About Gunabalan Kanthan

From Corporate Professional to Microsoft Excel Expert and Sales Performance Specialist

Hello, I’m Gunabalan Kanthan (Guna), a Microsoft Excel Expert and HRD Corp Accredited Trainer specialising in Excel training, Excel-based business solutions, Sales Funnel Management and Sales Performance Management.

My expertise in Excel was built through more than 22 years of experience working in multinational corporations (MNCs), where I used Excel extensively to solve real business problems, analyse data, improve reporting, manage sales information and support management decisions.

Today, through GKS LETS EXCEL, I help working professionals and organisations turn Excel from a basic spreadsheet tool into a practical business productivity, reporting and performance management solution.

My Corporate Journey

I graduated in Engineering in 2001 and began my career in an engineering environment. Although I started in engineering, my career gradually expanded into a wide range of business functions, including:

• Project Costing

• Tender Management

• Sales Operations

• ERP Data Management

• Price Management

• Sales Funnel Management

• Sales Performance Management

• Reporting and Business Analysis

This experience gave me something that cannot be learnt from Excel tutorials alone, an understanding of how Excel is actually used inside businesses.

For many years, Excel was an essential part of my daily work. I used it to perform complex project costing, analyse data, build reporting tools, develop dashboards and create practical solutions for estimating and managing engineering and commercial information.

Over time, I discovered that Excel was not simply a spreadsheet application. When used properly, it could become a powerful tool for analysis, automation, reporting, decision-making and performance management.

From Excel Expertise to Business Solutions

As my Excel skills developed, colleagues from different departments began approaching me for help with difficult Excel problems, reporting requirements and data analysis.

I realised that the real value of Excel was not simply knowing more formulas.

It was understanding the business problem first, then using Excel to create a practical solution.

That philosophy continues to influence the way I design my training programmes and business solutions today.

My approach is therefore not simply:

"Here is how to use Excel."

It is:

"Here is the business problem. Let's see how Excel can solve it."

Sales Funnel and Sales Performance Management

One of the areas that became particularly important during my corporate career was Sales Funnel Management and Sales Performance Management.

Working with sales operations and performance data gave me first-hand experience of the challenges organisations face when managing their sales funnel, forecasting sales and evaluating performance.

These include questions such as:

• How much business is actually in the funnel?

• Is the funnel sufficient to achieve the sales target?

• What is the required funnel?

• What is the current hit rate?

• Where is the sales gap?

• Which opportunities require attention?

• How should salespeople and teams be measured?

• How can management obtain a clearer view of future sales performance?

• How can sales data be transformed into useful management information?

This experience led me to develop a strong interest in Excel-based Sales Funnel and Sales Performance Management.

Today, this is an important part of the knowledge and practical experience I share through my training, content and business solutions.

What I Specialise In

My areas of expertise include:

Microsoft Excel

• Intermediate and Advanced Excel

• Excel functions and data analysis

• PivotTables and dashboards

• Power Query

• Power Pivot

• Excel automation

• Management reporting

Sales Funnel & Performance Management

• Sales Funnel Management

• Sales Performance Management

• Funnel analysis

• Sales forecasting

• Hit Rate and Win Rate analysis

• Sales Gap analysis

• Funnel Coverage

• Sales performance reporting

• Excel-based funnel management systems

Excel Business Solutions

I also develop practical Excel-based solutions for organisations that need to improve the way they manage, analyse and report business data.

The objective is not to create complicated spreadsheets for the sake of complexity.

The objective is to build solutions that are practical, understandable, maintainable and useful for decision-making.

Why My Training Is Different

My training is based on a combination of technical Excel expertise and real corporate experience.

Having worked across engineering, costing, sales operations, ERP, pricing, funnel management and sales performance functions, I understand that different departments use data differently and face different operational challenges.

This allows me to design training programmes around real workplace situations, rather than teaching Excel functions in isolation.

My programmes are designed to help participants understand not only how to use Excel, but also when and why to use it.

My Certifications

In June 2025, I became a HRD Corp Accredited Trainer, strengthening my commitment to delivering structured and practical learning experiences for working professionals and organisations.

I am also a Microsoft Certified Excel Expert, reflecting my technical expertise in Microsoft Excel.

Why I Teach

Excel has played an important role throughout my professional career.

It helped me work faster, analyse information more effectively, communicate data clearly and solve problems that would otherwise have taken considerably more time.

It also contributed to my own professional development and financial planning.

After more than two decades in the corporate world, I decided to turn my experience and passion for Excel into something I could share with others.

Through GKS LETS EXCEL, my aim is simple:

To help people use Excel more effectively, solve real business problems and improve the way they work with data.

Whether the requirement is Excel training, Excel automation, management reporting, Sales Funnel Management or Sales Performance Management, I believe the best solutions begin with understanding the business problem first.

Gunabalan Kanthan

Microsoft Certified Excel Expert

HRD Corp Accredited Trainer
Sales Funnel & Sales Performance Management Specialist

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