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Don't Call Your Boss Too Early: How to Manage Big Sales Deals Alone · Closing Sales in Nigeria - Sales For The Nigerian Business Person: The Sales and Marketing Blueprint

• 0:00
  Lots of Nigerian salespeople believe that if you're working
• 0:04
  on something and nothing is very big, as is the correct deal,
• 0:09
  they assume that if you call OGA, if you call your employer,
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  if you call your supervisor, if you call your sales manager, if
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  you call your lines manager or whatever to sit with you on a
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  couple of meetings, then it's going to help the deal to close.
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  Now, First off, that assumption is correct in most cases.
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  Now this is an important deal. Having somebody who is much more
• 0:33
  senior than you in the organization, someone who has
• 0:37
  better credentials, someone who has more gravitas, someone who
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  has more of an executive presence, Having that person
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  along for your meetings and your calls and your visits and your
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  whatever can help you close that deal.
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  So yes, you're absolutely correct.
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  However, the problem is that most Nigerian sales people or
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  any employ employee who is selling on behalf of someone
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  else, you know, pursuing clients, pursuing money on
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  behalf of someone else, you just assume that because this is
• 1:08
  something that might help close the deal.
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  How would I put it? Let's just say a lot of you
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  reach for that Olga card too quickly.
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  Any small thing. Well, let me call Olga, let me
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  call Olga Mike. Olga Mike will know what to do.
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  Well, let me call Olga Tony. She knows what to do.
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  And let me call Madam Sylvia. Madam Sylvia, I will know what
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  to do. But the problem is Olga Mike.
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  Olga Culi, Olga Tony. Madam Sylvia.
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  The thing is they are busy. They have other things on their
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  table. And quite frankly, the reason
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  why Madam Tony, sorry, I did say Madam Tony.
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  Madam, you know Nikki. Olga Mike, you know Madam
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  Sylvia. The reason why they hired you in
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  the 1st place was precisely because they're already
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  overwhelmed by a couple of things that they're doing.
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  And so they thought, you know what, at this stage of my
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  career, at the level that this business has got to, I don't
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  need to be the one who will be fielding these sorts of calls,
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  these sorts of meetings, these sorts of activities.
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  So therefore, let me hire someone else.
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  So if you're a salesperson and you've been trying to call organ
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  Mike and I'm Sylvia into the meeting and she know, I'm sure
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  it's understandable. This is the reason why you were
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  brought into the organization so that you can take some things
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  off their table because quite frankly, they're busy.
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  And also the Olga, but I'm Sylvia, Olga Kunle, you know,
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  they're now looking at things on a bigger, bigger level.
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  So you might be bringing in all these deals that are, you know,
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  1,000,000 millions, 3,000,005 million, 10 million, you know,
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  but I'm Sylvia at this stage in her career, she's thinking big,
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  big. Now she's looking at all those
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  kind deals that you know, when she goes, she close up, you
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  know, 200 M, 300 M, you know, that kind of thing.
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  So she's not closing deals every single day, but those two or
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  three that she closes in the year will now go feel them as in
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  in the office, in the firm, you feel it when she closes those
• 3:02
  two or three deals. So Madame Sylvia, Olga Kunle,
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  you know, Mr. Adeji, they're looking at bigger, bigger,
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  bigger something. So that's the reason why every
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  single time you buzz them, you know they're busy, they don't
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  want to get involved as you know they say why are you handle it?
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  However, remember it is true that if Madame Sylvia accompany
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  you for one or two meeting with her presence, with her wisdom,
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  you know she go wow the client and then wow, they will close.
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  So the question now becomes when should you involve Madame
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  Sylvia? Because to be frank, you get
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  some kind deals that if you call Madame Sylvia, she will see and
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  say you should have called me since why didn't you call me
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  that this guy has something. Well, I'm more the goner.
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  So the question now becomes when do you involve your line
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  manager? When do you involve your
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  superior? When do you involve your guy at
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  the top? When do you call Madame Cooley?
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  When do you call Alhaji Bashir? When do you, you know, when is
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  the right time to call them? So for people that I've worked
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  with in the past, because, you know, there are some people like
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  Madame Sylvia for instance, who will bring me in.
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  By the way, Madame Silvia is not a real person, just made it up.
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  So there's some people like the Madame Sylvia's and the Olga
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  Cunley's of the world and the Alhaji Bashir's who will call me
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  into the company to make sure that we train up their sales
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  team. And you know, everything is
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  doing good. You know, everybody's going
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  fine. So this question always, always
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  comes up. It has never not come up.
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  If anybody with this kind of executive profile call me into
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  the company, definitely, it always comes up.
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  Well, yeah, when should I evolve?
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  When I'm Sylvia on this. And my answer has always been,
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  well, I hope it's going to be helpful.
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  It's not as exact as you might want it because the principles
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  are universal. But you know, the application
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  depends on your particular context.
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  So the answer is this, number one, don't Call My Name is
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  Sylvia and don't call Olga Cola unless this is a high value
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  deal. High value just means big money
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  is involved or maybe big executives are involved on the
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  other end, right? So high value now high value is
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  not according to you, high value is according to your organ.
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  So you will ask Madame Sylvia. That is what I advise you, Ask
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  Madame Sylvia. I say, Madame Sylvia, you know,
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  because of your expertise and your wisdom and everything, you
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  know, if you follow me on one or two deals, you know, you go help
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  you tell Madam Sylvia like that and of course you understand
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  because she's a reasonable human being.
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  But then you say, but Madam, I know good they involve you on
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  top, you know, any small, small, small deals.
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  But what kind of deal? There's a high value deal.
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  There is a big deal that once I see that number, I should call
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  you whatever number Madam Sylvia gives you, that's it.
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  That's a high value deal. So I'm sorry, I can't give you a
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  scientific answer, you know that.
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  But basically talk to your superior.
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  They will tell you what is a high value deal.
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  They will tell you that. Look, if it's anything that is
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  smaller than 50 M, don't call me.
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  I don't want to be bothered quite handling yourself.
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  So #1 high value, the money is big or the executive on the
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  other hand, is big. So if you don't pursue the
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  matter and then it gets to the level where, you know, CEO don't
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  get involved. OK, CEO talking to junior sales
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  Rep, you know, they can't work, but maybe for political reasons,
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  OK, you know, say well, I'm Sylvia Abego.
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  This next meeting they say now CEO go show.
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  So when I say yeah, I beg, I will appreciate if, you know,
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  you just enter, you know, one or two introductions, you know, set
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  the mood to lay the agenda. You know, there may be after
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  like 1520 minutes, you know, you just come out.
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  I'll take it from there. So high value deals then don't
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  call your superior or don't call your line manager or whatever
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  until you have a confirmed need. You know for sure that these
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  people have a want. They have a need, they are
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  interested. So don't bring them in when
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  you're still at the stage of trying to figure out are they
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  interested? Are they not interested?
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  If you call Madame Silvia at that time, it will be a waste of
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  her time. She'll be annoyed that she was
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  supposed to be in the gym, or supposed to be in the spa, or
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  supposed to be speaking at a networking session.
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  You called up for this meeting. Meanwhile, nothing is on the
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  table. It's just the initial toasting
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  stage. We're just exploring whether
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  this is a good fit. Should be angry with you, and
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  rightfully so. So don't bring your guy, your
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  line manager in, your sales manager in.
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  Unless we know for sure that there's a confirmed need, then
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  urgency and timeline Don't involve your superior.
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  Don't involve Madam Sylvia until we know for sure that we have
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  timelines that we're working towards.
