Memoirs.....Musings of a sales guy at heart.....

Episode 12

Hyderabad days...

As mentioned in my earlier post, got promoted and transferred to Hyderabad as Area Sales Manager-Andhra Pradesh(the unified one) with Hyderabad as my HQ.

This was immediately after my wedding. We got married on 7th September 86 and around 20th September, Tomy called me and announced my promotion and also told me that I have to shift to Kerala. But I was not keen to go to Kerala as that market was also something similar to TN with government managing the WS and retail with private that time. He was so nice and managed to get me Hyderabad, instead. AP was in fact, more potential and highly profitable for HL and hence I felt very honored. And the added advantage was the fiat car I would get as an ASM...that made me to get very excited. Anyway my wife was not comfortable riding as pavilion with me on my Yezdi and more than her, my inlaws...so with a heavy heart I sold off my Yezdi for 9500 and gave that money back to my Father-in-law as the repayment of the loan I took from him to settle the loan i had taken from HL for the wedding....so the wedding expenses from my side, got squared with the Yezdi sale...this I had mentioned here just to share with you guys, that it was hand to mouth during my bachelor times and got married with nothing but guts!!!!

So, alien territory with no basic knowledge of the topography and languages...Hyderabad-one could manage with Hindi as most of the Hyderabad and surroundings spoke decent Hindi laced with some Urdu-(Nizamabad, Karimnagar and Warangal districts)....but in TN we got completely jacked by the political agenda and were deprived of Hindi in our school days and somehow managed with some English thanks to the newspapers those days and some Hollywood movies. So I land there with absolutely zero of the local languages and manageable English...but the silver lining was Jeyanthi's spoken and written Hindi as in Kerala Hindi was their 3rd language....thats one of the reason Malayalis are comfy whereever they go...The day the Tamils learn the importance of the 3rd language especially Hindi it would make world of difference for them as the moment you step out of TN borders, thats the only knowledge would come handy for us...not English....am saying this with my experience and it is not a political statement...

My predecisor was Nitin Pitale, young, handsome and from one of the business school. He joined HL as MT and within 6 months he was sent to AP to head as ASM....I think within a year, he was asked to move back...but he was the dawling of the distributors there as he was non controversial and non interfering. Our office was at the heart of Secunderabad and we had our own warehouse too. But we had some kind of legal issues going with the building ownder and that had to be managed too...didnt understand why HL was not in to settlements with the owner...the owners were very nice Gujarathi guys and I sturck a good chord with them and even managed to do renovation of our office by giving them some increase. I think Manu Hira of HR helped me to get this done. AP, geographically a very big market. From Sirpur Kagaznagar bordering Maharashtra to Srikakulam bordering Odisha and the otherside Royalaseema....huge market with complexities based on language and caste....The biggies in WS in Twin Cities were in the hands of Sindhis and Sardars.....and I was a novice....MSR group was our distributor and had 3 distribution points in Hyderabad, Vijayawada and Nellore each managed by their close family relatives. And they had a head in Madhusudhan Reddy who was based at Guntur...all these guys were very nice personally but they had their own way when it came to business and also some internal ego issues but managing them was my task which initially I didnt have a clue....But MSR had a great connect with the trade and commanded their respect especially in the Coastal and Royalaseema regions. But there was an undercurrent in Telangana as Shaw Wallace supplied directly to most of the WS which made them their favourites....and there was no hand holding for me as my induction was very short and was pushed in to business straight....Apart from liquor and Dipys added pain in AP was Finit....HL was the distributor for Finit in Telengana....another tough product to sell...Finit was an insecticide spray used for killing the insecticides like cockroaches...way back then we didnt have such easy to use to obliviate the insects....this was manufactured by Hindustan Petrolium and HL had the distribution in parts of the country....HL somehow didnt have their strategy right those days with their fingers in everything (remember silent movie!)...and we had Mehta as our distributor in Hyderabad...great guy but the product had issues in terms of consistent leaks...and smeely too....Bayer launched Baygon spray with a far better product with Zero leakage....

First time out of TN and the moment we reached Hyderabad, the search for house started and luckily we got one in a lovely location-Ameerpet-in Nabard society with great neighbors..ground floor two bedroom apartment. My uncle-Nagu- came down to help us to settle down and Jeyanthi also got her transfer to the Secunderabad branch....my driving was pathetic to start with....but picked up over time and my office assistant Shanthi Kumar was my man to go to...he was always there to help me. Jeyanthis bank was very close to HL office. Life in Hyderabad started well....And Hyderabad sizzles during summer. With no AC at home (air coolers) and non ac fiat....it was tough. We used to put some kind of sheet made of roots which had some cooling effect on top of the car during summer....can you believe it?

The first movie experience in Hyd-this place had some lovely theateres....one evening we decided to go for a movie and landed in a theater in Abids, without any reservations...some Hindi movie (Namm, if my memory serves right) but the theater was full...didnt want to upset J and hence straight went to the manager and requested him saying that we have just moved in to Hyderabad and my first outing with my wife...he obliged immediately and gave us the box to watch the movie....free.....That was Hyderabad's hospitality for you...

Personally had the fortune of Kumar, Kutty's brother also in Hyderabad with Sandoz....it was a great blessing and we jelled really well as a family. Kumar's wife Mini, became Mini Chechi to all of us....Kumar's house owner Suryaprakash was an artist and their home was a great place. Kumar was a teetotaller to start with but his brother in law, Captain Kumar, came down to Hyderabad on a holiday and I think he introduced Kumar to alcohol....Kumar now is a connossiur and can talk for hours on malts.....

Managing my distributors was the top priority and also managing supplies. McD had a distillery in Nacharam, Hyderabad. Krishna was the Big Boss there and one visit a month, was a must to build and sustain relationship. The officers mess there was a great place for food and I never missed eating out there. Krishna was a very fine gentleman and always supported and very hospitable too...thats where I learnt a lot on blending time, bottling lines and also the logistics. We also used to get some stocks from outside AP as Nacharam was not able to meet the demands. So as ASM it is not just sales but also to manage the entire operations. 

I had around 4 guys based at Hyderabad 1 at Warangal and 4 at Coastal and 1 at Nellore. 2 RSEs one at Hyderabad and one at Vijayawada. Also in the office around 6 people including the office boys....a big team indeed.

I have to manage the office, supplies and logistics and also deliver numbers. Used to travel 10 to 15 days a month....mostly by train. Also used my fiat to move around the neighbouring districts.

Three Depot incharges-they were not called managers-dont know why...BSN Reddy at Hyderabad, B Sundarrama Reddy (BSR) at Vijaywada and Suresh Reddy at Nellore....each were kings in their own right. BSN also had a very able deputy with him in Sudhakar Reddy....BSR was the sweetest of all...very market oriented and accompanied me in most of my trips in Coastal. Suresh also used to accompany me but to a lesser extent. I had some stalwarts in Rajaram Reddy, Gurumurthy, E Janardan Rao, Prasanna and Hari....Also in the office Raju, Murthy and Jacob....Shanthi Kumar, as I said earlier, the guy I run to incase of any kind of help locally, is now a politician....

Once I took Shanthi with me to Karimnagar on market visit along with Hari....We visited Mancherial from Karimnagar in our car and from there we wanted to go to Ramaguntam to meet some biggies in liquor and also crack a deal with NTPC canteen for Dipy's. Ramaguntam is the hottest place in AP. The distance from there to Ramaguntam by road would take a few hours those days but by train just a bridge on the river, one station and Ramaguntam We asked Hari to visit rest of the outlets in Mancherial and I took Shanthi to the railway station to catch a passnger train...but to our luck the train was running very late but suddenly we found one goods train halting at Mancherial towards our destination. I rushed to the engine and requested the driver to take us to Ramaguntam and guys, he obliged instantaneously....but he asked us to get down before the station at the signal. That trip was hardly some 15 minutes....that was one journey inside a diesel engine....we went to Ramaguntam and while coming back took the train....these are real experiences....we wanted to visit the market and we did in a very unthinkable way.....pat on the back.

My guys had regular market visits but they lacked that proverbial killer instinct as they were all scared of putting forth their points to the management and also to the distributors. While MSR group is the most dependable and loyal to UB group, their focus was on McD and not on HL. Also Mastan Reddy managed the entire operations for them. He was a super hero....very nice and market savvy. Somehow Phipsons managed to stay out of MSR group and hence they had a better RTM. The positive side of MSR group for HL was that money was safe, no hanky panky and good people to work with but the other side was they were not flexible in certain aspect of business. Ideally in the Telengana area, we could have got lot more business had we gone direct with the WS keeping the MSR group as super distributors. In Coastal barring Vijaywada they were good in other areas due to their own people managing the show especially in Vizag. In Royalaseema too they were okay but not very effective. In Telengana region SW was doing better than us due to their RTM. And my dear friend Rajashekar was their ASM.

