Thread by @microMAF

Yesterday's adventure:

A neighbourhood couple came to visit. They mentioned how their 9-yr-old son was not doing well in studies. They were coming from the school where the teacher had recommended they take their child to see a psychiatrist.

They had with them results of a class test in which the young man had mostly written one word for each answer which made no sense.

I asked them if they noticed the child was stressed or uneasy about anything. That was not the case. Moreover, when at home the child answered the questions correctly.

I asked the parents if the child had any particular interests that occupied him.

Yes, says the mother, he is very interested in selling and barter trade!

The parents were deeply embarrassed that he even started earning cash from selling goods and bartering with his classmates.

Now I HAD to meet the kid.

I told the parents that if the kid had an interest in one thing, he could be very easily incentivized to study.

An appointment was made for later in the afternoon, and when the young entrepreneur arrived from school his mother brought him to me.

It was agreed earlier with the parents that I will try to diagnose and fix the problem with my high-handed methods and we shall study the results for any signs of success.

After introductions his mother went inside to talk to my mom and we sat down to talk at the dining table.

I came straight to business and told the kid that I love to sell stuff and I had heard that he also had an interest in buying and selling.

While he was still blinking his eyes joyously, I brought out the storykit and asked him if he could move some product for me on commission.

Before answering he carefully inspected the product. There was the storybook, the game and the soundcloud audio linked to the QR code.

He nodded and said he could sell it, sure, but not at the suggested retail price of PKR 300, but at PKR 200.

I made a big fuss. I told him I'm not lowering my printed price.

He would not budge and told me firmly that if he sold stuff at a price unaffordable for his classmates, they'd stop buying from him.

I suggested we take a break from negotiations and have some cookies.

I asked him how was business these days.

He became morose at the mention. Not good, he told me. The toys he used to sell and had demand among kids were no longer available in the market.

I quickly reassured him that I have an unending supply of storykits, what with my controlling means of production etc. That cheered him up a little and he shared his selling method with me.

First he takes a sample of the product to the school and shows it around without disclosing price.

Depending on the interest shown by the kids he sells it at a small or higher markup.

He also has a supplier. Another boy who brings him stuff to sell for him.

The non-availability of the desired toys has impacted this small trading outpost in the heart of Dull Education Central.

It was time to resume the negotiations.

I had to agree to his terms that the product be sold for PKR 200.

I told him that if he completes our corporate sales training module he will get a 25% commission, otherwise it will be a standard 10% commission rate on all sales. Would he like to enroll?

You know his answer.

A quick test was administered on the spot. He was asked to read from the story book at which he badly failed. I sent to his father's cellphone the soundcloud audio link to help him listen to the story and identify the words he had difficulty reading.

Then I explained the storykit game which he quickly understood. We played a round which he won.

The @StorykitProgram corporate training module which had to be invented on the fly prescribes that the salesperson be fully versed with the product.

Imperative that he/she be able to read the story from the book or explain a difficult word if a customer has problem reading it.

@StorykitProgram I asked him how long it will take him to be ready for the test. He asked for three days to prepare.

We have an appointment for 6 pm PST Friday when he will come to read the story. He has been given two storykit samples. He has to prepare both.

@StorykitProgram I will continue with the story on Friday but later (I have to visit a friend for lunch) I will write about the wild moments during our meeting, and my observations about the encounter.

@StorykitProgram Get ready for the update later today, folks. I just concluded my meeting with the young entrepreneur, who turned up at 6 as agreed.

And boy O boy do I have news for you!

@StorykitProgram The young man has problem reading but the text but it did not matter because he had memorised both stories and narrated them to me in his own words . 👏👏

There were a few hiccups (in sequence and pronunciation) which are perfectly normal in a first narration.

@StorykitProgram Our deal is solid. I gave him five storykits and as I have more stock lying at home and he lives across the street he can come and pick up more.

While memorising the stories, he had been devising a two-pronged marketing strategy which he shared with me.

It is a work of art.

