The Flute Vendor - Lessons from Mumbai Street

No classical Sales or Marketing theory has yet been propounded on this. It’s Indian, for India, found & made in India . Tune into the spirit of the Melody of the Flute

With passage of time, humans learn to adapt to circumstances and business situations. Something like this happened this morning!

I noticed a Flute Vendor walking on the street, playing a simple tune melodiously; yet one eye on prospective customers. He carried with him a pole showcasing flutes of different sizes and varieties clearly displaying his craftsmanship. I glanced at the man for, maybe, 5 seconds and kept walking. As if intuitive, his eyes looked back at me, responsively acknowledging as if to thank me for that quick ear I gave to his discerning melody as the rest of the public walked past!

He sharply turned and approached me and pitched his sales in chaste Hindi. He persuaded me to buy one of the instruments despite me not knowing how to play it. I explained my inability to play flute even as he began displaying his artistic touch to his flute with a sa..re..ga..ma..pa… In a split second he had my fingers on his flute. In the next 30 seconds he had enrolled me in his tutorials! He graciously explained how and why it is so easy to play the divine flute. He showed the delicate synthesis of blowing into the flute and the dexterity with which the fingers adopt to the tune produced.

Me: Impressed but not a willing buyer, yet!!

His sales pitch changed! This time he offered to teach me 4 songs of my choice if I buy one flute!!! As a guarantee of his marksmanship, he played one Bollywood devotional sangeet in his flute. Hmm…I was impressed with his artistic ability and acknowledged it with compliments but still refused to buy one myself, being a novice.

When the going gets tough, the Tough get going. And I was not the Tough one!

He revised his offer again. Continuing in chaste Hindi he said ‘Sir, I promise I’ll teach you 4 songs either at your home or through Wattsapp video at your convenience. You can pay me thereafter only if you are convinced you have learnt it. Either way the flute will be yours!

Wow! I felt I started understanding the essence of Sales pitch from an underprivileged class of Indian society. If only he the ₹s to fund his education! It took me a few seconds to ingest, digest, breathe in and understand if that’s what he truly meant! The offer was lucrative. I was convinced…or maybe…not yet.. so, declined. After all I still didn’t know how to play it. So, I convinced myself.

His next pitch broke my Heart. He said what appeals to an Indian emotion!. ‘Sir it’s been raining all day and I still haven’t sold one, yet. You can take the flute and pay me whatever you choose to. All the other offers still stand.

I was a human. An Indian human. I had seen this segment of the Indian business group, the unorganised diaspora, suffer inhumanly during the Lockdown. I decide to buy it.

And now the price? He quoted a price – HIGH. I knew it was unreasonable. He knew it was unreasonable. He knew I knew it was unreasonable. But what’s wrong in trying? He tried. I said NO. So, we renegotiated. He said ‘give me what you think is fair’. I gave him a price we both knew was fair, probably slightly more than fair. Deal closed.

Of course I never intended to learn flute from him despite the offer. It was a casual morning rendezvous that turned out to be glorious. I cherish the experience, the gradual turn of events and his teaching methodology by the roadside. He taught me what I had not learnt – Guts, spirit, communication, swearing by the product, loyalty, juxta positioning price + product + trust + confidence + emotions with no epochal shout outs of advertising.

It had all the elements from the syllabus of a B-school Sales Module:-

Approaching the customer, Intuitive selling, persuasive selling, effective communication,  product demonstration, product orientation, money back guarantee, pay as you please, on-line/off-line product usage training, use and pay, heartful selling, mindful selling, emotional selling, pricing, and pitching, sales closing…..