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  If you bring Madame Sylvia in and there's a confirmed need,
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  you call your sales manager in. You call your line manager in
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  and there's a confirmed need. But then people are like, well,
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  you know, we might be able to start on this project in the
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  first quarter of maybe like 2 years time.
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  Madame Sylvia, I'll be angry with you.
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  Like you brought me in for this. Yes, the money is big, but these
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  people are not going to take action for another, you know, 12
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  months, 8 months, you know, 16 months.
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  Did you have to involve me at this point?
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  I had other things I was doing and they will rake on you, they
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  will shout on you. By the way, I'm not saying
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  employers shout out on people. I'm just saying, you know, now,
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  now Niger, now it's just the culture for now.
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  Maybe things will change in the future.
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  So these are some of the factors that I look at.
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  There are a bunch of other things that I used to advise
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  people in the passport. I can't remember them at the
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  moment. I don't know, My pain is a
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  little slow this morning. So, but these are the three
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  things that I know I'll say for sure.
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  Is it a high value deal? Do we have a confirmed need?
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  And then the people on the other end of the table, do they have
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  urgency, sense of urgency and a timeline.
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  So there's timeline. Good.
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  No problem. Why I call Madam Sylvia more
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  runner. In fact, sometimes I like to,
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  how do I say it now? Should I say a pressure test?
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  Just test to be sure that everything is everything.
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  So sometimes at this stage, even though calling is not my
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  responsibility, you know, I don't call for my clients.
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  My own is to make sure that your sales team is tipped off or my
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  own is to make sure that you as the entrepreneur you're tipped
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  off. But sometimes I will pick up the
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  phone. I pretend to be an employee, a
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  manager within the company, have a chat with the person on the
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  other side and then myself try and gauge it so that I can also
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  tell Madam Sylvia on your behalf, just in case you're a
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  salesperson and you're mad. You have it.
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  Madam. Madam Sylvia.
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  You've been trying to involve her and she's not.
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  You know, she know the answer. You.
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  You know, I'll help you say, Oh, Madam Sylvia.
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  Yeah, I know that, you know, all the time.
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  Chika is always trying to call you on the sense and that.
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  But you know what? On this one.
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  Yeah. I think this one is worth your
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  while. And then we'll have the
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  conversation around why she should take this meeting.
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  It's high value. This confirm.
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  Need a sense of urgency. This is a timeline, so summary
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  if you call your orga too soon, it's a problem.
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  You're wasting their time. Then there's also a big problem
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  because they will also have the there will be a perceived loss
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  of authority if I call orga in too quick to the meeting.
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  And then the other people on the other side, they haven't
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  involved their own orga yet will be somehow like we were
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  desperate. You understand, we'll now be
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  looking like small boys or small girls.
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  So if you call Orga in too soon, yeah, there actually is nothing
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  of loss of authority. You know that later on even
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  we'll be negotiating and handling and or not.
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  So even I don't, you know, lose authority, lose status.
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  You know, you've come down one step.
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  You know, somehow all that negotiation will happen for
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  France, you know, will be will be somehow will be dicey.
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  So loss of authority and then you're going to waste August
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  time. So let's go straight into a case
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  study now. By the way, as usual, this case
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  study is completely made-up. So if you hear your name or a
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  company or this thing sounds similar, blah, blah, blah, blah,
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  blah, it's just a coincidence because this case study is
• 11:25
  completely made-up. So now let's say we have
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  somebody who's responsible for sales and the guy's name is
• 11:32
  Chinedu. So he's responsible for sales,
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  or he's a business development lead, or he's a sales associate,
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  or he's a, you know, whatever it is that people call it these
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  days. So Chinedu, that's the guy's
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  name. Now, let's say that Chinedu's
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  Olga is Doctor Hannah. And yes, if there's a Hanatu
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  listening to this right now and you happen to go to law school
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  between like 2000 and when do we finish law school, Sir, Let's
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  just say if you were in law school around, like, carrying
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  2005 6-7. Yeah.
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  Your name is Hanatu. And you think my name sounds
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  familiar. Yeah, that's you.
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  I just borrowed your name. So I had a classmate who was
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  Hanatu and she was interested in renewable energy when we were in
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  school and she was going to apply for a PhD and, you know,
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  stuff like that. Just I thought she was going to
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  go verify the academic space only to find out years later on
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  that she got involved in sales. And I said, how did that happen?
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  Hanatu, bright young girl, how did she end up in sales?
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  But anyway, she's not doing too bad.
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  So this is my own alternative universe now where Doctor Hanatu
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  finished from law school with us and went on and got that PhD in
• 12:42
  Harvard and then all whatnot, and she became a world renowned
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  renewable energy expert. That was her area of expertise
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  and interest at the time. So yes, Doctor Hanatu.
• 12:53
  Yeah, based off a real person. So haoga she knew this or guys,
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  Doctor Hanatu Hanatu is now a world renowned renewable energy
• 13:01
  expert. Now, let's say Doctor Hanatu has
• 13:03
  been working on some good technology and she's that's for
• 13:08
  solar and thermal cooling. Some of you say Tavishima,
• 13:11
  you've come again making up stuff.
• 13:13
  Yeah, I understand I'm manufacturing a whole bunch of
• 13:15
  stuff. But some of these ideas are not
• 13:16
  so far fetched or because, you know, Abuja have been seeing
• 13:19
  some things. You know, you have solar panels,
• 13:21
  then they'll be one round cylinder attached to it.
• 13:24
  And then I asked people like what is that?
• 13:25
  They say solar heating, solar heating, solar heating.
• 13:28
  I say you can use solar heat to boil water on the roof.
• 13:32
  Again, you know, so nobody has given me an explanation for how
• 13:36
  it works, but I've been seeing it all over Abuja.
• 13:38
  So I'm thinking if you can use solar for heating, then why not
• 13:44
  use solar for cooling? So yeah, just know that some of
• 13:48
  my examples are not so far fetched because people are doing
• 13:51
  it today. I've been seeing it in Lagos.
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  Solar heating, solar heating, solar heating.
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  That's the boil water I've been seen in Abuja.
• 13:58
  Sorry. So for those of you in Lagos,
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  I'm sorry you've already been seeing one or two of these
• 14:03
  things. If you live in Kano or Port
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  Aqued, it's only a matter of time.
• 14:06
  You guys are going to start seeing nothing soon.
• 14:08
  So let's say Doctor Hanato now has developed a technology which
• 14:11
  works the other way, which is solar for thermal cooling and
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  they cool large scale warehouses.
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  Again, some of you will be saying come these, your examples
• 14:24
  are far fetched. Look, it's not far fetched
• 14:26
  because earlier on in the year I'm making this recording as in
• 14:29
  2026 there was one lady, I can't remember the name of our
• 14:33
  company, whether it's Limi Foods or something like that.
• 14:35
  The lady they provoked seriously on top LinkedIn because she they
• 14:42
  have farms in Plateau States and they farm, what are these
• 14:46
  things, these red something strawberries.
• 14:48
  Yeah. So they farm strawberries in
• 14:49
  Plateau State and you know, because of, you know, some
• 14:53
  economic things, one thing, one thing, all these kind of issues,
• 14:56
  flights stopped going to Plateau and that was a problem because
• 15:01
  for this kind thing, strawberry by the time you, you understand,
• 15:06
  by the time you harvest them, you know, if you know, put on
• 15:09
  for fridge, you think what is spoiled quick, quick.
• 15:11
  So that's one of these things that have a very low how do I
• 15:16
  say it now? Is it shelf life or whatever?
• 15:18
  But you understand what I'm saying that once you pluck it,
• 15:20
  you have to process this thing quick or else it won't go bad.
• 15:24
  So this woman, whether it's limey foods or something foods,
• 15:27
  I can't remember, you know, just go and do your research.
