Know Business

What can`t be sold??

Conversation between husband and wife at the outset of “barter system” probably around 6000 BC could have been like this;

Wife: There is nothing at home, no rice, no oil and no sugar, arrange something quickly.

Husband: Honey!! I don’t know what to sell.

For the same question after many many years husbands reply would have been, “I don’t know where to sell.”

Many many and many more years passed and the reply changed into, “I don’t know whom to sell, I don’t know who needs it.”

Thus at first man didn’t know that what to sell and now the problem is whom to sell and where to sell.

What to sell is no more a serious concern nowadays. Everything in this world that is sellable can be sold and most of the things around are sellable. Don’t be fooled to perceive things only as those we can touch, these things have defied the five senses. People who are associated with business or business studies might be familiar with these things but who are not let me make simple for you. History tells us that when man started to transact or sell things he started with those he could touch like rice, wheat, sugar, iron etc. and even after the inception of monetary system it remained the same. Even though there were exceptions, like if one goes through the stories of kings that have lived before one can find that there were hundreds of servants working for the king in his castle, this people were selling their services to the King off-course for some remuneration. Thus even though people sold non-tangible things but it never became the talk of the thinkers. Nineteenth century really proved to the mother of inventions, discoveries and almost all subjects took a leap forward. Marketing and selling concepts also evolved gradually and later exponentially. Today time has come when selling concept has defied time and space concept. One can buy for future (e.g Insurance) and can buy from anywhere (even from moon).

Selling and Marketing as subject and as practise was affected by the changing technology more than anything. It is due to this changing technology that has revolutionised the ways of selling and the things to be sold. As I earlier said things can be sold have defied the sensory organs, and human abstraction. Who would have thought that weather can be sold or traded upon? Who would have thought that a soccer player`s old torn out socks would fetch millions? Who would have thought that personal experience can be sold? Who would have thought that life threatening and craziest thing around like rafting and rock climbing will become a business to earn millions.  Who would have guessed that even giving advice or suggestions will turn into a business of counselling? In today’s world everything yes almost everything can be sold, even old and used things can be sold. Old rocks and off-course if something is imprinted on them can turn fortunes. I was about to forget, one`s hobbies can later prove to be money minting machines (stamp collection etc.) Personal comfort was never valued so much before; take a look at the prices of 5-star hotels and high end cars. These hotels and cars are not paid only to provide food, shelter or driving but the cost is for the experience and comfort they provide. Hence abstractive things are sold and that too at a price higher than the physical ones.

Everybody knew that personal expertise or service one provides can be sold, or places and properties can be sold, but no body from medieval times would have thought that even ideas can be sold. Yes there are takers if one has brilliant innovative ideas. Accidents are sold, events are sold and even happenings are sold in this world. The list is not done yet my dear friends even diseases have been sold, yes many MNC pharmaceutical companies brought viruses and spread them to sell the anti-virus for millions. Death is also traded on; simple example is that of life insurance.

Thus my dear reader we come to a conclusion that any thing around you can be sold, provided one has the art to sell and knows what, where, whom and when to sell.