Latest / Closing Sales in Nigeria - Sales For The Nigerian Business Person: The Sales and Marketing Blueprint / Unlock Sales Success: Product Expertise & Customer-Centric Conversations

Transcript

Unlock Sales Success: Product Expertise & Customer-Centric Conversations · Closing Sales in Nigeria - Sales For The Nigerian Business Person: The Sales and Marketing Blueprint

0:00
Hello and welcome to the show. Today's version is being
0:04
recorded at my desk. Did I say today's version?
0:08
Well, today's podcast is being recorded at my desk and the kids
0:12
are home, so watching TV running around the house.
0:15
So I expect to hear some interruptions in the background
0:18
then this is a listener participation show.
0:22
So I'd like to answer questions that you guys may have and
0:26
engage in strategy sessions and business audits with some of
0:30
you. So if you would like to reach
0:32
out to me, the number to hit me up on is 08064662140, the
0:39
country code +234. For those of you who are not
0:41
Nigerian, that is the number to call to SMS or to WhatsApp.
0:45
Again, it's 08064662140. Today on the podcast, I would
0:51
like us to look at product knowledge and active listening.
0:56
Now, the reason why I want us to look at that today is because I
1:01
have a client in Benin and that is some stuff that we're
1:04
currently working with his team on.
1:08
So he has a store that sells gadgets, no digital gadgets, no
1:13
computer accessories, phone accessories, you know, lifestyle
1:18
tech things, you know, like PS4, PS Five, you know, all those,
1:22
all those kind of cool stuff. And the ultimate goal of the
1:28
business actually is to open more locations because he has
1:30
one location in Benin City and the location is doing fantastic.
1:33
And when he reached out to me, he's also a listener of the
1:36
podcast. You know, that was where we're
1:37
going to start the engagement. Like, OK, look, Store 1 is doing
1:40
good. I want to grow the business, so
1:42
let's roll out Store 2. And remember, for those of you
1:45
who've been listening to the podcast for a bit, I think was
1:48
yesterday's episode or day before yesterday.
1:50
Remember that I said that the different kinds of challenges
1:55
that you're going to face in business and in the early days,
1:57
it's all about effort, making sure you're doing the right
1:59
thing and that you are doing enough of the right thing to
2:02
make the business grow. Then the second stage is going
2:05
to be how you can scale. That is how you can multiply
2:10
your efforts. And you know, that's where he is
2:11
trying to open up a second location.
2:13
And then after that the problems are going to be problems or
2:15
strategy. So eventually he's going to be
2:18
in multiple locations, you know, like slot and some all these,
2:23
some of these other places. And then you're now going to
2:25
have to start making strategic decisions.
2:27
You know how we're going to continue in this space.
2:28
Are we going to drop some lines? Are we going to add some lines?
2:31
You know, things like that. So I think like now slot has
2:34
become exclusively mobile phones.
2:38
I remember the early days. Well, I don't know if those were
2:41
the early days, but back when I still lived in Lagos and you go
2:44
to slot, you know, a catch on that bridge, you know, they they
2:47
seem to have pretty much they had a lot, you know, memory
2:50
cards, phones, they also had a point and shoot cameras, you
2:55
know, stuff like that, you know, but now it's like slot is
2:58
exclusively mobile phones. So I guess maybe that's a
3:01
strategic decision that they made now that they kind of
3:05
everywhere, but I'm agreeing with this.
3:11
Yeah. So I remember what it is that I
3:12
was trying to say. So yeah, that is the stage where
3:16
he's at now. So they're trying to replicate
3:18
the efforts. They're trying to scale.
3:20
So things are working in one location and now they're trying
3:22
to make it move to another location.
3:24
So that is where we started our engagement.
