1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:17,900 Muralidharan Subramanian has sold instant coffee and milk powder in the hamlets of Bodhi 2 00:00:17,900 --> 00:00:22,680 and Theni in Tamil Nadu, Maggi Noodles on the streets of Hyderabad. 3 00:00:22,680 --> 00:00:28,220 He sold franchises in the US, chocolates and tomato paste in Africa. 4 00:00:28,220 --> 00:00:34,360 And now he is global sales head for Smart parking solutions for a US based company. 5 00:00:34,360 --> 00:00:40,960 Murali is the embodiment of the fluent, fast talking salesperson who sells with passion 6 00:00:40,960 --> 00:00:41,960 and belief. 7 00:00:41,960 --> 00:00:45,880 He loves criss-crossing cultures and learning new languages. 8 00:00:45,880 --> 00:00:50,120 And he told me he has worked in over 60-70 countries. 9 00:00:50,120 --> 00:00:57,800 This is episode 11 of My First Job, the podcast that covers engaging career journeys and every 10 00:00:57,800 --> 00:01:01,760 single one is full of twists, turns and insights. 11 00:01:01,760 --> 00:01:04,040 My name is Venu Gopal Nair. 12 00:01:04,040 --> 00:01:10,560 I am the host of this podcast and CEO of Ideascape Communications, an advertising agency into 13 00:01:10,560 --> 00:01:13,000 branding, creative and design. 14 00:01:13,000 --> 00:01:16,280 So settle in, sit back and enjoy the conversation. 15 00:01:16,280 --> 00:01:21,200 Hi Murali and I think I'll need to do hardly any talking on this episode. 16 00:01:21,200 --> 00:01:22,200 Hi. 17 00:01:22,200 --> 00:01:23,200 Hi. 18 00:01:23,200 --> 00:01:28,240 At the very outset, let me just tell you, all I'm doing here is to share my kind of 19 00:01:28,240 --> 00:01:30,880 experiences which might be different from others. 20 00:01:30,880 --> 00:01:31,880 Okay. 21 00:01:31,880 --> 00:01:35,280 You are the global sales head of Smart City Parking. 22 00:01:35,280 --> 00:01:40,200 See what we do is we provide parking solutions wherever they are needed. 23 00:01:40,200 --> 00:01:44,720 And since it is human being who drives all these vehicles and then haphazardly park, 24 00:01:44,720 --> 00:01:50,120 it becomes our expertise into play where we make things much more easier for either the 25 00:01:50,120 --> 00:01:53,520 passage of the vehicles or the parking of the vehicle. 26 00:01:53,520 --> 00:01:57,600 And my role is to make sure that I get the client support. 27 00:01:57,600 --> 00:02:00,880 We are specialized in customizing solutions. 28 00:02:00,880 --> 00:02:05,040 We come to you, we assess your needs, we sit across the table and we suggest these are 29 00:02:05,040 --> 00:02:06,040 all the things. 30 00:02:06,040 --> 00:02:09,520 Would you be interested in going for these kinds of solutions? 31 00:02:09,520 --> 00:02:11,760 I guess that's a lifetime of experience speaking. 32 00:02:11,760 --> 00:02:15,320 Why don't we go back to the early days? 33 00:02:15,320 --> 00:02:16,320 Everybody's a salesman. 34 00:02:16,320 --> 00:02:17,720 I firmly believe in this. 35 00:02:17,720 --> 00:02:22,560 You see, when I have to convince you to my point of view, the act of salesmanship is 36 00:02:22,560 --> 00:02:27,920 already bigger and it culminates only when I'm able to persuade you to take an action. 37 00:02:27,920 --> 00:02:30,280 And this I learned very early in my career. 38 00:02:30,280 --> 00:02:32,480 First year was just an extension of my life. 39 00:02:32,480 --> 00:02:37,000 When I started my first job, it was the company's called Nestle today, but those days it was 40 00:02:37,000 --> 00:02:38,000 food specialties. 41 00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:40,260 You see, I'm not from a big school. 42 00:02:40,260 --> 00:02:46,000 The criteria for getting into Nestle, I started off with the Oberoi School, the group of hotels. 43 00:02:46,000 --> 00:02:47,000 Okay. 44 00:02:47,000 --> 00:02:48,360 So it was a very, very brief stint. 45 00:02:48,360 --> 00:02:54,240 That is where F.J. Ryan, the erstwhile managing director was staying in one of the hotels 46 00:02:54,240 --> 00:02:57,920 and he saw me as one of the front office receptionists. 