships with customers, until crisis arrives. Now, end of the month is an occasion when most of such beliefs are put to test and the reality dawns. This is the month we face the consequences of our assumptions and actions based on those. Most people then depend on their 'locker-room' buddies for advice and view points and reinforce their beliefs. Only a select few are able to take those analytical moments forward into positive actions as freely available advice usually shoots down the ideas of travelling previously uncharted paths.

Finally, at any given time hundreds of ideas are available for consideration, and what may be good for one, may not be good for others. That is where external consultants are useful. They are able to provide both, an apperture in the ceiling as well as an outsiders view, which are essential to take your organization forward in your growth journey - your fast track.

And here is the last, yet no the least important point. Recently, one guy named Hassan called me. His concluding remark was, "Nice to talk to you after one year!" I was stunned. I know time flies, but I thought he had called just before the Christmas last.

And this idea flashed-

TIME FLIES, LET'S CATCH SOME MORE REVENUE IN AVAILABLE TIME!

You will agree that it is every business's dream. Every businessman, CEO, Executive Vice President - and whatever you like to call them - are looking for more revenue in lesser time. And the slice of cake is getting smaller. The available space to operate is shrinking. Therefore to switch to fast track, performance is the key; particularly, performance of your salespeople. Encourage them to improve their capabilities so that their improved performance would take your revenues to next level.

HOW THEY WON CUSTOMERS 2

This is a true story as told by Dilip Upmanyu about his Edible Oil Days!


It was way back in 2004 when one fine morning his boss told him, “Pack your bags and park yourself at Gwalior, where you will start work from tomorrow”. Your objective is to establish our brand in Gwalior. The brand as they say was then in dole drums at Gwalior. His company’s brand is a heavy premium brand. Curiously no distributor was interested in dealing in their brand. And worst, no one was able to explain the reasons for such an utter failure of a well known premium segment brand.


Dilip was quickly able to find a party and appoint them as a distributor for his brand. His real difficulties were to surface when he started launching his product in Bazar (market). In his first month at Gwalior, he did not get any response from the market. Each passing day, he became more depressed. The boss was constantly bugging him for the business. The distributor who had invested money as a result of Dilip’s pitching started feeling nervous for having made a mistake of his life time.


In such circumstances it was natural that that they frequently sat together to discuss the market scene.  They discovered that there were many brands of packed cooking oil that were engaged in malpractices. Dilip’s company packed one Litre of oil at standard temperature so their pack weighed 910 grams, where as many unscrupulous re-packers packed only 750 grams to 840 grams of cooking oil in 1 Liter pack. These brands kept their MRP around Dilip’s brand and sold their pack at Rs.36/- to 40/- to the Retailers. Retailers were then selling that pack to consumers at Rs.48/-, the price charged by Dilip’s brand. But his company sold the 1 Litre pack at Rs.46/- to be sold at Rs.48/- to consumers. This unethical arrangement between unscrupulous re-packers, traders and Retailers had completely blocked the entry of Dilip’s brand in Gwalior market. Almost similar difficulties were being faced in marketing of 15 Litre packing.


One day over a meal, Dilip and Distributor were discussing their woes and same questions kept coming up before them, “What to do? How can we break this unethical nexus of re-packers and Retailers? Where to make a beginning?” Distributor casually commented, “Sab brand bik rahe hein, sirf apna wala nahi bik raha hai. Marriage season ane wala hai. Tumne mujhe marwa diya!” (All brands are getting sold, only our's isn't selling. The merriage season is around the corner. You got me into this fix.)


Dilip suddenly had a flash, a few months back he had helped a close friend in his sister’s wedding. Being from FMCG background, friend had requested Dilip to make purchases for Halwai (Contract Cook) who was hired to make food for guests. The Halwai arrived and came armed with a list of groceries to be bought. When Dilip saw his brand of oil didn’t figure in the list, he asked his friend if he could change the oil brand. Suddenly, his friend’s mother, who was passing by & overheard the conversation, interrupted and told Dilip not to make any changes, and he should buy exactly what their Halwai had prescribed.


After this flash, a new idea emerged in Dilip’s mind. Why not approach all the Halwais (Contract Cooks) who are in catering business at Gwalior, Datia and Dabra? The Distributor did not know how to locate these people. What happened next was even more surprising. Dilip suddenly quipped, “If you do not know how to locate them, it means they were never approached by any one. May be here lies a solution for us.” Dilip then went from one marriage venue to the other until he was able to locate a very low profile and elderly President of Halwai Sangh. With his help he obtained a list of members and went on to meet each of them and personally invite them for a gathering of Halwais.


Halwais (Contract Cooks) of Gwalior were in for a new experience. Being from hospitality trade while they understood the process invitation and the rest, yet they were pleasantly surprised that some one had taken pains to invite ‘a poor me’ to an organized gathering and be a recipient of some one else’s hospitality. During the gathering the guest Halwais were shown their lunch being cooked in the Dilip’s brand cooking oil. There was live demonstration of all good qualities like no surfing, no odors, no fumes etc. Then came the clincher- Dilip said in his address, “Any one who buys a pair of shoes, walks a few steps in the new shoe to see how it feels. But we take the matter of cooking oil very lightly and casually say, “Give any oil!”. We conveniently forget that cooking oil is closely connected with our health. He then went on to establish importance of a product trial and invited them to carry back a no obligation 1 Litre pack for their personal trial at home. A very few of them, not all of them, did carry a trial pack later on their way out. A scheme was also announced for those Halwais who cared to prescribe Dilip’s brand. On the whole, the gathering was a great success. Halwais were very happy that they were recognized as responsible people with important task of preparing and serving food that would delight the guests wherever they went to work.


