Overcoming challenges in sales

• Sales is a big challenge and we are developers so when it comes to selling it is a bigger challenge for us.
• We have collaborated here and definitely we are here thinking together but what I would like as an action of this particular meeting is if we can form a team in which we help each other to overcome this challenge we are facing in terms of sales.

The importance of regular follow-up meetings for effective collaboration

• Having regular follow up meetings where we all can be updated with the current situations in the market can make collaborations happen better.

Industry shifts from India and strategic planning for rising costs.

• We are also aware how industries are also shifting from India, as we can see that how clothing Industry has shifted to bangladesh due the availability of cheap material and labour similarly BPO’s KPO’s are also shifting from India, so if our costs are also getting higher and higher everyday we also have to strategize as US as they are also trying to create a labour force from Africa by how they are helping them with their education system so that later on they can avail them at cheaper rates so we have to think in that point of view otherwise these problems will never end.

US budget challenges, rising FED rates, Indian service sector issues, and tech funding constraints.

• Especially from the US there are certain budgetary issues which are going down in the US as well as the FED rates have gone up as well. So if you are a service based company based on this market I am sure that you have faced this and this what we want to talk about today and see how to look beyond the US market.
• Us creating technology”-maybe we don't have an ecosystem where we are funded to develop our own systems so getting funding for this here is very difficult. In the US companies like OpenAI like how much they have invested in their technology actually without expecting something, but that type of mentality does not exist in India.

The importance of understanding specialization in the market.

• I think today everybody should try to understand their specialization in the market as mostly when I heard everybody’s introduction I understood most of us do not have a particular specialization but as we are in the service industry we cannot leave everything and focus on to specialize on something, our specialization will come to us through our work itself. For example my company has been working on a major project with some healthcare brands in the US over the past 2 years so somewhere or the other even if I didn’t want it to be or didn’t choose it I can say that my company specializes in the healthcare industry.

• What we should do is we should all develop our strengths and should try to explore some niche markets available but we should have the necessary knowledge in the field if we develop that we would be able to charge more in the near future due to our expertise in the particular field. If we develop our resources and specialize in a particular field then we can create a market for ourselves.
  "Software companies can transition from service to product-based by developing expertise in specific products"
• A software company in my experience grows in a way where they have started as a service providing company but then somewhere you develop an expertise for a specific product and start innovating on it that can turn that company into a product based company from there the company can license their product and earn good enough revenue from that. So we should all expertise in a particular segment rather than being a general IT service providing company as there is a base of clients who particularly want to work with the experts.
• The American economy may grow if Trump gets elected as the president but we should not only focus on US based clients we should also look into India as well as we can see how India’s economy has been growing over the past few years.

Strategies for Revenue Generation and Lead Generation Transition in IT Services to Products.

• Our main challenge is generating revenue, and the initial hurdle is lead generation. We transitioned from services to products for better revenue prospects. Platforms like Clutch, Good Firms, and Extract.co can help us generate leads directly. For instance, Extract.co charges $1,000 for 50 leads. To enter the European market, we could make a one-year agreement with Clutch, paying $3,000 monthly to boost visibility and lead generation. We should invest in paid marketing over email marketing for quicker revenue growth.
• Approach agencies for hiring developers and marketing. Use "Indeed," a free platform, to find suitable developers.

Strategic Approach to Resource Issues in Sales and Goal Setting for Small IT Companies.

• Resource issues, particularly in sales, shouldn't be a problem if approached correctly. Divide sales into three categories: current, achievable, and aspirational.
• Current Sales: Focus on existing processes. Achievable Sales: Set competitive, realistic goals that aren't affected by hiring a fresher or an expert. Develop resources accordingly. Aspirational Sales: Set high-reaching goals to tackle market fluctuations, such as creating an Indian operating system or a proprietary AI product. For a small company, aspirational goals may seem unattainable due to limited resources. However, collaboration can bridge this gap. By pooling talents—innovation, technical skills, marketing, and sales—we can achieve more in less time. Successful ideas can open up endless possibilities.
• Meeting these aspirational and achievable goals can address resource issues and drive overall growth. Additionally, expanding team membership will significantly benefit us.

Strategic Approach to Project Selection and Collaboration for Shared Success

• When someone asks for help, we should consider the potential benefits for us. For example, if I get a lead for a healthcare project, I would first discuss with the client to understand their needs and the revenue potential. If it's promising, I'll decide whether to proceed, recognizing that venturing into a new industry offers a learning opportunity.
• We need to move beyond the mindset of handling multiple projects with the same approach. Instead, we should collaborate with peers for better outcomes and shared success. If a project succeeds, we can replicate it; if it fails, it’s a one-time effort.

