Latest / Closing Sales in Nigeria - Sales For The Nigerian Business Person: The Sales and Marketing Blueprint / Why Your "Brand Awareness" is Actually a Distraction!

Transcript

Why Your "Brand Awareness" is Actually a Distraction! · Closing Sales in Nigeria - Sales For The Nigerian Business Person: The Sales and Marketing Blueprint

0:02
Hello and welcome to the podcast.
0:04
Today we're going to be discussing A consultation that I
0:08
had with someone. This is not a paid consultation
0:11
because, you know, I gave my phone number at the beginning
0:13
and at the end of every single podcast episode.
0:15
And that's because I love talking to you guys who discover
0:18
my podcast and I'd like to answer a few questions.
0:23
So I had one of those sessions with an individual, let's just
0:26
call him Sam. OK, I won't use his surname.
0:30
Let's just call him Sam Loco. Again, Sam Loco, not his real
0:34
name. And I'm not trying to say that
0:35
the guy is Loco. It's just that when I was a
0:38
little boy, there was an actor called Sam Loco in Niger
0:41
Nollywood movies. So I don't know if Sam Loco is
0:43
still in the trade as an actor, but if you're a fan of his,
0:48
then, you know, reach out, let me know if Uncle Sam is still in
0:51
the business and if he's still doing well and if he's alive.
0:54
So we'll call this guy Sam Loco. So I had a conversation with Sam
0:57
Loco where we spoke about all kinds of things related to
1:01
branding, strategy, sales and the intersection of those these
1:06
disciplines. So today's podcast episode
1:10
doesn't have a singular focus per SE, but we're talking about
1:13
branding, we're talking about strategy, we're talking about
1:17
sales. So if you like what you hear, if
1:21
you like the conversation that transpired between me and Sam
1:24
Loco and you want to connect with me as well, then all you do
1:28
is just do what Sam did. Send me a text message, send me
1:31
a WhatsApp message, or you can call me on 08064662140.
1:40
Also, if this is your first time listening to the podcast,
1:43
subscribe so that you can always get this business goodness.
1:46
Now we talk about here almost every single day.
1:49
And yes, we have quite a backlog over 1000 three, I'll be 1400
1:55
episodes so far. Oh, by the way, my name is
1:58
Tavishima Ayede. I'm a former lawyer turned
2:01
business consultant and I'm the host of the podcast.
2:05
So excuse me, just recovering from a bit of a sore throat.
2:09
So where are we now? So the consultation between me
2:13
and Sam, Mr. Sam Loco. Now Sam Loco is an aspiring
2:17
entrepreneur. He runs a web development
2:20
agency. They are new, they function
2:24
remote. Although when he said the
2:27
functions remote, I wasn't sure about that because so excuse me,
2:32
nowadays, you know, don't most of us do work remotely?
2:36
Like, you know, you're in your house, you're based in Abukuta,
2:39
but in yourself, you're servicing clients in Sokoto or
2:42
in Banner Republic, you know, So, but anyway, so he works
2:47
remote and essentially in the conversation, I had to give Sam
2:54
some local, I had to give Sam a very tough love critique of his
2:59
current business strategy. Now, the session that we had was
3:06
recorded because I wanted to, I just thought, 'cause, you know,
3:12
we always have conversations, People reach out on WhatsApp, we
3:14
talk on WhatsApp. But then I just discovered, yes,
3:18
I don't know everything. I just discovered that like 2-3
3:20
weeks ago that Telegram has this recording feature.
3:23
And I thought, oh nice. So next time I have a
3:26
conversation with someone, if we do it on Telegram, I can
3:28
actually, I can actually record the thing and then send the
3:32
audio file to the person. And that's another way of
3:34
delivering more value to you guys.
3:36
So it's almost like having your own individual podcast episode
3:38
if you reach out to me and don't worry, for privacy purposes, I'm
3:42
not going to share the recording over here on the air because of
3:44
course people discuss private things and stuff like that.
3:47
So the best I'll do is I'll come over here on the podcast and I
3:50
will talk about it. I will refer to it, but I will
3:53
not share the audio recording. So that's what I did.
3:57
He called on Telegram and started recording.
4:00
And now that we are done, he has the audio that he can refer to,
4:04
you know, always concerning the specific instructions and the
4:08
assignments that I gave him for how he can move his web
4:11
development agency forward. So let's see.
4:17
OK, So First off, he mentioned that he found my podcast because
4:20
he was looking for business strategy.
4:23
So I had to give the guy a very strong disclaimer.
4:26
And I'm going to give you guys a disclaimer as well, some of you
4:31
who might have discovered this podcast because you're looking
4:33
for stuff on business strategy in Niger.
4:36
So let me be honest with you, especially those of you
4:38
discovering the podcast for the first time.
4:41
My primary focus on this podcast is sales.
4:45
Then I'll like put it because I'm talking sales once in a
4:50
while we stretch and enter marketing.
4:54
And then of course, things like branding, positioning, strategy,
4:57
you know, they're all tangentially related.
