Category: Business Development

Leaping towards the Sales Target

~ anandnataraj ~ Leave a comment

Just realised that we are leaping towards the sales target on a Leap year day…

Though we have planned to accomplish the target way ahead and derived strategies to accomplish the target, we became complacent in between…

But it is good to see folks working as a team to accomplish the target at any cost before the end of the day…

Now we are to cover the last mile and just 2% short of our target… Wish we could accomplish this in less than an hour… Now we are;

  • Aggressively following up with customers…
  • Calling new prospects…
  • Trying to Cross Sell & Up Sell to existing customers..
  • Pushing customer on Live Chat…

If folks accomplish the target I’ve planned to offer a surprise to my CTO!!!

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Cogzidel’s Commanders Huddle at Swami SoHo

~ anandnataraj ~ Leave a comment

Cogzidel’s Commanders Huddled at CTO Swaminathan Kasiviswanathan’s New SoHo…

One thing I like about Swami is the way he experiments & he pushes me try out my crazy stuff..

Here is Cogzidel’s first SoHo & first meeting in a SoHo…

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Sales Team presented their Plans & Proposal for the subsequent week…

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Shiva Presenting his Plans & Proposals…

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Sid’s turn to present…

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Shiva bypasses Dspark to convince Swami…

Wanted Pre-Sales & Business Analyst

~ anandnataraj ~ Leave a comment

Cogzidel Technologies Pvt Ltd is looking Pre-Sales & Business Analyst for itz Chennai office with following Skills;

Desired Skills:

  • Engineering or Graduates – with min 1year experience in Presales or business analyst roles…
  • Excellent interpersonal relationship building skills & Analytical skills…
  • Advanced computer knowledge – PPT, MPP & other Microsoft tools. Exposure in using CRM tools…

Job Description:

  • Ability to understand and capture business & technical requirements…
  • To respond to RFP and RFI…
  • Ability to Make quick online research and respond to client’s questions over the call…
  • Responsible to prepare for meetings and tailoring communications to address business needs of potential clients…
  • Responsible for providing feedback from the customer to the development team on any project related queries…
  • Liaison with Customers and Development team to understand details of project requirement & design and communicate information back to sales organization…
  • Production of responses to Requests for Information and Requests for Pricing…

Please email your resumes / reference to anand@cogzidel.com…

Cold Calling Experiences by Sivaraman Natarajan

~ anandnataraj ~ Leave a comment

This is what transpired during one of my calls –  

Me: Hello, Good Morning!
Receptionist:  Good morning Sir
Me: I am Sivaraman calling from company – Y
Receptionist: Okay…
Me: Can I please talk to Mr. X?
Receptionist:I would need his badge number
Me: I am sorry. What is that?
Receptionist: All our employees have a badge number Sir. You have to give me that
Me: Sorry, I don’t know Mr.X’s badge number. Can you look him up in the extension directory please?
Receptionist: Let me see…(a min later) Sorry Sir, I cannot find him
Me: Can you please find Mr. W then?
Receptionist: Mr. W? This is regarding?
Me: This is regarding a business meeting
Receptionist: What business Sir?
Me: Can I please talk to him directly about it? (ending with a smile)
Receptionist: Hmm…I am putting him through. Please hold
Me: Thank you! 
W: Hello, W speaking, who is this?
Me: Good morning Sir! I am Sivaraman calling from Y. I got your reference from ____. Is it a good time to talk to you? Can I have 5 minutes of your time?
W: (a little hesitating) Yes…What is this regarding? 
Me: Sir, this is regarding….blah blah..

This is one experience where I got to handle 3 objections and got rewarded ultimately. When making calls, it is important to handle certain objections, especially if we are calling the board number and talking to a receptionist. 

Objection: Mr. X does not work here/Mr. X is in a meeting/business trip/on vacation
Counter: Can I talk to Mr. W then?
Objection: He is not available today/He is not at his desk
Counter: Is he on vacation?/Is he in a meeting?/When can I call again?/Can I have his extension number?/Can I have his email id please?

The idea is to get as much information as possible in a single call. It can get really annoying to a receptionist if we assume a rigid/matter-of-fact tone. One has to respect the time of a receptionist.

When we get to the person we want to talk to, we ideally get a maximum of 5 minutes, so, we should get to the objective of the call as quickly as possible. 

Homework before calling is paramount. 

The success rate of cold calling is not very high. Hence, it pays to be persistent and methodical. Cold calling should always be complemented by direct mailing and follow-ups to be effective.