Kraftshala, India’s largest marketing-jobs providing edtech platform, partnered with Sushrut Nalluwar, Director of Sales at Nestlé, a global leader in the food and beverage industry, for an insightful session on careers in sales. The session aimed at dispelling misconceptions surrounding sales careers while highlighting how to bridge the skills gap preventing professionals from exploiting the immense potential and growth opportunities in the field.
The session, hosted free of charge by Kraftshala, featured Sushrut Nallulwar, Sales Director at Nestlé India, as the keynote speaker. With over 17 years of industry experience and an MBA from IIM Mumbai (formerly NITIE), Sushrut shared invaluable insights into the dynamic nature of sales careers and the impactful role sales plays in shaping businesses and business leaders.
Unlike the popular perception, Sushrut pointed out that a profession in sales offers a dynamic learning environment with accompanying challenges, opportunities, and ambiguities. He added that the profession provides a firsthand opportunity to witness the “whole VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous) world in all its glory” and a sales professional’s response to this challenge often has the potential to impact the business.
“You’re hit with that VUCA world as the first line and you almost have that responsibility of how the company responds to that VUCA, both in unlocking new opportunities and responding to challenges. And that’s a great place to be in because it, in a way, defines what the company’s response will be in terms of the way forward. So it’s a position with a lot of responsibility, and the immense opportunity to create an impact both on the business and the people’s front,” he said.
Sushrut highlighted that all jobs have accompanying pressures, and while it is believed that a unique kind of sales pressure comes with well-defined deadlines, the joy associated with delivering in the critical area of the business was also the most gratifying part of the sales function.
“…there is no pleasure without pressure, let me put it that way. So they coexist, but that is not unique to this job. Every job has different kinds of joys and pressures that one has to deal with,” Sushrut said.
Varun Satia, Co-Founder & CEO of Kraftshala, who was moderating the session added an example from his early professional career to highlight the exhilaration achieving sales targets provides.
“I had a stint in sales in Kalyan, not far from Mumbai City, during the time when it was referred to as Mumbai City 3. The feeling of accomplishment when I met my sales targets after initially falling short was truly rewarding. Compared to marketing, where results could take months to materialize, the direct impact in sales was deeply satisfying. This immediate sense of achievement mirrors the fulfillment of entrepreneurship, making sales uniquely rewarding” he added.
One key takeaway was the importance of understanding the ‘Whys’ behind the ‘What’ in this field, for a robust foundation. Additionally, the session emphasized the distinction between performance and results, offering valuable insights into achieving long-term success in sales careers.
Speaking on the collaboration, Varun said, “We are committed to bridging the gap between academia and industry, offering actionable insights to aspiring professionals. Partnering with industry leaders from companies like Nestlé enables Kraftshala to empower individuals with the tools needed to forge successful career paths. We’ve been conducting these Kraftshala LIVE sessions every Tuesday more or less since Covid and are committed to help freshers become more informed of career options and make meaningful decisions.”
Sushrut added that sales along with other commercial business functions have a lot of options available to grow in the business world. “This is a career path with immense gratification and control over outcomes. Within the sales function, there is a diversity of roles available today and there is a need for awareness around this.”
A participating student, Deeksha said, “I am grateful for the invaluable insights gained during the session. The accessibility to such sessions is usually costly, but Kraftshala provided it free of charge. It’s an amazing value!.”
This collaboration between Kraftshala and Nestlé Sales Director forms part of an ongoing initiative to help people start their career in Sales through a Post Graduate Program in Sales and Business Leadership where students get trained through industry experts and get roles upto 18 LPA. Kraftshala concluded admissions for its pilot batch and has already received great response from recruiters who are always in dearth of good sales talent. Like all Kraftshala programs, this one also comes with placement accountability where if the student doesn’t get a job, Kraftshala shares the responsibility and refunds the majority of the fees. Through such endeavours, the aim is to equip aspiring professionals with the requisite knowledge and skills to excel in the dynamic world of sales and beyond.