MSR group has been complaining to me, from day one, on their thin margins but neither TOMY nor KCK were of any help. There were no cost cards which was available to me to understand where the money was and how much was left in the kitty. The HO team including Mario Miranda, head of marketing and Nitin Ghadiyar his deputy along with KCK visited Hyderabad for a review. I set up a meeting with the MSR group for an interaction and I told Madusudan Reddy to put forward his issue to them. Tomy was also there. When this was taken up, initially the HO refused to even listen and I was a silent spectator as I didnt know how to handle this and who would decide on the margin issues. The pitch for higher margins was not heading anywhere and I was forced to butt in and I sided with the distributors. This has created tension and Tomy during lunch, called me aside and gave a dressing down...but I told him that the distributors issue was genuine and we need to listen and give them a hike....After lunch I took charge and managed to convince KCK for a higher margin. MSR and Co felt immensely happy and this incident has really strengthened my relationship with them especially with MSR 1, MSR 2 and Madusudan. 

I need to also mention here about MSR 1. During my time MSR used to stay at Sarovar during his visits to Hyderabad and he would call me over a meal to discuss business. He was a lover of good food and a great host and a very humble person. Very easy going and never seen him getting irritated or angry....even in tough situations. Large hearted. He would always come down to see me off which was not required at all as he was the big boss and close to the chairman but he never threw his weight around.(literally and figuratively too!!) I also used to visit their office in Nellore during my visits there and interacted a lot with MSR 2 there. Another great guy...My interactions with MSR 3 during my Hyderabad days were not so much. In short, MSR 1 was running the show and he was always there to lend his ears and also solve issues instantaneously. 

It took few months for me to understand the market complexities. Dipys was okay and as tough as it used to be. Freedom and Viva tooth brushes were taken off and in its place Finit the tougher one....but managed to deliver the volumes by managing the key accounts well and ofcourse using our liquor clout. We had signed off deals with major hostels and institutions for Dipys bulk pack jams and ketchups....

Built some fabulous rapport with Sona wines, Secuderabad, Manjit Singh, Guptas, Madras Wines, Sagar Rao of Karim Nagar and Venkateswar Rao of Warangal. And Key retailers. But as mentioned earlier, the loyalties of these WS were with their direct suppliers and not with HL and McD as they were to buy from our distributor and not from us directly. The local didnt patronitse them much but had to take stocks because of the consumer demand but did lots of push of their own brands. But Coastal was different. MSR group had some great hold in some areas especially the Vizag region. Vivek Reddy of Pushkara was a key WS for us in Vizag. I had travelled with him extenseively in the Vizag, Vijayanagaram and Srikakulam belt....Young and very supportive. Struck a wonderful chord with him. Those market visits were very enjoyable too....eating at the highways dhaba and with a beer and discussing business. Vivek was also the preferred WS for McD and he really balance both McD and HL well. 

This episode is worth going thru. Once during my market visit in Vizag came to know from my inside sources that McD was planning a display contest. The moment i got a whiff of it, designed a display contest for the entire region and announced a day before I left Vizag.  Discussed it with Vivek and got his consent too. I briefed my team and they went on a war footing announcing the display contest.

I land in Hyderabad in the evening and on reaching home got a call from Vivek Reddy and he was desperate to reach me (no mobiles those days...only land line). He was at his charming best msking me to withdraw the display contest as McD's display contest have to be accomodated. Mind it, Vivek's source of bread is from McD and we were just jam and cheese. He was desperate as McD had exerted lots of pressure on him. He told me Krishnamurthy of McD would call me to discuss the same. Krishnamurthy the BM of McD-a very nice character-non controvercial- called me the moment Vivek put his phone down and the same story....he went one step ahead and told me that bosses were promised and we have to honor. My argument that HL and McD were different and always competing with each other very fierecely but somehow he was stuck to his point. Big Brother.... He put forward his points and left it there...Vivek called up again and same story...I realised that I cant fight a losing battle, so I have to gain something by surrendering, right? So struck a deal with Vivek with a volume commitment during the display period and also visibility of our brands as his team had to carry out the display contest. He was relieved and I called up Krishnamurthy and gracefully accepted his request to do away with our display contest. What HL gained? At no extra cost additional volumes and a major brownie point with my No 1 WS.....The key learning here-its okay to loose some battles to win the war....keep this in mind.

As mentioned earlier, the market was very competitive...every single case has to be earned...every single WS ego has to be satisfied. Wholesaler & Retailer management by the FF is primary. Also across the state the on trade played a major role....Eagle bar and Restaurent in Vijayawada was the most popular joint in that region (Sarathy the biggest WS in Vijayawada and distributor of Tilak Nagar and a sworn rival to MSR)...the food and the ambience there was just awesome...one has to ensure that the brands are pushed in such kind of outlets too....And manage the equations and egos....not easy in liquor trade especially in place like AP. Am talking about AP and not other markets as that time I was only managing AP and understanding the complexities was major. The TSE of HL have to manage the Depot managers and their staff very well and also manage the off and on trade. Tough task. With Governement take over of many markets, managing has become much easier now. 

So market visits means call on wholesalers, spending time with them and also visit key retailers and review business with the team. Start around 0930 and would go up to 2300hrs after visiting some key on trade and dinner....but quite enjoyable.

Vijayawada was different as it was fragmented unlike Vizag. Same in Kakinada. We had Madusudan Reddy's WS in Guntur ( Sri Kanaka Durga wines) as he was part of MSR and hence other WS didnt support our brands that much. You need to note here that every WS had their own RTM and ideally you need every single WS on your side for reaching out to all the outlets. But thats asking for too much. Ideally if the company is running its own WS its possible. The moment you have exclusivity with just one WS, you loose out on some part of the universe. But if your exclusive WS has fire in his belly, he would go all out and get the business....Nellore was again fragmented so as the rest of Royalaseema. In Thirupathy  Krishna Reddy was was very supportive and Mita....Mita used to run a bar which always had 100% occupancy. A very nice and shrewd businessman. His bar was very close to the railway station....floating population and hence easy to push brands. We literally owned the place. This episode with Mita....during my visit, he asked me whats my plan that day, for which I told him that my intended visit to Thirumala in the evening, finish the darshan, drive down and catch the late evening train to Hyderabad. His immediate response was " you can plan but seeing HIM is based on his times and not as you plan-so keep this in mind". And its very true. Many a times I felt it. There are time my darshan had taken just few minutes of waiting and at times hours.....even with previous bookings....This is one temple where how much ever planning you do, unless HE calls you, things wont materialise....

Once I visited Cuddappah in the month of May and it turned out to be unforgettable. The hotel I stayed, despite the AC, the room was just sizzling in the night. I have to splash water on the walls to bmake it slighly manageable. Next day I must have consumed few gallons of water and fresh lime sode....never ever experienced such kind of heat wave....But again we all enjoyed working the market and building relationships. My Telugu was very basic but could still strike a rapport with the trade.

During my tenure of 2 years, there is not a single market in AP, I gave a miss....Total control and I ensured our dear Sundarrama Reddy and Suresh Reddy mostly accompanied me to the market which helped us to resolve matters on the spot with the WS. In Telangana BSN Reddy would never step out of the office and hence managing the WS was our team responsibility. 

When we travel with BSR, it used to be fun with rummy session and a couple of drinks. Even at Vizag with Vivek Reddy a card session is a must whenever I visited with BSR...Another great thing about AP was the food...across coastal the food was never a problem. Dasapella in Vizag and  Eskimo restaurant in Vijayawada were superlative for Veg foods. Also wherever you go, the curd they serve is AP special. Well set and thick...awesome. During summer time in coastal Rasalu mangoes with rice-another local delicacy...Hyderabad had some fabulous restarurents in Palace Heights, blue fox, Minvera (veg) Taj (veg) and many local joints. Also during the train journey in every junction, you get hot bread omlette. Very yummy and filling...thats dinner most of the times after a couple of drinks. Godavari express from Hyderabad to Vizag and it used to reach Vizag a bit late in the morning but at Tuli staion you get some breakfast and coffee....Vijayawada and Vizag are well connected with trains. The problem was in Royalaseema...mostly by road only and in tough terrain...

Two important things happened during my tenure in AP.

1) HL sales guys were part of Mehtas union in Bombay. And they wanted to enroll entire staff including the sales guys in to the union and they started working surreptiously on that. Raju, our staff in Hyderabad was the coordinator for AP. We came to know about this and Mannu Hira the HR head called us for a meeting. I was asked my opinion and I thought, that time, unions would hamper the progression of the organisation ( my view on this has not changed). So without a second thought, I told Hira what I did to thwart their attempts....Hira was a great HR guy and he counselled all of us not to bother and if anyone wants to be part of the union let them be. Coming from a HR guy that time, was a surprise to all of us. And with in a couple of months, the efforts of the Bombay guys fizzled out....(I will touch upon this when I write about my Bomay days). So the learning is a) Unions and associations are no good for our country as it also spoils the otherwise smart and hard working guys b) if its part and parcel of the organisation, learn to live with it by being nice to all the employees and before the union takes it up, address their issues, proactively and c) never talk bad about their leaders.

The second episode was the best thing to happen to HL. Kissan and Dipys got merged and Kissan took over the manufactuing and distribution of Dipys....this has cleared the way for HL to become 100% liquor company paving way for the growth of all HL brands...and no distribution brands too except Finit in some markets due to contractual obligations. That was a great relief personally for me as I was the one who was always advocating to my bosses to exit Dipys business as it was taking lots of our time with meagre returns. 

