Latest / Closing Sales in Nigeria - Sales For The Nigerian Business Person: The Sales and Marketing Blueprint / Sealing the Deal: Building Trust with Legal Professionals

Transcript

Sealing the Deal: Building Trust with Legal Professionals · Closing Sales in Nigeria - Sales For The Nigerian Business Person: The Sales and Marketing Blueprint

0:01
Hello and welcome to the show today.
0:03
I'm not an audio booth, so I expect to hear some
0:05
interruptions in the background. Today, we're going to be looking
0:08
at a coaching session. It's a conversation that I had
0:11
with the real estate professional not long ago.
0:15
And this is supposed to be helpful Nuggets for those of you
0:20
who are in a similar situation. So like I said, it's a
0:23
conversation with a realtor based in LAG, Lagos.
0:29
And this realtor is on the cusp of closing a deal and the fellow
0:34
needs some help with getting the trust, securing the trust of a
0:38
legal practitioner of a lawyer because the lawyer is having,
0:42
sorry, the real estate professional is having a
0:44
conversation with a client. It looks like the client is
0:46
happy. And so the client has told the
0:49
realtor like, OK, here's my lawyer's phone number, call up
0:52
the lawyer, have a conversation with the lawyer.
0:55
And so, yeah, it's a step in the right direction.
0:58
The client seems to like the deal.
1:00
But once the realtor, the person who is selling the real estate,
1:04
wants the person to talk to the lawyer 1st.
1:06
And so that's what we're going to discuss the coaching session
1:10
that I had with this individual and what you guys can do if you
1:14
are in a similar situation. Now, before we continue, let me
1:17
share some of the stuff that I'm currently listening to on
1:20
Spotify. As for those of you who want to
1:22
become like me, if you want to become a man or a woman of
1:26
sophisticated taste, I'm not saying I'm a woman, I'm just
1:29
saying that, you know, the opportunity is open to people
1:33
either way. So if you're a lady, you like
1:36
listening to the show and you want to become a lady of
1:39
sophisticated taste when it comes to music, then let me
1:42
share some of the stuff that I have on the playlist.
1:44
So I'm currently listening to The Raconteurs and it's a group
1:49
that used to be led by Jack White.
1:54
And it's it's nice rock music driving grooves.
1:57
Some people call it non classical rock.
1:59
It has strong rhythms and there's a strong Blues element
2:04
to it. So if you like distorted guitar,
2:07
you know, like Carlos Santana, you know, guitar that's a little
2:10
dirty but has a sweet tone, sweet and smooth tone, then
2:13
that's the kind of music you should be listening to.
2:15
So of course, if you've been listening to Jack White's recent
2:18
stuff, you know, with that group at White Stripes, you know,
2:22
where he's the guitarist and singer and then the other lady
2:24
is the drummer. So if you've been following
2:26
White Stripes or if you've been listening to anything like Dan
2:29
Auerbach's music, Dan Auerbach, what's his group again, I can't
2:34
remember. But if you like this kind of
2:36
stuff, then Raconteurs. That's that's some, some good
2:39
music right there. So if you've been bred on my
2:44
piano and Afro beats, as people call it these days, and you want
2:48
to try something different and you want to try some guitar
2:51
music, then that's something that's been on my playlist.
2:54
So have a listen and let me know what you think.
2:58
Now, if you'd like to connect with me not just to discuss
3:02
music but also to discuss business problems like the real
3:05
estate professional in this coaching session that we had,
3:08
then my phone number is 08064662140.
3:14
The country code is +234. For those of you who are not
3:17
Nigerian, if you're going to call me, go ahead and call
3:20
Nohala. But if you want to call over on
3:23
WhatsApp, please send me a message first because there are
3:25
too many scammers on WhatsApp and I don't know what's going to
3:29
cause a security problem these days.
3:32
So I'm ignoring WhatsApp calls from people I don't know and I'm
3:35
also ignoring text messages with links from people that I do not
3:39
know. So just send me a text message.
3:41
Heard about you from the podcast.
3:43
Want to connect? Want to discuss about ABC123?
3:46
No problem, we'll chat a bit, exchange a few messages back and
3:50
forth, and then when it's cool for both of us, we'll hop on the
3:53
phone and have a conversation real quick.
3:55
You can also connect with me on LinkedIn, the name to look for
3:58
establishing my IED. That's my name.
