Understanding people - The adidas way

“Welcome to adidas sir, how may I help you?” My first day as a management intern at adidas Bangalore office started very differently from what I expected. Growing up in a typical middle class Indian family, adidas was an aspirational brand. I still remember my first pair of sports shoes, Reebok, a brand that was almost synonymous with the Indian cricket team.  It’s funny how we associate brands with certain people or sports or even emotions. MRF was the only sticker I would put on my cricket bat because Sachin had it on his. It made me feel different, it made me feel empowered, it made me feel good about myself… today was one such day! This was real now; I was working with the brand.

An interesting aspect of an organisation is its induction process. Each mentor has his own way of guiding his mentee, of showing him the ropes. On my first day, I had a long discussion with my mentor, about everything but business. We talked about everything from my primary school to graduation; my journey from theatre to a voice over artist; from being an engineer to a salesman. I tend to get animated when I talk. I sensed he was reading me, trying to understand the difference between the projected self and the real me and I was okay with it. I was and have always been, all in!

He was an intern in a world renowned firm once, but it gave him nothing more than a brand name on his CV. My project, he said, would be tangible, measurable and mutually beneficial. “At the end of these two months you’ll know how the Indian retail sports industry works”.

The only way to understand sales is to understand the customer, and there’s no better way to do that than going into the field and getting your hands dirty. There, I had my induction and my first assignment. “A customer is walking into your door all by himself. All you need to do is understand him, his requirement, and instead of selling him a product, give him a solution. A happy customer will return and will ask for you specifically. He may even recommend you to his friends; also when you sell a solution, your units per transaction increase!” my retail associate buddy said and winked.

Every customer is a new story; every conversation is a new beginning, and every interaction teaches you more about the human psychology than you can possibly grasp out of Sigmund Freud books.

This Internship is turning out to be much more than just work. The most vital asset of any organisation is its people. I met some of the most wonderful people from varied backgrounds here, passionate about their work, passionate about their sports. All of whom have had much to contribute to me and to the growth of this place every day.

As far as my assignment was concerned, here is my certificate :)

Proud owners of Reebok Pump(centre), Retail associate-Amith (Right), and me

@Indira Nagar, Reebok Fit Hub store, Bangalore, India.

The battle is over, not the war. There is much to learn. They say a place takes its time to make you one of its own. adidas doesn’t seem to believe in such clichés. A customer walked in today and I effortlessly initiated a new story, “Welcome to adidas sir, how may I help you?”