My first sales lesson

This was the year 2015. A bright sunny day.

We were on a family trip travelling by road.

Halfway to our destination, we came across a beautiful scenic view. Of course, everyone had to get down because how can we miss a chance to click photographs? Who then would fulfil the moral responsibility of posting them on Instagram?

After clicking 3-4 photographs, I gave up. It was just beyond me to click 100 photographs, with 100 different poses, that too at the same spot! (With all due respect to the mountains behind 🙌)

Anyway, this is neither about the mountains nor about the photos.

I decided to simply walk around. The roadside was decorated with several fruit stalls set up by villagers. Mainly selling oranges. Each one had a board on display stating ‘Buy X oranges, for Y Rs’ and so on…

However, almost all the stalls were empty with no customers. Except one. At the corner.

I was sure it was because of the ice cream. How would fruits compete with ice cream?

Just out of curiosity, I reached out to see what was happening.

It turned out, that there was an old lady selling oranges, not ice cream. I wondered what made people leave other stalls, and flock here. Perhaps it was due to a huge discount?

Just then, I noticed a cardboard with the following message: (It was written in Marathi, I’ll attempt to translate it roughly in English)

“I know that life in the city can be fast-paced, stressful, and demanding. I also know that you are here to escape from the city, to refresh yourself and enjoy the simple pleasures of life. To add more sweetness to your experience, I have brought some oranges for you. How about trying some? This will not only make you happy and energized, but the Vitamin C will keep you healthy throughout the journey. And don’t worry, I too have a family. I too care for their health and well-being, so I haven’t used any pesticides to grow the oranges. So feel safe to pick as many as you want!

Wishing you and your loved ones a happy journey!

With love,
Urmila Aaji ”

By the time I finished reading, it was time to go back and continue on the journey.

But what my 15-year-old brain did not comprehend back then, was that I was leaving with my first lesson in sales and marketing.

It is not about selling the product, it is about selling the story, the emotion, and the vision.

People were no longer buying oranges- they were buying sweetness, happiness, energy and good health.

Just look at her sales pitch (I tried my best to do justice to her actual pitch, recalling whatever I could from my memory)

It had everything: knowledge about the target audience, the specific context, addressing their specific problems and offering the solutions. Simple and sweet.

Most importantly, authentic. No exaggeration and no fluff.

Sometimes I wonder, whether all these jargon and complex concepts sold to us by the world are truly necessary.

What do you think?