I handle sales at restaurant-booking platform Chope. Here’s a day in my life

Day in the Life is a series where personalities in the Asian tech community recount what they do on a typical day. Read more from the series here.

I’m Sharavana Rao, subject matter expert (sales) at Chope.

I spend my time selling the company’s B2B software and marketing solutions to the F&B industry in Singapore. On top of that, I train and educate the teams in Singapore and regionally to bridge the knowledge gap that arises in a rapidly growing company.

Here’s a day in my life.

6 to 7 am

Waking up before sunrise is an intentional pursuit of mine. In the morning, I like to slow things down to focus on my well-being—breathing deeply, stretching, eating fruits and superfoods, and drinking lots of water.

7 to 8:30 am

Following my morning rituals, I review my goals at work and in life on a daily basis.

To give me the energy and drive to maintain consistency toward these goals, I carve out time for exercise. I like to swim or hit the gym earlier in the day. The workout helps me stay fit and healthy while building resilience and endurance to handle higher stress levels.

8:30 to 10 am

My wife and I enjoy spending quality time together over breakfast whenever possible. You’ll most likely find us at our favorite cafe, The Glasshouse at Chijmes. The immensely friendly team behind the counter makes delicious avocado toasts and oat milk coffee—my go-to as a vegan.

10 to 11 am

In the office, I start my day with the most crucial element: prioritizing.

As entrepreneur and life coach Marie Forleo recommends, I like to “simplify to amplify.” I practice energy and time minimalism that helps to achieve big wins, combining it with the 80/20 and 4/64 rule.

For example, I set just enough or slightly less than enough time to achieve an impactful yet attainable task that will move the needle. I find that limiting resources (in this case intentionally reducing the time allocated) helps stimulate the mind to find creative solutions I wouldn’t have otherwise considered.

11 am to 1:30 pm

To be able to educate my teams on sales, I need to practice it consistently. When necessary, I find a distraction-free space in the office to get work done.

During this time I do outbound lead generation, which includes scouring the web for new restaurants. As the F&B industry is very dynamic in Singapore with a high number of restaurants opening and closing every year, there are always new outlets to explore partnerships with.

Crafting emails to or calling decision-makers at restaurants is a key part of the job. Our approach at Chope generally begins with a conversation with restaurant owners or directors on their current operational and promotional gaps. Then, we recommend the relevant solutions that we can provide to elevate their business, both operationally and financially.

Managing client relationships and customer success is also an integral part of the role. Working with our campaigns and operations teams to find ways to increase diner traffic and workflow efficiency for restaurant partners keeps my days eventful.

A growing portion of my time is also dedicated to crafting internal content and developing tools for training and educating our sales teams across the region. Working with the subject matter expert from our operations team, I create content that’s relevant for salespeople, going a step beyond to ensure that they are proficient with the operational technicalities of our various software solutions.

Sales trainings are usually whole-day affairs (either in Singapore or in the other cities where Chope operates). Creating effective tools is also an ongoing process.

1:30 to 2:30 pm

Lunch is a healthy meal, usually packed from home. During this time, I like to catch up with my team over conversations about anything under the sun. Of course, colluding on an office prank or two is usually on my agenda, and lunchtime is when we hatch some nefarious plans!

2:30 to 5:30 pm

This is when restaurant personnel are available after their lunch operations, so I usually head out for meetings.

Consulting and selling to the F&B industry introduces never-ending variety to my life. I might be meeting a small cafe followed by a large hotel group right afterward.

In between meetings, I take work calls in cabs. Deals tend to get fixed in the most unexpected places!

5:30 to 7 pm

I then head back to office to tie up the day’s work and follow up with clients. I also make sure that I’ve hit my big wins for the day.

7 to 9 pm

If I’m not headed home, evenings are for new restaurant launches or dinner meetings where we focus on relationship-building with clients.

At home, I’m intentional about resuming slow living. My wife and I might cook and eat a simple meal together, following which I’ll practice guitar or listen to some music.

Past 9 pm, I usually hunker down and prepare to sleep. I keep my phone and gadget use to a minimum at home—especially right before bed—to rest my eyes and mind.

***

Thinking of our organization as an interdependent organism has helped me keep my mind open to new ideas and build meaningful relationships, while making a positive contribution.

Being in a tech company, time flies by with the constant need to be at the cutting edge. It can be easy to lose sight of the other things that matter just as much: taking it easy, having fun, and going through it together.

When the going gets tough, I’ve always relied on the timeless principles of taking personal responsibility, beginning with the end in mind, and seeking to understand before being understood.

Finally, I recommended that you read Together is Better by Simon Sinek and watch this 30-minute video by Ray Dalio on the principles for success.