Talk with a Sales Man

I always like to interact with people and travel gives me an opportunity to interact with some interesting people. This weekend when I was traveling from Bombay to Pune, I meet a guy who was sitting next to me. He was working as a sales manager in some chemical industry in Pune. So I thought to know what is there in a salesman’s job. So I started the conversation and it turned out to be quite an interesting one. So whatever I write below is from that conversation.

Basics of Sales can be summarized in 3 C's. Convince your customer, Confuse your customer or Corrupt your customer to make a purchase. There is nothing like sales done by convincing your customer that gives a satisfaction. If the customer is not convinced then confuse him, high chance that customer will purchase the product. Customer will assume that product might be good, as he was not able to make any heads or tail of it. And last is to corrupt the people who are making decisions and it is quite common these days.

Gone or the days when you can sell your product just on quality. Though definitely with quality he meant the quality of product. These days there were lot of other parameters which are taken into account to cut a deal. Like timely delivery, after sales support.

Some differences in the way people do their business in North India and South India also came out. People in South want to interact with a non local company through dealers. They think if a local person is involved, he will be able to address their concern in a better way. They can get hold of these local dealers more easily and they do not mind paying a little more for the product. While in North companies do not want dealers, as they think that they will have to pay for the dealer’s commissions also. So these companies want to deal directly. This shows the attitudinal difference of people in South and North. In South people value convenience and in North they value money.

Then I heard the amazing Guju style of doing business. One of the incidents I will mention here. In chemical industry there are strict pollution norms, they can’t let out chemical infected water in drains or river. They need to purify it and all. Now obviously that costs money. So some innovative Guju bhai's came up with an idea to pump the water down in the earth. After few months, the underground water of the whole area became polluted. But then who cares it's all about making money.

Flood

Floods does it ring any bell to you, not much to me, as I have never been affected by it. What it means to me is that I can go to the two wheeler bridge (near deccan gymkhana in pune) and see some water in river mutha, a reason to get a holiday from office or college. But every year I hear and read news that in many parts of India, in particular parts of Assam, Bihar gets affected by flood. Then the usual news, that minister’s and political leaders, doing aerial visit to access the damage. Then deciding on, how much money to ask for relief work. Blame game starts the state government blaming center for not providing enough assistance and all.

This time the flood came and I did not hear much news in our news channel. As we had more pressing news like punishment of Sanjay Dutt and nuclear bill etc. But I read a report on BBC and it said that that it is the worst flood which affected millions.

As I belong to Bihar so I got more interested in the plight of people out there and some thoughts crossed my mind. One of the worst affected districts is Dharbhanga. It is on the bank of river Ganga. When I was a kid I used to hear talks that all Ganpariya (the people who stay on other side of Ganga , people who stay in Dharbhanga) know swimming. Reason being, that every year flood comes in that part of the state, so people by default learn swimming. I am sure that this is not a nice reason to learn something, and human beings will definitely learn something to save their life.

Every year flood comes and what does the government which
the people of this part vote do for them? Somehow I feel the officials and politicians wait for the flood. For them it is a time when they get huge amount of fund to spend. When the fund gets allocated there is a chance for them to take a cut. Floods come, people die, and politicians do aerial survey and stunts like landing the helicopter on road to gain cheap publicity ( Lalu did it this time). Lot of funds are released a fraction of that is used to provide assistance to the needy. More attention is given to issues like whom to give contract for procurement of material (given to people close to politicians) then how to distribute it to people.

Millions of people are forced to stay away for days form their home, many fall sick because of various diseases that spread like malaria, dengue and other water born diseases. They are forced to eat snails and rats to survive. People fight with each other to get the little amount of food which comes for distribution.

And then when the rains are over and rivers take the normal course these people go back to start their life once again. These poor affected people get busy in re-constructing there house trying to bring their life to normal, taking loans to survive and start their lives once again. Officials and politicians also become busy in calculating the amount they earned, Opposition parties raising the issue of corruption and how the things was not handled properly and by the time winter comes ( nov, dec) this issue is closed and they start looking at new things.

