Someday, I’ll have a chance to tell Meat about it too. The truth is, through a fateful event, I acquired knowledge from a different dimension.
But my memories of the past remain unchanged…
I can understand why Meat is suspicious.
After all, even to myself, I seem to have gotten much smarter compared to before.
Lost in such random thoughts, I couldn’t focus and ended up dropping my wooden sword.
It hit me squarely on the tip of my toe, and the pain was intense.
Clutching my aching toe, I flailed about in panic.
“At last, the long first training session is over.”
After finishing the training, I went to have breakfast with Meat and Slot.
Meat was supposed to introduce me to someone later in the morning.
Yesterday, we had paid another visit to the Carriage Exhibition Hall.
“Captain, is it alright if I train a bit more outside the Exchange Office this morning? I feel like my sword training is still lacking.”
He’d already gotten me up before dawn and trained even harder himself, but apparently, it wasn’t enough—he still wanted to continue training.
“Fine. The Carriage Exchange Office is safe, so don’t worry. Just come back to the Exchange Office when you’re done training.”
I agreed without hesitation.
After parting ways with Slot, I noticed several young girls following after him.
What’s with that spectacle…
With Slot gone, Meat and I entered the Carriage Exchange Office together.
Even today, I was struck by the sheer variety and number of carriages on display.
“Hey, I’m curious—how many carriage vendors are there inside this Exchange Office?”
“Hmm… There must be over fifty vendors, at least.”
The Carriage Exhibition Hall was well-divided into sections and had a feeling of being thoroughly organized.
Today as well, I saw Coachmen sitting in a long line on one side, waiting for someone to hire them.
Instead of heading to the main display area, Meat led me to a small room.
Inside, a middle-aged man was waiting for us.
“Good morning, Mr. Steven. We meet again.”
I recognized him immediately.
“Oh! Hello. You’re Mr. Hailey from yesterday, aren’t you? Please, just call me William.”
I was glad to see the middle-aged man again.
I had been planning to revisit the vendor anyway, but didn’t expect to get some one-on-one time like this…
It’s a stroke of luck. Was it Fort Rick T? That was the carriage I liked best.
“That’s right. It’s Mr. Hailey from the exhibition yesterday. I mentioned you, and he said he remembered. Mr. Hailey is something of a benefactor to me, too.
He’s the one who introduced me to the coachman apprenticeship.
When I saw Mr. Hailey yesterday, not only did I like the carriage, but I was also impressed by his sales skills—maybe it was fate.
Knowing that he once helped Meat makes him even more likable.
“And as you said yesterday, he’s also the most knowledgeable expert I know.”
“I never realized Meat had such a valuable friend. I was surprised to hear his story yesterday. I heard you’re also from the same communal housing area as Meat. To be honest, I thought you were the son of some wealthy merchant.”
“Haha… I suppose I do give off a well-off impression.”
“Ah, is that so…”
True to his reputation as a sales veteran, Mr. Hailey smoothly glossed over my white lie.
Whether it was just a courtesy or not, the conversation didn’t drag on and wrapped up neatly.
“You could have complimented me a bit more, though…”
“You said you needed expert advice about carriages? I’ll answer as best I can.”
“Thank you. Yesterday, I appreciated your thorough explanation about carriages. I also really liked your recommendation, the Fort Rick T.”
“Hoho, I’m glad to hear that you liked it. May I ask what aspects appealed to you?”
“I was drawn to its practical features. Especially the sturdy carriage frame—it seemed like it could safely carry heavy loads or a large number of passengers. The magical connection point was also robustly constructed, which I appreciated.”
“Looking at all that, I thought it was a carriage with a solid foundation—better than just the basics. But even more appealing to me was the fact that it’s produced with a uniform design. Instead of every carriage having its own quirks, it’s a finished product with a consistent form.”
I repeated, almost verbatim, what Mr. Hailey had told me yesterday.
One of the basic skills of sales is to build rapport.
By echoing the other person’s words, you make them feel like you think alike—a classic sales skill.
It was also a standard I relied on whenever I worked on a product back in my Startup days on Earth.
When I was in Sales Mode CEO, there were two things I prioritized when selling a product.
First, is it above average when compared to competitors?
Whenever I launched a product, as long as there were competitors, it was important that most of the specs were at least above average.
Because when it comes to comparing ingredients, price, capacity, etc., if you fall behind, you lose the power to sell.
Once you match the average, the second thing is to identify the product’s unique selling point (UPS).
UPS refers to the unique strengths or distinguishing features of the product or service.
Customers choose a product when, on top of a stable, above-average spec, there’s one UPS feature that appeals to them.
This UPS can’t be found by analyzing only your own product. You must discover it by comparing with competitors.
For example, simply developing an anti-hair-loss shampoo with beer yeast isn’t a UPS.
Because other competitors also have beer yeast-based anti-hair-loss shampoos.
