Sales Pitch

I was formally introduced to this concept by someone from my company's sales team during my assimilation. Although over the period I have realised that everytime we end up selling something, although intangible, but everytime you talk, you want people to buy it, more so true in case of a self-obsessed person like me.

It ranges from formal sessions like interviews, to just a cup of coffee, anytime anywhere. But if you keep in mind that it's officially a sales pitch I think it gives you more confidence. Consider my first and till date only job interview, although I was nervous, I was good in selling my confidence, my passion for loads of other things than "C", my love for Java(which too has disappeared) etc etc.

Few days back when I attended a b-school interview it was another such attempt. But after talking to my friend's sister I realised that it's officially a sales pitch. The panelists are consumers who are looking for the best deal, I am nothing but a salesman who sells himself off. So this time I kept this thing everytime in my mind while giving any answers, it helps quite a lot. Only that thinking of you as a commodity can be demeaning sometimes, I mean I am obviously different from a Parle-G.

Btw, do read the interview transcript, it should be fun.

Coming back to me, I think I am good in selling things, although not the regular shopkeeper stuff but things I have realised for the past few days after giving a thought to what actually interests me. For example I wanted to consider couple of friends of mine for this course at ISI Kolkata that they should do as they are good with numbers. Anyway people dont see much beyond an MBA or MS for higher eductaion nowadays. I just tried to make the pitch exciting by saying that guys from ISI are quite in demand among good looking bengali gals ;). Couple of them really got excited and hope they will apply. By the way Bengali Girls are really quite beautiful J.

You talk to any girl and you will realise that they too are looking for a package deal, so when one proposes it should be Sales Pitch rather than regular proposal. We had a brainstorming session on this one last week and some real good points came up. Although we are not looking at a slideshow for asking a girl something, but a step by step breakdown of things helps. (Maybe, some experiments will be conducted on this theory soon :))

When you talk to your client you sell him your work, when you ask your boss for leave you try to sell the need of taking one, when you talk in appraisal your boss sells you his rating, when you say sorry after doing something terribly wrong you sell your ignorance, when you ask your dad for money to buy a new cell phone you sell your innocence, when you are in a discussion and just want people to buy your thoughts, sometimes ignoring there is something buy from them too.

It's always a buy-sell thing, we trade thoughts and that's how all the humans co-exist, but some people label it sharing, I disagree. It's never sharing because sharing is done for mutually agreeable items, like you can share a pizza or a Mysore pak or a nimbu soda, but you will only buy knowledge when you think its good for you and you can use it and it comes with the minimal cost, the same way you end up buying toothpaste. Cost here though can be a set of multiple parameters.

So just try it out once, whenever you try to talk to someone, think of the items you are selling to him, think of yourselves just as a Eureka Forbes guy and have a go, I am sure it will turn out quite well. Sales Pitch is not as mysterious as this year’s WACA Perth pitch, but again like that it’s sure to give positive results.

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