The Marketing Heroes Without MBAs, Ingenious Mechanics, Scientists without PhDs

In train journeys in India it is
common place to find a variety of sellers entering at different stations to
sell anything from peanuts,lotteries, newspapers, books and snack foods and
beverages. Most of them are just sellers who sometimes shout at the top of their
voice or sometimes plead with travellers to buy their products.
However, there was one character
from Kochi (I forgot his name) who uses innovative techniques to sell products
in trains and I have been observing him for the past fifteen years or more. When I
saw him the first time he was selling a book that contained information about
how to submit various applications in government offices and various rules
applicable for citizen-friendly services. His way of presentation was indeed
superb without any power point presentation or slides-he was doing both
marketing and selling! He created a need in the mind of the traveller by
speaking about the difficulties of obtaining correct information from offices,
depending on agents in motor vehicle offices,losing money and mental peace
in the process. He talked about losing some important documents and not knowing how to apply
for a duplicate one. And he would wind up saying that only you can be blamed if
out of ignorance of rule or law you are not able to get things done in an office.
His book was priced at Rs 30 or 50, I don't remember, but I also purchased one
out of curiosity.
On another occasion he was marketing a CD containing about 1200 or more
application forms that can be downloaded and printed without the need to go to
different places to buy one. At the end of his presentation, he would easily
make people buy the CDs.
I tried to befriend him once but although he gave his card, he refused to be
part of a newspaper or magazine story. I presume it may be because publicity
may land him in trouble as sales on trains are not permitted by railways except
by authorised vendors who supply food and beverages.
On a recent journey, I found him
selling a herbal mosquito repellant. And this time he began by drawing inspiration
from our vedas and scriptures saying that our body is divided into three-
Sthoola sharira (gross body), karana sharira (causal body) and sookshma sharira
(astral body).And from there he started talking about the importance of a healthy and
positive living. And then the impact of chemicals that we use in daily life
especially for driving away the mosquitoes. Then he introduced his herbal
mosquito repellant which he claims to be multi-purpose which can be used to
cure itches, skin irritations and also keep away mosquitoesm flies away
from us.He said he was offering it at a discount of 50% on its maximum retail
price as introductory offer. Again after this very well structured and
convincing presentation, it was easy for him to sell his products and also
giving a leaflet on it free of cost.
Making Herbal Oil on the Street
You might have seen some people
selling peacock oil (Maiyilenna as it is called in Malayalam) with claims of
medicinal and healing properties. And imagine the number of peacocks they might
have killed in the forests. You will always find a huge crowd circling them and
lot of people do buy it spending a few hundred rupees for a small bottle. But
not all wayside herbal oil sellers sell such dubious products after killing
animals in the wild. Some of you may remember the sensation in the 1980's when
a small herb oil vendor in Thiruvananthapuram claimed to have found a cure for
baldness. And how people queued up in front of his house and shop to get a
small bottle that was sold for Rs 100 at that time. Later, it was taken over by
a multi-national company.
On a visit to buy fish at
Varapuzha market in Ernakulam a few months ago, we saw a few people on the road
side with two or three huge vessels making oil adding various herbs that you
may find in your backyard or in nurseries. The herbal preparation was made with
coconut oil base and an announcement was played over the sound system saying
that the oil was effective against a variety of ailments including sprain,
backpain, nimbness of hands, feet,dandruff and hairfall,skin ailments and
could even cure insomnia and headache. We bought a sample botte for Rs 100
since we were not sure if it was really effective. However, with in a few days,
my wife, a fitness trainer, said that it was really effective for back pain,
knee pain and muscular pain. All you need was to apply the oil either in the
affected area or all over the body and take bath after half an hour. The brain
behind the innovative product named 'Ishwaramooli' was M J Joseph Maliayakal, who belongs to
Angamaly. He also has a small sales counter opposite to Bishops House in Ernakulam.
Since my wife finds the product useful,we call him whenever we run out of his
oil and he is willing to deliver it home.
The Ingenious Mechanic
Automobile, electronic and
electrical product owners very well know that after a few years, the companies
that sold the products were not willing to repair your products as they have stopped production of the particular model or spares
were not available. Once we faced the same issue with a Samsung Washing
machine. The company service engineer said that the mother-board of the machine
was damaged and spares were no longer supplied by the company and even if it is
available it will cost almost half the price of a new washing machine. That was
when we talked about it to a neighbourhood electronic mechanic who said he can
get a used mother board in good condition from the grey market for Rs 1000 and
it can easily work for another five years. And indeed it worked! Once my Maruti
SX 4 sedan had a major problem- the oil container developed a crack when the
vehicle went over a stone lying on a forest road. The Authorised Maruti center
said the new tank may cost Rs 7000 or more and it was not available. Then I
took it a friendly local mechanic who said he could seal it with an industrial
adhesive for just Rs 500 and the one year down the line no leak was detected so
far!
Passion Matters More than Degrees
In the field of agriculture, you
may find several farmers who were well versed and innovative having come up with
new breeds or varieties that have revolutionised our economy. One such person I
met in my journalistic career was Mr Sebastian Joseph, a primary school dropout, who developed the
Njallani variety of cardamom that revolutionised the cultivation of this spice
in Idukki district. I was glad to have profiled his life story for a start-up
web portal and magazine on commodities which was taken up by national dailies
and portals. This was noticed by Jairam Ramesh, then Commerce Minister, who
recommended his case for a Life Time Achievement Award, the first such award
that was given by Spices Board to a farmer. (https://www.rediff.com/money/2007/may/30farm.htm).
The above examples prove that it is not just degrees or PhDs that matter when it comes to success in any field of activity. Passion, interest, curiosity and willingness to do hard work are what matters. But I often wonder if the characters in the story were really spotted by big companies or institutions and given proper training, how the nation would have gained from their talent and skills.
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