In that marriage season many Shopkeepers were surprised by buyers asking 15 Litre packing of Dilip’s brand of cooking oil. The embarrassed shop keepers were now telling the customers that, it just got over and will be available in an hour or two. There was a mad scramble to find who the distributor is, and finally orders were flowing to distributor like never before. It is often said, “One good thing will lead you to another!” And it happened in Dilip’s case and happened soon enough.


The success of 15 Litre pack though brought relief to both Dilip and Distributor yet their smile was miles away. They were still facing the blockade created by unethical re-packers. The break came in the shape of famous Gwalior Trade Fair. That year a local Television Channel had undertaken to telecast a few evening hours of Trade Fair live. When they came to Dilip’s stall and asked him, “What is your message to the public of Gwalior?” A hypnotized Dilip found himself speaking to the camera in some what this way, “Every pack of honestly packed cooking oil weighs 910 grams. So when you buy your next 1 Litre pack of cooking oil, just ask the shop keeper to weigh it for you and if it is less in weight, demand from him a pack that weighs 910 grams!”  The honest appeal and sincerity of message hit the consumers. Next day the shop keepers across Gwalior were in short supply of 1 Litre pack that weighed 910 grams. And Dilip’s distributor had an ample supply waiting to be dispatched. Rest as they say was history. Gwalior soon became a huge consumption point for Dilip’s brand of cooking oil- a town with zero sales was consuming 180 metric tonnes per month when Dilip was called back later from that territory.

How They Won Customers

This is a true story. It is about- “Shailendra Saraf and his job as a Biscuit Salesman!”

Many years ago, Shailendra Saraf was a biscuit salesman in Bombay. At his heart, he is still a salesman, and he will continue to remain so. He has several reasons to be a proud salesman, though he never allowed pride to come between him and his job. The company Shailendra worked for was neither number one nor number two in biscuit trade. Back then we did not know it was FMCG. The term ‘Brand’ wasn't in our horizon either. I do not remember being familiar with these in those days. Today even school children know- “Which one is the leading Brand in what category.”  Just like Shailendra, we also liked to believe that he worked for a company which was number three in the trade.


His territory was between Bandra and Andheri. Vile Parle, a station between Bandra and Andheri is home to the number one biscuit Brand. Yes, you got it right, “Parle G”. If you ever travelled by a local train in that section, you could smell the rich aroma of Parle G biscuits when the train halted at Vile Parle station. It is well known that ‘Olfaction’, the sense of smell, has an over riding influence in shaping consumer behaviour. And this accidental and occasional encounter people had with aroma at Vile Parle was deeply engraved in their minds. Consumers would rather have a brand they had already smelt than to try some thing entirely unknown.


Against such odds Shailendra did his work. His customers were mainly grocery store owners. He was required to visit at least 50 customers before calling it a day. Each morning he would submit his report and orders received on the previous working day. Before leaving for the field he would obtain, from his boss, special instructions for the day, which among other things included a stereotyped quipping “TARGET!” and the look (on boss’s face) that went with it. Though he fulfilled his target each month but had this nagging feeling that next month he may fail.


One late afternoon when he was doing the Khar-Danda beat, he walked into a store that was empty of customers and the owner had a painful expression on the face. He struck a conversation with the shopkeeper and came to know that poor-rich soul has been standing since six o'clock in the morning and was cursing himself for being in such a vocation. Shailendra did his best to pacify the guy before he walked out without asking for an order. He also carried with him the guilt of not doing his duty, ‘asking for the order.’


He kept on debating in his mind, if he had done the right thing. As a result of this the whole episode remained fresh in his mind till late that evening. It was at the bed time he had this flash, “If this guy is at work at 6 am so will be other shopkeepers. Why don’t I try to meet these people when they are fresh in the morning?” Next day he got up at 5 am and was in field by 6 am. He could finish all his calls by 10 am and reached office half an hour too late. Boss was angry, but Shailendra had two day’s reports and orders with him. The orders looked good. If the boss suspected some thing, he kept his suspicion to himself and decided to do back checking himself. In a few weeks time Shailendra’s order book seemed comfortable and he was now more confident about keeping his job even for the next few months.


Future had more exciting things in store for Shailendra and he didn't have any idea about those. One day the same Khar-Dandha shop keeper wanted to talk to him in confidence. By now the shopkeeper had figured out that Shailendra has changed his routine as a result of the conversation they previously had. He told Shailendra, “I know you are working so hard and proper, but your boss has some other plans for you. He has been back checking you and is going around the beat like a mad man. He wants to frame you up into some thing. Tell me if you have been fulfilling your target or not.” Then without waiting for an answer, he went on to say, “I have made a plan to silence your boss for ever. Can you meet me this Friday night for a few drinks? Of course it’s on me.”


