This June, we invite you to the first edition of Life at SpotDraft. SpotDraft People is an exclusive collection of experiences, endeavours, and adventures of the team.
We sat down with Nirali Shekhwa to learn about her journey at SpotDraft. See what advice she has for everyone in sales and which resources helped shape her career. Get a glimpse of her career highlights.
Having worked in sales for the last few years, Nirali has found her experiences fulfilling and is thrilled to be part of high-growth teams. She describes SpotDraft as ‘Lightspeed’. The agile nature of the business keeps her moving.
In story #1 of EmployeeSpotlight, we showcase her career trail and her venture into a leadership role like Sales.
1. What is your role?
I am a Manager on the Sales & Business Development team at SpotDraft.
2. Describe what you do?
My goal is to optimize outbound sales processes to maximize ROI and generate qualified leads. I lead an 8-member team here and manage everything related to outreach activities like emails, calling potential customers, and qualifying leads.
Moreover, I love helping my team members with problem-solving, eventually guiding them to achieve their targets. More importantly, I take care of onboarding new hires and training sessions for other folks.
3. What do you love most about working at SpotDraft?
Firstly, it’s the people. You’re not only spending time with a bunch of talented and savvy dwellers but also with open and amicable ones. Everyone is easygoing and approachable, and working on projects collectively is more than fun. My team pushes me to be the best version of myself. Continuous learning and improvement are around the corner every time.
Secondly, it’s the organization – it’s growing and transforming – I cherish being a part of this environment.
4. Let us rewind a little. Growing up, what were your passions or interests? How did you venture into Sales?
I was passionately curious about trying new things, including wildlife photography and fashion designing. Interestingly, my venture into sales was not a planned event.
I was interested in exploring psychology and chose my field of study as liberal arts. Yet, on my way, I found economics and mathematics more insightful than psychology and wanted to get into quantitative analysis. Since I liked the exercise of playing with numbers and data, I thought a Master’s in Economics would finally take me where I want to be.
But that's when the pandemic came in. As always, I believe learning from peers is essential for success. So, pursuing a residential program was vital for me. I decided to gain experience rather than hop on a remote grad course. Something unusual here is sales was also preferably new to me and I thoroughly treasured experimenting with it.
5. What inherent qualities help you thrive in your everyday role as a Salesperson?
The three most critical skills to get ahead in Sales are persistence, willingness to learn, and communication. Nothing can stop you when you start adopting a process and continuously strive to innovate and grow. And those are some of the essential crafts you need to develop to succeed.
Talking to strangers is another big thing that caught my attention. Getting comfortable initiating a dialogue with prospects, customers, or clients is essential. Finally, the mantra that has worked for me to take the nervousness away is deliberately attending as many sales call as possible. With a bit of push and cheer from my team members, I was able to blossom in my role.
6. Tell us a bit about your education, international experience, and your summertime at the university. You learned Spanish and culture. How was it different?
During my time at Jindal Global University, Sonipat, I had the opportunity to attend a summer school in Spain. As I enjoy learning from people, I took this 15-day trip to Spain as a chance to learn about their culture and people.
Shortly after that, I had a semester exchange abroad for four months at another university in Italy. I was more than excited about this exchange program, and this turned out to be an incredible learning experience.
7. Who do you look up to in SpotDraft?
The person who inspires me the most is Akshay Doshi. He is a great mentor and a manager. During my first year at SpotDraft, we had SaaS Friday sessions, in which we discussed all things Sales & Marketing in the SaaS world. It was remarkable for someone to take the time developing team members’ skills more than needed. The sessions helped me grow and learn.
8. Is SpotDraft a high-performance environment? How do you unwind? How do you find a sweet spot between work and life?
Yes, I like fast-paced environments, and clearly, there are days wherein I am as busy as a bee. My dream is to go on a trip every quarter, something I’d like to achieve in the near future. Also, I plan my work in a way where I can focus and complete more on my most enthusiastic and productive days and relax a bit when required. Some strategies that have worked for me in the past are
- Taking a week away from work every three months
- Planning and finishing projects before the unwinding week
9. What do you find interesting about the legal tech industry?
As we speak with many customers, we understand that LegalTech is a booming industry, especially in countries like India. Another interesting challenge is that it is reasonably hard to sell to lawyers. It stays aligned with why SpotDraft is continuously innovating and revolutionizing the legal tech space.
10. What sets SpotDraft apart from other places you have worked?
How inarguably close-knit the team is. We are always looking for ways to help each other. The vibes at SpotDraft could be best illustrated by the statement, “Work hard, party hard.” The excitement that comes with this attitude makes the SpotDraft culture unique.
11. What advice would you give to those who are starting in Sales?
Sales can become a mundane job. So, you ought to repeatedly innovate with process improvements. And one common trait I have seen in people at sales is that they are continuously thinking of ways to sell better. Usually, it is a competitive environment, though it is not the case at SpotDraft. You have your mentors at every stage as they guide and help you thrive.
12. You have been at SpotDraft for a few years now. How has the company changed?
The core values of SpotDraft have remained the same to date. But, the sales function at SpotDraft has grown in size and changed leaps and bounds. I saw how we built the sales processes from scratch and now fine-tuning those with data-centric techniques. It was an incredible learning opportunity for me.
From this discussion, it's clear that there's no one-size-fits-all strategy for success. You should periodically review your goals and update them as time goes on to ensure you're focused and on track.
Stay tuned to uncover similar employee experiences at SpotDraft 💙 and learn hands-on from them.
