It was a dream come true for Kunal Negi, student of Jaipuria Institute of Management, Noida , when he bagged an internship with Ducati India, since he is interested in working in luxury goods, especially the automobiles industry, after his MBA. Jaipuria, Noida had certainly found him an SIP that was the best fit for his talents and goals. The iconic Italian superbike brand, which had recently made a re-entry into the Indian market, offered him the perfect platform to showcase his talents. Kunal did just that, and here he talks about how he benefited from his highly successful SIP.

Ducati India is the youngest of the 11 subsidiaries of the company and owns its largest store in the world in Delhi NCR. Thus, this was a tremendous opportunity for Kunal to use his education in a real-world corporate environment. “I was a sales consultant and my key responsibilities involved sales consulting, where I was supposed to effectively engage with our high profile prospective customers and provide them with full specifications of the superbikes,” he explains. “I was also a part of promotional activities and I was involved in building brand visibility for the company.”

Kunal was given a target of selling one superbike during his 80 day internship, but he outdid himself by selling five, a fact that he is quite happy about. He also had to interact with high profile clients, which for him was a learning experience in itself. He offers a lowdown on his internship stint, as he says, “Everything from the working culture to ambience, and food and general facilities were all top class. I felt a sense of pride whenever I wore my red colored DUCATI T-shirt as I developed a strong bond with the brand.”

Kunal also claims to be lucky to have the company’s Chief Operating Officer (COO) as his industry mentor. He quickly became his guide and motivator, who helped him through the various processes that were a part of his internship. “I was tremendously lucky as the COO also took the time to help me understand the finer points of the business. Besides sales, I was a part of briefings, conferences and meetings with the management on various issues. His guidance ensured that I sailed through it all and learned from the experience,” he says with pride.

Ask Kunal about his biggest takeaways from the internship, and he is quick to reply: “The Rs. 30,000 I earned every month did not hurt. The company also had an incentives policy based on sales performance and I won some handsome cash incentives. But overall, since it’s a new company, the learning was immense. I was exposed to new, unexpected situations which required me to think quickly and make split second decisions.” He also admits that having to multitask during his stint was an experience that taught him a lot.

But Kunal acknowledges the fact that none of this would have been possible without his institute, which takes the effort to find its students the best opportunities. He remains grateful for their contribution and persistent guidance. “I would like to thank the training and placement and development departments, because without them I would never have realized this dream,” he says, humbly. “I would also like to thank my faculties, especially my business communication faculties who taught me the finer aspects of communicating in an efficient manner.”