That Friday night Shailendra was in for a bigger surprise. This shopkeeper had a friend who was a supplier for the out going ships from the Bombay Port. Each Friday he would order supplies required for next week’s sea faring vessels. Shopkeeper's friend gave him his card and asked him to meet next Friday. From the shopkeeper’s friend, next Friday, Shailendra received an order far in excess of his monthly target. Shailendra was asked to come back again next Friday, and this routine went on for several years even after Shailendra left that company.

"HARI SADU!" H For Hitler, A For Arrogant.......

Hari Sadu Ad hasn't been seen for a long time now. I wouldn't know the reason, yet there are memories attached to it and reading this article penned earlier triggers fresh thoughts. Here are some of those-

"HARI SADU!" H for Hitler, A for Arrogant, R for Rascal and I for Idiot; during a TV commercial, this is the way an executive is shown telling the correct spelling of his boss's name over a telephone call. Three exposures to this ad set me thinking, "Who is Hari Sadu?" "What if he's there in me?" And "What if he's there in the other managers?" And my fears weren't unfounded! Each one of us may have behaved like Hitler or as an arrogant person, or as a Rascal or Idiot some times in life. Yet, "Is this how we want others to think about us?"

As I was entertaining these thoughts, I came across the copy of "Made in America", by Sam Walton. By the way there are four Waltons, presumably descendent of Sam Walton. Each of these enjoy net worth ranging from $32 billion to S 34 billion;. If you were to add those up it becomes a formidable net worth in excess of $ 130 billion. Such is the legacy of the man called Sam Walton, who after taking retirement from US Army created this miracle empire Walmart and wrote this fabulous tale of his exploits. The following are the excerpts from the first few pages:

Quote

Hello, friends, I'm Sam Walton, founder and Chairman of Walmart Stores. By now I hope you've shopped in one of our stores or may be bought some stock in our company. If you have, you probably already know how proud I am of what is simply the miracle that all these Walmart associates of mine have accomplished in the thirty years since we opened our first Walmart here in north-west Arkansas, which Wal-Mart and I still call home. As hard as it is to believe sometimes, we've grown from that one little store into what is now the largest retailing outfit in the world. And we've really had a heck of a time along the way.

I realize we have been through something amazing here at Walmart, something special that we ought to share more of with all the folks who have been so loyal to our stores and to our company. That's one thing we never did much of while we were building Walmart, talk about ourselves or do a whole lot of bragging outside the Walmart family - except when we had to convince some banker or some Wall Street financier that we intended to amount to something someday, that we were worth taking a chance on. When folks have asked me, "How did Walmart do it?" I've usually been flip about answering them. "Friend, we just got after it and stayed after it, " I'd say. 

The Walmart story is unique: Nothing quite like it has been done before. So may be by telling it the way it really happened, we can help some other folks down the line take these same principles and apply them to their dreams and make them come true.

Life has been great to me, probably better than any man has a right to expect. At home I've been blessed with a wife and a family who've stuck together and loved each other and indulged my lifelong obsession with minding the store. At work my business life has been spent in lock step with an incredible group of Walmart associates who have put up with all my aggravation and bullheadedness and pulled together to make what once appeared truly impossible now seem expected and routine.

So first I want to dedicate this book to Helen Robson Walton and the four fine kids she raised - with some help along the way from the old man - our sons Rob, John, and Jim and our daughter Alice. Then I want to dedicate it to all my partners - and I wish I could recognize everyone of you individually, but we've talked over the years and you know how I feel about you - and to all 400, 000 of my associates- partners who've made this wild, wild Walmart ride so much fun and so special. Much of this book is really your story.

Unquote

I reflected, "In stead of saying such things at the fag end of my business career, why not I say it today; when it matters most." I have decided that when the office opens after the week end, people would see a sign out side: "This company is great because Virendra starts the day for us much before 8 am. This company is great because Sanjay does those small little things that we can use our office without a hitch through out the year. "

I can already feel a wave of joy building inside me. 

YOUR FIRM IS A GURUKUL TOO!

Competition is forcing firms into learning mode like never before; and the Society outside the organization is 'manufacturing challenges' for the firms like never before. Every firm needs to become a 'learning organism', and not just an outfit with posters or orchestrated situations wherein posters or poster-boys depicting /doing jargon munching about "Change", "Learning organization", and "How to be a customer centric" etc. The list seems endless while hours are limited. "How to compress the new agenda in to an already 'punishing' schedule called 'work day'" is the moot question.


The legendary Raja Bhartrihari of Ujjaini who wrote an epic on 'Policy' states- "No mark is left by the drop of water that fell on the red hot iron (implying 'Tawa'- an iron sheet used for cooking bread in India), same drop on the lotus leaf takes the form of a pearl and when it falls in the 'mother pearl' it gets converted into a real pearl. Thus, generally people develop different traits (read 'attitude'); bad average or excellent; due to the company they keep."


Though Bhartrihari lived in another era, yet his observations are true in the times like NOW. You may have noticed, people join a firm. They learn the work. Through the work they acquire higher learning and wisdom. Some times they like to share the wisdom with those who made it possible for them. Therefore a firm is like a "Gurukul". Those who have synchronized themselves with this reality are experiencing desired growth.

Theatres of Excellence

"All that we see or seem; is but a dream within dream." Those are some very famous words.

