Dos and donts of door to door selling and Sugging (trying to market in guise of market research)

Yesterday a girl student apprehensively asked me “sir would a career in sales mean always doing the beat?” For the uninitiated doing the beat means going from one house to another. Popularly referred to as door to door selling it is in the worst nightmare for any budding sales person.

I was thrown rudely back to my own sales days. I was a bag holding salesman. I have not done the beat but have experience of doing an extensive door to door campaign for a multinational giant who wanted to introduce chips and other snack items. It was in the mid eighties and I was surprised to see the reception that I received.

To put things in perspective the nice response could be because I was not marketing any product or service and I was only doing market research. My appearance as an obedient student also would have helped. It is said that sales people wear shoes with thick leather at the fore leg. The minute the door is opened the foot is thrust inside and the door can’t be banged shut again.

Jokes apart this is not done at all. But it is a lesson in perseverance that one needs to have to do the beat. Mind you doing the beat is tough and the following tips might help.

Dress well: Make it a point to dress well. Dress and address are important. The way we dress and the way we talk create a powerful impression in the mind of the customer.

Manners:  are very important. Greet the customer with respect. Once the calling bell is answered step away from the door and respectively greet the person with warmth. Treat women with extra care. Preferably visit the house early in the morning or late in the evening. Try to fix up an appointment with the owner and his wife at a time that is convenient to them.

Do not attempt to sit unless asked. Remain standing and try to conduct your business. Do not appear to be over smart. Much time will not be given. Do not ask for personal information like telephone numbers, income, religious affiliations, e-mail IDs and others.

Demonstrate the product or service and try to be respectful at all times. When dealing with woman and girls being extra cautious would be helpful. If the segment where you are trying to do door to door sales or market research is predominantly middle class it is better to have a lady and gent enumerator work together. Fluency in the local language is a mandatory requirement.

Identity cards: In the modern world every one is a suspect. It is better to have one’s identity card and an introduction from the college, institution or the company. Getting permission from an apartment complex is getting tougher and tougher. So always fix an appointment with the apartment owners’ association or the president before the process of door to door marketing is initiated.

Do not Sugg: Sugging in market research means "selling under the guise of research". This behavior occurs when a product marketer pretends to be a market researcher conducting a survey when in reality he is trying to sell the product.

Generally considered unethical, this tactic is prohibited or strongly disapproved by trade groups and most reputed companies. Do research for research purpose. Do not sully the fair name of market research by trying to Sugg.

Food - oh my darling!

The way to person’s heart is through his stomach. Food has a very important role to play in all things are associated with a person’s life and way of living. That is way in a Sanskrit we call food as Annam Parabrahma swarupam.

In a busy person’s life food has many functions including relieving of boredom and food is what people bond over.  Food and things that are connected with food leave us with a warm glow in the stomach. Let us examine how food marketing can enhance the experience for the eaters.

Subway Napkins: Subway has a very clear USP (unique selling proposition). It is a very clear that only calorie conscious eaters visit the Subway. The clientele attention is grabbed with the innovative paper napkins that stress the healthy way of eating at Subway as opposed to eating at other fast food joints. Effectively this will take care of the guilty feeling of eating fatty junk food and also reinforces the feeling that one is eating healthy.

Visual display at Subway: The visual display at Subway is very alluring. The different types of breads, the types of toppings and the garnishing are visible and add to the drama of the food getting prepared. It is as if you are preparing the food yourself.

Tray liners:  Mac Donald uses tray liners every effectively. The tray liners are full of advertisements of products that are available at Mac Donald’s. They are visually pleasing and tend to make the customers order more once they are finished with the existing food that they are consuming.

Play pens: Not seen in India due to exorbitant real estate prices. The Play area was the concept that Mac Donald made very popular. The family could go to the MacDonald and experience the entire deal, food, ambience and a great place for the Children to play. In the same way Macdonald also made popular the concept of celebrating the birthday at Mc Donald.

Happy meal: An innovation that looks very simple but is absolutely brilliant. It is all about knowing and cashing on the children’s psychology. Children are fond of toys and Mac Donald made toys a part of the product package offered. The happy meal concept has become a rage and there are millions of children throughout the world who queue up at Macdonald to have these toys. Incidentally they have to buy the happy meal. The children are not overtly bothered. The onus of buying the happy meal rests with the parents.

More Funny signs!

Driving: Driving involves lots of risk and the traffic enforcers have come out with signs that are very thought provoking. “Drive drive like hell, you will soon be there”. Very crisp and lucidly said.

The next one is even better. “it is better to be called Mr. Late than being called late Mr.” If one comes late to the office, his colleagues might call him Mr. Late Lateef, Mr. Late Lateef. It is better to be teased this way rather than being called Late Mr.  After death one is referred to as Mr. Late so and so.

Ice-cream: Children love Ice-cream. A ice cream parlor put up a sign “ I scream for ice cream, you scream for ice-cream,  all scream for ice-cream”. True, scream for your ice-cream.  

Keep your eyes on the curves: Driving on the mountainous roads can be a big challenge. This sigh lights up the drivers “Keep your eyes on the curves”.  

Hair cutting saloon: Our colony where I grew up had a small hair cutting salon. It had put up a new sigh. “Heir cutting Saloon -  ladies and gents”. The patrons had a laugh and  told the owner that he is not allowed to hurt any heirs (property owners). He got is corrected and the sigh said “Hare cutting saloon -  ladies and gents”. This time the patrons had a bigger laugh. They told the bemused owner that he became a meat seller. The owner got it corrected and the sign read “Hair cutting salon for Ladies and giants”. At this point the patrons left the sigh alone. There was no point as they were afraid as what could be thrown up the next time.