Another incident where I got involved with my car in an accident on tank bund road. I was driving on the right side and suddenly someone on a scooter overtook the bus coming opposite side and banged on my car. Fortunately I applied the break on time and the pillion rider got a bit injured on his leg. I didnt know what to do but one of the passerby gave a clean chit for me to the traffic police. Without realising that I should not take the car from the accident spot, I parked the car on the sides and rushed to meet Madusudan Reddy, who was waiting for me at the nearby Sarover hotel. He sent a message to the police. But i was asked to come to the police station and by the time everything got over and i returned home it was around 9pm and Jeyanthi was at her panicky best along with her brother and sister in law who had come to spend some time with us. I should have contacted them from some phone booth but I was very stressed out and also did not anticipate it would take so much of time. i went and saw the guy who got affected, in the hospital and told him that I would take care of his expenses but he was a smart guy and told me that I should not get stressed out as they would get whateve amount they have to, from the insurance. And my driving license was compounded...What an exprience.....Guys if you ever face such situation, do not give your license and always coopeatate with the local policel

Around 89 April DR was inducted in to HL from McD...he came down to Hyderabad on a market visit and we bonded instantaneously. I still remember bringing him to my home for a coffee straight from the shop we visited as part of his induction, which was opposite our building.  

In May 1989 I was called to Chennai and was adviced to pack my bags and come to Chennai as Zonal Manager TN. (I liked the title but in terms of job content it was nothing but ASM for entire state) In AP I was the boss where in Chennai its regional office and the RM was the boss....but TN was growing and probably my boss thought I would do much better in TN with my learnings from AP. So it was a promotion. Kandan was shifted to AP in my place.

During our Hyderabad stint, our first baby didnt survive and within an year my wife got conveived again. She was also enjoying her bank job and the place we were staying, we quite like it too. One of our neighbors Ramgopal Rao, a NABARD employee, was our close friend along with Natarajan another Nabard employee. My dad and my uncle used to frequent us. Movies were our favorite pass time. The communications were through BSNL only and once got a call from my friend Senguttuvan of Godrej that he was in Hyderabad and asked him to come down to my place as Jeyanthi was away in Kerala and i was with my uncle Nagu. Senguttuvan came around 6 pm and it was an unforgettable time. He came with his colleagues and it was party time....drinks and cards with dinner prepared by my uncle Nagu. Both Nagu and my dad were great cooks. Senguttuvan always remember the great food he had in our place cooked by Nagu. Dwarak and Jaisree visited us once in Hyderabad. Raghavan and KGR, Raman my friend once.... But I was very busy with my travel and local work. There was no Saturday off....just Sunday only and Sunday morning was always a visit to the secunderabad veg market with Ramgopal Rao....

Reddys were very good with me and they didnt want me to leave Hyderabad. Infact Madhusudan told me he would pull strings in HO and stop the transfer. But I decided that it would be good for me to head TN operations and decided to take the transfer. Ideally the first year in any job, goes in to understanding, second year consolidation and third year growth trajectories and break throughs....one should not spend more than 3 years in any market as head of the branch.

AP experience has given me a great foundation. Dealing with so much of complexities and coming out successfully!!

My advice to those who are going to newer horizones.....first and formost, learn the dynamics of the market in terms of sects...once you know, understand their way of doing business....it would help you to prepare your approach and also build your relationships. Especially in a place like undiveded AP....If you speak the local language, it would be an added advantage. But the message you have to give them is that you are reliable, dependable and trust worthy, as a manager. Also you have to keep a tight leash on your team and you should be the first one to know before the competition and you have to hear it from the team, which means your team has an ear to the ground. Also make it a point to know their family and organise team get togethrs....when the family bonds well the team gets stronger. 

So its bye bye Hyderabad and back to Chennai as ZM....1989 May.....will talk about this in the next blog...till then stay safe and enjoy life....thanks for going thru this blog....

 Memoirs.....Musings of a sales guy at heart.....

Episode 11-A

The 5 I's.

This episode I want to share with you a very interesting principle on 'Insight generation and solution management'. This is not certainly taught at the Harvards or IIMs.....this was one of my ex company's think tank's. I find this principle brilliant, easy to adapt and if followed well as per laid out steps, it would be 'Aa Ha' moments for everyone.

When we are confronted with some major problems, we start, most of the time, reacting to it than going deeper to get the insight, as we are always on a quick fix mode, that's our DNA. When we follow these step by step approach, we dig deeper to get the Insight-the Aa Ha moment.

This is called the 5 I principle..... yes, you got it....the 5 I s.....

This can be applied in every situation....I am taking the Covid situation here as and example as we all know the kind of havoc it had created across the globe and still creating.....lets all imagine we are in January 2020.... 

Suddenly all over the media across the globe the headlines were screaming the outbreak of the new virus from Wuhan and how it was spreading faster and impacting the life of people across the universe. Everything else was pushed aside and the media was covering only this newborn and danger diabolik virus....this is the scene now and lets learn how to follow the step by step approach of 5 I's. 

Step 1.

The first I.....Issue....A clearly understood and expressed as a specific question about the problem to address the same. After hearing and understanding from different sources the Issue is then identified as"

There is a virus creating havoc and spreading fast across the globe.

Step 2.

We now know what's the issue is....The Aa/ Ha moment has been arrived at....With this understanding of the Issue on hand, we need to look at the second I....that is Information...what kind of information we have about this Issue? Either we have the information ourselves or we gather from sources which are spread across. We need to keep the following three while collecting and collating the information.

a) Review the sources.

b) Organise the information.

c) Select only the relevant information as this would only lead us to Step 3 which is the most important-the Insight.

So whats the information we have after following the above 3 steps.

1) This is spreading human to human....how is it spreading....thru sputum nasal and oral.....3) what's the origin of this.....Wuhan lab China.....4) How bad it is....It started in Wuhan and spread to the entire population there in a matter of few days.....5) How does it spread to other places? When people travel and if they are the carriers, it spread thru them.....6) Symptoms? Mostly asymptomatic but symptoms are, cold, throat infection, headaches and stomach disorders..... analyse these on the basis of the 5 W tool....Who is getting affected? What's the cause? Where is it spreading from? When does it surface and Why it is happening?

Once we map the answers based on the above findings we arrive at the 3rd I....the most important I....the Insight...

As per the dictionary the meaning of Insight is 'seeing beneath the surface'. 

This is critical as without generating the insight from the information one has, it would be very difficult to progress further as this is a killer virus.  

So a high level team is created by the GOI to look at all the information on hand, go deeper, gather more information and arrive at the insight but it has to be done within the time frame as time is the major factor here.

Insight

This is Pandemic....the world has not seen one in the last few decades.

(this is a self defining moment as one gets the insight based on the information available on hand and keep digging deeper and deeper like peeling the onion to arrive at that one particular Insight....) One should also be wary of the difference between information and Insight. The insight generation is an ongoing process, this has to be kept in mind.

Having got the Insight what's the next step?

Step 4.

The 4th I...

Implication:

What does implication mean? What one could do based on the Insight? One could have done something without the insight but with a clear and well defined Insight we can clearly strategize. This is a key step. Think of the implications-strategies and plans that can be generated from the Insight.

Implications. 

The whole world is under threat.

It spreads quickly and transmitted from human to human. 

Unlike normal flu this one surfaces only after 4 or 5 days and the impact is quite severe and can be life threatening. 

It can be confirmed only by nasal and throat swaps (RT PCR) test. Medications are not very clear as still treated by symptoms only.

WHO has given a guidelines but in a thickly populated country of ours, how do we apply them?

Based on the Insights keep asking 'so what' for defining each implication....

Based on the above, we move to the last-Step 5-the Implementation.

Step 5. The implementation.

Key processes for the Implementation.

a) Execution planned vs implemented.

b) How true are the implementations to the insight and Implications?

c) Constant reviews.

Implementation.

Lockdown....everyone should stay indoors to control the spread of the virus. Borders with in and overseas are closed. 

Only essential services are operated and medical infrastructure is geared up. 

Wearing masks when stepping out of home, hand washing and sanitizing and social distancing is mandatory. 

Institutions, offices and non essentials are closed. 

Travel within the state, intra state and overseas banned.

People are asked to work from home. 

Governments announce relief packages...

Medical teams periodical announcements on kind of medications to be administered.

Exclusive covid hospitals, beds, services.....

Counselling...preventives and cure medicines....fast tracking vaccines.... 

Ministry of health and family welfare's notifications on immunity boosters and medications. Ayurveda, Homeopath and Sidda medications gets the nod...

A high level committee is created by GOI to track and review...CoWin app is created. 

Conclusion. This Step by Step approach-the 5 I's process- can be applied on anything and everything especially those who are in business-sales-marketing et al. You can even apply this when you are looking at what field you have to choose for your higher studies...

I have given the above, based on my learning and understanding. You can save it, cut and paste it as the situation demands...but keep the 5 I's step by step approach handy. I am sure and confident this would help you immensely...

Good Luck and High 5s for the 5 I's.