I have always wondered as to "Why the dream destinations attract people?" Is it some thing inside those people or it is in those destinations or both or something else.

Trust me, I did not have any answer until a friend came back from a trip. She was describing her experiences. While listening to her, it dawned upon me that she was describing the places she visited - the dream destinations - as Theaters of Excellence.

It seems, people she came across, the actors - the players - the participants - the workers - the vendors - the drivers - the cashiers - the managers - the stakeholders; everyone appeared to treat their respective positions as a part of a grand show. They play their respective roles in an orchestrated manner. They create their own dream world with in the larger dream called universe. Being their own dream it always works out. It started fitting in to the void of several years as to why people are attracted to dream destinations; because those are Theaters of Excellence.

So if I could DREAM my work as a Theater of Excellence and act accordingly then I would be able to attract others to me, my purpose, my priorities and at the same time offering them satisfaction of dealing with Excellent Environment.

Isn't it a dream we weave all the time? So why not begin by- "Visualizing My Work Place as a Theater of Excellence"

Finally, take a look at this anecdote about an ancient Theatre of Excellence-

Around 400 BC, Phidia, the greatest sculptor of ancient Greece was commissioned to make that to this day stand on the roof of the Parthenon, in Athens. They are considered among the greatest sculptures of western tradition. When he submitted his bill the accountant said, "These statues stand on the roof of the temple, and on the highest hill in Athens. No body can see any thing but their fronts. Yet you have charged us for sculpting them in the round that is, for doing their back sides, which nobody can see"

"You are wrong", Phidias retorted. "God can see them".

THE STAR OF SELLING - YOU!

Company has started demanding sales volumes, which make a day's work seem like participating in some well-known championship. Accountants inside and outside the boardroom are calling the shots. Your capabilities are being challenged like never before. The general feeling is, "Only STARS will survive! ". You don't know if you are one. You are constantly contemplating the question, "How can I turn the tide?"....Of course by being a STAR OF SELLING.

Good selling is a practised drill and not prerogative of so called BORN SALESMAN. Actually the legend of born salesmen usually thrives on their ability to sell effortlessly. You too can be a STAR OF SELLING....all you need to do is to make a beginning.

Begin by knowing that- you can be one of the best or you can be with the rest! After convincing yourself about it, set out to work on it, on daily basis. Remember, the conditions out side contribute only 1% and your own reaction to those conditions make up for the rest 99% in the results.

Try to recall, what happened when you took up a new job or assignment. You were full of enthusiasm and had a burning desire to go for the moon, right? You had every thing except the operating knowledge of the job, your enthusiasm covered up for it. After a while, when you mastered your offering, learnt your territory, techniques of prospecting and presentation. This way you gained on the job experience. Then what happened to your enthusiasm?

Predictably it dwindled a little, because your offering was not fresh any more. But, for whom! For you only! For a new probable customer, a prospect, it is still fresh. Slowly your dwindling enthusiasm was compensated by the knowledge you gained. These two things had such an impact on your sales that you could show relatively much slower growth.

What else happened? You became aware of the intrinsic negative aspects of your offering and probably had the opportunity to use those to cover any lack of results. Who could have benefited from such an attitude? Obviously, the Competition!

How can you possibly reverse such a trend?

Firstly, restore your enthusiasm to same high level by talking to yourself often about it. Trust me it's easy.

Secondly, do not let the negatives of the proposition come in your way of conducting business. Do this by questioning your self each time you feel like withdrawing from some action. This too is easy.

Thirdly, start using effective selling techniques, some of which are given here. Working on these would lead you to other useful techniques.

You have known for a long time, the mechanics of a routine first time sales call- ensuring preparedness in all respects; opening the call; making a presentation; obtaining a commitment etc. You have known it all, like the back of your hand, so has every STAR OF SELLING thus what is the essential difference? It is in their superior preparations and the perfect handling of the show.

Good selling often begins with the understanding of the buying process and what is being bought. The understanding of the buying process will give you an insight into the buyer's decision-making mechanism. Make sure the people you meet are the ones who take decisions. Find out why and what are they currently using. Do not spend your time with people who want what your proposition can't deliver. Once you will know whose opinions or what factors are likely to influence the purchase decision you will improve chances of achieving a successful sale.

The understanding of "what is being bought" will tell what benefits of your offering will appeal to the prospects. You might be offering the latest and best piece of equipment well known for its modern design and high productivity, but your prospect might want to buy what he had seen when he was learning the ropes of the business or studying in college. The central idea being, the prospect usually looks forward to some emotional experience of his/her choosing with in your proposition. So, you have to make it possible for the prospect to over come his previous emotional ties and experience the use your product.

Whenever you are able to arouse positive emotions in prospects you will lead them to favorable decisions. During a sales call, your perfect performance shall arouse in the prospect, the desired emotional response like nothing else will. So, when you meet your very next prospect, be mindful of delivering a flawless performance. Power of your performance shall not only determine your income but also shall open new selling opportunities for you.

The emotional process that leads to a purchase decision usually begins with a new development in prospect's self image. The prospect secretly starts behaving as a user of your offering and having spotted such a change in his self-image; you should immediately reinforce it and keep the prospect in the same frame of mind throughout.

Develop your interest in the subject of your offering. To learn the details fast, try and visualize the edge you will come to possess after you have mastered even the smallest of the details about the offering. Your buyers are also an important source of learning more about the subject.