• 15:29
  Just Google, you know, strawberry farming in Nigeria.
• 15:32
  I'm sure her company name will come up.
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  Then you will see that even though this is a made-up
• 15:37
  example, you see that look, these are things that are
• 15:39
  happening in Nigeria today, today, today there's not no be
• 15:42
  science fiction. Those woman grows strawberries
• 15:45
  in Jos, she doesn't import them. So because flights could now not
• 15:51
  enter Jos and the woman could not move the the strawberries,
• 15:55
  quick, quick. Things were spoiling now for
• 15:59
  those of us who are from Benue State, NASA, our state, you
• 16:02
  know, all these areas, this is something we're already used to
• 16:06
  according to the BNRDA or something like that.
• 16:11
  That's, it's not the Benway research something, something,
• 16:14
  some government agency. Anyway, So back when my brother
• 16:18
  and I were involved in export the, the BNRD something,
• 16:25
  something, excuse me, the that Benway state agency that was
• 16:31
  responsible for this kind of research, they should.
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  And I won't lie to you, they should.
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  And of course, you know that when Nigerians are doing
• 16:38
  research, you know that the research you didn't even do it
• 16:40
  Well, they showed that camera was 97 or 98% of tomatoes
• 16:46
  produced in Nigeria go, I'm sorry, in Beno State go to
• 16:49
  waste. Imagine that 97 percent, 9798%
• 16:56
  go to waste. They just spoil on the farm
• 16:59
  field. Imagine because there's no
• 17:02
  cooling and transporting technology Sears with the waste
• 17:05
  food anyway. So this is a serious problem and
• 17:11
  so because of that, there are some companies that are trying
• 17:12
  to rise up to now fill the holes in this agriculture value chain.
• 17:20
  So as this woman, now they provoke for LinkedIn.
• 17:21
  This one, our limit foods people begin a show up like Madam, it's
• 17:25
  not a problem. Now we get Co truck, we get Co
• 17:28
  warehouse, we get Co van, we get Co discord at you know.
• 17:31
  And so from there she started talking with a bunch of people
• 17:34
  in the comments. By the way, this is how you use
• 17:36
  LinkedIn for selling. I've been talking about how if
• 17:40
  you're serious about your career or you're serious about selling,
• 17:43
  you should have a LinkedIn profile and some of you team
• 17:46
  like you guys don't get it because LinkedIn is about
• 17:51
  business, personal development, career development, blah, blah,
• 17:53
  blah. People go and talk freely about
• 17:55
  these kinds of things. This woman now, whether not Li
• 18:00
  Me Foods or whatever the name of her company, she can't go and
• 18:03
  provoke this kind of provoke on Instagram.
• 18:05
  Instagram is about flexing and showing off your best life.
• 18:08
  So she won't go and put that kind of thing there.
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  You feel me? Their Facebook is more of a
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  personal, personal something. She can't go and be provoking
• 18:15
  over there like that. She can't because Facebook is a
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  personal, personal or something you know keep in touch with the
• 18:20
  grandkids and you know all that kind levels.
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  But on LinkedIn she can provoke like that.
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  That what is going on with Nigeria, See what thing they
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  happen. So that's my produce.
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  They spoil on the field. My produce is spoiling anyhow.
• 18:35
  Now companies who are sharp saw the post, saw the comments, they
• 18:41
  begin the slide into our DM. First of all, they'll comment on
• 18:44
  the post, Oh Madam, blah, blah, blah, blah blah.
• 18:45
  We see what you're going through.
• 18:47
  This is precisely the reason why our company was founded to plug
• 18:49
  these kinds of holes in agricultural value chain.
• 18:51
  Something, something, one thing, one thing, one thing I then
• 18:54
  they'll put in the comment. I will slide into your DM.
• 18:57
  Let us talk some more. Let's see how we can be able to
• 19:00
  help so that you don't lose too much of this current, current
• 19:05
  harvest. So there are like 3 or 4
• 19:08
  companies that just move like that say correct, these people
• 19:10
  are sharp. That's what we call social
• 19:12
  listening in sales. So you're online, but while
• 19:17
  you're online is not to be playing around and watching
• 19:19
  video. It's because you are shiny your
• 19:21
  eye, you they shine your eye because you're looking for
• 19:24
  anybody to say any small thing PIM that might be related to
• 19:28
  your product or service. When they talk, you pounce Bros,
• 19:32
  you get this problem. I've been there here since now
• 19:35
  this is exactly what we do. From there, slide into DM
• 19:39
  Hopefully you close on or two deals.
• 19:41
  By the way, not everything works 100% of the time.
• 19:44
  So if you try this social selling, social listening or
• 19:47
  not, don't say anything doesn't work.
• 19:48
  Like give it time. OK, give it time.
• 19:52
  Then start following podcasts. Like I think there's a podcast
• 19:55
  called social selling and that one is purely about LinkedIn.
• 19:59
  I can't remember the lady's name.
• 20:00
  It's two people. There's well, three people
• 20:02
  rather there's a lady and and two guys.
• 20:06
  Oh, you both guy 1 black guy. I can't remember where the black
• 20:08
  guy is from. But not a bad podcast.
• 20:11
  And so those of you who are thinking of using LinkedIn to
• 20:14
  learn how to sell. So basically what I'm just
• 20:16
  trying to say is that even though this whole scenario is
• 20:19
  made-up, this is real. It's happening in Nigeria as we
• 20:23
  speak. OK, so Doctor Hana to now she
• 20:31
  has come up with this technology for solar and thermal cooling.
• 20:34
  She's using solar, but to cool, to keep warehouses cool so that
• 20:40
  people who decide that they're going to grow strawberries in
• 20:44
  Plateau State, they have options.
• 20:47
  OK, flights, no day, no problem. Where's the nearest warehouse or
• 20:50
  yeah, delivery guy, turbo shop. Go there.
• 20:53
  Let's go and freeze these things there.
• 20:57
  There's one cooling there. Keep everything temperature
• 21:00
  control. And yes, there are businesses
• 21:04
  like that. I didn't know that until this
• 21:06
  one. I was complaining on LinkedIn,
• 21:10
  but the people who have temperature controlled trucks,
• 21:12
  temperature controlled warehouses and the people who
• 21:15
  also do temperature controlled, what's it called?
• 21:18
  Like logistics, you know, like dispatch, you know, we'll cool
• 21:21
  it until we get to the airport. When we get to the airport, we
• 21:23
  cool it again on the plane until it gets to where it is that it's
• 21:26
  supposed to do. So people are doing good things,
• 21:29
  big things, moving, moving, big things.
• 21:31
  Also, another reason why it should be on LinkedIn because
• 21:34
  you get to see you get to see stuff going on in Niger.
• 21:39
  You get to see that there are people that are making money are
• 21:41
  people that are making money doing some pretty interesting
• 21:44
  things. So anyway, LinkedIn is not
• 21:48
  sponsoring me for this. So let me just stop by the way,
• 21:50
  if you worked in you work in LinkedIn, come on, reach out to
• 21:52
  your boy. You guys should, you know, come
• 21:55
  and try and sponsor the podcast, you know, give me some of that
• 21:57
  dollars so that me too, I can upscale in life.
• 22:02
  So Doctor Hanatu, she her business now, her technology,
• 22:06
  solar thermal cooling, thermal cooling and she's focusing on
• 22:09
  large scale warehouses. Now.
• 22:12
  Remember I said Doctor Hanatu, her salesperson.
• 22:14
  Now in this example, the guy's name Chinedu and Chinedu is
• 22:18
  trying to talk to some people and he's hoping that he can get
• 22:22
  a pilot partnership. Now anytime you hear pilot,
• 22:24
  pilot just means, you know, you go test time as well.