47 00:02:57,920 --> 00:03:04,800 That's how I got out from Oberoi to the Nestle and Nestle had to pay 2.6 lakh rupees in 1987 48 00:03:04,800 --> 00:03:06,040 to get me out of Oberoi. 49 00:03:06,040 --> 00:03:10,440 My job was to promote coffee powder, Maggie noodles. 50 00:03:10,440 --> 00:03:15,120 I used to go to schools and institutions to sample noodles and then we used to go to corporate 51 00:03:15,120 --> 00:03:18,240 houses, prepare coffee and serve it to the employees there. 52 00:03:18,240 --> 00:03:23,000 I was very proud of doing the most menial thing in life. 53 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:24,000 It has to be ingrained. 54 00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:25,760 And I learned from my parents. 55 00:03:25,760 --> 00:03:31,360 My mom teaches music and I knew how hard she worked herself so that she could deliver better 56 00:03:31,360 --> 00:03:32,360 as a teacher. 57 00:03:32,360 --> 00:03:33,680 My father was a soldier. 58 00:03:33,680 --> 00:03:36,800 I knew how he used to be polishing his shoes. 59 00:03:36,800 --> 00:03:41,760 And these are all the things that I carried forward, which helped me groom myself and 60 00:03:41,760 --> 00:03:43,200 grow better as a human being. 61 00:03:43,200 --> 00:03:44,780 Coming back to the promotion story. 62 00:03:44,780 --> 00:03:49,880 So I used to be going to these pawn shops where I used to see these guys selling shampoos 63 00:03:49,880 --> 00:03:54,280 and I used to ask these pawns, why do you have a shampoo packet in your shop? 64 00:03:54,280 --> 00:03:58,080 Then I said, if you're having shampoo, if you're having cough syrup, you might as well 65 00:03:58,080 --> 00:03:59,200 have Maggie noodles. 66 00:03:59,200 --> 00:04:00,960 So it was a shock to him. 67 00:04:00,960 --> 00:04:03,440 But then I said, okay, why don't you just try? 68 00:04:03,440 --> 00:04:04,440 There's no harm in trying. 69 00:04:04,440 --> 00:04:07,120 And you know, I started off in Hyderabad. 70 00:04:07,120 --> 00:04:08,680 Maggie's color is very eye catching. 71 00:04:08,680 --> 00:04:12,080 In no time, the entire street was painted like Maggie. 72 00:04:12,080 --> 00:04:13,080 No merchandising team. 73 00:04:13,080 --> 00:04:17,800 I'm talking about pre, you know, infancy stages in terms of advertising and marketing 74 00:04:17,800 --> 00:04:18,800 in India. 75 00:04:18,800 --> 00:04:19,920 I'm talking about 1980s. 76 00:04:19,920 --> 00:04:23,320 So I just painted this entire stretch yellow and red. 77 00:04:23,320 --> 00:04:25,800 And it so happened that my managing director, F.J. 78 00:04:25,800 --> 00:04:31,280 Ryan was visiting this place and he saw both sides and he was like, my goodness, how are 79 00:04:31,280 --> 00:04:33,880 they sending Maggie in those small little outfits? 80 00:04:33,880 --> 00:04:39,200 He asked his manager to find out who the representative was who was handling this area. 81 00:04:39,200 --> 00:04:43,480 I won't name this representative, but then he thought there was something amiss. 82 00:04:43,480 --> 00:04:46,640 So immediately said that I'm not the one who's doing it. 83 00:04:46,640 --> 00:04:48,440 It's a new promoter who's been handling this area. 84 00:04:48,440 --> 00:04:50,480 So I think it is better you ask him. 85 00:04:50,480 --> 00:04:52,560 So they immediately asked me to come over to the hotel. 86 00:04:52,560 --> 00:04:56,760 You know, those days, if you're asked to come to the hotel, it was not a good sign. 87 00:04:56,760 --> 00:04:58,120 I had nothing to do. 88 00:04:58,120 --> 00:05:01,240 I went there and this guy said, are you the guy who plays those things? 89 00:05:01,240 --> 00:05:02,240 I said, yes, sir. 90 00:05:02,240 --> 00:05:03,240 He is okay. 91 00:05:03,240 --> 00:05:04,240 Come into the management. 92 00:05:04,240 --> 00:05:05,240 Finished. 93 00:05:05,240 --> 00:05:11,480 So you called into the management and then began your stint of working abroad for Nestle. 