Whenever you are face to face with a prospect, shut yourself from past worries and future exigencies. Concentrate fully on the prospect before you, his needs and attitudes. Remember, the prospects have the unusual ability to be completely oblivious to your persuasion. See or hear what they want to see or hear. Do what you have to do in order to make prospects see or hear what is favorable for your deal.

Therefore, when you give a presentation or demonstration, make sure it ultimately develops into a two-way communication. Make use of the words, which will have leading effect on the prospect. You can even be bold and take a few risks by saying striking things which will seize audience attention and if that makes them ask some questions you will know they have been listening. Answer in a manner that will improve involvement of others who are present.

If you know any statements, which have worked well with prospects, half of your job is done. All you have to do is to master the use of all the possible variations of those statements tailoring the variations for various situations usually encountered. This may be time consuming but the results shall justify the effort.

Don't hate prospects' objections, actually a prospect airing objections is inviting you to book his/her order and coming in disguise it should be very stimulating for you. Begin by believing that an objection is an announcement of buying intentions. Learning, observation and drill will show you the way through such situaons, starting point being prospects' own fear of unknown, which is required to be handled with a certain degree of deftness. The key to objection handling being, seeking out all the possible objections in advance and to be well prepared instead of trying to avoid those during a sales call.

Prospects have always demanded more than what their money can ever get them in a fair transaction. Therefore don't get perplexed by their attempts to squeeze more from you. Usually in every deal a compromise is reached between the buyer and the seller, which seals the deal. You will discover the process of arriving at such a compromise is a very healthy exercise, as this will expose you to the prospect's current as well as future frame of mind.

In practice, each sale becomes a unique bond between the buyer and the seller. Common feature of these bonds being that in each the seller has given to the buyer the comfort that his decision has been a correct one and seller will live up to the expectations. Also, the volume of supplies/services so contracted is optimum for his money. This bond is an important source of future orders and referred leads. Pay good attention to leads so received as they are going to improve the looks of your order book. Exercise some caution; ask for such leads only after completing the transaction with the original prospect.

Learn to over come fear of refusal by understanding the refusal in its correct perspective. All salespersons, at some time or the other have been refused/rejected by their prospects. Do not expect prospects to show fairness only by accepting your offering, actually they are being quite fair in giving you a chance to make a presentation, a chance to practice your skills, a chance to develop superior performance. Remember as long as the sales profession exists, refusals will take place and someone has to bear its burden, so bear it with a smile and don't let a previous refusal affect the outcome of the next call. Never take a refusal personally. It's after all a free market.

And finally, pay good attention to the following and reap rich rewards.

• Don't let events take charge of your day; instead you take charge of events and remain highly sensitive towards avoidable delays.
• Believe in the benefits of your proposition and remember your proposition always comes before you.
• Make good use of telephone, it is the second most important selling tool available, first one being your own mouth.
• Create your visit/call in your mind before you approach the customer.
• Every day, be the first person to begin customer contact work.
• After every call analyse your performance and record the prospect's attitude and the mutual commitments.
• Focus on doing the most rewarding thing at any given time.

Now, to be A STAR OF SELLING will be very easy for you. All you need to do- Master the techniques described here, pick the easy ones and try them today and for the rest fix a time bound schedule.

Yes! That's the way STARS work. They set up the timetable of their own success!

Navendu Mahodaya
Motivator-Trainer-Consultant
nsos.ncr@gmail.com

ORGANISED RETAIL IN INDIA

Once upon a time the business of world was war. The focus has since been shifted. Now economies are competing for consumers. Man has decided to enjoy the fruits of the labour of previous generations. Old order is giving way to a new order- 'serve Consumer for a profit'. Of many things that go into making this a reality, Organised Retail surely occupies a very high spot.

 

 

Miracle of Retail is attributable to the ‘pull’ it has on customers. Twenty years back in India, a small group of entrepreneurs were trying to find foot holds in television business. Most of them were carrying VHS tapes in their briefcases to hand them over to prospective sponsors with a request to view at leisure and tagged a request ‘let me know what you think of it?’ One of them, Harish Thawani, went on to establish an office-cum-screening facility where senior executives of large corporations would visit and view the screening of television programmes available for sponsorship. ‘Selections’ were now being done in an environment conducive for business. In other words he created a ‘pull’ situation and consequently his business boomed. The leadership he established this way went on to become the foundation of multimillion Media Empire ‘NIMBUS’.

 

 

In its more than a century old history, Organized Retail has proved that it is the ultimate 'clearing house' of 'demand-n-supply', mother of the concept of ‘marketing’ and more. Take a look at the following snap shots:

 

 

* Tiffany, which has been around for over 160 years, is among the best known of all the great American brands. Tiffany is more than a retailer; it is an American icon that has worked its way into movies and songs. The company's flagship location on Fifth Avenue inNew York City has become a tourist attraction.

 

 

* Ron Jon Surf Shop is known worldwide for its extensive selection of active lifestyles apparel, board sports equipment, and dive apparatus. Their 52000 square-feet CocoBeach - Florida store is open 24 hours a day - 365 days a year - just like the beach itself.