• 22:27
  Just do something small just to see where this thing can work.
• 22:30
  So like for my radio show, when I was talking to the the execs
• 22:37
  of the station, eventually we got to the pilot stage.
• 22:39
  Pilot stage was OK, Mr. Heidi, you know, come in here and let's
• 22:43
  produce a pilot, you know, record something, let the member
• 22:46
  of the members of the editorial team listen to it.
• 22:49
  OK, The team makes sense, you know, makes sense.
• 22:51
  So I changed them like this one, like that.
• 22:52
  That's a pilot. So let's say Cheney do now the
• 22:55
  strategy for one client that he's trying to sell into, let's
• 22:58
  say the client is called the Build it Africa.
• 23:01
  So Jinity is talking to build this Africa and Jinity is trying
• 23:03
  to secure 250M just for a pilot program like more roll out this
• 23:08
  one small. Let's just see whether this
• 23:10
  thing works and whether it's cool.
• 23:12
  Everything is cool and no problem.
• 23:14
  Then next year, you know, we can upgrade, we can do more and
• 23:16
  more. So that's the scope Now 250 M,
• 23:21
  whether 250 million is high value or low value, like I said,
• 23:25
  it depends on your organ. There's some more guys who say
• 23:27
  250 million. Why are you wasting my time with
• 23:29
  that? When you get to some 150
• 23:31
  million, call me. If it's 250 million, you can
• 23:34
  handle it yourself. If you're in, if you're in
• 23:36
  problems, you know, go and meet Jude.
• 23:37
  You know, Jude is good at these sorts of things.
• 23:39
  Or go and meet banker. You know 2 of you, I'm sure you
• 23:41
  can figure it out. Don't call me for 250 M.
• 23:43
  So it depends. So he's trying to secure 250
• 23:50
  million pilot partnership. He's talking to a company called
• 23:52
  Build it Africa. Now let's say Africa.
• 23:55
  Build it Africa is in the logistics business.
• 23:57
  And I told you people not even though this is a made-up
• 23:59
  scenario that it happens. So companies like this already
• 24:03
  exist. That's the reason why I'm saying
• 24:05
  that if I call any name here, it kind of sounds like your
• 24:07
  company. I beg no coincidence.
• 24:09
  I'm not calling you out by name, all right now.
• 24:12
  Coincidence. I'm just trying to flesh out a
• 24:15
  scenario here. So let's say build it Africa and
• 24:18
  that has 15 cooling hubs in Niger.
• 24:20
  You know, they get location for Lagos, Abuja, Kano, where again
• 24:25
  NASA, you know, like around Shah, they get a location like
• 24:30
  15 and they have cooling hubs. Now, let's say Chinedu has been
• 24:35
  talking to Build it Africa for the last three months and he has
• 24:39
  been talking to the operations manager, you know, in the posho.
• 24:41
  I'm in the posho, I'm in the follow up.
• 24:43
  They follow up every single time.
• 24:44
  Operations manager will be like, oh, oh, Mr. Chinedu, how are you
• 24:47
  doing? Oh yeah, we'll get back to you.
• 24:48
  Yeah, we'll get back to you. Yeah, I saw your e-mail.
• 24:50
  We'll get back to you. We'll get back to you.
• 24:52
  So three months of we'll get back to you can be frustrating,
• 24:56
  right, for those of you who sell.
• 24:58
  And it's one of those things. Now eventually, let's say
• 25:00
  Chinido's persistence pays off and they're able to secure a
• 25:03
  meeting now with the COO that is the chief operations officer,
• 25:07
  the head of operations or you know, is able to secure a
• 25:12
  meeting after three months. Now that guy Tina, she need to
• 25:16
  be very excited to say correct or looking at potentially 250
• 25:20
  million and they have got the COO, the head of operations, the
• 25:25
  man at the top, the very man the natural incident will be
• 25:31
  fortunate to say Oh yeah, let me call Mada Hannah to so that this
• 25:35
  meeting should follow me at least for the last three months
• 25:38
  when it's just operations manager Namida Ronam.
• 25:41
  Now I've gotten to meeting with the CEO or boss Madam Hannah to
• 25:46
  pull, pull one hand to answer. The conversation will start now.
• 25:51
  This is the thing. If in this case Shineidu calls
• 25:55
  Madam Hanatu, sorry, Doctor Hanatu.
• 25:58
  Yes, Doctor Hanatu, because it's not easy to have PHDI was about
• 26:05
  to crack a dirty joke, but let me leave it like that.
• 26:07
  And then so it's not easy to have a PhD.
• 26:10
  So even though if he calls Doctor Hanatu now prematurely
• 26:16
  and Dr. Hanatu goes for the meeting, when I say prematurely,
• 26:18
  I mean Chu Chinedu has not gone through this conversation with
• 26:22
  the people on the inside, whether with the operations
• 26:25
  manager or the CEO, he has not figured out is this in really
• 26:29
  high value? Because sometimes The thing is
• 26:30
  worth 150 million, but the people on the other hand, they
• 26:35
  know get shishi or they don't want to drop 250.
• 26:39
  Sometimes potential value is 250.
• 26:41
  But the other people, as far as they're concerned, look, we're
• 26:43
  not dropping anything more than 2013 million.
• 26:46
  So you need to have these kinds of conversations and stress test
• 26:49
  the budget, stress test price expectations before you call
• 26:54
  Olga, Doctor Hanatu into this meeting.
• 26:59
  So if he hasn't stress test, budget asked all those kind of
• 27:03
  questions, it's premature. If he hasn't confirmed whether
• 27:07
  it is a need, it's premature. Because there are some
• 27:09
  companies, whether we like it or not, there are some companies
• 27:11
  who run these things on diesel. And as far as they're concerned,
• 27:14
  no problem. Now we're going to use diesel.
• 27:16
  All is fine, all is fine, all is well and good.
• 27:19
  For whatever reason, they decide that diesel plus NEPA, we are
• 27:22
  OK. I guess it works for them.
• 27:26
  You need to have that conversation first because we
• 27:28
  absolutely suck for Doctor Hannah to yoga to come into this
• 27:31
  meeting. The thing kind of seems high
• 27:33
  value, but as far as I can say they will drop more than 30 M
• 27:36
  and then you know, on top of everything, like even self, we
• 27:40
  have supplier of diesel now. So like, what's the big deal?
• 27:44
  It's not only a problem. In fact, we're even buying our
• 27:46
  diesel direct from Dangote refinery.
• 27:48
  So it's not really a problem. That meeting would absolutely
• 27:52
  suck. And if you're a Chinedu yoga, we
• 27:55
  blast you by the time this call is done as a serious blasting,
• 28:00
  dedicated blasting, focus blasting, you will hear it by
• 28:04
  the time the meeting is over. Then urgency timelines.
• 28:08
  You also need to know, you know, how soon are you guys?
• 28:12
  How soon do you want to make any changes, you know, blah, blah,
• 28:14
  blah. How, how, how come this thing
• 28:16
  came up? Now, I know some of you don't
• 28:17
  like asking these questions. Yeah, because I'm talking to
• 28:20
  someone who's in the solar space.
• 28:23
  She's talking to a customer that might be high value client and
• 28:28
  she wants to bring our guy in. And I asked her, OK, why are
• 28:31
  they? Why did they reach out to you
• 28:33
  Now? She said she doesn't know.
• 28:34
  I said, but you need to ask. You need to ask like, OK, thank
• 28:39
  you very much. You know, after the side visit,
• 28:43
  it looks like you guys have been living with this scenario.