A lack of focus on new technologies such as AI, AR, and VR

• We are lacking working on the new technologies like - AI, AR, BR which is the market's current recruitment.
• Verification of an employee's Ex-company will improve the quality of the intake.

Market trends, technological developments, international opportunities, and innovation in Indian industries.

• The cost of development is high after the covid. The neighboring countries like Nepal, pakistan are providing good services at lower cost.
• Marketing trends are shifting towards AIM, impacting India. While other countries are already developing AIML models for specific solutions, India is only beginning to follow their lead. We remain dependent on these external models instead of creating unique solutions for the future market. We need to change our mentality to become service-to-service providers.
• Only 1 or 2 out of 100 startups focus outside India. While we mainly target the Indian market, we could also benefit from exploring international opportunities.
• We often rely on external solutions in Indian industries. We're now considering how we can develop our own solutions, enter new markets, and serve other countries instead of constantly using their products.

The impact of big companies on salary hikes

• I observed that the salary hike and the programs which have started, here we are not the reason neither India is the reason. The big giants are the main reason behind these programs because during the covid period everyone thought that everything is gonna turn online so everyone started hiring IT professionals in bulk and every big company wanted to retain their employees and hire more people from other companies as well that is why this problem started and from this the problem grew and then it came to India but overall mostly the groundlevel companies like us suffered the most due to this problem. Now this problem is also being solved by the big giants as well as we can see how layoffs are being done in companies like X, Meta or Byju’s.

Shifting to product-based industry due to rising salaries.

• I think the situation developed into a condition where we had to give increments and give salary packages according to the norms in the market. So over the period of time the margins which we are earning are reducing day by day because we are still charging the same from the clients as we all know that in the generalized market there is a cut throat competition amongst the players so that’s why we can’t increase our charges easily so, to the only way to cope with this is to explore niche markets and slowly transferring from a service based industry to a product based industry.

Resource retention during COVID causing inflated salaries and sustainability challenges in the market.

• During covid most of us had retained our resources as there was a huge demand and the business was booming so due to this if the salary which should have been 15000 is 25000 right now somewhere or the other we are only responsible for over valuing our resources because the market was like that, so now we cannot reduce the salaries like that so somewhere or the other these are the problems and to sustain the market either we have to remove the resource or keep it as it is so this is making the sustainability in the market very difficult.

Small software companies often lack proper team structures

• What I have seen over the period of time is that small level software companies like us do not form a proper team. The CEO is doing all the work like meeting the clients, working on the solutions, looking at the communications, etc. Most of us had started our companies in this approach but in the long run this approach started hurting us, developing strengths, exploring niche markets, and gaining expertise.

Challenges in hiring and training freshers in Jaipur

• They are unable to expand. Hiring freshers in Jaipur is challenging because they lack the resources needed for training, which is a significant obstacle.
• Coming together will help to overcome this problem by sharing resources.

Impact of COVID-19, work-from-home dynamics, hiring challenges, rising salaries, and maintaining focus on a specific domain

• COVID-19 disrupted the IT industry, leading to inefficient resource use and higher costs. As a result, companies are now considering resources from Pakistan or Bangladesh instead of India.
• WFH employees are reluctant to return to the office. They lack commitment and engagement, leading them to switch jobs for small pay increases.
• Previously, in-office work facilitated collaboration and engagement, which is now missing.
• We avoid hiring freshers as they prefer WFH and avoid the office. They miss out on valuable exposure, which is a significant loss for them.
• Rising salaries are a problem. We need to collaborate on effective solutions.
• We prioritize our domain but often get tempted by other opportunities, leading to a loss of focus.
• Being focused on a specific domain offers numerous advantages, including streamlined training and hiring processes, but it requires patience.

Understand market needs, move beyond cheap outsourcing, align education with industry demands.

• To build a successful product, it's crucial to deeply understand the market and its requirements. Our goal as a technology provider should be to redefine our identity beyond being the cheapest option for outsourcing. Currently, our culture leans towards working for foreign companies despite the high number of graduates from prestigious institutions like IIT and IIM. As a young nation, we face unique challenges, and while providing services is relatively straightforward, we need substantial changes in our educational system. For instance, not all engineers need to know Gandhi's birthday. Although these changes will take time, they are necessary for progress.

Transitioning from Developer to CEO: Overcoming Sales Challenges through Learning and Action.

• Many developers are becoming CEOs. I struggled with sales because it's not my strength, but as a company owner, I had to learn it. Surprisingly, it's easier than coding. As an entrepreneur, I attended sessions with corporate giants to learn about acquiring resources and improving sales. These sessions focused on analyzing the company, understanding operations, and identifying necessary changes. The key takeaway is to step out of your comfort zone and start taking action immediately.