94 00:05:11,480 --> 00:05:17,160 From there, I was, I was again offered a bigger responsibility with the Cadbury chocolate. 95 00:05:17,160 --> 00:05:20,120 So I was handling the Middle East and the African continent. 96 00:05:20,120 --> 00:05:21,560 With Nestle, I was confined to India. 97 00:05:21,560 --> 00:05:24,160 Those days I was confined to the Malabar stretch to begin with. 98 00:05:24,160 --> 00:05:27,240 After Hyderabad, I went to Malabar stretch and after Malabar, they gave me the entire 99 00:05:27,240 --> 00:05:28,520 northeast of India. 100 00:05:28,520 --> 00:05:29,800 I was handling all the seven states. 101 00:05:29,800 --> 00:05:33,480 I have personally believed that the moment you feel that you're in a comfort zone, your 102 00:05:33,480 --> 00:05:35,920 learning ability starts to cease. 103 00:05:35,920 --> 00:05:42,040 The more adversity you face is when you get to learn more, you add resilience to yourself. 104 00:05:42,040 --> 00:05:48,400 I grew up with a mindset where nobody's a stranger, white, black, yellow, you spoke 105 00:05:48,400 --> 00:05:49,460 whatever language. 106 00:05:49,460 --> 00:05:54,400 I looked at it as another platform for learning more and growing more. 107 00:05:54,400 --> 00:05:59,480 When you go to the world with the mindset of nobody's a stranger, accomplishments becomes 108 00:05:59,480 --> 00:06:00,480 easier. 109 00:06:00,480 --> 00:06:05,920 Can you retrace one of the early markets where you were a complete stranger to the market, 110 00:06:05,920 --> 00:06:06,920 the language? 111 00:06:06,920 --> 00:06:12,000 I'll go back to the very early days and I was handling this in Bodhi and Thani, it's 112 00:06:12,000 --> 00:06:13,800 you know, in Tamil Nadu. 113 00:06:13,800 --> 00:06:18,160 There still is a culture of people waking up early in the morning and going for a cup 114 00:06:18,160 --> 00:06:19,840 of coffee to the coffee shop. 115 00:06:19,840 --> 00:06:24,640 They just go out there about four o'clock is the time the tea shop starts to open and 116 00:06:24,640 --> 00:06:27,800 you have all those devotional songs being played. 117 00:06:27,800 --> 00:06:30,440 This guy starts to heat his milk. 118 00:06:30,440 --> 00:06:34,600 People starts to walk in one, two, three and then he has to wait for the milkman to come 119 00:06:34,600 --> 00:06:36,480 and deliver the milk in the morning. 120 00:06:36,480 --> 00:06:41,840 So sometimes it is like the shop is already open and the milkman comes about five or 10 121 00:06:41,840 --> 00:06:42,840 minutes later. 122 00:06:42,840 --> 00:06:47,440 I was watching this and I had to sell milk powder and I had to sell coffee powder and 123 00:06:47,440 --> 00:06:52,360 now both of these are not doing fresh because they are used to fresh milk and they are used 124 00:06:52,360 --> 00:06:54,540 to freshly ground coffee powder. 125 00:06:54,540 --> 00:06:58,680 People had warned me, they said you're going to bang your head, Bodhi and Thani, forget 126 00:06:58,680 --> 00:06:59,680 it. 127 00:06:59,680 --> 00:07:00,680 I don't think so. 128 00:07:00,680 --> 00:07:04,360 I used to wake up three thirty in the morning dressed like this, you know, and used to carry 129 00:07:04,360 --> 00:07:05,360 my kids. 130 00:07:05,360 --> 00:07:09,680 By the time he opened the store, I was there with him and I used to watch him waiting for 131 00:07:09,680 --> 00:07:15,000 the milk and I used to tell him, listen, why don't you add this milk powder, make coffee 132 00:07:15,000 --> 00:07:16,840 with my powder, give it to them. 133 00:07:16,840 --> 00:07:17,840 I'm not charging you anything. 134 00:07:17,840 --> 00:07:22,240 And if these customers complain, you don't have to persist with my product. 135 00:07:22,240 --> 00:07:24,320 You have nothing to lose by experimenting. 136 00:07:24,320 --> 00:07:26,000 I used to go, I used to mix everything. 137 00:07:26,000 --> 00:07:29,960 I used to make it for him and then he used to go give it to these customers. 