• 28:47
  You know, you've been living with the UPS and the Nepal
• 28:49
  issues. Like you've been coping.
• 28:51
  You seem to have been coping with this for the last two
• 28:53
  years. So how come you're just reaching
• 28:54
  us, reaching out to us now? Or how come you're just looking
• 28:57
  at companies now? Ask and hear.
• 29:00
  Ask and then keep quiet and hear what this is that they have to
• 29:02
  say. You never know.
• 29:06
  They might be honest and say, Oh, well, we're just curious
• 29:09
  now. If they are just curious now,
• 29:10
  research, then they do. Does that sound like the kind of
• 29:13
  thing that you should be calling your guy in for the meeting,
• 29:14
  your guy will blast you that you called me in for this meeting.
• 29:17
  These people are not even serious.
• 29:20
  They're just doing research. So you just wasting one hour,
• 29:22
  one hour of my time or guy will blast you.
• 29:28
  So some of these questions are hard, but remember, I keep
• 29:32
  telling you people, how do I put it?
• 29:37
  Baron Tracy talks about subject matter expertise.
• 29:40
  That is the cornerstone is the beginning of selling.
• 29:43
  That's in what some of his earlier material, Psychology of
• 29:45
  Selling, the audio psychology of Selling, not the book, because
• 29:48
  for some reason the audio psychology of Selling and in the
• 29:51
  book Psychology of Selling, they're not the same thing.
• 29:53
  I don't know how that happened. I think you can even find
• 29:57
  Psychology of Selling on YouTube if you go and check.
• 30:00
  So there's a brief part where he talks about subject matter
• 30:03
  expertise. So remember, if you're a
• 30:04
  salesperson now you'll be the subject matter expert.
• 30:08
  If in this situation, right your chin a do thermal cooling
• 30:12
  alternative sources of power, now you'll be the expert.
• 30:17
  So therefore you have earned the right to ask a couple of
• 30:20
  questions. If you don't know in these kinds
• 30:24
  of situations, they are looking at you as the expert.
• 30:27
  Like me for instance, if I'm just like I run my factories,
• 30:30
  what do I know about thermal cooling and authority sources of
• 30:33
  energy? All I know is, you know the
• 30:35
  factory is working and I keep signing invoice for delivery of
• 30:39
  diesel and all what not like do I know any better?
• 30:43
  So please, you should stop doing Boy, boy, you know, learn how to
• 30:47
  stand firm. Stand firm.
• 30:50
  You're the expert. Ask now.
• 30:55
  Some of you are scared of overreaching.
• 30:57
  It's not a problem. I told one of the ladies that I
• 31:00
  was talking to about these things, it's just a coincidence
• 31:03
  that it's a sale team, sales team that is full of women.
• 31:07
  Usually the other way around that is full of men and then one
• 31:09
  or two women. So this is the first time that
• 31:11
  I'm talking to a sales team that is 100% female.
• 31:16
  So I told her that, look, it's not a big deal.
• 31:19
  It's normal. I'm beside this, Nigel.
• 31:23
  There's some people who want to step you down like you're trying
• 31:26
  to, you know, let you, they carry soda too much.
• 31:28
  It's not a problem what you do when somebody tries to dress you
• 31:33
  down. All right, empathize, apologize,
• 31:37
  refocus, and continue with your questions.
• 31:40
  I repeat, we empathize, apologize, refocus, continue
• 31:43
  with your question. This is how you do it.
• 31:47
  So. Oh, Sir, I'm absolutely sorry.
• 31:52
  I can see how my questions would have sounded this way.
• 31:55
  But, Sir, I beg No, Vex. I did not intend any disrespect
• 31:59
  at all. At all.
• 31:59
  At all, Sir. Madam, the reason why I'm asking
• 32:02
  you these kinds of question is because if I know this and this
• 32:05
  and this, we'll be able to help you in the future when it comes
• 32:09
  to this and this and this. So, Madam, No, Vex.
• 32:11
  That's the reason why I was answering the questions.
• 32:13
  I was not trying to demean you or try to insult you in any way.
• 32:16
  No, Sir, No. You be my Oga now.
• 32:21
  Then you be Oga. Sir, I beg.
• 32:23
  No Vex. That kind of approach for most
• 32:25
  people. You don't calm down.
• 32:27
  You don't tap them down. Then we focus these questions
• 32:31
  are, Madam, it's not about me, it's about you.
• 32:35
  I'm asking all these questions so that we will help you XYZ, we
• 32:39
  will help you ABC. We'll be able to figure out if
• 32:42
  we can solve the problem by doing 456.
• 32:46
  We focus on them then permission.
• 32:49
  So Sir, is it OK? Can I continue with the
• 32:51
  questions? You find that in most cases
• 32:55
  that's enough to get things going.
• 32:56
  So don't be afraid. And besides, I haven't met a
• 33:02
  salesperson who hasn't been washed down before.
• 33:03
  So it's just normal now. Niger, we do now they go wash
• 33:06
  you down. It's normal.
• 33:08
  So just look, get a thick skin or move on to another
• 33:12
  profession. We're all big boys and girls
• 33:14
  here. The first time they wash you
• 33:17
  down will be confusing. Be like, where did that one come
• 33:19
  from? That was happening.
• 33:21
  But don't worry, by the time it happens two or three times,
• 33:24
  especially if you take this advice that I just gave about
• 33:27
  empathizing, apologizing, refocusing, and then continue
• 33:30
  with your questions, you'll be able to handle it smooth.
• 33:34
  Because like for me, I haven't been shout.
• 33:35
  Nobody has shouted at me in the last.
• 33:38
  I think it's been over 10 years since anybody shouted at me
• 33:41
  last. So don't worry.
• 33:43
  It's just one of these things. For those of you who are new
• 33:48
  salespeople listening to the podcast, I beg No Fear.
• 33:50
  I'm not saying these things to make you afraid.
• 33:53
  I beg. It's just that, you know, lots
• 33:56
  of sales, podcast, business podcasts, you know now.
• 33:59
  So, so inspiration, inspiration, theoretical, theoretical.
• 34:02
  I'm just trying to keep it real here with you.
• 34:04
  That's why I keep it practical. And then forgive me, I I've lost
• 34:09
  my train of thought. OK, So basically if she Nedu
• 34:13
  calls Doctor Hanatu prematurely, but Hanatu is going, sorry,
• 34:17
  Doctor Hanatu cousin has to have a PhD, Doctor Hanatu is going to
• 34:22
  be pissed. The other COO might be impressed
• 34:26
  that, you know, Doctor Hanadu showed up and will be impressed
• 34:29
  at her credentials and everything.
• 34:32
  But if Shinidu did not do his research well, high value,
• 34:37
  confirm need urgency and timeline, then it's possible
• 34:43
  that you might be impressed. But then say, oh, let's talk
• 34:45
  again in six months, that kind of thing.
• 34:47
  Let's talk again in six months. Doctor Hanadu will be pierced.
• 34:51
  Katitu will be like, look, Shinidu, you should have called
• 34:53
  me in six months time when they are ready, not at this early
• 34:58
  toasting stage. So what Chinedu needs to do or
• 35:02
  anybody in this kind of scenario is we need to learn how to
• 35:05
  escalate things strategically. All right, Escalate just means,
• 35:09
  you know, you push it up to orgas table Orgas do these
• 35:12
  things strategic, right? I know that you're looking at
• 35:17
  your quota and you want to meet your quota, but you can't really
• 35:19
  be calling orgas for every single thing.