 Memoirs.....Musings of a sales guy at heart.....

Episode 11

Field Sales Officer-FSO-Chennai 1983-86

HL purchased their own office @Rosy Tower, Nungambakkam High Road. A beautifully laid out office with two cabins for the RM, ARM and a small cabin for the FSO. So, for the first time, I got an office space...lovely feeling....

Along with me Kandasamy (Kandan) also got promoted. From a single FSO to two FSOs and also an RM and ARM for South. The reason being that business started growing in South and TN  finally opened up for alcohol. TN announced setting up a corporation for purchase and distribution of alcohol. Tamil Nadu Sales and Marketing Corporation LTD (TASMAC). All the private WS licenses got cancelled and also government had given licenses for bottling of alcohol to 5. MBDL, Balaji, SAFL, Empee and Shiva were set up between 1983 to 85. Business started growing and the real competition and fight started so all the operating companies were in full throttle right from setting up a Route To Market-RTM to offices and FF. So HL also got in to the fray but sadly was running with a handicap-Dipys on its shoulders.

TN was split into two...vertically. Those days the railways had meter gauge and broad gauge. MG was from Chennai to Kanyakumari through coastal and central TN. BG was Chennai to Ooty. I was given the MG and Kandan was BG. Chennai was also split into two with South and North Chennai. My team members were Dwarak, KG Ravi both at Chennai, Narasimhan at Trichy, Kalyan at Madurai, Manohar at Tirunelveli. This was my team and Kandan had JP and KS Raghavan in Chennai, Panneer at Salem, Noor at Coimbatore. (later Vivek) and ALP at Salem.

Both self and Kandan were to manage TASMAC HO. We were to manage order generation from TASMAC to all the depots and to avoid overlapping, we were given 3 days a week each for TASMAC HO follow ups....Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays by one and the other days by the other....I realised immediately it was nothing but stupidity as it created confusion with TASMAC purchase guys and also misunderstanding between Kandan and me. The reason being that both of us were only focussing on our territories and pushing stocks for those depots only. But bosses didnt bother or understood...In retrospect, what the bosses should have done was to keep one FSO for market and another one for Tasmac management (Key accounts management).  After a few months, I reached an understanding with Kanadan and he started managing the logistics with TASMAC and I started focusing on the markets and the depots directly. Instead of HO pressure on order generation, I started making the depots to place indents and exert pressure on the HO and it worked well.

As an FSO (later this designation changed to ASE-following McD's footsteps) the pressure was to deliver the numbers for half of TN for both liquor and Dipys. I also had Pondy under me but that time Pondy was not under focus for HL and HL was happy with whatever they were getting. The bosses of HL failed here too as Yanam which is part of UT of Pondy was playing a big role in cross border sales-MSR Group mastered it and promoted McD in a big way thru Yanam RTM. Mahe was under Kerala and Mahe was contributing decent volumes but Pondy was neglected. Pondy was also under MSR and was managed by Dharmaraj-King of alcohol in Pondy-Dharma was a great human being but his loyalty was completely on McD and Hl was nowhere in his radar. I tried to take away the distribution from him but that was not supported by Tomy and later to open up the market and that was also negated. So Pondy was more for Dipys than Liquor...surprised, right?. Initially the supplies were from Bihar, UP and Rajasthan till Balaji unit in Chennai, became operational. So managing the logistics was so very vital. As mentioned earlier, it was all Datta, Datta and Datta...right from excise office to coordinating with the units and also at the borders of Odisha and AP. While we have to (HL) run pillar to post to get our supplies, McD never had such issues as they had their own distilleries and they were given the first preference. By the time we manage the logistics and bring the stocks, we need to also pull back consumers who had switched over to competition due to non availability of our stocks 24x7....but this was initial hiccups but thanks to timely intervention of HO, we managed the supplies well and started going all out.

TASMAC initially didnt know much about logistics and procurement as the people appointed to manage the business were not from a business background and especially the section heads. Both chairman (Mr. Karuppannan) and his deputy (Mr.Nammalwar) were teetotallers and completely clean...it took some time for them to figure out the logistics and procurement, and then it was left to the companies to manage the movement of stocks from the retail points. We also had another great person in Abul Hassan head of Finance in Tasmac...later he became the commissioner of Chennai Corporation.

It took some time for me to understand the new role as hand holding and tutoring was never part of HLs culture especially in South those days- key lesson for people who rise from the ranks--you have to start working on man/people management, managing bosses, upward and downward communications and keeping in touch with the market and having a good understanding of competition. Customer relationship by the boss is also very vital as the salesmen, mostly, tend to bull shit their way which can land the boss in soup..one has to be weary of this always. This is the key learning for me as initially my focus was in my earlier strong territories but soon I realised it was more of a 'comfort zone operations' and hence started focussing on other markets too. Get out of the comfort zone as you need multiple skills to climb the ladder which sometimes would be spiralled. 

The 3 years I spent as FSO (83-86) gave a great foundation for my supervisory skills and people management. 

The tough market was Chennai as both for Dipys and to some extent for liquor it was challenging. Though Chennai was contributing maximum for Dipys overall but market share wise still very negligible. And Kandan and his team had Salim Bhai as their distributor and his partner, Wadood Bhai, of Zeenat International which was in to ship-chandling, helped to a very great extent in this channel. Raghavan and JP were able to push anything and everything thru this channel and we have to toil (Dwarak and Ravi) everyday knocking at each and every door and were heavily dependent on retail. The silver lining was the distributor we had for Dipys, Madras Associated Agencies, owned by Mr.Shukla, and always support our efforts. Dwarak managed him very well. A word about Dwarak here....Dwarak is 6+ footer, with great personality and command over English. Also he was fluent in Telugu and Tamil. Rest of us were good only in Tamil and with some English. Ravi (KGR) managed his business partners with his numerology skills and as a pay back those guys started patronizing our brands both Dipys and liquor. But the beauty was even Raghavan, on the sides, helped us without the knowledge of his boss, Kandasamy as Salim was not very strong in retail. I, kind of encouraged, Ravi to do cross border trading and Ravi got it right and made inroads into Nathan's, a shop in Parrys corner, which catered to many small retailers in and around north of Madras. This guy were also related to Ravi which made it easier. When I say cross border, it is trading in areas which is out of your bounds. Once we came to know a big retail stores at Perambur called Demiris, was not getting serviced well. I took Ravi there (Perambur was not in our territory and hence cross border) and stuck a deal with the shop...these two guys were great contributors but it took some time for Kandan to figure this out but we managed even after that. Our distributor MAA Shukla helped us with cross billing too. Also with Ravis numerology got great business with DK Wines Karunakaran in Ranipet and Sri Krishna Wines, Thangam, in T Nagar(just examples out of many). Dwarak built a fantastic relationship with the Taj Group especially with the head of procurement (another Telugu speaking guy) and this account gave us some big numbers too. Tomy didnt know much about key account management and hence it didnt percolate down with in the state or even in South. But we understood the importance of the contributions from the key accounts like Taj, Chola, the clubs, big bakeries, super stores like Nilgiris and Bombay stores in T Nagar, and Ambicas. We also got hold of another ship-chandler, who was giving tough competition for Zeenat, on our side. (Alankar International). This was also under Kandan but Alankar didnt want to buy from Salim due to the Zeenat factor. We exploited it well. So it was competition with in the company but we ensured it didnt get personal. There was rivalry between self and Kandan but that was only in business.

Narasimhan at Trichy, Kalyan at Madurai (from Hubli I pulled him to Madurai-finally Kalyan got some fantastic break), Manohar at Tirunelveli...Very solid team. The entire TN team was envy of everyone as we all jelled very well.

I was always a tough boss when it comes to deliverance as I never take 'No' for an answer from anyone and hence my guys have to run that extra mile to deliver their numbers but they did it with aplomb. Narasimhan didnt need much of spoon feeding as he was master in his market. Narasimhan turned around Trichy and made inroads in to the English Warehouse (Jaya Shopping Center who also got a liquor retail license), Pandiyan and Priya wines....Also we cracked it big in Karur...

Abraham, who was instrumental in my getting in to HL, had resigned and took up a job in Gulf...he could not jell well with the culture of HL.

HL got a new RM in Navratan Dugar (IIM C) with great pedigree. He was a great boss to work with and learnt a lot from him. His letter dictation style was something one should see to believe. His home at 24, Poes Garden was a lovely place. He had hosted many dinners there and his wife Manju Dugar was a great hostess too. But only vegetarian and no alcohol there. Few years ago he razed down the independent house and built a 4 storey apartment there called 'Sky Villa'. He later moved on to head Balaji Distilleries in Chennai. The only negative thing about ND was he was a bit egoistic and we had issues with him when he was in Balaji to get our share of supplies. 

I used to travel a minimum of 12 days a month and also when in Chennai spend a minimum of 5 to 6 days in the market. This helped me to have a clear understanding of the market and its dynamics and also building relationship with key retailers. In alcohol business, as I always said, relationship is key. Compared to FMCG the liquor universe is too small. You need to have a great relationship with the trade as otherwise you would not be able to make any inroads. For example, a place like Mumbai has just 500 retail vends. Considering its population, Bombay should have a minimum of 1500 retail vends but the government had frozen it and not issued any licenses in the last, to the best of my knowledge, 4 decades. But they give licenses to bars and restaurants but no retail vends.

