COVID Impacts on Services Industry – The Story of Top Hawks

We talked to Yashaswi Priyadarshi of Top Hawks about Sales automation during COVID-19 times.

First of all, how are you and your family doing in these COVID-19 times? 

Yashaswi Priyadarshi: My extended family is safe, and although some of the members contracted the virus, no fatal cases have emerged to date within our organisations. I am thankful to God for that.

Tell us about you, your career, how you founded Top Hawks.

Yashaswi Priyadarshi: I started my career with Tata Consultancy Services as an associate engineer. I worked for a month on Mainframes and then went for my MBA. Post my MBA, I worked with Barclays for a year in London, and that’s when I planned to start Top Hawks and came to India.

How does Top Hawks innovate? 

Yashaswi Priyadarshi: We have a unique value proposition for Sales Automation. We provide end to-end-sales management to our clients with the infusion of our SAAS platform in the lead generation and order collection process.

How the coronavirus pandemic affects your business, and how are you coping?

Yashaswi Priyadarshi: Corona has indeed affected us as the ongoing projects went to a halt during the lockdown. Clients are wary of starting new campaigns, and the market is responding slowly to the non-essential items. But as they say, when the going gets tough, the tough get going. During the lockdown, we extensively researched about sanitation automation and acquired a new service in our repertoire, workplace hygiene automation. It’s an amalgamation of technology, equipment, and out of the box solutions to ensure your factories, floors, and workplaces are 100% COVID safe.

Did you have to make difficult choices, and what are the lessons learned?

Yashaswi Priyadarshi: Yes, within 2 months of lockdown, we were faced with a dilemma to let go of 35% of our staff as they were on a contractual basis, and the lockdown meant a halt on the projects. To mitigate the effects and help our employees in the testing times, we decided to cut down on our other fixed costs but still keep the employees on the payroll. As soon as our hygiene automation solution was out, our employees were able to fulfill 4 months target in 2. 

The biggest lesson was to embrace the unpredictability of our lives, and we should always be prepared for all the challenges life throws at us. Have faith in yourself and move forward. Do as much as you can, and then leave God to fill in the blanks.

How do you deal with stress and anxiety? How do you project yourself and Top Hawks in the future?

Yashaswi Priyadarshi: I meditate for 30 mins in the morning. That session really helps me get the drive for the day. With more and more companies switching to outsourcing models, we are certain we will have a 50% Y-O-Y growth post-pandemic.

Who are your competitors? And how do you plan to stay in the game?

Yashaswi Priyadarshi: Leaseasalesrep, Randstad. By focusing on the changing scenarios. Post covid world will have lots of behavioral and consumer preference changes. Sales processes need to adapt to that too.

Your final thoughts?

Yashaswi Priyadarshi: I would request everyone to stay safe, follow the guidelines, and take care of their families. The best thing about time is that it always changes. This, too, will pass. Stay Strong!

Your website?

https://www.tophawks.com