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Team Work in 2024

Team Work in 2024

by | Dec 19, 2023 | Prachand, Sales

At times you just need a little spark to help you come up with your next blog post or article idea. One such phrase that stuck and stayed with me when I was reading an industry senior saying “A company is as successful as its team”.

That was just the perfect inspiration to ponder why after writing almost 40 blogs, I still had not talked about my favourite topic: “Team Work”.

Teamwork, at its simplest, is the process of collaborating and working together in a group to achieve a common goal. When a group of people works cooperatively, they’re combining each of their personal strengths to enhance their overall performance of the team.

In the process, they’re creating a positive atmosphere of encouraging and motivating each other. Good teamwork brings forth a variety of viewpoints, experiences, and skills.

Look back at some of the greatest things accomplished, and you’ll find that a good team was behind it. An Eiffel Tower was constructed by Auguste Eiffel and his team of engineers. The Great Wall of China took more than 2000 years to build with thousands of men collaborating with each other as a team. The Taj Mahal may be remembered as Shah Jahan’s token of love for his wife, but it took thousands of stonemasons, sculptors, carpenters and designers that went into making Taj Mahal as a wonder of the world. History has emphasised the importance of team work time and again. It’s not a mystery. Effective teams had and will influence strong working relationships, which in turn promote better results.

Teamwork in the workplace is important because it supports an organization’s operational efficiency. Strong team dynamics enable individual members to divide complex projects into manageable tasks, which enhance productivity and enable an organization to function more effectively. Moreover, successful teamwork creates a supportive network that can significantly enhance job satisfaction and employee morale.

 

When teamwork is functioning at its best, it encourages the generation of new ideas, leading to innovative solutions. It also helps individuals complete challenging tasks more effectively. Team leaders play an important role in promoting open communication and ensuring that each member’s voice is heard, which can lead to better decision-making and a positive impact on your company’s bottom line.

Learning the value of teamwork and becoming an effective member of a team is an important first step to developing leadership skills.

Teamwork is one of the most important tools when it comes to organizational efficiency. Though we can all agree that teamwork is important, not everyone realizes just how impactful it is in the workplace. Teamwork in the workplace is when a group of individuals work together toward a collective goal in an efficient manner. When multiple people work together toward a common goal, your business can flourish.

Let us now look at the top benefits of “Team Work” in the workplace. Ready?

Let’s dive in.

  1. Teamwork enables better problem solving: When people play off each other’s skills and knowledge, they can create solutions that are practical and useful. It is a proven fact that many minds are better than one. 
  2. Teamwork boosts productivity: Getting a word of appreciation from your boss may improve an employee’s motivation. However a pat on the back from your team member can be a game changer.
  3.  Teamwork yields fewer mistakes: If your team has good energy – you encourage and inspire each other, and you have fun together – you’ll feel less stressed. Stress leads us to make more mistakes.
  4. Teamwork cultivates effective communication: A successful team that demonstrates clear communication is more efficient and productive. Not to mention it creates an enjoyable work environment.
  5. Teamwork improves brainstorming: Brainstorming is a powerful method that helps teams think outside of the box. It involves individuals working together by communicating ideas for a number of initiatives. These could include projects, processes, products, and services.
  6. Teamwork encourages a common goal: With multiple team members working on individual tasks, a project goal helps keep deliverables aligned and ensures objectives are met.
  7. Teamwork improves decision making skills: Teamwork in the workplace is invaluable for improving decision-making abilities. It creates an environment where team members are encouraged to tackle questions and make decisions promptly, which is essential for real-time problem-solving.
  8. Teamwork helps build trust: A team that trusts each other feels comfortable communicating ideas, collaborating in the workplace, and growing individual strength. Not just that, but they also feel a sense of belonging within the group.
  9. Teamwork creates efficiency and increases employee engagement: When team members feel involved as a part of a cohesive group, their efficiency increases and their motivational level goes high thereby boosting their work satisfaction.
  10. Teamwork enhances personal growth: By sharing information and essentially cross training each other, each individual member of the team can flourish. It improves an individual’s skill sets and makes him a better listener.

Invest in Teams:

Teamwork makes the dream work, but to make the goal a reality, you must be ready to invest in teams. There are numerous methods for investing in teams. Your company’s budget and time limits for other business operations will most likely influence the team-building activities you choose:

  •  Team Retreats: Team retreats are an excellent opportunity to invest in teams. Typically, a team retreat takes place over the course of a weekend at a resort or other location that is specially designed for the occasion. Along with time for socializing and bonding, there will be team-building exercises and skill-building exercises. Team retreats are a terrific investment.
  • Team Building Exercises: There are numerous team activities that you may undertake directly at your workplace. Team-building exercises can be incorporated into daily meetings and workplace routines. You can also plan team-building activities during off-peak business hours. Most of these exercises are low-cost and simple to execute for managers or in-house trainees.
  • Seminars for Team Building
  • Team Competitions
  • Team Sports

Team members in high-performing teams have a sense that the team can overcome obstacles and realize its goals. Communication is open; members can state their opinions knowing that differences of opinion are valued. Most importantly, successful teams don’t just “feel good,” they get their work done, meeting deadlines and achieving their goals. It takes effort to develop a team into one that values teamwork. Along the way, it can help to have support as you encourage others to adopt a more collaborative working style.

