How to be a good Salesman ?

Every day around the World there must be people who work as salesmen selling some or the other kind of product or service. In some societies such vocations are looked down upon and in the more refined they are subject of praise and recognition. Nevertheless Selling and Sales would be in increasing demand by the day and the power of this job all too conspicuous in various spheres and domains.

Look at the Computer hardware industry of India of today. What a metamorphosis and strategic shift. Salesmen and selling has proved the World wrong on myriad of occasions to be taken lightly. Study the early 1980's when primitive computer desktops were sold by companies around the country. This is possibly an era where only few Mainframe computers existed and Sales men had a very tough time negotiating through impregnable barriers and many of them did so like warriors trying to sell a seemingly unwanted piece of equipment. This was an era when the Banks of the Country were rebellious against Computerization and seeing it as a job killer - but thanks to the skill of these people and their verve and application their efforts were not totally misplaced. today banking institutions are one of the key application domains of Computerization. A full software sector emerges in India riding piggy-back on the hardware revolution and note the dynamics of the electronic industry per-se  stand alone systems gave rise to networking and thence came the internet and the global village as we see today.

The profession of selling has changed drastically over the past few years. two fundamental changes have emerged..the diminishing necessity to travel long distances for a rendezvous ..and the medium of mobile phone and the web cutting down transaction cycle time of selling and both these changes casting their spell on selling. The sales mans job of today is swinging more towards servicing orders and servicing is an activity demanding a specialized set of skills.

Forget the Computer Industry ..there are several industries that thrive on the selling

phenomena..Insurance...Private banking......Credit cards.... leisure travel and the like just to name a few and organizations face increasing challenges to maintain a good selling team that performs from time to time. I have seen salesmen who create short bursts of success and not able to retain the success for long..and many who start too slowly to make steady contributions and many things depending on what the organization is looking for ..or stands for...or its strategic orientation. I have seen too many sales managers who only abuse their salesmen and sometimes removing them from service to recall them after some time..I have seen many such confusions or idiosyncrasies and randomness on the part of organizations..but I firmly believe a healthy selling organization can be created and endured. I have seen sales managers who are guilty of criminal conduct and go un-punished for too long..and I have also at many places seen untrained salesmen who have only know their work through experience sometimes perform better than the trained ones.

Somewhere it is difficult to answer the question...How to be a good Salesman?  somewhere the fundamental point is for any salesman to find out what he likes to sell or enjoys selling from the bottom of his heart and there is no scope for any dis-honest answer. Sometimes to arrive at a right answer a person has to try selling many things to find out what he is good at. It needs a period of apprenticeship. But there can be no dubious answer to this question..and there can be no more than one product a person is very comfortable selling. However there are two broad kinds of salemen ..one that likes to sell concepts and the other that likes to sell products..one is chimerical and the other is physical and any person must try to upfront define which of these domains he is comfortable with.I still believe every one can be a good sales man the only difference is the product and it is an activity of high risk if anyone tries to sell something which he is not comfortable with and this relationship and misfit cannot be for ad-infinitum and will break sooner than expected. Such situations are all too common with sales men around the world sometimes lured by high earnings trying to sell something which he is not very comfortable with only to land up in an irreparable mess needing years to correct and rectify.

How is Sales different from others forms of promotion ..it is in its targets. A salesman primarily works with targets. Sometimes these targets are ill-conceived and burdened on the sales man upfront creating something unethical and illegal..and these targets might be irrational..and yet there might be some who achieve it and many who have mastered the task of portraying they have achieved  it. Everything said and done there is a selling skill that largely revolves around closing orders, some have it in abundance and thrive in selling..but this is a continuum of various activities and a proper organization of the various components become essential for maintaining a good sales organization that can resist the long run.

