# 16 MAHA MANDI

MAHA Mandi - A day on the streets, a day of experiences!

On the noon of 9^th August 2014, 700 students set out on the streets of Mumbai to test their marketing skills. MAHAMANDI, the annual marketing extravaganza of NITIE was here with its tenth edition.

With bags full of inventory, they set out to explore customers, and recognize their own negotiation abilities. I too set out with my group of 6 people. We went from Andheri to Hill Road to Bandstand to Linking road. From noon to late evening, we sold products worth Rs 4850/-

My experience was full of surprises, smiles, disappointments and learning lessons. To know more, read on.

Customers come in all shapes and sizes. And also in all personalities. Here are the unique few I met:

1.       The ANGEL  Customer

We got off the auto at Hill Road and started looking around for potential customers. We spotted a lady in her late 50s. She must have grandkids- we thought.  We approached her and she listened to us patiently. She refused very politely saying she didn’t know any little kids to whom she could really gift the toys. With a smile, we thanked her and went about our business.

Fifteen minutes later, we saw the lady walking frantically towards us along with a young girl. “I was searching for you!” she exclaimed. She answered my puzzled look by telling us that the young lady with her was her daughter who worked with a shelter for orphans. Anu, her daughter , she said was interested in buying our products. We delightfully showed and explained about our products to Anu and she bought two of them from us – the Number balance and Rangometry.

We thanked the older lady profusely was her noble gesture. This was one Angel customer- for she came looking for us

2.       The YOUNGEST Customer

We approached them at Hill Road- a father son duo having a nice evening stroll. We explained the products to the father. He pointed at the Number Balance in my hand and asked his son, “Amar do you like this?” The child nodded his head indicating a vehement no. “OMG”! I exclaimed. What if the kid doesn't like any of these things?

We showed him the jodo blocks the next. He instantly smiled and said “yes dada”. Those magical words and his genuine smile lit up our faces with joy. Here we had managed to sell our product to the consumer and not just the customer.

3.       The “Har cheez ka bahaana” Customer

This was a group of customers we cornered at Bandra. They had just stepped out of Starbucks and looked like the social cause kind. We went ahead and made our sales pitch. They listened intently and showed a lot of interest. Asked a lot of questions. Our hopes were raised. We thought we hit the jackpot here!

And then came the pin that burst our bubble. They said we have no kids. We said gift it to your niece/nephews/neighbour’s kids.. They said we live in a bachelor’s colony. We suggested they gift it to a homeless child and make his day. They responded saying we are associated with Akaansha (NGO) anyways. We responded saying this is not just donation of money but you get a useful educational toy in lieu of that. They said we are out of cash. Can you swipe the card?

At this juncture we realised they were making futile reasons to turn us away politely. Taking our cue, we thanked them and left from there with a valuable lesson on the multitude of excuses we can offer!

4.       The “Curious” Customer

We had almost close dour deal with James. A curious onlooker stood there listening to us with rapt attention. Once we finished, eh enquired about what we were doing. I explained everything to him very patiently. Then I asked him if he would be interested in buying any of the products. He said he was just curios what we were upto and decided to enquire. He said he cannot afford to spare money for this cause but was glad to get the information.

He said it was a good cause we were working for and we should keep it up.

5.       The “almost Goan” Customer

This couple was special for me coz they had their ancestral roots in my native place- Goa! Aah! the pleasure of meeting someone from back home.

Karen Nazareth and her husband immediately agreed to buy the Jodo blocks from us. They said such causes were close to their heart and they were happy to be associated with it in every way possible. They were too delighted to know I was from Goa. I also offered to host them the next time they came down. It was a memorable conversation and the smiles say it all!

My take away from the Mandi experience:

Before Mandi, I never realised how tough it would be to actually go out on the street and make a single sale. After Mandi, I have immense respect for all the hawkers who do this job day in and day out making it look so effortless.

Before Mandi, I never thought I’d be able to approach strangers on the streets of an unknown city and sell products to them. But post Mandi, I know it is an art that can be mastered with practice.

Before Mandi, I was always very courteous and polite in my behaviour towards salesmen. However after Mandi, I will ensure that I am extremely careful and conscious to treat everyone who makes a living with courtesy and respect. No job in this world is easy. Our smile and patience can make a big difference to someone’s day.

On a lighter note, I did not know the various excuses I could make for not buying someone’s products. Now thanks to Mandi, I have learnt a lot of innovative ways of turning down a sales pitch! :p :D

My two cents of advice:

To the organising team:

•        Give receipts with NITIE logo, “Mandi” printed on the same to issue to customers. Also a stamp/seal will help authenticate the receipt. The college name and logo will also help spread a word about college to the masses and be an indirect means of publicity for us.

•    Come up with new products every year if possible. A lot of customers said they already had bought similar articles during previous years

To the Future Salespersons:

• Wear a smile. Nothing works its magic like a cheerful face. When you look happy doing what you are doing, People are attracted to you automatically.

• Be honest please. I know a lot of people charged extra money to recover their auto and other overheads. Please do not cheat with charity. Go ahead and be generous and selfless on one day. You can make a difference.

• Carry a few essentials like pen, writing pad, change to avoid inconvenience to the customer and embarrassment to yourself. A few paper/polythene bags can also help hand the inventory over to the customer in a more convenient way.

• Do your homework about the products you are selling and the cause you are representing. Not knowing the Full form of CRY foundation reflects poorly on you. Similarly providing misleading information about the utility of a product will hamper customer satisfaction.