5:00
So it's not these are not the things I talk about primarily on
5:05
the podcast. So no Vex, if this is your first
5:07
time discovering the podcast, you're actually looking on
5:10
something on business strategy. I'm sorry, this is not the
5:12
podcast for you. This podcast is about sales.
5:17
From there, we'll enter marketing.
5:19
And because these other things are related, once in a while you
5:22
hear me talk about strategy, but I'm sorry, this is not a
5:25
strategy podcast. However, I will beg you still
5:28
listen because you're going to hear some important stuff every
5:35
now and then. So OK, now the people who reach
5:42
out, OK, you guys are now beginning to become plenty
5:44
small. So what I do is I don't have
5:46
time to discuss heaven and F with you guys again.
5:50
So what I do is if this is something that is going to
5:52
require extensive consultation and you don't have a budget for
5:55
consultation, then I'll answer one question.
5:58
So that's how we started off the engagement.
6:00
So I told Sam, now look, based on what you said so far, the
6:04
best, the way you can get the best value out of this is if we
6:06
head straight up into our consultation and guys say no,
6:09
get back. I say no problem, we don't have
6:11
money. No, I'll not.
6:12
So what I'll do is I'll answer one question for you.
6:14
So shoot, what is the question? So you can see that I say
6:22
dealing with me is the best proposition because which other?
6:26
I don't even like that word influencer because I'm not even
6:28
an influencer. Which other sales trainer or
6:33
coach or whatever do you know that gives you stuff for free?
6:36
The podcast is free and if you and I have time, we actually can
6:40
sit down for free and have a chat.
6:43
So what was that? So we're now going to do some
6:47
issues around branding and around sales.
6:52
So Sam said that his agency provides web development.
6:54
They also do content management. I didn't say anything when he
6:58
was calling these other services, but you already know,
7:00
those of you who are listening, that from a sales perspective,
7:03
it actually is a lot easier for you to pick one lane and be
7:05
strong in one lane first before you continue.
7:08
So I didn't say anything about the content management and I've
7:12
explained it before. If you're a newbie, let me just
7:14
explain it again quickly. From a sales perspective, if you
7:17
say you're doing web development, then you're doing
7:19
content management, how are you going to plan your prospecting
7:23
activities? Who are you going to call today?
7:25
Is it web development clients you will call today or is it
7:27
content management clients that you will call today, then who
7:31
you call tomorrow? We can see that's creating some
7:33
difficulties. Are you going to be alternating
7:35
every single day? So no problem.
7:37
Now when it comes to content, what kind of content are you
7:40
going to put on your social media that won't confuse people?
7:45
If today you put you write on web development, tomorrow web
7:48
development, then after that content management.
7:51
Well, you know, there's still a link, Shar, but The thing is,
7:55
what we put out on our social media, what we talk about, it
7:59
needs to be very clear so that when there's an issue, somebody
8:02
will call us. If you're talking content
8:06
management, let your content, the things you put on social
8:09
media, be about content management so that when somebody
8:12
needs content management, they'll call you, they'll say,
8:14
Sam, what's up now you should do content management.
8:17
I'll be, hey, get one guy, you know, my auntie, my uncle, then
8:21
they'll hook you up. If it is web development, be
8:25
talking web development every single day so that the moment
8:29
somebody hears my website is broken, I need a website, I need
8:32
to update my website, website, this website that they'll call
8:35
you say Sam, you see they do website Abby and say yeah, sure.
8:38
So OK, I have a guy, my uncle is my auntie that I have connects
8:42
in this place, blah, blah, blah. So please, I'm not trying to
8:47
slow your role, but we should be focusing.
8:49
But then I didn't tell some that I didn't tell him to remove
8:52
content management or anything. We continued.
8:55
So when Sam was talking about his current challenges now, he
8:58
kept on saying something that when I hear the thing confuses
9:00
me, Sam continue to say that he's building the brand,
9:04
building the brand, building the brand.
9:05
And I think they confused me. Not only confused me, they think
9:08
they vexed me. Die every single time I hear
9:10
somebody about to start business and say, what stage are you
9:13
saying are they build a brand? You know, I'm going to come over
9:15
Monday like so it's OK building the brand.
9:19
What do you mean by building the brand?
9:21
So he said it's OK. What he means by building the
9:23
brand is he's creating social media awareness and he's
9:26
building an online audience, and he's trying to do remote
9:30
marketing. So it is there that I quickly
9:34
just choke the guy. OK, Well, I didn't really, I
9:37
didn't physically choke him, of course, because, you know, he's
9:39
in someplace else, but he's there.
9:41
Quickly grab him and say, like, Sam, Mr. Loco, you're making a
9:45
big mistake here. I asked him why are you focusing
9:49
on all these activities but you haven't got to go and talk to
9:51
somebody one-on-one, get one client.
9:54
Why? He started talking about, you
9:57
know, that his business is remote and he doesn't have a
10:00
track record when it comes when looking at his competitors and
10:03
then stuff and this and that and that and that.
