A salesman is a beggar in suit and a beggar, a salesman in tatters. That’s what finally marketing comes down to. I read an interesting piece (Beggars can be retailers) by Indrajit Hazra and enjoyed it thoroughly for its hilarity and the punch it packed. Indrajit feels that beggars, if they are properly dressed, could make great salesman. Well, no, because there talent lies in banking upon their ability to appeal to others’ ‘mercy’ and then selling it to the merciful himself. They don’t have the product, but they produce it right there – your mercy – and then sell it to you. You are their factory and they are the producers (and not the investors). They are actually selling your fears, your ambitions and your guilt back to you. They are the greatest salesmen in the world but if you make them don suits they would not as effective because frayed and torn clothes are their tools, without which they are nothing more than an ordinary ‘salesman’ who needs a product to sell. I am sure Indrajit understands this well.
First published on my WordPress Blog on December 11, 2007.