This story is repeated year after year and people now say...

"It happens every year. There is nothing new in it. This is our destiny"

Rajkumari Devi(http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6937267.stm)

I wonder why after nearly 60 years of independence this issue has not been addressed in Bihar
and other states. Every one knows there, that every year floods come, then why no action? Why we are more reactive and not proactive? Why don’t we take steps so that such situation does not arise? What we are doing is feeding a young man for a night instead of teaching him how to earn his own bread?

Will all this change,hope it does ...

Madam President

Congrats Indians, We got our First Women President in the form of Madam Pratibha Patil. We have a women President even before US. The ruling Congress party and their allied called it Empowerment of the Women. But then when I look back and see and ask myself a question, Among 400 or more million women in India, Why Sonia Gandhi could find Madam Pratibha only as Pratibhashali ? ( talented)

Was there no one else who was more deserving then Pratibha Patil to be our president. I am not sure if women in India should celebrate and feel happy with our New Women President. I feel they should feel sorry that once again the women of this country were exploited and on there name this time, Mrs Sonia Gandhi imposed an incompetent person as our head of the state.

There are so many sites which will give the good and the bad things which Pratibha Patil has done. I will not go into them, please go through them if you want to know more (http://knowpratibhapatil.com/).

But then I will like to point out the news which came into paper during the presidential poll.

Congress for Left's support for Pratibha agreed for a Vice president which was to be a person of Left's choice. Nothing wrong with it. Barter system has been in existence for ages, these days it is called consensus. What surprised me, was the comment of Mr Karat who belongs to CPM a major Left party

"While the party had insisted that the candidate for the President’s post should be a political leader with “impeccable secular credentials” the major Left party said the Vice- President should be secular, but he need not be a member of a political party.The Vice-President should be a person who has an “exemplary record in some field and should have the widest acceptance”.“We have said that the candidate need not have a political background. "


How does Mr Karat justify that a president must be a person with political background and a vice president may not ? Will Mr Karat like to explain this, no logic can explain this statement and it holds no merit. But then the best part is that such people are thrust on us and we all are sitting quiet.

The newspapers reported that Lalu Yadav got a piece of land for his party in a prime location in delhi. This news came on 21 st July. Is it con-incidence that land was allocated to him during this time frame.

The icing on the cake, was on the same day when The first women President was sworn in, The first women IPS officer Mrs Kiran Bedi winner of Magsysay award was denied the post of Police commissioner of Delhi and a person who is less experienced and junior was given the post.

I am sure the women of India will enjoy this empowerment and next time they go to vote, they do not get biased by such political gimmicks.

Change...

It is not necessary to change. Survival is not mandatory...

Change I keep hearing this word again and again. Change is the only persistent thing in the world and the only thing which is not going to change is that things will not stop changing. My mind completely accepts this and believes in this and it knows that sooner I learn to accept this the better it is for me. But some how heart, if that is the thing which overules my rational thinking mind, fails to understand that and it keeps forcing my rational mind to think and to justify the reasons things change.

Well it is said love, support belongings and emotions have great strength and it can help a person to tide over the most difficult situation. I agree with it, I am not saying that these things have no meaning in my life (I think I am definitely not in a position to make judgments for others). but then if we get used to such a support situation and then if that support situation for some reason changes then what to do ?

I myself at times fail to make my own heart believe in the rational thinking that change is the eternal thing. I myself fail to accept that people, surrounding what ever is around me has to change for whatever reason and I should not get sad for that. If I myself am not able to control myself then how can I ever think of controlling the life of people around me so that they remain as I wish all the time.

A few days back I was discussing with my old friend why people change with time? Why suddenly their outlook towards you changes . So he answered that even I am bothered about the people in my life whose change affect me. There are n- number of people whom I don’t think of because I don’t feel at this moment that they are important for me , its not that they were not important earlier or they can't be , it is just that at this moment I don’t feel that they affect me.

