I began my career as a Management Trainee in SAIL in 1987. I have a rich & varied industry experience of 23 years and worked with reputed companies (Rs 500 Cr- Rs 1000 Cr) as General Manager in the functions of Sales & Marketing, Distribution & Customer Relations. A Mechanical Engineer from IIT-Kharagpur and a PGDM from IISWBM-Kolkata, I love music, reading and studying human behaviour. My passion is sharing experience and knowledge and nurturing young minds.
· When did you join teaching profession? Why did you choose to be a professor?
While training and growing high-performance teams have been an important part of my job for the last 12 years, it was in 2007 that I launched myself as a Corporate Trainer and a Management faculty in business schools. For the last 6 years I have been engaged in training of young management students as well as working professionals in many companies of national and international repute. My workshops span different areas of marketing management, sales skills and behavioural training.
I have chosen this profession because there is a pressing need to make qualified students in our country employable as the gap between skilled professionals required by the industry and the pool of qualified youth is widening in our country which could lead to grave consequences both in terms of the economic development of India as well as the general well-being, peace and happiness among the youth of the nation
· What about teaching at b-schools inspires you the most?
Young managerial talent and aspiring minds ignite my passion to train and develop them into successful managers. It gives me great pleasure to mentor and guide the students and encourage a spirit of learning. What inspires me most is to initiate and nurture the transformation from students to practicing professionals. Here, I would like to emphasize that in professional courses like management it is the practice and development of professional skills which is as important, if not more than academic knowledge.
· Which subjects do you teach? Which ones do you like the most?
I teach sales management and marketing communications. Although my core area is sales, I have been engaged in conducting workshops in retail, digital marketing, branding and strategic marketing. Supply chain management and application of IT in marketing are the other subjects that I like. However, I love conducting workshops on developing selling skills.
· What is your teaching philosophy?
I believe that students should be trained to gather and assimilate knowledge on their own. What they do not understand or need further clarification, should be discussed in the class. This way, the class becomes more interesting and the students can acquire greater depth of knowledge. Further, the trainer / teacher should test the application of knowledge by giving the students some exercise or assignment in the class itself. Group activity, role plays etc. add flavour to the class
· Do you believe teaching should be more application based than theory? If yes, then how do you support it?
Absolutely. Management, being a behavioural science, has a lot of academic material available. However, mere understandings of these concepts lead the students nowhere. What is required for them to be successful in Industry, is the ability to work in specific processes related to their job or profession. Hence, the students should be trained in these processes while they are pursuing their professional studies in college so that they are industry-ready when they complete their course.
· Who in your life has influenced you the most?
Some of my senior colleagues with whom I have worked. These include the ex-MD of Eureka Forbes, Mr A.K. Marfatia, Mr S. Subberwal of J&N and Ms Jayshree Mohanka. It would be unfair to name only a few since I had the rare opportunity to work with some of the top stalwarts in the Indian industry.
· What suggestions would you like to make in the course of MBA?
Any MBA course should be structured around the emerging needs of the Indian industry. Today, India is a global power and hence a lot of stress has to be given on communication skills in English and computer applications as, the future trends show that most of the information flow, communication flow and even decision-making will be done through the Internet and application software like CRM, SFA, ERP etc. Students should be trained adequately in business packages like Excel, Tally, Powerpoint, etc
· As a faculty, what kind of projects do you expect students to work upon?
I do not believe in the concept of Summer Internship project as it is for a very short duration and the students can rarely contribute anything of substance to the companies through their projects. The Internship, or rather, Traineeship, should be an ongoing exercise for the student and it is only in this way that the student can learn something worthwhile and also contribute to the organisation.
· How are current technological advancements changing your teaching style?
Nowadays, we are 100% reliant on presentations through LCD projection from our computers / laptops and case studies / study material is downloaded from the Net. Assignments submitted by students are uploaded on the portal and so are the assessments. E-learning is the latest trend and I have done many workshops successfully with students attending from remote places across India. Smartphones are also becoming more useful and students are able to access teaching material while attending classes. Wi-Fi enabled campus helps to create a seamless learning environment.
· What is the impact of mobile technologies boom influencing your area of specialization?
Mobile technology is impacting marketing tremendously. Nowadays, we see advertisements in the newspapers with QR codes which can take us directly to the brand’s website for a more informed experience. SMS marketing has now become a staple for organisations. Even the salesforce is connected 24x7 through the smartphones with the applications loaded. Social networking is now a common phenomenon which the marketing teams in most organisations is trying to tap. M-Commerce is increasingly gaining popularity. In fact, mobile usage is the only media which is booming and growing at a fast clip.
