Vijay Thomas’ Post

As I come to the end of my stint as an Area Sales Manager (ASM) in Mumbai, I wanted to reflect on some of the key learnings I have got during the past ~2.5 years leading a large sales team (Part 1 of 2)   1. You are the CEO of your area During my first formal interaction with Kedar Lele, he said this very memorable quote - "After the CEO of HUL, the ASM is the most powerful role in the company". As an ASM you have all the liberty and power to drive your own agenda and projects. What you decide, goes. Use that to experiment and discover new avenues of growth.   2. Don't be afraid to get your hands dirty When you see something, do something. Don't assume someone else will pick it up if you ignore it. For example, when solving distributor issues, get into the details and keep chasing relevant stakeholders until the problem is resolved. The minute you stop following up is the minute progress on the solution will stop.   3. You are your people's voice As the manager of the team, your team is relying on you for their career development. If you don't fight for them, nobody will. You are their voice for any promotion cases, cross laning opportunities, visibility with senior stakeholders, target exceptions, etc. Especially in large organizations, it is key to highlight strong performers to senior management so that they are top of mind when new opportunities arise.   4. Cross functional networking is critical Ensure you are on good working terms with all your partner functions - Supply chain, Customer Marketing, Finance, HR, etc. Strong relationships with these teams will ensure you get your work done more seamlessly and efficiently. To be continued...

After my six-month tenure at FIITJEE, I gained valuable insights from DR. PRANNAY G SHARMA, Managing Partner of FIITJEE Nagpur, and Dr Jayanta Chatterjee from the Department of Industrial and Management Engineering at IIT Kanpur. Part -1 In my upcoming series of articles, I delve into the intricacies of Field Sales Management, beginning with a focus on the essence of sales: customer value, which serves as the pathway to both sales and profits. Customers, in essence, purchase a bundle of values. The successful exchange of these values, leading to profit creation, epitomizes effective salesmanship. This concept revolves around the disparity between a potential client's assessment of the benefits and costs of your products or services compared to others in the market. At FIITJEE, we uphold the principles of truth, transparency, and commitment, and this ethos has shaped our sales process evolution. Historically, the sales landscape underwent significant transformations. Before the 1970s, the manufacturing sector dominated, employing a push-type sales approach. However, this method, marked by salespeople aggressively pushing products onto unwilling customers, led to more problems than solutions. In response, the consultative selling era emerged around the 1970s. Sales professionals transitioned into diagnosticians of customer needs and consultants who tailored mass-market strategies to specific targets. This shift emphasized the importance of building trust-based, long-term relationships with customers. In line with this evolution, my boss emphasized the role of a salesperson as a person who diagnoses a problem effectively and understands customer pain points. To implement this vision, we established a student welfare department at FIITJEE Nagpur, ensuring swift resolution of customer issues and effective management of our Marketing and Sales team. In the future, this strategy will pave the way for the emergence of the "Chief Happiness Officer" role within our Sales division. As a Business Evangelist, I now oversee FIITJEE Nagpur's strategy alongside the Vidarbha Head Dr Prannay G Sharma. Whenever time permits, we engage in discussions and I document our insights. In the next part of this series, I will delve into effective methods of lean sales process. Stay tuned for more.