@StorykitProgram Commerce is frowned upon in school, and this is the sports week and there is little time during the classes and after school to market the product.

But there is a free period and he will ask the teacher to read the story to the kids from the storykit book.

@StorykitProgram Instead of telling the story to the kids one potential client at a time, he will recruit the unsuspecting teacher to do the heavy pulling.

Meanwhile (prong 2) he will teach the game to a select company of kids to build interest in the other storykit component.

@StorykitProgram I asked him how long it took him to memorise the stories. According to him it took him a half hour to memorise each story. As the stories are 8-12 mins long that is a normal time.

He turned the discussion back to sales. He has set up a distribution network.

@StorykitProgram I heard for the first time about his younger sister who is lining up customers in HER class and wants a 50% commission from his share on all orders she brings him.

There's his cousin in another school who wants in on the enterprise.

And there's his 5-year old younger brother.

@StorykitProgram Excuse me, I said. I draw a line at hiring 5-year olds in sales support.

@StorykitProgram I am headed for dinner. The rest of the minutes shall be posted later.

@StorykitProgram So, after a brief discussion the young one was ejected from the enterprise, room made for the sister and the cousin, and his "direct delivery" method discussed

I told him it'd be best not to run into the law and do sales after school or by inviting kids to his home

No! he said.

@StorykitProgram The teachers never know that I am selling, he said.

How do you do it, I asked.

To demonstrate, he sat up straight in the chair with his hands laced behind the chair. I pass it behind me, he said. They take the stuff and put money in my hand which I stuff into my socks.

@StorykitProgram And how will you tell them the price, I asked, since time is so tight with sports week etc to allow peaceful congregations and haggling?

I'll tell them that next week I will be raising the price by PKR 50 so they should buy early, he replied.

@StorykitProgram And sometimes I use other methods too, he said. His face hardened as he said it and he looked away.

What are those? I asked

@StorykitProgram Sometimes, he began telling me, I have to use threats.

Hmmm! I said.What kind of threats?

I see kids eating in the classroom which is not allowed, and I make a note. At assessment time when kids gather in bathrooms and pass notes to help each other cheat, I note that too.

@StorykitProgram So, he continued, when there is stuff to sell I tell them to buy it nicely, or else!

I was ready to call out to my mother by this time.

@StorykitProgram I told him that a good salesperson never uses threats. His arguments are persuasive enough. And the storykit corporate sales training manual specifically forbids blackmailing classmates because of the weakness of their flesh.

@StorykitProgram He began telling me about some TV serial called Ehd-e Wafa in which he saw a girl cheating in exams. She had notes printed on the inside of her wrist, and also stuffed in her collar. He thought she did a very through job of cheating.

@StorykitProgram I asked him if he has thought about his future plans and the line of work that interests him

He told me he wants to be a writer, write with a quill pen made of pigeon feather, and stick it behind his ears. The problem is he does not know whether to use marker ink or regular ink

@StorykitProgram I asked him if he has written any books.

He has.

How many?

Many.

What are the stories?

They are copied from other story books and illustrated by his sister.

Does he have any I could purchase?

Not currently but he could write one if I am willing to buy.

I bloody am.

@StorykitProgram While we were discussing the staple binding issues in his books he asked, "What if the kids don't have PKR 200 to give me. Can I sell to neighbouring stores. I will tell them its a new product so they have to display it on the front counter."

@StorykitProgram I told him he had to check with his father about store visits but if liquidity was an issue with the classmates perhaps he could offer an installment plan to them. Purchase over 2 weeks at PKR 20 per day (Sat and Sunday are off).

(Note: The school fee is PKR 15,000 per month).

@StorykitProgram The suggestion seemed to bring back bad memories.

Once he had sold a toy priced at 10 rupees on installment plan to a boy.

Because he is honest himself he handed the toy to the customer at the payment of first instalment of PKR 5. He never saw the other 5.

@StorykitProgram Notwithstanding the foregoing, I told him it was something he must prepare for, and make a list of his classmates.

