Latest / Closing Sales in Nigeria - Sales For The Nigerian Business Person: The Sales and Marketing Blueprint / Why Being the Best Won't Get You the Sale

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Why Being the Best Won't Get You the Sale · Closing Sales in Nigeria - Sales For The Nigerian Business Person: The Sales and Marketing Blueprint

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  Lots of Nigerian business people or self-employed people or
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  people who sell on behalf of someone else assume that if they
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  have the best solution, then that is enough to close the
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  deal. I repeat, there are lots of you
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  listening to the podcast now who think you should win the deal,
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  you should close the sale because you have the best
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  solution, because you have the best product, because you have
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  the best service. So that's what we're going to
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  look at today. Is that enough for you to close
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  the deal just because you have the best or because you are the
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  best? Unfortunately, the answer is no
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  because there are other things that are involved.
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  Now before we continue to break it down, let me introduce
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  myself. My name is Tavishima Ayede, I'm
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  the host of the podcast. I'm a former lawyer turned
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  business consultant and what I do is I solve business problems,
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  especially from a sales and business development
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  perspective. Then apologies, making today's
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  recording out and about so you will hear noise in the
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  background, but I'll make sure that I deliver the best quality
• 1:03
  that I can to you guys today listening to the podcast.
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  Then if you'd love to connect with me because you have
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  questions, comments or queries or you just want to connect, you
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  can call, send me a text message or a WhatsApp message on
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  08064662140. So excuse me, especially if you
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  believe that you have the best solution and you go out into the
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  market, but you're finding it difficult to close deals.
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  I would love to hear from you again.
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  The phone number is 08064662140. So back to the main question
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  now, the fact that you have the best solution, the fact that
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  you're the best, the fact that you graduated first class, the
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  the fact that you know, you import direct from China, you
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  know, direct from the manufacturer, the fact that you
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  have the best solution. Is that enough to close the
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  deal? The answer is no, because there
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  are lots of other things that are involved.
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  And just to keep this podcast short and simple, I have decided
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  to select three things that you need to look at before you can
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  close the deal, even if you have the best solution.
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  And by the way, let me point out to you guys, every time you're
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  talking to a potential customer, the chances are that the
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  potential customer does not even have the technical breadth, the
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  technical know how to even determine whether you are the
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  best or not. And The thing is, you're not the
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  only person running around saying you're the best.
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  Your competition is saying exactly the same thing.
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  And your customer, the potential client does not even know how to
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  figure out how. So you're running around saying
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  that you are the best, but so is every other person who is
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  getting in touch with the potential customer.
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  You're running around saying you're importing directly from
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  the manufacturers in China. Well, guess what?
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  So is everybody who is trying to sell to that potential customer
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  or client. So you're running around beating
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  your chest saying you're the best, touting your expertise,
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  but that's exactly what the competition is doing.
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  And unfortunately, your client doesn't know how to separate the
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  wheat from the shaft. Now the keeping very simple.
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  I'm going to use the example of an architect, excuse me, just
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  because, you know, it's a service based business.
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  And of course you know, because I went to school and above me at
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  World War University and I graduated from law.
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  But those of us who are in law, you know, in architecture,
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  medicine, you know, accounting, you know, those, you know, where
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  the people used to feel as if were the cool kids.
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  And then obviously in a way, somebody who graduated first
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  class in architecture, they think they're better than the
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  person who graduated third class or the person who graduated with
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  the past. So in those fields, at least in
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  those services, law, architecture, accounting,
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  medicine, there's kind of this understanding that if you
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  graduated top of your class, then you have the best solution,
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  you have the best service, you are the best quality, but it's
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  not going to be enough for you to close the deal.
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  But remember, the arguments that we're going to look at today
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  apply even if you're a service provider.
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  So if you are the best by virtue of the fact that you graduated
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  first class, no problem. The argument still is the same,
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  but if you are the best, because you say that you import directly
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  from the manufacturer in China and you have a Direct Line to
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  them, you know all these things still apply.
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  So let's get back to the main issue now.
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  Having the best solution, is that enough to close the deal?
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  The answer is no, because you can have the best solution, but
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  if you don't make the best proposal, you're not going to
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  close the deal. You can have the best solution,
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  but you if you are not the easiest person to understand and
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  if you're not the easiest person to relate with, you will not
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  close that deal. So please listen, especially for
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  those of you who have first class brains, these these are
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  some of the reasons why we're not closing the deal.
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  You have the best solution. Yes, technically speaking, your
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  product or service meets all the parameters, but your proposal
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  was crap. You are not easy to understand
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  and then you also lack the skill of gaining advancement when it
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  comes to building relationships and how I put it now trying to
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  grow commercial relationships, let me just put it that way.
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  So these are three factors that could be blocking your path to
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  success. Even though you have the best
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  solution, your proposal was crap.
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  You are not easy to understand, you're not easy to relate with,
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  and then you have no skill when it comes to gaining
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  advancements. So let's take these things, you
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  know, step by step. Now the best proposal, right, is
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  not based on technical parameters because for those of
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  you who come from technical spaces, let's say like, OK, let
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  me just use a solar for my client based in Lagos because he
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  had a former salesperson who was sharp, very, very sharp on the
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  technical side. And then this my client, they
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  like to import directly from the OEMs. That's the original OEM.
