Sell The Pen

About three decades ago, I was interviewing for a role with one of India’s premier IT firms. The interviewer was the Regional Head of the business. Before me, a few candidates had gone in and quickly come out looking dejected. It was clear their interviews hadn’t gone well. A few of them even murmured about how tough the interviewer was.

It was my turn eventually, and I knocked at the door and let myself in, coming face to face with a wiry and stern-looking gentleman. I greeted him and sat in the chair, expecting him to ask me to talk about myself. But, to my surprise, he took a pen from his pocket, pushed it towards me, and said, “Sell the pen to me.”

For a moment, I was taken aback, unsure of what to say. Then, instinctively, I did something unusual (even to this day, I’m not sure why). Instead of diving into a sales pitch about how good the pen was, what its features were, etc, I blurted out a question:

“Are you looking to buy pens? If I may ask, why?”

“Why does it matter? Just get on with it,” he replied.

“I was trying to understand the purpose behind your request. Does the company provide pens to all employees, or is there another reason?” I continued, half-expecting him to throw me out.

His next words were, “How soon can you join if offered the job?”

“I can start next Monday, Sir,” I responded gratefully.

After I joined the company, I had the opportunity to ask him why he had offered me the job without further questions.

His feedback became one of my first significant work-related life lessons.

“I asked you to sell the pen as a test,” he explained. “I wanted to see if you would immediately start selling or if you’d first try to understand the customer’s needs. It was a test to determine if you truly grasp what selling is about. It’s about understanding the client’s needs and why they want to buy something. Unconsciously, you did the right thing, and that’s why you got the job.”