It is 18years as a sales person for me. 18th August,2000- the day I first did a field visit as a sales person. The customer was Tata elxsi. I just remember - it was to pitch for training services of Bitmapper and that it was Friday. I remember- I was sweating and to make matters worse I wore a tie (the Tie was borrowed from Praveen??).
I was completely a misfit among a crowd practising casual dressing. I remember the long bus journey from Majestic to Whitefield.
After so many years- I wanted to deal with this question.
Because it was really very difficult for a shy , timid and very introvert kid to take this leap of faith and join the ranks of Alpha males getting their bread from World's second oldest profession.
Today I think I need to do a self evaluation and answer this myself. It was same like the other questions of my life... I was afraid of water- so i learnt swimming , I was afraid of heights (still i get sweat if i have to climb stairs to fix something!!)- and i learnt to love mountains.
I have no hesitation to admit now that like many sales pro- i also joined the rank without ever aspiring to be a sales person. I have heard many kids telling that he wants to be doctor, engineer, scientist, but to think of it noone ever aspires to be sales person. no not even progeny of sales people. Also have you ever noticed--- many few people ever introduce themselves as sales people. But this was one profession which has given so much to so many people. The circumstances were tough for me in year2000. I was average student and there was nothing remarkable to showcase. yes- i did got trained well in technology and got through first stage of many companies which was recruiting en-masse. I kept a count... I attended 28 interviews (Was politely rejected in most. I got into final stage for only 5, but those 5 -gave me enormous confidence).Mehta sir- allowed me to work first and the JD was fuzzy, but i understood I have to do some sales. I was good in doing hard work- so it was not difficult for me to call upon more than 8 customers in single day.. which was routine for me each day and everyday. the training was very hands on... much to the credit of Rakesh Mehta sir-- who taught me literally how to understand that spark in customer's eyes. Lot of help from Naga sir-- our distributor. He made me part of his family. and then i started falling in love with the work. It was addictive and gave enormous kick. It also helped me to forget all the rejections. It was fun- it was ecstasy. I used to be very apprehensive in making friends- i found i can always have a kind of 2 persona. On a typical work day- i can talk with anyone, make friendship under 10 seconds, influence anyone, win anything. It made me forget all my past failures, It made me forget all my pain. I always had the curious mind of explorer-- and i could take up any kind of discomfort. So the nigh bus travels-- long bus travels- 8 hrs, 10 hrs, 24 hrs, long train travels- with multiple hops. They helped me become strong mentally. By Jan 2001- I was completely taken. The first order- 2.5lacs....ohhh.. i went wild with joy. The PO copy in hand, i remember going to that malabar tiffin room ( it was unaffordable for me most days)- and i ordered soup and gobi manchurian. and celebrated- me, my po copy and gobi manchurian. Then slept peacefully .. same room (Rs110/per night)- Renuka lodge.
Then the years rolled by- in form of Quarters and success.the territory- which started with Pune region, then south Maharastra, became Goa, then Tamilnadu, Kerala. finally Bangalore & Karnataka. When i moved to coreel- i had visited each nook and corner of maharastra, Goa, Kerala, Tamilnadu and Karnataka. Hyderabad was always lucky for me... It just rocketed me up and further. some time in 2007- I started having national roles. more cities. It was always a forward thurst. so it will not be wrong to say--- the profession chose me. and yes, i did the right thing.
I was completely a misfit among a crowd practising casual dressing. I remember the long bus journey from Majestic to Whitefield.
After so many years- I wanted to deal with this question.
Because it was really very difficult for a shy , timid and very introvert kid to take this leap of faith and join the ranks of Alpha males getting their bread from World's second oldest profession.
Today I think I need to do a self evaluation and answer this myself. It was same like the other questions of my life... I was afraid of water- so i learnt swimming , I was afraid of heights (still i get sweat if i have to climb stairs to fix something!!)- and i learnt to love mountains.
I have no hesitation to admit now that like many sales pro- i also joined the rank without ever aspiring to be a sales person. I have heard many kids telling that he wants to be doctor, engineer, scientist, but to think of it noone ever aspires to be sales person. no not even progeny of sales people. Also have you ever noticed--- many few people ever introduce themselves as sales people. But this was one profession which has given so much to so many people. The circumstances were tough for me in year2000. I was average student and there was nothing remarkable to showcase. yes- i did got trained well in technology and got through first stage of many companies which was recruiting en-masse. I kept a count... I attended 28 interviews (Was politely rejected in most. I got into final stage for only 5, but those 5 -gave me enormous confidence).Mehta sir- allowed me to work first and the JD was fuzzy, but i understood I have to do some sales. I was good in doing hard work- so it was not difficult for me to call upon more than 8 customers in single day.. which was routine for me each day and everyday. the training was very hands on... much to the credit of Rakesh Mehta sir-- who taught me literally how to understand that spark in customer's eyes. Lot of help from Naga sir-- our distributor. He made me part of his family. and then i started falling in love with the work. It was addictive and gave enormous kick. It also helped me to forget all the rejections. It was fun- it was ecstasy. I used to be very apprehensive in making friends- i found i can always have a kind of 2 persona. On a typical work day- i can talk with anyone, make friendship under 10 seconds, influence anyone, win anything. It made me forget all my past failures, It made me forget all my pain. I always had the curious mind of explorer-- and i could take up any kind of discomfort. So the nigh bus travels-- long bus travels- 8 hrs, 10 hrs, 24 hrs, long train travels- with multiple hops. They helped me become strong mentally. By Jan 2001- I was completely taken. The first order- 2.5lacs....ohhh.. i went wild with joy. The PO copy in hand, i remember going to that malabar tiffin room ( it was unaffordable for me most days)- and i ordered soup and gobi manchurian. and celebrated- me, my po copy and gobi manchurian. Then slept peacefully .. same room (Rs110/per night)- Renuka lodge.
Then the years rolled by- in form of Quarters and success.the territory- which started with Pune region, then south Maharastra, became Goa, then Tamilnadu, Kerala. finally Bangalore & Karnataka. When i moved to coreel- i had visited each nook and corner of maharastra, Goa, Kerala, Tamilnadu and Karnataka. Hyderabad was always lucky for me... It just rocketed me up and further. some time in 2007- I started having national roles. more cities. It was always a forward thurst. so it will not be wrong to say--- the profession chose me. and yes, i did the right thing.
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