3:59
I'm the host of the show. You can get the correct spelling
4:02
of my name from the link. We're listening to this podcast,
4:05
so just highlight and copy my name, paste it in LinkedIn, my
4:09
profile shows up, send me a connection request and we can be
4:12
chatting in a couple of hours. I definitely will respond to you
4:15
less than 48 hours from now. Then let's get straight to the
4:19
details of the interaction. OK, Well, not the detail of the
4:23
interaction between me and the real estate professional, but
4:25
the details of the interaction between the real estate
4:28
professional and the client. So let's say professional
4:32
reached out because of course he had some good news that he has
4:35
landed his first client. And of course, I'm very, very
4:38
happy whenever someone lands their first client, whether we
4:42
can trace it through advice that may have come through me or may
4:46
have not. Either way, I am very happy to
4:49
share in your progress whenever you guys are making progress.
4:52
So real estate professional landed his first client.
4:56
The client is very interested in the deal.
4:59
And I sent over the lawyer's contact details for the real
5:03
estate professional to follow up.
5:06
OK, let's just use some names to make it easier instead of me
5:09
saying real estate professional lawyer.
5:11
So let's say real estate professional, let's just call
5:13
him Jude, and let's say the client is a chemi.
5:17
So chemi, the client is really happy and she has sent over a
5:20
lawyer's phone number to Jude and say, hey Jude, I like this
5:23
deal. Follow up with follow my lawyer
5:26
and let me know how far. So of course, he's hoping that
5:30
this is a final step to closing the deal.
5:34
The real estate professional, Jude is assuming that he can
5:36
close the deal so long as he can build trust with the lawyer and
5:40
he wants to know what my tips are.
5:42
He wanted to know what my advice or tips were to make a good
5:44
impression and also to gain lawyers trust because he also
5:47
assumes that this is the last step.
5:50
So Jude real estate professional wanted to know about anything
5:54
specific that I could help him establish credibility or ease
5:59
concerns of the lawyer and that was essentially what the
6:01
coaching session was all about. Then is this the final step to
6:05
closing the deal? I guess so until we see
6:10
something to the contrary, I think that this is definitely a
6:13
step in the right direction. For those of you who are
6:16
listening to the podcast for a while, you know that I always
6:18
talk about continuations and I talk about advancements and how
6:22
we should always be looking for advancements.
6:24
Now, a continuation is when you leave a conversation with a
6:27
potential customer. You guys seem to be doing OK.
6:30
You guys are fluent, you guys are friendly, but you don't know
6:33
what the next clear step is. Whenever you're stuck in a
6:35
continuation, it doesn't matter how friendly you are with the
6:38
potential customer, just know that you're not making progress
6:41
because, you know, shy. You guys are cool, but you're
6:43
just going around and around. You're not really making
6:44
progress. So if you go to the client's
6:47
house or the client comes right to the office, you guys talk.
6:51
You just, you know, all kinds of things and you know, the client
6:55
gets up to you and says, oh, I'll get back to you.
6:58
I'll get back to you is just continuation.
7:00
You don't know what the next step is.
7:02
I'll get back to you. You have no idea what that
7:03
means. Now advancement is when both of
7:06
you have a meeting and then you have a clear idea about what the
7:09
next step is going to be. So in a situation like this
7:12
where client comes to your office, you'll go to the clients
7:15
house, you guys chat and then she's like, correct, I like this
7:18
thing. You know what, let me give you
7:20
lawyers phone number, called the lawyer and talked to him about
7:23
it. In this case, we can argue it's
7:25
an advancement because we have both left this meeting and we
7:29
have a clear idea about what to do to move the deal forward.
7:32
Both of us have agreed that this seems like a good idea, but you
7:35
want me to talk things over with your lawyer before you transfer
7:38
the millions to my account and then we get things rolling.
7:41
So it's reasonable to assume that this is an advancement.
7:44
By the way, if this is not an advancement and then there's a
7:47
problem, no problem. We will find out about it later
7:49
in the future and we'll figure out what to do about it because
7:53
that's what we do. We're self-employed people,
7:56
we're business people, We're trying to make a living here.
7:58
So it's just normal. Solving problems is exactly what
8:00
we do. If there's a problem in the
8:02
future, we'll get to that. But for now, let's just assume
8:05
that this is an advancement. So if you're new listening to
8:07
the podcast, please take that in mind when you're trying to
8:11
structure your follow up on your business deals and stuff like
8:14
that. We should always be looking for
8:16
advancements. If you leave a meeting, you guys
8:19
are friendly, you guys are cool, but you don't know what the next
8:23
step is. You don't know what you should
8:24
do next. The client might doesn't even
8:26
know what should do next. That's a consideration.