Collaborative specialization and resource sharing among companies

• We should share ideas with each other to be able to catch hold and utilize the resources and skills of other companies as well as give our resources to specialize to position us as a specialist in that front. This process will help us to survive and make a better stance for each one of us in the market.

Industry shifts from India and strategic planning for rising costs.

• I think all the problems which are arising is because of the gap between us, if we talk about HR, marketing or sales all these problems have arose due to a gap between us so to deal with this we must form a bond where we can at least help out each other with their problems or to develop a solution, we are competing in the market but we are competing against each other where we should sit together and participate together we are competing against each other, I would like give a example about the Gujarat model, we all have heard how well the gujarat market has been doing recently. In gujrat business was not present previously but business came to gujarat from different states in India, they didn’t have anything before then why did the business come there? The business came as they had developed an environment where they were trying to create the market by giving business to each other rather than competing against each other. There is competition in Gujrat but they are also enjoying the market by participating with each other. Here we are not participating with each other. We need to participate with each other by laying down a set of rules which we should look at to follow and this way we can also create a partnership and this way we could create an environment in Jaipur as well.

US budget challenges, rising FED rates, Indian service sector issues, and tech funding constraints.

• Especially from the US there are certain budgetary issues which are going down in the US as well as the FED rates have gone up as well. So if you are a service based company based on this market I am sure that you have faced this and this what we want to talk about today and see how to look beyond the US market.
• Us creating technology”-maybe we don't have an ecosystem where we are funded to develop our own systems so getting funding for this here is very difficult. In the US companies like OpenAI like how much they have invested in their technology actually without expecting something, but that type of mentality does not exist in India.

The importance of understanding specialization in the market.

• I think today everybody should try to understand their specialization in the market as mostly when I heard everybody’s introduction I understood most of us do not have a particular specialization but as we are in the service industry we cannot leave everything and focus on to specialize on something, our specialization will come to us through our work itself. For example my company has been working on a major project with some healthcare brands in the US over the past 2 years so somewhere or the other even if I didn’t want it to be or didn’t choose it I can say that my company specializes in the healthcare industry.

• What we should do is we should all develop our strengths and should try to explore some niche markets available but we should have the necessary knowledge in the field if we develop that we would be able to charge more in the near future due to our expertise in the particular field. If we develop our resources and specialize in a particular field then we can create a market for ourselves.
  "Software companies can transition from service to product-based by developing expertise in specific products"
• A software company in my experience grows in a way where they have started as a service providing company but then somewhere you develop an expertise for a specific product and start innovating on it that can turn that company into a product based company from there the company can license their product and earn good enough revenue from that. So we should all expertise in a particular segment rather than being a general IT service providing company as there is a base of clients who particularly want to work with the experts.
• The American economy may grow if Trump gets elected as the president but we should not only focus on US based clients we should also look into India as well as we can see how India’s economy has been growing over the past few years.

Strategies for Revenue Generation and Lead Generation Transition in IT Services to Products.

• Our main challenge is generating revenue, and the initial hurdle is lead generation. We transitioned from services to products for better revenue prospects. Platforms like Clutch, Good Firms, and Extract.co can help us generate leads directly. For instance, Extract.co charges $1,000 for 50 leads. To enter the European market, we could make a one-year agreement with Clutch, paying $3,000 monthly to boost visibility and lead generation. We should invest in paid marketing over email marketing for quicker revenue growth.
• Approach agencies for hiring developers and marketing. Use "Indeed," a free platform, to find suitable developers.

Strategic Approach to Resource Issues in Sales and Goal Setting for Small IT Companies.

• Resource issues, particularly in sales, shouldn't be a problem if approached correctly. Divide sales into three categories: current, achievable, and aspirational.
• Current Sales: Focus on existing processes. Achievable Sales: Set competitive, realistic goals that aren't affected by hiring a fresher or an expert. Develop resources accordingly. Aspirational Sales: Set high-reaching goals to tackle market fluctuations, such as creating an Indian operating system or a proprietary AI product. For a small company, aspirational goals may seem unattainable due to limited resources. However, collaboration can bridge this gap. By pooling talents—innovation, technical skills, marketing, and sales—we can achieve more in less time. Successful ideas can open up endless possibilities.
• Meeting these aspirational and achievable goals can address resource issues and drive overall growth. Additionally, expanding team membership will significantly benefit us.

Strategic Approach to Project Selection and Collaboration for Shared Success

• When someone asks for help, we should consider the potential benefits for us. For example, if I get a lead for a healthcare project, I would first discuss with the client to understand their needs and the revenue potential. If it's promising, I'll decide whether to proceed, recognizing that venturing into a new industry offers a learning opportunity.
• We need to move beyond the mindset of handling multiple projects with the same approach. Instead, we should collaborate with peers for better outcomes and shared success. If a project succeeds, we can replicate it; if it fails, it’s a one-time effort.