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The Selling Do’s And Don’ts

The Selling Do’s And Don’ts

by | Apr 17, 2023 | Prachand, Sales

The Selling Do’s And Don’ts

“WHAT WOULD YOU SAY ABOUT …….INDUSTRY….? IT’S IN A REAL BAD SHAPE….ISN’T IT?”

I was amused and annoyed at the same time when these words came from a sales person who was a disaster in the organization where he worked. Such sales people found themselves performing a sales role by chance and often wonder whether to describe it as pure luck or a cruel stroke of misfortune. To be successful in sales, one has to love selling and be proud of his role. Without a passion for sales, no one can make it very far. If one thinks selling is a negative thing, then it is absolutely not for him.

Today selling is different…in last two decades; the economy, customers and technology have changed the game. Products and services have been commoditized, and if that was not enough, there’s more competition than ever. Customer’s expectations are higher than ever. We are in times of extreme market place shifts, hyper completion, and consumer fickleness.

The Need Of The Hour Is To Follow Some Do’s And Don’ts.

Do’s:-

1. Get to know your product: You’ll need a great deal of product knowledge to be a good sales person., so it’s important to spend time researching what you’re selling. Understand the product inside and out, and be prepared for a wide array of client questions.

2. Practice your sales pitch: Spend time rehearsing what you plan to say to clients. Not only will this help ease nerves, but you’ll be able to speak more confidently and effectively when the time comes.

3. Know your customer: Once you’ve prospected a few clients, get to know them and build rapport. The better you’re able to understand them on a human level and know their interests and needs, the more trust you’ll build with them and the more likely you are to make a sale.

4. Make a list: At the beginning of your shift, make  a list of what projects need to complete, who you need to follow up with and what deals you need to close. Once you know where your attention should be focused, the more organized you’ll be and the better you’ll be able to effectively manage your time.

Don’ts- As These Traits Are Characterstics Of A Bad Sales Person:-

  1. You’re not really into sales.
  2. You fear rejection.
  3. You find yourself as clueless about the product as your customer.
  4. You love talking so much that you forget to listen.
  5. You’re unable to ask the right questions.
  6. Know it all attitude.
  7. Everyone is a prospect and there’s no difference between a suspect and a prospect.
  8. You lack genuine social empathy and do not believe that selling is a   people-centric business.
  9. You go by gut feel since you distrust science and haven’t embraced technology.
  10. You focus on products and not people.

Sales is tough and not everyone can succeed in it. If you find it difficult to love sales or be proud of a sales role, then you career obviously needs an overhaul. Otherwise, behavioral modification, sales training, and mentorship can help address whatever you lack in skill oroutlook.
Nobody’s perfect. But that shouldn’t stop you from getting better and better at what you do.

If you are looking for ways to supercharge your sales growth and take your team to the next level? We’re here to help! Our tailored training programs offer hands-on support and expert guidance to help you and your team develop the skills and knowledge needed to achieve outstanding sales results.

Click on the links below to explore our comprehensive training offerings and start your journey towards sales success today!

Aarambh – Our sales training course that helps you create an effective sales network, communicate value effectively and ultimately close more sales.

Prachand – Prachand is a strategically structured sales training program which is designed to help product based businesses master their sales through process and people development, for exponential revenue and profit growth.

I would love to stay connected with you on LinkedIn and expand our professional networks!
LinkedIn

 

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BUILDING A SALES FORECAST

BUILDING A SALES FORECAST

by | Jan 20, 2022 | Sales

Exec- Sir, I’ve procured an order for one cr!!!!

Manager – What…..one cr….but the product is unavailable and will take at least a month and a half to be produced!!!!!

 

…….and the sales went phut.

Dear, Senior Sales Leaders and Management…. This Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

This happened because either the Sales Forecast was poorly done or not done at all.   You can’t ignore the importance of forecasting and analysis in the sales process. To some extent, it can be considered the backbone of sales. Sales teams must conduct a thorough analysis of the metrics they gather to justify the choice of their strategies and assess their current performance.

It’s cliche but it is true, Building a sales forecast is both an art and a science. Accurate sales forecasts keep your leaders happy and your business healthy. It gives a clear picture of your company’s projected sales and keeps everyone’s expectations on track.

What is a Sales Forecast?

A sales forecast is an expression of expected sales revenue. A sales forecast estimates how much your company plans to sell within a certain time period (like quarter or year). The best sales forecasts do this with a high degree of accuracy.

TWO QUESTIONS EVERY SALES FORECAST ANSWERS:

1. HOW MUCH? 

2. WHEN?

Sales forecasts differ in where they’re getting their inputs – for example, they may rely on sales reps’ intuition or even artificial intelligence (AI). But all sales forecasts answer two key questions:

  • How much: Each sales opportunity has its own projected amount it’ll bring into the business. Whether that’s Rs.2 crores or Rs.20 crores, sales teams have to come up with one number representing that new business. To create the number, they take everything they know about the prospect into account.
  • When: Sales forecasts pinpoint a month, quarter, or year when the sales team expects the revenue to hit.

Coming up with those two projections is no easy feat. So sales teams factor in the important ingredients of who, what, where, why, and how to make their forecasts:

  • Who: Sales teams make their forecasts based on who their prospects are. Depending on if their prospects are the actual decision-makers or just influencers, the forecast will be more or less exact.

