Proud to be a part of Bangalorean culture

Salesman’s life is not always full of frustration as Management provides lot of opportunity to rejuvenate him but to recreate yourself; you need to fulfill certain conditions. Which I understood when I got an opportunity to be a part of so called bangalorean culture .
One fine morning my branch head called me and told me that the Reliance mutual fund was giving a party at century club as they want to give a presentation on their new product. Now I tell you why these people give parties because even they are given targets to assemble certain No of people and introduce about their products to them. So if they don’t through a party in a luxurious hotel, who would come to listen to their shit. In sales everything including party is driven my targets.
I was asked to invite at least 4 HNI clients and I was extremely happy as I got something to pass my time. I took my client’s list and thought that everyone would eager to come Well my whole presumption went wrong when none of my clients agreed to come and I was surprised why people can’t come even at free party . Finally I asked one of my staff whether he knew any HNI clients .By that time all the staff members had become my friends, not because of my nature but because of my condition. He gave me a contact No and asked me to call the client by giving his reference as expected the client accepted my invitation and told me that he would come along with his wife. In sales everything works on recommendation or references, whatever you do .Even to invite a person , you need to have some recommendation. Finally I was satisfied with 2 clients
We all assembled at 9’O clock at century club and no client had come yet from our branch. By the time I had called 4 times to my only dearest client to remind about the party. My branch head was staring at me and asking me mootly about my 4 clients .In sales even if you are able to achieve half of your target you become a hero . Suddenly two unknown face (A Couple ) appeared at the front door and I felt some vibe that those were my clients . I confirmed it by asking their name and they turned out my clients. I felt so existed and happy that I introduced them to my branch manager and reliance mutual fund’s people . First time I was able to draw the attention of my branch head. Everyone was appreciating me as it is not a simple deal to call the clients and I was able to do that . Reliance’s people gave a short presentation as they were aware of that no one was going to listen to their presentation . After a brief question-answer secession, Real party or true Banglorien culture started .
In Bangalore, everything is started with drinks. My branch head asked me that I should always be with my clients just like a waiter and i was quite ready for it because they made me proud .After some brief conversation , I asked from the male whether he would like to have something and he asked for the wine . I called the waiter and arranged for the same then I asked from the lady whether she would like to have something .She told me that she didn’t like wine and I was not surprised as in my so called Bharatpur city women generally avoid drinks ….so I thought I should ask for a glass of juice but again my whole presumption went wrong when the lady told me that if I could arrange for a Vodka. Wake up Deepak Wake up, you are in a metro city and that too in Bangalore .Well… drinks is followed by Non-Veg dish so if you are simple Bharatpuria kind of kid who doesn’t drink and a vegetarian , you don’t have any place here .
People wait for dance floor to be opened and once the dance floor is open then Kon Apna kon Paraya .Well I appreciate this kind of culture because people mingle with each other like there is no barrier and why their should be any barrier . But I who was from a tiny city , finding it abnormal . First time I was evidencing some real moves which I had seen only in movies or magazines. Who says metro culture is bad, I was just loving it and enjoying it. Well everything was over by 1’o clock and everyone started retuning to their home, With the help of their drivers
When I returned to my room, I felt some kind of changes in me . India is really becoming a developed country and today I became a part of its development

..And i was completely lost

Nothing was going like the way I had planned and I knew if I was not able to perform I would be thrown out from the organization. The fear of throwing out from the organization used to motivate or compelled me to make some calls but responses of all those calls used to be same. People advise that to be a successful salesman one needs to keep his self-respect aside but we should not forget that even salesman is a human being and he has some self respect too. I won’t blame to my client either because they were not responsible for it .why would they buy my products if they didn’t feel like buying it. Gradually I realized that people don’t feel any need of buying insurance product because they are not ready to accept that they will die or they have an option to postpone it for some other time. But whatever was the reason, I was not able to sell even a single product. I started begging(Read: asking) from the staff for leads .I offered them some commission from the sell also. I was ready to share some part of my salary. I wrote letters to all my clients. but nothing worked .People say one needs to be optimistic and give the example of half filled water that one should not see emptiness of the glass but should see that it is half filled, but to see it half filled , there should be some water in it . How long a person can motivate himself, one day he will accept his defeat. I tried to push myself to the last mile .But nothing worked. I tried to make me happy in some peculiar ways.
Finally I started using my cell for my own purpose as I was not getting any lead so Rs 1200/- were going useless. I Started sending group SMS to all my friends in Bangalore. I don’t know why but that used to make me happy at least it was a nice way to let people know that there is a guy called Deepak Khandelwal is present in the city .I started talking to all of my friends every day. Some or other way I tried to pass time as I knew I had to spend 8 hours which becomes quite long when u don’t have anything to do . The whole life was a mess. I was surprised that how come people were able to sell insurance products. Whenever my colleagues used to become successful in selling the insurance, I used to call them and enquired about how they were able to sell and the answers I got were more discouraging. Some time their branch managers helped them or some time customers asked for the product which forced me to curse my own destiny. Why can’t i have the same type of customers who come and ask for the products or why can’t I have the same branch manager who can get the customers. Well… I accept that the work pressure from management side was not so much but it was my self- respect which used to make me sad. How long can I continue like this. One day management will ask for the policies. The moment I used to leave for the branch, I was aware that I would not be able to do any kind of business. Well thanks to internet, I was able to pass my time by seeking stock market fluctuation unlike my life which was pretty smooth. I won’t say that all 30 days were bad. 28th of every month used to make me happy as it was our salary day .But after some time even that day didn’t motivated me anymore. With keeping smile on the face, i was completely lost.

