I recently caught up with a childhood friend..Just one of those casual, overdue catch-ups. We talked about life, work, the usual things… and somewhere along the way, we started reminiscing about the Janmashtami celebrations we used to organize as kids in Delhi...the tents we set up, the ice caves we proudly built, and those door-to-door donation drives with crumpled receipt books in hand.
Funny how certain memories resurface not just because they were fun, but because they quietly taught us something that still makes sense today.
We didn’t call it “sales” back then. We just called it Janmashtami Ka Mela.
It was the 90s in Rohini Sector-5, Delhi. Back then, Janmashtami wasn’t just about visiting a temple or watching a bhajan program on TV, it was a full-blown neighbourhood mission. For us kids, it was our version of launching a startup.
We’d plan for weeks
- Who’s going to get the tent waala?
- Who’ll arrange the colored thermocol for the ice cave?
- Who’s handling the miniature flute for Bal Gopal?
- Most importantly….who’s going to go door to door for donations?
I don’t know how we ended up doing it, but there we were 11 or 12 year-olds, standing in front of neighbour’s’ doors, holding a receipt book, and trying to explain why we needed ₹101 or at least ₹21 for “God’s birthday.”
No marketing course. No pitch deck. Just a smile, some nervousness, and a lot of belief.
My First Taste of Real Sales
I still remember one uncle who looked at us and asked,
“Beta, har saal toh yeh karte ho, alag kya hai is baar?”
I blurted out:
“Uncle, this time we’ve made a Shiva cave out of real ice, and Gokul is behind that. You’ll feel like it’s the real place!”
He laughed. And gave ₹101.
That’s when I felt it the strange joy of being heard, of someone believing in what you said. That was my first real sale.
At that time, I just felt happy that he gave more than we expected.
But now when I look back, I realize, that was my first upsell.
I didn’t know it then.
I didn’t plan it.
But that moment taught me something: when you add a little vision, a little story, people lean in.
They don’t just give…they give more.
It was a sales lesson wrapped in a childhood festival, one I only understood years later.
Why Sales Pays Back More Than Anything
We think sales is for grown ups in shiny offices, wearing blazers and saying “Let’s touch base.”
But here’s what I learned that Janmashtami:
- You don’t sell by shouting. You sell by making someone feel a part of something.
- You don’t need perfect words. You just need clear intent.
- People don’t buy products. They buy belief. Even if it’s belief in a cardboard Krishna behind an ice cave.
That childhood version of sales taught me more about human psychology than any textbook ever could.
The Hidden ROI
Unlike other skills that need time, mentors, or money…sales rewards you instantly.
- We got money for the event, yes.
- But we also got people to show up.
- Uncles and aunties came with friends, neighbours brought prasad, someone got lights from a wedding decorator, all because they were sold not on the show, but on our sincerity.
That ROI?
It’s not just financial. It’s emotional. It builds you up.
What It Taught Me for Life
I didn’t start off as a salesman.
Back then, I didn’t even think of what we were doing as “sales.” We were just a bunch of kids putting up a Janmashtami tent, trying to collect enough money to make it happen.
But today, I realize that every time I:
- Share an idea at work
- Convince a friend to trust a crazy plan
- Ask someone to back a project
- Speak about something I care about
I’m still that kid, holding the receipt book, hoping someone says haan beta, kar lo.
Sales is not closing a deal.
It’s opening trust.
And once you get the hang of that, it sticks with you.
It keeps showing up in ways you don’t expect.
Long after the tent is packed up.
Long after the ice cave has melted.
That small skill from childhood keeps paying you back…in work, in life, in relationships.
And you realize… maybe that was your first return on investment.