3:27
But then I pointed out something that, you know, is good that
3:29
you're trying to scale. But The thing is, when we are
3:32
trying to scale a business, we need to make sure that we have
3:34
SO PS in place. You know, you manage my people,
3:36
you know, you like coming up with different kinds of
3:38
acronyms. So SOP is just standard
3:40
operating procedures. Standard operating procedures
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just means if we're opening a location, if we're opening store
3:46
two, people in store 2 have to do things exactly the same way
3:50
as people in store 1 and people in store 10 have to do things
3:55
exactly the same way as people in store 7, store 3, and store
3:59
one for a number of reasons. First of all, it keeps the user
4:06
experience consistent because it's somehow, and you know,
4:10
those of us who spent some time in like, you know, somehow that
4:13
you go to Mr. Biggs, that's back when Mr. Biggs was still in
4:15
existence. And you go to one place and the
4:19
egg bones is on point. I mean, well, egg roll, I say
4:24
egg bones. My wife keeps correcting me.
4:25
That is no such thing as egg bones.
4:27
That is egg roll. So you go to one place and the
4:30
meat pie is tight, and then you go to another location and then
4:33
the meat pie, you know, it feels as if they put a rotten potato
4:36
inside. You know, it's just somehow.
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So there has to be that standard operating procedures in place so
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that when you go to Mr. Biggs in the Luke Beju, the egg bones is
4:45
on point. If you go to Mr. Biggs in Kano,
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the egg bones is on point. You go to Mr. Biggs in Quatono,
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the egg bones will be on point. As in the same user experience
4:55
everywhere. So that's part of the reasons
4:57
why we need to have SOP for brand consistency and also so
5:02
that the customer can have a uniform experience wherever they
5:06
go is good for business. Now another reason why we need
5:09
SOP's, especially from a sales and business development
5:11
perspective is if we have figured out the perfect way to
5:14
sell here, it doesn't make sense to go to another location and
5:18
start trying to reinvent the wheel.
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No, if we figured out the perfect way to sell, we need to
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make sure that we take that process that we know works and
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then we scale it across multiple locations.
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Now, of course, you will have to change some things, you know,
5:32
for, you know, language and culture and things like that.
5:35
But the selling process will essentially remain the same.
5:38
Let's go back to the whole thing of Mr. Biggs.
5:40
So Mr. Biggs in Lupezu, the menu is on point.
5:43
The egg bounce is insane. Everything Jolof writes as
5:46
everything on point. But the way that the person will
5:50
greet you when you enter the store and you look with you is
5:52
not the same way that the person will greet you when you enter
5:56
the Mr. Biggs shop on Hadeja Road in Kano.
6:01
So there will be some accommodations for culture and
6:05
for for culture and for language and things like that.
6:09
But essentially the selling process is going to be the same
6:12
that we want to greet customers, we want them to be polite.
6:15
This is how we take an order. This is how tables are supposed
6:18
to be cleaned. This is how we ask, you know,
6:21
whether they enjoyed the meal, you know, blah, blah, blah.
6:24
So, but this process will be the same.
6:26
And then you make accommodations for culture, for language and
6:30
for, you know, other things. So even though this fellow now
6:36
wants to, my client wants to roll out a second location.
6:39
The first thing now is to try and figure out, look, we need to
6:43
put everything down on paper. We need to come up with an SOP
6:47
so that once we open the second location, things will be going
6:50
exactly the same way. It will also reduce your
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headache if you're on this stage of business because if store 1
6:57
is doing very good and then you open store 2 when we are trying
7:01
to reinvent everything, it will be like multiple headache for
7:04
you. Like you're trying to make sure
7:05
that store 1 is still on points, but then every day you're having
7:08
to dash back to store 2. You know, how are they doing?
7:11
Is inventory keeping on points? You know, how are they dealing
7:13
with customers? You know, stuff like that.
7:15
So before you scale to multiple locations, we need to make sure
7:21
that the SOP is our point, standard operating procedures.
7:24
Basically we just need something that shows everybody.
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How is it that we do ABC and XYZ when it comes to inventory
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management? How do we do it when it comes to
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talking to customers, how do we do it?
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Now, of course, since I am not a a business management, I'm
7:42
expert, there's some things that I stay away from.
