1997, I left my three-month job because I could not sell even one modem. It was door-to-door selling. I used to knock on the door and started pitching anyone open their door :D. I thought, “Selling is not my cup of tea” and I left the job in 3 months and started searching for an office job.
It was the time when India was launching the “internet” publicly, and hardly anyone knew its application, except corporates. After doing a one-month website course, I got my first job of “HTML Executive” (read the designation twice) 😀 at Panalink, then I was promoted to become a web designer and web developer in 2 years.
After job-hopping, I launched my web consulting in 2004, With an excellent coder rating of 9.8, I used to bid on international development projects (I still have that account at Freelancer, someone still bids as a Top Coder). For me, sales were having a laptop in the bed and sleeping over bidding on international projects at night as you have to meet the client’s Time Zone. I built the team when projects flowed like water and we needed more developers and reached 200 international clients.
“Sales is not my cup of tea” Is it still true? Let’s find out more…
When I started my second Startup, typical, early-market, ground sales. I told my mentor, let’s hire costly sales guys and he said NO to it. He said, “Rakesh, nobody can be a better seller than you, because you know what value you are going to create for clients, the sale is nothing but communicating rightly THE VALUE”… I was not convinced I said let me try.
Started meeting every client, everybody was convinced, and daily cheques in the office. I started refining my pitches. There were rejections but acceptance was increasing. I built a sales team. I pivoted four times during 10 years, just for the sake of bringing cash, as no one was investing in our startup. Every time I pivoted the idea I sold to the SAME Client (client said, tum phir aa gya naya model le ke 😀 . I sold directories, leads, customer-care centers, and then franchisees, franchisee vans, subscriptions, and web software before I exited my last startup.
“Sales is not my cup of tea”, Is it still true? Let’s find out more…
After the lockdown, I joined a funded company and gave the idea to founders that I could sell “franchisees” and they allowed me and I sold (single handed) 60 franchisees enrollments.
Last year, I launched my 3rd new startup, I built software in one week, got a seed fund in 2 months, and built a company and have around 100 paid clients in just 6 months.  Nowadays, I sell my webinars.
Selling is my “Badda Wala” (Big) Cup of tea 🙂
Founder has to be a “sales hustler”.
Investors invest in founder who can sell.Â