 

  • What: Forecasts should be based on exactly what solutions you plan to sell. In turn, that should be based on problems your prospects have voiced, which your company can uniquely solve.

  • Where: Where is the buying decision made, and where will the actual products be used? Sales teams see better accuracy when they get closer (at least for a visit) to the center of the action.

  • Why: Why is the prospect or existing customer considering new services from your company in the first place? Is there a compelling event making them consider it now? Without a forcing function and a clear why; the deal may stall inevitably.

  • How: How does this prospect tend to make purchasing decisions? If you’re not accounting for how they do it now and how they’ve done it in the past in your forecast, it may be fuzzy math.

 Thus, a sales forecast provides answers for…..

Who? Why? What? How? Where?

Some of these elements are rooted in real facts, while others are conjecture. The longer you sell, the better you get at forecasts. That’s why they’re both an art and a science – sales forecasting is a balance of both.

 

Why is sales forecasting important?

One– Sales forecasting is so important to business health because products can be made available so that purchase meets demand.

Two– If the delivery comes a day or a week after it’s promised, that’ll affect customer’s satisfaction with the company – and decrease his willingness to want to do business with them again.

Sales forecasts help the entire business plan resources to ship products, pay for marketing, hire employees, and beyond. Accurate sales forecasting yields a well-oiled machine that meets customer demand, both today and in the future. And internally on sales teams, sales revenue that delivers in its estimated time period keeps leaders and collaborators happy, just like a shipment that arrives on time.

If forecasts are off, the company faces challenges that affect everything from pricing to product delivery to the end-user. Meanwhile, if forecasts are on point, the company can make better investments, perhaps hiring 20 new developers instead of 10, or building a much-needed new sales office in a prime new territory.

Who is responsible for sales forecasts?

Each organization has its own sales forecast owners. These are some of the teams who are usually responsible:

  • Product leaders: They put a stake in the ground for what products will be available to sell when.

  • Sales leaders: They promise the numbers that their teams will deliver. Depending on the seniority of the leader, how they forecast varies. For example, first-line managers forecast collections of opportunities, where third-line managers consider a wide set of numbers and traditional close rates to come up with an overall forecast.

  • Sales reps: They report their own numbers to their managers.

 

No matter how a company calculates its sales forecasts, the process should be transparent. And at the end of the day, sales leadership has to be responsible to call a number. Whether met, exceeded, or missed, the forecast responsibility falls on them.

Who uses sales forecasts?

Sales forecasts touch virtually all departments in a business. For example, the finance department uses sales forecasts to decide how to make annual and quarterly investments. Product leaders use them to plan demand for new products. And the HR department uses forecasts to align recruiting needs to where the business is going. 

At some level, sales forecasting affects everyone in the company.

What are the objectives of sales forecasting?

The main objective of sales forecasting is to paint an accurate picture of expected sales. Sales teams aim to either hit their expected target or exceed it.

When the sales forecast is accurate, operations go smoothly and leaders are pleased with the follow-through on the plan. When the forecast is exceeded, the company gets to decide how it’ll invest the extra money – and everyone’s even happier. 

How do I design a sales forecasting plan?

Design a sales forecasting plan with your team by focusing on three primary activities:

  • Calculating number and time period: Your plan should explain how you’ll calculate the estimated monetary amount and what the timeframes will be. 

  • Reviewing and revising: You should also plan to review the forecast at key milestones and revise it if necessary. They can be monitored daily, weekly, monthly or even quarterly.

  • Breaking the patterns: Even the best sales organisations need to shake up their processes once in a while. Breaking your patterns can help you find new ways of designing even more accurate forecasting. 

It’s rare for forecasts to be within 5%, but it does happen. If you’re within 5% of your forecast, and you’re dealing with a big number of opportunities, you’re a sales forecasting rockstar. 

If not, reach out to me at [email protected] and we can figure out a way to ensure you and your sales team, never struggle with Sales Forecasting again. 

TRENDING IN SALES: OUTSOURCING THE SALES FUNCTION

TRENDING IN SALES: OUTSOURCING THE SALES FUNCTION

by | Sep 20, 2021 | Sales

Competition, indeed, drives innovation. But a crisis drives it even more.

The pandemic and new realities it created caused a lot of new sales trends to emerge. Some of them were a forced solution to last during the COVID-19 season, but a lot of them are here to stay and roll over into the near future.

We’ve witnessed a complete restructuring of sales to adjust to the new coronavirus realities. This engendered an array of new sales strategies, methods, and techniques; a lot of which have proven to be effective. Those are the ones that are likely to stay and dominate the world of sales. 

The sales world is changing, but this particular trend of outsourcing the sales function is eye-catching in the context of driving sales growth today.

The companies offering these services understand your target segments, they use big data to identify leads, they market to different segments with different offers and using different platforms, and then they match their own sales reps to individual customers based on the likelihood of converting that particular type of person. For the sales organization, it means moving to a model where your pay is based not on the service, but on the new customers being acquired. 

An outsourced sales firm is a team you hire to support you in generating prospects, nurturing leads, and moving clients through your sales pipeline. 

Outsourced sales teams build relationships for your businesses using a variety of tools, including: 

– Outbound calling: ensuring calls are made with purpose and add value. They ensure you’re connecting with the client precisely when they have the highest propensity to connect.

