Ratan had strong views about his motherland, its people and its future. “This country has become a heaven for fully clad barbarians. Our society has become so spoilt and corrupted that only crooked, dishonest, hard hearted, selfish people can live here. There is no future for well behaved, soft-speaking, honest young men and women,” he declared.

“Do you have any plans to change this horrible state of things?” I asked him. “Are you kidding? I am an unemployed individual without any money or power. What can I do except expressing my unhappiness and disappointment?” Ratan replied.

“You don’t have a right to complain against anyone for your unhappiness and disappointment. Millions of people are living happily here. Do you say all of them are deceitful? If you are resourceful and calm, you can always find solutions to your problems,” I said to Ratan. “I don’t think I am resourceful. I request you make me either resourceful or just help me solve my problem,” he said.

“Well, what’s your problem? You want to solve your personal problems or solve the problems faced by this country?” I asked him. Ratan grinned and said, “You have hit me at the right spot. I want to solve my personal problems first. When I am mature and experienced, I will take up the bigger issue.”

“You spoke about the positive qualities and values such as honesty, pleasant manners and amicable behavior. These are qualities any customer would love their merchants to have. Do you agree?” I asked Ratan. “Customer is cash, So, you must relate to a customer as you would to cash. Even a below average person knows it,” Ratan replied.

“If that is true, why are there so many consumer complaints and litigation? Can you recall a dozen merchants with whom you have had wonderful buying experience?” I asked Ratan. He was silent for a few seconds and then said, “Mmm..”

“A wise man in China said a thousand years ago, ‘If you don’t know how to receive a man with a smile, don’t open a shop.’ If we make it a law, 99% of the shops here must be closed down,” I said and continued, “Many people think Customer relationship management or CRM is only for big companies. Every business irrespective of its size needs some type of CRM. Can you help small businesses implement Customer Relationship Management system? It is lucrative self-employment opportunity.”

“I understand the importance of pleasing the customers and maintaining good relationship with them. But I don’t understand my role in it,” Ratan said. “Small business owners neither have time to learn new things nor have the patience to understand how technology works. However, all of them would agree that customer relationship management is important. A satisfied customer will bring dozens of new customers. Selling new services and products to an existing customer is a lot easier than selling to a new prospect. All business persons know that CRM will increase their net profits. If it can be done at an affordable cost by a third party, many of them will happily open their wallets. You will educate them about CRM and implement CRM in their companies. You will take fees from them. This is a practical and profitable self-employment opportunity for the unemployed and the retired. Please understand that your target market is small business owners. Implementing CRM for big companies is complicated and needs specialized knowledge. If you target the wrong market, you will find it difficult to deliver goods,” I told Ratan.

“Like an average small business man, I too don’t know anything about CRM,” Ratan said. “Most small businesses use computers to generate bills and do accounting work. These computers can be used for CRM. All you need is a low end CRM software program. As a CRM consultant, you will customize this software and teach the employees how to use it. The whole process takes a week and you can charge Rs.5,000 as your fees.” I said.

“Rs.20,000 a month is big money for me,” Ratan said. “I suggest that you download the trial versions of software programs such as Act and Goldmine. Read the manuals and help files that come with these programs. If you work hard you can master them in less than two weeks. Visit websites of CRM consultants and service providers and learn how they work. Then you will be in a position to create your own service offers and proposals,” I said.

“What do these programs do?” Ratan asked. “They help you create a complete CRM work flow. For example, you can create scripts with standard responses for presales questions. When prospects raise difficult questions, even a low level employee can give ‘expert and professional’ replies just by looking at the computer screen. You can use auto-responders to automate email responses and telephone calls. You can send your customers follow up postal mails and newsletters with predefined time delays. There are hundreds of ways to increase customer satisfaction by using customer relationship management tools. Any eager learner can learn these systems and make money,” I told Ratan.

I received an email from Ratan after three months. “I researched and found out that consumer electronics market needs CRM urgently. There are thousands of dealers and millions of customers. But, customers are generally not happy with small dealers. So, I developed a proposal for implementing CRM at small electronics shops and presented it to a dealer who has 6 branches in the city. As a test case, I offered free implementation at his smallest branch. It took just 5 days to produce visible benefits. The owner was very happy and on the 6th day asked me to implement the system at all his branches and at his head office. He has agreed to pay Rs. 20,000 for a month’s work and has already paid me Rs.10,0000… ”

You too can do it.