< Back What made Meesho the most downloaded shopping app globally? Ishita Nigam 23 Aug 2023 Meesho, backed by Meta, surpassed amazon and Flipkart as the fastest growing app with 500 million downloads in 2022. Meesho, launched in 2015, has defied the eCommerce norms to become the most downloaded shopping app in the world. Unlike amazon and Flipkart, that aim at the top 5% buyers of home appliances and smartphones, Meesho focuses on unbranded items like jeans, kurtas, gadgets, and footwear for the non-metro, small town audience. It offers branded products too, like boAt, Paragon, Zebronics, Decathlon, and Portronics in its app-in-app 'Meesho Mall'. What sets it apart from competitors is that it permits users to resell their purchased items to family and friends by posting product listings on WhatsApp. Moreover, its zero commission model allows sellers to offer their products at much cheaper prices. But that's not it. To strengthen its reach in small towns, it reduced the size of its app to 13.6 MB so it can be easily downloaded and installed in areas with limited internet connectivity. It reached 500 million downloads in 2022, surpassing Amazon and Flipkart. Previous Next

Sales Talk with a Sales Person who has achieved great heights in a career spanning over a decade, across industries. Sales talk with Aditi Aggarwal Director - Education, Australian Trade and Investment Commission, South Asia With a Masters in Marketing from Manchester Business School, UK, Aditi has been a Salestor working across countries and industries for a decade and a half. She started her career with Manchester United and British clothing giant Primark, happened to be among the first recruits hired to conceptualise India’s first F1 Racing Track, working with American Express (AMEX) as Centurion Card Ambassador for almost 6 years and now working with the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) for strengthening association between India and Australia in the Education sector, Aditi has had an impressive journey as a Salestor. For my next piece, I thought of connecting with her to map her journey and get some key takeaways as a fellow Salestor. Hi Aditi! Thanks for agreeing to be my first guest Salestor for the blog. The beginning of your career really stands out. You did Masters in Marketing from UK and have worked in both the countries, India and the UK. Why did you choose Sales over Marketing? I had a flair for promoting something I had confidence in. It was easy to get a sales job in the beginning and marketing seemed more like a desk job to me. Can you briefly share some similarities and differences in selling in the two countries? UK is very professional and systematic. Cultural differences in the sales process affect and create differences. India is more relationship oriented. You mostly make a network first and then sell in it. You then joined the Jaypee Group to build India’s first F1 Racing Circuit and were among the first recruits for the job. For Buddh Int’l Circuit, how easy was striking the first deal, or getting the first client on board as a Salestor? Very difficult as it was something new for the country. To make a sale, I had to make so many calls, hear a hundred no's before one yes . But perseverance helped. I kept at it and got my first client. You have switched many industries in your career as a Salestor, which many people find difficult. Which key traits helped you adjust to the different demands of Sales in different industries? Getting trained for the industry, understanding the role and passion to sell anything. You have worked in both B2C and B2B industries. What similarities and differences exist in sales in the two domains? What are the key pointers to keep in mind when transitioning between B2B and B2C industries? B2B is harder, has a longer sales cycle and is more relationship oriented than hard core sales. B2C, I found easier. It requires less planning and decision makers are fewer. Two years back, you joined Australian Government (Austrade). The profile here is different from sales as it involves more of government liaison. What was the transition like from a B2C Salestor to a Government official? Very tough. I had to do lot of unlearning and learning at the same time. Work is very different, is more protocol driven and the environment is very different from corporates too. Promotion and selling of a country happens very differently than that of a product or a service. What was that one deal or one client that really gave you sleepless nights for onboarding or closure? How long did it take and what was a key trait that helped you sail through the process? Can you share the key takeaways from the experience? It was for three Owners/Directors/Chairman of Muthoot Group when I was a Centurion Ambassador with AMEX and they made me really work hard for that deal because initially they were not convinced what Centurion could really add to their profile. There were a few challenges like connecting with the decision maker, which happened through their team so there was a time lag in reaching out to them. Then they were from a traditional background and Centurion is a luxury product, not very easy to understand and not a product which shows a money benefit at the first glance. It does come with monetary