8:29
That's a messy thing. You need to find a way to get an
8:31
advancement. So in this case, the potential
8:33
client has given an advancement and I think that that's very
8:35
good. I think it's a step in the right
8:36
direction. It doesn't mean that when the
8:39
advancements comes from you, it's a step in the wrong
8:41
direction because I'm, I believe, family that we should
8:46
take the initiative on some of these things.
8:48
So if the meeting is coming to a close and the client has not
8:51
suggested what the advancement is, then by all means, I am
8:53
going to say something. I'm going to say, OK, Ma, thank
8:56
you very much for the meeting. It's been fun, blah, blah, blah.
8:59
I'm glad that we're getting along on this and this and that
9:01
and that. In my own opinion, I think the
9:02
next step now is that we should do this and this and that and
9:05
that. What do you think about that?
9:07
And then I'll keep quiet and then I'll listen.
9:09
So if the potential customer in this case didn't say, oh, I like
9:13
this, please talk to my lawyer. I would be the one who would
9:15
have said OK, Ma, usually at this stage before we now
9:19
transfer millions to my account. Usually at this stage, it's not
9:23
a bad idea to involve your lawyer or your agent or whoever
9:28
to go over the paperwork and to look at title.
9:31
What do you think, Ma? Is that?
9:33
Is that an OK? Is that what do you think?
9:35
Ma? Are we?
9:37
How will I put it? You get what it is I'm trying to
9:39
say. So usually, Ma, at this stage,
9:42
we now look at title. Are you OK with me meeting your
9:46
lawyer or your agent so that we can go to Lands and Registry and
9:49
inspect the title before you transfer the money to my
9:51
account? And then you keep quieting here
9:53
what she says. She says, oh, yes, that's a good
9:55
idea. Then now you know that you're
9:57
making an advancement. But at this stage, if you
9:59
propose that as an advancement and she says no, unless she
10:03
starts Hemming and hawing, then there might be a problem.
10:06
But anyway, bottom line is in this case, it's an it's a good
10:10
sign. Let's take it as a good sign
10:11
until we see something to the contrary.
10:14
So my advice to Jude Real Estate professional was this.
10:17
Now look, Cameo has already told you to hook up with a lawyer.
10:22
So don't worry too much about inspiring confidence in the
10:25
lawyer because the good sales practice you've done before now,
10:30
the good business practice that you've done before now, and the
10:33
good professional practice that you've done before now that
10:36
convinced Kemi the client is going to show that you are
10:41
credible and that you are legit to the lawyer.
10:44
So just keep on doing what you've been doing in the past
10:47
that led you up until this point.
10:49
So don't worry about, oh, I have to show, I don't, I have to show
10:55
build trust or show credibility with the lawyer.
10:59
Just focus on what you've been doing before now focus on the
11:02
fundamentals of the transaction. Focus on making sure that the
11:05
client is satisfied and that their interests are protected.
11:08
And then of course, trying to figure out what the last
11:11
concerns are and trying to show everybody why this is a sweet
11:15
deal and you'll be fine. So you don't need to carry the
11:18
emotional angst of, OK, she has passed me over to the lawyer.
11:22
How can I make a good impression on lawyer?
11:25
So I don't really think you should bother yourself like that
11:31
like that. So of course, you know, basic
11:34
stuff that you have to do professional tenants.
11:36
So the thing that you have to do as a real estate professional,
11:39
make sure you do that, OK? And that's some basic human
11:41
stuff. You know, make sure you bath,
11:43
comb your hair. If you have dreadlocks, make
11:45
sure the dreadlocks are neat. Dress up up here.
11:50
What's the word? What's the word?
11:53
Now dressing has to be appropriate, appropriate to the
11:57
circumstance. So maybe you shouldn't show up
12:01
to the lawyer's office wearing torn jeans, you know, torn jeans
12:07
like Kanye West's, like those kind of torn jeans and then torn
12:10
T-shirt. Maybe you shouldn't show up like
12:12
that. So that's why I say the
12:14
professional standards of the context will determine.
12:18
So you're a real estate professional based in Lagos.
12:20
However, it is that you've been showing off for meetings with
12:22
Kemi, the client that made you look like a credible real estate
12:27
professional. You know, continue like that,
12:29
whether it's tried on tried or whether it's a casual shirt on
12:33
trouser or whether it's suit on suit or sorry, excuse me, you
12:38
know, the context will determine.
