Byju’s has made major changes to its sales strategy, moving away from business practices that have drawn criticism from the edtech giant over the years.
Startup based in Bangalore, India most valuable, said Monday that its sales force no longer visits the homes of potential customers to pitch to their parents. Instead, an entire sales force is now working in-office and reaching out to parents whose kids have shown obvious interest in subscribing to the platform.
The company adopted an earlier approach in 2017 and made the change last October, saying the shift has brought more accountability and transparency to its employees, which benefits both sides of the equation.
Speaking to TechCrunch, Mrinal Mohit, chief executive officer of Byju’s India operations, said the new sales strategy has also allowed Byju’s to expand its presence in the country and has seen a return to higher conversion rates.
“Covid has helped increase category awareness for online education learning and brand awareness for Byju’s. Plus, we now have multiple products. That’s why we’ve moved to ‘inside sales’,” he said.
“The sales journey only starts after you download my app and use it multiple times for a long time. If you don’t download the app, or don’t like our product, we won’t contact you.”
The Indian edtech company had earlier come under fire for its sales tactics, with allegations that some of its employees made misleading pitches to parents. Byju’s offers students a range of learning platforms, from free content and courses to blended courses, at its centers across its South Asian markets.
Mohit, who took over as India chief last year, said the reshuffle has brought more transparency to what parents and their salespeople are telling them.
“I have 120 offices and my downloads come from everywhere, but I can only reach 20% of those users. For inside sales, location is no barrier. All of these calls are recorded, so we know to confide in the parents What. We have more transparency with parents,” he said.
If a person doesn’t know how to accurately answer a parent’s question, the startup is able to pull in more experience and relevant people in real time, he said.
Sales are a key part of Byju’s success. The startup’s classes use a dual-teacher model, with pre-recorded video lectures and live or on-site teachers addressing students’ questions.
The startup’s philosophy from the ground up has been to give students the best possible education, and that means relying on certain teachers’ lessons as the basis for their teaching. The salesperson’s task is to explain the benefits of this model.
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