Comfort, not our Jam
“Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle.” — Abraham Lincoln.
I remember how many times my heart sank when I was doing my first outbound call. Picking up a cell phone looked like a daunting task. The fear of what the client might ask and whether I would be able to answer those crucial queries.
On my very first day, I was asked to join the team to participate in the first Drip-sponsored International Garment Fair. Pitching to prospects at the fair, while still figuring out about Drip and its offerings, gave me a unique exposure. This made me realize that Drip has a lot to offer in terms of unknown challenges on a day-to-day basis.
I found myself sharing the table with the company’s top management, working through countless iterations to figure out the right sales pitch. The discussions on the usage of the words ‘working capital’ vs ‘bill discounting’ set the stage for me to gain technical expertise about the product offerings of Drip.
The best way to learn about the product is to face the client and build your experience dealing with one. I recall attending an inbound query when a prospect asked if he’s eligible for funding to supply livestock from Jharkhand to West Bengal. Its answer was a direct reference to Drip’s eligibility criteria for the exporters. Neither do we fund domestic trade, nor we fund the perishable ingredient of Chicken Gravy.
Traveling to more than 29 cities and meeting more than 12 clients per week was “Sales 101” for me. It was amazing to be an audience for customers’ first responses for a unique fintech offering across the country, and their varied and many reactions to the same. Most of these customers repudiated the idea of getting credit at the click of a button. I recall doing a video call with a client (based out of Tirupur) to explain how to upload documents on Drip’s portal. Incidents like this not only helped me better understand how to pitch Drip’s products, it was a learning experience about business in India as well.
Two years and two months later, I can now comfortably say that Drip helped discover the “salesperson” in me. During this time, I have had the chance to work in at least five different roles, across several sales projects, from dealing with Account Management (AM) or working closely with our first banking channel partner to mentoring the next batch of sales rock stars — and I am sure I’ve missed out a few things as well.
Over time, I have become comfortable with discomfort. It’s the kind of discomfort that doesn’t let me sleep without checking the sales numbers at night. It’s been something that has helped me find what I love doing here, the kind that makes you want to work after holidays (and during holidays too, sometimes).
The “discomfort” I feel working at Drip pushes me to come to work every day, to excel, to innovate, to own things, and to feel HAPPY! These are the values we cherish at Drip Capital, and the values I try to embody in my life every day.