features but you got to compliment it with other features which are value for the buck. So you try to understand it and sometimes it is hard to put a price to those features. That deal was very hard but perseverance and developing a relationship with the juniors helped me get those clients on board. I remember I was in Australia with my husband on a holiday, but I was in touch with them all the time. I remember it was the New Year’s eve when they wanted to get on a call to finalise it and I was up for it because it was important to me. So I did it. Perseverance, great follow up and making sure I knew each and every detail of the account helped me. There was an incident wherein one of the directors had a sour experience so I ensured it did not repeat and the Relationship Manager kept me updated with entire detail on a regular basis. That is when I pitched again and kept my graceful follow up without intruding. Honestly speaking, did you prepare for every client meeting? Did you ever warm up before an important client meeting? So preparation is very important, even if being a great Salestor comes naturally to you. You really got to believe in the product and your product knowledge has to be thorough as the confidence to sell comes from it and nothing else. Some people say that they don’t prepare for a client meeting. Of course you prepare! If you don’t, you’re a fool. You can’t be sitting across the table without it. I converted about 1200 centurion clients across the country. I could not have sat across the table with the Ambani’s or Birla’s of the industries pretending I know it all without actually knowing about my product and their business. It is like spoiling a chance. Even if it is not necessarily for your product, but knowledge about the person, their business, what are they up to, their lives is important. It tells the person that you are worth their time. Closure comes in the end, but all that goes before is your preparation. So, I did thorough preparation before every client meeting and sometimes I also rehearsed. All my pitches were very different. Any tips or key traits of business you may like to share with our fellow Salestors, who are anxious or grappling with present tough times of a pandemic? Try to find a niche for yourself, like industry, sector, product which excites you and you are inquisitive to know about. Which will drive you out of bed every day. I was always curious to know what does a billionaire do in the morning and what could my company give him that would interest him. It kept me going, enquiring more. Pandemic is a very interesting time. While industries have suffered, but there are sectors like software, SaaS, social media who have come up with interesting opportunities for Salestors. Explore those, be in the direction of the wind. There are upcoming sectors which have evolved in the past 8-9 months. Keep an eye on them. You have worked with some market leaders of their respective industries while your better-half is a budding entrepreneur. What are your thoughts over working with established brands vs. start-ups ? Me and my husband are a duo and our careers are planned. The maths behind it is that one person is exploring and the other person has a fixed income, which in such a volatile environment comes from a settled job. I explored a lot of sectors, but I made sure that not even a day was wasted because my husband was exploring entrepreneurship. It is a very high road to take and very tough as initially you are not sure when the money would start flowing in. for the initial years, he didn’t take a single buck home. Even if he got any salary, he reinvested it in the company, people or better software products. The two environments are extremely different. A start-up gives you the kick, lets you explore since the processes are not defined and offers excitement of the room full of opportunities and possibilities. In a large company, processes and protocols are set. Established brands are driven by strategies and prior successes. The room for trying out something completely new is less when you are playing with a big load of money and brand value. It is a lot of responsibility. You decide what you want based on the opportunity in front of you. You did your Masters from an internationally accredited university and are now working closely with the Australian government in the education sector. Any advice to the budding students who are in the process of charting out their career paths? Education is a key pillar, but choosing your own domain, investing your time in one certain direction determines how well can you blend in. World is full of opportunities and they are closer in the virtual world. Try to be flexible in widening your horizon and then see how can you make a difference. Start working in that direction then, even though it may take time. Whatever helps you get up every morning and stay excited. And then there are myths like I love my job and everything about it. I don’t think something like that happens every day. Ultimately, it should inspire you and keep you going. *** Also read: Sales Disasters: Learnings from the Past 5 Habits that Help Salestors Sail Through the Lean Periods We would love to know what you thought of this interview. Please share your comments below!