 – Social Selling: using platforms like LinkedIn to connect with clients and position your product/company as a problem-solver/pain point alleviator. 

– Emails: email is still the top option for communication among business professionals, and it’s a great way to nurture relationships as prospects/leads continue to consider your product. Your outsourced sales team can help you manage email outreach, generating prospects and opportunities, then moving them further down the sales pipeline and closer to signing a deal. 

 

Working with an outsourced sales team gives you a competitive edge because this team is solely dedicated to producing sales results. They’ll be able to work with laser focus to build your pool of prospects, then convert them into leads and sales. 

 When you manage sales in-house, your team may often have their focus diverted by competing priorities. An outsourced sales team, on the other hand, is paid to do one thing – make connections that convert. 

And, thankfully, they also have the knowledge and expertise to make that happen. A great outsourced team will comprise experienced sales professionals who have a deep understanding of making connections and building relationships. 

 The outsourced team’s sales staff will, in most cases, have spent years honing their sales skills. Because of this, they’ll be aware and ready to execute sales processes that get results. 

 Bringing on in-house sales reps can mean spending time on training them to sell, as well as getting them up to speed with your product. An outsourced sales team will already have proven sales techniques and strategies in place; they’ll just need to learn the benefits and solutions your product provides, and they’ll be able to hit the ground running. 

 

Does this mean we see the death of the salesperson?

Well, NO……. The salesperson will continue to be critical within the sales organization. However, there are questions as to what role he or she will play and what skills he or she will need, given that we think the human touch will remain vital to customer interactions.

While your internal team works to develop your business, a dedicated outsourced sales and marketing team will be calling on decades of expertise, experience, and sales cycle knowledge to acquire new customers to fuel that growth.

CUSTOMER LISTS: ROAD MAP TO SUCCESS

CUSTOMER LISTS: ROAD MAP TO SUCCESS

by | May 6, 2021 | Sales

Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock.

That’s the sound of the countdown that begins on the first day of every year, on the first day of every quarter and on the first day of each month. It’s the one aspect of sales that just never changes.

Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock.

Sell, Sell, Sell. 

As we’ve all experienced, the sales process essentially boils down to two things: numbers and time.

And those two things often go hand-in-hand — while we and our team are racing to hit quota against that clock. But we can save time and maximize our numbers by investing in the right planning, processes, activities, and skills.

The truth is, sales is changing — quickly. As sales conversations grow even more buyer-focused, sales reps have begun developing their hacks, techniques, and processes for prospecting.

Prospecting allows you to identify good-fit customers for your business. This means finding leads who truly need your product or service to solve their challenges and pain points.

As a professional sales leader for the last 32 years, I am astounded to see how many of sales reps do not have a well-developed customer list or any customer list at all. It’s a shame. It is like going to the battlefield unarmed, with no plans what so ever…to face defeat and humiliation.

Customer lists vary greatly from company to company and what information you track about your customers will be different depending on your priorities.

With that said, there are at least 4 types of data that every customer list should contain.

  1. Your Customer’s Name
  2. Your Customer’s Address
  3. Your Customer’s Mobile Number
  4. Your Customer’s Email Address

Make the time to collect this complete set of data and watch your business grow exponentially.

GOlD MINE

An accurate and complete customer list could be a goldmine for you as well as your company. It provides leads for sales and focus groups for testing new products. This list should be updated regularly so that it remains current and as effective as possible. Staying on top of your client and customer list can help you more than you initially realise. Some benefits of a customer list besides reaching out to new customers, include the following:

  • You can use your customer list to provide information about new products to previous customers. You could build anticipation for the product by reaching out before it goes on sale and by detailing why your new product could provide additional benefits, even to previous customers.
  • Similarly, these lists provide the opportunity for you to find sales leads from those who have already purchased from your company. Even if you do not have a new product hitting the market, you may have the ability to market already existing products or services that a previous customer may need but did not purchase before.
  • The customer database stores information like personal details, buying habits, last interaction with the firm, contact information etc. Such databases help the firms to understand the customers buying pattern which is used to design products and decide on prices.

No matter the industry you work within, the demographics of your target market, or the kinds of goods/services you provide, you know that collecting data about your customers helps you to improve nearly every aspect of your business.

Data Provides a Deeper Understanding of Your Market

Data makes it much easier for your company to understand what your customers want from your company, the specific products/services they’re looking for, and even how they prefer to interact with your brand.

You can reach out to them about future opportunities, improve your lead generation strategy, and better gauge the actual level of interest a consumer has in your company

So, you’ll spend more time, energy, and marketing money on quality leads.

If you choose the former I would recommend you stop reading right here and get back to complaining and procrastinating, but if you choose the later, let me first tell you I am proud of you, and I insist you read the blog further.

In the second half of this blog I have written every thing that I have personally implemented in my sales routine. 

How To Prospect? 

Unproductive prospecting is a huge time-waster.

1. Research:

Effective prospecting begins by further researching the prospects whom we’ve determined are generally a good fit. Our goal during this phase is to determine the quality of the prospect.

Research the prospect on following parameters:

*GOALS: Determine the prospect’s quantitative goals.

*PLANS: Find out what the prospect has done in the past and what they plan to achieve their goals.

*CHALLENGES: Define prospect’s pain points and whether you have resources to tackle this issue.