7:44
So my engagement with him basically just trying to figure
7:47
out the sales processes that they currently run in store 1
7:50
and the same frameworks, the sales frameworks, trying to
7:55
figure out what it is that is working with them and then to
7:57
try and optimize those processes, put everything down
8:00
on paper so we can transfer that to location 2 when location 2
8:05
opens. And this is also a reason why I
8:08
have certain people on speed down, you know, certain friends
8:12
and certain associates, because eventually in working with the
8:15
business, I run up to the limit of my expertise, you know, So
8:20
for him and for other clients who get in touch with me at some
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point, once we're done with every single thing that I can do
8:25
from a sales and business development perspective, you
8:27
know, I responsibly and ethically have to say, boss or
8:31
Madam, you know, we have now reached the limit of what it is
8:34
that I can provide for you. So right now we need to be
8:37
considering XYZ kind of professionals to move this whole
8:40
thing along because, you know, I know nothing about inventory
8:42
management and I know nothing about general business
8:46
management principles. So it is from dealing with this
8:51
client almighty beneath now that we're now coming to, we're now
8:54
having to do product knowledge and active listening.
8:58
Because if we're going to open up a location in store too, we
9:03
need to come up with a system to make sure that everybody who is
9:06
in store too knows about all the products that are there.
9:12
Because for some businesses where you have to sell
9:15
something, sometimes the problem starts because the person who is
9:19
selling does not know Jack about what it is that you're selling.
9:22
Now it's a mistake that most business owners make because if
9:25
you, let me give an example, if you run a OK, let me stick to
9:31
what I know because I started off in wedding photography and
9:35
doing video. So I know cameras.
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But The thing is this is the knowledge that I have built up
9:41
over time. So my first camera was a Sony
9:44
A700. From there I moved to a Sony A7,
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then I got a Sony A77 and then it got a Sony Alpha 77 Mark 2.
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So those are the cameras that I've used.
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I mean, before then I used some other camera systems.
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So The thing is, because me, I'm in a business and it's been a
10:03
while, you can wake me up in my sleep or if you meet me on the
10:07
toilet, I can tell you this is the difference between Sony A7
10:11
and Sony A700 or the trans between the 700 and the 77 Mark
10:15
2. I can tell you because you know,
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I've been doing this a long time.
10:19
So for those of us who have built up this knowledge over
10:21
time and we've set up this business because it's easy to
10:26
us, we forget that for our staff, it's not easy to them.
10:32
For some of them, like this is the first time they're seeing
10:34
camera, that they're holding camera.
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So for them, it is a whole new world.
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They just enter the shop and then for them, it's like, wow,
10:42
they're looking at 120, they're looking at maybe 20 different
10:46
products and each product has different subdivisions.
10:51
So at the end of the day, it's like they have to learn like 120
10:54
product lines. It can be overwhelming and so we
10:58
need to come up with a system for making sure that they are
11:00
trained and that they know the product.
11:02
That is why that is called product knowledge.
11:05
Now, product knowledge is important because it is the
11:08
foundation of sales. If you don't have product
11:11
knowledge, you will not know what to recommend a camera.
11:14
A customer will come into the shop and say I want to buy a
11:16
camera and you'll be looking at them like it does because quite
11:19
frankly, you do not know what to recommend because you know
11:23
nothing about cameras. So This is why product knowledge
11:28
is the foundation of sales. In fact, if you listen to Brian
11:32
Tracy, I can't remember the particular book, but you know,
11:35
he said it there. I always thought they're kind of
11:39
separate and maybe in a sense they are, but they also go hand
11:42
in hand even if there's somebody.
11:45
So I hold on one moment. Oh, sorry, I just got a
11:49
notification on my phone. I just wanted to be sure it
11:51
wasn't something important. And so even if there's somebody
11:53
in the business who is the specialist that eventually you
11:56
hand the person off you, the person that the customer is
11:59
going to meet when they enter the shop or when they pick up
12:01
the phone, you have to know one or two things to be able to
12:05
recommend something. So product knowledge, the
12:08
foundation of sales. We also need product knowledge
12:11
because for those of you who sell physical stuff,
12:14
troubleshooting is a part of your job.