• 35:21
  Also, another reason why I should keep on listening to
• 35:23
  podcasts like mine. Mine is not the only one, to be
• 35:28
  honest, the only just two that I know sales related in Niger, at
• 35:32
  least that two of us have been going for the last let's say
• 35:36
  like 6-7 years. So keep listening to shows like
• 35:41
  this, you know, sharpen your game, learn your stuff.
• 35:47
  So where was I? So strategic escalation, what
• 35:52
  Chinido can do is Chinido can go for that meeting alone or now
• 35:57
  that he's been hooked up with COO, he can have a small side
• 36:01
  chat, WhatsApp chats, you know, whatever.
• 36:04
  Maybe even go to the office just to go and greet COO ahead of the
• 36:07
  meeting. Now COO as in the neighborhood,
• 36:09
  I just seem, I greet you, you know, we're going to see next
• 36:12
  week Thursday. I just, I was in the
• 36:13
  neighborhood that same, I greet you, you know, that kind of
• 36:15
  approach. And then while he's there with
• 36:18
  COO, just do some small qualification.
• 36:20
  Qualification and discovery is when we ask questions about the
• 36:25
  person, about the opportunity, because we're trying to figure
• 36:28
  out who it did. People, are they interested?
• 36:31
  Is there a need? Do they have a realistic sense
• 36:33
  of budget? Is there a timeline going on?
• 36:36
  Abe, they're just asking questions because they're just
• 36:39
  curious, you know, is this a serious something or is it
• 36:41
  workout pass? So Chando needs to have that
• 36:44
  conversation with CEO if you can.
• 36:50
  So if he has that kind of meeting with the CEO and they
• 36:53
  see that because they're spending money on diesel,
• 36:57
  they're currently eating about 40% of their margins.
• 37:00
  By the way, this figure that I just called 40% actually is
• 37:03
  realistic because was a couple of weeks ago, I was just
• 37:08
  chilling online and then I saw that P man, yeah, P man, Abby, P
• 37:13
  man is I think it's P man Producers and Manufacturers
• 37:16
  Association of Nigeria. Abby ABI is it man Manufacturers
• 37:19
  Association of Nigeria and they just go on Google whether P man
• 37:23
  or man. So they are complaining that
• 37:27
  energy costs in Nigeria for some of their members 60% cost of
• 37:32
  goods. You heard me correctly.
• 37:35
  There are some people that 'cause you know, you use raw
• 37:39
  material, you pay labor, you pay this, you pay that.
• 37:42
  Some of their members are complaining that they are
• 37:44
  spending 60 percent, 60 just on cost of power, diesel, NEPA
• 37:56
  fuel, Gen. 60%, some of their members.
• 38:01
  So they say on average 40 to 60. So this, because I'm saying, is
• 38:05
  not a lie. So let's say now China is able
• 38:10
  concern that they're actually losing about 40% of their
• 38:13
  margins and he's able to figure out that this thing is so much
• 38:19
  of an issue that they want to roll it out across.
• 38:22
  Remember I said in the beginning that they have 15 units that
• 38:25
  want to roll across their 15 units because right now what
• 38:29
  they're spending on diesel annually is 250 million.
• 38:32
  That's how much they're losing. In fact, in my example, that's
• 38:36
  where the 250 million figure comes from.
• 38:39
  That's how much they're spending on diesel.
• 38:40
  So either 250 million, they seriously took them.
• 38:43
  It took them anyhow. Anyhow, that's all because of
• 38:46
  that. They want to move quickly
• 38:48
  because they're trying to expand into the pharmaceutical space.
• 38:51
  Maybe they've only been doing cold, cold storage for you know,
• 38:55
  people where they grow strawberry even in Abuja S
• 38:58
  around Kasana in Warrenpa. I just discovered yesterday
• 39:01
  because my wife bought sweet corn from someone who is there.
• 39:07
  So the fellow came and delivered to the house and I looked at her
• 39:12
  and said I said babe, this is actual corn.
• 39:13
  She said yeah, I know that is actual corn.
• 39:15
  I said I thought sweet corn comes in a can and it's
• 39:18
  processed more. I said no, that actually what
• 39:21
  they do is there's a special specie of sweet corn that that's
• 39:26
  how they think tastes. It tastes sweet before we will
• 39:28
  people now take it and can it and everything.
• 39:30
  I said OK, no problem. When she came back from work,
• 39:32
  she boiled it and when I tasted it.
• 39:34
  Hi, my brothers and sisters. Verily, verily, as you know, to
• 39:38
  the that corn is indeed sweet. I had no idea.
• 39:43
  I thought what we both used to do is you just take ordinary
• 39:46
  corn and then maybe you take it to the factory.
• 39:48
  Then maybe you boil it in sugar or something.
• 39:50
  They now package it in the tin and they now label it sweet
• 39:53
  corn. They now sell the corn back to
• 39:55
  us here in Nigeria. That's not what they do.
• 39:59
  It's an actual specie of corn. That is sweet, sweet as hell.
• 40:04
  In fact, my older son, by the time the guy ate like half, he
• 40:07
  said no, that he can't continue anymore.
• 40:08
  I think it's too sweet. They grow these things in
• 40:11
  Nigeria. Well, funny enough, this guy too
• 40:13
  also needs cold storage because apart from growing sweet corn,
• 40:17
  he also grows what's this thing called?
• 40:20
  This funny looking onion, the one that has small head and then
• 40:23
  long tail. Spring onion and her sweet corn,
• 40:27
  spring onion, green beans, you know, all these fancy, fancy
• 40:30
  stuff anyway, so let's just present build it Africa.
• 40:36
  They've been doing business with these kinds of people, you know,
• 40:39
  So Madame Blimey in Plateau with her strawberries and then this
• 40:43
  guy in Abuja in Gwarin Passaid with his sweet corn and his and
• 40:50
  his lentils and his spring onion and you know, blah, blah, blah,
• 40:56
  blah, blah. So now he wants to move into
• 40:58
  pharmaceuticals, but you know, they're not able to close these
• 41:02
  contracts because they need to be able to bring their cooling
• 41:06
  performance up or maybe bring the cooling tests down.
• 41:12
  So they're trying to say how they can bring all these things
• 41:15
  under control before September, before they move.
• 41:18
  So if Chinedu has this conversation with CEO and these
• 41:21
  are the things he finds out that they're spending 40% of fuel,
• 41:26
  that amount is 250 M, They're trying to toast other people to
• 41:31
  do business with. But before they chose those
• 41:33
  people because now pharmaceutical products, they
• 41:36
  say that the cool cooling, the cooling, how did the fridge, the
• 41:40
  chi, the cooling has to go up or maybe they have to bring the the
• 41:45
  cost. Now before that pharmaceutical
• 41:47
  contract will make sense. Now if Chinnuru is able to find
• 41:51
  this, this kind of information because remember, Olga, I was
• 41:55
  just in the neighborhood. Yeah, we're meeting on Thursday,
• 41:57
  but just I agree to you. And then from there conversation
• 41:59
  unfold if you is able to find out all these things.
• 42:02
  I now calls doctor NATO and he says Prof I said Cheney do my
• 42:06
  son, how are you say Prof I do I beg you the office say yes, I
• 42:12
  had to come. I do come.
• 42:13
  I'm just leave you through Larry now I had to come out us to
• 42:16
  discuss something. If Cheney do now sits Dr. Hannah
• 42:19
  to down gives Doctor Hannah to this whole layup and says look
• 42:24
  Doctor NATO, I beg, I just need you one meeting only that
• 42:28
  meeting the agenda and adjust technical validation will just
• 42:31
  come in so that we'll talk with the CEO and then just verify all
• 42:34
  the technical details blah, blah blah.
• 42:36
  Maybe from there we'll arrange site visits.
• 42:40
  Madam Dr. Hanato, I beg just that one meeting.