10:05
So I had to hold the guy. You know, this time I hold him
10:08
by his trouser, by his belt. Of course not physically, I
10:11
didn't physically hold him by his belt, but I didn't want him
10:13
to wriggle away. So please, if you ever call me
10:16
and you see that I'm tackling you, I'm tackling you from your
10:18
own good, from place of love, because I want to see that you
10:21
should make progress. Anybody who talks to me, I want
10:23
to see that you make progress. I don't want to hear that
10:26
anybody crossed my path and the person was not able to move
10:32
forward in their business. Whether they pay me money or
10:33
they don't pay me money. If you pay me money, in fact,
10:36
I'll rescue you even more. We must move forward.
10:41
If you don't pay me money, no problem, I'll still try and pin
10:43
you down. You have to move forward.
10:48
For me, it's a matter of reputational integrity.
10:50
I want to hear that anybody who had contact with Tavish Maiden,
10:54
even if it was just two minutes, the person had something that
10:57
was able to move their life forward.
10:59
So I told him, Sam, stop looking at other competitors is a
11:03
distraction. You are distracting yourself.
11:06
It's just you and your customer. Forget what all these other
11:09
people are doing. Now you'll get to that stage
11:12
where we can be looking at competitors.
11:13
What is our competition doing? In the beginning, what our
11:16
competition is doing is none of our business.
11:18
I'm trying to get my business off the ground, that's all.
11:21
Excuse me, even that is stressful enough not to now talk
11:25
of I will now be looking at competition or bio is doing
11:27
this, SharePoint is doing that, Nikki is doing this, bankers
11:33
doing that. Now forget a competition.
11:37
Right now the focus is just me. This is new, this is fresh early
11:42
traction. That's all I need.
11:44
Then also to tackle him. Now look all these awareness
11:47
you're talking about our branding.
11:48
She know it is a long term strategy.
11:51
Then Sam calm down. He say yes.
11:53
All of you that keep on talking brand building and awareness,
11:57
you will know it intellectually, but the thing has not clicked.
12:00
So let me help you make the thing click today.
12:03
You're talking branding, you're talking building awareness.
12:07
In theory, you know that it is a long term strategy.
12:14
Go online and check What does long term strategy mean?
12:18
You will hear that short term is less than one year.
12:21
That is zero to 1. You will hear that medium term
12:25
is one to two years, one to two. Then you will hear that long
12:28
term begins from three years and above.
12:32
You're starting a business as a web developer.
12:36
You're using a strategy. You say you're building a brand.
12:38
You're creating awareness, but you are picking a strategy that
12:43
pays off in anything between one to three years.
12:50
You're not picking a strategy that will give you customers in,
12:55
you know, zero to two months, zero to three months, zero to
12:58
six months. I want you to sit in this first
13:02
and and think about it. All of you who like to say I'm
13:06
building a brand, I'm creating awareness.
13:09
It's not as if it's bad, but you know it.
13:13
I'm building a brand. The results of that brand, you
13:17
will not see it this week. You won't see it next week.
13:19
You won't see it next month. You won't see it in three
13:21
months, You won't see it in five months.
13:24
I'm building a brand, you'll start seeing the results.
13:26
One year, you know, two years, three years, four years, you
13:29
know, it depends. I'm creating online awareness.
13:31
Good online awareness will not give you money next month.
13:34
You can start January 1st I'm doing online awareness and then
13:38
February 14th money starts coming in so you can buy your
13:41
girlfriend something nice on Valentine's Day.
13:46
I didn't say these strategies don't work.
13:48
Branding works. Online awareness works.
13:52
It's just that it's a long term strategy at worst.
13:54
At best it is a medium term strategy.
13:57
Nobody has ever said branding works in the short term.
14:00
Nobody. I'm willing to bet my left, you
14:07
will not find anybody who would tell you that branding works in
14:12
the short term or creating awareness works in the short
14:15
term. You will not find anybody in
14:17
Nigeria or America or on Saturn or on Mars or in any universe
14:22
that will tell you that. So I had to grab Sam and I had
14:27
to let him know Sam, this thing works.
14:31
But you started a business new. This is a new agency, new
14:35
agencies, new businesses. They survive with cash flow.
14:38
That's the language. You understand cash money, money
14:42
is coming in, money is coming out.
14:44
If you're doing brand building, building awareness, money will
14:47
be going out, money will be going out, money will be going
14:50
out, money will not be coming in, at least not in the short
14:54
term. So you're listening to this
14:56
podcast today. You're just like, Sam, can you
14:59
stop this branding thing? Please stop this awareness thing
15:05
right now. OK, well, no, stop, continue,
15:09
but stop deceiving yourself that that's where the money will come
15:11
from. Now there's some people who have
15:15
bar. You're from a rich family, no
15:16
problem. You can collect money from
15:18
Momsie, collect money from popsy, call your uncles, call
15:22
your aunties, raise a bit of cash so you can be doing brand
15:25
building and creating awareness for the next one to two years.
15:28
You'll be living off of this money that you have collected
15:31
from them. Good.
15:32
Those are people who are capitalized.
15:34
That is the reason why Zuckerberg and Bezos and all
15:39
these other people had to go and look for investor funding first
15:45
because they picked a business model that for this thing to
15:48
make money, I suppose run and first for like 1520 years before
15:52
we can generate cash. In the meantime, how you be
15:55
paying house rent, paying employee, you know, doing paying
16:01
for Internet, paying for fuel? How?
