Saturday, 9 March 2013

Sell not, but care



I do not permit any salesperson to talk me except the formal business talk. I do never indulge in long conversations with them. No lecture sessions. It is because, I prefer to take my own decisions based on facts.
I do not turn my back to their promotional talks on products but never allows them to go on a persuasive talk. Persuasive talks are an attack on our intellect. Let them lay facts before us and allow us to come to our own conclusions.

I am going to tell you about a different relationship.

My family makes our monthly purchase of provisions from a super market in my town. We always select Sunday forenoon for shopping because the supermarket will be free from a crowd of customers. This gives an ample opportunity for the salesgirl to interact with my family. Her face fills with a radiant smile as we enter the shop. She is happy to join us with the shopping cart pushing it for us around the store. She always talks about discounts and offers for customers on that day. She encourages us to buy this and that for it has a special discount or is a new but good product.

We are happy to allow her to accompany us throughout the shopping.

The other Sunday, as soon as we entered the shop, she rushed to us with the shopping cart and announced the special discount on watermelons. This is hot summer in our place now. Watermelons are in great demand. She informed us that watermelons cost only 11 Indian rupees per kilogram on that day. In fact we were not aware of the exact price of one kilogram watermelon sold elsewhere. But she assured that watermelons are sold a much high price at other places and the offer is only for the day. We hesitated. Still trusting her out of previous experiences, we bought one watermelon which weighed a little more than 3 kilograms. She wanted us to take two or three but we resisted the temptation.

On the same day evening, we were at the fish market. There was a vegetable seller who had a small stock of watermelon. We were anxious to know the price of it. The reply he gave us sent a shrill through us. Indian rupees 30 per kilogram! There is a difference of rupees 19 per kilogram. It means that the salesgirl at the supermarket helped us to save rupees 57 on the purchase of watermelon in that morning.

That is why we like her. We listen to her. We are happy to see her around while we are in the supermarket. We succumb to her persuasiveness often to purchase products from that shop. We have a confidence in her.

She cares. She does not sell.
She has a better business strategy than the Manager of the store.
The Manager of the store declares discounts and special offers. She sells the discounts and special offers through caring.
The CEO of the supermarket net work is making profit from selling products. She earns profit through caring for the customers.

Selling creates only customers.
Caring creates relationships.

Distrust prevails over selling.
Trust prevails over caring.

Professor Jacob Abraham

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