At that moment I thought that it simply means that I am being selfish, I am ready to change but things which I want to remain same, I don’t want those people or those situations to change.

I looked back in my life and I felt that whatever that true old friend had said was quite correct. I was in initial ages as a kid was very much attached to my grandparents. My grandfather has definitely a huge impact on me. But these days I get so much involved in my own world that I just completely forget them and then to less my guilt I give them a call once a week or more then that. So for them even I have changed and I justify this change as I have work to do, I have friends to attend to , I have my own personal life to live .

Then why do I myself fail to understand this point and at times why do I feel when people around me who matter to me change? In a way it is good the fewer people whose actions or words matter to you. As there will be less impact in your life. Yes it comes with a cost and these days I feel I am going in that direction.

When you look everything objectively and rationally then that magic which love or emotions can do does not happen. But then there is a plus point too that you get less hurt. But then I will be cheating on myself if I say that I have learned to accept change easily ( well everyone learns to accept it unwillingly as we hardly have a option) as if I would have learned then I would wouldn’t have been thinking and writing on this issue .

I hope that my heart also changes and learn to accept the fact that change has to happen and it can’t do anything about it. Only thing it can do is embrace it with a smile as that’s the only thing which will keep him happy...

CAT

19th Nov, It was a another Sunday morning, I woke up around 8. Last night I watched the new James bond movie Casino Royale with Rohinton (my MCA batch mate who also works in Pune) and my cousin at E-Square. We came back around 1 in the morning.

But this Sunday morning was a bit different from my usual Sunday’s. I had to appear for CAT (Combined admission test for IIM’s). I had given this exam once seven years ago in 1999 DEC,. I was not at all prepared this time as I had just filled the form thinking that I will study, but as usual it never happened. My center was at New English School at Tilak road. It was also at Tilak road last time, but in SP College. Both the centers are just couple of meters away from each other.

I thought I would have breakfast at Niranjan and then will go to center. I walked down from my house till Niranjan thinking about the things that happened on CAT Sunday seven years back. Almost the whole 3rd block (the Fergusson College hostel where I used to stay) was getting ready for the event. It seemed like we all are going for a mela (fest) like Congress Bhavan on Durga-Puja All familiar faces were there at the test center, we all looking for our seats, wishing each other best of luck. Aditi, Amitabh, Dingu, Gaurav, Joy, Kranti, Tublu and how can I miss Pandit who came to wish us all the best. All tensed faces - Tublu doing last minute reading as it is, Amitabh has to be paranoid. The ever cool looking Joy also tensed. I was also betting a lot on it and frankly I was tensed because I was not sure of myself. Those two hours went and moment the exam was over, Pandit was there to know how we all did. And then he took some one some where, Do I Need to say whom ;-) ?

All these thoughts were crossing my mind when I reached the center and this time there was no Pandit helping me find my seat number. Tublu called at that time to wish me luck. I just saw the crowd out there, who had come to give exam, I was looking the odd man out. Do I need to say what differentiated me from them? Well you guessed it right, I was the old guy in between all the young blood. All anxious faces doing their last minute preparation before the BIG EXAM.

When I sat on the seat, it felt so nice to sit in an exam hall after such along time and that too without any pressure. Though there was no familiar face around - last time it was Joy sitting ahead of me. Those two and a half hours flew and truly speaking this time I was able to concentrate better then last time, though there was a good looking babe sitting ahead of me and was constantly swinging her long hair in front of my face.

After the exam, it was the same scene - people discussing the answers with their friends. Some looked happy as the paper was easy. Some looked gloomy as English was tough and they feared that they would not clear the sectional cut-off. Others, who did not do that well were looking really sad. Looking at them made me feel me very nice that few years back we all were like them. I was missing all of you folks and the golden days we had. And how with time we all have gone at different corners of world busy with our own lives and doing well in what ever we are doing. Though only two of us managed to clear CAT, and there’s only one idiot still trying for that :-) . Yes folks its me. But then its CAT which made me remember so many things.

I am sure people to write such a thing again, do not know which year, but will do so again.…