Last week I watched children briskly walking to a nearby school for their annual examination and it reminded me of my alma mater in North Chennai. Teachers day, which is celebrated on September 5th in India, used to be a special occasion in my school. A fund raising drive would be launched by issuing raffle tickets with attractive prizes. Each student would be given a set of coupons priced at Rs 5 each and we had to mobilize funds from family members, friends and anybody else who was willing to buy. As students ,we enjoyed this small way of paying our respects to our teachers. Of course, the student who sold the highest number of coupons was given a prize. The teacher whose class mobilized the maximum funds was also recognized and rewarded. This annual ritual was a breeze as it involved subtle selling in known circles.

But then I moved to high school and here came the twist. An ambitious teacher who wanted her students to excel in sales handed over 4 times the number of coupons to each student and asked us to run the campaign. Wow, this is the start of a sales career. Every morning, after marking our attendance each student would be asked about the sales and the funds collected. We did Sales reviews at high school. With additional efforts, students could get more but yet the #target was steep. Understanding the sales pressure on their wards- some parents gave the money for all the coupons. But as is the case during mid term reviews, the target was increased by handing over more coupons to those students. Apart from the academic performance, there was also number pressure that was starting to build up. This developed two sets of students – the sales lovers and the sales haters.

Reflecting back, I now realize that whatever may be your #career or orientation to sales -you cannot escape #selling.