IT’S EASIER TO DISTRIBUTE FIVE CASES OF BHAGAVAD GITA’S THAN TO DISTRIBUTE ONLY FIVE BOOKS IN THE STREETS
AN AUDIO SEMINAR BY H.H. BHAKTI MADHURYA GOVINDA GOSWAMI
Who would believe that is easier to distribute five cases of Bhagavad Gitas (160) or even ten cases (320) than selling five or ten Gitas in the streets. Some prabhus work very hard all day long for ten hours and are happy if they can sell 32 Gitas. In this audio seminar, however, you will learn how to distribute cases of Gitas very easily. You will also learn professional techniques taught by the world’s top sales trainers, as to how to overcome objections, the biggest hurdle facing any sales person.
In a word, you are taking pledges for cases of Gitas with friends, family, work associates, businesses, fellow students, and any acquaintances you may know who you can approach for interest in distributing Gitas. You may say “I already did that years ago. Now I have exhausted all my resources for contacts.” This might be one of the first objections your mind creates before you even talk to anyone! Overcoming this and other objections will be discussed below.
The first point is “the power of positive thinking.” A famous theologian by the name of Dr. Norman Vincent Peale wrote a book in 1952 entitled “The Power of Positive Thinking.” It is good reading even for devotees, for the man was a genuine theist—not a Mayavadi or covered atheist. This book is so famous it is still studied all over the world as a treatise on how to be successful through positive thinking. You can match this with Srila Prabhupad’s statement, “Impossible is a word in a fools dictionary”; or the U.S. Army slogan, “Be all you can be.” So success of any kind begins with the right attitude. If a book distributor approaches anyone with a presumption, “oh, they’ll never take a book,” then, since this is the possibility you created, maybe they won’t; or conversely, perhaps you will be pleasantly surprised and they will take a book happily! “Never say never!” So attitude and depending on Krishna is everything. So many of the world’s top ISKCON book distributors had the experience of “bad days” when they would stop many people who would curtly say “not interested!” After many hours of this, the distributor might get somewhat discouraged and pray, “Oh Krishna, please send me just one sincere soul”. Not long after, the distributor would stop someone who not only expressed an interest in the book, but gave a hundred dollar (now it would be $200) donation!
That’s all very fine, but where does success in sales actually begin, next to attitude?
The answer is the all important phrase, “building value.” This is taught by professional sales trainers. For example, a real estate sales person might say to their client, “actually, this house is worth on the market two million dollars, but since you are my special client, I can offer it to you for a limited time only for only $800,000 which is not available to the general public! This is called “building value”, and the “take away close,” for you are stating the offer will end soon. This “close,” or technique for closing a sale, is used daily in television advertising for building value. Building value, then, is essential in selling Srila Prabhupad’s books also. In the seminar, I describe a dramatized scenario in which a very sinful man is saved from hell simply by seeing one of Srila Prabhupad’s books for only a moment! This anecdote can be told to people to enthuse them of the value of Prabhupad’s books. This works well for Indians who already believe in Yamaraj, judgment, etc, but many westerners also believe in some kind of judgment, or at least bad karma or varieties of inauspiciousness, or varieties of bad luck that one may otherwise have to encounter.
Some people will object by saying, “I already have Bhagavad Gita.” Many devotees might then more or less wilt, saying, “Oh, o.k. I thought I would just run it by you anyways,” and they might limp away like a sad puppy thinking, “Well, at least I tried.” But is that the only answer? Not at all! You then say, “You already have the Gita? That’s great! This means you truly know the value of the Gita! Wouldn’t it (a power phrase used in professional sales) be wonderful to share that value with others?” What are they supposed to say? “No, it wouldn’t,” but that wouldn’t look good, would it? Certainly not. People are controlled by “looking good” and “looking bad,” so from being confident that they have stopped you cold by saying they already have the book, they are now disarmed because you weren’t supposed to say “that’s great.” You were supposed to give up and they would “win.” So you have started overcoming their objection with THE POWER OF POSITIVE THINKING—suddenly transforming an unfavorable response into a favorable situation where you are back in control.
SELLING CASES OF BOOKS EASIER THAN SELLING A FEW IN THE STREETS? HOW?
But what about selling cases of books as easier than selling only one or three on the streets? Isn’t that a “pipe dream”—a mere wishful thinking fantasy? The answer is in selling cases of books in people’s homes, clubs, social gatherings, etc, by taking pledges at a Bhakta vriksa groups, as well as other such gatherings, or to individuals who are a little favorable to Krishna consciousness. You can be ready to answer any objections they may have. When you say “since you are already expressing your appreciation for Bhagavad Gita, can I put you down as pledging (pledging is the key word. You may not always be collecting cash or checks on the spot) for five cases?” “ Five cases of books? You’ve got to be joking!” they say in dismay. You then say, “Have you considered sharing this wealth of knowledge with others?” In India this is called “shastra dan,” or the auspicious giving away of sacred books, especially at this time of year surrounding “Gita Jayanti,” or the advent day of Bhagavad Gita in December. When they object—“five cases of Gita’s? Get real! What would I ever do with them?” You reply, “Give them to friends, relatives, work associates, etc.” They may say “I gave Gita to those people years ago!” undaunted, you reply “That’s great!” Again, you weren’t supposed to say that in their script. “But all their friends, family etc don’t have Gita. They can give it to them!” Some will actually pledge the five cases on the spot! Don’t think it’s impossible! For those who object, you then say, “I understand. I’ll put you down for four cases.” If they won’t take so many cases, keep counting down and try to get them to commit. If they still won’t pledge, then say, “O.k, one case (32 Gitas). By this time, they will be relieved that you have reduced the number in your demand! “One case, Anil” (or john, or whoever you are talking to). “I know you can handle that!” You say this smiling, with full confidence. Feeling they’re getting off easy, they may take a case of Gitas. That’s 32 books in half an hour that you might have sweated all day long on the streets to sell with great endeavor. “Dream on, you might say. This is not realistic. It can’t be done, or at least I can’t do it.” Before you reach this faulty presumption, please consider that in one evening I took pledges for 30 cases of books in one hour at a Bhakta Vriksa group! That’s 960 books in one hour! This is a true story. Not bad for starters, and the best news is that you can do it also. After all, even five cases in an evening (160 books) is a great victory! It’s very doable. How long would it take you to match that in the streets? You can also enlist the participation of so many Bhakta Vriksa members, friends, etc in getting sponsors for cases to be distributed to institutions. Many people who won’t give a penny for Krishna will happily sponsor this type of charity, because charity to schools, orphanages, etc, is within their value structure.