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  What's that again? Original equipment manufacturer,
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  Yes. So they would import directly
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  from the OEMs and everybody was technically on point.
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  And because they were technically on point, they had
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  this habit of sending out proposals that had all the
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  technical guiche Bao inside. Now remember what I said, your
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  client doesn't understand all these technical details.
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  If you're in solar and if you're an architect, the chances are
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  your client does not understand all the technical whatever.
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  And if you're a wedding photographer, chances are your
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  clients don't understand all the technical thing, you know,
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  framing, rule of thirds, composition, this and this and
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  that and that and that. So if your proposal basically is
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  the best proposal possible from a technical standpoint, but then
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  the customer reads it and they don't understand how this
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  solution is going to help them meet their needs or how it's
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  going to help them in their present circumstance, then
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  actually you do not have the best proposal.
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  So the best proposal is not the document, the PDF, the
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  PowerPoint slide, the whatever that is best put together.
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  But it is the simplest document, the simplest thought process,
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  the simplest demonstration that shows the client that this is
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  how my solution meets your needs.
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  This is how my solution will solve your problem.
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  This is how my solution will act in your present circumstance.
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  If you're able to achieve that, then you have the best proposal.
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  And that's the reason why there are some people who can close
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  the deal just by using a pencil and a sheet of paper.
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  In fact, that is what I prefer. I like it when the person is
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  sitting next to me and then we just sketch them out.
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  We're talking and I'm writing and I'm scribbling and I'm
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  showing and I'm demonstrating. No PDF involved, no PowerPoint
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  involved, but I'm able to use a pencil and a sheet of paper to
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  show that. Bros, I understand where you're
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  coming from. I think I understand what it is
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  we're trying to achieve here. What we're trying to achieve.
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  Is this it? Oh, I'm correct.
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  OK, good. In that case, this is how my
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  products, this is how my service, this is how my whatever
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  will help you achieve this and this and will help you initial
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  present circumstance. The best proposal is not a
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  matter of technique. It's not a matter of writing
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  style. It's not a matter of technology.
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  It's not about PowerPoint presentations and all that.
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  So I'm not saying PowerPoint presentations are bad, but if
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  your PowerPoint presentation doesn't answer these simple
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  questions, if it doesn't show the customer that you understand
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  them, that you know the problem that they're dealing with, that
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  you understand the vision that they're trying to achieve, that
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  you understand the destination that they are trying to go to.
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  And if you're not, if your proposal is not able to answer
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  that question, that this is what my product or my service is
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  going to do for you, Sir, or do for you, Madam, then you do not
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  have the best proposal. So let's stop focusing on the
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  technical aspects and on technology.
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  Let's just make sure that we're able to adequately understand
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  what it is that the customer wants.
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  We understand what their problem is.
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  We know where they're going to. Then we get some feedback on
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  that. Then given your tool of choice,
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  if you prefer WhatsApp, if you prefer PowerPoint, if you prefer
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  e-mail, if you prefer, you know, whatever it is.
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  So given your tool of choice, if you can just simply show there
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  you understand them, I show that this is what your product or
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  service will do, then you'll be fine.
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  So in order to have the best proposal, we need to engage in
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  need analysis. Need analysis just means from a
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  technical standpoint, there are a couple of things that you need
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  to know before you deliver a solution.
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  So therefore you have to run through the whole process with
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  them. So for people who are involved
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  in solar, technical analysis means you need to understand how
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  many TV, how many deep freezer, how many rooms, how many bulbs,
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  then what are they trying to do? Do they want to use the AC
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  overnight? I be do they want to make sure
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  that everything is fully powered during the day?
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  Then at night everybody, you know, they just offer everything
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  and then they just sleep with fan.
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  We need to understand exactly what it is that they're trying
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  to do. And then if you're in solar
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  sales, you need to understand what's going on.
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  Is the person trying to power a plant I be the person trying to
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  power an office. You need to know exactly what is
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  going on. So from your technical
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  checklist, you need to find a way of engaging in that
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  conversation. The same thing if you're an
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  architect, you need to, you know, technically speaking, what
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  architects, architects need to know.
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  OK, I guess you need to know what the purpose of the building
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  is, you know, from a functional perspective.
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  But get out your checklist and make sure that you have that
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  conversation. Now, the fact that I'm saying
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  you need to have the checklist and have the conversation does
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  not mean that you turn this thing into a, an interrogation.
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  You have to keep it conversational because if you
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  make this thing an interrogation, the average
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  Nigerian person is going to be like, oh, bronze, this your
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  question yourself, this your jam question.
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  I don't understand. So keep the cost questions
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  conversational. And then whenever people are
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  like this, your question yourself, we always have to
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  refocus to say, oh Bros, Madam, I beg Novak's the reason why I'm
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  asking you all these questions is because I like to take the
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  best care of my customers and I would like to make sure that one
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  is 1. So Madam, the reason I'm asking
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  all these questions because when I designed this house, I want to
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  design it one time and design it according to your spec so that
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  once I just drop you, bam, we have everything like that.
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  This one, you know, no go, come. I want to make sure that I
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  understand your vision, correct? So whenever people are like,
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  boss, this your question because the last person I spoke to
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  didn't ask questions. And yes, this is something you
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  hear a lot. You will hear this a lot because
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  lots of people in Nigeria come up with proposals without asking
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  anybody any single question. And that's terrible because I've
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  said in the previous podcast and I'm saying it again, you give
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  somebody a proposal, you didn't ask question.