12:39
And then of course, the practice of your firm, because there are
12:41
some firms that the auger, the owner of the firm has a very
12:45
strong idea about how people should dress.
12:47
So I've seen real estate firms in Abuja for instance, where the
12:51
owner of the real estate firm says that, look, everybody that
12:54
works here needs to be suit on suit plus tie.
12:57
If that's what your guy says, then by all means, suit on suit
13:00
plus tie. And then I've seen other real
13:03
estate firms where what they do is smart casual.
13:06
So I'm not going to advise you one way or another, but just
13:11
follow the professional dictates and you'll be fine.
13:13
Then like I said, make sure you bath, you know, spray perfume,
13:16
brush your teeth, you know, all that kind of stuff and you'll be
13:19
good. After that, you're focusing on
13:21
the fundamentals of the transaction.
13:24
So my advice to him was you've got the phone number now the
13:28
next step is you have to call the client.
13:32
And oh, sorry, I almost got one of these automated because I'm
13:39
using my children's laptop for something.
13:41
So every time you say a certain keyword, I don't want to say it
13:43
now or else the thing moves back again.
13:45
The AI will just pick up. So that was the pinging that you
13:50
heard in the background. OK, So what I told Jude real
13:53
estate professional is this. The next step is call the clock.
13:56
Oh boy. To make calls, you'll need to
13:59
import your contacts. OK then.
14:02
Communicate then the contacts icon in the upper.
14:06
Right hand corner. Sorry about this.
14:08
I wonder how you turn this thing off.
14:11
OK, I really need to learn how to use technology so that I stop
14:14
ending up in these embarrassing situations.
14:18
OK, All right, So I told a real estate professional, Jude, I
14:24
told him, now that's what you're going to do.
14:25
So pick up the phone, buzz the client, and then thank the
14:28
client for the trust and being willing to take the next step.
14:32
You will now ask the client whether there's any particular
14:35
concern that you want me to go over the lawyer with.
14:39
So you don't have to use the exact words, but that's the
14:41
scope of the conversation because you're trying to know
14:44
what's up. You're trying to fill out,
14:45
you're trying to know where she is, you're trying to figure out
14:48
what the level is. So if you have the conversation
14:52
like this, oh, thank you very much.
14:53
I appreciate it. Looking forward to working with
14:55
you. Before I call the lawyer.
14:57
Is there anything in particular you want me to discuss with the
14:59
lawyer? If you now know this, you will
15:01
now know the agenda to set before you call the lawyer, and
15:04
you now know how to set the tone for future conversations.
15:08
Let it not be that you call the lawyer fresh and then the lawyer
15:10
will think that you're trying to start the whole thing all over
15:12
again. And trust me, I have been in
15:15
this situation before. That was back my wedding
15:17
photography days. Me and the bride, we got on like
15:20
5 and 6. We concluded everything.
15:23
I brought in my video guide, We concluded everything.
15:25
We agreed on the amount. And then the lady said, oh,
15:30
please want you to talk to the planner.
15:32
Now my video guy at the time was like, yeah, sure, I'll talk to
15:34
the planner, but this is my account details transferred.
15:37
The transferred the money. After I make the transfer, I'll
15:40
call, I'll call the wedding planner.
15:43
I didn't want to be too forceful in quote at the time.
15:45
I said, I said sure, no problem, give me the wedding planner's
15:47
number. And then we left and my video
15:50
guy warned me. He said, look, oh boy, this
15:52
thing you're doing is risky. We have settled this thing.
15:56
Collect your bar first before you now call wedding planner
15:59
before you go down. Wedding planner now saying this
16:01
and this and that and that. But I didn't listen.
16:03
I called the wedding planner. I saw a wedding planner started
16:06
giving, started interviewing me afresh, as in something that
16:10
we've already settled. Wedding planner was now really
16:12
litigating the whole thing. So trust me, these things have
16:15
happened. So in this case, if the client
16:21
Cami declined, I said I'm good to go, but I want you to discuss
16:26
title with the lawyer. Then in this case, when you call
16:29
the lawyer, the agenda will be tight.
16:31
Like hello, got number from Cami.
16:34
She says you're a lawyer. This is Jude.
16:35
I don't know if she mentioned you to me.
16:37
Yeah, I'm the young man that has been showing her this property
16:39
that is on so, so, so and so St. in VA and that she's interested.
