How Sales Academy helped three women founders grow

What inspired you to apply for Google for Startups Sales Academy?

Sanskriti: I’m at the point as a founder where I need to move the business beyond individual impact. With THRIVE, now I have a framework I can use, instead of just instinct, as I grow the business.

Saloni: I’m always eager to learn. Sales Academy felt like school in the best way: combining theory and practical application. This is particularly helpful for entrepreneurs since your brain is all over the place when you’re running a business and you’re always time-poor.

Shilpa: I am not a sales person by nature. I used to struggle with reading cues and nuances in conversations. Sales Academy taught me how to gauge the interest of a person by reading what they say versus what they mean, and how to talk about the benefit of my product, rather than just the feature.

What’s the biggest takeaway you’ve had since joining Sales Academy?

Sanskriti: It made me more confident. I also notice myself having longer conversations and ending most conversations with a solid next step.

Saloni: I’m usually a very direct person and so I tend to avoid small talk. However, with help from Sales Academy, I am making more of an effort to humanize my conversations. It has not only helped me with my conversations, but also made it possible to structure things like handling objections for my entire team.

Shilpa: Sales Academy helped me understand the difference between my product’s features and its benefits very clearly, and helped me communicate that difference to my clients and colleagues in Swayam. Another wonderful benefit that I got is in addressing clients’ objections in a structured way.

How did it feel to participate in a program specifically for women founders?

Sanskriti: It was a very powerful training session. When it ended, I started a WhatsApp group to stay connected with and continue to support the other founders who went through the program.

Saloni: It was highly rewarding without being time intensive. The facilitators did a great job of being mindful and respectful of time, and structured each session incredibly well.

Shilpa: Since the whole cohort was female, it was easy to bounce a few thoughts on gender discrimination we face with clients, and I realized that I am not alone in this! Knowing others face the same issue really helped to put client interactions in a different perspective to better handle them.

Learn more about other Google for Startups programs such as our Accelerator: Women Founders on startup.google.com.

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