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  That is when you run into those situations where for a project
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  you build somebody 4,000,000, by the time you start, you realize
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  that you need like 6.5 million to complete the project.
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  You didn't ask questions in the beginning.
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  How did you know that the proposal that you were sending
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  was adequate? How do you know?
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  The answer is you don't. So what you do is get out that
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  checklist. Yes, people who complain because
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  other professionals in Nigeria are not asking questions, use
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  that to search your search. Set yourself apart, explain to
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  the prospect, explain to the potential customer.
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  Madame Novaks, the reason why I'm asking you all this kind of
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  question is because I just want to make sure that by the time we
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  designed this, your solar system, by the time I designed
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  this your house, by the time I do this, XYZI want to make sure
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  that one is 1 because I take care of all my customers.
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  I want to make sure that we're going to deliver something that
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  is up to spec, that is up to power for you.
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  So I want to make sure that I understand the vision.
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  I want to understand exactly what it is that you are you're
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  all going through. Explain it like that.
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  Once you explain how you refocus from the customer's point of
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  view, a lot of people are going to be much more patient to hear
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  you have worst case scenario, somebody would like, oh, you
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  know what? I have a meeting, you know, can
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  we reschedule? Maybe just come to the office on
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  Thursday. Let's talk some more.
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  So where was I? Yeah.
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  So we need to engage. You need analysis from a
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  technical point of view. You know all the things you need
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  to ask. So have your checklist, but
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  remember, keep it conversational and then always refocus back on
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  the needs of the customer. Madam Olga Ross Sister, the
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  reason why I'm doing this is I'm just trying to keep it focused
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  on you want to deliver the best. So you must do need analysis.
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  You must do a client consultation like we used to
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  call it back when I graduated as a baby lawyer from Obafalore
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  University. You guys do client consultation.
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  So as a lawyer, we always had to sit down.
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  We didn't just show up and say, oh, Madam was the issue.
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  Then we now start writing letter up and down and then start going
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  to court. As lawyers, we were trained to
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  be able to, you know, get them to start talking.
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  Madam, So what can I do for you today?
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  And then, Madam, we'll start from the beginning.
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  Now, when we're growing up in the village, my father had many
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  wives, their mother was the preferred wife, and this and
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  this and that and that. You believe they did jazz for
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  us. They did this, they did the
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  person who talked the whole life story for four hours.
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  But it's important because you're going to get the whole
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  background and you're going to be able to figure out what are
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  the most important factors that you need to consider.
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  You know, because now you understand how this quarrel
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  started, who the main parties are, what the main legal issues
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  are, and then stuff like that. So that's how we're trained as
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  baby lawyers back in the day. Client consultation, we get the
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  client to sit down, we get them to talk.
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  So it's not as if we bring a paper in the pad and then we
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  have a checklist. And you know, we keep it easy.
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  We keep a conversational as the client just they vomit
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  everything that is on their mind will now be able to see that,
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  oh, OK, we're in a polygamous situation.
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  There's tension between this family and that family and the
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  man died intestate. Intestate means without a will,
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  the man died, the man didn't leave a wheel.
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  So these are the tensions that are happening here and here and
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  here and there. So you must do client, client
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  consultation. So whatever it is, you call it
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  need analysis, client consultation, client briefing,
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  client session, client onboarding, clients, you know
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  people call it different things according to different industry.
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  Whatever it is, you can't skip this step.
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  This step is a prerequisite. Once you achieve this step and
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  you're able to deliver the best proposal, then these are some
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  more things that will help you to be able to close the deal.
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  So if you're an architect, make sure you understand the client,
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  make sure you understand that design goals, make sure you
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  understand the project outcomes and things like that.
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  Then you'll be able to put together the best proposal.
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  So if Madame is talking to three of you and she wants 1 of you to
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  design the factory, all three of you are saying we're the best.
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  But you are the only person who has demonstrated in your
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  proposal that you understand exactly what it is that Madame
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  is trying to achieve from this architectural design.
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  These are the things that will put you in the forerunner and
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  make it easier for you to close the deal.
• 16:14
  Oh, sorry about the beeping in the background.
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  You know, I set an alarm, so it's been 15 minutes.
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  I was hoping I will be done in 10.
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  Sorry. Sometimes I run over.
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  All right, So what was that? Yes.
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  So having the best solution, being the best designer,
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  importing directly from China or you know, being the best is not
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  going to be enough to make you be able to close the deal.
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  You have to make sure that you have the best proposal on the
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  table. And the best proposal on the
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  table is the one that demonstrates to the customer, to
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  the client. All right, that I understand
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  you. I understand the problem.
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  And this is how my product or my service is going to work within
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  these present circumstances to give you what it is that you
• 16:54
  desire. Then it's not enough to have the
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  best solution to import from the best, you know, to import
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  directly from the manufacturer, to have graduated first class
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  and all that. If you are not the easiest
• 17:05
  person to understand and if you're not the easiest person to
• 17:08
  relate with. So we have to make it easy for
• 17:11
  people to understand us and easy for people to relate with us.
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  That is one reason why I tell smart boys and girls, because
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  lots of us who listen to this podcast are incredibly smart.
