They say that Life is a sum of all your choices. Niharika made a career choice of moving into Sales and generating high revenue for her company. Her Sales intuition, drive for target accomplishment, on-role command instinct, conceptual selling techniques, and long-standing client relations drove the trajectory for Niharika in the realm of the Sales. She gladly shares her learnings on leadership, innovation and sales prowess with aspiring young women professionals, start-up enthusiasts and future leaders of India. In an exclusive interview with Women Entrepreneur Magazine, Niharika walks us through her professional journey as a sales leader.

What noteworthy traits of your experience as a B2B sales management professional would you like the article to emphasize?

I believe it would primarily be - resilience, empathy, willingness to learn & grit that cultivates and wins sales opportunities within a B2B environment. I have always focused on connecting & collaborating with clients, by implementing a proper buyer-first approach based on listening & built on empathy followed by shaping solutions to anticipate the customers’ needs instead of leaders, cookie-cutter solutions. Also, emotional intelligence skills and impeccable business strategy expertise are pivotal in fostering trust & in delivering first-class value-based & revenue-oriented results.

Please outline your early educational background and previous work experience in the Industry.

I graduated in Commerce from KJ Somaiya, Mumbai and then did my post graduation in Commerce while starting off with an MNC at an entry level position. Always aspired to do an MBA but due to financial constraints, I could not afford to leave my job to do a full-time MBA program. Hence, I chose a 3 year executive MBA for working professionals with WE School. This was while working with ICICI Bank in product operations role at the Bank's corporate office at Mumbai. This was tedious but the hard work put in, did pay off and very soon, I joined in as National Operations Head and was leading the payment solutions division at Axis Bank. I then relocated to Bangalore post marriage as my spouse was based in Bangalore. This meant stepping down from a coveted National role to being just another bank employee in a smaller regional role for one of the banking product verticals. But this gave me my first breakthrough into Sales. Without any prior formal training in sales, I did struggle quite a bit. But I read every sales book I could get my hands on & observed other Sales leaders & colleagues closely to quickly learn the ropes. I caught up within no time and found my mojo, having cracked quite a few large deals and started breaking sales targets. Almost immediately, I knew this was the profession for me. Few years down the line, I transitioned out of the Banking domain into the HR Services industry where I now spearhead Sales for risk mitigation services.

"To become a better salesperson, you must first master the mechanics of selling. It becomes much less complicated once you understand how things work. Your competence grows, as does your confidence! Making genuine connections, being curious, and adding value is what sales is all about"

Tell us about the main problems you faced and how you overcome them.

One of the biggest challenges that women face in sales is overcoming bias and stereotypes and my challenges were no different. Women haven’t historically been drawn to sales and they are often preconceived as being too soft or emotional for a sales career. I consciously did not try to force myself to be a chatty, pushy, gregarious or aggressive as a salesperson. But by figuring out how to lean into my own strengths, and make the most of them, I turned my introversion and empathy into my superpower and learnt the true essence of what selling is all about. I had my own share of fighting the systemic gender-based discrimination, implicit biases, unfair performance evaluations & skewed work-life balance. I thrived on these challenges and delivered excellence in whatever I did, overcoming obstacles and always striving to achieve results.

How do you anticipate your industry domain developing and changing in the near future?

Securitas AB is a global leader in protective services. For over 8 decades, we have been the partner of choice for Corporates globally for customized security services & solutions. Securitas India is also a market leader in risk mitigation services and background verification. I head sales for the division and we work as risk mitigation partners for our clients by screening their employees, contractors, service partners through our verification solutions. We are consistently growing as a technology-driven company with an expanding customer base in the background verification business with a keen focus on data privacy, quality, and delivery timelines. We are now the go-to partners for companies looking to find verification solutions in India.

Are there any particular techniques you employ to maintain your alignment with the various industry evolutions as they occur?

Nothing beats having your ears to the ground. Every innovation that Securitas India brings in the marketplace today is based on feedback from our clients. We manage risks, minimize complexity, and contribute to our client’s success. Our deep domain knowledge in the risk mitigation and verification space sets us apart enabling us to deliver excellent results within constricted timelines. We guide our clients with the right solutions and assist them with their implementation to reduce the risk of occupational fraud and misconduct at their workplace. We have come a long way from manual outreach and human-driven activity to futuristic technology solutions that drive our current verification processes much faster and provide us with a competitive advantage. We ensure necessary safeguards and measures to protect personal data adhering to our global clients’ data privacy and data security norms.

What advice would you impart to younger women who hope to become Sales leaders?

I am proud to be a woman who chose selling as my career. Research has shown that women are more likely to close deals than men. Additionally, women are also better at connecting with prospects and clients. But I see too often women underestimate their value and their voice. My message to aspiring women sales leaders is – believe in yourself, find your purpose, dream big, own your success, celebrate small victories, connect, learn, and play big, make an impact and advance in leadership roles with courage and conviction by being fearless at work and in life! Also let’s encourage other women to learn about professional selling as a career and do what we can to mentor young women stepping into sales. Let us inspire and empower more women sales leaders to transform the way business is done.

Niharika Chandrasekhar, Vice President & Sales Head, Securitas India

An experienced, strategic sales leader with demonstrated success in overseeing crossfunctional teams to enhance the customer experience, accelerate sales revenue and augment retention. She is passionate about women leadership, sales excellence & personal growth. Her journey till date has been full of exciting challenges working in high-pressure - fast-paced collaborative environments and providing strategic direction in scaling organizations’ success. She is a fitness enthusiast, avid reader, aspiring coach and mentor. Her life beyond work includes her passion for writing, podcasting, networking, travelling and being a happy mom to her two daughters.