July 2017, I was fresh out of Engineering College. First Job in an industry giant “Siemens”. I was super excited about Work. Ready to explore the very fancy Corporate World. My first location was Bangalore in Healthcare Division of Siemens Group. The role was of Sales.
Unaware of the upcoming challenges, Sales days in Bangalore started. I was given 13 districts in Northern Karnataka Started. I was operating from Bangalore. Geographically Karnataka is very big and stretched. The distance from Bangalore to my closest district (Bellary) was 300kms and the farthest district (Bidar) was 700kms. I was super amazed by the travel perks and the very fancy Corporate Amex Card.
Competition had a huge presence in that region. Also there was a huge market for Second Hand Equipment. The region had been dry for us. It was very challenging to go talk to people. I had never been a master of Soft Skills. Also there were language barriers as I don’t know Kannada. Learning so many products and remembering their technical specifications and presenting it to a prospect client was difficult. The Stakeholders were mostly very Senior Doctors. Being an Electronics Engineer talking to them with Medical Terms was the biggest pain.
Days and then months passed. Lost several deals to the competition in that period. Dealing with rejection was difficult but I always kept myself on toes. The management was very supportive, which I believed helped me to deal with the situation. I worked really hard. Changed the approach which I felt was not working. Spoke to seniors and peers on several occasions and understand various perspectives. Later that phase got over and I excelled in career.
If I look back and think, if I would have had given up on it, I probably would never have been the person that I am today. I fought and overcame the challenges. I started loving sales as a career. Sales became a lifestyle. Everyday became a new learning day. You meet new people every day and they carry so much with them. You Learn, Unlearn and then Relearn. Sales made me humble, receptive, open minded, organized and attentive. It has become a passion. A way of life. I realized how important it is for you to be on toes all the time.
#ABGLP Woo Me Season 2