*TIMELINE: Assess whether the prospect wants to buy now or in the near future.

*BUDGET: Evaluate whether the prospect has enough cash to close the deal.

*AUTHORITY: If our contact is not the buyer, we need to get the decision maker on board.

2. Prioritize:

Prioritizing our prospects can save us time and ensure we’re dedicating our strongest efforts to prospects that are most likely to become customers.

3. Classify prospects with ratings:

Qualitatively classify prospects by rating them on a spectrum from high, medium, and low suitability.

Remember, your market context is not static. It keeps on changing and is very dynamic in nature. Continuous understanding of your market requires continuous scanning of the market. So, you are required to update your customer list on a regular basis. When you are prepared with an updated customer list, it will give you a greater understanding about the opportunities that exist.

Sales people that win are well planned and the man who is prepared and has planned well has his battle half won. Proper planning prepares you towards your targets and give you a direction. A thoughtfully planned customer list will give you more confidence when you make calls and lead you to the road to success.

“IF YOU DO NOT PREPARE OR PLAN TO SUCCEED, YOU ARE PLANNING TO FAIL.”

 

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BUILDING MATERIAL INDUSTRY POST LOCKDOWN

BUILDING MATERIAL INDUSTRY POST LOCKDOWN

by | Aug 31, 2020 | Sales

Building material industry which has been struggling over the past 3-4 years would possibly witness further deceleration with construction and renovation demand likely to shrink in the near term and would now need to cope with the COVID-19 impact.

CONSTRAINTS POST LOCKDOWN

  • Like many others, the construction sector, too, is reeling under the impact of coronavirus pandemic. There has been a   complete halt in construction activities during lockdown and will take some time to resume work.
  • There has been severe working capital pressure.
  • Projects in cities have come to a complete standstill although some activities have started in far-flung areas.
  • Damage to order inflows-short term or extended bearing is a question mark.
  • Covid-19 followed by rains may lead to a sluggish market in Building Material Industry which may extend to another 6 months.
  • Labour supply remains a big challenge for the sector.
  • Commercial vehicle movement and availability decline is also deepening.
  • The next two quarters shall be very challenging. Recovery in FY 21 will be slow. Demand (short term & long term) shall go down.
  • Demand will also get affected as Customer’s income will go down.
  • Customer would hesitate to go to the market due to hygiene issues or social distancing.

OPPORTUNITIES

Hope for the ‘BEST’; prepare for the ‘WORST’- start beginning to look beyond the crisis seems to be the mantra.

  • Every big crisis is a test of leadership. The different type of traits will have to be demonstrated:
    • keep calm, retain your confidence
    • relentlessly communicate with your people, make them       comfortable, actively collaborate with your partners, reach out to the fraternity, be compassionate.
  • Be focussed on ‘CASH FLOW’. Liquidity and Cash would be the determinants as to who survives and who doesn’t- “TOP LINE IS VANITY, BOTTOM LINE IS SANITY, BUT CASH FLOW IS REALITY”.
  • Government has postponed all collectables including paying GST upfront when you raise an invoice and even loan repayments.
  • Routine and mono-skilled roles will be replaced with specialists and multi-disciplined roles.
  • Skills like creativity, empathy, collaboration will be in prominence.
  • Demand will be divided into “MUST HAVE” & “GOOD TO HAVE”. Luxury buying will take a back seat.
  • This crisis has pushed the mankind from the comfort zone to a zone of discomfort. Fear of unknown is changing us and fear is a very good attribute. It’s a driver for us to deploy the best that we have.
  • Market will move towards digitalization and e-commerce.
  • The crisis has accelerated adaptation of technology at work. Faster computing power, connected devices, cloud, zoom, are redefining the man-machine interface. Digitisation at work place has changed the work culture.

We can either sit by, stare at the news, complain or hopelessly wait for a miracle like a dasmel in distress, or take the situation to our stride and act upon it. 

If you choose the former I would recommend you stop reading right here and get back to complaining and procrastinating, but if you choose the later, let me first tell you I am proud of you, and I insist you read the blog further.

In the second half of this blog I have written every thing that I have personally implemented in my sales routine. 

WAYS OF GETTING BACK TO NORMALCY

  1. Re-emphasize on consultative selling. Do not sell a product- sell solutions, sell services.
  2. Product innovation (germ-free tiles & sanitaryware), Partnership & Collaboration will be a key to be successful. Companies are evolving more towards a one-stop shop solution.
  3. Cost cutting.  
  4. Reducing wasteful inventories leading to increased liquidity.
  5. Less Credits.
  6. Dealers to reduce brands and avoid over trading.
  7.  Dealers to focus on weekly purchasing and not on month-end sale.
  8.  Focus on cash-flow.
  9. Tier 3, 4 & 5 towns will bounce back rapidly.
  10. Sectors to focus upon in the following order:
  11. residential/ Government residential
    1. small projects are already on and would be the first one in the list to pick up.
    2. large projects would pick up slowly.
    3. hospitality should be the last to focus upon.
  1. Apart from learning new skills, stay with your core     strengths.
  2. Reduce risks & liabilities. 
  3. Hygiene would be an important factor.

GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES

Following Government initiatives would go a long way to help building material industry arrest the decline: 

  1. Housing for all
  2. Swachh Bharat Mission
  3. Smart cities
  4. Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana
  5. Atal Mission for rejuvenation and Urbanisation
  6. RERA

Regardless of whether the building material industry moves into a new normal or reverts to the old normal, companies must act now and take the crisis as an opportunity to actively shape the future of the industry.

COVID 19 and the resultant lockdown is not an end of the world. It’s just a crisis, a setback. It is just a halt in the march of the human being, and the mankind. This crisis would differentiate mankind into winners and losers.

 

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17 Things You Can Do During The Corona Virus Lockdown

17 Things You Can Do During The Corona Virus Lockdown

by | Mar 26, 2020 | Aarambh, Sales

The world currently is in its crucial fourth week of the coronavirus outbreak. Practicing social distancing and staying indoors to restrict the spread of the virus is the need of the hour. It is time to slow down, recharge, spend time with your loved ones at home and do things you always wanted to but wouldn’t normally have time to do. I’m for instance working on my book that I’ve been writing on sales and intend to publish in the near future. It’s about making time to tackle some of the things that have been collecting dust in your mental backlog.     

To help you do something productive whilst you are locked indoors during such a time of the pandemic, I’ve put together a list of some ideas. Once you’ve picked your favorites, try using one or more of these awesome to-do-list tools to keep yourself engrossed and productive.   

1. Play around with new technology: There’s never a good time to learn and update your computer skills when you’ve got so many other things going on, but learning those new technologies is important to keep yourself updated with times. So why not use this time to download and play around with some of these new technologies?

2. Write thank-you notes: Take advantage of the opportunity to make someone’s day by writing them a meaningful, personal thank-you note. It’s a way to distinguish yourself in our increasingly informal, digital world.

Thank-you notes are an easy way to show your appreciation. You can send these notes to your customers, your channel partners and even your friends, family and colleagues.

3. Learn a new skill for your job: Most people have a skill they’ve always wanted to learn to advance their career but simply haven’t gotten around to. Many programs and certifications are free online and take only a few hours to complete.

4. Learn a new skill not for your job: Skills that aren’t related to your job are usually even more fun to learn. What about learning how to paint art to decorate your home? Taking a new type of online workout class?

Try to pick something that uses parts of your brain that you don’t usually tap into during the workday. It can do wonders for your happiness, creativity, and wellbeing – and hey, you may even find a new passion that makes a huge impact on your life.

5. Do any work-related tasks in the morning: Use the morning hours when everyone else is asleep to get your work-related tasks done. By the time everyone wakes up, you’ll have checked off a few key to-dos, and will be able to focus on spending time with your family.

6. Start building a habit: Some say it takes 21 days to build a habit. Others say it takes a lot longer. But exactly how long it takes doesn’t really matter. The point is, you’ve to put the work in upfront if you want a habit to stick. So why not use these days to get started? Whether you want to start gardening you always wanted to, or write in a journal before bed each night, take the time during such days to start habit-forming and set yourself up for success.

7. Get your planner or calendar organized for the future: This break is a perfect time to fill out your planner with the appointments and trips you’ve already planned. When you’re not spending time on everyday work tasks, you can experiment with new organizational formats such as the bullet journal to make sure you’re as productive as possible when you head back to work.

8. Set goals for the future: Setting goals gives you a baseline for measuring success, and the motivation to stay on course when things get crazy. Setting goals can be as simple as creating two lists: one of your accomplishments this past year and one of your goals for the next. To get more specific, you can break larger goals into smaller ones by month. Setting SMART goals that I always talk about-Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-bound goals.

9. Organize your inbox: Organize your inbox because a cluttered inbox distracts you from being productive and planned. Now is the right time to do so.

10. Call your long-distance friends: You know that list of friends and family members you’ve been meaning to catch up with, but never seem to find out the time? Open your phone, find a comfortable spot to sit, and give them a call with your full attention. Now’s the perfect time to connect with people you don’t see regularly but want to stay in touch with.

11. Catch up on reading: Here’s a classic but essential tip: Catch up on those books or articles you’ve been wanting to get to so badly. It’s hard to find time to read when you’re busy with work. You can cuddle up with a blanket and a book.   

12. Find a quiet space to let your mind wander: Take some time to remove yourself from your day-to-day -even from your family- to be alone and reflect. Daydream about being your own customer, or your competitor, or what it’s like to be the product you produce/sell. Analyze how you’ve been spending your time over the past few months and whether you’d like to make changes in the times to come.

13. Get exercise in: Staying active even just a little bit each day can be, easy and fun. Not an athlete? Don’t mind… physical activity doesn’t have to be intense. Find an activity like walking on the treadmill, vacuum cleaning and dusting your home, or even mopping floors. Something is always better than nothing, get your blood flowing and keep it up even when you head back to work.

14. Talk to your friends and family about what you do: Work is such an important part of our lives and takes up a huge chunk of our waking hours, so sometimes sharing that with family and friends can actually be a bonding exercise. If your friends and family aren’t familiar with what you do or are interested in learning more, now’s the time to fill them in on what you do all day, why you like or don’t like it, and what you are hoping to do in future. Who knows, you could pick up some great insights from people who are removed from your day-to-day.

15. Schedule your appointments: Think of all minor inconveniences you just can’t seem to get to when you’re on your regular schedule and check and schedule them for the future. Some of these may be scheduling your insurance premium payments, getting the oil changed in your car and so on.