God's indications

I accepted finally that i wouldn’t be able to sell insurance product but even though i knew about it , i could not convey the same to my ASM. Every morning he used to call me and asked about the policies i would sell in the day. Earlier i used to say that i would not be able to sell any policies, which led me to get scolding two times, first in the morning then in the evening. so two times in a day was routine for me but my creative thinking converted it to one time in a day as and when he used to call me in the morning, i used to say i had plenty of leads and expecting two-three plicies which led me to get appreciation in the morning at least but when he used to call me in the evening , i told him happily that i was not able to sell single policy . That is how i used to get rebuke one time in a day ( How SMART I WAS:) )
So even after being understood that i would not be able to sell single policy, i was not ready to accept it and god perhaps was laughing at me and might be angry with me as so many times he had given me indications but i was so stubborn that i was not ready to listen him.
First time:-
I called a client and asked for the appointment by using the way No.2 .He told me that his office was quite far and it was not practical for me to come over there. But i was not ready to lose an opportunity and told my client that i had no problem and i would come comfortably. Well... he gave his address. Even a trainee who was with me told me many times that we had no need to go over there but i an MBA post graduate was not ready to listen to him and reached over there in two Hours .
Outcome of the meeting :- My client was 82 years old guys, now you tell me what product you can suggest an old guy because insurance policy can be given under 60 years of age . i thought i should pitch to his family but his whole family was residing in USA.
Second time:-
One of was my client was a London returned doctor and made a lot of money in India. So i thought if i was able to impress him, He would give me some policies in return . He was Illiterate in computer and trying to learn it so i thought it was a good way to make relationship. I started giving him 2 hours in a day to teach him computer and able to do so but that doctor was really a smart guy and never gave me a single policy
Third times:-
I tried to figure out where i was going wrong and found out that perhaps i was helping my clients out of the context and should help my client in financial products only . So i started helping an entrepreneur in his banking need. He was quite happy with me and used to call me whenever he required my helps but when it came for insurance product .He refused me plainly
Well after being understood god hints , i found it useless to call my clients but when you don’t have any task in the branch it becomes more tough to spend 8 hours in the branch and you need to be really creative to spend those 8 hour.. well you know How creative i am ......