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  We've gone to school, we've graduated with fancy degrees,
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  we've all gone abroad, we have master's degrees.
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  You know, we can. All I put is why not
• 17:32
  lightweight? And so because of that, when
• 17:34
  we're having conversation with people, want people to know that
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  look, you know, no, be my mind. As in I'm not an anyhow, anyhow,
• 17:41
  like I'm a graduate and you must know it.
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  You must feel it. I'm not saying you shouldn't be
• 17:48
  proud and you know, because it's not easy now to go and do
• 17:51
  masters. Some of you have two 3 masters
• 17:53
  degrees. So I'm not saying don't flaunt.
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  I'm just saying make it easy to understand yourself and make
• 18:00
  yourself relatable. So keep all jargon to a minimal.
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  And that's one thing that the former solar salesperson had to
• 18:07
  try and tell him to understand, that look, you're trying to do
• 18:09
  the best job you can and you're technically minded.
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  And I'm your coach and I've done some small research.
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  But even for me, I honestly don't understand what an up
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  cycle is and what a down cycle is or what a megahertz is or a
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  kilowatt or a wattage was like, I don't understand those terms.
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  And I'm with you and I'm spending time with you every
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  day. And I still don't get it.
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  Now imagine you're now talking to somebody like my mom.
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  See, all Momsey wants, all Momsey knows is that she wants
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  there to be Power 247, you know, with the yarn up cycle, downside
• 18:43
  down cycle, kilowattage something something like it's
• 18:45
  too much. You're not easy to understand,
• 18:52
  you're not easy to relate with. So for those of you who are very
• 18:55
  good technically minded, that is the reason why people that
• 18:58
  graduated that class, that you know them, that they don't know
• 19:01
  anything that the empty heads, that's the reason why they're
• 19:03
  closing the deal even though their brain is empty.
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  It's because that is the easy to understand, the easy to relate
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  to. They break it down in the way
• 19:10
  that the client will understand and everybody will flow with.
• 19:14
  So jargon, please keep jargon to a minimal.
• 19:17
  By the way, this whole thing of jargon is relative.
• 19:20
  When you're talking to somebody who is in the space.
• 19:22
  Oh, then by all means enjoy. By all means enjoy.
• 19:27
  Like everyone had to advise the guy those one time was talking
• 19:29
  to somebody who actually was in the sustainable, I mean the
• 19:35
  renewable space and so dispersing you, all those sorts
• 19:37
  of things. In that case, flow freely off
• 19:41
  cycle downtime, kilowatts, megahertz, you know all the
• 19:46
  continue to say in that case, you're making yourself easy to
• 19:49
  understand because this guy is on the technical level human.
• 19:52
  You're on the technical level. Begin the flow.
• 19:55
  The guy be like, hey, finally a human being who understands.
• 20:00
  Well, you match the conversation according to the level of the
• 20:02
  prospect who is in front of you. Make yourself easy to
• 20:05
  understand, make yourself relatable.
• 20:08
  Then you also need to learn how to build rapport.
• 20:10
  I need to learn how to be able to build commonality.
• 20:13
  Now to build rapport. Sorry, I didn't say that right.
• 20:18
  You have to be able to build rapport.
• 20:20
  Now you build rapport by just establishing commonality.
• 20:23
  Commonality just means you and me.
• 20:24
  We're the same. You know, I feel you.
• 20:26
  You feel me? These things are important in
• 20:29
  business. It lubricates business, it keeps
• 20:31
  the wheels of business going. So excuse me.
• 20:35
  So one way that you achieve that just simply is just talking
• 20:39
  about the person's personal history.
• 20:40
  So who is this person? Who is this person, their
• 20:43
  personal history or the history of the problem?
• 20:46
  In talking about those sorts of things, there are just some
• 20:48
  common things that just come out.
• 20:52
  Even if nothing common comes out, the very fact that you are
• 20:54
  talking about the person or talking about their background
• 20:57
  or the background or the problem or the scope of the problem, it
• 21:00
  makes the person feel like they are being listened to,
• 21:03
  especially in the Nigerian context because your competition
• 21:07
  is not asking them anything. This is what your competition
• 21:09
  does. Your competition will show up.
• 21:11
  Madame will say I want to build a factory and then they will say
• 21:14
  OK Madame, what factory is it is for poultry, is for chickens,
• 21:18
  OK, no problem. How many square feet?
• 21:21
  OK, no problem, Madame. What we do is for golden
• 21:24
  package, we charge, you know, 1.5 million per square feet.
• 21:28
  For silver package, we charge 800K per square feet.
• 21:32
  For bronze package, we charge 500K per square feet.
• 21:35
  Which package are you interested in by the way?
• 21:38
  You know, I didn't study architecture, so forgive me
• 21:40
  because I know that some of those things don't make sense
• 21:42
  from a technical point of view. But you, you get my point.
• 21:46
  That's what the average Nigerian does.
• 21:47
  Oh, Madam, OK, no problem. We have bronze package, we have
• 21:50
  silver package, we have platinum package.
• 21:52
  Madam, which one do you want? People don't feel listened to or
• 21:57
  feel appreciated when you Call My Name.
• 21:59
  You start asking questions. Also, Madam, what's a project?
• 22:01
  Chicken, you say? Yeah, Madam.