16:43
So she said she's good with everything and that we're good
16:46
to go. The only thing she wants is that
16:48
she wants us to go to Land and Registry, that we need to verify
16:54
title, that since you're a lawyer, she trusts you to handle
16:56
that. So that's the reason why I'm
16:59
reaching out. I'd like to come over to your
17:01
office to have a meeting so we can talk some more, you know,
17:03
when are you available? I'll be on Lagos Island Friday
17:08
10. How far does that work for you?
17:10
So you call up conversation crisp, straight to the point.
17:14
We are here to talk about title. We are very fine title.
17:18
I'm not here so that you will now start interviewing me afresh
17:23
and see if you know God knows what me and the Claire, we are
17:27
cool. We have settled agenda for me
17:29
coming to this office is 1234, full stop.
17:34
So excuse me, I'm Samatan here in Abuja.
17:36
So my nose has started action up again.
17:39
So that's what I recommended as the next step.
17:42
Buzz the client. Thank you.
17:44
Any particular concerns you want me to discuss?
17:46
Whatever the client says, hold your pencil and your paper as
17:50
he's talking, be writing it down.
17:51
If he says 123, write down 123 when you call up the lawyer.
17:54
That is the agenda. Yeah, I spoke to Cami.
17:58
We're good to go. She likes the whole deal.
18:00
She wants you to verify 123 and 456.
18:04
How soon can I come to your office so that we can talk some
18:06
more? So that's just it basically.
18:09
So talk to Kemi, figure out what needs to be done, whatever needs
18:14
to be done. That is the agenda.
18:15
Call up with lawyer. Keep the whole thing tight or
18:19
else the lawyer will go and start relitigating things
18:21
because these things happen. Maybe the lawyer has his own
18:24
person or the lawyer has another piece of land.
18:27
Maybe he has his own Commission coming from somewhere else that
18:30
he would like Cammy the client to look at.
18:32
So you know, regards to guard our own portfolio, you
18:35
understand, so close market territory.
18:40
Let's see what else. Now, the reason why I'm saying
18:45
go to the office and see the lawyer is this it is because
18:50
we're also talking about trust. It is easier to build trust when
18:53
it's face to face. If lawyer is in VI talking to
18:57
Jude real estate agent, but everything is just 444 WhatsApp
19:01
WhatsApp WhatsApp no face to face.
19:05
Well, I'm not saying it would destroy trust, but if lawyer
19:10
comes over to my office and sees that, oh, OK, this is a
19:14
reputable real estate property company or I go over to their to
19:19
their own office, lawyer's office, we sit down, we're
19:22
seeing face to face, we're talking, I mean, all these
19:24
things, they help to build trust and they help to build rapport.
19:28
Now, another reason why I'm saying call of the lawyer and go
19:30
to the office is because it's also being practical.
19:37
It is better to sit down at someone and then in two hours
19:40
you will have discussed everything rather than this
19:43
whole thing of you're sending 20 emails back and forth, 15
19:47
WhatsApp messages back and forth, something that you drive
19:50
over to the guy's office, you sit down, you talk in two hours,
19:54
you drive back. Yes, it took you the whole day,
19:56
but it's better than pinging back and forth for the next 1
19:59
1/2 weeks after which you guys don't know where you are and
20:03
people are getting lost in the details.
20:05
So yes, it's a day of driving and especially in Lagos, wasting
20:08
a day of driving. Just look at it this way.
20:11
Don't think of it as a day of wasted driving.
20:13
Think of it as if I drive over there now.
20:16
And we talk in two hours and I get stuck in traffic on the way
20:19
back. That will save me the rest of
20:21
the week of the back and forth because you can reasonably go
20:24
sit down there, iron out the details.
20:26
And then maybe the next thing is you both agree about when you
20:29
guys go to Alausa registry departments, you know, to go and
20:32
look at titles and title and document and everything.
20:35
By the way, I'm not in the land business.
20:36
So if this is not how things work in Lagos, if you're a real
20:40
estate professional, then please forgive me.
20:42
I'm just making stuff up to illustrate how we can be moving
20:46
things forward one step at a time.
20:48
So that's pretty much what we did in the coaching session and
20:51
what I told the guy the next step should be.
20:55
So for those of you who are listening so far, but you're
20:57
still concerned about trust, and these are the factors that
21:01
you're supposed to be looking at, the three factors that I
21:03
talk about. There are different frameworks
21:05
for building trust, but the easy one that I keep going back to
21:08
over and over again on the podcast.
21:09
So for those of you been listening for a long time,
21:11
you're not going to be surprised.