< Back IndiGo to launch business class seats this year 24 May 2024 The low-cost carrier announced this plan along with its record profit figure of ₹8,172.50 crore in FY2024. IndiGo announced on Thursday its plans to introduce business class on the busiest routes in India before the end of 2024. Thirty-five of IndiGo’s planes will be fitted with eight rows of business-class seats. The company will release further product details around its 18th anniversary in August. Its low-cost model and charging for all extra services and food on board catapulted the airline to the top position in the country with a 60% market share. The airline management wants to leverage this position to scale up in the international market. Currently, only Air India, Vistara, and Air India Express’ 737 MAX8 operate business-class seats in India. Previously, Jet Airways alone offered over 10,000 business class seats per week before its closure in April 2019. This number has plummeted to around 7,000 now. Last month, IndiGo surpassed American Southwest Airlines to become the world's third-largest airline by market capital. Previous Next

< Back EPFO may allow PF withdrawal via an ATM card from Jan’25 13 Dec 2024 The Employee Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) is upgrading its IT infrastructure to be at par with banking systems. By January 2025, EPFO plans to upgrade its IT infrastructure to improve service delivery, simplify claim settlements, and streamline PF withdrawals. The new system 2.1 will offer a PF withdrawal card that can be used in ATMs to pull out up to 50% of the PF balance. Under the new system, a beneficiary, claimant, or insured person will be able to withdraw PF money from the ATM. Beneficiaries will be able to use it in case of the member’s death. This may be possible once beneficiaries connect their bank accounts with the deceased member’s PF account. However, the overall PF rules remain unchanged. Employees cannot withdraw PF while employed. 75% of their PF becomes available if someone is unemployed for a month. 100% is available for withdrawal after two months of unemployment. Members can withdraw a part of PF in case of a medical emergency, marriage, house purchase or renovation. Previous Next

< Back Meesho to enter fintech, build a credit marketplace 6 Feb 2024 It will launch a credit marketplace for borrowers on behalf of banks and Non-Banking Financial Corporations (NBFCs). Another eCommerce industry unicorn, Meesho, plans to diversify its portfolio by entering the fintech and e-grocery business. It will launch a platform for borrowers on behalf of lending partners like the banks and NBFCs in FY2025. It will earn a commission on every loan disbursed. It will begin with offering merchant loans and slowly move to consumer lending, focusing on smaller cities. At present, 80% of Meesho’s sellers are retail business owners. The brand earns through advertising and seller services. Its competitors, Amazon, Flipkart, and Tata Neu, already offer consumer and merchant lending services. Meesho intends to build an entire credit offering system, including credit underwriting and fraud detection. It will build an in-house credit risk and data science team, too. Meesho scaled down its grocery business in 2022 and rebranded it from Farmiso to Meesho Superstore. It cut 48% losses in FY2023 and turned profitable in July 2023. Previous Next

< Back Google launches Rich Communication Services messaging for Indian enterprises 14 Feb 2024 Google has partnered with Vodafone Idea to offer RCS messaging. It will cost up to 75% less than WhatsApp Business but twice the traditional SMS. Competing with WhatsApp Business, Google partnered with Vodafone Idea to launch a Rich Communication Services (RCS) messaging system in India. RCS is an advanced messaging protocol that enhances the features of an SMS and MMS. GSM Association, the non-profit organization representing global mobile network operators, launched it in 2008. RCS offers WhatsApp-like features, including media sharing, group chats, end-to-end encryption, and read receipts. It has no character limit, displays real-time typing indicators to know when someone is typing, and works on mobile and Wi-Fi networks. It is incompatible with the traditional feature phones used by 300 million Indians. Apple will launch its RCS service via a software update by this year's end. Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio plan to launch the service soon. Telcom companies have long sought regulatory intervention against WhatsApp, citing the risk of fraud, cybersecurity, and revenue loss for the industry and national exchequer worth ₹3,000 crore. Previous Next

La Gigafactory de Berlin a commencé à être confrontée à des arrêts maladie allant jusqu’à 17 % en août, alors que la moyenne du secteur est de 5 %. < Back Tesla rend visite à ses employés allemands pour vérifier s’ils sont vraiment malades La Gigafactory de Berlin a commencé à être confrontée à des arrêts maladie allant jusqu’à 17 % en août, alors que la moyenne du secteur est de 5 %. Tesla a commencé à rendre visite aux 30 employés allemands qui ont pris un congé de maladie. Cette mesure a été pris après que Tesla a décidé à faire face l’absentéisme et parce que la société souhaitait établir un lien avec l’éthique du travail de son personnel. La direction de Tesla estime que la plupart des congés de maladie sont pris le vendredi et pendant les heures de travail tardives. Certains membres du personnel n’ont pas apprécié les visites. Ils claquaient les portes et menaçaient d’appeler la police. IG Metall, le syndicat allemand de l’automobile, a déclaré que le taux d’absentéisme élevé s’expliquait par le fait que le personnel était surcharge de travail et travaillait dans un environnement dangereux. L’usine de Berlin emploie 12 000 personnes. Tesla a commencé à donner des primes de 1 000 euros aux employés qui travaillent plus de 95 % du temps. Previous Next

< Back FSSAI conducting surprise audits on leading Q-commerce dark stores 3 Jul 2024 Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) officials have been conducting surprise audits on all dark stores and some direct-to-consumer food brands for the past few weeks. Prompted by the recent lapses in food hygiene, FSSAI started surprise audits for leading quick commerce (Q-Commerce) brands across India. Thus, brands are forced to exert more hygiene measures and extra caution in adopting new, smaller brands on their platforms. The recent series of contamination with food products delivered by Q-Commerce apps caught the attention of food safety regulators nationwide. The Telangana Commissioner of Food Safety found severe violations related to hygiene and storage conditions at Blinkit warehouses near Hyderabad and its Faridabad dark store, where allegedly medicines were being illegally sold. This triggered checks with other brand warehouses everywhere. The delivery platforms argue that many issues happen at the manufacturing level that affect product quality. Manufacturers highlight that product handling significantly impacts the condition at the time of delivery, ultimately ruining the manufacturer’s brand image. Q-Commerce brands are stepping up recall and delisting policies for repeated offenders. Previous Next