• 22:03
  Chickens. Yeah, but I know you're a
• 22:05
  medical doctor. How come you got involved in the
• 22:07
  chicken space? Oh, well, my mom used to raise
• 22:10
  chickens, blah, blah, blah. It's something that I'm used to,
• 22:12
  a personal something. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
• 22:14
  You know, you get the flow. You know, do my say.
• 22:20
  I want to be a factory before you know it.
• 22:22
  Now you're not talking about her family history, how her mom's
• 22:24
  used to raise chickens. During the conversation, if you
• 22:26
  say, oh, yeah, you know, actually I grew up in the
• 22:28
  village and my mom used to raise chickens too.
• 22:30
  Can you see area of commonality? The other person that just came
• 22:34
  and said, I have gold package, silver package, bronze package.
• 22:38
  How would a person stand out? They don't.
• 22:41
  But at least you the time that you call again, the woman will
• 22:45
  think, oh, it's that nice young man whose mom also reared
• 22:49
  chickens. You see commonality.
• 22:54
  You did be rapport because you're asking some questions
• 22:59
  about the person. You ask some questions about the
• 23:01
  project. You're tapping into the history.
• 23:04
  Even if you know, find one single element of commonality,
• 23:07
  at least the person feels like they've been listened to so that
• 23:10
  the next time you call say, oh, is that a young gentleman from
• 23:14
  Lagos or is that correct, Babe from Lagos, No one that I had a
• 23:20
  wonderful conversation with you stand out.
• 23:24
  So it's not just enough to have the best solution, to be the
• 23:26
  best in the class, to be the best in, you know, to import
• 23:29
  directly from USA or from China or from Russia or forever
• 23:32
  wherever. If you are not easy to
• 23:34
  understand, if you're not easy to relate with, these are one of
• 23:37
  the things that are going to stop you from closing that deal.
• 23:42
  So assuming we have the best solution, assuming we have put
• 23:46
  together the best proposal, assuming we have been easy to
• 23:50
  understand and easy to relate with.
• 23:52
  If we do not have the skill of gaining advancements,
• 23:57
  advancement just means we know how to move the deal forward one
• 23:59
  step at a time. If we don't have the skill in
• 24:02
  gaining advancements, the team will enter ghosting or somebody
• 24:06
  will say, let me think about it. So we need to come up with
• 24:10
  skills to learn how to plot the steps in the sale, how to move
• 24:15
  things forward one step at a time.
• 24:17
  Now, sorry about that chicken, you know, corn in the
• 24:20
  background. But like I said, I'm out and
• 24:22
  about where was I sorry, forgive me.
• 24:27
  That chicken just distracted me. And so yes, yeah, plotting the
• 24:31
  the steps to how the sale is going to close.
• 24:34
  Now, I did not study architecture, but this is my own
• 24:37
  assumption that if anyway, if I was an architect, this army,
• 24:40
  I'll go about it. Now, when it comes to gaining
• 24:42
  advancements, first of all, sales or complex sales are not
• 24:47
  closed in one meeting. I repeat, there are too many of
• 24:50
  you who are running around who assume that you can close a
• 24:53
  complex sale in one meeting. It is not possible.
• 24:56
  The problem with complex sales is things are expensive.
• 25:00
  There are lots of steps that are involved.
• 25:01
  There are lots of things that people have to understand and
• 25:04
  then there are lots of decision makers involved.
• 25:06
  So people actually do need time to consider some a bunch of
• 25:09
  stuff. So you actually have to move
• 25:11
  this thing forward one small step at a time.
• 25:14
  Every single time you call Madam, every single time you
• 25:17
  call Olga, every single time you call the potential customer.
• 25:21
  We are trying to just achieve one thing and one thing only.
• 25:24
  Once we achieve that one thing, all the rest we will.
• 25:28
  What's that word again? I can't remember.
• 25:30
  You know, we will push it to the next one.
• 25:33
  So there's always an agenda for the next call and for the next
• 25:36
  one, for the next call. Then when we're going through
• 25:38
  all the issues, we'll now try and close the deal.
• 25:40
  So let's say you get the phone number from somebody.
• 25:46
  Let's say Mumsy wants to help you now in your architectural
• 25:48
  business. You graduated, mom, she wants to
• 25:50
  help you. Mom, she gives you a phone
• 25:52
  number. The first thing is the call.
• 25:54
  We're just calling to introduce ourselves and we're calling to
• 25:57
  break the ice and we're calling to now try and hook up a future
• 26:01
  meeting because we cannot close everything on the phone because
• 26:04
  the talk is plenty. We're talking about designing a
• 26:07
  house now. We can't talk everything today
• 26:09
  and finish on the phone and then collect our money.
• 26:12
  OK, Sorry. The alarm just went off again.
• 26:15
  Oh, dear. OK, 30 minutes.
• 26:16
  Then bring it to a close. So as the architect, now that my
• 26:21
  first phone call is. Good morning, ma'am.
• 26:24
  Am I speaking to Doctor? Doctor Deaconess?
• 26:30
  What team should I call now? Cami, Am I speaking to Doctor
• 26:35
  Deaconess? Chief Cami Bankola.
• 26:38
  So yes, who is he speaking? Oh, my name is David Wydokun.
• 26:45
  I got your number from my mom, who happens to be your
• 26:49
  classmate, Juliet from Government Girls Secondary
• 26:55
  School, Obama Shaw, your Juliet son.