138 00:07:29,960 --> 00:07:34,000 And I was dressed like this and I used to go and ask them, how is the coffee? 139 00:07:34,000 --> 00:07:35,000 Do you like it? 140 00:07:35,000 --> 00:07:37,000 Is it different from what you have? 141 00:07:37,000 --> 00:07:41,320 When you pay attention, you already won your customer. 142 00:07:41,320 --> 00:07:44,280 Fact of the matter is, I've shown them the attention that they deserve. 143 00:07:44,280 --> 00:07:45,280 So and that was genuine. 144 00:07:45,280 --> 00:07:46,840 That was not salesmanship. 145 00:07:46,840 --> 00:07:49,520 You have this window for opportunity before the freshman arrives. 146 00:07:49,520 --> 00:07:50,520 I didn't want to lose that. 147 00:07:50,520 --> 00:07:55,320 There were about twenty or five shops and I converted twenty four of them. 148 00:07:55,320 --> 00:08:01,880 I left one as a mark of respect for my manager because he said, Murali, an original filter 149 00:08:01,880 --> 00:08:02,880 coffee. 150 00:08:02,880 --> 00:08:04,840 Wonderful story. 151 00:08:04,840 --> 00:08:07,000 This is within the Indian culture. 152 00:08:07,000 --> 00:08:11,440 Why don't you narrate something that happened on one of your markets abroad? 153 00:08:11,440 --> 00:08:13,680 I will tell you something about Africa. 154 00:08:13,680 --> 00:08:18,920 You see in Africa, most of these retail markets are dominated by Lebanese. 155 00:08:18,920 --> 00:08:21,600 Luckily for me, I pass like a Lebanese. 156 00:08:21,600 --> 00:08:23,400 I spoke Arabic also. 157 00:08:23,400 --> 00:08:27,560 In spite of the fact that they have a lot of fresh tomatoes available, their way of 158 00:08:27,560 --> 00:08:31,280 food culture, predominant use tomato paste. 159 00:08:31,280 --> 00:08:38,280 And they all have plenty of local locally made paste, which have got no consistency. 160 00:08:38,280 --> 00:08:41,920 The African market is very, very unorganized. 161 00:08:41,920 --> 00:08:43,960 And they will not buy. 162 00:08:43,960 --> 00:08:48,420 I was promoting a different brand, which was called Gino, which comes from the House 163 00:08:48,420 --> 00:08:52,280 of Watanmul, which is owned by a Sindhi out of Hong Kong. 164 00:08:52,280 --> 00:08:53,600 So he met me in Los Angeles. 165 00:08:53,600 --> 00:08:57,000 He says, Murali, yeah, so I took it. 166 00:08:57,000 --> 00:08:59,420 And it was a big, big challenge. 167 00:08:59,420 --> 00:09:03,480 Nobody would want to buy because it was definitely slightly more expensive. 168 00:09:03,480 --> 00:09:06,040 But then the quality was beyond compare. 169 00:09:06,040 --> 00:09:07,840 But nobody want to believe you. 170 00:09:07,840 --> 00:09:14,160 What I did was I made a local guy, a friend who used to be making local food. 171 00:09:14,160 --> 00:09:19,880 So we made a makeshift stall making tilapia, banku and tilapia. 172 00:09:19,880 --> 00:09:25,920 It's a dish which people usually go and eat and tilapia with a lot of tomato curry. 173 00:09:25,920 --> 00:09:27,380 And this is their favorite food. 174 00:09:27,380 --> 00:09:30,860 What we did was, and this my company did not spend. 175 00:09:30,860 --> 00:09:32,640 This was my personal initiative. 176 00:09:32,640 --> 00:09:34,200 It was a risk I was willing to take. 177 00:09:34,200 --> 00:09:38,560 These markets are open between five o'clock in the morning till about 11 o'clock in the 178 00:09:38,560 --> 00:09:39,560 morning. 179 00:09:39,560 --> 00:09:40,560 That's all. 180 00:09:40,560 --> 00:09:41,560 After that, everything disperses. 181 00:09:41,560 --> 00:09:42,560 Finished. 182 00:09:42,560 --> 00:09:43,880 It's all waiting in the middle of the road. 183 00:09:43,880 --> 00:09:47,600 I hired these guys, local guys who made banku and tilapia. 184 00:09:47,600 --> 00:09:52,440 And then they serve these main, main shopkeepers for free using this tomato mix. 185 00:09:52,440 --> 00:09:57,720 I made special aprons for these guys to be branding the tomato paste and the stall was 186 00:09:57,720 --> 00:09:58,720 branded. 