 Sweet meat shop: Same way a sweet shop had a sign “Sweet meet shop”. A meeting place for lovers?.On correction it read “Sweat meet shop”. A new gymnasium? Finally it was corrected and the sign proudly proclaimed “Sweet meat shop”.  

Fresh fish sold here:  A butcher has a sign put up “Fresh Fish sold here” A customer complainingly said “obviously you sell only Fresh fish. You can remove Fresh from the sign”.  The well meaning butcher had it the correction done and the sign said “fish sold here”.

Another customer put up her nose and said with a sneer “You are selling fish here and not shares and stocks. No need of the word Fish”. The perplexed butcher complied and the sign became “sold here” that evening a young man said “look dude you are selling and not buying anything. According to me the words sold is redundant. The terribly harassed butcher did it and the sign said “HERE”. A passing customer who was holding his nose said “your shop stinks so much that there is no need to tell us that you are selling something here. You don’t even need the word here”.

The next day the painter presented the butcher with a board that left the butcher gaping. The sign board was completely blank. It was clean as a sheet.

Hey Ram - Funny Signs!

Sala Thai: A Sala also known as a Sala Thai is an open pavilion used as a meeting place and to protect people from sun and rain. Most are open on all four sides. They are found throughout Thailand in Buddhist temple areas or Wats although they can also be located in other places.  Most Indians find this sign very amusing as Sala in Hindi means a bother-in-law and is used in a defamatory way of addressing someone else.

John Tailors: Signs are everywhere.  We are so used to signs that we tend to ignore them. But reading of signs especially commercial signs can be great fun and a very rewarding experience. One sign my father told me was really great. It was a sign of a famous tailor. He very proudly exclaimed “God made Man. We made him a gentleman”. Very true in a world that measures people by what they wear, this sign rings very true.

On a visit of a small eatery I found so many mistakes in the menu card hung on a wall that I clicked a snap in my cell phone. The mistakes are so funny. They are listed below

The Menu card says snaks instead of Snacks

The shop sells Paneer Pups (small baby dogs), I think the shop means Paneer Puffs

They also have cury pups and Cheez pups – instead of Curry Puffs and Cheese puffs

You could eat Pija instead of the traditional Pizza

They serve you Paws (dog feet). I think the vegetarian hotel means Pau or local Indian bread

Yes they serve bred- no well bred but Bread and also bred garlick  oops that is bread garlic

Hey have Gobi Cheez in High resolution – Not an electronic shop that is Gobi Cheese Hot dog

They also have veg tanduri – Well actually it is veg tandoori

They serve buter paneer – that is butter panner for you

Hey also serve bred sendwich – exotic dish absolutely non no – That is bread sandwich

Hey Ram:  On a visit of Varanasi one is filled with holy spirit and feeling of awe and exhilaration. But a sigh that was on the wall enlightened us and brought a smile on our face. It said Sri Ram, Jay Ram, Jay Ram. What followed was very amusing – Enjoy Ram. Enjoy Ram that was a big stumper. Enjoy.

Charvi passion: I and my brother-in-law were driving and this sigh was pointed out to me by Sai. It said Charvi passion. Charvi Passion, initially I thought it was a Malayalam movie. But what was written below the sign made things very clear. It was Charvi passion and I was a ladies boutique. The problem of fashion becoming the passion of the painter.  

Crocodile Park: Jim Corbett National park in Uttar Pradesh India is a wild life enthusiasts dream come true. The national park is known for its wild life including the sighting of the Bengal Tiger. Jim Corbett Park has a crocodile park with a sign. “Trespassers will be eaten. If found alive they will be prosecuted”. Talk about double jeopardy.

Busting sales myths!

There are lots of myths about sales people. 

A sales person is very dominating: This is one of the myths that every one believes. They imagine a sales person to be like a James Bond . Suave, smart and utterly over powering. He is seen as a bulldozer, who can raze down everything in his wake. But a sales person is one of the most submissive (or plays the role of a submissive) person. He has to subordinate himself to his boss, his customer, the dealers and even the service department. He has to be good negotiator to get along with his job. Some people call sales people good wheeler dealers. Most Sales people have dogs as pets. Dogs are the most submissive of all pets and his pet dog is the only thing that submits itself to the sales person.

A need can be created: This is something that I always hear even professional sales people say. But my friends that the basic tenet. A need can’t be created. Only wants can be created. If a person is not hungry nothing in the words can make him consume anything. Yes if he is hungry he might choose any of the various option of overcoming his hunger.

Selling combs to a bald person: One of the favorite questions of all interviews.  “Can you sell a comb to a baldie”. My answer would be a no. But pushed to answer, maybe I would volunteer to say that one of the uses of a comb for a baldie would be to scratch his head if it is itching.

Selling a refrigerator to an Eskimo: This is something that is possible. Yes Eskimos use the refrigerator and for the exact reverse uses of what we are it using for. We use the fridge to keep the food cold and to see that it is not spoiled. The Eskimos who live in a very cold area find that all their food is frozen so hard that a person can be killed with a sharpened chocolate bar! Eskimos use the fridge to keep their food soft and malleable and in a eatable condition.

A sale is an art and not science: Sales is seen as a mambo jumbo. Something that is like black magic. Customers are hoodwinked and they are sucked into a sale. But sales is pure science. The steps of a sales process can be broken down into logically and any any smart person can master these steps. It is as simple or as difficult as surgery or accounting. Correctly trained most people would find sales to be a very enriching experience.

Sales ends with the procurement of an order: Most sales professionals exclaim that sales ends with the procuring of the order. But sale is cyclical and would go on and on in circles . The order has to be executed, installed, the customer has to be trained, the payment has to be collected and the customer has to be given excellent service. All these successfully executed the same customer could be approached to buy the product again.