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𝙉𝙤 𝙨𝙖𝙡𝙚𝙨 𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙞𝙪𝙨 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙖 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙙𝙪𝙘𝙩/𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙖𝙨 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙪𝙧 𝙝𝙞𝙢𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛! Sorry my brethren in sales, I had to do this. 😃 Most Founders say, I am not good at sales. Its not something I can do. A Founder reached out to me for sales advice couple of days back. He hired 3 sales guys. He asked me if he should hire a team leader to manage them. I said get on their bikes everyday for a few days. Go to the market with them, understand how the market works. I was in an event hosted by TiE Chennai in Madurai recently. C.K.Ranganathan, Founder Chairman of CavinKare was the speaker. The other speaker Murugavel Janakiraman (Founder, BharatMatrimony) mentioned CKR came to Madurai this morning and went to market visit before coming to this event. 𝗪𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱𝗻'𝘁 𝗖𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗞𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝗳 𝗖𝗞𝗥 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁? 𝗜𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗶𝘁 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗵𝗶𝗺 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱? 𝗢𝗵 𝘆𝗲𝘀! While there are many, here are the three important things that will happen: 1.𝙄𝙣𝙫𝙖𝙡𝙪𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙈𝙖𝙧𝙠𝙚𝙩 𝙄𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 2.𝙐𝙣𝙛𝙞𝙡𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝘾𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙧 𝙁𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠. 3.𝙄𝙩 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙢. Oh, on the "I am not good at sales" part. Every individual has a sales person in them. If you ever asked your Father "Dad, would you buy me the bicycle if I scored well in exams?" or If you ever convinced your wife to go out with the boys on a weekend trip, man, your are a sales superman. Leave these two things home when you go out to sell: 1.Inhibition 2.Ego "𝙎𝙪𝙘𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙨𝙖𝙡𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙢𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨." Get out and just do it! #salesandmarketing #salesexcellence #salesexcellence

Imagine a bustling conglomerate, its sales force spread across India like stars in the night sky. This was Khaitan India Ltd., a company with roots as deep as the Banyan trees in Kolkata. But even the mightiest trees need to adapt to thrive. Khaitan's sales team was their lifeline, connecting their electrical equipment and sugar products to every corner of India. Yet, managing this vast network felt like trying to catch fireflies with bare hands – elusive and frustrating. Enter Twib, our all-in-one field sales solution. We didn't just offer a product; we offered a vision of what could be. Picture this: A Khaitan sales rep in a remote village, closing a deal with a tap on their smartphone. Meanwhile, in the Kolkata headquarters, managers watch real-time updates flow in like a digital river of success. This wasn't a dream. This was the power of Twib's easy-to-use sales CRM in action. The journey wasn't just about implementing software. It was about igniting a spark of change. We stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Khaitan's HR team, guiding them through each step. The user-friendly interface of Twib turned even the most tech-hesitant employees into digital pioneers. As days turned into weeks, and weeks into months, something magical happened. The cumbersome paper trails of yesterday transformed into streamlined digital processes. Sales reps found themselves spending less time on reports and more time doing what they do best – selling. But the real magic? It was in the numbers. Sales performance soared. Errors plummeted. Insights deepened. Khaitan wasn't just managing their sales force; they were empowering it. This is more than a success story. It's a testament to the power of embracing change. It's proof that with the right tools, even the most traditional businesses can leap into the future. At Twib, we don't just provide software. We provide the bridge between what is and what could be. We helped Khaitan India Ltd. write a new chapter in their storied history. What story could we help you write? #SalesInnovation #DigitalTransformation #TwibSuccess

Pick up tools and frameworks that can help you add huge value to your Customers and sell more and better #sales #businessdevelopment #salesmanagement #b2bsales #learninganddevelopment #sellingskills

To whom it may concern, I wish to share an insight that, as a sales leader, we encounter daily. In fact, someone just reached out to me about this very topic. I'm not pointing fingers at anyone, but I want to clarify that sales isn't just about hitting targets. At its core, it's about understanding the customer's pain points and providing the right solutions. It's a common misconception in our country to undervalue sales, overlooking the fact that without it, no business can thrive. This remains true regardless of how efficiently the other elements of marketing are managed. Sales in India are pivotal for economic growth, offering diverse job opportunities, and building strong customer relationships. It fosters innovation, facilitates market expansion, and helps businesses adapt to changing trends. Moreover, sales are instrumental in the digital transformation of the Indian market. #salesinsights #customerengagement #economicgrowth #digitalindia #jobcreation #digitaltransformation #customersatisfaction #solutionselling