Thursday, September 12, 2013

Salesman!!! No.No.No

How many times have you heard "I am not a salesman", "salesmen are not allowed in this Society or Premises", "My father is a doctor not a salesman", "I can't be a salesman". You may also get news like  - "US President Came India with Business Delegates" but he is not a salesman. What a irony?

Let me elaborate few interesting facts about a salesman. Doctors are not a salesman even though they are selling their prescriptions. A Professor is not a salesman even though he is selling his lectures. In a true sense, everyone in this world is selling something irrespective of transaction size and nature but very few professionals are being called "Salesman". Nobody likes to be called Salesman. Why? Because a Salesman is a Salesman, only when his demand is less while supply is much more. When we put this criteria to Doctors, Professors etc. it does not exist. 

Salesman could be welcomed if you need his visit but the next moment you won't like getting phone call from his number as now his job is over for you. But we can't behave in the same manner to Doctors, Professors etc. as they are very limited in number or here demand and supply is reverse the order. But this is only for few years. Lets be ready to accept being salesman.

All MBA, Engineers, Lawyers, Doctors etc. are going to sell their skills to someone but we are not giving due diligence to Sales. Everybody wants to be in office and doing something except sells. Across locations and Universities, nobody is going ahead with selling skills development especially to their management students but finally they fail here become champion. Why can't Universities invite true salesman to their campuses and let them have first hand experience? I am not talking about those executives who sits in AC and brag things. They are not a sales guy. They are getting paid much higher because they can maneuver juniors.

My only apprehension is why nobody likes to be called a Salesman while everyone is a Salesman. Those who are good, making huge success while others are waiting for green signals.

Lets be a Salesman!

We have been trained since our birth to feel something and convey something else as we need to look after our society. We are all nude and we will be like that only but society have made us not to think without cloths. We never mind watching animals nude neither we think they are nude. This is what we practiced since we came to this world.

This analogy i have used for Salesman. We all are salesmen irrespective of our profession, time and location. Whether we are with our family, clients and vendors. But as we practiced not to say that i am a salesman, we won't accept it.

Almost five years ago, i had very hot discussion with a doctor as his thought was that he never sales and not like to spend time with sales guys. I tried to explain him that even you are selling your services and your patients are paying for the same act. If your services will not be satisfactory, nobody will come again and you might have to change your positioning or complete package. In spite of the fact, i argued that he is not asking Patients to come and he is not forcing them to buy his services, still they come. This time i had very convincing principle of Economics - Demand and Supply. Country like India is having very asymmetrical distribution of doctors or it will be better to say that we are having no other option left to come and sell myself.

Keeping that in mind. I had almost five hour of brainstorming and then realized that this is not their fault as they never come across such incidents and realized to sharpen their selling skills. The same irony i seen when get chance to visit educational institutions and all of them are talking about multiple other things but not sales. They feel it is not required while it is absolutely true that they need to have a tough selling skills. They will face such circumstances at the time of placement, after placement while getting task from their respective managers and getting it done from someone who don't want to be very cooperative. You need all these skills and if you compile all of them you will find only skill which is essential is Salesmanship.

Lets accept this phenomenon and try to excel in all walks of life.

Welcome comments  and feedback.