Question 1

Do the workshops come with a certification?  What is the criteria for acquiring the certificate?

Accepted Answer

Prof Sreeram will issue a completion certificate. You need to pay the workshop fees and attend at least 50% of the sessions for the certificate to be given to you. Certificates will be emailed to you within a week after the completion of the workshop.

Question 2

How will I be evaluated for the workshop?

Accepted Answer

There will be no evaluation for the workshop.

Question 3

What are the payment terms?

Accepted Answer

Payments are all upfront and can be made through the website. Details are on the website alongside the workshops.

Question 4

What is the refund policy for the workshops?

Accepted Answer

All payments are non-refundable. Arrangements have to be made based on the number of participants and most costs are upfront. So, refunds cannot be made.

Question 5

What is the minimum enrolment criteria?

Accepted Answer

For live workshops to be successful and to be an effective learning experience, there has to be a minimum number of participants. Prof Sreeram reserves the right to cancel the workshop and refund the workshop fees if the minimum enrolment number is not met.

Question 6

After enrolment, what will be the subsequent process?"

Accepted Answer

After paying fees and sharing your details, you will receive a confirmation email and an email seeking a few more details about you. These details will enable Prof Sreeram to know a little more about you. Before the workshop, you will be emailed a zoom link with a meeting id and password. Note that you can attend sessions only with your registered email id. Make sure to log into Zoom with your registered email id to attend the sessions. Each participant will be able to log in from one device only.

Question 7

What are the basic hardware and software requirements for attending the workshop?

Accepted Answer

The workshops will be conducted over Zoom. Participants are advised to use laptops where possible. Only use tablets and mobiles as a last resort. Use headphones with boom mics for the best audio experience. Make sure your zoom client is updated to the latest version. When you enter a session, test your audio (speakers and mic) to make sure they are working.

Question 8

Can participants speak during the workshop?

Accepted Answer

This is a live workshop and participants are encouraged to speak. However, participants desirous of speaking should speak only after receiving permission from Prof Sreeram or upon his request. Participants can use the “raised hands” ✋ signal for raising their hands to signal a desire to speak. Note that participants should maintain decorum, speak respectfully to others and Prof Sreeram reserves the right to remove participants from the session in case they are disruptive.

Question 9

What preparation/subject knowledge is needed for the workshops before enrolling?

Accepted Answer

The workshops are meant for participants who have a basic knowledge of marketing. Graduates and post graduate students including second-year MBA students who have basic knowledge of marketing may find this useful. Participants without knowledge of basic marketing may find these workshops too advanced for them and should reconsider enrolling. Working executives who also have basic knowledge of marketing can find these workshops useful. If you are rusty in your marketing concepts, you may wish brush up on some basic marketing concepts. The topics that you should be conversant with are:
Marketing – definition
Role of marketing in a company and society
Segmentation, targeting and positioning
Concepts like branding, consumer behaviour, pricing, product development and management
Advertising and marketing communication

Question 10

How do the workshops help an MBA student?

Accepted Answer

Each workshop will cover specific topics in sales and distribution and will help MBA students and working executives with a better idea of these topics. More details are provided in the workshop descriptions. Students will get in-depth knowledge on theories and how to apply them. These will help improve the overall marketing knowledge of participants and prepare them for marketing jobs.

Question 11

How do the workshops help an entrepreneur?

Accepted Answer

While the workshops are not explicitly devoted to entrepreneurship, entrepreneurs can learn the fundamentals of sales and distribution. Entrepreneurs can learn about the importance of channels and sales force and make informed choices about their models. Entrepreneurs can also make choices between approaching businesses or consumers as their customers. The workshop on consumer and trade marketing promotions will allow entrepreneurs to decide upon inducements and incentives to be offered to consumers, partners and other stakeholders.

Question 12

How do the workshops help working professionals?

Accepted Answer

A firm foundation in sales and distribution is vital for corporate executives to help them succeed in business. These workshops will be suitable for junior to mid-level executives to learn or brush up on sales and distribution. For senior executives, Prof Sreeram provides customised programs. You can reach him here for inquiries on customised programs for companies or coaching for senior executives.

Question 13

Why is distribution important in sales and marketing?

Accepted Answer

Most consumer goods companies and several B2B companies use intermediaries to reach their customers. Distribution plays a vital role in developing any marketing strategy, possessing the power to define a product’s level of success. Many innovative and theoretically sound products have failed in the marketplace due to faulty distribution.

Question 14

How is ‘Marketing to Organisations’ (B2B Marketing) different from B2B marketing?

Accepted Answer

While B2B (business to business) marketing refers to marketing to commercial companies, there is a vast market comprising governments, institutions, NGOs and cooperative societies. This workshop will cover this entire gamut of potential markets. Thus, Marketing to Organisations will be far more comprehensive than B2B marketing.

Question 15

Who will be the industry experts in the live lectures?

Accepted Answer

Industry experts will be drawn from all levels based on their suitability for specific aspects of the course. They will hail from different sectors and from established companies and start-ups to give all possible flavours.

Question 16

What will the mentoring sessions entail?

Accepted Answer

Participants can book an online slot and use the free 30 minutes session to either seek specific inputs on case competitions or clear doubts about the workshops.
Prof Sreeram has successfully mentored several students in case study competitions. Over the years, under his guidance, his students have won case competitions conducted by companies like L’Oreal, Hindustan Unilever Limited, Reckitt Benckiser, Marico, Capgemini and many others.

Question 17

Are the workshop resources and materials available for download?

Accepted Answer

Workshop material will comprise downloadable material and view-only material. Most slide decks will be shared in a view-only mode, while references and other reading material will be provided as downloadable documents.

Question 18

What does the ‘Life Planning’ workshop entail?

Accepted Answer

Since 2011, Prof Sreeram has been doing an end-of-year workshop for his students at the School of Business Management, NMIMS. It started as a personal financial planning workshop based on his experiences as a banker and a mutual fund distributor. Over the years, he realised that personal financial planning was not just about handling money. It was more about letting money help people find happiness. The workshop thus became about finding lifestyles that did not place money at the core. For this workshop, Sreeram developed content based on his extensive reading on happiness research, investing and behavioural finance.
This workshop is for a duration of four hours. There will be discussions on happiness, materialism, the importance of relationships, empathy and gratitude in finding contentment. The workshop also covers personal financial planning basics and helps kickstart a financial plan.

Question 19

How will the 5 participants for the live project with organisations be selected?

Accepted Answer

For the benefit of the participants of the various workshops, several companies have offered live projects and provided certain details about them. Without disclosing the names of the companies, the nature of the projects will be made available to participants. Participants can then apply for the projects. The applications will be routed to the organisations offering the projects who which will then select suitable candidates based on their requirements. Please note that projects are limited and not everyone who applies can hope to get a project.

Question 20

Are trial classes offered?

Accepted Answer

At this point, there are no options for trial classes. The website provides much information on the workshops. Participants can independently reach out to past students of Prof Sreeram for an idea of what they can expect in the workshops. Most students with marketing jobs from the School of Business Management, NMIMS Mumbai from 2010 to 2021 would have attended Prof Sreeram’s classes and can attest to the quality. Since arrangements have to be made based on the number of participants and most costs are upfront requests for trial sessions will not be accepted.

Question 21

Is there any placement support provided?

Accepted Answer

No, these workshops offer no guarantee of placement and Prof Sreeram’s role will be limited to delivering the workshops and helping participants learn.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do the workshops come with a certification? What is the criteria for acquiring the certificate?