• 42:43
  Moore agree on technical validation after that, no
• 42:46
  problem, I've got it. If there's any problem, I'll
• 42:48
  call Jude, then me and Jude will go that kind of thing.
• 42:51
  Madam Hanato will be happy if the deal closes.
• 42:55
  Madam Hanatu will be happy if the deal does not close.
• 42:59
  Doctor Hanatu will be impressed because you will see that OK,
• 43:01
  when we hired Shinidu, we did a good thing 'cause Shinidu not
• 43:04
  correct guy Shinidu is thinking well Shinidu, you know you
• 43:09
  didn't focus so that's how you do it.
• 43:17
  That is when you know that OK, time don't reach, time to
• 43:20
  escalate, time to call Doctor Hannah, time to call Madame
• 43:23
  Sylvia, time to call Orga Mike, time to call Chief Tony.
• 43:28
  That's how you do it. Some of you will be asking how
• 43:31
  will you be able to get all this kind of information from the
• 43:33
  CEO. Very simple.
• 43:35
  Number one, you will do not understand that sales is
• 43:38
  conversational. You treat it like other takers.
• 43:43
  So maybe you just hop on the phone with somebody and then
• 43:45
  start asking them questions in an organic, sorry, I say organic
• 43:49
  in a very, how can I put it? You know, you have the questions
• 43:54
  on your paper 1234. You start asking it like that,
• 43:56
  like no sales is conversational. Sales is conversational.
• 44:04
  So the first approach is when you're talking to somebody,
• 44:06
  whether it's CEO or head of management or head of operations
• 44:10
  or whatever, have it in mind that you're having a
• 44:14
  conversation with somebody. It's not an interview.
• 44:16
  You're not grilling them. Some of you only ask enough
• 44:18
  questions so that you can use to prepare a quote.
• 44:21
  And there's one struggle that I have now with this team that I'm
• 44:24
  currently working with. They're only asking the
• 44:25
  questions that they need so they can prepare a quote.
• 44:29
  How many TV's do you have? How many fridges do you have?
• 44:32
  What is Nepal like? Blah, blah, blah.
• 44:34
  Oh, OK, So yeah, here's your quote.
• 44:38
  Oh, by the way, listen to yesterday's episode where I
• 44:41
  spoke about how words can set expectations and how you should
• 44:44
  not be saying quote, but rather you should say estimate if
• 44:47
  you're in some industries. So don't say quote, say
• 44:50
  estimates. So some of you are just asking
• 44:55
  enough questions just so you can send them a bill.
• 44:58
  No, we should be asking questions to try and get to the
• 45:02
  root of the problems. We're trying to figure out
• 45:05
  whether there is a need, whether they are interested, whether
• 45:10
  they're just curious, whether they're ready to take action
• 45:13
  now, whether they have a realistic sense of budget.
• 45:16
  So we should be asking. So if Shinidu is able to just
• 45:21
  pass Rochelle, boss, I just say I'm angry to you.
• 45:23
  I was in the neighborhood. Or maybe he now has the phone or
• 45:28
  maybe he now has the WhatsApp number and say boss, you know,
• 45:33
  just wanted to say hello. Or also before we have this
• 45:37
  meeting on on Thursday, I just wanted to be sure that we are in
• 45:40
  agreement on the agenda. The things that we'll talk
• 45:42
  about, we'll say, Oh yeah, sure, young man, you know how sometime
• 45:45
  then we'll chat. Some of you say I'm being
• 45:47
  optimistic. Yeah, of course.
• 45:48
  Now of course I'm being optimistic.
• 45:50
  Now we're in sales. If we're not optimistic, what
• 45:52
  are we doing here? If you're a pessimistic person,
• 45:54
  then resign, please go on to another job.
• 45:58
  You can't be pessimistic. Pessimistic and networking
• 46:00
  sales. So we always assume that things
• 46:02
  will work out when we go on. We hit the K leg.
• 46:05
  OK, no problem. We'll sit down, talk to our
• 46:08
  senior colleagues, you know, we strategize or listen to some
• 46:11
  podcasts, come up with some more ideas, we strategize and then we
• 46:13
  try again. But for sales people, I beg, we
• 46:16
  always assume that this thing is going to happen.
• 46:19
  See sales people and doctors, you know why I like doctors are
• 46:21
  optimistic people too. OK, the situation looks bleak.
• 46:25
  But in this situation, normally survival rate is 30%.
• 46:29
  Doctors just assume that their client is part of the 30%.
• 46:33
  They go, they go raw farm. Now 30% of people survive.
• 46:36
  OK, no problem. Oh, Boucham.
• 46:38
  Let's see if you'll be in the 30%.
• 46:40
  So sales people, you know, should be like doctors.
• 46:42
  Always optimistic. All right.
• 46:45
  Because somebody told me that I behave as if I'm a character in
• 46:48
  a Disney movie. Yeah, of course I do.
• 46:51
  Life is hard. How will I go around, you know,
• 46:53
  be assuming that things don't work in my favour?
• 46:56
  So, yeah, if you can't stand Disney movies, then, you know,
• 46:59
  sales is not for you. Go and do something else.
• 47:02
  Where was I? OK.
• 47:03
  So be conversational. Yeah, so, so Sir, I just want us
• 47:08
  to be sure that the agenda. So these are two different ways
• 47:11
  I'll now put it. One is, Sir, I just say I won't
• 47:14
  greet you as in the neighborhood.
• 47:15
  I say I won't greet you. Then from there conversation
• 47:17
  will issue. Another one maybe is WhatsApp,
• 47:19
  you say, OK, Sir, looking forward to the meeting on
• 47:22
  Thursday. But before we have this meeting,
• 47:23
  I just want to be sure that we are in agreement on the agenda
• 47:26
  and some of the issues that I want us to talk about.
• 47:28
  And then from there, continue the conversation, you know,
• 47:32
  asking them questions about the energy costs.
• 47:35
  So I see no questions about greed instability because you
• 47:39
  know, I'm making this broadcast in 2000 and 2026.
• 47:45
  And we all know that omor the greed, hey, the greed has been
• 47:48
  unstable, very unstable. 20252026, very unstable at the
• 47:54
  time of making this recording, I think was it last month that the
• 47:57
  greed disappeared? The power grid disappeared for
• 48:00
  like 3 days. You know, these are the kind of
• 48:02
  conversations they can have. Oh, I'm looking forward to
• 48:04
  looking working with you, Sir, blah blah, blah.
• 48:08
  I'm sure that we'll be able to give value to your situations.
• 48:11
  Because honestly Sir, that thing that I saw in the newspaper last
• 48:13
  week about the grid collapsing for three days, Sir, I'm sure
• 48:17
  that was not easy for you people.
• 48:20
  You see, you say it conversationally, you say it in
• 48:23
  a conversation. You don't ask them, Sir.
• 48:25
  How did the last three day national power grid collapse
• 48:29
  affect your business? If you ask it like that, nine,
• 48:31
  you know, nine interview now and who wants to be interviewed?
• 48:35
  We're making like conversation ourselves, looking forward to
• 48:37
  help you out. I'm sure that we can because
• 48:40
  honestly, this is one that the grid collapsed for three days.
• 48:44
  I'm sure that this indeed went for you people because even
• 48:46
  ourself, we, we felt it. And then you get specific
• 48:51
  because Kano can be very Kano is very, very hot.
• 48:54
  Kano is very, very hot, Abuja is hot, Lagos is hot because it's,
• 48:58
  it's humid. You know, you say
• 49:01
  conversationally and then you start talking about specific
• 49:03
  locations in Kano, Abuja, Lagos, that is where you start getting
• 49:06
  direct figures from there. So I'm just curious this diesel
• 49:15
  problem self like what solutions have you tried before?