 

 

* Recreation Equipment Incorporated-REI, is one of the largest outdoor specialty retailer operating more than 50 stores. Its flag ship store in Seattle is an exciting shopping experience. It has a huge 65-feet high, free standing climbing rock; mountain bike trails; and 'rain rooms' for customers to test their equipment at the time of purchase.

 

 

* Japanese '7 Eleven' stores scan each customer's basket and data gets transmitted to corporate HQ which in turn makes it available to all the 8200 stores and countless vendors. Orders for fast-food and fresh-food supplies are placed three times each day. Magazines are ordered once a day. Processed food is ordered once in two days while each store receives deliveries ten times a day.

 

 

* In USA, Fred Lazarus Jr., the founder of the Lazarus departmental stores, promoted the idea of fixing Thanksgiving on the fourth weekend of month November. The idea behind this move was to expand the Christmas shopping season. In the year 1941, Congress adopted his proposal.

 

 

* In 1997, Maxine Clark opened doors of 'Build-A-Bear Workshop'. Now children could walk in and make a Teddy of their choice themselves. There are Master Bear Builders present to make it an enjoyable and memorable experience. With in five years the idea grew into a 100 store chain with annual sales of US$200 million.

 

 

These examples show the diversified ways in which this business functions worldwide and these are not all the examples. Let us now examine how close we have reached in creating Indian Retail Miracle that every one hopes is just around the corner. It is considered opinion of this writer that the threats and weaknesses need to be highlighted for in handling of those lie the biggest of the opportunities sought by Organized Retail.

 

 

Before we do that, we must appreciate that Indian Consumer is still learning to deal with Organized Retail and it shows in the fact that as much as 94% (or so) of India’s Retail sales still comes from unorganized sector, what is popularly called mom-n-pop Stores. The pioneers of the industry are doing a fine job of ‘bringing-up the consumers’. Their ratios are significantly higher than that those of their neighbors in the same mall. And this is not just because they are ‘Anchor Tenants’. It is because they are paying attention to a wide spread issues that others have conveniently ignored. This applies to those in Fashion and Lifestyle segments too.

 

 

On one side where Indian consumers are still learning to deal with Organised Retail, the work force too is yet to learn the ropes of this wonder. And that shows in the kind of shopping experience available in the stores. Not very long ago I had the privilege of visiting a store at least three times in a span of two weeks. Among other things their merchandise assortment includes green groceries i.e. fresh vegetables as well as fruits. On all occasions, my experience reminds me of a legal expression 'caveat emptor'- let the buyer beware!

 

 

If they have 20 trays for fresh fruits & vegetables, in at least 9 to 10 the trays old stuff has been smartly mixed with the fresh arrivals. The result is if you try to pick up a lemon, three times out of five you either pick up a rotten lemon or your hand touches the wet parts of a rotten lemon. If there are two trays filled with beetroot. You have tough time getting 8 good hard pieces of it as most of them have gone soft. If you try to pick nice shining brinjal for making 'baingan bhurta' what you get are softened pieces and you begin to wonder if those have been already roasted and kept there.

 

 

On one occasion, there were three important looking people present just out side the door. Upon enquiry I learn they are the company officers. I tell them about the problem faced, they listen for some time and then one of them asks, ‘Where in this town can you get vegetables past 9 pm?’ I congratulate him for coming up with an argument, which only makes an attempt to hide the unethical tactics practiced behind flashy store design and name of a reputed retail brand.

 

 

Around the same time I had visited a stationery store, a mom-n-pop store, not very far from this outlet. I saw a one rupee coin on the counter. As I thought of lifting it and giving it to the cashier; I realized that it was not above the counter it was actually taped under the glass sheet of the counter. I asked the boy who was attending me as to what might be the purpose of having the coin fixed in this manner. He told me, ‘Many people who come to this store are fooled by this trick and we enjoy the expression on their faces when they realize that they can’t get the rupee coin’. I thought the boy is creative but his energies are misdirected due to lack of guidance. There are many such boys and girls who think of having fun at customers’ expanse. And such ideas are present among the pool of workforce that comes over for interviews to join the Organized Retail.

 

 

If you carefully examine these two episodes you will find some similarity in the attitude displayed by employees of the two types of retail enterprises. How such attitudes are surfacing in the Organized Retail is attributable to the practice of ‘brinkmanship’ while hiring new recruits when a store is about to be launched. It is well known that there is a shortage of trained manpower at all levels of Organized Retail. Therefore the recruiters, who usually wait till last minute, bring the candidates and managements to a ‘brink’ where what the recruiter does is acceptable to all parties. Enter ‘placement brokers’ who ‘fix’ the employment by questionable means and still be in ‘good books’ of all; as they have ‘bailed out’ the store management as well as the candidates at the ‘right time’.

 

 

 

Employees who get selected have been briefed by these brokers about what might be asked during the interviews and how to face those questions before a panel of recruiters. After having paid a ‘broker’ to get an undeserved job, the employee focuses on maintaining it. His strategy is ‘do not make waves’. He does not question or report the ‘soft beetroots’ and ‘rotten lemons’ on the shelves. Even if the stores value system speaks of the policy of ‘open dissent’, employees turn a blind eye to the malpractices. And the shopping experience promised by the brand goes for a toss. One can have those ‘mission’ and ‘vision’ statements that illuminate the corporate walls, yet at the end of the day those need to get translated into desired behavior on the floors visited by customers. And such all round questionable practices cast shadows over the deliverable benefits that are sought by consumers visiting floors of Organized Retail.