· How are social networks influencing your discipline?
Peer recommendation is now considered to be the most effective form of marketing. Traditional advertising is declining. Digital marketing is going to account for 50% of the advertisement revenues within 5 to 6 years. The entire dynamics of marketing is changing. People believe what their peers say more than anything else. Due to social networks, customer feedback is moving across the world at breakneck speed and people are talking more and discussing more, both the good and bad aspects of brands and products. As such, the challenge for marketing organisations is to harness this powerhouse and utilise it to not only understand the future needs of customers but also to key in to what they are talking about their products. Customer engagement at every stage of marketing, right from the product development stage to after-sales service will be the challenge now.
· How does the economy story of India change your discipline?
The global economy is increasingly affecting Indian economy and in a connected world with the growth of MNCs and the world as a marketplace, both Indian companies and international organisations will have to understand that India is not a homogeneous market, with sharp lines drawn between urban and rural. Rural marketing is quite different and something that the global players need to learn if they want to be successful in India. Opening up of sectors like Retail, Insurance, Telecom, etc. will make the marketplace more competitive. The market is getting more and more fragmented and the emergence of niche players and targeted marketing practices are going to change the playing field.
· What changes do you see on the horizon in your area of discipline?
As a discipline, Sales will see the following changes:
1. It will need more skilled people with the understanding of customer needs being critical for success.
2. The technique of probing to identify the needs, buying criteria and effective communication of the competitive advantages will be most important
3. Long-term relations with customers and leveraging the benefits through referencing, cross-selling and up-selling will become increasingly useful
4. 24x7 connectivity and reduction of cycle time from lead generation to closing of sales will define success
5. A robust CRM and SFA system will separate the winners from the losers
· One touching incident that happened with you in your teaching career?
I met a trainee in a sales training workshop I was conducting for a leading cement company and this person came up to me smiling and wished me profusely, even wanting to touch my feet, as a mark of respect. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was the same young, fresh, MBA graduate whom I had recruited about 8 years back in my Sales Team and I was happy to meet him and felt proud that he had progressed in his career fast.
· There is a shortage of eminent professors at b-schools. With more and more institutes offering the MBA course, do you think MBA will become just another degree?
It has already become just another qualification like the other degree courses general colleges and universities are offering. In fact, there are as many new b-schools opening up as there are closing down every year. Like everything else, only the fittest will survive. As i have said earlier, professors will be replaced by working professionals with hard-core, practical working experience in specialised fields of sales and marketing. Let’s take sales. Channel sales, retail sales, Institutional sales are all different. It would be very difficult, almost impossible, for a professor to know, understand and train aspiring sales professionals on the current market practices, standards and techniques as a lot of process knowledge, skills and behavioural refinement will be needed to succeed in the marketplace
· Do you think the course curriculum is at par with industry expectations?
Not at all. How else can one explain that MBAs are not getting jobs in good companies and, even if they do, they are not able to survive. Most of the MBAs harbour a false notion of getting cushy jobs, ensconced in their AC rooms with laptops, whereas the reality is totally different. Academic subjects and knowledge have little or no bearing on the skills and competencies required at work. Course curriculum should be developed through constant interaction with the industry and upgraded every year. There should not be any interference in this process from external agencies or bodies to ensure that the curriculum is relevant to industry requirements
· If you hadn’t been a professor, what would you be? What are your professional/career goals?
I am a trainer and a coach. I am also a practising sales professional as I firmly believe that without professional practice, I will not be able to keep myself at the cutting edge of my profession as a sales trainer. My professional goal is to head an international sales training Institution which will churn out world-class sales professionals.
· What message would you like to give to students across the globe?
Sales is a process where you need to master some basic skills like active listening, asking good questions and building rapport with other people. There is nothing like “born salesmen” and anybody can learn to become a good salesperson. Sales is a profession which will never go out of fashion and will always be in demand, irrespective of economic cycles.
· Any feedback for ManagementParadise.com?
It is a good website and useful for referencing by management students who need to clarify concepts. It would add more value to students by carrying some case studies and also online tests to measure aptitude in different specialisations.
. How can our readers contact you?
My Email is [email protected] and I usually respond within 24 hours.