JBIMS hosts Mr. Sreenivas Nagappa, for session on B2B Selling[/b]
Carrying forward the tradition of encouraging continuous and enriching interactions between the students and industry luminaries, JBIMS played host to Mr. Sreenivas Nagappa, Country Manager, Office Depot. Mr. Nagappa has worked with Hindustan Unilever holding senior Supply Chain and Business Head positions. He held the position of Director of Strategy & International Business Development while working with Essel Propack Ltd.
The question that arises in the minds of students is, what makes B2B Selling different from B2C Selling? Mr. Nagappa started the session with addressing this question. He stressed on the fact that the bases of all businesses are the same: sustainability, fulfilling need, adding value, and generating economic benefits. But he further spoke about dissimilarities between the two wherein the difference lied in the person you are selling to. In B2B Selling the customers are corporate houses, who are always more equipped with information, strategies, and data as against B2C Selling where the consumer of the product just compares the product with his need and prices of the competitors.
He further spoke about the importance of sales in the functioning of a business and explained the process of B2B sales. He was of the belief that convincing skills are the most important for any B2B Selling company to function and thus, only the best people should be put on the field.
He explained two ways of doing a business: rigour of analysis and betting on your gut. He believes that selling is all about the ‘ability to manage ambiguity and adversity’. One needs to be very curious to specifically understand the customer’s requirements and constantly equip them with the products.
The various steps involved in a B2B deal were explained by Mr. Nagappa who called the process “Winning an Account – The Funnel”. He walked the students through the stages of a deal right from the first meeting to customisation of proposals, negotiation, and signing of the deal, drawing from his experience of having handheld various deals to their conclusion.
After a Q&A session, Mr. Nagappa concluded on a very humble note quoting that B2B Selling is “No Rocket Science and No Einstein Theory. The best idea in a B2B Selling is that there is never a wrong answer, and the worst being that there is never a right answer. The audience was enthralled by this journey they had with Mr. Nagappa. The session was as interesting as it was informative. It endowed the students with invaluable mantras for marketing and for life which will continue to inspire them throughout their management careers. The session ended with the students at JBIMS expressing their heartfelt gratitude to Mr. Nagappa.