Delhi Diaries- Part 1: Through the eyes of a Salesman

After a few days of dreaming of starting this- dreams formulated by a combination of raw heat on top of my head and loads of new knowledge beneath the hot surface covered by steadily thinning strands of the remains of what once used to be referred to by my friends as a nice thick brush- I have finally decided to display some Bias for Action as my company would call it and come up with this series of posts. I endeavour to update it as frequently as permitted by the punctured-tire that my body feels like these days whenever the sun decides to bid a short goodbye to this part of the world.

So, I have begun this new chapter in life called "First Job". Technically, it's not a job, yet. I am a Management Trainee, going through the period that many current employees yearn to get back to. And I can already see why. My mind being fresh and blank, as far as aspects of Sales & Marketing are concerned, everyday presents to me an opportunity to learn something new, get dozens of doubts and come up with ideas that probably a mind which has been cultured by knowledge wouldn't think of. 

I am currently going through what is widely known as the stint that would bring you to the ground from wherever you may presume yourself to be floating and teach you the basics of the business. This is the most popular (among the employees) as well as the most feared (by the MTs) stint- Sales. I have started off on the right note, I believe, learning to live a Salesman's life. Starting off the day with a briefing on targets, I ride the pillion on a salesman's bike and do a round of shops till evening, taking orders of stock from them. It is quite amazing to use a different lens to see the kinds of stores that I've been visiting to buy everything I need for survival, since childhood! I get to understand the multitude of issues that the retailers face- things that no course in Sales and Distribution Management can teach you. And most importantly in the course of my learning to sell Sabun to Dhukanwale, I've been learning the one thing I've always been most seriously handicapped in- Hindi!

Well my experiences related to Hindi themselves are sufficient to fill in a huge comic book, with the winner being the instance when I actually wrote 18 on my hands to indicate to an auto-driver that I wanted to go to Sector-18! Well, having an auto-driver laugh at you in your face is quite a unique way of ensuring that you'd never forget a word like Attara for life. :) 

But not always do I take such an optimistic view of things in life. It does make me feel bad that I don't perform at my best during sales calls, not being able to learn and understand the entire process as much as I'd have liked to, just on account of something as fundamental as not being conversant in a language. I do see some sense in the company's policy of moulding excellent managers by throwing young entrants into as many uncomfortable situations as possible. But, the fact is that, having it happen to you obviously doesn't feel all that great at all. In retrospect, yes, maybe one does think of how a certain tough situation forced one to do something to overcome that situation and thereby end up gaining some valuable skills for life. But as I am currently going through that tough phase of it, I can only hope to see the light at the end of the tunnel soon, wherein I can turn back and write a nice and insightful post on how these instances made me something of a better person than I am. Until then, Main hindi seriously pad rahi hoon in the hope of overcoming this obstacle which could actually be the biggest in my path ahead.

Okay now, enough of the pessimistic and serious stuff. There was this one thing that first struck me about this company the day I attended their talk on campus. It was reinforced by the experienced people who spoke to us last week over the induction program and is now very strongly established in my mind, as a result of my experiences over the past few days. Care. I see people showing it to me all the way along. From a nice old salesman (who has been doing sales from even before the time I started to take part in the consumption of the earth's supply of oxygen) who offers to bring me lunch from his home, to managers who ensure I get back home safely in the evenings, people in this organization put care for their fellow employees first. And for someone who enters her first job anxiously and apprehensively, there cannot be a warmer welcome.
Another wonderful aspect about Delhi is the Metro Rail system here. It is so awesome that I have decided to dedicate one whole post to it. So, coming soon- Delhi Diaries- Part 2: The Metro Yatra.. :)