Swami visits Rura

A weeks time in Kanpur and Swami met a number of retailers and Wholesalers in his beats some prasing, some complaining, some reciting stories and some even abusing! The endeavor during the beats used to be to do maximum sales and at the same time pacify angry retailers and visit retail outlets which the salesman otherwise was skipping for some reason or the other.

Meanwhile Vajpayee had planned for Wednesday as his weekly off and since Swami was on a Shadow sint he too was following the journey plan and this effectively meant that Swami would be working nine day in a stretch.

Swami noticed that retailers in city had big expectations when a company official was visiting them and some even enquired with him on whether there is any special retailer scheme in the offing. Vajpayee meanwhile was now entrusting responsibilities on Swami and was asking Swami to make sales call with the Salesman at outlets. Swami duly used to come back to Distributor points and give his feedback to the distributor on the salesman's working in the beat.

Swami wan getting into the saddle well now and now his first upcountry visit took him to Rura, a town in Kanpur Dehat District. Swami was quite excited at the prospect and was eagerly looking forward to the interaction with people there. The mercury in Kanpur and adjoining areas was only rising higher in the meantime and the heat had no signs of reducing. Swami dressed in simple formal attire, with a Perfetti Bag hanging on his shoulders(which had a bottle of mineral water all the time) started for Rura by Etawah Passenger early morning. This also meant Swami caught up with Breakfast at Kanpur Central Railway station, the menu being Puri and Sabji which was very popular all around. The other omnipresent dish used to be Samosas, which was turning to be Swamis Favorite. Swami also made sure that he does not miss on the Famous UP Lassi served in Kulhad(Earthern ware) at a point called Tiwari Lassi near his hotel.

Vajpayee had suggested Swami Hotel JaySiyaRam serving Pure Veg. Food near the station,(Area near the station referred to as GHantaghar, on account of a clock tower) and after a days meal Swami fell in love with the homely food there. Lunch vanished from Swami's daily meal dictionary and hence he made sure he has a good breakfast which cann keep him going through the hot days and come back to Jay Siya ram for good food.

Swami's train to Rura passed through rural settings and he was quite keen to see Rural Uttar Pradesh and its beauty. It was indeed true that Uttar Pradesh had a lot to offer than politicians and Swami was very happy that he was discovering the place.

After an hour and half's journey Swami and Vajpayee landed at Rura. Having got down at the station he along with Bajpai walked about two kms to reach the distributors residence. Swami could gather the impression that the town was centred around the main road which he walked across and the only mode of transport there was a moth shaped tempo which was stuffed with some 15 odd people. Swami was keen to try this mode of transport sometime and even made his desire known to Vajpayee. Vajpayee informed him that the moth shaped Tempo did not travel via the the place they wanted to go and hence they cannot board it.

Swami and Vajpayee after their 2 kms walk reached the distributor point and were treated to cold water and then hot tea. Conversions with the distributor revolved around the same dialogues,"Saheb Dhanda to Manda hain, Abhi to school Band Band hain na...to Bache to Nani-Dadi ke ghar pe hain". On a lighter note, Swami thought that Rura definitely would be having Nanimas and Dadimas living for grandchildren to visit, then why the flawed reasons. He decided to check it himself when he goes to the market.

In the meantime the distributor salesman arrived and he was introduced as Naresh to Swami. Swami was quite amused at Naresh's Hindi, it had a rural touch and for the first time in his life Swami had to concentrate to catch his words. Naresh had also named Confettis's smaller SKU of Chewing gum as "Babua"(in English means Baby) to sell it to retailers in Rura.

Vajpayee duly asked Naresh to make a sample of some slow moving products to carry it along in the beat and instructed Naresh that they would not skip a single outlet.

This commenced one of the most interesting days till now for Swami! Naresh had an excellent connect with the retailers and wholesalers and he cnahged his style with each outlet. Almost every call was a productive call that day. During the course of the beat Naresh enquired with Vajpayee on who Swami was. Bajpai told him that he had done his MBA. Naresh was someone who had never been out or Rura in his life and he failed to understand what an MBA was!

He asked Bajpai for an explantion of the term "MBA" which he referred to as "MCA". Vajpayee then asked Naresh whether he understood was Standard 12th was, to which Naresh nodded. So Bajpai told him, " After 12th Swami had studied till 16th Class(meaning his engineering) and then again studied for two more years to complete 18th Class." Naresh was thrilled to see that someone could study for so many years when people he knew used to drop out well before standard 10th. He immediately retorted, "Agar Saheb itne padhe likhe hain, to kya humme woh passwale Akbarpur ka area bhi dila sakte hain tofee bechneke liye"?