In my view point every sales organization must monitor the conduct of its Sales Mangers..largely scanning for continuous unethical behavior no matter how highly qualified he or she might be. Unethical behavior can start from small misconducts like being partisan to the more serious kinds of jeopardizing orders.There can be no two ways about it and a matter that has to be attended to with rigor and severity by top management or the organizational promoters.This is a very serious issue and a prime one which needs engagement and intervention at the right juncture. No salesman would ever enjoy and continue doing a good job if he is mismanaged or abused..and this must not be permitted and has legal ramifications. Moreover SalesManagers must create a weighted average method revolving around more than two parameters around which sales men performance is measured and validated.

Every sales man must understand Sales is dependent on two customer factors namely 1. The latent  need for a product and 2. The purchasing power of the customer. In any territory he operates he must look very cautiously for these two factors to become successful. If he is not looking at these factors he is working like a business-developer and must understand it and position himself so. Note that no business developer ever works with targets. If a salesman does not look at the above factors he will fall short of targets. There might be another factor that influences selling situations namely customer behavior. But customer behavior is secondary in sales situations and the above two factors rule the roost.

Never take very large territories..an issue in territory management as it will dilute concentration of effort. Always ask for an optimal territory say having some hundred accounts and anything more than this would mean 'shooting in the dark' . This is always the hall mark of an experienced sales man...he knows the optimal territory around which he can successfully operate.

Once the sales man has made an initial survey around the above two issues..the next step is to talk to the clients. Do this always with right kind of preparation and to the right people. Use the mobile phone and the internet for this purpose but nothing can replace personal contact. 

Many of the prospects who come through the above procedure will be  ready for closing..the penultimate and the most crucial stage of the selling process very often with the Terminal buyer also called the financial decision maker of the organization.There is zero tolerance at this stage for errors or contradictions. Take another person who is sincere to the cause and at the same time knowledgeable about the history of the order to act as a prop or support. Never forget to service orders professionally after receiving orders and note that it is well serviced orders that beget more orders.

Hopefully what I have written above would help organizations and salesmen around the world alike. though I don't believe there is any one who could be branded an 'Unsuccessful salesman"..and if by any chance you are one use your experience to handle 'Sales Operations' ; 'Business Development' or move into another organization for a selling function.

According to me Sales and Selling  is a priceless experience which develops individuals into cutting edge personalities..and if any one around the world has selling difficulties please contact me for a possible analysis and remedy.

CALICUTCITY::Zila Sainik Welfare Board Kozhikode Calicut

There is a place in Calicut Kozhikode that is dear to me..The ex-servicemen welfare office..also called the Sainik Welfare board. The secretary of the Board was Capt. K T Srinivasan a relative and I used to frequent this place. Captain as  I used to call him used to behave sternly at the outset but gradually we became more of friends. How did this place help me..it was a resting point or transit point for me at Calicut Kozhikode at times. What does this office do? it basically takes care of the welfare of ex-servicemen  in the district.

It used to be a large sprawling campus with a elaborate office all some half an acre and was tucked few yards away from the main road adjacent to the Rajendra Nursing home close to the Malabar Christian College.  Capt K T Srinivasan was some kind of an influential person  in the congress party circles of  Kerala and using a reference letter from him I had met Mullapally Ramachandran in Delhi who is the present Minister of State for Home.I met a retired Colonel AVM Achutan who was in-charge of presidential guards for some time in Delhi. I have also interacted with the PS of Mullapally Ramachandran Shri  P S Money who is an IAS officer.I went to meet the Minister again at his residence 263 south avenue but was prevented by his PA from doing so and later had to correspond with him.This was somewhere in 1991-92. I have also closely interacted with a writer who is well known in this part of the world by name 'Thikkodian".I have also visited the house of Mr. Thikkodian. Captain was known for the huge parties he used to throw at times. Captain did take me once to the house of a Dy SP of police by name Mr. Narayanan some where close to this part of  Calicut . I had also met Col. Ayilath a retired military officer here.

Mullapally Ramachandran present Hon. MOS for Home

For some reason this place was dear to me and I just happened to remember it..it has offered me comfort and retreat at times when the situation was difficult or uncertain.