21:12
It's the three CS, credibility, commonality and competence.
21:18
This is part of a framework that is developed by Tom Hopkins.
21:21
He's also a sales trainer in the USA.
21:23
Actually, he's retired more or less, and he was in real estate
21:28
sales. By the way, like I've told you
21:30
guys before, because this thing was developed for real estate
21:33
sales does not mean it doesn't apply to wedding photography or
21:38
selling eggs or selling diesel or selling whatever.
21:42
This is a universal principle that applies any which way.
21:46
So you build trust by showing credibility, by showing
21:49
commonality and showing competence.
21:51
Tom Hopkins calls them the three CS credibility.
21:55
I'm not going to give you the technically correct definition,
21:58
but credibility just means do you sound legit?
22:02
So in this case, does your company have a good track
22:04
history? That's the reason why I said,
22:06
you know, if it's possible for a lawyer to come over to your
22:07
office, you know, that might be good.
22:09
Although in my own opinion, I'll say go to lawyer's office
22:11
because we're trying to limit the amount of friction that is
22:15
involved in the sales process. Friction just means an extra
22:18
step that somebody has to take to do business with you from a
22:21
sales perspective. If we throw up too much
22:24
friction, we could be slowing things down.
22:27
If I say lawyer, come over to my office, let's meet, I now have
22:31
to wait for a day that is convenient for him.
22:35
And of course we know how these things are now.
22:37
Fuel is now 1002 in Abuja. I don't know how much it is in
22:41
Lagos so that he can afford the time and afford the money to
22:44
drive over. But if I say hey, don't worry
22:47
about that, I'm going to be in VI anyway, Thursday, Friday, I
22:51
will come to you. I am reducing the amount of
22:54
friction in the sales process. So.
22:57
But if you're able to get lawyer to come to your office, Yeah,
22:59
Yeah, sure. No problem.
23:00
It's something that will help build your credibility because
23:02
the guy will enter. He will see the compounds nice
23:05
and clean. Security guard, the saluting.
23:08
Sean, Sir, you know, you know that thing that you do now?
23:10
You salute. You smack your food.
23:12
He will park in a nice compound. Enter inside the office.
23:18
You will have solar panels. The AC is tight as walking
23:21
through the corridor. All the awards that your firm
23:24
has won, you know will be there because this guy doesn't own the
23:28
Jude in this case, not his real name, doesn't own the real
23:31
estate firm. He works for someone.
23:33
So all the awards that they've won will be there.
23:36
The different property developments that they've worked
23:39
on in Lagos, you know will be there and in other states there
23:42
will be a place where they will frame the company details
23:46
registrations with CAC, everything will be there.
23:49
Once again, receptionist greet him, you know, nice and good or
23:53
you had to see Mr. Judo. No problem, have a seat Sir.
23:56
Offer the guys some nice Jill malt because after all, Lagos is
23:59
hot as hell, you know. So all of these things help to
24:03
build the credibility. These are some of the things
24:04
that people play on is just trying to answer the question,
24:07
do you sound legit? That's all.
24:10
Anything that you can do to say I'm legit, I sound legit.
24:13
That is what you mean. While we're talking about
24:14
credibility, you're just trying to show Orga lawyer when he
24:18
enters the building that the company has a good track
24:21
history, it has real estate certifications, it has
24:24
experience, you know, and all those sorts of things.
24:27
That's all credibility. Do you sound legit?
24:30
So if you're worried about credibility, try and answer that
24:32
question me as I'm looking at myself, do I sound legit?
24:36
OK, I sound legit here. Over here.
24:38
I don't sound legit. How can I beef my legitness?
24:41
I'll be my legitimacy. So that's just it.
24:44
Credibility. Do you sound legit?
24:46
Then? Competence.
24:48
Competence just means does this guy sound like he can do the job
24:51
or does this big sound like she can do the job?
24:54
So that is where when you're having a chat with the other
24:58
person, you now casually drop in conversation how many clients
25:01
you have or your years of experience, these kinds of
25:05
transactions that you've handled before, how you've helped
25:07
clients in similar situations, blah, blah, blah.
25:10
You know, that's the part where, you know, we went in photo
25:13
goers. You will now let's say your your
25:16
guy called you to second shoot on a popular wedding.
25:19
Maybe when Dangote's head Dangote's daughter was getting
25:22
married. You're not the guy that covered
25:24
it all, but your friend was hired to be second shooter and
25:28
then your friend now gave you some small cash that you might
25:31
should come and shoot. That's the point of meeting
25:33
where we waiting for programs when I start flexing like Oh
25:35
yes, yes, yes, yes. When I was shooting Dangote's
25:38
daughter's wedding, it was not you.