THE CLINCHER (THE FINAL INFORMATION NEEDED TO CLOSE SO MANY SALES OF CASES OF BOOKS):
The final word on how to convince anyone to sponsor so many cases of books is to supply them with a venue as to how they can distribute the books or cause others to distribute. They can sponsor (the key word) for hospitals, schools, colleges, libraries, jails, orphanages, etc. Many such institutions are very grateful to get the books, especially in India.
BUT WHAT ABOUT JAILS? ARE PRISONERS REALLY GOING TO BE INTERESTED IN GITA’S?
Actually, ISKCON has a long, distinguished history of jail ministries all over the world. It is therefore a fact that prisoners are very good “customers.” Please hear the following true story: Some years ago I was invited to go to a jail program in Mumbai during Gita Jayanti month. I wasn’t enthusiastic. My mind painted a picture of hands reaching through bars to get the books and maybe some prasad. Since I was asked so nicely, however, I agreed to go. I was massively shocked to see the actual situation. The devotees had set up a pandal stage in the jail plaza. There were many cases of Gitas on the stage because the thoughtful devotees had also brought Gitas in Hindi, Parsi, Tamil, Islamic, and other languages. There were about 150 prisoners in an assembly there. The devotees held kirtan. There were also Muslims and Christians there who were stiff as steel—“Why am I being forced to attend this Hindu program?” After about an hour of kirtan, even the Muslims and Christians were swaying and clapping to the beat and some were even chanting! The whole aura of the prisoners went from dark fog to light just from the power of the Holy Name! This is the future of our movement!
The head jailer, the mayor of Mumbai, as well as the Sheriff of Mumbai, the chief police officer for the entire city, all spoke, taking up the theme, “This is the greatest of all books” (the same theme brought forward by India’s prime minister, Mr. Modi, when he speaks to heads of state and gives them Bhagavad Gita, then declaring, “This is the greatest gift I could possibly give you!)” The jail program VIP’s added, “If you take this book, you will never be back to this jail again!” In the mean time, the media cameras rolled and the Bhagavad Gita was literally in the spotlight! After this, the Gita distribution began to long queues of prisoners eager to get the books! Soon, however, it became clear that the devotees had not brought enough books! As the stack of books on the stage became less and less, the prisoners became restless, and some even began to fight over getting the Gita! The guards had to chill them down. In this way, we see that jails are a great venue for Gita distribution.
Students are alsoeager to get the books. Once I was asked to give a pep rally for Bhagavad Gitas at a Delhi high school. A huge advantage in India is that a school principal or an educational institution deans will often happily call a school assembly for promotion of Gita. We have distributed thousands of Gitas this way, and the best news is that it is a “turn over” market because the students are always changing. In the case of my high school engagement, I was selling the Gitas, not giving them away for free. I used a secular approach, knowing that they had been polluted to some degree by the burgeoning secularization and westernization in India. “Scripture” is a buzz word that triggers negativity in many people, so I stay away from it. I stressed “This Bhagavad Gita is the most famous book in the world” (a true statement, because the bible has been around for less than 2,000 years, whereas the Gita has been on the planet for 3,000 years longer! It is widely read round the world even in addition to ISKCON’s book distribution.) So I said “This is India’s greatest classic! “ Classic” is a power word that distracts from prejudicial conceptions of scripture. This term should be utilized when presenting Gita, especially to any Indians. “It is your heritage, the root of your culture, the pride of India”—all secular talk. “It is on par with Homer’s Illiad, Socrates, Plato, and the other famous Greek authors.” So did it work? There were 400 students at the assembly. More than 100 of them bought Gitas on the spot in only half an hour, with their lunch money, pocket change—whatever, but they bought the Gita! That’s a whopping ¼ of the whole assembly! The devotees I was with were caught off guard. They didn’t think I would sell so many, so in a panic, they had to send a speeding car back to the temple to get more books! Yes, this is a true story.
So here you have it—the introduction to the “Sell Bhagavad Gita by the cases” seminar. The seminar(s) are 1.5 hours long, but I assure you they are both entertaining and enlightening.
Respectfully submitted,
Bhakti Madhurya Govinda Goswami (ACBSP), formerly Makhanlal Das
Link to the lectures:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B3n-kbzKS_QfblF4eWJpNUZ4MFE
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B3n-kbzKS_Qfbmx3MUI5SzJDbTQ
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B3n-kbzKS_QfVmR1aURmbkRsNTQ
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