16. Watch a documentary: There are documentaries on almost every subject imaginable, and you might learn about a topic or an issue that inspires you.

17. Prepare meals: In such times, its typically healthier, advisable, and more affordable to make your own meals or help your loved ones to do so than to buy them. But when you’re busy with work, it’s hard to make time to prepare wholesome meals for yourself and your family. Cooking being my passion, I’ve tried almost everything on earth during these days.

Use this time to unwind and refocus. Use this time to calm your mind, energize and relax. What you do during this forced break time could have an impact on your workplace mental health forever.

I urge you to remain indoors and protect yourself and your family.      

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Using Kaizen Mindset as a sales strategy

Using Kaizen Mindset as a sales strategy

by | Jan 21, 2020 | Aarambh, Sales

If you improve by 1% every day, in 1 year your efficiency would increase by 365%.

That is the philosophy of Kaizen, Japanese for continual improvement. Using Kaizen as a sales strategy will consistently improve your daily tasks by reducing waste and unreasonable work methods. This ultimately results into good quality and optimal efficiency.

One small change at a time…. That’s all it takes to enhance productivity and sales strategy. Philosophy of Kaizen works well as small changes are easier to make than big changes. These small changes result into exponential results over a longer period of time. The same thing applies to your sales career.

Ideas that will help you to tap into the principle of Kaizen:

>> Work on one skill at a time- Working on just one skill at a time will achieve much better results. Focus on one skill you are weak at and make commitments to improve just a little bit on this one skill every day for the next couple of months. Once you master this skill, you will be able to practice this efficiently. Every step you take progresses you higher and higher.

 >> Work at it until it becomes a habit- Activities are disciplined into habits we have created a long time ago in the past in our childhood. It is like learning to ride a bicycle until it becomes a habit and comes naturally with no conscious efforts to perform. So work on one skill at a time until it becomes a habit and comes naturally.

 >> Never stop improving- One must take inventory of your weak areas and find mentors to help you grow and develop. You must find mentors in your superiors, friends, colleagues, sales coaches, trainers, workshops, seminars or even Google. The Kaizen principle states that we must continuously improve and you will see the results in the long term.

>> Examine your daily routine: According to the Kaizen principle, you should break your daily routine into minutes and separating smaller and bigger tasks and important and unimportant tasks. Priorities need to be set up for bigger tasks to be accomplished and small and unimportant tasks come later into priority. One must understand why and how you do things. 

>> Improve productivity by delegating tasks– One must analyze carefully if you are devoting enough time to important tasks that really matter. Other tasks may be delegated to someone else. If you reduce the amount of time you are wasting on unimportant things, your productivity improves automatically. Once you pin down your daily routine into important things for yourself, you will feel less stressed and motivated to keep going throughout the day. Reducing wasteful and stressful tasks, your productivity increases substantially over a period of time. 

 >>Take risks- For some reason, people are so afraid to look like fools that they don’t want to do something challenging. It’s the people who take risks that get rewards. If you do not take risks and being scared will keep you in the same spot you’re in now. The biggest lesson about Kaizen isn’t to not worry about getting quick results but it teaches you to take the risk but be aware of the consequences that may arise from the risk. Seek help for improvement and be ready for criticism as without criticism there is no way for self-improvement.

 

Remember, the Kaizen principle is a sure shot formulae for success but it will take patience and dedication. It won’t be easy and it won’t happen overnight. You will have to make an effort to be willing to change your thinking in order for it to work. If you are not open to change, do not expect Kaizen to work. It will only work if you have the desire to change.

Are you ready?    

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Facing sales challenges in 2020

Facing sales challenges in 2020

by | Jan 7, 2020 | Aarambh, Sales

With each passing year, buyer preferences continue to change. Tasks have gotten harder for salespeople in recent years. Top sales professionals are now struggling to survive because most are not prepared on how to be successful in playing on the new field.

Sales priorities, challenges, and trends need to be benchmarked to meet upcoming challenges in 2020. Sales professionals must today be street smart and quick-witted. Possessing effective selling skills is important but the need of the hour is to quickly read the selling scenario and apply the required skill at the right time. The ability to shift from one skill to another is equally important. Sales professionals who prevail will win big as new opportunities escalate amid today’s robust business climate.

Top sales challenges of 2020:

  1. Selling skills– Asking insightful and relevant questions to understand customer needs and challenges would prove to be the most valuable selling skill of 2020.
  2. Relationship building– Information moves freely with an established relationship between the sales professional and the buyer. The buyer is likely to reach the sales close through a complex buyer decision-making process if the sales professional has successfully built a strong relationship and has prepared some groundwork.
  3. Price competition– Strong sales professionals would need to overcome this challenge by converting demands to needs. Once options are offered for meeting the customer need, it would not require concessions on prices.
  4. Prospecting– Getting to the right customers is part of the challenge behind creating a targeted prospecting strategy. Reaching and connecting with the right prospects in a short span of time would be a crucial challenge in 2020.
  5.  Communicating product value– Communicating product value and differentiating clearly and concisely would help the sales professional to convey innovation and create a lasting memorable engagement with his customer. This will also enable him to stand out from the crowd.
  6. Standing apart from the competitors– Sales professionals would require to be selfless and offering expert knowledge and helping customers. Great customer service will turn your customer into brand evangelists and will make you stand apart from the competition.
  7. Low-priced competitors– Sales professionals would need to educate customers to justify an investment in quality and sell value over price. Authentic customer testimonials that focus on value need to be collected and used effectively. Social networking will have to be used effectively to promote long-term value.
  8. Upselling– Nurturing your current clients will keep them invested in your brand. It is not only easy to upsell a happy client but can actually bring more revenue than signing new customers with much lesser effort.
  9. Effective team selling– The sales process works best as a team. It helps develop innovative solutions to challenges and allows everyone to benefit from each other’s knowledge and experience.
  10. Motivation– Difficult times and new challenges at every step affect a sales professional’s productivity. Companies will have to set tangible goals that the sales team can work to accomplish. Then celebrate your team’s wins to boost morale. Sales training and coaching at regular intervals would play a crucial role in meeting challenges in 2020.