CAPT. K T  SRINIVASAN  KT SREENIVASAN

Any one who wants to visit this place Zila Sainik Board in Calicut ask for Rajendra Nursing Home near Malabar Christian College and this spot must be some 06 kilometers from main Calicut bus stand.PHONE:0495-2771881

Walking between Whitefeild and K R Puram Stations

There was something eventful or breathtaking in my life as an adolescent and an exercise that I cannot forget and an endurance exercise some of us were forced to take to during our course as students at the Sathya Sai Arts Science and Commerce College.


Somewhere I mentioned that in the early 1980's there were very few BTS or BMTC as it is called now buses connecting Whitefeild and K R puram.. There were many BTS buses connecting Whitefeild into HAL and Marathhalii but few that would turn right at Hope farm into Garudarcharpalya and eventually K R Puram. This means for any reason we were stuck at Whitefeild at aroung 11:00am it would mean a wait upto around 4:00 in the evening for a train or about  5:00 for a BTS bus. This wait was harrowing sometimes at the Whitefeild station at times with Hemanth Bapat and Ramdas both my senior students at this place.

I have traveled between Whitefeild and K R Puram in un-conventional ways..once in a Diesel engine where-in the driver took concern at a lone lad waving his hand at the driver seeking a passage on the engine and he being of a kind disposition volunteered to help me and before long I was sitting in the engine room with the driver and seeing for myself how a Diesel engine operated during the next fifteen minutes. At another instance some of us were into the last bogie usually used by the guard of a goods train clasping firmly on some prop as the train sped its way over the 15 kilometers.They were undoubtedly enjoyable experiences but more than twice we had to walk the entire distance between Whitefeild and K R Puram through and through the many impoverished villages of that time braving the mild Bangalore sun and walking alongside the track lest we get lost carefully maneuvering across barren wells that posed some danger and the full exercise taking some 05 hours in all. Hoodi is a place that comes mid-way...how different Bangalore city and its suburbs look now with an ITPL some where around the corner  and most of these stretches of land around which we walked largely full of bushes now being more occupied without its rustic looks of the past. It was a sign of relief when we saw the houses of Devanahalli far away and home was nearby. I dont think I can embark on such an exercise now whatsoever and note that the bus connectivities and routings are much improved now than during these times I was talking. I have always beleived that a small Railway station must come up at Hoodi to give rail connectivity and access to ITPL.

Roshan Baig

I am seen here with the former Home Minister of Karnataka State Mr. Roshan Baig a photo taken one evening in 2009 at a function. The other person is Swaminathan Murthy who was Dean at MSRIM. Subia Roshan the daughter of Mr.Roshan Baig used to be my student.

Prem Kumar my friend

If one were to ask me who was my friend at REC NIT  Calicut hostels ..there weren't many. I was friendly with Raghuvaran in the first year and we had to split because he was from Electronics branch. I never really had any cronies for that matter as every singl student of my class was from a disparate social background and some time or period of social learning and unlearning was the order of the day and it took some time..days for some people..months for other ..and years for people like me.

During the early years I used to watch Prem Kumar play cricket in the field and he used to be in my class and that was all..but we teamed up to handle an electrical machines paper through joint study and the study was a huge success and both of us did well at the exams.And incidentally this was the last exam  I wrote at REC. We used to study at the first floor room in the D hostel and take occasional breaks for tea but very rigorously going through the course work. He used to use the word "full jolly" once in a while as we went through studying the problems and portions.Prem joined the Indian Navy later.

Why do I remember Prem Kumar after so long. That evening was a moon-lit night and the lights in the hostels had gone off resulting from a power-cut..and from the D hostel I went to the E hostel to bid good bye to Antony Susairaj ..the last official night or evening of mine at REC Calicut..I met another friend Vinod Shetty on the way and came to bid good-bye to Prem..and it was somewhere a touching affair as I found him very emotional..I asked him Prem what happenned? and he said We may never meet again and I could feel how emotional one could become under such circumstances. I could not fully apprehend his conduct that evening bt years later when i looked back on that evening felt sorely I did not respond to the situation on that day with requisite emotion or feeling or sentiment as one might call it. The face of Prem haunted me for several years thereafter and thanks to the Internet I can meet him any time now and reciprocate the emotion he showed that evening.