 

 

Observers have come across long queues on the floors of many departmental stores. Queues might please a few retail executives. But they need to check the tendency to enjoy those situations and look at it as a technology and productivity issue for crowds are like shifting sands in a desert, today here tomorrow elsewhere.

 

 

That brings us to- ‘What can be done’?

 

 

Retailers must use every opportunity to counsel the youth to take up a job in Retail which may well become their entry point of their corporate career. Youth that enters Organized Retail even with a short term view can gain long term benefits from the attitude learnt and experience obtained while ‘serving consumer for a Profit’ for this has become the motto of almost all kinds of economic activities happening around the world. I know of an Electrical Engineer, who in his days of unemployment, immediately after the graduation, worked for several months at a chemist shop in an obscure town of Madhya Pradesh. The attitude and perspectives he gained during that period helped him master every job and occupation he subsequently took up; initially as an Electrical Engineer, then as a retail executive in theMiddle East, and finally as a very successful consultant related to construction trade.

 

 

Retailers could use Focus Groups to understand the problems faced by potential recruits and devise recruitment strategy that produces long term stream well trained employees at their stores. Such a strategy may also include sharing useful information with training institutes who are attempting to develop solutions for an industry faced with manpower shortage. Retailers should facilitate post employment interaction between the institutes and the employees so that the process of active and constructive feed back can set in.

 

 

The Retail managers need to look upon themselves as in the business of serving the Associates to help them develop their personality and potential. They need to function like Retail Gurus who help Associates plan their respective career and help them at different stages of execution of that plan. It calls for deeper involvement and frequent introspection on the part of Retail managers. At the end of every calendar year a Retail manager must be able to come up with number of employees mentored by him and what has been the impact of that mentoring on the person as well as the firm and the family of the employee.

 

 

Towards the end, here is a case of Community Pride Food Stores that demonstrates the depth of involvement needed to make solutions effective:

 

 

When Jonathan Johnson was growing up in Richmond, Virginia, his neighbors took great pride in their homes and community. A few years later, the neighbourhood showed the scars of economic hardship, crime, and drugs. Johnson started Community Pride Food Stores in 1992 with the objective of developing a new spirit of community in Richmond's inner city.

 

 

Community Pride has six clean, well-managed stores in urban Richmond that offer affordable, quality products. Eighty percent of its employees live within three miles of the store where they work. Each store has two vans providing rides to customers who aren't mobile. Customers can also cash cheques, pay utility bills, and buy bus tickets, postage stamps, and money orders at stores.

 

 

Johnson stresses the importance of education. Employees are encouraged to enroll in many structured training programmes. Also, $5000 scholarships are awarded to employees who pursue college education. Families of high school students who earn all As and Bs and don't miss more than one day of classes per month get 10 percent discount on food.

 

 

After struggling over a stolen bottle of wine that cost Johnson four teeth, he gained a new perspective on shoplifters. "If they steal steaks, I'll arrest them," he says. "If they steal bread I'll give them $50 and a job application." He claims that since 1992 he's hired hundreds of shoplifters and at least 60 have stayed with the company for more than three years.

 

Turnover is low at Community Pride; only 2 of 47 core managers have left. Johnson actively hires from the city welfare rolls - 300 employee since 1997, out of a total staff of 1030. He has cosigned more than 100 car loans and handed out his credit card to cash strapped employees for emergencies (for which service Johnson deducts up to 5 percent from the next weekly pay cheque). He once posted bail for the son of a manager.

 

 

Finally, in the recent past Indians have shown once they take up some thing they become best in it. There are hundreds of examples present that would vouch this claim and that is why Indian Products and People conquer every market they reach-out. I am sure in a few years from now, even by 2011, India could lead the world in the field of Organized retail. For that once again GLOCAL would be the best operating word. While we can import the understanding of the 'task' from Global examples and our solutions will have to be painfully and patiently local.

 

 

 

Author: 

Navendu Mahodaya
Director
NSOS Retail Academy
nmahodaya@hotmail.com 
+91-98930-09099
[Article first published in a fashion magazine in 2008] 

Random Snapshots Of Gandhi

(Including inputs & liberal quotations from Anu Bandhopadhyay's 1994 book- 'M. K. Gandhi- Author, Journalist, Printer, Publisher')

Gandhi's Memory does not seem to fade away after prayers were offered on Shahid Divas, January 30th. I found his images haunting;thankfully for Sonia, Rahul and Priyanka, many more Indians have come distinguish them from our Mohandas Karamchand and to that extent the trio can take a sigh of relief that peoples' expectations from them are presumably lowered. Mahatma Gandhi refuses to fade away into oblivion; therefore I gathered a few more random snap shots in the following text. 

A memory recall of his encounter with Bhim Rao Ambedkar during the Round Table Conference has aroused images of Gandhi indulging in proverbial 'Vishpan' by Bhagwan Shankar during the 'Sagar Manthan'. Today as the Indian Devs and Asurs are once again engaged in a Sagar Manthan of sorts, a role model exists for every Indian to indulge in his own fair share of 'swallowing poison instead of spreading communal or reservation poison'.