Whatever the challenges, there are solutions to solve them. With the right combination of strategy, communication, and skills, sales professionals will be able to develop meaningful dialogue with prospects, accelerate the sales cycle and close more deals.

Problems and challenges are nothing but wake-up calls for creativity. How you respond to these tough sales challenges would differentiate leaders and followers.  

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Selling’-one of the top 20 highest paying jobs in 2020

Selling’-one of the top 20 highest paying jobs in 2020

by | Dec 24, 2019 | Aarambh, Sales

They say ‘people come into sales not by choice but by chance’. Is it?

I do not think so… A job in sales could be a stepping stone to incredible wealth, an influential career and a satisfactory level of work-life balance. There are hundreds of reasons why people today want to consider launching a career in sales by choice.

 I, however, was the fortunate few who chose to sell by choice. I always believed being good at sales means living a rich life. People aspire for it, get it, and make a career in it. Great salespeople are considered heroes and are featured in magazines. Every industry needs more sales. Who do they need to make that happen?

A ‘Sales Person’.

Sales are the wheels of an organization. Nothing moves till a product or a service gets sold. Nothing Happens! With companies gearing up for massive production facilities, impetus on vigorous selling is getting equal importance. Plenty of sales jobs are likely to keep growing in the next several years and pay handsomely as well. Thus, the future of work is looking pretty bright. Selling is not just one of the highest-paid professions in the world but also carries umpteen benefits that are individually sufficient to attract people towards selling as a career. ‘Sales’ has been listed in the top 20 highest paying jobs in 2020.

Some enticing reasons people choose sales as their career path:

  • Great earning potential: The financial rewards can be significant and if you are willing to create new opportunities and have the drive to succeed, the earning potential can seem limitless. The salary structure will vary at each company but will generally involve a basic salary plus incentives, bonus and additional benefits. 
  • Continual learning: As the earning potential is unlimited, so is the learning potential. 
  • Transferable skills, creating a challenging career: The skills developed in a sales career are abundant and provide a desirable career path for many professionals. Unlike many careers you will not feel pigeonholed in one industry; once you develop skills to sell successfully, you can transfer your skills and move between industries providing new challenges and the opportunity to move your career in the direction you desire. I have done this successfully in my career selling various product segments ranging from intravenous fluids to dialysis machines to total parenteral nutrition to contraceptives to tiles, faucets and bath accessories and now my training modules.  
  • Freedom: A day in sales is what you make out of it and there is little time for the clock –watching and a nine-to-five mentality.
  • Networking: Meet a wide variety of people. There is never a dull day.
  • Non-stop personal growth: If you are into sales and you do well over a period of time, I can guarantee you non-stop personal growth. There are so many different types of people you will encounter, so many barriers, so many challenges-that it is not possible to do well in sales without focussing on growing yourself as a person. 

Whatever limitations you may have- lack of patience, anger issues, self-esteem issues, lack of persistence, lack of social intelligence, lack of focus, attention deficit, lack of charisma, problem with public speaking, problem with authority figures- whatever it may be, you will have to work on each and every limitation and sort them out to continue to grow as a salesperson. There is perhaps no job other than sales that bring you in front of your worst insecurities, fears, rejections and failures every day.

  • You become an excellent conversationalist.
  • Develop initiative.
  • Sales jobs are the safest jobs: Companies would not like to lose a good salesperson as long as they produce and need to sell their produce.
  • Quick reward and fast growth.
  • Unlimited job opportunities.
  • Derivatives of sales jobs are plenty:  When salespeople transition out there are opportunities as marketing specialists, corporate strategist, consultant, operations manager, business owner or a trainer and a coach.
  • Sales is a global skill: If you are a good salesperson in India, you can probably be as good in the USA, UK, Dubai or Singapore. The best of the best Indian salespersons often migrate to economies that pay more and offer better lifestyle. It is not possible with most of the other professions. 
  • Can you stay calm and genuinely peaceful when a dissatisfied customer shouts at you?
  • Can you get a terrible rejection and then again pick up the phone and talk to the next customer with the same enthusiasm as if nothing has happened?
  • Can you love and respect customers who avoid follow-ups, break promises, pretend to know things they don’t?
  • Can you charm people all day?

I bet you will face all that if you are into sales. That is why average people run away from sales. They do not have the courage to face such experiences. It takes immense courage to stick to sales and a lion’s heart to succeed in sales. 

For those who love challenges and competition, who value rewards for their efforts, and want a role that recognises success, a career in sales awaits you.  

 

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