16:03
That's the reason why Zuckerberg and Co, that's the reason why
16:05
them, that's why they raise cash.
16:10
If you can't raise cash and you're not from a rich family,
16:13
stop this branding and building the brand nonsense talk.
16:17
Stop it. It won't help you.
16:21
You're building a new business, You're building a new agency.
16:25
You're building a web development agency.
16:27
Unique cash now, unique clients now so you can get money.
16:34
So I refuse to allow the guy. So I still, I still, I still pin
16:39
him now I got him in a chokehold.
16:40
I just grabbed his head in a chokehold.
16:42
By the way, I'm just joking, you know, I didn't physically hold
16:45
him in the chokehold because you know, he's over where he is.
16:48
Me, I'm over where I am. This thing was done over
16:50
Telegram. So now I ask Sam, how many
16:55
customers do you have you had so far?
16:57
Sam said yes, I had to. I said fantastic.
16:59
Now the first customer, how did you get it?
17:01
And lo and behold, Sam said is somebody that I met before.
17:06
The guy was a former facilitator for the project management
17:09
course that I was doing. I spoke with him directly and
17:14
then the guy said that he needs to revamp his website.
17:17
He was my first customer. I said wonderful, good.
17:20
I said from him, did you get referred?
17:21
He said yes. He sent me to another person.
17:23
I said beautiful, can you see how it works?
17:28
You spoke to somebody face to face, you picked up the phone,
17:33
the money came in and then you got another referral.
17:37
There was K like with a referral because you know these things
17:41
happen is normal. Nobody's perfect.
17:43
But I told him, you know, you own up when the thing messes up,
17:47
you own up is normal. We all make mistakes.
17:53
If you're in some situation, I'm willing to bet my left that it
17:59
is the same for you as well. It's the same for you.
18:03
You've been doing brand building an awareness.
18:05
How many, how many clients have come from it so far?
18:07
You've been doing this in five months, six months.
18:09
How many clients have you gotten?
18:11
But then the four, 5-6 people that you spoke to, how much
18:14
business has come for that is the same thing.
18:16
Go out and talk to some people. Don't stop the brand building
18:19
thing. Continue the brand building
18:21
thing, continue the awareness thing, but go out and talk to
18:23
some people. Please go and talk to people.
18:27
Then also told Sam that look, whenever anybody give you a
18:31
referral, you always update the person.
18:33
You go and tell the person, bro, Bros, thank you very much, I
18:36
appreciate the business blah blah blah.
18:37
You referred me the social sound so this is how the thing went
18:40
blah blah, blah. So it's then that Sam told me
18:42
that oh actually the referral has K leg as no problem it's
18:45
normal, but you still update people.
18:47
Please whenever somebody gives you business, you go and tell
18:50
the guy, bro, thank you very much for the referral.
18:52
I hooked up with your guy. We started the work.
18:54
But bro, no vex, you know this is the K leg that has happened.
18:57
But you know what, I won't disappoint you.
19:00
I'll disappoint you at all, at all, at all.
19:02
I will rubbish your reputation. I want to make sure that I see
19:04
this thing through and these are the steps that I'm taking to
19:06
make sure that we finish this thing.
19:08
Now when you talk to somebody like that, somebody who give you
19:11
a referral, what do you think? The person will be confident to
19:14
give you a referral again next time?
19:16
Because as a human being, he knows that mistakes happen.
19:19
And then of course, you also being open with the other guy
19:22
that you messed up on his own project, he also open.
19:25
You say, bro, I beg Novax, I understand, I take I accept
19:29
responsibility for that, that let's have a conversation.
19:32
Let's see how we can resolve it, right.
19:36
The fact that Sam can own up saying he mess up, you know, is
19:39
good always like when boys, especially boys, because you
19:42
know, we're born proud in this part of the world.
19:44
So when a boy can humble himself and say, and I'm here for I know
19:47
it's a very good thing, very, very good thing.
19:50
So if you're listening and you're like Sam, somebody has
19:54
given me a referral before, whether the thing was good or
19:56
that K leg entered the matter, go on and update your person.
19:59
Thank you very much for the referral.
20:01
I really appreciate it. It's people like you that still
20:03
keep us in business by beg Novix that Madam that you sent me to,
20:06
you know, you get one small comma.
20:08
This is what happened. But don't worry, I value, I
20:12
value. I won't put your reputation at
20:14
stake. This is what I'm going to do to
20:15
try and fix it. From there, you'll get more and
20:19
more referrals. Then also I'd have a
20:24
conversation with Sam. Sam says he's doing web
20:26
development. And it's something I've said on
20:28
the podcast before. I'm going to say it again.
20:30
For those of you who are new, some of you, you don't, you
20:34
actually don't know what you're selling.
20:37
You think you're selling one thing, but your customers are
20:39
buying something else. Let me repeat before, when I say
20:42
it, I've said it in theory. Today, when I'm saying it, I'm
20:44
saying in practice. So listen well, hold your ears,
20:47
especially those of you who are brand new people like Sam, you
20:51
think what you're selling is websites, aren't you?
