The other day my team and I were celebrating February’s success at a non descript open air hotel just outside town when dusk set in.
This typically means the onset of the malaria-carrying troops, and soon we were performing the ‘mosquito dance’ shifting from one leg to another.
After five minutes, a request was shot off to the owner to do something about it. He ordered one of his workers:“Mortein jala re, Machar bahut hain” (burn Mortein <coil>, too many mosquitoes).
Googling has become a generic term for search engines, Xeroxing a term for photocopying … I am glad that Mortein is now becoming a word for pest control!
It is a part of my job description to build the equity of each of my brands in a price-sensitive market. My sales officer took up this challenge and we have put up iron framed gates all over the Wholesale Market at Raipur my headquarter town, and also my largest market.
Needless to say, sales have shot through the roof.
At the beginning of every year, we have a budget to scale every month; every quarter and for the full year. I am now ‘two months old as an ASM’ and can claim to understand the finesse of the sales business.
I am responsible for a territory that is heavily dependant on wholesale (indirect distribution). This is a reality given the demographics of my territory. The split between urban and rural areas is 20:80 and the per capita income in this region is among the lowest in the country. But the contribution that comes from the pest control category is among the highest in the country. This region has a tropical climate with intermittent rains and the use of open drainage systems makes it a breeding haven for mosquitoes.
Mosquito coils that are the primary format of mosquito pest control in India. It is a category that can be termed as hot as cigarettes. When the season sets in all you can hear is that unpleasant ‘bzzz bzzz bzzz’. Coils are sold in truckloads.
Mortein is the single largest brand in the pest control market in India. Mortein Power Booster is our most effective coil:
Its been a while since I could stand still without shifting my legs every ten seconds. I really wish I had a long tail to brush em off
It is a nice feeling being at 110% of your budget at the end of two months.
Wikipedia says that “Rock ’n’ Roll is a genre of popular music…” To me this guy right here represents perfectly what Rock ’n’ Roll is all about:
Entertaining, talented, unique, powerful, impressive – Rock ‘n’ Roll.
I will never forget Jan 6th 2010. The store manager of one of my biggest stores in my sales area called me:
“Holger, we will make the deal you offered me three weeks ago.”
My first thought: “ROCK ‘N’ ROLL!”
During my first weeks at RB Michael, one of my colleagues, told me a saying. I don’t think you can translate it one by one but maybe you will get the meaning: “Mass sells mass.”
The meaning is: the more entertaining, unique, powerful and impressive your appearance at the point of sale (POS) is, the more you will sell.
And yes, by using these four words you see the connection to the dance-video on top. The last description of Rock ‘n’ Roll missing is “talented”. This you only get when you are able to sell highly talented products like ours at RB.
You might ask me to explain and describe what we did at this specific store but I am not able to put it into words. To really make you understand what I mean by talking about “Rock ‘n’ Roll at the POS”, you have to take a look at the pictures below.
Entertaining, talented, unique, powerful, impressive – Rock ‘n’ Roll.
And it is true. Customers buy more. They are entertained and they know that this impressive appearance goes along with very talented brands which stand for a high quality and unique products.
The secret behind this story is not really a secret. Why did the store manager order this huge amount of products at once? He understands how the business works. He knows how customer think. He is aware of the topic “Rock ‘n’ Roll at the POS”.
But in my eyes the key factor was trust. The buyer trusted me. He was sure that I would never sell him products which he would not be able to sell to his customers again.
Being a good salesman means in my eyes to be open minded, caring, understand a buyer’s needs, find a connection to him.
If you think about sucessfully building your career then visibility is one of the most important things. If one’s performance is visible to higher management levels then chances for the next step on your job ladder are high.
One of the best things about RB is that RB employees get ultimate visibility. When I was management trainee, the GM of RB Pakistan and directors of various functions knew not only my name but also they knew what projects I was working on.
The reason is that RB is a lean organization with an almost flat hierarchy. Employees are directly involved in the decision making process, rather than closely supervised by many layers of management. This eliminates bureaucracy in an organization and empowers people.
The top management is closer to the middle management which makes it easier for the upper management to communicate effectively to the lower level management. Flat hierarchy organizations like RB in comparison to tall structures are more effective in terms of innovation and empowerment. That is why RB won The Economist’s Innovation Award in the category of Corporate use of Innovation.
Our view is not limited to our country only, we get visibility on a global level. As management trainees we had training sessions with our regional HR director, SVP Global Corporate Communication & Affairs and our Regional Director. These kinds of sessions teach us to think global and act local; top management shares their views regarding RB global. We get to know the future plans, share best practise and have business updates with other regions.
With great empowerment and visibility comes great responsibility, everyone in RB knows every other person’s performance so one has to put his/her best forward. RB no doubt is a place for people who are achievers and performers.
Do you want to work in an environment where you have visibility to top management already in an early stage in your career? Do you want responsibility and are an achiever and high performer? Than RB might be the right place for you – find out more in the ‘Are we right for you?’ section on our website: www.reckittbenckiser.jobs
In my previous post, I mentioned that I had been posted as an Area Sales Manager.
And just 44 days into the job I can now start to appreciate the art of sales from a more strategic perspective.
It is no longer about going into that store and making the sale, I now monitor things and step in only when I realise there is a problem.
I am learning to decode a sales story through numbers on an Excel sheet. I have a review 7 days down the line where I am supposed to explain what happened in this area in the last 12 months.
It is a thrill to watch the region’s happenings through numbers.
My last month has been full of Excel sheets, desolate rural roads and oily food. I cannot remember the last day I woke up without thinking of coil sales.
In the end when my achievement for the month is 111% of my budget, it all suddenly seems worth it. I can now truly appreciate why the people at RB need to be passionate in order to succeed.
It really does take a certain type of person to thrive here: and you can find out who on the RB careers site.
