Monday, April 18, 2011

Sales in Little India Pt. 2


So last Sunday's purpose was to verify the previous week's sales weren't a fluke. Now, this time the odds were stacked against me for sure: 1) I hadn't managed to get Kumar to commit to assisting with sales in the days prior to last Sunday, and 2) the retailer started talking about charging to rent the space out front, making noises that I was drawing attention away from the other two revenue-generating storefront vendors of phone cards - in short, I had just one hour, from 5pm - 6pm, to do my marketing. So I went in expecting difficulty - can a foreigner sell to skeptical Tamil buyers? Kumar was clearly key to sales last week; I had been out there last week for three hours on my own without securing the attention I needed to even begin explaining how the product works, that is until Kumar came along, having just finished his construction work and joining in with his successful demo'ing and sales efforts.
So I set up shop. After forty five minutes, I had difficulty attracting the attention I needed, just a few demos to a few individuals. The end of my time window was approaching, so I started packing up, unsure of how to interpret things. I happened to be cranking the charger as I stood up to start closing, cause someone noticed and came over. I demo'd and explained to him, and a crowd gathered. By the time I continued demo'ing to others, he decided to buy, and I fulfilled his purchase. So there it was, second week, and demand is demonstrated once again (sigh of relief!). However the crowd had dissipated In the minutes it took for me to fulfill the buyer's purchase; since the demo's drive sales, and I couldn't keep the demo momentum up while fulfilling the buyer's purchase. And yet I was feeling good - in spite of odds stacked against me, I could still sell product, and last week was not a fluke.
Satisfied, I closed up shop then, and continued to plan the way forward: Yes, partners are needed on the marketing and sales side, so I've put out the word on that.

PS Finally, the thing I'm learning about consumer tech product sales is, you don't really ever sell. You explain how the product works, how to use it, and what it can do for them. People make and assert their own buying decision of their own accord. There's no 'selling' moment. They buy or don't buy, and that's it.

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