Corporate chronicles - Numbers & Blunders !

During early 2000, a friend of mine was an employee at one of India’s biggest Business conglomerates as Branch Manager @aka Burdened manager, handling team of 10 Customer Engineers @aka “kasht se marr” engineers , Call co-coordinator @aka “Khal” Coordinator ( khal- means tomorrow) and a couple of dealers @aka “partners in progress” (whose progress ?)  Every month he was supposed to attend Regional HO for something called “MCM” (Monthly Commitment Meetings @aka Monthly Cruel Meetings) along with other dozen of BM’S like him. It’s usually an overnight journey to most of BM’s and most of them just checked into co’s Guest house ,freshen-up and straight away get into DGM’s 10 x 10 chamber with one writing board with tables and columns with names of all BM’s.

           BM’s were supposed to write – Targets @ aka numbers committed or agreed during the previous month, in fact targets forced upon by DGM /RM’s and reluctantly agreed by BM’s ,what is achieved to date and how are shortfalls covered in future and funnel (customers ) for same. The RM @aka reporting manager was just a courier and toothless tiger and all the shots were called by DGM @aka Dirty and Greedy Manager. Breakfast, beverages, lunch and dinner were just arranged form nearby eatery and BM’s were going out just to relieve themselves for few minutes. Whatever food served, tasted so badly and most of BM’s would feel like eating some rubbish in light of continuous “Gyan” from DGM during marathon MCM’s. Forget criticizing, belittling and harassing BM’s in MCM’s was trademark of DGM. There were Chamchas, buckets, seasoned , smart ones, same state , same language BM’s all assorted types of BM’s, but none could dare speak –up or just ask any queries ( yes, just “ask” not “question”)

One may think, so what’s so special here? It’s quite the norm in any sales cycle of any product /solution company rt? Here’s why the story is a bit different!

           His company is famously /infamously known to have produced most or highest number of entrepreneurs out of its employees ! And has got best employers award from some agencies many a time. 

           The above BM’s weren’t typical sales guys, instead all are Technical ones with BE, Diploma and ITI’s who were trained for a month on outdated machines in some corner of the country and joined “officially” as Customer support engineers meant for maintaining and servicing machines sold and often “purchased” from customers or KEY customers !

          Normally, these Customer support guys or managers were supposed to generate revenue in the form of AMC - Annual Maintenance Contracts or service contracts for the machines sold and from sales of related consumables and spares to customers. More often, whether it merits purchase of consumables or not, it was forced or “orders were purchased” owing to company’s pressure!

        Now, bit abnormal to others but quite default in His Company was, to SELL new machines / products and solutions by these Customer Service Guys! DGM and RM’s very often were “motivating” him in saying “look young man! If you want to grow and come up in this Co, just get the Numbers! No matter how, beg, borrow or steal. Even if a certain product is not available, just buy from competitor or someone else and sell it! Kisiko bakara banao ya khud ek bano” 

           Needless to mention, service guys under pressure quickly turned into “aggressive” sales guys! Those few fortunate /Unfortunate whose numbers were met, quickly became Managers @aka damagers from service point of view and never touched their service tool kits with instruments like Multi-meters. Everyone was in “number game” and not focused on customer or product /solution! To meet their “numbers“ , it’s not rocket science to understand “Collaborations” @aka collusions between BM’s and Dealers and “customer meetings”Guest “entertainment”, “Compliments” etc.

       His company had typical sales team only for state capitals / metros reporting to one typical “Regional Sales Manager” per Zone or state, who ”selectively” shared /sent price list and PPT’s of New products and Solutions, which he gets from “All India / India Product Manager” or “country head” for multiple products with little or no knowledge of any one Product in depth and sits in HO in “National Capital Region”. 

           These typical sales guys used to visit remote BM’s locations on “smelling” Leads or enquires to “close” and often “collect” or purchase ‘orders’ by offering some discounts and “compliments” , “managing” whole credit for it, with peanuts and some English for BM’s i.e. Praising @aka motivating and not really acknowledging BM’s during Qtrly meetings! What sales guys had and remote BM’s did not have, was a Laptop with PPT and some Demo/n piece of product and few glossy oily and colorful catalogs which were very “precious” and privy to “select” few.

            His Company was so famously infamous that, any competition or industry that just needs Managers with  great “Entrepreneur” abilities would love to hire or poach for their company’s “Number” growth! as per “need”/requirement of “Hiring Manager” OR who knows the highest standards of “Ethics” in his company would simply reject the CV’s.

             His company’s Mantra was “be the first mover“ and just import anything new in market and sell it! “Foreign” companies were also initially believing in his Companies’ “ Nationwide sales and service network" and “competent after sales service team” and signing MOU's. BM’s were almost getting one new product during their MCM’s to sell! And these DGM, RM’s, RSM’s and Country head’s standard Dialog was “Look, No Company offers so much of “Freedom” to sell so many products to whomsoever you like. We have huge basket of products”! So each employee was a distributor or entrepreneur ! So far So good! Company whilst creating Entrepreneurs out of young engineers, ensured its Numbers grew and so did employees quickly climb the corporate ladder! Good for the company and its employees!

Now the effects or ill effects of all the above!! Customers were really “kasht se marr!” highly disappointed and Foreign Companies were quick to cancel MOU’s.

  His Company used to believe in a philosophy or notion that customer engineers are the closest with customers hence rapport and hence sales@aka numbers, “Optimal use of resources” and “cost cutting”, hence there was no exclusive or typical sales guys. Little did his company realize that Customer engineers never really had an opportunity to strike rapport with MAN in any companies (MAN- Money Authority and Need (for product) instead, were being pulled during “escalations” and notion of “Cost cutting” was actually butchering whatever little rapport BM’s have had painstakingly built with Customers and “Optimal” use of resources turned up as “dismal” use!

  Eventually His Company did make good profits and few of its employees were already “entrepreneurs /businessmen” quite literally, while still being on rolls of the company! But soon company died its natural death in just a decade’s time. And the death was only in the form of its one of its division’s closing down, but surviving under its “Flagship” division! Yes, His Company was also famously infamous for so many divisions almost one in every financial year ! And many a time, sales guys approached the same customers with the same product but with different quotations and embarrass themselves, company's division and its “Flagship” division as well!

               Well, that was the approach of His Company for numbers! And let me come back with subsequent article about his company’s great work & culture

Pls take care..