Job profile of a relationship manager

So First of my task was to understand my role and let the client know about my role. So in persuasion to achieve this, I called all my friends but even they were as ignorant as i and provided me plenty of their advice based on their own knowledge. i understood finally that there were few people present in the world who knew about my profile and one of them was my ASM ( my reporting head ). But I didn’t find it practical to ask him directly as my reputation of being MBA was on sake. So after using my entire education, I found a way out and called my ASM and asked him that how I should be more beneficial for the enhancement of the organization except doing a routine job. It was like a mentee asking a question to his mentor and my strategy worked right on spot. He guided me in a very humble way and told me that I was supposed to generate revenue through life insurance products and mutual fund products keeping sequence in mind as first generate more revenue .In order to sell the product I needed to have good relationship with the clients. That is why we are called relationship manager. Now let’s understand the implicit meaning of this definition. A relationship manager is a salesman who calls the people so many times that he finally gets an appointment (but how would he get the appointment, there comes his true skills). After getting the appointment ,Just forget about client’s problem and sell life insurance products first then mutual fund .If he is able to sell any of the products , then call has been converted otherwise he is not a good relationship manager .
Now after having understood about my role , I needed to convey the same to my clients . but I was smart enough to understand that if I say direct to them that I want to sell the life insurance products, no one would give me appointment . But I needed to get appointment so how should I get appointment. So I tried following ways…
Way No.1:-
Deepak :- Hi Sir, I am Deepak Khandelwal and I am your newly appointed relationship manager and I want to introduce some new products to you …you will like them certainly …
Client:- Fuck you .. who gave you my No..
Outcome: - Mission failed
Way No.2:-
Deepak: - Hi Sir, I am Deepak Khandelwal and I am your newly appointed relationship manager. Some set of customer have been assigned to me and you are one of them. Sir, I want to meet you to introduce myself so that I can serve you in better way
Client:- No need to come to come. Whenever I will visit the branch, I will meet you
Outcome: - client never came…. Mission failed
Way No.3:-
Deepak :- Hi Sir, I am Deepak Khandelwal and I am your newly appointed relationship manager. Some set of customer have been assigned to me and you are one of them. Sir, I have to hand over your cheque or payment or your account statement or something
Client :- Ok come but after taking the concerned thing, Boss I need to go or I have a meeting
Outcome :- Able to get appointment but not able to sell the product. Wasted my 2 hours and half a liter petrol plus lots of frustrations

Me and My clients's list

Next day i woke up at 8'o Clock, even though i knew that i should get ready, somewhere in my heart I dint feel like doing it as i knew that even if i reached early , no one was going to wait for me . I had no seat and as usual a visitor seat would be provided to me. well.. some how i tried to waste my time by reading a newspaper ( any way as a financial advisor , i was supposed to be updated with current financial news .. well.. truth i found out later that to sell a financial product, you don’t need to know anything ). Finally i started get ready at 9 and reached to the branch at 9.45 as i knew that there would only be a sweeper before 10 and i was right . I said Hi to the sweeper and sat on the visitor's chair in front of the Sr. relationship manager's chair. I started looking at the chair and i don’t know, what compelled me to sit on that chair .I touched the computer as if Meera is touching his Krishna and loving him. How complete i was feeling ,is impossible to describe in words. I had never imagined that i would be so eager for a chair . Well.. after having Billion dollar worth of pleasure, i left the place and sat on my regular chair
15 Min. later, My Sr, Man entered into the branch in a very arrogant manner and expected me to say good morning .i did the same like a obedient son. Well.. Finally I made my father happy and as a thanks giving note, He handed over a piece of paper to me .Some names and Phone no were mentioned in it . He told me that those were my clients and i was supposed to introduce myself .These were the golden words for my ears.. how relaxed I felt ..ohh god .. finally...finally.. FINALLY I GOT MY CLIENTS AND THAT BUGGER WHAT DOES HE THINK OF HIMSELF..now i would generate my own business and once i would get the business, first of all i would through away this bloody Sr. Relationship manager .. i would grab his seat .. I would take his computer i would do everything whatever i wanted to do ..
So what should i do first ."First of all i should have a tea" ( As my friends know that i prefer to have tea before starting a task ). I went to a tea stall and felt more relaxed. I pulled out a blank paper and started doing many kind of analysis( as an MBA , i was supposed to do every kind of analysis like Gap analysis , Right analysis , Wrong analysis .. everything) and after doing all kind of analysis , i found out that first of all i should call my clients and introduce myself ( Even a simple 12th grade student would have come to the same conclusion without doing any analysis , but i didn’t want to go my MBA in vein ) i called my Client and after some rings my first client picked up . i said hi to my client and conveyed that i am his relationship manager and waited for his response. after a brief pause .. he replied me back and started asking that WHAT A RELATIONSHIP MANAGER SUPPOSED TO DO? AND WHO HAD APPOINTED ME HIS RELATIONSHIP MANAGER?. seriously what a relationship suppose to do and that time i realized my first mistake that people dont know anything about relationship manager including me.