187 00:09:58,720 --> 00:10:00,360 I engaged in this exercise for three weeks. 188 00:10:00,360 --> 00:10:03,000 I incurred an expense of $3,000. 189 00:10:03,000 --> 00:10:04,000 That's all. 190 00:10:04,000 --> 00:10:05,440 Today we have a factory. 191 00:10:05,440 --> 00:10:08,720 I go visit there after 15 years and they call me Mr. Gino. 192 00:10:08,720 --> 00:10:09,800 After 15 years. 193 00:10:09,800 --> 00:10:14,680 Are you formulating the strategy after seeing what is happening out there? 194 00:10:14,680 --> 00:10:17,720 No, no, no, it's not something to try and see. 195 00:10:17,720 --> 00:10:24,440 Most often than not, I firmly believe in intention and actions which are in synchronicity. 196 00:10:24,440 --> 00:10:30,440 If your intentions and actions match, 99.9% of the research will be favorable. 197 00:10:30,440 --> 00:10:35,200 And that is what I'm here to share as a person who's experienced it firsthand. 198 00:10:35,200 --> 00:10:38,240 You still have to learn the language to communicate, right? 199 00:10:38,240 --> 00:10:41,720 I am a very shameless person when it comes to learning. 200 00:10:41,720 --> 00:10:43,920 I am willing to make mistakes. 201 00:10:43,920 --> 00:10:47,080 People have been laughing at me and I have never felt offended. 202 00:10:47,080 --> 00:10:48,560 It's a part of your learning process. 203 00:10:48,560 --> 00:10:54,200 I mean, I still remember, but I used to transport myself back into my student days. 204 00:10:54,200 --> 00:10:57,520 I'm sure I would have made a hundred thousand mistakes. 205 00:10:57,520 --> 00:10:59,880 My teacher would definitely not have laughed at me. 206 00:10:59,880 --> 00:11:03,760 If she had laughed at me or he had laughed at me, I would never have learned anything. 207 00:11:03,760 --> 00:11:08,560 Anybody who's sincere as a friend, they will take one step further, come to you and correct 208 00:11:08,560 --> 00:11:09,560 you. 209 00:11:09,560 --> 00:11:10,560 They will say, this is how you say it. 210 00:11:10,560 --> 00:11:11,920 You need to have a sense of belonging. 211 00:11:11,920 --> 00:11:13,880 You go to Africa, you become an African. 212 00:11:13,880 --> 00:11:16,720 You don't go as if you're an Indian or an American. 213 00:11:16,720 --> 00:11:18,000 You start thinking with them. 214 00:11:18,000 --> 00:11:22,240 The moment you've endeared with them, the moment you become one among them, their trust 215 00:11:22,240 --> 00:11:27,400 in you multiplies manifold and you buy trust with sincerity and with honesty. 216 00:11:27,400 --> 00:11:29,360 And there is no substitute here. 217 00:11:29,360 --> 00:11:35,080 So how does this thing of working in over 70 countries, the first time you said it, 218 00:11:35,080 --> 00:11:41,160 I always looked at it and said, how can a person work across 70 countries in over 30 219 00:11:41,160 --> 00:11:42,160 years? 220 00:11:42,160 --> 00:11:43,160 I'll make it very easy. 221 00:11:43,160 --> 00:11:47,520 Africa as a continent, this alone has got over 45 to 50 countries. 222 00:11:47,520 --> 00:11:49,120 So without even going too far. 223 00:11:49,120 --> 00:11:52,880 And then not only have I flown around, I've also driven. 224 00:11:52,880 --> 00:11:57,160 I've driven all the way from Morocco, Chennai, all the way up to Ivory. 225 00:11:57,160 --> 00:12:01,040 And I've driven from Ghana, both eastwards and westwards. 226 00:12:01,040 --> 00:12:06,920 Eastwards I've driven to Otogo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, and up to Ecuador. 227 00:12:06,920 --> 00:12:10,600 I've already counted a dozen countries here. 228 00:12:10,600 --> 00:12:13,680 When I fly to the East Coast, I go to Tanzania, for example. 229 00:12:13,680 --> 00:12:18,520 You already started Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, Botswana. 230 00:12:18,520 --> 00:12:19,600 They're all like neighboring countries. 231 00:12:19,600 --> 00:12:24,360 If you're based in Zambia, you're already covering about 15 countries. 