My second job

While studying at UiTM, one of my friends had a part time job as a fragrance promoter. He work during weekends and was earning good bucks.

Promoter means you are promoting a specific product and try to push for sales. You work in a shopping mall and approach customers who pass your counter. Remuneration is RM50 per day + commission based on your total sales.

Most of my weekends were spent doing nothing so; I thought I can totally be a promoter. So, I asked him to hook me up.

My very first promoter job was at Parkson KLCC where I had to sell Christian Dior perfumes. I was the only promoter for the day because it was a small promo at the counter. I was pretty excited and super energised to start selling.

It was not as easy as it sounds. First of all, you are required to stand for 10-12 hours (Depending on your shift). The shopping mall was run by Japanese and they were extremely particular.

First rule: The counters have to be dust-free.
Second: You have to stand straight and not move when they do inspection at 10:00am sharp.
Third: You have to be on time. Or don’t come to work.
Fourth: You are not allowed to sit during your shift.

Well, you might think they are a little rough but they have a reputation to look after. And if you are seating, you are not selling. As simple as that.

So, on my first day, I was told to promote Dior Addict. It was a brand new perfume by Christian Dior. I studied the description and tried to memorise the ingredients (which is impossible). After an hour or so, I still couldn’t figure out what to say about it.

One customer got pretty angry with me because I didn’t have answers to her questions. “You ni tau tak apa yang you jual?” –I almost choked to death.

And then the customers start asking more questions and compare it with other Christian Dior perfumes (Which are displayed on the same shelve).

I asked the manager how do I know & sell so many perfumes in one day? She explained my main task is to sell Dior Addict, but if customers want something else, I have to sell it too. It’s just the commission for Dior Addict is higher as compared to the rest. For each bottle of Dior Addict, I get 4% commission whereas the rest is 3% commission.

When she said that, I was like “Damn… I have to know so many perfumes!”.

Still extremely puzzled, I asked the manager to serve the first few customers so I can observe. I told her that I’d be fine once I know how it’s done. She was nice enough to do a little demo.

She approaches the customers nicely, explains the scent, ask them to try it on and create conversation from there. Throughout the conversation, she was so confident, friendly, and genuine.

After the 3rd customer, she look at me and said “Go for lunch. Once you are back, it’s your turn to do sales. Better prove that you are worth it”.

“And get to know the product”.

I came back from lunch and sold 21 bottles of perfumes that day.

~Cheers