Maneesh Konkar: This is Maneesh saying Hi to all of you
Firstnaukri: Hello Everyone, Thanks for logging in. Let me welcome Mr. Maneesh Konkar to this interactive session. Request Maneesh to give his opening comments and open the floor for student questions.
Maneesh Konkar: Hello everyone. good to be here.
Rajiv Kohli: Good Evening Sir, I have 2 years of wrk exp,Now m in Colgate, can you help me out to know what are the to get into an asm position should i move now or should I spend more time here
Maneesh Konkar: Rajiv - an asm position requires you to possess the following skills - analysis, data crunching and people management skills. Develop these skills by analysing teh distributor ROI and yr territory.
jaity kesarwani: i want to do mba from better collage in less fees
Maneesh Konkar: Jaita - suggest you take a decision on an mba college looking at faculty capability and placement record also, loans are available to help you on teh fees side
VIPLOVE GOLECHA: hello maneesh sir i am viplove golecha from nasik i want to ask you a question regarding career in sales....i have completed my MBA in Finance do you thing a career in sales is much better than a
Rajiv Kohli: What type of companies should I select for my growth in next level
Maneesh Konkar: Sales is a profession you will end up doing even in a finance job. Both fields are good and at middle management both sales and financial skills are required. try a career in sales for a bank or a mutual fund company
Rajiv Kohli: Sir I need growth n it will take time I understand but i don hv that much time, need to grow fast , wt say changing sector will help
Rajesh: I want to know how to become sales genius
Maneesh Konkar: Growth comes when you do great quality work - which happens automatically when you have passion for the product and the sales profession. Before changing industry - ask yourself, if you did not need the money would you still be working in this industry? if not then join an industry which you are passionate about.
Maninder Pal Singh: Sir, I want to pursue my career as a management consultant
Maneesh Konkar: For a management consultant, teh skills required are industry knowledge, analytical skills and business to business marketing. read books on key account management to know more. superb field to be in.
jaity kesarwani: in bba my specialization was finance & marketing
jaity kesarwani: which would be helpful for abroad
jaity kesarwani: i think IB should be better for but i've no good suggestion plz you tell me
Maneesh Konkar: for any job a basic skill in selling - presentation, knowledge of teh product and industry and knowledge of industry would be required irrespective of country you choose.
VIPLOVE GOLECHA: sir but if someone is not good at sales so what are the career choice left with him if he is an MBA Finance?
VIPLOVE GOLECHA: than a career in Core Finance....
Maneesh Konkar: join on the operations side in a KPO. no selling there and a little basic knowledge of finance is sufficient
Vartik: Thats correct, Iam not passionate about semiconductors but then will it be easy to switch now. What options should I look for?
Vartik: What other options in terms of industry can i go ahead with
Vartik: I did my engg in 2008 and worked with an IT firm in business development for two years. Then completed my MBA in April 2012 . Now Iam working in Cypress Semiconductors as product marketing engineer
Maneesh Konkar: with two years of experience, if you join any industry other than IT, you will not get any credit for yr experience. stick to IT. you coudl later also shift to teh domain analyst role or in presales.
deepti: sir i am working with education industry and want o change in hr line. presently i am working as an counselor
Maneesh Konkar: start with an evening diploma to get an idea of an HR role. then take a decsion.
dsingh: do i have to take up a carrer in sales
dsingh: I have done my MBA with specialisation in markeing,
Maneesh Konkar: any large company will alternate you between a sales and marketing role. be prepared for it.
Gurvinder singh: heloo sir , this is gurvinder.....right now i am fresher an done mba in finance....since i m not getting job..what will i do
Pankaj Prasad: most imp how i can make my self a strong candidate for applying in any reputed company ..
ramesh: what is sales
Pankaj Prasad: hello sir , Pankaj Prasad here i present i am pursuing MBA (Marketing ) 2nd yr from DR.Y Patil university navi mumbai .. i can't any find any job opening as per my qualification
Maneesh Konkar: prepare for the interview by - a. reading economic times regularly. b. researching the company you are applying to on teh website and economic times. c. study teh profiles of senior people in teh company on linked in. all these three things will give you the answer - what value can I add to this company.
vinay kumar: Hello sir, i done my MBA in marketing but i am interested in working at operations.Is this possibble to work in Operations .
siddharth: will PMI Certified Associate Project Management (CAPM) will help me go ahead?
Maneesh Konkar: yes, operations involves working with people and machines to improve productivity. sales only works with people. go ahead. possible to make the shift.
vridhi: I have been told by my peers and elders that sales is not a career option for girls IS that true ? How is the career progress in sales
Maneesh Konkar: there are thousands of successful girls selling products and services like financial products, media, IT hardware and software, advertising, etc.
Richa : Do you hire for your own organisation?
Maneesh Konkar: no
suma: Hi sir am suma from hyderabad i did my B.Tech then i worked for 1+ years in IT field then i have joined in mba know am searchg for job as every interviewer is asking me why did u do mba pls give me
suma: sir tell me how shud i crack interv so that i get a job
Maneesh Konkar: read teh answer - how to prepare for an interview. yr answer could cover aspects like - better exposure, wider perspective than a graduate, etc
Rajesh: Is there some specific skill set required for success in sales. I have heard that sales is for street smart people and not the pedantic ones, is that true ?
Maneesh Konkar: one of teh biggest myths going around about sales. Good sales people are not just smart, also matured, patient, persistent and show concern for people. The type you described are the over smart ones who bring nothing but shame to their own companies.
shakti: How can i become Crorepati in sales ?
Maneesh Konkar: go to my blog youngleadersateverylevel.blogspot and buy my book. you will get yr answer.
prathishjoseph: Hi sir .currently i am pursuing my PGDM in Marketing & HR (dual specilization), which is best suitable profile to work where i can apply both?