25:40
You are assisting the second shooter, but you understand
25:44
you're trying to show competence.
25:46
So that's how any competence and credibility are closely linked.
25:50
So in that case you're trying to show competence.
25:52
So the person like OK, he handled down with his daughter's
25:55
wedding, no problem. Therefore he'll be able to
25:58
handle my daughter's wedding. So the scope is the same.
26:01
You talking about the clients that you've helped, the kind of
26:03
transactions that you've done, you know stuff like that.
26:07
So that is the whole thing of competence because if organ
26:10
lawyer is handing on behalf of the client a transaction and
26:14
this thing is worth, I don't know, let me say 800 M, but in
26:19
the conversations it looks like you have only been handling
26:22
deals that is worth 1.5 M. It's the kind of thing that
26:26
makes somebody shake like I'm not sure I'm dealing with, you
26:31
know. So anyway, you you catch a
26:32
drift. So that's competence doesn't
26:34
sound like this person can do the job.
26:36
So for competence, ask yourself that question, does it look like
26:39
I can do the job or does it sound like I can do the job in
26:42
the places that I'm lacking? How am I going to be filled up?
26:44
So that's it. Then the final C is commonality.
26:47
Commonality just means I like you, we are similar.
26:52
You are a decent human being. That's all commonality means.
26:56
So summary, if you're having a meeting with someone and you
27:01
sound legit and you sound like you can do the job, and then on
27:05
top of that, you're a decent human being and we're similar.
27:07
We are flowing while vibing. What is there again?
27:10
That is the beginning of trust being built.
27:13
Of course, remember that it's easy to destroy trust.
27:16
So as you're making progress, don't try and overdo.
27:19
Don't get too comfortable. And then you understand now,
27:23
because everybody these days, they talk about being authentic.
27:28
Please, in my own opinion, don't be authentic.
27:30
Be relevant to the time and to the situation.
27:32
Forget authenticity. I mean, for me, authenticity
27:35
involves farting and belching around people that know me and
27:39
are people I'm cool with. But there's some people who
27:42
don't like that. There's some people who think
27:43
belching or farting is lousy. So don't be authentic, just be
27:47
relevant to the situation. So commonality, that's the final
27:50
one. I like you or similar.
27:52
You're a decent human being. So as you're having a
27:54
conversation with potential business partners, you should be
27:57
looking for areas of personal history or likes or interests.
28:02
So that whole thing of state, you know, that's why I mean, I
28:05
talk about state of origin a lot 'cause you know, Ben Ray, boy
28:11
born in Makuli, but we lived in Suleja, then Abuja, then Lagos,
28:16
then EFA, then for me, Aberdeen, Scotland.
28:21
So I've been around a bit. There's always some kind of
28:27
connection. Shah, I can be, I can be talking
28:30
with someone who didn't live in Aberdeen, but maybe the person
28:34
went to school in Glasgow. That's commodity.
28:37
They're like, oh, you are in Glasgow.
28:38
OK, That local government is, is like 2 hours away from where I
28:41
was, you know, and then there's some gist, OK, which part of the
28:44
UK blah, blah, blah. You know, you'll just be flowing
28:46
like that. So areas of personal history,
28:49
likes interest, those sorts of things.
28:51
State of Origin Tribe University, university, that one
28:56
works a lot, you know, because I went to the greatest university
29:00
on the African continent that is above me at World War
29:02
University. So it helps because I've been in
29:05
situations where I'm like, oh Sir, oh, you want to owe you?
29:09
Great affair. Great.
29:09
Ah, OK, owe you too. I say yes.
29:12
When did you graduate? I graduated in 2007.
29:14
Ah, you're an embryo. Me, I graduated in 1986.
29:16
Ha ha, ha, ha, ha, ha ha. And you have the conversation so
29:20
that that works as well. And sometimes areas where you
29:26
grew up. So to be honest, I can't
29:28
remember my days in Makodi and I cannot remember my days in
29:32
Suleja because back then I was an embryo.
29:35
I think we left Suleja when I was 2 or maybe 3.
29:38
So I can't remember. But still commonality there.
29:43
You know, somebody's like, oh, OK, Suleja.
29:45
Oh yes, I grew up in Suleja as well.
29:47
Something, something, you know, You know how these conversations
29:51
are so commonality? We're looking for areas of
29:56
personal history, likes, interest, things like that.