232 00:12:24,360 --> 00:12:28,120 Most Indians, they go work for an organization. 233 00:12:28,120 --> 00:12:29,120 They're based there. 234 00:12:29,120 --> 00:12:30,600 And that's what they do. 235 00:12:30,600 --> 00:12:38,240 So their travel responsibilities are limited as compared to that of mine, because I was 236 00:12:38,240 --> 00:12:42,440 always representing a bigger organization and a totally different market. 237 00:12:42,440 --> 00:12:44,800 So I was not essentially meant for one country. 238 00:12:44,800 --> 00:12:46,320 Or that is probably what people did. 239 00:12:46,320 --> 00:12:50,760 Always relished the prospect of being thrown into a totally different place. 240 00:12:50,760 --> 00:12:53,160 How do you go to a place and become one with that place? 241 00:12:53,160 --> 00:12:55,280 So does it come intuitively? 242 00:12:55,280 --> 00:13:00,280 Most of it, I would say, is an attribute that you develop right from your formative stages 243 00:13:00,280 --> 00:13:02,240 of your childhood. 244 00:13:02,240 --> 00:13:08,560 And I think that itself shows the kind of sense of assimilation that comes along with 245 00:13:08,560 --> 00:13:09,560 it. 246 00:13:09,560 --> 00:13:11,000 I mean, language was not different. 247 00:13:11,000 --> 00:13:14,240 I used to listen to people like I was a maniac. 248 00:13:14,240 --> 00:13:19,200 I used to see how their tongue twirled inside their mouth, what kind of sound came out. 249 00:13:19,200 --> 00:13:20,200 People would think that I'm crazy. 250 00:13:20,200 --> 00:13:22,600 But then, yes, I used to pay that kind of attention. 251 00:13:22,600 --> 00:13:23,600 And I ended up learning. 252 00:13:23,600 --> 00:13:26,680 There is no use of anything that you learn if you can't practice it. 253 00:13:26,680 --> 00:13:29,760 And there is nothing that you can preach if you haven't practiced it yourself. 254 00:13:29,760 --> 00:13:31,840 So let me go in the other direction. 255 00:13:31,840 --> 00:13:34,280 What was the market which was very hard to crack? 256 00:13:34,280 --> 00:13:35,280 United States. 257 00:13:35,280 --> 00:13:36,280 It looks so easy. 258 00:13:36,280 --> 00:13:40,160 I'm telling you, it's very hard to crack. 259 00:13:40,160 --> 00:13:42,760 Because people don't want to interact. 260 00:13:42,760 --> 00:13:46,120 You have to devise means and strategies. 261 00:13:46,120 --> 00:13:49,680 You have to take a different route altogether to impress the Americans. 262 00:13:49,680 --> 00:13:54,720 Because their psyche, their approach, and their level of acceptance is slightly different 263 00:13:54,720 --> 00:13:58,880 because consumerism is different from that of ours. 264 00:13:58,880 --> 00:14:03,520 Because of the fact that they've already been subject to developed kind of marketing for 265 00:14:03,520 --> 00:14:04,800 very long, unlike us. 266 00:14:04,800 --> 00:14:07,360 We grew up from the analog to the digital stage. 267 00:14:07,360 --> 00:14:08,680 And they've already been in the digital. 268 00:14:08,680 --> 00:14:09,920 So it was difficult. 269 00:14:09,920 --> 00:14:15,820 And then there again, America offers a vast bouquet for you to choose from. 270 00:14:15,820 --> 00:14:18,120 You have pockets of people in the United States. 271 00:14:18,120 --> 00:14:22,040 If you speak of hospitality industry, if you speak of small little motels, it's a strong 272 00:14:22,040 --> 00:14:23,040 hold of pateis. 273 00:14:23,040 --> 00:14:25,400 Because I was handling the subway sandwiches. 274 00:14:25,400 --> 00:14:27,760 And I was the vice president franchise. 275 00:14:27,760 --> 00:14:35,720 My job was to make, develop a franchise to scout, locate, develop, and then train the 276 00:14:35,720 --> 00:14:37,000 franchise outreach. 277 00:14:37,000 --> 00:14:41,440 I developed 126 franchise within a calendar, which was then a record. 278 00:14:41,440 --> 00:14:43,320 Invariably, most of them were good news. 279 00:14:43,320 --> 00:14:50,520 So it became easier only after I identified the set of people who would be easy to deal 280 00:14:50,520 --> 00:14:54,000 with, convince them and persuade them to take up this franchise. 