Both Vajpayee and Swami smiled at his question and Swami could see Naresh's passion for his work. Naresh was quite motivated that day with two company officials accompanying him and they visited every outlet possible, selling sugarfree chewing gums at Medical Outlets, opening new counters at Sweet outlets, which had problems of coinage of lower denominations.

Be it the FreshMints or the Liebe candies of Confetti, Naresh, Vajpayee and Swami sold the entire range. The respect and patience with which retailers heard the company officials was quite different that the city. Swami was duly impressed and at the end of the day they did make a point to the distributor on how they had done sales inspite of all his excuses.

The trio had walked all through the town and had now walked for some 6 hrs at a stretch. Bajpai and Swami had already missed the train back and now they had to settle for bus. This made them travel through the moth shaped tempo to reach the Highway Bypass to catch a bus to Kanpur. After a forty minute journey they reached Akbarpur Highway bypass to get on to buses coming from Auraiya and Etawah to Kanpur.

The highway was deserted, with very few vehicles. There were jeeps carrying people to Kanpur and Swami wondered why Vajpayee was waiting for the bus when they could easily take the jeep. He suggested the same to Vajpayee, that is when Swami also spotted people travelling on bikes with rifles hanging on their shoulders! Vajpayee told him that these jeeps were risky and were not safe mode of transport.

Sometime later Swami again saw a group of people walking with rifles!...Swami wondered whether they were common people or police in normal dress....He checked with Vajpayee and he was informed that they were indeed common men.....

Swami's next question-" Why are they carrying guns?...whats wrong with them..Vajpayee's reply-"Just like you and I carry mobiles, they carry guns!'"........Yeh hain Uttar Pradesh...
Next Update:- Swami visits Farukhabad and Kannauj

DaY One in the Sales Beat!

Swami quickly got refreshed and called up the S.O.(Sales Officer) for Kanpur, Prasad Vajpayee so that Swami can join him and get working as a Sales officer for Confetti.(For the uninitiated, every FMCG company makes their future Area Sales Managers work like a Sales Officer whom they manage in the future, Each SO has a territory assigned to him to take care of).

Prasad Vajpayee was a Sr.Sales officer for the company and had a good reputation amongst all senior executives of the company on account of his work. Many Area Sales Manager Trainees like Swami and also Sales Officer trainees were always sent to him for training from the North branch. Vajpayee on the other hand was quite fed up with trainees who were not keen to soil their hands and go the extra mile and rightly so since he put effort behind trainees. He had made up his mind to put Swami through some rigorous training and check his urge and desire to learn.

Swami on the other hand was quite hungry since he had to skip his dinner on account of non-availability of food, while it was too late for breakfast when he reached Kanpur. Vajpayee was busy on the streets of Kanpur in Raiway Bazar Market when Swami called him. Swami was duly given directions of a Pan outlet near the Railway station to meet up with Vajpayee and the Distributor Salesman in their beat. These directions reminded Swami of his words to his fellow FMCG mates while parting at college, that they can bump into each other at some retail outlet or pan outlet during their careers.

Meanwhile, as designated they met up and Swami duly introduced himself and inturn got introduced to the Distributor Salesman Ashwini. The day passed by with Swami observing the selling at each outlet and tactics used by Vajpayee and Ashwini at each outlet. Kanpur was simmering hot and monsoon here was next to negligible every year. It rained somewhat in end July, but it was only second week of June now.All in all... Swami was ready for a scorching sales stint in Central Uttar Pradesh.

By mid afternoon, Swami, Vajpayee and Ashwini had covered number of outlets and now Swami was feeling the heat of his hungry stomach. It was almost 24 hrs and Swami had not had anything except some liquids in the form of water. That is precisely when he, Vajpayee and Ashwini decided to take a tea break and Swami gulped some "Bun with Maska Marke"(Bun with Butter, served with Tea in many parts of India). This small break did wonders for Swami's stomach and he was quite charged up again.