Even in Goa, where almost every 4th house is a bar/retail, relationship plays a key role.

Within few months of our moving in to our office in Rosy Tower, a massage parlour came up as our neighbor. That was the time these massage parlours started mushrooming in Chennai. The purpose was multi and we had some great VIPs visiting our neighborhood that included the late Gemini Ganesan. Many of our retail dealers were regular visitors there and used to drop in at our office with a sheepish smile. Fortunately within a year or two they all shut down and we bought that space also and annexed it to our office.

We were supported in our office by Datta, Sheigar K, LT Murthy, Hari, Shankaran, Babu and Anbu. All these guys were fantastic in their work. We had our warehouse in the basement of our building where we used to store Dipys and giveaways. Murthy used to handle cash and the moment he gets our expenses statement approved by Tomy, he used to call and disburse cash. And it was a big family....vasudeva Kudumbam.....

Also Tomy used to insist that we meet the parents of the candidates we recruit to ensure the parents were aware that their son was joining a liquor company. I still remember when we recruited Baksha I met his parents and took their consent.

Tomy was a different character. He used to spend maximum time in the office and very less of a market guy. Very seldom he visited the distributors and market visit used to be a bit of a tension and also fun. Tension in terms of his firing on the spot and fun in the evenings. He never trusted people instantly. We used to joke in the office about his reading the carbon copy of the letters he was signing!!! He always went home for his lunch and would come back to office around 4 and work till 5.30. 

There were no Emails and everything used to be in letters or telegrams. Telex was just introduced then. And there was power cuts too. But I dont think we ever cribbed. Market visits and doing business was always fun. 

Once the purchase guy at Taj was acting indifferent with us. Dwarak informed me and I rushed with Dwarak to meet him but could not crack. We waited for a day and informed Tomy. He got up and told us that we would go to Taj to meet him. Taj was just 10 minutes from our office. We went straight to the purchase department and to that person who was acting indifferent. Tomy gave him a piece of his mind and we didnt know how to react. He just let his steam off and left. We thought the business with Taj is lost forever. But to our surprise the very next day he called Dwarak and gave him a big order....When we informed this to Tomy, he just burst into laughter.....

As a bachelor in Chennai life was total fun. My elder sister was in Chennai and most of the time my food would be in her home. I have taken almost every single colleague of mine to my sisters home for a meal. Also to my Srirangam sister Radha's home...Whenever i felt like having home food, I would just drop in at her place. Mostly for lunch. 

Woodlands drive in used to be our meeting point. What a lovely place it was. Our government should have continued the lease with the Woodlands guys. It was the landmark of Chennai. 

During the music season, December, used to frequent all the Sabhas, mainly for the food/canteen and acquainted lots of friends. Also attended lots of concerts and gained some basic knowledge of carnatic music. Chennai is different during December with weather being nice and the music season. Amaravathi's Bahar restaurant specialising in tandoor stuff, was an  awesome place. This was another joint we used to frequent.

Since i was a bachelor and was in a two bedroom apartment, most of the get together with colleagues and friends used to be in my place only. And it used to be very difficult to get good accomodation if you are a bachelor. Once during my initial days as FSO when i was searching for an acco, I saw one advertisement in the local newspaper and went to see the place. It was in VM street Royapettah. The owners had a bungalow and behind that bungalow this two bedroom house along with few more row houses. All within the complex. The owners refused to let it to a bachelor. I pulled a fast one and told them my wedding is fixed in the next 2 months time. I also told them I would bring my brother to confirm this. I rush to Bhaskar's home and requested him to come with his wife Bharathy and act like my brother. He said yes immediately and visited the owners with me..the owners were elderly couple, very nice and courteous. They got so impressed and gave me the place. I moved in and with in 10 days my Indian Airlines  friend Radhakrishnan also moved in. Center of the city and a great place to live. After around 3 months the owners started nagging me about my wedding and they were getting really restless as they didnt want to keep bachelors there. They also had a lovely daughter whom we nick named as 'Contessa'.

Once they called me and told me they are getting complaints from other tenants that they dont want bachelors around. A kind of ultimatum they had given me. Radha got a wind of this and moved to another place. What I did to manage this is completely out of box. 

Near Hubli-Karnataka in an unmanned railway gate an accident happened and few people died. This was reported in the local newspapers of Chennai. I called Kalyan, who was HQ that time in Hubli and asked him to send me a telegram 'Geetha dies in a train accident. Sad to inform you'. Next day morning the owners son, knocks at my door with a very serious face and hands over the telegram. It took a few seconds for me to realise that I have to react to this telegram and did a Sivaji act. He didnt know how to react and asked me who was this Geetha? I told him it was my fiance' but not sure how and what happened. I bought some time....went in and closed the door and opened it after a couple of hours and went out. Returned in the evening and straight went to their house with a long face and told them that my fiance' was coming back from her pilgrimage and was in the same ill fated train and lost her life. I had to shed some tears too. They genuinely felt bad and left it like that. So for a couple of more months life was normal. But on the 3rd month they called me and asked me about my future plans? I told them I cant think of another girl in my life for sometime (unless it is your daughter!!)....They comforted me by telling that life has to move on and I should get married soon as they cant allow a bachelor to continue there!!! So ultimately I have to move out but I managed to stay there for almost a year.....a bachelor midst of family people!!!!! I stayed with Zulfiq for sometime on Luz Church Road ( I had seen Kalaigar playing shuttle with Kanimozhi-just adjacent to the place I was living) and finally moved in to Ganesh Apartment where my sister Bhanu was staying. 

That was the golden period of my bachelorhood. Ganesh apartment was in Alwarpet and had 4 blocks. One of the very first apartments to come up in Chennai and especially in the prime Mylapore area...people bought two bedrooms at just 50k...The owner of my apartment Dr. Shyamala was moving to US for a couple of years and hence wanted someone to take of the house when they were away. They locked one room and kept their things and the rest (one bedroom, hall and kitchen) were all mine....decent rent too. My sister was in the next block second floor and no worries for food. That one year was the best time I had in Chennai as bachelor. Though all the other residents were orthodox and family men, they didnt object to my parties or people visiting me. The only issue I had was the noise my Yezdi used to make. My return used to be always late when many residents would have gone to sleep and it disturbed them.  The association told me that I have to switch off the engine outside and come in pushing my bike. They also constructed a speed breaker at the entry of the apartment. But every one of them were so loving and affectionate. The Ganesh temple on Warren Road was a must visit before starting for work. Raman used to be a frequent visitor to my office along with his colleague Manohar. 

I got acquainted to Shankar in ganesh apartment only. His father Rathnam Iyer also became very close to me. The whole family. Shankar, his brother in law Balu and myself used to have fabulous time in Ganesh apartments. Shankar used to be with IOB. Well settled but he took a great risk, quit the job and started his own construction company and has done so well for himself. Very jolly good guy. Our friendship continues.....TV news reader Varadarajan was also a resident there. During the cricket matches we used to assemble at Sampath's flat (on first floor just above mine) and it was total fun. 

Work was also fun....market work with colleagues and spending the evenings together. We all bonded so well and when I look back, I can't say anything but a big thanks to the almighty for blessing me with such great colleagues who turned to be my very good friends. Its not that we didnt have our quota of misunderstandings and fights but we used to get them sorted over a drink.

TN liquor scene was different then. Only the WS was with the government and the entire retail universe was private. The license fee was not that much and hence the retailers used to make good money and also due to competition the consumers used to always get the best of deals. There was tough competition but no one crossed the line. 

As an FSO, my priority was to deliver my territories numbers in total which we as a team could deliver consistently-of course with some cross border trading too. Monthly review meetings were a must and started conducting them in upcountry too. The guys had a chance to get a feel of other markets too as we made it mandatory the market visit. Copied some of the earlier success formulas in other markets too and got some great boost. One strong area of us was the merchandising part. Made the team to believe in the importance of POS and POP and made it mandatory to carry enough materials in their kit. Also appointed, for the first time, merchandisers to help the team in merchandising and also spot selling activities. HL had a decent marketing team but they never bothered about TN as many of them were, what SSG used to call, 'armchair managers'. 

Krithi got married, I think in 82 and set his family in Madurai. His marriage was all fun. Raman got married in june 86. My other friends Kutty and Radha also got married at the same time. 

I need to also mention here that Dwarak helped me with a loan to complete my undergrad.... When I asked him for the amount, he didnt even hesitate for a second....Thanks a lot Dwarak. 

I will write more about all my HL colleagues in another post....

The 3 years period as FSO was one of the best period in my career. Time just flew as every day was exciting and threw lots of challenges. Performance wise management was so happy and just around July 1986, Tomy called me and informed me of my promotion as ASM TN. Another big break. God was so kind.

Once on my return trip from Madurai to Chennai, travelled with Manasvini aka Manu, wife of Krithi along with Krithi and Venkat of SW  in Vaigai express...I told Manu that everyone in my friends circle got married and I need to do something about it as I felt very lonely. She told me to advertise in the Hindu Matrimony, which I obliged. She helped me to sort out all the responses and we picked up the letter from Jeyanthi's dad and she responded to them on my behalf.

