Lice V Lice, Macedonia
“The most important thing is to smile and look people in the eye. I speak to them loud and clearly, and it’s easier for me now, because I’m not a rookie anymore,” said Erdzan Sadik, unveiling the tricks for successful sale of the magazine “Lice v Lice” (“Face to Face”). And indeed, it’s unusual to see a smile on the face of somebody who spends his life mostly on the street.
Erdzan is just an ordinary 19-year-old boy from the Skopje, Macedonia, who listens to Roma music. He said his biggest wish is to sell 600 magazines by the end of this year. Short and small in build, very smart and unobtrusive, Erdzan is the magazine’s most successful seller. He said he realized from the beginning how to approach people.
“Selling on the street was a bit embarrassing for me at first, so I spoke to customers in a low voice. They didn’t hear me, they didn’t even stop for a moment, so I realized I was going nowhere. Now I know that this is a good and decent job, and I had to put much effort into ‘Lice v Lice’ so that both the magazine and I would succeed,” Erdzan said.
He said he can assess from a distance whether someone is interested in buying the magazine or not. “It’s obvious who wants to help and who doesn’t care. I know that I shouldn’t persuade people, and not everyone has the time to stop and hear me out.”
Erdzan says that selling “Lice v Lice” around Debar Maalo, a neighborhood in the Macedonian capital Skopje, is quite enjoyable. He says that the waiters in the surrounding restaurants don’t drive him out, but greet him. Some are his customers.
He had a recent event that made him very happy. After addressing a customer and explaining why he should buy the magazine, Erdzan received an unusual reaction: “He told me he worked in Germany, and that he came [to Macedonia] very rarely. He encouraged me by commending me on my approach, he told me to stick to this job and not even think about begging or rummaging through garbage cans. He bought two magazines and wished me luck and success.”
Driven by Erdzan’s success, his little brother Armando and his father are now vendors. “When they saw that I leave the house clean and that I come back clean, that I am neither tired, nor upset, and I even had money left, they wanted to do this job too,” he said.
Erdzan often works together with his colleague and friend Armando — not his brother Armando, but another Armando who wants to become a hairdresser. At trainings for improving communication skills, Erdzan, the two Armandos and other team members heard from an instructor who pushed the vendors to think about furthering their education. Erdzan has finished fifth grade. “I know that I have to study, and I can promise that I will do everything I can to make that happen.”
He also avoids fights, which occur often in his neighborhood, but he added that when it comes down to defending his family or friends, he has no choice but to take part. He said that justice is not on his side, but he doesn’t want to complain.
“That’s all I’ve got to say,” he said, but added later, “What I do know is that today I have to sell at least 20 magazines.” He said it with a smile.