Sales Strategy for the MSMEs - Merging Digital Tech with Personal Touch

Tell me a little about your journey and about your academy. How does it help other companies?

Sales has been in my DNA since I was six years old.

I started my first business at six – a comic book rental library. By eight, I was actively selling at exhibitions for my mother’s apparel brand. At 16, I designed my first stock market board game, which went on to sell 50,000 units. I also created the first-ever WWF trump cards, another hit with over 50,000 packs sold.

From there, I launched Consortium Gifts from home, and today, we handle some of the world’s biggest corporate gifting contracts. Our clientele includes Castrol, Microsoft, LinkedIn, Salesforce, Cisco and Informatica, with global deals reaching organizations worth nearly a billion dollars.

I don’t just teach sales – I live it. Sales isn’t theory for me; it’s a lifelong journey. My goal is to reshape how sales is perceived and practiced, backed by hands-on experience and industry insights that drive real results.

At our Gaurav Bhagat Academy, we help businesses scale through high-impact sales and leadership training. We have been operating in 21 countries and have worked with top companies, where our programmes increased sales productivity by 30% and conversion rates by 40%. Using data-driven strategies, gamification and AI insights, we deliver measurable growth. For me, it’s not just about training – it’s about transforming businesses for long-term success.

I’ve had the opportunity to work with Microsoft’s administrative and leadership teams across 16 countries, including India, Australia, Singapore and Japan. Our training sessions focused on enhancing sales strategies, customer engagement, and leadership excellence in the tech sector.

Beyond Microsoft, we’ve partnered with several leading technology companies to help them scale their sales efforts. In fact, our structured interventions have led to a 35% increase in deal closures and a 25% boost in client retention rates for some of our corporate clients. The key to convincing customers to spend more lies in solution-oriented selling, data-driven personalisation, and post-sale engagement. Customers invest in value, not just products. By positioning as a trusted advisor and leveraging AI-driven insights, businesses can boost upselling by 30% and retain clients at 5X lower cost than acquiring new ones. At Gaurav Bhagat Academy, we help companies master these strategies for sustained growth.

How do you help the startups and MSMEs to compete against the large companies in the same segment?

Whether you’re a startup or an established company, competition is inevitable and customers will always have alternatives. The key to standing out, especially when competing against MNCs, is having a structured, repeatable and scalable sales process.

One of the biggest challenges startups face is the lack of a documented sales strategy. Many don’t have a defined follow-up system, which leads to lost opportunities. At our Academy, we implement a proven 12-step sales process, starting from the right mindset and prospecting to closing deals and securing referrals. Companies that follow a structured approach see a 30-40% increase in conversions compared to those relying on ad-hoc sales efforts.

Continuous training and skill-building are equally critical. Sales isn’t something you master overnight; it requires consistent role-playing, coaching and real-world application. This is where we leverage global best practices.

What is your growth percentage year on year? Do you think companies are taking on this idea?

Our year-on-year growth stands at 100%, reflecting the increasing demand for structured sales and leadership training. One of the biggest challenges in this space has been a trust deficit; many trainers and consultants promise results but fail to deliver. Our aim however has always been to focus on measurable impact.

Businesses are realising that skill development isn’t a one-time event; it’s a continuous process that drives real growth. Companies that commit to structured learning programmes see up to a 40% increase in productivity and a 35% boost in sales conversions. With these proven results, more organisations are investing in our methodologies, making high-performance training a key part of their growth strategy.

How can the salespeople get potential contacts of potential clients? They have to begin with prospecting

Prospecting is the lifeline of sales. Without it, you’re out of the game. The key today is to blend technology with traditional outreach for maximum impact.

With the rise of AI-driven tools like Lusha and RocketReach, salespeople now have access to high-quality, data-driven leads in seconds – something that was impossible a decade ago. In fact, companies using AI-powered prospecting tools see a 30-40% increase in qualified leads compared to those relying solely on conventional methods.

But technology alone isn’t enough. Old-school strategies still work. Picking up the phone, setting up in-person meetings and building genuine relationships are irreplaceable. I always tell sales teams: step out from behind your desks and get in front of customers – past, present and future.

Digital platforms like Meta, LinkedIn and YouTube ads may generate a mix of high-quality and low-quality leads. On average, 30% of leads may be unqualified, but the remaining 70% can be nurtured into potential business opportunities.

Out of every 10 leads, you may find 3 that are not genuine, but 2-3 could turn into high-value clients, and 4-5 may convert in the future with proper follow-up. The key is to have a robust qualification and nurturing process to separate real prospects from noise.

We emphasise majorly long-term relationship-building. Some leads may not convert today, but they can become valuable clients a year or two down the line. Smart businesses don’t abandon digital prospecting because of a few bad leads – they refine their targeting, optimize their funnels, and stay consistent.

Even global giants like HP, despite their brand recognition, still invest heavily in advertising. Why? Because taking success for granted leads to decline. If you look at the Fortune 500 companies from 30 years ago, less than 10% remain on the list today; the rest faded because they got complacent.

Sales is not just about learning; it’s about execution.

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