Gandhi claimed that a thoughtless word never escaped his lips or pen. He could write with both hands. His common writings were with use of right hand though his hand writing with left hand is found to be clearer and more readable. Why he chose to use his right hand more often is not known to me.

He read widely and digested what he read. His first (though naive) attempt as a writer was a booklet 'London Guide' written for Indian students. Next came two pamphlets- 'An Appeal to Every Briton' and 'The Indian Franchise'; then came 'Green Pamphlet' which was written on a voyage home in 1896. Similarly, 'Hind Swaraj' was written during his voyage from England to South Africa in 1909. When Tolstoy read it he said, "The question of passive resistance was of great importance not only for India but for the whole world". His manuscripts had a few marks of correction and seldom needed any change. And that, he often said, was due to "the spiritual discipline of votary of truth".

Gandhi was master words man. He did not go for literal meaning when doing translation. When Ruskin's essay ‘Unto This Last’ touched his deepest beliefs, he adapted it into Gujarati and titled it ‘Sarvodaya’. Similarly his 'Story of a Satyagrahi' is a paraphrase of the 'Defense and Death of Socrates' by Plato. And by writing his autobiography in Gujarati using simple yet forceful language, he turned Gujarati into people's language. And ‘The Story of my Experiments with Truth’ easily beats most modern thrillers in its ability to 'grip' a reader for complete attention.

When it came to writing letters, he could write even 50 letters in a day, all by himself. According to an estimate, he had written a total of one hundred thousand letters in his life time. Compare it with work of an Urdu Poet, Meer Taki Meer, who has reportedly written an equivalent of two hundred thousand poems in his entire life span. And in all his written matters he was a picture of perfection to the extent of never missing a comma or an apostrophe. If you come across a date written by him you can be sure of clear dots separating day and month and while writing 1930 in short he did not miss write it along with an appropriate apostrophe as '30.

He was asked to write biography of Raichandbhai (considered to be his friend, philosopher and guide by many). He is reported to have responded, "If I want to write his life story, I shall have to study carefully his home, his playground, mix with his friends, school mates, relatives and followers." This reflects his quest for truth in every sphere of his life. Here you might like to say- So, what's new?

Lord Curzon once stated, "The ideal of truth is to a large extent a western conception". With more than 9000 years of traceable history of Indian civilization in the backdrop, Gandhi retorted and provided a 'host of evidences' of Indians indulging in worship of truth earlier than West.

Gandhi's romance with journalism began early, when he was only 19. His earliest writings show his capacity for expressing any idea in simple direct language. Then, at a relatively young age of 35 years he took charge of an English Language Weekly, Indian Opinion, in South Africa. Later he would bring out its Gujarati Language Version too. Gandhi worked hard for 10 years for this weekly. He would pour out his soul and published detailed account of satyagraha struggle in South Africa. Some of his distinguished readers were Gokhale in India, Dadabhai Naoroji in England and Tolstoy in Russia.

He considered bad printing an act of 'hinsa'. In printing, he was not for cutting corners. Once the Navajivan Press decided to publish a Gujarati translation of Gokhale's writings and speeches.The translation was done by an educationalist. When the book was printed, Gandhi was requested to write a foreword. He found the translation poor and stiff and asked it to be destroyed. When he was told that seven hundred rupees had been spent on it, he said: "Do you think it is desirable to place this rubbish before the public after spending more on binding and cover? I do not want to ruin people's taste by distributing bad literature." The whole lot was burnt and was not allowed to be sold even as waste paper.


Gandhi always defended liberty of the press. He stopped printing his journals when any Government order restricted him from publishing his views. Having acquired editor's expertise and a reputation as editor, he warned, "Newspapers are fast becoming the people's Bible, Koran and Gita rolled in one. A journalist's duty is to teach people to be brave, not to instill fear into them. " In his opinion the aim of journalism was service: "Journalism should never be prostituted for selfish ends."

Managing Time For The First Time...

This piece is for those who are currently experiencing shortage of Time.

One of the British Queens is reported to have expressed (something similar to) these words, “There is so much time available for doing nothing, and so little to do something worthwhile.” It is believed that during her reign, foundation of British Empire got laid; an Empire that saw at least one complete century where people often remarked, “Sun does not set in British Empire!”

As a consultant, I am often required to find time for my clients. I have to point out how they need to think and reorganize their daily schedule, to conduct proposed activities. Most of them don’t like being told about managing their time. They claim we know everything that is there to know about managing time; and “We are using Time Management Techniques”, they assert. (They can be often seen scolding their subordinates, “Don’t waste my time!”) With so many PPTs floating around, so many books and articles available, companies doing internal programs, in other words with such a wide spread exposure, some people are bound to develop that feeling and become complacent. Just one day of satisfactorily conducting your to-do-list is enough trigger complacency.

So what can be attempted by those who are experiencing shortage of time?

They need to begin managing their time, more ruthlessly than yesterday. For this sit down and in 10 minutes time write what method you would use to manage your time for next four days. This may be followed by another 10 minute review at the end of four days. Then rewrite the method to be used for another four days. Do not worry if there are holidays or weekends in between. Your time is more precious during such breaks.

Finally, you may be ruthlessly pursuing your method, yet be more polite to others with whom you have to interact.