• 49:17
  And then you hear because if they have actually tried to
• 49:22
  install solar before and the thing did not work, it's a good
• 49:26
  thing to know before you head for that meeting.
• 49:28
  You didn't know what have they tried before?
• 49:30
  But remember, conversational if you just say, oh, Sir, I have
• 49:33
  another question to ask. What solutions have you tried
• 49:35
  before to solve this problem? You sound like you're doing jam
• 49:38
  interview. Conversational.
• 49:39
  Conversational, please. Conversational as in with the
• 49:43
  flow with the Yan. Remember, you are the
• 49:46
  professional. That is the reason why this
• 49:48
  person is talking to you. If this person did not rate you,
• 49:51
  you will not be having this conversation.
• 49:54
  I need you guys to understand that if this person did not rate
• 49:57
  you, you would not be in his office right now.
• 49:59
  The reason why you're in his office now or in her office now
• 50:02
  is precisely because the person raped you.
• 50:04
  If they don't rate you, do so. Is that riff raff?
• 50:06
  Tell him I'm not on seats. If you're there in the office,
• 50:12
  if you're there in the e-mail, if you're there in the WhatsApp,
• 50:15
  the person they engage, they rate you, feel free.
• 50:18
  You're a specialist. Of course, be mindful of their
• 50:21
  time. But I'm just saying we should
• 50:24
  stop feeling like boy boy. We're not house boy.
• 50:27
  We're not house girl. We are professionals.
• 50:31
  Excuse me? We're also educated people.
• 50:33
  So stop being afraid conversational.
• 50:41
  After a while you start talking on some money things in a soft,
• 50:44
  soft way they say. Also, I was just curious,
• 50:47
  assuming that the meeting goes well for this kind of
• 50:51
  expenditure, do you guys require board approval for that or is
• 50:54
  that something that is within your own purview?
• 50:56
  Just ask the guy because it is nice to know.
• 51:00
  Excuse me, sorry about that. It's nice to know.
• 51:06
  The reason why it's nice to know is because it will help you to
• 51:08
  be able to plan the, the sales process on your own end.
• 51:13
  You now know whether, OK, by the time we finish this meeting, the
• 51:15
  next hurdle is we're trying to connect with members of the
• 51:18
  board, you know, to transfer. We can push forward the agenda.
• 51:21
  But you, you need to know, ask in fact, anything concerning
• 51:28
  money, I'd like to bring it up early.
• 51:30
  Let's get that out of the way because whether we like it or
• 51:33
  not, we will have the conversation.
• 51:35
  The problem is some of you are waiting to have the conversation
• 51:37
  in month 3, then you now hear, oh, it's too expensive or the
• 51:41
  board is no longer interested or something like that.
• 51:43
  No, no, no, no, no, no. Bring it up early.
• 51:46
  If the board is not interested, if there is no budget, if it is
• 51:49
  something that is his own within his own power to settle from his
• 51:53
  own company's budget, hear it in month 1 so that if there's a
• 51:56
  problem, we'll dissolve this relationship in month 1.
• 51:59
  Instead of talking to people for three months only to hear at the
• 52:02
  end of month three you're too expensive, It is not approved.
• 52:06
  Next budget cycle, the other priorities morning conversations
• 52:16
  early then. OK, I wrote out the question
• 52:23
  here. I know for some of you this
• 52:24
  might be too direct, but if you're brave enough, it is OK to
• 52:27
  have some of that. OK.
• 52:28
  So Chief, assuming we have that meeting on Thursday and we agree
• 52:34
  on every single detail, now we're ready to move forward, who
• 52:40
  else are we going to have to talk to?
• 52:41
  I have to go through a process with legal and busy
• 52:45
  procurements. Was it your board?
• 52:49
  Just ask him like that, just so you know where you're looking
• 52:53
  at, where you're facing. By the time you ask all these
• 52:56
  kind of questions like this, you have enough information to call
• 52:58
  Doctor Hannah to yoga or Organ Mike, your boss, or Auntie
• 53:06
  Sylvia, your line manager, and have a very frank conversation
• 53:10
  with them now, because salespeople are always
• 53:12
  optimistic. Madam Dr. Hanatu, who has more
• 53:16
  experience, or Guy Mike, who has more experience, Auntie Sylvia,
• 53:19
  who has more experience, You know, Alhaji Hamidu, who has
• 53:23
  more experience. They both now tell you that OK,
• 53:27
  Chinidu, you, you have done well, but you know, you could
• 53:33
  have done this like this. You could have done this like
• 53:34
  that. It is still too premature for me
• 53:37
  to go on yet. Go for the meeting.
• 53:40
  When you go for the meeting, the strategy is you go down like
• 53:42
  this. You go down like that.
• 53:44
  Make sure you ask this kind of question.
• 53:45
  Make sure you ask that kind of question.
• 53:46
  You know they will not advise you because you clearly have
• 53:51
  gone and spoken to somebody and done some research and you
• 53:53
  cannot have a productive conversation.
• 53:55
  You don't just call up your superior.
• 53:57
  You don't just call up your guy and say that Madam, I have a big
• 54:00
  fish and I need you on this meeting.
• 54:02
  So actually they do you don't come against it.
• 54:04
  Madam, please I beg on this one. Trust me, I beg, trust me, trust
• 54:07
  me, it's a good deal. That is how you learn your ruin
• 54:11
  your trust. So you do all this work, you get
• 54:15
  all this extra information. Even if the deal will not close
• 54:19
  your superior yoga, they will say Shinadi is a correct person
• 54:24
  saying that salesperson be that because they will see that you
• 54:28
  put a lot in and you're able to get information so that you as a
• 54:33
  company you can properly access. Is this a high value client?
• 54:37
  Is there a confirmed need? Do they have a budget?
• 54:40
  Do they have realistic price expectations?
• 54:43
  And is there any sense of urgency?
• 54:45
  Is there any sense of timeline behind these people that we're
• 54:47
  talking to? So that's how you get things
• 54:49
  done. And it's been an hour.
• 54:50
  So let me just bring you to a close.
• 54:51
  If you'd love to connect with me, you can call me, send me a
• 54:53
  text message or WhatsApp message on 0806466 2140.
• 54:59
  If you're interested in the 15 minute sale audit or you want me
• 55:02
  to look at any of your company processes, that's not a problem.
• 55:04
  Call me, send me a text message or a WhatsApp message on
• 55:07
  08064662140. If you're shy and you just want
• 55:14
  to say what's up and that's not a problem, just send me a
• 55:17
  question on WhatsApp and we'll we'll chat.
• 55:20
  We'll chat then. OK.
• 55:22
  You can also drop my WhatsApp channel.
• 55:24
  So just send a message and I'll hook you up so that on the
• 55:27
  WhatsApp channel, you'll be able to see updates, you know, when
• 55:29
  we drop new episodes or if I'm speaking somewhere in your part
• 55:32
  of the city at least, so you know, I'll be able to show.
• 55:36
  Let's see. OK.
• 55:37
  I haven't spoken in Port Harcourt.
• 55:39
  I haven't spoken in Kernel. So you know, those of you who
• 55:41
  are based in pH Kernel in all those areas, you know, I'd like
• 55:44
  to come and see your cities. So talk to your Olga, talk to
• 55:48
  your event planner. You guys should have me out
• 55:49
  there. Let me come on, vibe with you
• 55:53
  guys and let's see how we can help solve whatever problems
• 55:55
  that you guys have going on. So that's it.
• 55:57
  Thanks for your time and attention.
• 55:58
  I'll catch you all some other time.