He already had the list. Of the 25 kids in his class (Grade 4), the 19 in Grade 5, and 23 in Grade 3 (which has the most demand for material goods)

@StorykitProgram I made an appointment to meet with the younger sister. I wanted to meet the younger brother, too. The mother said he is a BLAST and TOO MUCH and will be difficult to control. I told her to make sure that she brings him.

@StorykitProgram I will be posting the minutes of that meeting too. It will transpire in the next couple of days for I am in khi only until Sunday.

(To be continued)

@StorykitProgram Some tidbits from yesterdays meeting which I began documenting as there was a lot to remember.

While calculating commissions and discounts I asked him about his math skills. He mentioned a recent episode when he and his mother went to buy parathas which cost 20 each. They bought 7 and he quickly calculated and told her that the shop owed them 360 from 500 paid.

His mother had earlier told me that he knows the rates of different household items in different shops and could tell where a better bargain is available for a particular item.

I asked her about his friends. She told me that while he is very attached to his younger sister he does not have any friends. She has urged him to keep a diary. He was afraid that others will read it. She told him once his diary is full he could destroy it.

His sister's birthday is coming soon and he wants to buy her a gift. He is thinking of a colour pencil set (since she is an artist), or a doll, or a geometry box.

Despite his deep attachment to his sister he corrects her when she says smthg unreasonable: when she mentioned that they should shrink wrap the storykits so kids do not drop their contents while inspecting them, he told her they can't provide shrink-wrap in the PKR 200 price.

He mentioned that there's a CCTV camera IN HIS CLASSROOM which watches EVERYTHING that goes down.

I could not tell him I badly I wanted to be that camera.

His school has recently relocated from its old address as the owner died and the new owner wanted to sell the land. In the moving many teachers were changed.

But one particular teacher, let's call her Grumpy Miss A, survived the upheaval. She has been around for many years.

I asked him about the possible reasons for her grumpiness.

He thinks it's the many, many subjects she teaches. And while she drives a big car she has become increasingly impatient.

Just yesterday she made him stand out in different periods for misdemeanors such as not bringing the pencil, forgetting to do some assignment and something else.

Standing out of the classroom for so long made pudding of his feet, he told me (the word he used was *halva*)

But she also noted that he recently made good progress in his spellings assessment and gave him 8/8 in the assessment while previously he hovered between the scores of 6 and 7. She also commended him verbally on the good score which he noted with appreciation

A few things I have noted:

Our young hero is objective and fair-minded.

He is a good loser. Yesterday we played the card game included in storykit and I made the pairs faster than he did. Each time it happened he laughed and slapped his forehead.

Also, he is BIG on sacrifice!

Yesterday, when we were discussing sales commissions, I asked him what he thought of the demand for 50% commission on advance orders by his younger sister.

I reminded him that the 5-yr-old brother, who is waiting in the wings, might also demand a 50% commission tomorrow.

I asked him to consider if he could afford such high payments.

He said he will pay it happily because he can make sacrifices for his siblings.

And also because

"SHARING IS CARING!" (His exact words)

I had to applaud the sentiment. I told him that "Sharing is caring" sounded to me like a powerful philosophy.

I asked him where he came upon it; did he heard someone say it or read it somewhere.

I made it myself, he told me.

You don't say!

You better believe it, said he.

Another thing I learned: He likes to personalise his sales.

He has a small ink stamp which he wants to use.

I suggested that I could make him his own @StorykitProgram stamp with the logo crowning his name.

He liked that idea and got very excited.

@StorykitProgram I also offered to print some business cards for him but he pointed to the futility of that by reminding me that he does not have a cell phone.

@StorykitProgram Afterwards, when I sat down to process all these details (there are still a few more which I will write later), I remembered that just that day I had received a story about Mimi the Squirrel and Saleem the Lizard from @realNaeemAkram which I liked.

@StorykitProgram @realNaeemAkram How about I commission the younger sister who is an artist to illustrate the story and publish it while the young entrepreneur narrates the story in schools and rustles up sales?

@StorykitProgram @realNaeemAkram More thoughts later.