• 26:58
  Yes. How is Juliet now?
• 26:59
  It's been a long time. Oh yes, my, she's fine, blah,
• 27:02
  blah, blah, blah, blah. You see, commonality rapport.
• 27:05
  By the way, whenever somebody gives you a referral, you need
• 27:08
  to talk that referral up. Too many people get referrals.
• 27:12
  I don't even mention it. Last week, the client that I'm
• 27:14
  talking to right now who is in the tech space, somebody gave
• 27:18
  him an introduction. They said call this person in
• 27:20
  So, so, so, so company. The person called and then
• 27:22
  started the conversation. And you know, after a while I
• 27:25
  was like, bro, this thing, I was a referral.
• 27:28
  When you call this person, did you say chief so so so gave me
• 27:31
  your number. The guy said, oh, oh, actually I
• 27:33
  didn't see it is a cardinal scene.
• 27:36
  You're trying to close this deal.
• 27:37
  Somebody made a referral, my friend talk this thing up.
• 27:41
  If chief so, so, so association call.
• 27:44
  That's the first thing you would say on the call.
• 27:47
  My name is Kuli Adigo or my name is Nasir Abdul Kadir and Al
• 27:57
  Haji. So so and so said I should call
• 27:59
  you because they said oh, you know Al Haji.
• 28:00
  So so and then the conversation will flow.
• 28:03
  If it's a referral, talk it up, mention it.
• 28:08
  So as architect, that'll be my first thing call, get
• 28:12
  acquainted, you know, this is how I got your phone number, you
• 28:15
  know, report that kind of thing. So when we says that you want to
• 28:21
  build the factory for chicken, blah blah, blah, blah blah,
• 28:25
  that's the reason why I'm calling so that I can see how I
• 28:28
  can be of some help. So OK, no problem my son.
• 28:31
  Thank you very much for coming. OK, Ma, to make sure that I do
• 28:34
  the best job for you, we actually do need to have a
• 28:37
  meeting because there are some questions I need to ask you.
• 28:39
  So I understand the scope of the project is we need to have a
• 28:42
  meeting. Oh, yes, Ma.
• 28:44
  Yes Ma, in fact if I can come to office tomorrow, 8:00 won't be a
• 28:49
  problem. So Oh no, I'm actually in Obama
• 28:51
  show now you know what? During reunion, Oh yes, Mumsy
• 28:53
  mentioned and we have all travelled for it.
• 28:55
  OK, my mom is not going any problem.
• 28:57
  Oh no my she's just that. OK, greet her for me.
• 29:00
  So OK, the reunion is finishing next week.
• 29:03
  I'll be back in Lagos. So, so, so, so, so you know,
• 29:05
  from all that small talk, you're just trying to narrow down a
• 29:08
  time. How about Wednesday, Ma?
• 29:10
  Oh, OK, No problem. Wednesday.
• 29:13
  Is it morning? I'll be this afternoon.
• 29:15
  No, I won't be around until, like, around.
• 29:17
  I came 3-4. OK, it's no problem, Ma.
• 29:19
  I can come to your office 3:00 sharp.
• 29:22
  Would that be OK? Yes, ma'am.
• 29:24
  Good. You have achieved the purpose
• 29:27
  for that call. You see advancement.
• 29:30
  One step, phone call. Introduce yourself some
• 29:34
  familiarity, then sell the meeting and I agreed to the
• 29:39
  meeting date person as I agreed. Pam, you end the call, does it?
• 29:45
  You have achieved one thing That is what we call an advancement.
• 29:49
  Then at the meeting, the goal is to do remember what I said at
• 29:53
  the beginning of the episode. The goal is to do deed analysis
• 29:57
  or to do client consultation or to do client debrief or to do
• 30:02
  client XYZ or to do client whatever it is that you call it
• 30:06
  in your own industry or in your own profession.
• 30:08
  That is what is the goal is to do at that meeting, gather
• 30:11
  information. And in that case, the advance
• 30:15
  will now be OK. Ma, thank you very much.
• 30:17
  I've gotten a lot of information.
• 30:19
  I will need a couple of days to think through all these things
• 30:22
  so I can come back with the proposal specific proposal so
• 30:24
  that we can we can talk through. Would that be OK?
• 30:28
  Ma? OK, yes, no problem.
• 30:30
  So in that case, will you be free maybe like next week or
• 30:34
  Thursday? Oh, sure.
• 30:35
  What from us Thursday, I'm not sure, but just call me a day
• 30:38
  before. OK, No problem.
• 30:40
  In that case, I will call you Wednesday before 12 in the
• 30:44
  afternoon just to confirm they were good for Thursday.
• 30:46
  OK, no problem is good. You see that is another.
• 30:50
  So excuse me, that is another advancement.
• 30:54
  You have to push things forward one step.
• 30:59
  So before I present your proposal or any other proposals
• 31:03
  you have on the table, you need to get some feedback or some
• 31:06
  confirmation that you understand everything correctly.
• 31:10
  So in fact, I would even prefer, sorry, the alarm has gone off
• 31:13
  again. OK, this is almost 35 minutes.
• 31:17
  All right, and then let me just continue.
• 31:20
  I've already over a short time, so I would even prefer that is
• 31:25
  during the first meeting you even gave feedback.
