Expert Interview with Nizamudheen V, CEO of Toolyt

Chirantan Patel

Senior Writer

toolyt

“Toolyt SFA is more than just Sales Cycle Management.”- Says Nizamudheen, CEO at Toolyt.

Toolyt entered the market of Sales Force Automation with a vision to deliver a compact Field Force Automation (SFA) software. According to Nizamudheen, the idea of Toolyt came to him when he realized that Sales Force Automation hasn’t really kept pace with other components of Customer Relationship Management.

Toolyt can be defined as a Business Automation Tool, which helps in tracking the sales activities of the salespeople who are on the field, and that too in real-time. The company can track sales and field operations along with sales activities.

Toolyt includes Sales Forecasting and Order Management. Toolyt also allows its customers to model the product according to their needs through the Online Product Building System.

Let’s take a look at how Toolyt did it, in this new edition of Expert Interview with the visionary CEO of Toolyt – Nizamudheen V!

Q1) What according to you are the four pillars on which Toolyt stands upon?

We focus on

  • Field Force Productivity – Toolyt helps field force manage daily processes via a single app instead of using multiple apps. It also reduces their tedious paperwork process.
  • Team Monitoring for Managers – It’s often difficult to monitor the actual performance of the officers on the field. Toolyt not only simplifies the process but gives the Managers good access to the actual performance of the field activities.
  • Gather Business Insights – Toolyt provides a Dashboard for the CEOs or directors to look at real-time insights which are quite similar to how Google Analytics works for websites
  • Increase Revenue – All the above will increase the overall performance which will result in increased revenue for Companies

Q2) How did you hit upon the idea for your Company?

Toolyt SFA is my third venture. It was a big challenge to keep my team on track and I had no clue about the actual field performance and how to handle this. I tried using multiple tools to get the whole process automated, but found that no tool had all the features which I thought was required to efficiently execute the process. This gave birth to the idea of creating a tool which should not only have all the features but also an option to customize and take it live in a matter of hours. A big advantage of Toolyt SFA is that it can be integrated with existing CRM/ERP/Billing software etc.

Q3) Apart from Toolyt, which other Software do you use and would advise others to increase productivity.

We use Wunderlist and Trello for our internal teams.

Q4) Who do you consider your biggest Competitor and how do you differentiate yourself from them?

It is difficult to point out a competitor and say how we are different from them. I would consider Salesforce or Zoho as my biggest competitor. We have got extra modules such as Expense Management, Visits Management, Jobs Management, etc. We also provide integration with Salesforce and Zoho.

Q5) How has Sales evolved since you first got into the business? What hasn’t changed?

It was quite hard to actually approach a potential lead and convince him, as we had no case studies or clients to back the credibility of Toolyt. I reviewed the database of my existing network and also previous clients, asking them to try Toolyt for free and if convinced then to buy. This really helped us in getting our first set of users, which also contributed a lot in enhancing our product. Moreover, the leads I receive via SoftwareSuggest were of high potential and easy to convert as well.

Q6) Say you are having a bad day, and a very important meeting is up in few moments, how would you cope with the emotions and redeem the meeting in full fledge?

I’ll first make sure that I meet them on time, and try to convince them to reschedule. If not convinced I’ll try to finish the meeting in ‘listen only mode’ and reply them later once my mood is all set.

Q7) Would you rather be Respected or Feared?

Undoubtedly it would be ‘Respected’. I believe that one can’t achieve anything out of fear.

Q8) Think of something you’ve done in the past; what would you have done differently?

Choosing ‘people’

  • I chose my friend as co-founder thinking we could build a business together. That failed miserably. It is important to choose the right Co-founder who can help to get optimal business output and not just choose him probably because he has money or some skill.
  • Hiring senior employees from IBM and AOL, paying them huge and expecting them to sell more. They joined with corporate MNC mindset and lots of demands. Hire people if they are passionate about what they do and not just because they had been associated with reputed names.

Q9) How do you approach a decision where people disagree with you?

  • Try to prove that I am right
  • Try to prove they are wrong
  • Go for Expert Advice or will ask my Mentor

Q10) What do you expect to see over the next 5 to 10 years in the Marketing and Sales Industry?

  • Marketing: Would love to see it more technically oriented, data analytically inclined and segmented. Also more data oriented strategies or tools which can forecast the success rate.
  • Sales: Would like to see a lesser role of middlemen and a platform or medium to connect directly with decision makers. Even though there are platforms to connect those people, conversion or response rate is very slow. SoftwareSuggest handles this well by capturing the exact requirement, which helps me to take a call whether I should contact this prospect or not.

Q11) What are your experiences with highs and lows at Toolyt?

I don’t think a paragraph or two can answer this question; but to sum it up, my greatest lessons are

  • Make your customer happy, he will then drive more customers
  • First, educate your customer, then sell
  • Focus on 1) People 2) Product 3) Making customers happy
  • ‘Discount’ is the Mantra to sell in India
  • Customer Satisfaction

Q12) Lately, more and more Professionals are leaving their cushy and well-paid jobs to follow their passion. What’s your take on this?

Cheers and Good Luck to them. Never start a business because you have money and free time. Start when you identify a problem and have found a better solution.

Lastly, we would be glad to have your valuable suggestion for the new age Entrepreneurs coming up in the industry today.

  • Choose your Co-founder and Team wisely
  • Have a Mentor
  • Focus on Team and Idea, then can come Customer and Money
  • ‘Listen’
  • Don’t give priority to emotions while taking decisions
  • It’s okay to fail, get up and start running again
  • Build a Network and keep sharing your visiting cards
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