I took Raman with me to Trichur to visit them and said YES after spending a couple of hours there. Jeyanthis brothers had done some discreet enquiries on me at Chennai and gave a positive feedback to her parents (that surprises me still, though). We took the evening train from Trichur and came back to Chennai next day morning and I informed my folks....They all said yes and we got married on 7th Sep 1986. I was the incharge of my wedding and managed everything with help from Kalyan and my sisters. the wedding was conducted in Woodlands and it was just a days affair. As per practice with my Salem friends, I gave them a cottage for their stay and card session and joined them too for a game. Of course alcohol flowed too. The wedding happened on Ganesh chathurthi day and it was like sponsored by HL...Full team in attendance and complete assistance and support. Jeyanthi joined me in Ganesh apartments. We went to Ooty for our Honeymoon and the moment I returned to Chennai, Tomy informed me of my transfer to AP with Hyderabad as my HQ. It was unified AP then. It was a kind of bolt from the blue. He told me its an independent branch with full fledged office, warehouse and distributors. And company provided car...Wah....what else you can ask for? And I never used to bother about money or negotiate with management. My wife used to work for Bank of Travancore and had applied for a transfer to Chennai. The request got changed to Hyderabad and she got it too...

The 3 years spent in Chennai was absolutely awesome. Professionally and personally. Its bye bye Chennai and Hello Hyderabad.....

 

Memoirs.....Musings of a sales guy at heart.....

Episode (10 A)

Madurai Days...

The competition was getting tougher every day in the liquor front. Companies have started tasting success and started launching new brands. Phipsons, part of our own UB group, launched Royal Reserve with lots of fanfare and 'never seen before' schemes. The pity was despite McD, HL and Phipsons were part of UB group, there was fierce competition between us which was not a healthy trend and competition fully exploited it. The problem was HL never had its own bottling unit and heavily dependent on units owned by McD or contract bottlers. Phipson had one unit of theirs in UP but they were also dependent on the contract bottling units. In TN there was no bottling units that time and hence everyone has to import from other states. We were getting our requirements from Hathida and Mirganj units (Bihar) of McD and also some from Carews (UP). But it was always a nightmare getting the stocks on time/everytime. The problem with liquor business was and is the control by the state machineries. The excise issues permits which has a limited validity and you have to bring your stocks within that period. We are in 2021 and our surface infrastructure has seen massive developments but back then from UP/Bihar it would take a minimum of 15 to 20 days to reach TN. So planning was most vital. My colleague at Chennai office, Datta, has mastered this logistics well and sometimes, I had seen him travelling to the AP Odisha border to handover documents to the truck drivers for entry in to TN.

Fortunately for me, I had built a very good personal relationship with MSR and hence could generate permits on time and also managed to get the stocks without much delays. Also have to manage the depot at Nagercoil of Nallaperumal. Nallaperumal was run by Nallaperumal and his two sons Appadurai and Ravi. They were known for their textile business but their first foray in to spirits was this WS license for KK and T'veli districts. Very professional and excellent people to work with. Their main business is textiles and they had a huge showroom opposite to the bus stand in Nagercoil. Hope it is still there. The size of the market was small but due to its proximity to Kerala, we could push Honeybee compared to other markets. I got some great support from Marthandam, Murugan wines and also that entire belt. Justin who had a shop in Nagercoil was another great supporter! Also this market was contributing good numbers for our Dipys and Freedom, as mentioned in my earlier post.

Kanthimathi wines in Tirunelveli was another big but tough customer. The owner, a very elderly person would not move out of T'veli hence his son Raju was the one who would come to Madurai for purchases. Very strong supporter of McD...and at the WS level could not do much as he would not change the indent proposed by his father as he was so scared of him (The old man had a very bad temper and pelt typical T'veli bad words when irritated/provoked). They used to own a medical shop and hence a very loyal consumer base. Son could not be cracked at Madurai. It's not that they would not buy our products but no big push or intent to support. Shekar of McD had a great rapport with them and his local guy Royan was based at T'veli...so easier to push and make the whole shop look like McD warehouse. So I had a big task on hand....few meetings with the old man but could not crack...got support from the bus stand shop Welcome wines but that was not as big as Kanthimathi...so how did I crack him? Thanks to my Mom....hahaha....Once I visited him around 3 in the afternoon and he was completely relaxed with hardly any consumers at the counter. He was in a good mood and was warm. He ordered Halwa from the shop nearby (this place is popular for its local halwa) and along with that some Sev....soft drink et al. At his hospitable best....I asked him the reason for naming the shop 'Kanthimathi and whose name is that'...incidentally the presiding deity/devi at the famous Nellaiappar temple is Kanthimathi but the shop was not named after her...he told me it was his mother's name and he was very fond of his mother....and his mother was his lucky charm...I caught on to this point as my mother's name is also Kanthimathi. I spun some instant story around it and narrated it with so much of emotion (lost my mother when I was 5 or 6 YO) and he also became very emotional and we immediately bonded....Deliberately didnt ask for any support or any big order for our brands and left his shop taking a big hug from him and he parcelled one kg of Halwa and insisted I should take it and eat it all myself. Next day his son Raju came to Madurai, contacted me and showed me the indent which the old man had handwritten. I just could not believe myself....100 cases of BP and HBB.....Wah....my mother has done that magic. After this initial BT, I managed Raju well and also some of the key shop guys and the momentum was gained. HL got its foothold in T'veli and Welcome wines also started buying more...

Learning....guys always look for emotional bonding with the customer....anyone can give discounts and foreign trips but emotional bonding would go a long way...but absolutely no bullshitting....you have to respect and stay true to the bonding....that's most important. Afterwards, our dear Kalyan managed the relationship well and took it to newer heights.

Also we introduced 'mystery consumers' concept that time in Madurai. We didnt appoint agencies but made my friends as the mystery consumers. Nagi was one among them...that clicked very well especially for HBB as the CSM who recommends our product would instantaneously get a gift from the mystery consumer....

Once I went to Blr combining some weekend off but got delayed there and came back a day later to Madurai but didnt inform my office..dont know the reasons but failed. I reached my room around 11pm and there was a telegram at my door steps from Abraham my Manager saying he would be arriving next day by flight from Chennai and I had to receive him at the airport with an ac ambassador car. Didn't have a clue about what time is the flight and how to organise a car (this telegram was delivered a day earlier)...immediately I rushed to Radha my IA friend who was staying close by, woke him up from his sleep and understood the Chennai flight would land around noon....ooops....thank god for that...it was not early morning....so next day morning organised for the car and received Abraham. He was such a wonderful boss to work with. He was not a pushy or bossy and these trips are just to motivate...i confided in him what happened the previous day and he was quite cool. He wanted to go to Thekkady from Madurai to visit his friend so we decided to visit some retailers en route at Theni and Cumbam. Courtesy to him, I stayed at a nice place in Thekkady that night....

We had a retailer at Theni by name Bhaskar. Gem of a guy...always barefooted....some kind of vow he had taken and stopped wearing chappals from that day....during that time the trade was run by private and hence it was fun visiting the markets. Most of the time lunch or dinner will be with the retailers only...ofcourse, with a couple of drinks. I used to visit most of the markets in Madurai district riding my Yezdi and hence could cover even the remotest of shops....

When in Madurai most of the time for lunch it used to be Sriram mess. Sriram mess was one of the landmarks in Madurai for veg meals with awesome offerings. Excellent food. One day while waiting for my turn to occupy the table, a guy approaches me with a big smile and extends his hand and asked me whether i am a sales guy...When I said 'yes-from Bagpiper', his smile widened and we became friends instantaneously. He is Krishnankutty and was with Avery's as their TSE. His brother was the one who was staying in the same independent house, on top of the grinding mill. Kutty introduced me to Krishnakumar his colleague from Averys and thru them to Radhakrishnan of Indian Airlines. Our friendship is 40 years old now. Bhaskar was the Branch manager then and a close friend of my brother and also the boss of Kutty and Krishnakumar. Bhaskar was also in SS colony. Bhaskar and his wife Bharathi were great hosts and entertained us so many evenings with booze and food. And my SS colony neighbors were my sisters friend from Trichy. They had also shifted to Madurai as they got transferred too. Kumar (different Kumar) was with Aristo. They were my 'to go to' people for excellent homely food whenever I wanted. They always welcomed me and I became a family member in no time. Rajan was also in Madurai with Parke-Davis and he shifted from Madurai immediately after my arrival but we bonded well. Rajan, Rajah, Kutty and KPK and Kumar, Kuttys brother....gang of 5.

Another great friend I acquainted was Parimelazhagan aka Pari...He was also staying at SS Colony and was with Lederle...a pharma company. Evening around 5, he would walk down from his home along with his son and daughter holding each of his hand (Ganesh and Preethi). His first stop would be Kumar's home and then to my place. Would spend some time and then he would leave for his home. We bonded so well. Also my place is the booze joint for many a guys as it was huge and the owners never had any reservations people visiting. Krithi was my neighbor and was staying with his friends(all bachelors). Shekar occupied the place where MSA Kumar was staying. MSA Kumar got married during his Madurai days and shifted to a nice place in SS colony itself. 