Swami was duly impressed by Vajpayee's working and his efforts to place Confetti products at all possible outlets in the beat. Places where retailers had thousand excuses of not buying a product, Bajpai had 1001 reasons for them to buy it, while at places where retailers were willing to buy three products Vajpayee made sure that they try two more products with the ones they already wanted. Be it Variety selling or being one step ahead of the smart retailers in UP, Swami was making a note of things to watch out for. Ashwini the distributor's sales man was playing second fiddle for the day in the presence of Bajpai, while Vajpayee also made it sure that he stays motivated at all times.

Swami had always heard about the aggresion of people in north and he was now a witness to it in the form of some retailers. He was reminded of his Senior's(in Confetti) words who had asked the Trainees, their opinion on whether there was a difference in the behaviour of people to the north of Narmada and South of Narmada. He saw retailers in all moods, some dejected, some excited, some happy and some whining about poor sales, while some literally pouncing with anger and some not at all in a mood to talk. He began hearing lines like "Sahab ab to sanata laga hain"(Sir there is absence of activity in market).

At the end of day's work Vajpayee did enquire about where Swami was put up and why he had not stayed in the hotel suggested by him. Swami smartly put away the question since he did not want to tell him that a junior Summer Trainee who had just returned from Kanpur had warned him not to stay there.The reason being:- Rats abounded the Hotel and hence everything from baggage to clothes was subject to danger.The end of the day also saw Swami taking a new mobile no in UP to stay connected and at this moment he was realsing how handy and important mobile phones were! This was especially for folks in Sales like Swami and who travelled alone!

Vajpayee while leaving also told Swami that they would be visiting upcountry towns Rura, Farukhabad, Kannauj and Chibramau during the week and Swami was quite excited and thrilled at the prospects of seeing the Hindi heartland!

Next Update:- Swami in upcountry towns of Central Uttar Pradesh

Swami Tales- Part Two--The Delhi Kanpur Journey!?

Swami was cursing his luck when he found himself in the Railway Station goof up, but he was quick enough to realise, he had to do something . How far is the other station from New Delhi station? How much will the Auto charge? Will he get one now at a decent price or even they will be trying to rip his wallet apart?....What alternatives to train does he have? some questions running in his mind..

An idea struck, he called his B-School buddy who was also living in Delhi, Jyotirmoy Banerjee. Banerjee had got into a BPO firm after B-School and was at a senior position owing to his vast experience. It was hence very possible that he would be awake. Swami called and to his good fortune, Jyotida(as he used to be called by Swami) guided him and asked him to take an auto immediately to Delhi station and also told him an approximate charge, the auto might ask.

Swami quickly ran with his suitcase and Laptop bag outside the Ajmeri Gate side of New Delhi and got hold of the first auto insight. Without much haggling the autodriver agreed to reach Delhi station quickly at hundred bucks.

Swami was cursing his stupidity, the money which he could have easily saved had he told the Confetti arranged Cab to drop him at Old Delhi station. He soon reached Delhi station and took his luggage and ran towards the Platform, in the meanwhile also enquiring with coolies whether Rajendra Nagar Special had left.

It was already 12.30 am and the scheduled departure was at 11.55 PM. Looking at his hurriedness and worried face, a coolie told him to chill and informed him that the train had still not come. Infact on further enquiry with people on platform One waiting for the train, few told him that there was no fixed time on when it would come. A day before the train happened to Start from Sarai Rohilla Delhi station in the morning it seems! Swami thought just when he had seemed to got out of a mess, he seemed to have entered one more. So inh short Swami was in for some more wait......

Swami was now hungry and thirsty. The evening Dominos Pizza besides the office was history. By this time during his stay in Delhi, Swami was also taking strict precaution and was only drinking mineral water, which he found was totally absent from the platform shops.There was alos nothing worthwhile to eat. He helped himself to some "Coke" Cola drink .

Swami then waited in the humid weather amongst several other passengers of the train eagerly setting his eyes on the track. Finally at 2.30 am it was announced that the train is making its entry into the platform. Swami was relieved and as soon as the train came, he made himself comfortable in the AC Coach.

Tiredness put him to sleep, only to find early morning that the train was running quite late than it had started and would reach Kanpur by 10 am.

Finally at about 10 in the morning Swami landed in Kanpur. It was simmering hot and Swami got an idea of what he was in for. Monsoon in this part of India was months away which he found out after talking to a few fellow passengers. A fellow passenger helped him drop at Kanpur Palace Hotel in Moolganj area and Swami checked in with his luggage. On further talks with him Swami found out that the fellow passenger too was an MBA from a School in Pune....

Next Update:- Soon