Monalisa Nayak: Hello Sir, I am Monalisa. I want a job in HR. But our college is not giving good placement for HR. I am in 2nd yr and my course will finish within 5 months. please suggest me the ways where i can app
Maneesh Konkar: try a recruitment firm, an HR consultancy. even naukri has some excellent roles as you will be selling to HR people. or try a training organization
Aadi: How do i prepare for an interview for sales position. What are attributes necessary for a sales professional ?
Maneesh Konkar: knowledge of teh company, awareness of business challenges facing yr target company. clarity on yr biodata. future goals in next three years.
prathishjoseph: Do sales job is fit for only highly assertive and extrovert people?
Maneesh Konkar: it helps yes. but going into teh job actuallly develops these skills also. I remember I myself was not very assertive after MBA more than 15 yrs back. this profession teaches you these skills very quickly.
Sankar: Sir, I am afraid of target based jobs, what to do if i am not able to meet my target ?
Maneesh Konkar: then either they will lower the target, or they will ask you to find another company with lower targets. its fine - lots of people have this fear.
swapnil s. joshi: sir recently i've pass my MBA in Porduction & operation management & before that i did B.sc in chemistry, so how can i explore my career ? should i do M.sc in chemistry?
Maneesh Konkar: or try MBA- better option than Msc.
tanmoy bose: sir does location matters in making carrier moves..?? suppose if I work for rural markets ,is it true thatIi will not be considered for urban metros??
Maneesh Konkar: most companies will try to keep you in teh same state or atleast teh same region. eg if you are from Haryana, yr posting could be anywhere in north india.
Joshy Mathew: Sir, does being from an elite B school bring any advantage in a sales career ?
Maneesh Konkar: you join at a managerial level as a management trainee. else you join as a frontline sales person. difference is about five years.
shakti: Is it true that sales job have lot of stress and one has lie to sell
prathishjoseph: what are the competencies a sales manager must have,how to handle the targets without stress...
Maneesh Konkar: stress happens to people who do not have competencies and knowledge. If you have knowledge of product, company, customer and selling skills, life is easy. else you will be stressed out.
amrita: how are the growth opportunities in sales different for different industriy?
Maneesh Konkar: very different. in sales you write yr own cheq. star performers in sales make three times more than poor performers. no other industry has this.
biplob das: sir am a marketing professional with two years of experience in training industry,now am planning to shift to IT sales......will it be a good bet??????
Asif M: Sir how should a start up company go about selling its software to a big company, if no one has sales experience ?
Maneesh Konkar: IT sales requires you to have domain knowledge, persistence and most of all connections to senior decision makers across yr clients industry. use linked in to research these people and approach them directly, yr selling cycle will be faster
prathishjoseph: how can we distingi=uish between sales & marketing..in interview these qstns are haunting
Maneesh Konkar: marketing involves creation of advertising, hoardings, point of purchase material, deciding monthly schemes, etc. Sales requires you to talk to customers and use these tools to achieve these targets.
Asif M: How do you establish a sales channel in the middle east, working from India ?
Maneesh Konkar: get active on linked in. use skype to talk to people there. Book an airticket on air asia three months in advance and then meet six people a day for five days. you will get atleast five six partners.
Rajesh: Sir Is it possible to change career in middle age. I mean Sales to HR or Finance
Maneesh Konkar: yes possible. best option is to explore such a shift in yr existing company itself.
prathishjoseph: BBA+MBA is well suited for Sales or marketing, where companies prefer engineering grads for marketing postions...what is your view on this
Maneesh Konkar: some of the best industrial sales people I know are not even engineers. in any case you will have a separate technical team to assist you in selling. If you know yr way with people, companies will give you a chance.
Naveen C K: Sir, my boss keeps on setting unreasonable targets, looks like he is not able to estimate the market correctly, what should i do ?
Maneesh Konkar: revert back to him with data on yr assessment of market potential and how much should the target be - calculate in a scientific manner.
pankaj malik: Helo sir, i am MBA and B tech, worked as a business consultant in orange business services on a contract of 4 months, now contract is over. what should i do because this exp is not enough for gud job
Maneesh Konkar: keep following up with placement consultants and job sites for interviews. Practice to explain in a crisp manner your key learnings from Orange four months. How did you work? what did you achieve? if we gave you a chance, what would you do differently? use that experience to sell yourself.
amrita: With respect to current market scenario what will be the difficulty that a startup company salesteam would suffer.....and does it changes with respect to different sector?
Maneesh Konkar: a start up sales person has a branding issue, but he also has an advantage as his pricing is lower. eventually, getting one sale is easy, then yr product has to deliver, that's how you get repeat business
amrita: Could you please tell me something about virtual sales?.....which is something CISCO did recently
Maneesh Konkar: no idea actually.
vikas: HI Sir, What all aspects of sales should we work upon to maintain a good work life balance right from the beginning
Maneesh Konkar: steven covey calls it a "circle of life". decide yr definition of success early in life. then stick to oit. success in life is not just better career and money, it is aslso learning, free time, growth, personal time.
prathishjoseph: If company market share(region) is going down with no reasons, what ways a sales manager should act on it......
Maneesh Konkar: check competition data. take feedback from customers both happy and unhappy. interview employees who are quitting.
prathishjoseph: is sales a tough job while comparing other functions such as Hr,fin...
Maneesh Konkar: it also pays more.
Firstnaukri: Thank You Maneesh for your insightful views. Thanks everyone for logging in. Tune in to Firstnaukri Net-Engage for more such events in future.
Maneesh Konkar: Thank you First naukri for this opportunity.
