The Chicken and The Quail

Carlos kept on persuading Gohilot to go along with his plan. Gohilot had so far run his business honestly. Sometimes there were temptations but the moral barrier built by his mother's teachings had proved insurmountable. This time the temptation was too big and Carlos was persistent in his efforts. Finally Carlos succeeded. 

Carlos took care to see that his own name did not come in the picture. Fernandez thought that Gohilot was the only man blackmailing him. They both made a tidy sum out of this operation. Gohilot bought an apartment in London with the money he made in this. He had never 'earned' so much, so fast before. 

The moral barrier which once seemed insurmountable to Gohilot was now broken. Gohilot started blackmailing people, whenever he got a chance. Soon he had developed enough expertise as to how to zero on the right target quickly to make a kill.  

He prospered very fast. However after some smooth sailing in the beginning, one day he found himself confronting a prey who wanted to strike back at him. 

He was an Italian businessman, Antonio Mancini. He spoke English reasonably well with a sprinkling of Italian words. 

But the moment Gohilot extended his tentacles, he went into a shell pretending he could not understand what Gohilot said. His normally friendly face now looked menacing. 

"Mr. Mancini, I hate to see you in trouble, but if you are exposed, you will be facing big trouble with the income tax people. 

"Non capisco .....no understand." 

"I am there to protect you, but you will have to help me. It will cost you a little but you will be absolutely safe." Gohilot tried to sweeten the bitter pill. 

"Può Parlare più lentamente? Talk slowly...slowly" 

Mancini's English had become even weaker now. 

But Gohilot knew Mancini hunderstood perfectly well what he had said. 

That evening when Gohilot was walking to the parking lot where he had parked his car, he saw two tall, tough looking men walking on either side of him. 

At a lonely spot he saw each of them taking out a brand new Colt revolver from his pocket. 

Stunned, Gohilot immediately took to his heels, and ran to his car. He was panting and perspiring profusely as he got into his car. He hurriedly switched on the engine and drove away. 

In the next meeting with Mancini he beat a hasty retreat. 

When Mancini saw how scared Gohilot was, he cooled down a little bit, but he made his displeasure clear. His command on the English language now seemed almost perfect. 

"I am sorry Mr. Mancini for what I said." 

"You better be, Mr. Gohilot. Nobody plays with me and gets away with it. However, we Italians have a saying, 'A nemico che fugge, fa un ponte d'oro'."  

Mancini raised his voice from its already high decibels to even higher ones as he continued, 

"Do you know what it means Mr. Gohilot? It means 'Build a golden bridge for a fleeing enemy.' I'll let you off this time." 

Gohilot certainly had a very close shave. He thought a lot about his methods after that and decided to resort to a new strategy, so as to minimize the risk. 

In Marketing strategies there is a strategy called 'Niche Marketing'. 'Direct your marketing effort to a specific segment, try to satisfy the needs of that segment instead of targeting the whole market. One example of this strategy is do not chase a large number of average customers, concentrate your efforts only on the super rich segment of potential targets, people who are a potential source of huge profits for you, try to cater to their exclusive needs, and even if only a few such business deals come your way, the result means hitting a jackpot.'-that is niche marketing.