Entrepreneur and business coach Gaurav Bhagat has had a remarkable journey from working with world renowned entrepreneur guru - Grant Cardone, to starting his own academy. His first year of college saw the beginning of his entrepreneurial journey with Consortium Gifts. Since his childhood Gaurav had a passion for sales, and through his constant endeavours and relationships with mentors he has developed his skills and competence that are unmatched in this country.
In this exclusive conversation with The Week, we get the opportunity to learn more about Gaurav Bhagat, his journey as an entrepreneur, his vision for the future, and the work he is doing through his foundation to give a boost to businessmen across the nation.
1. Can you tell us about your journey in entrepreneurship and how it led to the creation of Gaurav Bhagat Academy?
I started Consortium Gifts during my college days. In 2017, we received training from Grant Cardone in the 10X methodology. Within six months of implementing their methodology, our top line doubled, which made us a case study on the Grant Cardone website. In 2018, I met Grant Cardone in person, and he was impressed by our sales experience. He asked me if I would be willing to take his content and message to India. This led to the formation of the GBA. We spent a considerable amount of time together in 2018, and in November of that year, we formally launched the GBA. That's when the GBA began its operations.
2. How does GBA incorporate the 10X Grant Cardone way of teaching sales with content specifically optimized for Indian audiences?
In our experience of delivering training in India, we realized that what works in the States may not necessarily work here. We learnt this during the early months of delivering these trainings between December to February in 2018 that certain things needed to be tweaked for Indian conditions, audiences, and situations. So, we made the necessary changes to the content to make it more relevant for India. We indigenized the content by adapting it culturally and language-wise to suit Indian conditions. Certain things that resonate well in the US had to be tweaked down to be more relevant for Indian audiences. Thus, we did a lot of indigenization of the content to ensure that it was more relevant for the Indian audience.
3. Why is it necessary for businesses to deploy sharp trained sales professionals to scale up their businesses, and how does GBA help with this?
If you're looking to scale your organization and succeed, having well-trained salespeople is crucial. That's where the GBA comes in. We specialize in sharpening the skills of salespeople, making them smarter and better equipped to bring your products and services to market. Whether you already have a sales team in place or are looking to build one from scratch, our training program is designed to teach your team things that aren't typically taught elsewhere. By investing in your sales team, you'll be setting your organization up for long-term success.
4. What are the benefits of GBA's 10X Sales program, and why is it crucial for businesses to scale up their sales and communication strategy?
The sales training program offered by Grant Cardone has been tried, tested and delivered for 36 years by Grant Cardone and in the last five years it has been delivered by us in India. This program covers everything salespeople need to know, including objection handling, follow-up, prospecting, negotiation, attitude, and mindset. It's not just about providing tools, but also developing the right mindset and skill set that work together to create success. This is why it's critical for businesses to incorporate this training into their offerings, as it can make a significant difference in the success of their sales team and ultimately, their business.
5. What sets GBA apart from its competitors and other training and coaching organizations?
As a coach, trainer, and mentor, I believe that my experience sets me apart. I have been an entrepreneur and taken businesses from scratch to becoming market leaders, with global recognition and success. I don't just teach theory; I also provide practical insights based on my own experiences. I have sold in every possible situation, geography, and seen every possible scenario, which gives me a unique perspective. Grant Cardone, who I work with, has also achieved great success. He was once a broke 26-year-old drug addict, but he transformed his life and is now a billionaire with company’s worth tens of billions of dollars. Our experiences and success demonstrate that we walk the talk and can provide valuable insights and training to help others achieve their goals.
6. You have Sales training in various cities across the country. How different are your training approaches from metro cities and Tier 2 cities?
From my experience, the core sales training remains the same regardless of location. The only significant difference is the language. In smaller towns, there may be a need for a degree of Hindi, but in South India, Hindi is not required at all. The training is delivered in English, and the approach remains the same. The leadership training may be handled slightly differently than the frontline staff or the training for junior executives, but otherwise, the approach is consistent across the board. Today, people in tier two cities are just as savvy as those in metro cities. Everyone has access to content on YouTube and other platforms, so there's no difference in terms of the resources available. Overall, the sales training remains consistent, and the approach is adaptable to different audiences and locations.
7. Throw light on how GBA is planning to scale up its operations in the next 5 years?
We are excited about the new initiatives we have coming up at GBA. One of the big ones is rolling out sales training for university students. It's an awesome opportunity to train the next generation of sales professionals. We are also automating some of our programs to make them more accessible to a wider audience. Additionally, we are developing a train-the-trainer program to bring on alumni and other coaches and trainers who want to be a part of GBA. This will help us scale and expand geographically, as we plan to bring our sales training insights to the UK and the US. We are constantly growing and evolving, and we're excited to see where these initiatives take us.