281 00:14:54,000 --> 00:14:55,640 That was how I was successful. 282 00:14:55,640 --> 00:14:58,360 So there are always huge markets in the cracks, right? 283 00:14:58,360 --> 00:14:59,360 Absolutely. 284 00:14:59,360 --> 00:15:03,360 And then I very firmly believe that if I'm not able to get this, I will try and get some. 285 00:15:03,360 --> 00:15:05,080 There's no reason for me to be disappointed. 286 00:15:05,080 --> 00:15:09,240 Like we've been on this right from the beginning, that your intentions have to be right and 287 00:15:09,240 --> 00:15:11,720 your actions have to follow up whatever you say. 288 00:15:11,720 --> 00:15:13,600 So that is where it all begins. 289 00:15:13,600 --> 00:15:17,000 Very rightly, we are creatures of comfort and convenience. 290 00:15:17,000 --> 00:15:21,360 We might think that this is what I want, but then if the situation is not in your favor, 291 00:15:21,360 --> 00:15:23,120 you would choose whatever is available. 292 00:15:23,120 --> 00:15:28,080 The reason I could convince and persuade them was because I went there earlier than their 293 00:15:28,080 --> 00:15:29,520 mail command would arrive. 294 00:15:29,520 --> 00:15:31,800 That was the thing I had in mind. 295 00:15:31,800 --> 00:15:32,800 Yes, that was the key. 296 00:15:32,800 --> 00:15:34,760 Did I practice anything unethical? 297 00:15:34,760 --> 00:15:36,760 I never did practice anything unethical. 298 00:15:36,760 --> 00:15:37,760 I never pried anybody. 299 00:15:37,760 --> 00:15:38,760 I never lied to anybody. 300 00:15:38,760 --> 00:15:39,760 I never said this is the best coffee. 301 00:15:39,760 --> 00:15:40,760 Never. 302 00:15:40,760 --> 00:15:41,760 I didn't say it. 303 00:15:41,760 --> 00:15:44,080 So I would never dwell on something called the best. 304 00:15:44,080 --> 00:15:45,080 No. 305 00:15:45,080 --> 00:15:50,320 The only catch here when I speak of body and theny was the fact that I made this guy open 306 00:15:50,320 --> 00:15:51,320 and sore half an hour. 307 00:15:51,320 --> 00:15:53,320 This is the only thing which I do. 308 00:15:53,320 --> 00:15:54,600 When he sees me, he has to wake up. 309 00:15:54,600 --> 00:15:57,760 I used to tell him stories, engage in conversations. 310 00:15:57,760 --> 00:15:59,240 Believe me, it always works. 311 00:15:59,240 --> 00:16:03,240 None of these were taught to me by the business course. 312 00:16:03,240 --> 00:16:07,000 Probably learned something new, but then everything I got to do there was to accentuate which 313 00:16:07,000 --> 00:16:08,000 I only knew. 314 00:16:08,000 --> 00:16:13,480 So somewhere I think right through you found that there was a measure of similarity between 315 00:16:13,480 --> 00:16:19,400 the developed markets, the not so developed markets and the way you say it, because I've 316 00:16:19,400 --> 00:16:25,560 always had this feeling that when you go into a new culture, a new country, it's hard to 317 00:16:25,560 --> 00:16:27,160 adjust and adapt. 318 00:16:27,160 --> 00:16:29,280 I will ask you this small little question. 319 00:16:29,280 --> 00:16:32,720 You see, it will be a trigger point for people to start thinking. 320 00:16:32,720 --> 00:16:38,200 See when it comes to education, when it comes to acquiring an added letter, academic credential, 321 00:16:38,200 --> 00:16:39,760 we are quite open. 322 00:16:39,760 --> 00:16:42,120 We don't find those things very strange. 323 00:16:42,120 --> 00:16:45,080 But when we speak of going to a different country, we want to look at it as a strange 324 00:16:45,080 --> 00:16:46,080 thing. 325 00:16:46,080 --> 00:16:47,080 There is nothing strange in this world. 326 00:16:47,080 --> 00:16:48,560 Believe me, there is absolutely nothing. 327 00:16:48,560 --> 00:16:51,240 It is only the things that we have not seen. 328 00:16:51,240 --> 00:16:55,940 If you're open minded, believe me, there is nothing which is going to be strange. 