Lessons in sales from Rocket Singh

The movie is an excellent take on the way sales is done in India. It captures beautifully the changing dynamics of the market and therewith the rising expectations of the Indian consumers, more so in the business marketing context. The philosophy that business is not just about how much profit you make or about the revenue growth is largely being accepted across companies globally. It’s all about people now. The way customers and employees are dealt with will determine the long-term success of the firm. The major lessons, primarily from a sales strategy point of view have been outlined below:

1.Service is the key differentiator: Right from installation to maintenance and repair it all boils down to service. More so in the case of commoditized products and services like PCs and telecom respectively. There’s hardly much difference in the products sold by different companies in many categories. Hence the importance of service has increased manifold, even in an incentive-based (bribe) business market like India. Rocket Sales Corp (RSC) provided unprecedented levels of service and hence grew phenomenally.

2.Honesty pays: RSC never made any false promises to any of their customers. They did not bribe their way to get orders. It garnered great sales purely on the basis of good service and a strong commitment towards all their customers..

3.Partners not employees: At RSC, all the people were equal partners. Hence there was this sense of ownership in all the people working there. This strengthened the bond between the partners and the company as well as amongst themselves, which led to a 24*7 service culture in the firm. This was in sharp contrast to the bureaucratic and exploitative culture at AYS.

4.Proactive interpersonal skills: When RSC was launched, it was very difficult to bag orders from new customers with an absolutely zero track record. However, the protagonist who is very proactive utilizes his interpersonal skills really well to influence, persuade and convince the customers to buy PCs from RSC. He goes out of his way to allay any apprehensions in the minds of the customers when he gets ready to mortgage his scooter. Though it might appear ridiculous to many, this incident shows the commitment and desperation of a truly service-oriented startup. He also uses his interpersonal skills to resolve conflicts among the partners at RSC.

5.Risk-takers win: In sales or business for that matter, one must come out from his/her comfort zone and take calculated risks. They may not pay off always but they open new frontiers for the firm to cash in on in future. Every single employee must be empowered and encouraged to take such calculated risks to enhance bottom line and shareholder value.