Enterprise Sales · AI-Native · India GTM

I've sold to India's toughest enterprise buyers — with and without a big brand behind me.

Fourteen years in sales — the last nine selling enterprise SaaS to CXOs across BFSI, tech, media and government. Four of those spent building an enterprise SaaS business from zero at Konnect Insights — no brand, no inbound, no playbook — and the rest running world-class enterprise motions at LinkedIn and Uber for Business. Today, I sell with AI in the workflow every single day — and I think it's the most important thing happening in enterprise tech.

Uber for BusinessLinkedInKonnect InsightsSBITech MahindraKotak Private BankingICICI SecuritiesRadio Mirchi Uber for BusinessLinkedInKonnect InsightsSBITech MahindraKotak Private BankingICICI SecuritiesRadio Mirchi
14y

In sales — the last 9 in enterprise SaaS, selling to CXOs across BFSI, tech, retail & government

$10M+

ACV portfolio across 50 enterprise accounts at Uber for Business · 95% NRR

100%

Quota, six consecutive halves at LinkedIn · 40 new logos landed

2×

Enterprise revenue as VP at Konnect Insights — ₹4 Cr → ₹8 Cr in 20 months

01

The pattern behind the winding path

Every stop in my career taught me the same lesson from a different angle: enterprises don't buy products — they buy conviction, delivered by someone who understands their P&L better than their vendors do.

At Kotak and ICICI, I learned that high-trust buyers purchase the person before the product. At Radio Mirchi, I sold the idea of an audience before the ratings data existed — pure category evangelism.

At Konnect Insights, I built enterprise sales from absolute zero: no brand, no inbound, no playbook. Cold outreach into Tech Mahindra and SBI. A partner channel through Ogilvy and Kinnect that I designed and scaled to 40% of revenue. That's what selling an unproven category to skeptical Indian enterprises actually looks like — and it's exactly the motion AI companies entering India need today.

LinkedIn taught me how a world-class revenue org runs at scale: MEDDIC discipline, multi-threaded deals, forecasting you can bet on. Uber for Business is where I run that machine now — a $10M+ book where clients renew because the QBRs genuinely find them money.

02

AI in practice — not a certification, a workflow

Account Intelligence

LLM-built account plans for a 50-account book

I use Claude to synthesise annual reports, org structures, and news flow into strategic account plans — including full promoter-family and post-demerger entity mapping for conglomerate accounts. What took a week of analyst work now takes an afternoon, and it surfaces expansion angles QBRs used to miss.

Pipeline & CRM

AI-assisted Salesforce hygiene & signal mining

Built frameworks that turn raw usage data and contact gaps into prioritised action lists — multi-touch engagement campaigns generated and personalised at scale, so selling time goes up and admin time goes down.

Deal Preparation

QBRs and CXO narratives, drafted with AI, closed by me

Cost benchmarks, usage stories, and objection-handling prep — structured with LLMs, pressure-tested against 14 years of deal-room instinct. The result: a 10% net revenue lift in year one at Uber for Business.

Building in Public

@VikasExplains — decoding business for India, in Hinglish

A content brand I'm building around one idea: "Roz dekhte ho, kabhi poocha nahi kyun." Series like Deal Room Diaries turn 14 years of insider sales experience into explainers — the same skill that makes complex AI products land with non-technical CXOs.

→ I don't just sell technology transformation — I run my own desk on it. Daily driver: Claude. Ask me about any of these workflows on a call: let's talk.

03

Track record

Jan 2025 — Present

Senior Account Manager

Uber for Business · Mumbai

Own a $10M+ ACV portfolio of 50 enterprise accounts with 95% net revenue retention. Grew net revenue 10% in year one by mining usage data for upsell angles prior QBRs missed. Built an onboarding framework that cut ramp time by two weeks — now the India-team standard.

Mar 2022 — Jan 2025

Senior Account Executive

LinkedIn · Talent Solutions · Mumbai

100% of quota, six consecutive halves. 40 new logos at ~$10K ACV, sold to CHROs and TA leaders through multi-threaded MEDDIC cycles. 3× pipeline coverage, forecasting you could bet on.

Jun 2020 — Feb 2022

Vice President, Corporate Sales

Konnect Insights · CXM SaaS · Mumbai

Doubled enterprise revenue ₹4 Cr → ₹8 Cr, expanding from regional to national and international markets. Designed and scaled a partner channel (Ogilvy, Kinnect, WATConsult) to 40% of total revenue. Led a BDR team; personally ran the company's largest C-suite accounts on outcome-based pricing.

Oct 2017 — May 2020

Zonal Head, Sales — West & South India

Konnect Insights · Mumbai

One of the earliest sales hires. Built the playbook, pitch, and pipeline from scratch — no brand, no inbound. Landed Tech Mahindra and SBI cold; grew the regional book ₹3 Cr → ₹4 Cr recurring while running demand gen solo.

2012 — 2017

The foundation years

Radio Mirchi · Kotak Private Banking · ICICIdirect

Built advertiser revenue from near-zero at a just-launched radio station; exceeded targets for 3+ years acquiring UHNI/HNI clients in private banking. Where I learned that trust closes before product does.

expand details
  • Radio Mirchi (2016–17): Joined two months post-launch; sold integrated radio + digital + on-ground campaigns to automotive, BFSI, FMCG and real-estate advertisers before ratings data existed.
  • Kotak Private Banking (2013–16): Acquired HNI/UHNI clients across PMS, mutual funds, insurance and structured products; consistent target over-achievement.
  • ICICIdirect (2012–13): Managed ~100 retail portfolios; hit quarterly revenue targets via disciplined cross-sell and referrals.
04

Point of view

"Selling AI to Indian enterprises in 2026 looks exactly like selling CXM in 2018."

No established budgets, skeptical CFOs, procurement teams with no evaluation framework. I've run this movie before. The playbook: land a narrow, measurable PoC, price on outcomes, expand on proof.

"The AI deal isn't won in the demo. It's won in the CFO's spreadsheet."

Indian enterprises don't buy 'transformation' — they buy cost lines that go down and revenue lines that go up. The seller who translates model capability into P&L language wins the account.

"Multilingual isn't a soft skill in India GTM. It's a distribution channel."

Five languages means the promoter in Gujarati, the CTO in English, and the plant head in Marathi all hear the pitch in the language they decide in. Conglomerate selling in India is relationship archaeology.

05

What buyers, bosses & founders say

It has been an amazing experience working with Vikas while he was at LinkedIn. He has always been able to articulate the benefit the product would have for us and how it would solve existing concerns. Even after the purchase, Vikas was always there to help solve challenges to ensure a positive ROI for us. Happy to partner with him again.
Ankit Kothari
HR @ FlexiLoans · People & Culture Architect
The Client
His strong work ethic and clear sense of ownership consistently drove our team and business forward. I witnessed him constantly evolve, adapting to challenges with innovation, self-awareness and commitment. He takes the initiative silently and without a fuss to help his teammates, customers and peers be successful.
Varun Mathur
AI-Ready Workforces · GTM & Revenue Leadership
The Manager
Vikas is very creative when it comes to the sales process. He joined Konnect Insights in the early days when we were building our sales team — very good at giving amazing demos, which is key to selling SaaS. He is a friend of the customer, and our customers have grown to love him.
Sameer Narkar
Founder & CEO · Konnect Insights
The Founder
06

Let's talk shop

Whether you're building an AI or SaaS revenue team, comparing notes on enterprise selling in India, or just want to trade playbooks — I'm always happy to have a good conversation. The best deals I've ever done started as one.

Mumbai · Open to the right conversation Usually replies within a day