Rajeev from Dunlop was the previous incumbent and he moved to Blr...he was a wonderful singer and also a guitarist but only English songs....he had a style of his own...his cigarette used to be kept between the keys on top of the guitar...We used to argue a lot and when Pari asked me why we keep arguing a lot my spontaneous response was 'that's the problem with intellectuals' and Pari wasn't happy with that...

Before shifting to Dr's home I was in another place...on the second floor. I used to park my bike at the ground level and in the mornings to my utter dismay and shock the petrol would have run empty on most of the days...my mechanic confirmed that there was no leakage or any issues with my bike and I literally was breaking my head....I wanted to figure out what really was happening. One evening, after parking my bike, I quietly went to the neighbors place and started observing. Around midnight the owners younger son walks out of his home with a big bottle, opens the tube which connects the tank to the engine and starts filling up the bottle. Caught him red handed and bashed him up....

Another incident which happened in Bhaskar's home made me to think like Sherlock Holmes. Bhaskar got transferred and called me to help him to manage the packing and loading. While doing it his friends son also came to assist and this went on till evening. And that boy left and around 7pm Bhaskar was in some kind of distress...when asked he said he had kept some cash in his wardrobe and around 1000 was missing. Those days 1000 was really big money. It could be anyone, right...I felt I have to prove my innocence and also there was no time as Bhaskar was to leave the next day by Pandiyan in the evening. I had some suspicion on that guy who was also assisting that day. So suddenly hatched up a plot...

Called my friend Krishnakumar(Avery's), well built and with close hair cut could be mistaken for a police inspector. I also knew the suspect plays cricket for his college team. So the plot was to go to his house, bring him to my room to discuss a possible cricket match between his college and a team of Reps....leave him in the room with my wallet on the table with some money and I go down for sometime and come back with Krishnakumar. I went to his house in the morning and the moment I spoke about cricket, he was all excited and came with me to my room. Went as per the plot, left my wallet on the table, excused myself, went down for few minutes and came back with Krishnakumar. He was totally relaxed but the moment he saw KK he got a bit tensed. I took the wallet and found 3x100 were missing. So signalled KK and he he held that guy by his collar and that's it.... that fellow gave back the 300 and another shake and slap he admitted to taking the money from Bhaskar's place the previous day. We took him to Bhaskar's place immediately and handed over the culprit...it was such a great relief for me....

A sales guy has to always think ahead and smart....little bit of criminal investigative mind is required...this incident Bhaskar used to quote always with a hearty laugh....when I asked him whether I was also in his 'suspect' list he said 'never'. Such a great soul!!!

Madurai had given me plenty of friends and very fond memories. Nagi, Cheenu of Phipsons, Krithi, Pari, Aristo Kumar and his entire family, Aristo Sivaraman, Shekar, Krishnakumar of Lederle, Jat of Nicholas, Kumar of Nicholas, GV, Krishnan Kutty, Krishnakumar, Radha of IA, Rajan, Kamalakkannan, MSA Kumar and many customers who had become friends. Its 82-83 and almost 4 decades...we formed a Madurai Gang whatsapp group too....

Raman used to frequent Madurai and so also my brother in law Muthukumar. These guys always stayed with me. Raman is another connoisseur of  booze and food. He had to have non veg after drinks and his favourite was Arulanandam, Konar...and Taj restaurant. My place was a bachelor's den and like a choultry...what fun we had....health wise I had major issues with my digestive systems thanks to the local food. Madurai and Virudhunagar also very popular for the Parathas...the typical one made from maida...in Virudhunagar they make it with so much of oil and almost deep fry it...very crispy parathas....Every town had its own signature dishes...Another must visit is the border paratha shop in Shencottah....After a shower in Courtallam people drive down there for the lovely food...their pepper chicken with paratha is world famous. It's called the bordershop as it is the border between TN and Kerala.

Shankaran was my FSO and a wonderful guy...beginning of 83, he came down to Madurai for a market visit and before catching the night train, we sat in his room in Arthi hotel,  with a bottle of Booths Gin and finished it off between us. That's the time he broke the sweet news that I am due for my promotion and will be shifted to Chennai as my HQ soon as FSO as he is being transferred to AP. Didn't hit me as Booths hit me stronger and much before this promotion news....next day morning it slowly sunk in and felt so happy and great to know that I will be in charge of bigger territories and also TSEs reporting to me....big deal indeed!!! 

Madurai had given me so much of exposure, learning of booze business, relationship management and above all understanding of market dynamics. Also wonderful time personally and professionally and as mentioned, lots of great friends.

So my days as TSE got over in Madurai and over to Chennai as FSO....Bye bye Madurai and hallo Chennai again.....

 Memoir....Musings of a Sales guy at heart!!

Never say Die!!

Episode 11.

Friends, i know many a guys scaling new heights from a very humble 'sales jobs'! The first quality for a salesman is to be 'pushy'. He is the one who would not take 'no' for an answer! He would start his day by asking his customer 'how's the day?' and would complete the question with 'isn't the day beautiful'. He would not give a chance to the customer to say anything -ve! (Many a times, from what I had experienced, when you ask a customer how's business,  the answer would be 'not great'. You get stuck with such kind of answers. When the customer says its not good, you can't counter him by some weird answers or examples). So, A true salesman believes in building relationship with the customer and even with his consumers. He would ensure the relationship he builds is maintained irrespective of his relocations. 'Net working' is very important for him. He would be 'passionate' about his products. He would believe that he has to walk the talk!! Can you imagine a Coke guy drinking Pepsi or vice versa? He would never talk ill of competition brands but would always convey that his brands are a notch above! He would learn all the intricacies of his product and keeps throwing his knowledge during his sales pitch. This is to ensure that customer's interest is kept alive. He would be 'action oriented'. He has to be in the thick of action! Man on roller skates! He wants to see his volume, facings, depletions going up in every account he handles!! He would deliver his promises. Against all odds!! For him 'deliverance' is key. 'Never say die' is his mantra!! He would never give up!!! 

Sharing here a real life experience on 'Never Say Die'... 

This happened in 90/91. It was Diwali time and the market was Tamil Nadu in India. The situation was that TASMAC, distributors of adult beverages in TN, subsidiary of TN Government, was to release an order for BP Gold, a product we just launched, but the MD of TASMAC was not in HQ and order cannot be released without his signature. And we were desperate and have to get MD to get this order signed. Those days there was no mobile or internet facilities (only telex machines). We deliberated and with some luck on our side, found out from MD's office his travel itinerary. We figured out that the MD was to take a particular train from Trichy to Tirunelveli that night, that originates from Chennai. Series of discussions on how to get the job done without upsetting the apple cart. Our sales manager, opted to take the same train originating from Chennai and travel in the 1st A/C coach which the MD would board at Trichy and make it to look as 'coincidence' and request the MD whether he could give him an appointment next day morning at Tirunelveli!. All went off well till the MD saw him while boarding the train at Trichy. The MD, a smart IAS officer, immediately realised it was not a 'coincidence' and was a plot. He called him to his coupe and probed him. Our sales manager, didnt want to bullshit him and told him that he was desperate for this order as he has given commitment to his bosses and the stocks have to hit the depots ahead of Diwali for him to get it to the retail. He also confided in him that there was no way he could wait for one more week for the MD to come back to HQ. MD of TASMAC was overawed by this guys commitment and told him to see him next day first thing in the morning at Tirunelveli in TASMAC office. Our guy could not sleep whole night and at sharp 9 'o'clock he was there to meet up with the MD. The moment MD saw our friend, he called the GM of TASMAC in Chennai, on phone, and requested  him to release the order immediately. My guy was speechless! The MD, summoned all his colleagues in the Tirunelveli depot, narrated the whole story, paid all the accolades to my sales manager and told everyone that how our company set standards in terms of commitments to numbers and perseverance. This is a true story and you can call KS Raghavan on +919840771486 and he would be too glad to share with you his experience and how he felt when MD released the order on phone!!! 

The learning here is 'never ever give up'! Always look for ways to get things done and not for excuses for non-performance. And do not be apologetic!! We need to confide in our customers how important is his contribution to our business!!! 

 Memoirs.....Musings of a sales guy at heart.....

Episode (10)

Madurai Days...

With a heavy heart and without any understanding of Madurai market, I left Salem and reached Madurai, the Temple City.

Madurai is a different kind of place compared to other places in TN. Difference in terms of everything. A city that never sleeps.  ''தூங்கா  நகரம்''. 24x7 food is available and people on the move. The reason being that Madurai is the trading center and right from Cumbam people come to Madurai for trading purpose. Also one of the biggest attraction is the Meenakshi Temple...such a huge temple with a very rich heritage and culture.

And people are so lovable and affectionate. I reach Madurai and after a couple of days in a hotel, move to SS colony. A single room on the second floor of an independant home. My first floor neighbor was a lady-Tamil-Citizen of Malaysia with her son and daughter to pursue their studies in Madurai..(could not understand why from KL to Madurai for studies)..and the second floor was just a room with huge terrace but for bathroom and toilet I have to climbdown and use the facilities at the ground floor. The owner of the place also ran a flour mill (for Dosa and idli atta) facility at the ground and on top of it another room where Kumar of Sandoz was staying....