20:54
Tell Sam no, you're not selling a website.
20:56
You're not. You're selling a business result
21:00
because people don't just buy websites, people buy results.
21:04
So I told Sam, you might not have realized it, but if you
21:08
speak today, a project management guy, the guy who paid
21:11
for that website with his mouth, you say he bought website.
21:17
But if you ask him, he will say, oh, I actually need a better
21:20
website because I'm trying to increase student enrollment or
21:25
because I want to add the ability for doing webinars and
21:32
good, since we discussed webinars the last time for doing
21:35
webinars from my websites, that will open up additional revenue
21:38
streams. Even though the guy paid you to
21:42
revamp the website, actually what he was paying for was
21:45
greater student enrollment. What he was paying for was extra
21:51
access to extra revenues. Then I gave him another example
21:54
because I'm currently working with another web developer, but
21:58
who his focus is intercity bus transport companies, you know
22:03
people who do Lagos to Inugu, Lagos to Abuja, Abuja to
22:08
Maiduguri, you know like that, like that, like that.
22:11
Now for that kind of person, what he's selling is not
22:13
websites. Any other person will say and a
22:15
website in this cell, no, he's not selling website.
22:19
What he's selling is a result and this is the result for most,
22:24
most companies in Nigeria where people want to pay.
22:27
The customer has to go all the way to the terminal, as you said
22:30
here, has to go to the terminal and pay.
22:34
Now, the problem with that is, you know, people are handling
22:36
cash up and down and it also means that money does not really
22:39
come ahead. Money comes, you know, that
22:42
morning because people will come and pay that morning, you know,
22:45
Lagos to Inugu or maybe they will come and pay on Wednesday,
22:49
Thursday, you know, to travel Saturday morning, you know, but
22:53
cash is not really coming like that.
22:58
And then of course, since people are exchanging hands, since
23:00
people are counting physical cash, the owners of this boss
23:02
company, they know that money is a, you know, where Nigeria as
23:09
people are counting cash, you know, once in a while, 200 just
23:12
disappears here and there. Some money just accidentally
23:15
walks out of the building, if you catch my drift.
23:20
So the reason why boss owners, when they see it, they love it,
23:24
is because the boss owner knows that he's paying for #1 cash
23:28
flows. Forecasting cash flows becomes a
23:31
whole lot easier. People can book for their travel
23:34
well in advance, whether it's two weeks, two months, you know,
23:37
whatever. Then they're also paying for
23:39
accountability because when people are paying this money
23:42
online, because this my client, the web developer, what he does
23:46
is on the website, they route the payments through was he pay
23:50
stack. So once you do the something
23:52
through pay stack, all your guy knows is that he's there in the
23:55
headquarters, whether in Lugo or in Lagos and then they're just
23:58
hearing ping him, ping him, ping him.
24:00
Any single ping him means that somebody has paid money.
24:03
So that's all they're hearing everyday.
24:04
Money, money, money, money, money.
24:09
When somebody like that buys a website, the person is not
24:11
buying a website. The person is buying greater
24:16
cash flows. The person is buying security.
24:19
Nobody's stealing my money. The person is buying
24:23
accountability. The person is buying like all
24:26
kinds of things. But I really think the main
24:28
reason why they're dropping at it actually is the money aspect
24:31
that oh really online, they'll pay like that.
24:38
So before the bus is supposed to leave Saturday morning, in fact
24:43
the week before the booking is already complete, we've
24:47
collected money complete well before that day that was
24:50
supposed to move. So I'm thinking these are the
24:52
reasons why people buy, why the bus companies are going after
24:56
it. So I have to tell some you are
24:57
not selling websites, you are selling a result.
25:00
For some people, you're selling better cash flows.
25:02
For the project management guy, you I suspect you are selling
25:07
additional revenue streams, you know, so you can do webinar on
25:10
the website, you know, things like that.
25:15
For some people, the website you're you're creating is how I
25:19
put it. Some people want a website.
25:21
So that anyway, let me know know, let me know overflow.
25:27
You guys get the point. So don't be running around
25:30
saying I sell websites. You don't sell websites, you are
25:32
selling a result. So when you're face to face with
25:35
a potential customer or a client, you're just trying to
25:37
figure out what does this guy need a website for?
25:40
What does this Madam need a website for?
25:43
Oh, this is the problem that they are facing.
25:45
You sell to the results. You are not selling websites,
25:48
you are selling a result. Find this pinpoint or find this
25:53
vision. Excuse me and then push it
25:57
accordingly. All right, so we have that
26:03
conversation then excuse me, where are we?
26:11
So I lost my train of thought. So excuse me.
26:14
I have a small sore throat. The baby in the house yesterday
26:18
he told me, he said dad say it was it.
26:22
He said my throat is acting funny.
26:24
I said OK, go take a lozenge. And unfortunately, when that
26:26
happens, next thing is I'm next. And then this morning even my
26:29
wife said she said be like said the cash cutter.
26:31
I say, OK, you don't happen before today.
26:34
Now the whole house, everybody be doing here's you, here's you.
