The most successful salesman

I was awaiting my friend. He telephoned me while I was madly busy with my job in the office. The guy has newly been assigned as a sales executive of an MNC. He is almost fresh in terms of experience to work in this field.

In the evening I returned from office and being fresh switched on the television and was trying to guess what made him so excited and told me that he had something to share with me.

At last, he came and I offered him some drinks. “What is the matter? How did you enjoy the first meeting with the clients?”

The friend very slowly sipped the glass and stared at me. Then he said-“Let the meeting go to hell. I have got a practical demonstration of sale that has no excuse for failure”.

– “Surely you have attended any conference of selling and their famous marketing experts had delivered the speech and that motivated you greatly. Isn’t it?

– No experts whom you are guessing. But he is the most efficient selling expert I have ever seen. You know I was in a very small company where I never went to meet any customer out of the city. I was rather in a pond in terms of the marketing field. This was the first time I had to avail a flight to meet a customer in other cities. When I departed from the airport I was a bit nervous as the city and the hotel which was booked for me was far from the airport. The airport was not bigger though a prominent place. At 3.00 Am very few passengers were there and I noticed one by one they went away mostly by their own cars and some passengers at the outside of the airport in the taxi bay came and bargained then went away. The cab drivers could understand that I was a newcomer. They gathered around me and all of them charged a huge amount though I showed them from the GPRS the location of the hotel and that was not very far. But they were obstinate. I was waiting a while. Then I saw a cab entered and stood a bit away from the taxi bay. I saw the driver came down hurriedly and open the door for the passenger with honor, the man shook the hand of the driver and started for the main entrance of the airport. Then I rushed towards the cab. I assumed that the man could be helpful.. when I peeped through the window glass the man opened the door and asked me in a very warm voice -”May I help you, Sir? I asked him the fare to drop me at the hotel I named. He smiled and told he would avail the shortcut roads that would minimize the fare and also asked me not to be panicked. “I think this is your first visit here. The cab drivers were charging you high rate. This is a problem, sir. The newcomers maximum time are cheated by them. However, sir, be comfortable and have a cup of tea. The man pressed a switch and placed a cup. A Hot flavored cup of tea he handed over to me. It was amazing. A cab driver offering me hot tea and that is arranged in his cab, not purchasing from a shop! It is simply unbelievable.  But then I started to think about why the driver is so kind to me! Is he contemplating to snatch everything from me? The man as if could read my mind. –You need not be worried sir. I won’t do any harm to you. You are my gusset. Not only that you are the guest of this city. So it is my duty to be at your service. Have the tea and you will feel ease. Through the road, he was continuously talking but not to disturb me but to keep my eyes open which he noticed that often my eyes were becoming heavy with sleep. At last, he dropped me at the hotel. He again shook my hand and handed me a card. I looked at it. The card is nothing but a visiting card. He asked me to call him at least before so long I would be in the city.

I was hearing his story of my friend being spellbound. –“Really? I asked. My friend brought the card out from his pocket. Quite strange! This is the first time I heard that a taxi driver having his own visiting card. “Did you avail his car again”-I asked my friend.

-Yes, because he created much interest unto me. I told him –in the morning at around 11 Am I had to reach my client’s office. He asked me the address. I showed him the client’s visiting card. He nodded and asked me to be ready at 10’o clock.

The next day I being ready was awaiting him in the lobby. The man blew the horn of the cab to let me know that he had come. I quickly came down. The man greeted me keeping the door open and said –“Good Morning Sir. Hope you had a nice sleep”. The man then started his car gave me the daily newspaper. He told me that there was a mobile charging point just right side where I was sitting. I was anxious really as I had forgotten to charge my mobile. So I could charge the mobile. He offered me tea I but disagreed as I just have had my breakfast and tea also. I thanked him. The man was getting me informed about the city’s history and other main points of the city just as a professional guide. But as I was tensed with the meeting with the client and had the challenge to grab a large volume of order I was not paying so much interest. He noticed that and told me to notice the back of the driving seat, to push the red button and then an LCD screen would be visible. It was a TV screen. He said-“If you like you may see the  TV”. It was another amazement to bewilder me.

He dropped me at the client’s office in time. I asked him to pick me up at around 3’o clock. But our discussion was lengthy and continued up to around 4’o clock. I was very much happy as I could bag the order which was a challenge to me and prove myself in the very first assignment. But it stroke in my mind that asked the cab driver to be here at 3’o clock. Surely he had gone out. But I became very delightful that the man was still there and waiting for me. He waved his hand and said-“I think you have had a successful day sir”. The man stroked me with marvel in every point. I never met such a guy before. I became very much interested in him. Now being relaxed I started a conversation with him-

-Would please let me know how you made yourself different from other cab drivers?

I just narrating you what he told me. –“Sir, I was a college student, then my father died. Anyhow, I completed the course but for a long time, I was not getting any good job to sustain. Then I tried to think what I can do by myself. As I am fond of driving though I have not a car I thought to be a cab driver. But there was no great scope to earn much unless I have my own car. I then thought how can I build up my own regular customers. I got a point that a genuine good behavior always makes a good impression and that is the way of success. I printed my visiting car. I sorted out the points what a person wants when he boarded my car. Those are –

1.Safe and fast driving.

2. Cheapest Fare
3. Comfort
4. Good behavior.

I started to follow all the points. When a person entered my cab I used to greet them warmly to create faith in me. I always kept newspaper and magazines within their reach. My sincere approach to them mad a group of customers who always knocked me. So I could get a sound income every day which was growing fast. Then I bought a cab of my own. I added some more things that I can afford. I added TV, hot tea, solar mobile charger. By God’s grace, I am now the owner of 5 cabs. My employees run those cars. But I keep a strong vigil so that no one can get down from my cars with any sort of dissatisfaction. I always think of how to better my service and how more people can avail of my cabs. Now I’m dreaming to create a company where a good number of cabs will run throughout the day in every part of the city.”

My friend stopped a while, sipped the glass and winked at me –Don’t you say that I met the most successful sales executive in my life?