329 00:16:55,940 --> 00:17:02,520 You will start learning things much more easily when you have this desire to assimilate. 330 00:17:02,520 --> 00:17:03,520 What am I going to do? 331 00:17:03,520 --> 00:17:04,520 I'm going to Kerala. 332 00:17:04,520 --> 00:17:05,520 I don't speak Malayalam. 333 00:17:05,520 --> 00:17:06,520 What am I going to do? 334 00:17:06,520 --> 00:17:08,280 If I go with this mindset, believe me, you're going to have problems. 335 00:17:08,280 --> 00:17:09,280 So I went to Kerala. 336 00:17:09,280 --> 00:17:12,880 Of course, I mean, I did speak good Malayalam. 337 00:17:12,880 --> 00:17:16,480 But then even if I didn't, for me, it was no big deal. 338 00:17:16,480 --> 00:17:17,480 I went to Assam. 339 00:17:17,480 --> 00:17:18,480 I went to Manipur. 340 00:17:18,480 --> 00:17:20,800 Believe me, I didn't speak one word of Malayalam. 341 00:17:20,800 --> 00:17:21,800 How long does it take? 342 00:17:21,800 --> 00:17:22,800 Two days, three days? 343 00:17:22,800 --> 00:17:24,680 At least you will be able to say thank you in their language. 344 00:17:24,680 --> 00:17:25,680 Start off with that. 345 00:17:25,680 --> 00:17:30,920 There's a huge lesson in what you just said for all of us, especially within our comfort 346 00:17:30,920 --> 00:17:31,920 zones, Murali. 347 00:17:31,920 --> 00:17:39,440 And I think like you have so amply demonstrated today, our comfort zones are restrictive. 348 00:17:39,440 --> 00:17:44,360 Maybe the sad part is a lot of us don't really extend ourselves beyond. 349 00:17:44,360 --> 00:17:49,440 The fun part is all our fables, all our mythological stories have all taught us the same thing 350 00:17:49,440 --> 00:17:50,440 which I'm doing. 351 00:17:50,440 --> 00:17:54,840 In our stories, we want people to be heroes, but we personally don't want to venture. 352 00:17:54,840 --> 00:17:57,600 That is something, that is the mindset. 353 00:17:57,600 --> 00:17:59,280 That's a lovely way to put it. 354 00:17:59,280 --> 00:18:03,680 In our stories, we want people to be heroes, but we don't want to emulate. 355 00:18:03,680 --> 00:18:06,680 It's also a learning at so many levels. 356 00:18:06,680 --> 00:18:11,800 People assume that sales is about pulling the wool above people's eyes, but you've 357 00:18:11,800 --> 00:18:12,800 just demonstrated. 358 00:18:12,800 --> 00:18:14,600 It's very, very far from. 359 00:18:14,600 --> 00:18:15,800 If you want to call it a profession. 360 00:18:15,800 --> 00:18:17,160 I don't call it a profession. 361 00:18:17,160 --> 00:18:19,320 I just call it an extension of your life. 362 00:18:19,320 --> 00:18:24,280 How did you manage to get the teams you were working with enthused? 363 00:18:24,280 --> 00:18:26,640 You were leading by example all the time? 364 00:18:26,640 --> 00:18:31,040 Once you're able to roll up your sleeves and then dirty yourself, people will follow. 365 00:18:31,040 --> 00:18:34,460 There is no substitute to demonstrative leadership. 366 00:18:34,460 --> 00:18:36,840 You can have no conviction. 367 00:18:36,840 --> 00:18:37,840 Exactly what you said. 368 00:18:37,840 --> 00:18:42,000 I really enjoyed the conversation and you walked with the cards you were dealt with. 369 00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:46,000 Thank you so much that it's erupted people somewhere on the right side. 370 00:18:46,000 --> 00:18:47,000 Thank you. 371 00:18:47,000 --> 00:18:48,000 Thank you so much. 372 00:18:48,000 --> 00:18:54,000 That was Murali Subramaniam talking about a career in sales that went across the world. 373 00:18:54,000 --> 00:18:56,480 Thank you for listening and we'll see you again next week. 374 00:18:56,480 --> 00:19:02,800 My first job, the podcast is a production from Ideascape Communications. 375 00:19:02,800 --> 00:19:09,680 Guest relations, promotions and creative is managed by Deepa Ravi with occasional support 376 00:19:09,680 --> 00:19:11,560 by Vindhupal Nair. 377 00:19:11,560 --> 00:19:29,520 Archiving and technical help is provided by LPS Jayachandran.