26:38
Hey, those are the joys of having children.
26:41
So and I'll told some, OK, I know you don't like what I'm
26:45
saying, but this whole brand building this whole and the
26:49
build awareness online and all not look is a distraction.
26:52
So stop looking at other people. Forget this brand thing.
26:54
What you need right now is you need money.
26:57
Your business need blood, lifeblood and the lifeblood of a
27:01
business is money called hard cash.
27:03
We need clients quick, quick, quick, quick, quick.
27:05
That is what you need. So I told him this is what you
27:07
would do after we end this call. What you need to do is you drop
27:10
a prospecting list. For those of you who are regular
27:12
listeners, you already know. In fact, if you've been
27:15
listening to the podcast two, 3-4 months and you reach out to
27:18
me, I don't even want to have to tell you I want what I want to
27:22
hear is OK, I already have my prospecting list.
27:23
This is the number of people that I called and this is the
27:26
biggie that I faced. How do we unwind this biggie?
27:29
That's what I want to hear from you for those who are regular
27:32
listeners. But since Sam was the first time
27:36
listener, I only listened to 1 episode, no problem.
27:38
So art educating, prospecting list, that's your hit list.
27:40
What the people am I going after?
27:42
Who are the people am I going to talk to?
27:44
Those of you who listened to the last episode targeting hope.
27:46
Everything that makes sense now, hope is all making sense.
27:50
Hope you see how everything they blend, how everything they gel,
27:53
everything they align. So prospecting list.
27:58
So I told him 10 people before some had the opportunity to
28:03
complain because remember, I'm trying to pin him down.
28:06
I say I have him in a chokehold. I say exam, don't complain. 10
28:09
people is not much. It's not much at all. 10 people
28:11
per week just means two people per day is doable.
28:15
You can't talk to two people every day.
28:17
Call one person, go and visit another person or call all of
28:20
them or send text message or WhatsApp message or look
28:23
whatever. I have a preference for how we
28:26
should be done starting with face to face and then phone
28:29
call. But in the beginning like this,
28:31
I don't care how you get it done.
28:32
Just get me that list. Let's look at that list 1st 10
28:34
people, it's only two a day is doable.
28:37
Now once you're maintaining that 2A day, you will find that
28:39
you're talking to 10 a week, Monday to Friday.
28:42
That 10 a week means you're doing 40 a month.
28:44
Now here's the kicker and here's one thing that lots of you
28:48
newbies don't realize. You say I'm building a brand.
28:51
You're talking to 40 people in the month.
28:53
How many people are you going to talk to at the end of the year?
28:58
Now at the end of the year that OK, what's the math?
29:02
Now it's a good thing my son was not here.
29:04
My son would love me tired. So 40 a month, then 12 months.
29:10
I'll be that. Is that times 1240 * 12?
29:14
Is that 420 anyway? Let's just say 420 if I'm if I'm
29:17
not correct, then anyway, let me continue.
29:23
So no matter how bad you are, even if you're talking to 420
29:28
people in a year, I mean think it now if you go convert
29:36
instead, a lot of you are happy to just sit down somewhere
29:41
comfortably. Then when your wife asks you or
29:45
your mom see asks you or your friend asks you, oh boy, how far
29:49
Now with this our agency, you say I'm doing good man.
29:52
I'm building A and building a brand.
29:55
That's all you would tell them. Now for those of you who are
29:59
brand professionals, no vex branding is important.
30:03
It's essential. So I'm not Downing you guys at
30:07
all. I'm just saying that you need to
30:10
be advising your clients. Some of them are putting the
30:11
cart before the horse. We're starting the business and
30:14
the first thing we're going to be talking about is we're
30:16
building a brand. No problem.
30:17
Continue to debuild your competition.
30:22
They're going and they're collecting clients in the
30:24
market. Continue to be building brand,
30:26
continue to be doing awareness, continue just like me saying I
30:34
will be podcasting, but I won't be trying to get clients and no
30:37
problem, I should be continuing to be broadcasting.
30:40
Other people will be collecting client clients.
30:41
At the end of the day, all I'll have is podcast episode.
30:44
Somebody else will have all the clients.
30:50
So Sam asked me what I would do differently if I if I had to
30:55
start over. And I told him that look, it's
30:57
pretty much the same thing. So as a lawyer, somebody else
31:01
was paying my salary, OK. As a civil servant, somebody
31:05
else was paying my salary. OK, moving into wedding
31:08
photography, I was responsible for my own self.
31:11
But then me and my business partners were obsessing over
31:14
logos, obsessed over fonts, expensive looking websites, blah
31:18
blah, blah, all those things in brain shishi.
31:21
But then I attended one bridal event in Abuja and I'm sure you
31:26
guys do not understand why I like going, why I used to like
31:29
going for these things although when it worked very well.
31:33
But then honestly, when COVID came, I thought my life was
31:35
over. I say, yeah, COVID has come.
31:38
I can't tell Bridal show again. Lord have mercy, what will
31:41
happen now when that's a podcast episode for another day.
31:45
But the first show that I attended me and what's this
31:49
guy's name again? Femi.