• 31:27
  So Madam, if I understand correctly, this is what you're
• 31:29
  trying to build. The factory is going to be blah,
• 31:31
  blah, blah. You have X number of layers.
• 31:33
  You have this, this. Now that that you know, just
• 31:37
  make sure you understand the project.
• 31:39
  The goal is you want Madam to say yes, obviously, but the goal
• 31:44
  is also you want Madam to say no.
• 31:46
  This is not what I have in mind. The reason why I want Madam to
• 31:52
  say no, this is not what I have in mind when we misunderstand is
• 31:55
  because if you are running with some assumptions and you don't
• 32:01
  test out all those assumptions, then you deliver a proposal.
• 32:07
  You can see that that is where question mark will now come
• 32:10
  during your presentation because you'll be saying something that
• 32:13
  is not blending with what Madam had in mind.
• 32:17
  You'll be saying this course of action, that course of action.
• 32:19
  And if he will be choking Madam Spirit, the reason why Madam is
• 32:23
  not friend with the proposal is because you did not get
• 32:26
  feedback. You did not get confirmation
• 32:28
  that your assumptions were correct.
• 32:31
  And so because of that, you're putting forward a design, you're
• 32:34
  proposing a course of action, you're proposing a product,
• 32:37
  you're proposing a service, you're proposing a solution,
• 32:39
  you're proposing a something. And that thing just does not
• 32:43
  blend. It just does not jive with the
• 32:48
  potential customers spirit. They're uncomfortable.
• 32:50
  They just don't know how or why. It's because you have too many
• 32:53
  assumptions in there. So when we're trying to get
• 32:55
  feedback, it's nice when we hear yes, but if we hear no, it is
• 32:58
  also a good thing. We say, oh ma, sorry, sorry,
• 33:01
  sorry, sorry. Can we start from the top?
• 33:03
  I had assumed you meant this, this, this.
• 33:05
  So I can't explain properly what it is that you meant.
• 33:08
  So when somebody says no, it's a good thing.
• 33:12
  This is a chance to make sure that when you come up with your
• 33:14
  proposal, your proposal will be strong, very strong, foolproof.
• 33:21
  Remember what I said, the other people that Madame is talking
• 33:23
  to, the other three or four people, they are not going
• 33:26
  through this process. Can you see how even though all
• 33:29
  of you be shouting, you have the best solution, you have the best
• 33:31
  qualification, you're getting from direct from the OEM origin
• 33:35
  equipment manufacturer, all of you are shouting the same thing.
• 33:39
  It is only your proposal that will stand out, because your
• 33:44
  proposal is speaking directly to the main points, is going
• 33:49
  straight to the heart of the matter.
• 33:52
  And don't feel like this person is a competent professional.
• 33:56
  This is the engineer that understands, or this is the
• 33:58
  architect that understands, or this is the lawyer that
• 34:01
  understands, or this is the doctor that understands.
• 34:05
  Because your course of action is not based on assumption, it's
• 34:09
  because you've gained some feedback, you've gained some
• 34:11
  confirmation, So you're speaking directly to the truth of the
• 34:15
  matter. So if you do feedback,
• 34:24
  confirmation and everything, blend or join good advancement,
• 34:28
  next step will now be OK. Madam, can we say again next
• 34:30
  week so that we can discuss a couple of proposals?
• 34:34
  I'll be able to come up with three proposals.
• 34:36
  Each of them should be adequate to meet, you know, social and so
• 34:41
  problem. But you know, I just want to
• 34:43
  give you the most flexibility, the most.
• 34:46
  I just want to preserve some flexibility for you in terms of
• 34:49
  cost and in terms of scope of the project.
• 34:52
  So Madam, are you OK for Thursday next week?
• 34:53
  If Madam is OK, she will say yes.
• 34:57
  If not, she will say, Oh no, come to the farm on Saturday,
• 35:00
  meet me directly on the field. If that's the case, all well and
• 35:04
  good. By the way, we salespeople, we
• 35:08
  business people who should learn to work with momentum.
• 35:11
  There are some of you who we think I'm a professional
• 35:15
  architect. Madam, Sir, I should come and
• 35:17
  meet her on the field. Excuse me, if good money is
• 35:22
  involved and Madam said come and meet me on the field, well, go
• 35:26
  and say you can make it work. Yes, ideally it would be nice to
• 35:30
  deliver your proposal or to deliver your presentation in an
• 35:34
  AC D office with a full, you know, 50 inch screen, you know,
• 35:40
  widescreen TVHD, you know, something with HDMI plug in and
• 35:44
  all that. Yes, I did.
• 35:46
  It'll be the best situation. But look, money is involved.
• 35:49
  Good money. If Madam says I'm only free
• 35:52
  Saturday when I'm on the farm, look, go to the farm, make it
• 35:57
  work. This is why Brian Tracy says
• 36:00
  creativity is involved in sales, my friend, make it work.
• 36:04
  Ideally it would be nice to do this in the in the cool AC, but
• 36:08
  if Madam says I'm on the farm, how for do make it work?
• 36:14
  So that is another example of an advancement.
• 36:16
  We've been able to get the next meeting.
• 36:18
  So it is from pushing things forward.
• 36:20
  One meeting after another, one appointment after another, one
• 36:25
  item of agenda after another, small, small, small name, we go
• 36:29
  close the sale. That's how we do it.
