Exactly a month ago, I would be ready to beg to make a sale. By beg, I mean offer more discounts than I already could and send out endless sales pitches explaining why one should buy my product. Now, exactly a month after that, I am out of that phase.
Right now, when I talk to that same customer, I don’t try to please him by offering a better discount than some other marketplace. Rather, I explicitly mention how I would be happy if they preferred to shop product from them instead of me if that’s what they prefer.
What changed? And did it make me a profit? First of all, sales is a subject I am talking about for the first time on my blog. It’s because I have mostly focused on marketing the way every ‘expert’ marketer in India does- measuring it using useless signals or not measuring it at all. The day I realized it was wrong, I started focusing on sales or conversions.
Hence, you’re seeing me talking about this different term that I never used before on this blog.
So, if you’re a marketer reading this, don’t read it for you’ll be very offended to know that you’re not a marketer. A person who posts on social media and gets paid for that isn’t a marketer. Period.
Did I make a profit? From gross sales of Rs. 47,948.70 in December 2016, I ended up with sales of Rs. 14,273 in January 2017. The number of sales I made lessened. But there are so many things I did differently this month which could have decreased the number of sales (they definitely did). Making a profit isn’t something I am measuring right now as I always do promotions keeping in mind that I make a profit. I don’t want to be the next Flipkart owner. I want to be me after all for next 50 years (if I live that long).
Making a profit isn’t something I am measuring right now as I always do promotions keeping in mind that I make a profit. I don’t want to be the next Flipkart owner. I want to be me after all for next 50 years (if I live that long).
Am I unhappy about this decreased number of sales? I am. But it’s not because of the thing we’re discussing here. It’s because of things I didn’t do that I could have done to make this a bigger number.
I am definitely happy for not bending myself down just because I want to earn a customer. Because you know what happens? Today, you gave an extra Rs. 100 discount to this person. Exactly one month later, he’ll come to you and ask for a discount of Rs. 500 and the cycle will continue until you stop. By offering more discounts, you can lure a customer once but it’s highly improbable that you will ever generate a profitable sale from such a customer. So, I am happy that I have stopped now. I would rather have no sales at all than a sale that’s not profitable.
Today, you gave an extra Rs. 100 discount to this person. Exactly one month later, he’ll come to you and ask for a discount of Rs. 500 and the cycle will continue until you stop. By offering more discounts, you can lure a customer once but it’s highly improbable that you will ever generate a profitable sale from such a customer. So, I am happy that I have stopped now. I would rather have no sales at all than a sale that’s not profitable.
So, I am happy that I have stopped now. I would rather have no sales at all than a sale that’s not profitable.
Exactly a month ago, I was working on a low-paying job. Apart from the compliments like “Manpreet, what would I do without you?” and “Manpreet, we’re so lucky to have you in our organization”, I was getting nothing. My increment that was due six months ago never got cleared for these people were going through cash crunch while hiring a bunch of more dumbasses. My suggestions were specially requested but never got credit & respect for only two reasons I could imagine – 1) I’m a woman and an organization with male idiots doesn’t recognize the importance of your suggestions until it’s too late 2) I am not into adulation of the bosses.
My suggestions were specially requested but never got credit & respect for only two reasons I could imagine – 1) I’m a woman and an organization with male idiots doesn’t recognize the importance of your suggestions until it’s too late 2) I am not into adulation of the bosses.
I could have left that job but then money is the evil that makes you do all the things you don’t want to do like working on a low-paying job that doesn’t make you happy anymore or begging for sales. But the question here is – was doing all those things really getting me money?
If you give immense discounts to customers, do you really make money? If you work on a low-paying job, do you really make money? No. In actual, you lose money.
You lose money every time you make a sale that’s not profitable. You lose money all the time you work for lesser money than you deserve. And trust me! The realization isn’t that easy. The demons of underconfidence, peer pressure, household bills and pressure to succeed always keep your vision blurred. It takes a lot to get out of that.
But you know what’s the best part, the whole point of me writing this post? It’s that when you do that, when you begin realizing your self-worth and start connecting with people who appreciate that and start working in a manner that complements your abilities and efforts, you start getting the fruit of your efforts. You get onto a path that leads to success while leaving a criss-cross maze of failures.
So, just like I did, I urge you all to start realizing your self-worth and asking for what you deserve. I especially want all women to do that for they have always been the underpaid individuals even when they’re more talented just because of their reluctance to ask. ASK, either you will get a yes or no. And I know one often wonders what if it’s a no? You can decide to make peace with it or walk out. I did the latter and that’s the best thing I ever did.
How? Keep visiting my blog to know more.