My First day in my very own branch

I was able to feel so many changes around me and that is how happily my training period which we all salesmen say honeymoon period ended. I was asked to join Sadashiv Nagar, Bangalore branch . I asked about the locality and it was told me that it was one of the best colony in Bangalore as most of the politicians and industrialists leaved there. High expectations were on our shoulders as we were the first batch of ING bank being recruited as a relationship manager . More over people had high expectations on me being a topper . well .. I was not concerned about their dreams , what more bothering me was that whether I would be provided separate cabin in the bank. For me why this important was because in my previous job I had never been given a separate cabin and I needed to sit with the other people. But this was the separation occasion as I was joining the bank as a relationship manager with a hefty package , I would be considered at least next to manager not equal to manger and a person having such a high authority would definitely be given a separate cabin. And mind you, this time I was not doing daydreaming but these all things were quite practical. So having so many practical things in my mind I reached my branch.
My first day in my very own branch
i reached the branch sharp at 9.30 as i wanted to show my branch manager that even though i would not be efficient ,i would be punctual. But i got surprised when i found that not a single person was present in the branch except a sweeper. After seeing me he told me something in Kanada ...well....Fcuk... welcome to real word.. because in India, English is limited to corporate world only but when it comes to field , you need to know the local knowledge otherwise u will be treated like an alien even though u are in your very own country ..with your very own people. But who give a dame to these things if you don’t know the local knowledge. Forget about buying a product, they wont talk to you. Well.. somehow i tried to figure out the language of the sweeper and sat on a chair . I asked him that when the branch manager would come ( First in English , then in Hindi, finally in my creative language ), But when nothing worked i found it better to sit calmly.
After half an hour, a person came in the branch . He was the employee of the bank so i made my mind to talk to him as it was taught in our prestigious management classes that we need to have friendly attitude in our work culture as it increases the efficiency of the organization so to increase the efficiency of my very own organization, i introduced myself as a relationship manager . I put more emphasis on manager as i was going to be the next manager after branch manager and in hierarchical order, i would come next to the branch manager .Since he was not the branch manager, definitely my rank would be higher than his rank . So before he spoke a single world, I wanted to realize him that he should keep in his mind that he was talking to a senior.
But my whole expectation went wrong when he introduced himself as a senior relationship manager and obviously he put more emphasis on senior. He was happy that a subordinate had come under him as it was quite evident from his face . well .. somehow i found him the most repellent guy in the world and after making an excuse, i left the premises at once.

I consoled my mind that i didnt need to get tensed as we would be assigned separate clients but my whole assumption went wrong when my branch manager told me that we would not be assigned separate clients as our branch had very limited no. of HNI ( Financial jargon for High Net Worth Individual means Motta Bakra ) clients and whatever branch had , already been assigned to my so called Senior relationship manager. In precise, I didn’t need to go out anywhere , My main compititor was already there in the branch. When i asked about my own seat in the branch, it was told me that i had to sit with the senior relationship manager and when i contacted him , he told me to take the visitor’s seat as relationship manager's seat was already assigned to him . Me, who was considering himself as an inevitable part of the organization, became as a useless visitor in my very own branch. After having such a bad day , i left the branch with a heavy heart.

Shiv Khera’s unforgettable lines

I had already given so many exams without knowing anything , that it was not a new experience to me but this was the first time my job was on sake and by that time Amir’s 3 idiot was not released so I was not able to sympathize my heart by saying that “All IS WELL”. The Invigilator was instructing many things to follow and I was thinking that to follow all these things, I should know something. Well..finally I clicked on the start button . it was displayed on computer screen that 2 hours would be given to write the exam and I was thinking how I would pass the time . well.. first question appeared on my screen and I was not able to understand the question itself . I moved to the second question , even that was unknown to me. I told to my mind that Chachu, all is gone . without being aware of any question , I glanced through the options and I was surprised to find that the options were familiar to me . Ohh shit , all the questions were from objective type of questions which were there in the IRDA book . For the first time, without knowing the questions , I knew the answers. I started answering the paper and was checking the options only without seeing the questions . In the history of my education, it had not happened with me .I was able to finish the paper in half an hour . I clicked on the submit and started waiting for the result . My heart was beating like anything. In college or school we give the exam and by the time result comes , we forget the exam. So we get some time to enjoy but this fucking technology has made all things faster. First time I was cursing the technology. Finally, my result came and I tried to find the block of my score and after some difficulty I found that block and it was showing 89%. 89%*89%. Boss 89%. I scored highest mark of my career without doing anything. I came out from the exam –centre and waited for the other students. Obviously when you achieve something, you want to show it off. After half an hour a student came out and without wasting a single moment I asked about his score. He told me 76% and asked about my score. I tried to pretend that it was not as good as I was expecting. But he forced me to revel it . I said dejectedly that it is 89. He got surprised and said that it was a good score. I told him that I was expecting more. First time in my career , I got an opportunity to show –off and why I should deprive myself off from this opportunity .one by one students came out and asked about the score and I realized my score was the highest. I thanked to that agent and realized how true were shiv khera’s those lines that” winner don’t do different things , they do things differently”. First time I was able to understand the true meaning of these line.