That's the time TN has opened up further the liquor trade. They had given license to around 7 or 8 wholesalers and also opened up the retail trade to private. So its action time. My WS in Madurai was catering the entire Madurai (Dindigul included) district, Ramnad (Virudhunagar included) and Tirunelveli district. The Madurai WS was of MSR group and in Nagercoil the WS was of Nallaperumal and Sons...

MSR group-in 81, were well entrenched in Yanam and Pondy and slowly getting in to AP.  Madurai Ambika Wines was their foray into alcohol business in TN. While the chains were pulled from Chennai and Nellore, the operation in Madurai was managed by their trusted employees but all are from AP. Nandakumar, Venkatram and Prabhakar Reddy. MSR was known for his loyalty to the UB group. 

Shankaran my boss, did a decent induction for me but the focus again was more on Dipys as we had lots of issues. HL just changed the distribution in Madurai from Meenakshi Agencies to Amaran Traders. We had distributors everywhere...Dindigul, Rajapalayam, Tenkasi, Tirunelveli, Tuticorin and also in Nagercoil.

Its similar for Dipys like any other place in TN (Coimbatore and Chennai were exceptions). Tough market conditions added to that was the change in distribution. Amaran, my distributor, young guy and after his graduation, his dad pushed him to get in to distribution. He used to live in Aruppukkottai and come to Madurai by bus-an hours journey. Very sweet guy and absolutely had no clue about distribution. So, I have to start from ground zero again...but I had good distributor in Rajapalayam (Gnanam-very enterprising and friendly distributor) and Mani in Nagercoil. So first couple of months on market familiarisation. I realised I have to get maximum from KK district as due to its Kerala influence, the awareness was better on food stuff and also people were used to jams, squashes and sauces. Kodaikanal was good for this category but didnt contribute much to Dipys. Rajapalayam was also decent due to Gnanam. Tirunelveli was quite tough. Ramnad was small and the only market we could sell some was Virudhunagar. Barring KK district rest of the areas really sizzle during summer time. 

I had a good start there. Professionally, I had to get the numbers done on Dipys and used the same strategy ie 20:80. Targeted the biggies and hotels for Dipys. Pandiyan, ITDC, TTDC, Madura Club et al supported me very well for Dipys range. I got a long term deal done with Kodai school, Kodaikanal Club in Kodai and Meenakshi agencies there. The problem with Meenakshi was delayed rather very delayed, payment but we managed it well. When in Chennai, I got to know of the very fizzy and great concoction called 'cricket' a soft drink, served in MCC. It was a mix of Orange squash with Limca. Tastes great! I, kind of introduced this concept in the clubs in Madurai and Kodai. This clicked there and paved way for Dipys orange squash. Also Sweet corn did well, surprisingly. I appointed door to door sales girls for Freedom in Madurai and Nagercoil and made them to give discount coupons to the homemakers for redemption in select retail on our Dipys range. This worked very well in both the places especially in Nagercoil. There was a retailer by name Veta Stores where I introduced this scheme and got a big push from him. Also in KK district places like Thakkalai and Marthandam I used the same strategy of Salem and pushed good quantity of Freedom in the hospitals there (Marthandam had around 4 or 5 polyclinics in 2 kms vicinity) and with that pushed Dipys in their canteens. Caught hold of a ship chandler-Cashmere Fernandes-in Tuticorin and got consistent business from him. Very unassuming customer and the shop situated in the midst of the vegetable market. He had his own way of pushing stocks in to the ships and despite competition from biggies like Alankar and Zeenat International. I played a lot with my liquor giveaways and it clicked. In Tirunelveli I got good support from Kavitha Stores. I developed some loyal and good customers for Dipys across all the districts. Some markets where it was waste of time, I ignored them. Also Dipys had, apart from Squashes, syrups too. Their rose syrup was world class but sadly Kissan and Rex along with Roof Afsa were the prefered brands. But later I realised Syrups were just flavours and today I dont waste my money on flavoured drinks...this awareness was missing with consumers those days and exploited fully by the brand owners like Rasna and Tang. Today's consumers are well informed thanks to the media.

Also Dipys ATL budget was zylch and hence heavily dependent on customer relationship and push strategy. As mentioned earlier, I exploited my 'liquor guy' tag very well in these markets too to gain confidence and entry in to retail shelves. It was quite tough as I was covering geographically a big market. But never got tired of travelling. I used to cover Nagercoil ex Madurai and return same day. Morning take the 5am bus, reach Nagercoil around 1030-11, finish the work by 6 and take the evening bus and come back by 12 midnight. As mentioned earlier, food was never a problem in Madurai, the city that never sleeps!!!

I realised very soon that HL was losing out in liquor in Madurai due to maximum of our time getting consumed with Dipys. So, I motivated the distributors to push Dipys and just managed the key outlets for Dipys myself. 

My task was to get entrenched with Ambika wines the WS for my market. It was tough as none of them spoke Tamil and also.very bossy. There was a guy in Phipsons, my name sake, who was able to get things done with them. Also Krithi and Shekar from McD, Kannan from MBDL gave me a good fight. This is where I met Krithi, Shekar and Kannan. (Sadly Kannan died at a very young age). Krithi's family became very close to me and so as Shekars. Shekar was Krithis boss. Krithi, despite being in McD used to work very hard.  I figured out the Phipson guy's closeness with the Ambica guys were due to the liquor parties thrown by him so I decided to do it differently. By the time, due to some issues I faced with the landlord and especially with one of his children, I shifted to a nearby place in SS Colony itself which was in the first floor of an independent building belonging to a Dr. It had a bedroom, attached bath and also a nice drawing room with a huge terrace both in the front and back. Very ideal for parties and the owners had absolutely no issue with visitors and parties. So, I organised for a get together with the Ambica guys and it turned out to be the mother of all parties. The beauty of the party was, I served JW Red Label (the bottle was that of JW but liquid was substituted by me and no one noticed it!) and the food I ordered from Arulanandam mess which was quite popular for their non veg. As the Andhrites were fond of rummy, I organised a card session too!! I also pulled in some of my friends to help me out and the party went on till 3 in the morning and some of these guys stayed back and slept in my place. Instant bonding, the purpose of the get together, was achieved in one night!!! 

So got Ambica thing cracked but I have to crack the market and the retailers. The system worked differently. In the morning time till around 1, retailers would arrive at the WS office and all the sales guys would swarm them the moment they arrive. Ambica had an indent sheet and the sales rep would grab literally the retailers by their side and would start pushing their products. And most of these guys had their second in command to manage things in the market. But I was all alone and had to manage both at the WS and also at the retail. So, I have to do something and fast also. So I approached MSR at Chennai and told him this practice of indent filling by reps, helping Shaw Wallace a lot and if he doesn't stop it, the loser would be UB group. I somehow hammered this point very strongly and he immediately passed a directive that no sales guy should be allowed inside the WS and can only come in the afternoon to collect sales figures. This strategy of mine helped me immensely as I was a market oriented guy and was confident that I can manage it better in the marketplace. While I could pull Bagpiper to No.1 position in its category it was quite tough for Honeybee except Kanyakumari. So I have to do something and get some numbers for HBB and hence exerted lots of pressure on my bosses for a scheme-first time in the trade. It was a 11 cases 1 case free and of this 3 cases has to be HBB. KC Kapoor was the GM Sales and he made the scheme a very complex one but somehow I convinced MSR to contribute from his WS margin and introduced the scheme with Ambica. The competition was shocked but by the time they came in to terms and came out with their own versions, I had a head start and the very first month HL crossed two truck loads in Madurai which was a big number for HL. And HBB was 250 cases out of that. I have to compromise on the HBB combo with some key retailers as otherwise I would have lost BP too. But finally the scheme was a huge hit but it was for a short duration only. But this helped as the retailers gave a big push which created awareness. But next couple of months there was utter chaos with all and sundry coming out with their own versions of 10+1 and MSR called me to discuss this and was given a nice dressing down by him for being the culprit of this 10+1 version. I played my cards well and requested him to ban these kind of offers and he obliged...so this 10+1 was scrapped immediately. So WS became peaceful and this paved way for companies to think differently and come out with something different. We introduced the monthly scheme circulars and settlements directly from the company. And HL was always prompt in settling the market claims. Shankaran my FSO helped me a lot in getting the claims passed at the branch office level. Things have started working well. I also worked out a dealers get together, first of its kind, in Madurai. Navratan Dugar, joined HL as RM and Tomy was his assistant. Abraham left HL. That get together became talk of the town for other reasons. The dealers got drunk and completely gone out of control with food plates flying around and people falling in the swimming pool. Dugar and Tomy ran for cover and I have to cut a sorry figure. But the silver lining was the next day my key customers felt so guilty and the next few indents topped HL brands (!). After seeing this fiasco most of the companies decided to keep away from dealers get together.

So many learnings and interesting episodes...

to be contd.....