In that case, maybe your product contains twice as much, or you’ve used a special extraction method to reduce loss rate—that’s the unique advantage you need to highlight when compared to the competition.
Whenever I sold something, these two—average and UPS—were always my top priorities.
‘In those aspects, the Fort Rick T stands strong in appearance, interior, and overall completion compared to other carriages. And as for price, it’s nearly half as expensive as the lowest-priced competitor—that’s its UPS.’
“Thank you. You really do think the same way as I do.”
Mr. Hailey seemed pleased, even though I’d just repeated what he said yesterday.
“Mr. Hailey, have you been in the carriage business for long? Your smooth introduction of the carriages left a strong impression.”
This time, Meat chimed in.
“Of course! Mr. Hailey is a member of the Roll Royce family, professional carriage sellers.”
“Haha. I’ve been lucky enough to be part of a collateral branch of the Roll Royce family. Since my father’s generation, we’ve been receiving carriages from the family and selling Roll Royce carriages on consignment. If you ask me when I started being involved in carriages… well, it’s been my fate since birth, I suppose.”
As it turned out, Mr. Hailey was something like a distant relative of the youngest son of a conglomerate in this world.
“I see. How are carriage sales these days? There really are all kinds of carriages on display here at the exhibition hall.”
To be honest, it’s a bit of a tricky situation. Grunvalt is a major city, and one of the few cities growing since the war.
Since then, merchants’ status has risen, and the number of trading companies has increased.
Carriage sales have certainly increased a lot compared to three years ago.
The number of craftsmen making carriages has also gone up.
However, as carriages are increasingly regarded as a kind of noble luxury, prices are on the rise.
That’s the Veblen Effect.
The Veblen Effect is when demand increases as a product’s price rises.
It mostly shows up in luxury goods or items used to flaunt social status.
Nobles want to stand out, so their psychological drive makes them prefer even more artisanal pieces, and carriage prices keep climbing.
To be honest, I’m not sure if you heard yesterday, but the Fort Rick T model is looked down on here.
It’s because it wasn’t crafted by hand.
Of course, I recognize the value of luxury carriages myself.
But as the price of carriages rises, they become a relic enjoyed only by the privileged few.
Personally, I wish carriages were more widely used by the people of the kingdom.
While he spoke, Mr. Hailey’s expression wasn’t cheerful.
But even now, we’re not getting much recognition, and the stock of my company’s own Fort Rick T carriages keeps increasing.
At this point, there are over fifty units sitting in inventory.
“May I ask why you decided to produce carriages in this form?”
I was curious why, just as hand-crafted carriages were becoming the trend, he was trying out assembly-line production.
Mr. Hailey hesitated a moment before continuing.
“Honestly, I have a small dream. I often imagine a world where people throughout the kingdom can freely ride in carriages. Carriages are so expensive that commoners can hardly afford them, and even for nobles, the maintenance is a burden. People might laugh, but I dream of a day when even a commoner household can own a carriage. So that everyone can travel more freely, to wider places.”
As he spoke, Mr. Hailey’s eyes shone with a kind of earnest longing.
“Come on, Mr. Hailey. Do you know how much it costs to maintain just one carriage?
You need a lot of horses, too. But if a world like that comes, I’d welcome it—there’d be more work for Coachmen like me, after all.”
Meat responded as if Mr. Hailey’s dream was impossible.
I didn’t show it, but inwardly, I was surprised.
Not now, but back on Earth, it’s common for even average households to own a car.
In this fantasy world, a household owning its own carriage isn’t out of the question.
“That’s a wonderful dream. I hope you’ll make it come true someday. And I also believe that someday, a world like that will definitely come to be.”
“Thank you.”
“But…”
I got to the point.
“Of course, having every household own a carriage right away isn’t possible.”
Mr. Hailey nodded in agreement.
“Yes, that’s only natural…”
“But there are things we can do immediately.”
“And what might that be?”
“We can create a world right now where commoners don’t have to walk everywhere, where they can move about more freely.”
“Is that really possible?”
“Not only that—Mr. Hailey, we can help you sell all your excess carriages.”
“Really?”
Mr. Hailey looked truly astonished.
If only that were possible, how wonderful it would be.
In the moment, I threw my arm around Meat’s neck.
“Ow! Hey, William, what are you doing?”
“We’ll make that dream happen for you, Meat and I.”
This time, it was Meat’s turn to look shocked.
Well, I did just meet him yesterday, so my line might sound suspiciously like a con man’s.
Good thing I have the trusted Meat by my side.
“Actually, Meat joined the Unicorn Company’s Startup Project just yesterday. Once we implement our business plan, even commoners will be able to use carriages more freely.”
I mean it.
I truly believe it will happen.
“Yes… so…”
I paused for a moment, then spoke.
“Could you lend us a carriage?”
“Yes, but…”
From now on, it’s full Sales Mode CEO.
Let’s see how a showdown between veteran salesmen plays out.