Birth of a new Salesman

Dubai, the dream destination for many travelers became a home to me, not before I chose to pursue my higher studies here. But right from the day I stepped in on this miracle land, where anything could rise out of the sand and touching the sky, money was concurrently out flowing from me. Ten months already flew with no opportunity to find a way of sourcing cash inflow. Too many pleas, requests and false guarantee of the close circle went useless, all through these months.

Finally came in an opportunity via a man whom I had always trusted (so far he hasn’t broken it). It was a four day assignment with Videocon mobile on a festival promotion activity. The company had come up with new range of mobiles and they were looking out for promoters for the same. I grabbed the opportunity and was offered a store in the farthest of the location, Al Quoz. Though it is considered to be a close proximity to the main business center of the New Dubai, yet it was far from IMT. A solid two hour travel will take me to this highly populated labor camp, mostly filled with Indians and Pakistanis.

There was no hesitation from my end, as I considered this as an opportunity to explore the beautiful city. Actually speaking, these locality project the other set of Dubai population, the working and labor class, who equally contribute to the economic fluctuations of the nation and less exposed on the media.

Occupied with mile long warehouses and labor camps on either side of the road, the way to my destination was entirely different than what I had witnessed with the other half of Dubai. The hypermarket was positioned in a prime location and with heavy footfall, throughout the day. To assist me at the store was a wonderful person, who could not be matched with anyone I had met at Dubai, so far. He was so supportive and encouraging, though knowing that this was my first attempt with sales. His encouragement and strong belief raised my spirit and together made us achieve a huge target sale of 71 mobiles, over the four day period. It was even the highest number achieved across locations, where similar promotion was happening.

Till that day I never realized that I could convince someone so well to take up a product, amidst heavy competition from competitor brands. And adding to my credit was the use of language. I had to keep switching my language between Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam and English spontaneously, as people of different region visited the stall one at a time. Speaking fluently without stammering and conveying the information in a short span of time, it was such a daunting task, which was eventually done with ease.

In total, I would have spent close to 28 hours at the store, but the number of people who became my friends were innumerable. The store staffs were too friendly and the best part of this whole new experience was sharing the Iftar dinner with them. Never in my life had I ever witnessed such a mass dinner. Though the food was light, it was delicious and enjoyable when sharing it with everyone around you. I realized the real sense of togetherness and the motive of Ramadan, then. Over and all, I would say these four days to be highly productive days of my life.

Though on one side I feel happy about my new capability, on the other side I feel sad for making 71 people purchase a product, which I myself am pretty sure will not last longer. A kind of guilt crept within me as every single time when a mobile gets sold, since these people are not those few who purchase it for a passion. But, these are people who hesitate and think hundred times before investing their hard earned money on a product, which will not reap value, as it is conversely claimed to be.

God save them!

And thank you almighty for bringing out the “Salesman” out of me.