31:50
Femi Michaels. Yeah, Lagos based photographer.
31:53
Me and Femi Michaels decide to share the same booth.
31:57
I don't know how many clients he got for me.
32:00
I got 3. And of course, you know, back
32:03
then now, 350, K400, 420, you know, wasn't bad.
32:08
And I said, yeah, really, there was no turning back.
32:15
But if you like, continue to obsess of our logo fonts, blah,
32:18
blah, blah, blah, blah. So that's why I told him I
32:23
wouldn't have wasted so much time on the website because me
32:27
and my business partners would look at the website template.
32:30
I like this, I don't like this quarrel back and forth while I
32:32
go and make change. I like this logo.
32:34
I don't like this logo quarrel back and forth while I go and
32:36
make change. I like this, I don't like this
32:38
quarrel. Quarrel, quarrel, go and make
32:40
change, that kind of thing. Before you knew it, you wasted
32:42
like 6-7 weeks already. Two months don't pass.
32:45
You will are still quarreling over our logo, over our font,
32:49
over our website. It's not silly.
32:53
Things are not important, they're important.
32:55
But when I bring in the money first, as you are bringing in
32:58
the money, as you're getting the clientele, you now have all the
33:00
information that you need to be able to design all these other
33:03
things. What do you need in the website?
33:05
Does it not depend on the market you are serving the kind of
33:10
customers, the kinds of clients that you have and what their
33:12
needs are? Is that all determine the kind
33:14
of websites that you need at the end of the day.
33:17
So in the beginning, you're wasting your time designing
33:19
websites you know features and this and layout on or not.
33:22
You don't even know who your ideal customer is and what they
33:25
actually need when they're interacting with the website.
33:28
So that's the reason why I say that, look, branding and all
33:31
these things is cool. Create awareness, it's all good,
33:33
it's all cool. Continue to be doing it.
33:35
But that is a journey that never ends.
33:37
Start bringing in the customers. When you get the customers, you
33:40
have all the information that you need to design everything
33:42
else. And I also told Sam about my
33:44
friend who is in the interior decor space in Abuja.
33:50
So I know this disrespect to northerners listening, but she
33:53
said she doesn't like northern clients.
33:54
I say why? They said northern clients had
33:57
once that have all the money. She said, yes, they have all the
33:59
money. But she said that the fashion
34:01
sense is too gaudy. I said gaudy how she said, and
34:03
all they like is gold, like gold.
34:05
They like yellow, they like orange, they like red.
34:07
They like bright, bright, bright.
34:09
To the shouts, to the shouts. I know me, I'm a classy girl and
34:12
I like things nice and simple. I like things, you know, this is
34:15
that I said, oh, OK, really. So which kind of clients do you
34:19
chase? So I prefer and I will say the
34:22
kind of clients. So I will start a new culture
34:23
war on this podcast. But anyway, she said the kind of
34:26
people that she prefers now based on the kind of clients
34:30
that she enjoys working with and then all what not.
34:32
You can see how she can take that information to now feed her
34:39
brand strategy. We don't want northern clients.
34:42
Therefore we will not be showing gold, orange.
34:45
These, these, these that, that, that, that, that nothing with
34:48
the shouts too much and anything also reflects in her website
34:52
design. The website design cannot be,
34:54
you know, one kind. So in her logo design.
34:59
And then of course, also because they're not attending to
35:02
northern clients, they can now make certain kinds of decisions
35:04
about words that they use on the sites, different kinds of site,
35:08
website outlay, you know, things like that.
35:10
But it's from doing sales first, getting customers first, that
35:18
she got all the information that she needs that is now informing
35:22
the brand that she currently has.
35:25
Stop putting the cart before the horse.
35:32
So basically I was telling some essentially what you're doing
35:38
now is you're becoming more or less a content creator.
35:43
You didn't get into this web development thing.
35:45
To be a content creator, you need to start being a problem
35:47
solver. You need to go out, you know,
35:49
maintain that hustle. There's just two people every
35:51
day. The one we'll start seeing
35:53
progress, eventually be able to hop on that brand again.
35:56
So summary, my conversation with Sam, I was able to give me a
35:59
reality check. You're struggling to build this
36:02
web development agency. Don't.
36:05
It's all right. We all struggle.
36:07
In fact, honestly, I miss our estate a struggle as usual.
36:11
I'm still on this podcast. I'm not struggling and I have my
36:14
500 and 430 mil. I want to buy my Tesla cyber
36:18
truck and then what else? And you know now, so everybody
36:24
just struggles. So is, is is normal.
36:26
So I had to tell him, stop worrying about your brand.
36:30
Stop worrying about what the brand looks like.
36:31
Start focusing on getting paid. It's that simple.
36:34
Sales over aesthetics anytime, any day.
36:36
Sales over aesthetics for now it's only when the sales is boku
36:42
and you're living well, they can worry about aesthetics.
36:44
That's the reason why Coca-Cola every single year they can be
36:47
worrying our Christmas campaign, are we going to revamp it?
36:50
Are we going to redesign it because they have money where
36:54
you don't have money. How you'd be thinking revamp,
36:56
redesign, reduce, reduce, reduce.