29:59
Oh, 30 minutes. OK, let me bring this to a close
30:01
now. A warning here and a very strong
30:04
warning when it comes to commonality.
30:07
Please, you guys, pay attention. Pull up your ears.
30:10
Especially since nowadays everyone wants to be authentic
30:13
when it comes to religion and politics.
30:15
These are testy issues. This is not the avenue to start
30:19
discussing religious affairs. Yes, Jesus Christ is the way,
30:25
the truth and the light. But right now this is about
30:29
collecting money. So I'm not going to bring that
30:32
up. After we collect money, we can
30:35
talk about all these other things but for now, religion,
30:38
politics, forget about it. In the Nigerian context, this is
30:43
not the avenue to discuss, I don't know, Sharia law.
30:49
This is not the avenue to discuss APC or PDP, which is
30:52
better. This is not the avenue to
30:55
discuss is Tin Abu a devout Muslim or not Because the people
30:58
that say Tin Abu is a second rate Muslim, he's not a real
31:00
real Muslim. This is not the time to discuss
31:03
whether Shatima is committed to a secular Nigerian state or not.
31:09
This is not the time to discuss any of these things, religion or
31:14
politics. Please, I'm not saying be fake.
31:16
I'm just saying keep your eye on the ball right now.
31:19
I'm a real estate agent. My goal is that I want 4050 M
31:24
sitting in my bank account by the end of today.
31:26
That is my focus after the money has been transferred.
31:33
And then me and clients were now vibing as you know, as as boys,
31:40
as per, you know, we're doing business together, we're
31:44
comfortable around each other. And then we go out and we're
31:47
having beer, we're having pepper soup.
31:49
And that is different under that kind of atmosphere.
31:52
After all, alcohol is a social lubricant, as they say.
31:56
You can be drinking alcohol, you can be arguing that what do you
31:59
mean that Tinobu is the worst thing that's happened to
32:01
Nigeria? Or what do you mean Tinobu is
32:02
the greatest thing that's happened to Nigeria?
32:04
That one is a different context. We've transferred the money,
32:07
we're out on town, we're trying to relax, we're trying to cement
32:10
this relationship before we go ahead and try and settle Kemi,
32:16
the client. So in that atmosphere, yes, you
32:18
know, go ahead and say Jesus Christ is the way, or PDP is
32:22
better than APC or Tinabu is the correct Muslim who's moving the
32:26
country forward or Tinabu is an absolute Pagan who is running
32:30
the company, running the country ragged.
32:33
So then you talk about all those things.
32:35
So please, strong warning, stay away from these things.
32:39
At the date of this recording, America is during the elections.
32:44
It looks as if Trump is about to win.
32:46
This is not the time to discuss which one is better, Trump or
32:49
Kamala Harris. This is not the time after the
32:52
money has been transferred and after you guys are cool and
32:55
after you guys are boys and after people are flowing.
32:58
When you and Kemi, the client, now become family friends, you
33:01
can talk about these sorts of things.
33:03
Not now. So that's all for today pretty
33:06
much. Thank you very much for your
33:08
time and attention. I hope you guys have been able
33:10
to convince you guys that if you have been able to establish a
33:14
certain level of trust so far with the client who's referring
33:17
you, that don't worry that trust is going to carry over.
33:21
But if you're worried about trust, then the things that you
33:25
should be paying attention to are commonality, credibility,
33:31
competence. Do that in a very short fashion.
33:34
You'll be fine. So don't go to the lawyer's
33:36
office and spend 2 hours talking about life growing up on Lagos
33:40
Island. That's a waste of time.
33:41
So the part about Lagos Island where you guys grew up or where
33:45
you, that part of the conversation should not be more
33:47
than 20 minutes and then get straight to business.
33:49
Well, of course, it depends. There's some people who are
33:51
talkers. So if you're with a talker, I
33:53
guess you can't avoid it. So that's all for today pretty
33:58
much. Thank you very much for your
33:59
time and attention. And like I said, you would like
34:02
to connect with me. The phone number again is
34:04
08064662140. Country code is +234.
34:09
If you're going to call on WhatsApp, please send a message
34:11
first. We'll ping back and forth and
34:13
then chat. The name of the search for on
34:15
LinkedIn, establish my IED, copy it from here.
34:17
When you're listening to the podcast, paste it in LinkedIn,
34:20
send me a connection request, and we'll take it up from there.
34:24
So I'll catch you guys tomorrow.