< Back Supreme Court mandates self-declaration of all advertisements 6 Jun 2024 The Hon’ble Supreme Court of India mandated all print, digital, and internet media advertisers and agencies to submit a self-declaration before publishing any ad. The order dated May 7th issued by the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India mandates all advertisers and ad agencies to fill out a self-declaration form for all ads to be published, aired, or issued via print or digital media effective June 18th. The self declaration form ensures the ad does not convey any misleading claims, and complies with regulatory guidelines like the Norms of Journalistic Conduct of Press Council of India, and Rule 7 of the Cable Television Networks Rules, 1994. This move aims to ensure responsible advertising practices, consumer protection and transparency. The form will be available on the Press Council of India’s portal for print and digital ads and on the Broadcast Seva Portal of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting for television and radio ads. No agency or advertiser will be allowed to run an ad without submitting this form to be signed by an authorised representative. Previous Next

< Back Govt planning a flexi-working framework for women 20 Sept 2024 Labour Secretary Sumita Dawra is leading a task force that aims to enhance female workforce participation. Indian women constitute 48% of the population but contribute only 18% to the GDP. To boost their workforce participation, the Labour Ministry is preparing a framework for a flexible working regime for women. It plans to offer social security benefits and flexibility within existing working hours, especially to women working in the unorganised sectors and industries with a greater female workforce, like caregivers. It may also propose measures to enhance public transportation to benefit female workers. The framework will introduce recommendations from state governments and industries, which may not be a statutory mandate. The task force is holding discussions with several stakeholders and industry experts and may submit a final outlook to the government by the year end. The female workforce participation is 37% in India compared to over 50% globally. The labour participation for men in India stands at 77.2%, not far behind 80% worldwide. Previous Next

< Back Indian fintech players applying for int'l payment licenses 27 Mar 2024 Razorpay, Cashfree and new fintech providers like Skydo and PayGlocal among those applying for RBI's Payment Aggregator-Cross Border (PACB) license. In 2023, Indian fintech startups processed $10 billion worth of transactions of the $250 billion goods and services exports registered by small and medium sized businesses. These financial services providers were earlier given an online payment gateway service provider license, identifying them as technology providers to Indian banks. Indian fintechs expect a margin of 2.5-4% per international card transaction compared to 1% domestically. Average ticket size for B2B global transactions is estimated to be $5,000. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) introduced the PA-CB license in October 2023 to regulate emerging international payments businesses. Razorpay recently shifted its base from Singapore to India. It is now building an international payments gateway and will then graduate to large ticket vendor payments for account based transactions. Cashfree will initially focus on B2C payments only. Pay Glocal will facilitate B2B transactions for software and services businesses and existing goods exporters. Source: ET Prime Previous Next

La loi américaine considère la mauvaise manipulation ou la divulgation non autorisée d’informations classifiées comme une infraction pénale. < Back En quoi la communication militaire américaine est-elle différente de celle du reste du monde ? La loi américaine considère la mauvaise manipulation ou la divulgation non autorisée d’informations classifiées comme une infraction pénale. Le conseiller à la sécurité nationale américain a accidentellement inclus une journaliste dans leur groupe de discussion Signal où il planifiait son action militaire contre le group houthi du Yémen qui bloqué la mer Rouge. Les démocrates et les républicains ont demandé l'ouverture d'une enquête. L’armée américaine déploie la communication par satellite avancées, d’IA et la blockchain pour la transmission de données en temps réel et en toute sécurité. Elle utilise des protocoles de communication standard tels que Zulu Time et Military Alphabet pour plus de clarté et de précision. Elle se targue d’un cryptage de sécurité inégalé et de mesures de cybersécurité. Le partage d’informations confidentielles sur des plateformes non sécurisées ou avec des personnels non autorisés constitue une infraction criminelle au regard du droit américaine. Le code uniforme de justice militaire régit l’espionnage et les communications non autorisées. Les peines encourues sont celles de la cour martiale. Ne manquez pas un autre article de SalestorrsNouvelles150. Suivez Salestorrs sur WhatsApp , LinkedIn , Facebook , X , et Instagram . Previous Next