A. B. PRAKASH
Director - India Sales
CHENNAI
Summary
Experienced sales leader with a proven track record of driving revenue growth through strategic leadership, team development, and successful execution of sales initiatives. Skilled in building new businesses from the ground up and reviving slowing businesses.
Overview
19
19
years of professional experience
Work History
Director of Sales - India
Freshworks
CHENNAI
01.2020 - Current
- Set up and scaled India Mid market and Enterprise business.
- Led high-performing sales team, achieving 120%+ YoY revenue growth. Presidents club winner 2020 and 2022
- Expanded market reach through new customer segments and geographies, driving increased market share and brand recognition.
- Developed and executed sales strategies aligned with SaaS offerings, resulting in optimized sales performance and increased conversion rates.
- Recruited, trained, and mentored highly motivated and skilled sales force, consistently meeting and exceeding targets.
- Fostered strategic partnerships with integration partners and resellers, expanding product reach and creating new revenue streams.
- Nurtured relationships with enterprise accounts, ensuring customer satisfaction, retention, and upselling opportunities.
- Implemented sales forecasting processes and conducted competitive analysis to inform product development and pricing strategies.
- Developed sales enablement programs to equip team with knowledge and tools to effectively sell SaaS solutions.
- Oversaw complex contract negotiations with enterprise clients, ensuring favorable terms and compliance with company policies.
- Established feedback mechanisms to gather customer insights, aligning product roadmap with customer needs and driving enhancements.
Head Sales Development - APMEA
Freshworks
CHENNAI
05.2018 - 01.2020
- Set up and scaled Business Development at Freshworks for APMEA.
- Sales Development Leadership : Established and led Sales Development function, building a high-performing team of SDRs from ground up. Scaled it to a 40 member team.
- Scaling Initiatives : Designed and implemented strategies for scaling function, resulting in a significant increase in lead generation and conversion rates.
- Team Expansion : Successfully expanded SDR team to meet growing demand, including recruiting, onboarding, and training new team members & managers across APMEA
- Sales tools : Oversaw setup and integration of essential sales technology tools and processes to support a rapidly growing function.
- Performance Optimization : Continuously optimized processes and workflows to ensure team's efficiency and effectiveness in generating high-quality leads. Overachieving targets by 150% YoY
- Strategic Planning : Developed and refined sales development strategies and tactics to align with company goals and objectives, contributing to increased revenue.
- Collaboration and Alignment : Fostered collaboration and alignment between sales development and sales teams to ensure seamless lead handoffs and revenue growth.
- Cross-Functional Teams: Played a key role in establishing cross-functional teams, including Enablement and Market Research teams, to enhance overall sales and marketing effectiveness.
- Building successful team with 10+ Presidents club winners
Chief Manager
IDFC BANK
Bangalore
10.2016 - 05.2018
- Hire & Lead a team of 20 Corporate Sales & Relationship Officers to acquire large accounts for banking relationship. Acquired 20+ large accounts within the first year.
- Build relationship with executive / AVP level decision makers to educate on IDFC offerings
- Own and leverage large enterprise accounts to build value
- Generate opportunities to cross sell and upsell in response to customer requirements
- Collaborate and network with other business units
- Engage & activate dormant relationships to build value
- Make sales presentations at corporate events & to key decision makers
- Act as single point of contact for big accounts to ensure service excellence and customer satisfaction
- Organize sales and service events for existing clients
Channel Manager
CITIBANK NA
Chennai
10.2012 - 10.2016
- Sales of unsecured products through Channel Partner's
- Scaling loan book from 0 to Rs 100 cr within first year.
- Identify, onboard and build Channel Partners. Setting up ecosystem in Chennai. Built business from ground up for region
- Establish relationship with key Personnel in assigned partner accounts
- Meet assigned sales targets by building strong team (Hiring, training, resource allocation, budgeting, ensuring productivity etc.)
- Ensure revenue targets and other important business objectives are met in line with banks hygiene expectations
- Presidents club award winner for 2 years. Consistent quota attainment across years.
Relationship Manager
CITIBANK NA
Bangalore
10.2007 - 10.2012
- Managing relationship with strategic accounts
- Generate revenue through cross sell
- Acquire new strategic logos from assigned patch
- Ensure smooth on boarding experience for customers
- Conduct promotional and service desk at assigned account book to deepen relationship
- Ensure timely resolutions for queries and escalations
- 3 time President clubs award winner. 14+ awards for cross sell, up sell & quota attainment
- Had opportunity to revive churned accounts relationships. Revived accounts like Wipro, HCL, Happiestminds etc
- Built and maintained relationships with new and existing clients while providing high level of expertise.
- Achieved goals for sale of bank products and services and exceeded performance metrics for customer service.
Technical Support Executive
Sutherland Global India Pvt Ltd
CHENNAI
07.2005 - 01.2006
- Technical Troubleshooting : Provided expert technical support to customers, diagnosing and resolving hardware and software issues with precision and efficiency.
- Product Knowledge : Demonstrated a deep understanding of the Dells products and services, enabling quick and accurate responses to customer inquiries.
- Customer Issue Resolution : Resolved customer problems and inquiries promptly, ensuring high levels of customer satisfaction and a low rate of escalations.
- Quickest to ramp and meet CSAT metrics.
Business Development Executive
Seekers Success Consultancy
Chennai
07.2004 - 06.2005
- Collaborated with sales and marketing departments to support client acquisition.
- Identified and pursued valuable business opportunities to generate new company revenue.
- Established and maintained highly effective relationships with clients and industry partners to drive growth.
- Contributed to industry events and trade shows to showcase products and gather industry intelligence.
Education
BACHELOR OF COMMERCE -
RKM Vivekananda College
Chennai 06.2001 - 04.2004
MBA - Marketing
IIPM
Chennai 06.2006 - 05.2007
Skills
Corporate Relationship ManagementPeople ManagementTeam BuildingSales PresentationsChannel ManagementStartup Development
Sales processes
Coaching and mentoring
Timeline
Director of Sales - India
Freshworks
01.2020 - Current
Head Sales Development - APMEA
Freshworks
05.2018 - 01.2020
Chief Manager
IDFC BANK
10.2016 - 05.2018
Channel Manager
CITIBANK NA
10.2012 - 10.2016
Relationship Manager
CITIBANK NA
10.2007 - 10.2012
MBA - Marketing
IIPM
06.2006 - 05.2007
Technical Support Executive
Sutherland Global India Pvt Ltd
07.2005 - 01.2006
Business Development Executive
Seekers Success Consultancy
07.2004 - 06.2005
BACHELOR OF COMMERCE -
RKM Vivekananda College
06.2001 - 04.2004