• 36:34
  So it's almost 40 minutes. Yes, I know the alarm went off.
• 36:37
  Again, that's for those of you who can hear it.
• 36:41
  So Summaria, there are lots of things involved, but I just
• 36:44
  wanted to make today's episode just to let you guys know for
• 36:47
  those of you who have the best, because I know it can be very
• 36:49
  confusing that you are importing directly from Russia.
• 36:54
  There is no other product that means the specification because
• 36:59
  you have direct, you have imported directly from
• 37:03
  manufacturer in Russia. And everybody knows that the
• 37:06
  Russian equipment is the best or the Chinese blah, blah, blah is
• 37:09
  the best, or the Ghanaian palm oil is the best or, you know,
• 37:16
  whatever. Or you graduated first class and
• 37:19
  then from there you went to, you know, New York Institute of
• 37:22
  Design and all whatnot. So clearly you are the best in
• 37:25
  Niger. So it can be very, very
• 37:27
  confusing when you are the best or when you have the best.
• 37:31
  But then the deal where they close, these are some of the
• 37:34
  other things you need to consider.
• 37:35
  The proposal that you issued, was it the best?
• 37:38
  Yes, you are the best, but your proposal, was it the best, your
• 37:41
  proposal? Speak to their problems.
• 37:44
  Have you been easy to understand?
• 37:45
  Have you been easy to relate with?
• 37:48
  Have you been good at gaining advancements, moving this deal
• 37:51
  forward one small step at a time?
• 37:54
  These are some of the reasons why your deal or they close.
• 38:00
  So stop being confused. Yes, you are the best, you're
• 38:03
  the brightest, you're the smartest.
• 38:05
  Nobody re pass you or nobody get the skill pass you.
• 38:09
  And when we know they argue that one is not an argument you've
• 38:13
  imported from the best place in the world, it's not an argument.
• 38:16
  These are some more things that are holding you back.
• 38:21
  Unfortunately, in this part of the world, we were raised,
• 38:24
  that's Nigeria, we've been raised to believe that the, you
• 38:28
  know, if you are the best, then we'll call you that, then we'll
• 38:32
  pursue you. Unfortunately, that's not the
• 38:33
  case. It's not the person who is the
• 38:36
  best that everybody will be running through this whole thing
• 38:39
  of build a better mousetrap and they will come.
• 38:42
  That's not there's a monument of truth there, but it's not 100%
• 38:47
  all right. So it's not just about being the
• 38:49
  best. We also need to learn how to
• 38:52
  sell ourselves. We also need to learn how to
• 38:54
  promote ourselves. And that is the reason why in
• 38:56
  fact, for those of you in a legal space, because while I was
• 38:59
  a practicing lawyer, I used to see it a lot.
• 39:01
  I don't know if it happens in other professions, but you hear
• 39:04
  some lawyers, they'll be saying that.
• 39:06
  So this is Susan. So San that San is a senior
• 39:09
  advocate of Nigeria. It's a title, a prestigious
• 39:15
  title that is awarded by guy was the body again is a body of
• 39:20
  benches. I can't remember anyway was a
• 39:21
  prestigious title that says you are a very good lawyer.
• 39:25
  Essentially when some people don't stay in court and say this
• 39:28
  person with a young Nassan BDS that truly truly, truly is this
• 39:32
  guy the best that see him. The guy can't even speak
• 39:36
  English. He can't do this again.
• 39:37
  Yes, no problem. Yes.
• 39:40
  In your mind you're looking at him.
• 39:43
  You say that is this a son? Me, I'm better than this person.
• 39:46
  I'm more eloquent than this person.
• 39:48
  Is it this one that his son? This person that graduated third
• 39:50
  class when when in school, meanwhile graduated first class.
• 39:55
  He will now be in front of me. They will give his matter
• 39:57
  priority in court. Because his son.
• 39:59
  Meanwhile the guy is a Lodo. The guy knows nothing.
• 40:03
  That's the reason why he's a son today.
• 40:07
  Because the guy knows the game. He knows how to sell himself
• 40:12
  well. You graduated first class.
• 40:14
  You didn't know how to serve yourself, sell yourself well.
• 40:17
  That's the reason why you're in court, looking at your inferiors
• 40:21
  in quote, having their matters heard before you.
• 40:25
  They're charging in thousands of dollars.
• 40:28
  You, you're still struggling to be charging in hundreds of
• 40:31
  thousands of naira. That's the reason why.
• 40:35
  All right, so let me end it here.
• 40:37
  So if you are in this situation, you're always worried.
• 40:40
  I have the best, I am the brightest, I am the whatever, I
• 40:44
  have the whatever, but I'm not able to close these deals.
• 40:47
  Call me, send me a text message or WhatsApp message on
• 40:50
  08064662140. Let's figure out where sales
• 40:55
  process is broken. For those of you who are afraid
• 40:57
  you don't want to call because you say these guys sounds
• 41:00
  expensive, that's not a problem. I'm reasonably priced.
• 41:03
  Apart from that, I answer everybody.
• 41:05
  I answer one question for free. So just reach out and think real
• 41:10
  hard and fast about what you want your one question to be.
• 41:14
  So that's it. Thank you very much for your
• 41:16
  time and attention. I'll catch you all at the next
• 41:17
  episode.