Month End!! – The end and the beginning

Month End – Something that just cannot be ignored in sales. For some its a day when their cumulative efforts over the month translate into a hassle free closure. But for most of them its that harassing time in the month when gaali’s fly left right and center. A time when people come up with reasons right from how Mango selling at Rs. 5 a Kg has affected sales and hence he cannot achieve his number to the fact that inflation is causing the dip.

When you actually soak up all the pressure and look at it from a higher plane – its just another month that has passed by and you await with much anticipation for the next month. With the new month comes renewed hope..a belief that I can come up with earth shattering strategies to beat competion..

In general, I have tended to look back at life and say  - If only I had done this better I would have been some place else etc. But, thanks to my profession, I have got rid of this bad habit. I am now forced to live in the present and see what best I can do with the resources at hand. Someone had once defined strategy as – “making best use of the available resources”.  Sales personifies this statement. I need to maximize my returns from the trade spends, plan how best can I leverage the brand activities and ensure that I give a clear direction to the team in terms of what needs to be done when and how we should drive the initiatives. all this within 26 working days broken into 4 weeks!! Time flies!!

You need to be an eternal optimist to survive and bring about shifts in sales.  I believe that even one day can create that much needed momentum. There is no real role for a pessimist in sales. A realist comes into play during the last week when you revise your initial plan ! As I wait for the new month the 1.5 Crore drop in plan seems insignificant cos I have bigger and better things to achieve.  There is no time to feel bad, I need to pick up the pieces, learn from my failed strategies and move ahead.. Cos the market is growing and its not going to wait for me to tag along!! This is similar to what we do in our lives. No wonder my job gives me the kicks. Am not just loving.. but am living it!

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