36:57
Coke has money. That's why every single year,
37:00
billions and billions and billions on branding and
37:02
advertising and everything because they have the money.
37:06
So for the rest of our sales over aesthetics, please, brand
37:12
awareness will not pay your bills in the early stages.
37:14
We should focus on cash flow. Then Mr. Sam Local and any other
37:20
web development web developer professional listening to this
37:23
thing. You don't build websites, you
37:26
don't you think you do? Well, by the time you talk to
37:30
3456 people, you realize that you know, based on your talent,
37:34
based on your skill, there actually are some unique
37:36
problems that you're you're solving.
37:38
You're giving people a highly technical service and you're
37:41
providing business value to people.
37:43
Try and figure it out. That is your UVP, that is your
37:45
unique value proposition. When you know it, you'll be able
37:48
to inform the way that you market yourself, that you do
37:51
sales and that you do branding well.
37:55
So if you're like this other client of mine was looking at
37:58
intercity bus customers, but what they're selling is better
38:02
cash flows. That can reflect in your, in
38:04
your brand. It can reflect in your marketing
38:06
because you know exactly what it is that you do.
38:09
Then Uncle Sam Loco and any other person listening, please
38:12
use your network. Go and do small direct outreach.
38:16
Talk to people, friends, family members, associates.
38:18
Talk to mumsy, popsy, popsy. It is what I want to do.
38:21
I'll appreciate it. You know, kind, you know, one or
38:24
two of your classmates, one or two, you know, like that.
38:27
Go and talk to people in church. Deaconess Akubero, I'm about to
38:31
start business. I've been looking for work these
38:33
last four years. I've not seen.
38:34
I'm going to start business. You say, Ah, praise God, I, my
38:37
son shall be well for you. Deaconess, I will pray for you
38:40
after she pray for you. Sir.
38:41
Deaconess, I beg. Do you know anybody who needs
38:43
websites? You start the conversation from
38:45
there. Use your network, do some direct
38:50
outreach. Start trying to get referrals.
38:58
You're working with somebody. Things didn't go well, No
39:00
problem. Fix the past relationship, fix
39:02
it. We're new in the game.
39:03
We have to maintain our reputation.
39:05
Fix it and let's move on. Then also remember it's a
39:08
numbers game. Let's try, let's try.
39:10
We'll get better overtime, but for now, just two people every
39:13
day. That's what I'm asking.
39:15
Call two people, then go and watch Netflix.
39:17
Call two people tomorrow and then go and play chess.
39:20
Call people the day, have two people the day after that, then
39:22
go and spend the rest of your day with your girlfriend, Basha.
39:25
Every single day, just call. Call to two people.
39:31
You see that? Anyway, let me stop there.
39:36
There are some things that are fun when it comes to business.
39:40
One of those things is branding. Branding and awareness is fun.
39:44
Hear me on the podcast now. Am I not having fun?
39:47
Are people not feeling my flow? This is the easy part.
39:49
The hard part is actually getting on the phone and talking
39:51
to customers. Let's not get carried away by
39:53
the easy stuff. So that's it and that's all for
39:57
today. Thank you very much for
39:58
listening. And remember, if you want to
40:00
connect with me, you can find me on LinkedIn.
40:02
You can call, send a text message or WhatsApp message on
40:05
08064662140. And then do not forget the
40:14
special class of people that I referred to yesterday.
40:16
Yes, I'm still reaching out to you guys again today.
40:19
If you have 345 business ideas, you're not sure which one to
40:22
start. And because of that, you're
40:24
currently not making a single couple from any of your ideas.
40:27
Reach out to me. Let us help you start your
40:28
business in three easy steps. Let us pick the right business
40:32
idea, just like how Sam has decided on web development.
40:36
In fact, let me say, Sam, the whole part about content and all
40:39
those things you are mentioning, scrap all of that, please.
40:42
Somebody has paid you money for web development, leaning to this
40:45
web development thing. Forget this content development
40:48
content, this guy, that's a distraction.
40:50
Focus on this web development thing.
40:54
Focus. So back to those of you who
40:57
haven't decided yet. So we'll pick one idea and then
41:01
we'll make sure it's the right idea.
41:02
We'll validate the idea. We'll make sure that there's
41:04
market demand that people are willing to pay for this idea,
41:08
that willing people are willing to pay for this service.
41:10
Just like how somebody has given some, some good cash to be able
41:14
to design. So I redesigned the website for
41:16
project management. We validate the business idea.
41:19
Then after that, we create a selling system so that you can
41:22
get people to come back again, again and again, and also get
41:28
them to refer their friends and their family members to you.
41:31
That's the way that we're going to grow this business.
41:34
So you want to grow your business in three easy steps.
41:37
Call, send me a text message or WhatsApp message on 08064662140.
41:44
If you're like Sam, you've already started, but you're
41:48
hooking somewhere, Call, let's have a chat.
41:50
Let me see if I can give you one or two suggestions that should
41:53
put you on the right path. So yeah, I think that's pretty
42:00
much for today. I'll catch you all some other
42:01
time.