Talking of classrooms, the first time I walked into a lecture hall, I asked the motley group of 55 students an outrageous question.
“How many of you are interested in a career in marketing?”
The response was tremendous. More than half of them raised their hands. I was like
“OMG! My life is made. I am going to contribute so much to the society by shaping these managers”
Now why was that an outrageous question? You may ask. The next sequence will explain.
My second question was
“What in marketing are you looking to begin with?”
Swift came a flurry of replies.
“Advertising”
“Brand management”
“Marketing Research”
But where is sales? :-(
“How many in sales?” I retorted.
Blank…….
Then the eye opener!
“I hate sales sir!” “Sales is a thankless job!” “There is no creativity in sales!” “Sales??? No way”
I felt the floor sinking, the PoP roofing collapse on to me. Ten years of achievement and pride that came with it was quickly getting buried into oblivion.
But I quickly recouped myself to consciousness. Spent a couple of minutes to understand whom I am talking to!
This is a crowd who dream of the “Best environment to work”. Indicators: Cushy work stations, Best Notebooks to show off! Spend time with wacky colleagues about facebooks, twitters, and stuff. Work odd hours to talk to the westerners, mime, adapt and personify their lifestyles. Their interactions! Excel sheets, databases, Statistics, and may be for a lucky few the actual clients!
They “advise” MNCs on changing “strategies” based on clinical data exercises that depend on Ctrl C and Ctrl V to be followed by F5.
They can suggest how a pack of Heinz ketchup needs to be stacked in Wal –Marts but can’t decipher where a good pack of their groceries are available.
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