Marketing and Sales 101

 It's actually One on One, but also 101, as it's elementary stuff.

We have been observing it since we were kids. The sethji who sold us the annual wardrobe in raw unstitched form always smiled, and after showing us reams of the stuff, said, Aapko purani rate se deta hai (will give it to you at the old-and lesser- price). We fell for it.

The kirana was from Jeetmal Moolchand, a Marwari businessman in deep Andhra Pradesh. Again, knew his business. Went through a long list made by Mom meticulously, and kept us engaged through the long process of packing.

Single-window processing. I once bought a Subaru in the U.S., second hand from a dealer, with a loan too. Was amazed, I just sat in a chair, signing papers and he took care of everything- loan included- in around 30 minutes using a fax machine and a phone. This was pre-internet! Probably my best experience as a customer till date, except on Jet Airways a couple of times, and Air India once. And Sri Lankan Air once.

One to one is easy, actually, if you know the basics of human interaction- give importance, smile, and say sorry if something goes wrong. Scaling this up is a different thing, when you have thousands of customers- one reason Indigo goes wrong, maybe. And banks and credit card companies.

Cars I Drove Over the Years

Since I am not a zillionaire, these are quite modest and do not include the Ferraris, Mercs and the like, but I just realised that it is an interesting list nevertheless. For example, I started driving at age 18 on a vintage Ford Prefect 1955, which has that old world look, complete with a cranking "handle" to start it like the Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi car, and a floor gear. It also had a footboard on both sides, and we as children used to enjoy standing on it on the drive from the gate to the garage while my father or mother was driving. Great fun! 

The next car was a humdrum "Fiat" which was an official car (parents'), which I did not drive much, as it came with a driver. My next one in the US was a giveaway from Alok, my friend who had finished his PhD and bought a new Toyota Celica in 1986. His old Datsun (from Nissan)- 1976 I think, was what I drove for a year. It was a zippy car, by Indian standards, though it had a leaky cylinder which meant one spark plug constantly needed cleaning, much to the amusement of our American friends.

I then bought a 1979 Ford Granada, and we made our first around-the-US yatra in it, going from Clemson to Los Angeles and back. We later made another longer round trip in a similar Ford Lincoln that we hired. The Ford Granada was a luxury car, and was fantastic for long rides, though a gas guzzler compared to the Datsun. But then, petrol was cheap enough for us graduate students to go gallivanting. So we covered around 25 states of the 50 US states in that tri[.

I celebrated my PhD with another used car, a Subaru with a hatchback, station wagon style. (Pic above- black one), This was a great car for its handling, and carrying capacity. We could stuff almost anything, (though we never tried a small elephant, maybe we could have) at the back and we used it for many short trips, including to the Tennessee mountains in Fall season to see the multi-

coloured leaves. (Above- the Ford Granada)

My first car back in India in 1995 was again a Fiat (Premier Padmini), which I liked a lot for its hand-gears and seating capacity. Six was a comfortable fit. It saw me through Harihar, and my Lucknow days, where I sold it. Next I bought a new car for the first time, the good old Maruti 800. Lasted me 2 years, and I exchanged it for an Esteem (pic above, Silver-coloured) when I moved to Bangalore. I drove a lot of the 800, and I drive a lot less of the Esteem, because I am mortally scared of Bangalore traffic. But I did make a couple of trips to Goa and to Salem, and enjoyed the comfort of the ride.

All in all, an interesting bunch of cars.

Zindagi Ittefaq Hai

This is a favourite song, (link if you want to listen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVxCAwqONcI) but also rings true. Most things in life happen serendipitously, or in an unplanned manner.

Thinking back, most of my career choices after school were because friends asked me to appear for some entrance exams-left to myself, I would have probably done the easiest degree available, whatever it was, and gone ahead..and maybe still would have become a teacher :)

Many things we do in life are a result of being in the right place at the right time- from buying a new dress, to starting  a new research project, or deciding where to eat. There's a lot less of planning than we think. The cars I bought in the U.S., particularly the huge 1979 Ford Granada, was because a friend was sellling it, and I was around..it was a luxury car that I enjoyed driving. Before getting back to earth with a more sober Subaru hatchback. That was also because it happened to be available second hand at the dealer we went to..and liked it.

Most books I have found and liked have been while browsing in a bookstore-Landmark, Crossword, Book Bargain Hut, Gangaram's, Blossoms, Sapna, Book Worm, WH Smith, etc..(happened to buy 3 today at one of these). Happy coincidences happen all the time, like meeting your friends, students, or anyone at all, when you least expect it..in a mall, in a corridor, or on the street. A lot of things can happen over coffee, or tea, or beer,..

Brands I Grew Up With

As a user, the first brand I recognised was Philips, most likely. Our radio was Philips, though Murphy was probably around at the time too. The next one that I became aware of was Colgate, which had a dominant market share, followed by Binaca and Forhans.

When I had to wash clothes in the hostel, it was always the blue Rin detergent bar that would be the preferred choice. The restaurant brand was the Hilton (not THAT Hilton) cafe at the corner of Osmania University campus. (there was a branded women's college called Andhra Mahila Sabha pretty close by, and I was aware of that too).

We had a club branded as Yellandu Club in the mining towns we lived in, and I spent a lot of  time playing Badminton or swimming there. Theraja is a great author brand in Electrical engineering, and we worshipped him.

Among the Hyderabadi hotels, Kamat and Taj Mahal were the most frequented for their south Indian meals, followed by Alpha or Garden for their biryanis. The theatre brands were awesome in Hyderabad, with Ramakrishna 70mm being the pick of the lot, till Maheswari and Santosh came in. Royal in Koti was also a good theatre. Sangeet was very good for English movies, with an upmarket crowd.

My first camera was a Pentax, though I learnt photography on a German folding camera my parents had.

Cars- I drove a Datsun, a Ford Granada (huge) and a Subaru while in the U.S., and a Premier Padmini and a Maruti 800 before moving on to an Esteem later (still drive it).