The process of Education and its challenges at times lead to such affairs and emotional issues and bonding and only some people like us who battled situations in a combined fashion can comprehend fully well the profundity surrounding such issues and had it not been for such hours spent together we would not have got the better of situations and challenges we were plunged into that were truly uphill but with the support and aid and emotion of some well meaning and largely honest people like Prem we not only went uphill and stood at the pinnacle but also got a view of the world from there that was largely wholesome and dear.

IGNOU

There is something novel in India in the recent past..the growth of Distance Education and IGNOU being one of the first experiments. I was a student of IGNOU for some time largely learning some tenets of HR and International business and I remember one of the course co-ordinators Col. Sheshadhiri and Mr. Kurien who used to be faculty teaching Internatinonal Business and was employed with a german machine tool firm.

I definitely have words of praise for this university in having conducted a well ordained entrance test and thereafter dispatching course ware which were beyond doubt of high quality.I have profitted from the course-ware and its contents. For long the coordinating office of IGNOU in Bangalore used to work from one of the buildings near Central college and was a very centralized location. I remember participating in video-conferencing sessions here. Thereafter the location of this coordinating office was shifted to some far flung location in Jayanagar.

Rajiv Gandhi

This is one of the better ventures of Rajiv Gandhi and his vision of modern India and this university could be even more proactive in its approach in the way it goes about its activities of disseminating education.

The ITI Bus

Many today would fail to appreciate that the Indian Telephone Industries once upon a time had a full band or set of factory buses numbering more than 200 ferrying some 30,000 employees around the city almost round the clock. They wore the majesty of "Dasara Elephants"  as they progressed around the city and it was our own bus in many ways. The public-sector ITI was unique in many ways and the way the transport buses were run and maintained and operated were with the highest of standards and rhythm. What were the most unique aspect of these buses.

1. They covered every point of the city and its far flung areas
2. The buses traveled some times some 10 extra kilometers just to fetch one employee living in some fringes
3. The drivers who were very employee friendly and professional they went about their work.
4. Some kind of pin-point accuracy in their scheduling
5.The Blue color they adorned uniformly over the entire set and very rarely or never would you see an ITI broken down on the road for maintenance reasons.
6. Every morning there were school buses ferrying students of employees and there was no difference between the son of a director and a laborer..they relished these services without bias or hierarchy.

My earliest memory of using these buses was as a child from Majestic to ITI.   During those times on Sundays and Holidays there used to be a special service from the town to the factory. The earliest ITI buses were Fargo and Leyland buses which gradually gave way to full fledged Tata buses.

The full majesty of these buses could be seen in front of the factory during shift closing hours..all of them lined up..full 200 of them as they slowly progress one at a time on to the main-road. There was a scheme at that time and any aspiring traveler could buy a coupon from any of the near-by shops and use any of these services for one time. I used to do this many times and for me the most touching moment was when an ITI bus driver on one of his return journeys spots me standing at some bus stop and signals to me to get in once he recognizes me as some one from ITI..this was on many occasions very moving to me. We have heard of chauffeur driven cars and for we students of colleges ITI bus was a chauffeur driven bus.

I dont know for sure now what has come of these buses..ITI went into outsourcing its transport in the early 1990's blue buses that were a faint replica of its "Masters" some of them bulky lacking the charm and rhythm of its predecessors.. and gradually as the situation glimmered BMTC buses were hired to ferry the few employees that were around.

Thank You ITI buses ..the system..and the drivers for making the life of we tiny-tots one of pleasure in this city and we have become some formidable people of some standing and hope because somewhere along our ways you carried us through with care and concern and let there be glory and praise for those many policy makers of our country who had the boldness and farsightedness to set up such an enigma called ITI barring which many of us would not have become in some measure what we are and giving us standards of living far surpassing the living standards and support that even the wealthiest countries of these times would have struggled to provide.