12:16
Because somebody who come and buy camera, the person will come
12:18
back and say, look, this camera that you both gave me is
12:20
rubbish. Is dreaming like this, is
12:22
dreaming like that. You have to be able to say, oh,
12:24
I'm sorry, Sir, can I have a look at the camera?
12:29
Let me have a look at this and let's see if we can help you get
12:31
sorted out real quick. You need to know what's up,
12:34
whether it is that the problem has a, the camera has a problem
12:37
or that maybe the customer is using it incorrectly.
12:40
Because sometimes it's that there's nothing wrong with the
12:42
product. It's just that the guy didn't
12:44
read the training manual or, you know, maybe it wasn't a fix.
12:46
He doesn't know how to activate this activate that, you know,
12:49
but if you know something about the product that you're selling,
12:52
you'll be able to take responsibility for the
12:54
situation. Calm the customer down, show him
12:57
one or two things. In fact, even in the shop, you
12:59
won't be able to take one or two test photos.
13:01
You know, the person will now start feeling embarrassed like
13:03
my brother, I'm sorry. You know how this thing can be
13:05
now, you know, I just spent 500 K on this sort of thing, blah,
13:08
blah. So I beg brush Novak, you know,
13:10
and then you laugh over it and you know, you solve the problem
13:13
as a happy customer. And you know, now you guys have
13:16
a new level of rapport. So troubleshooting is an
13:21
important part of the job for those of you who sell products.
13:24
So for like this, my client, if somebody comes in and says this
13:28
PS five that you showed me is rubbish because I'm trying to do
13:30
this, I'm trying to do this special move.
13:33
This special move is not working.
13:35
XX tap down down 00 is not working.
13:39
Your keypad is fake. You need to be a product
13:43
knowledge. You need to have some product.
13:44
And I should be able to say, oh, sorry Sir, can I have a look at
13:47
the system? OK, the video that you spoke
13:50
about the special move, can I see it?
13:52
So oh, OK, OK, OK, this special move something only applies on
13:56
the Model X Something, something something that is sold
13:58
exclusively in Canada and in Dubai.
14:03
Well, however, if you want to try and achieve this kind of
14:06
special move, I recommend you try this YouTube handle instead.
14:09
This influencer that does it is a Niger guy.
14:12
So he shows you how you can achieve this and this and this
14:15
using this keypad that you bought in store and the person
14:17
like, oh, OK. And therefore some people, some
14:21
people are just too proud. So they're just, you know,
14:23
squeeze their face and they won't admit anything.
14:24
They'll just carry doing and say thank you.
14:26
They'll just go away. But the average person who you
14:29
know, will be humble and say, oh, sorry, my brother, blah,
14:31
blah, blah. And I will apologize and you
14:33
made a friend. But we need product knowledge
14:36
because we engage in troubleshooting those of us who
14:38
sell physical products. And then we also need product
14:42
knowledge so that we can do objection handling.
14:44
Objection handling is when people come up with reasons why
14:47
they don't want to go ahead with the sale, when people have
14:49
concerns about not moving forward with the purchase.
14:52
If you don't know Shishi, if you don't know gang about what
14:56
you're selling, you cannot handle objections.
15:00
Somebody can come and tell you this thing is too expensive, but
15:02
because you don't know anything about the product or what's
15:04
going on in the market, you say, OK, yes, it's too expensive.
15:07
You carry the thing back and you say bye bye.
15:10
And then the person will go. But it is only when you have
15:13
some product knowledge that you'll be able to say, sorry,
15:15
too expensive. I'm sorry.
15:17
I hope you don't mind me asking. Compared to what?
15:20
OK. You saw this thing in Okeechuku
15:22
store. I said he'll give it to you for
15:24
850. OK, sure, no problem.
15:27
But what model was he giving you exactly?
15:30
OK. Did you ask him about this?
15:31
This is that that that is the reason why the one he's trying
15:35
to sell to you is a so, so, so model.
15:37
It can only do this, this, this. It cannot achieve that.
15:40
But when we were talking earlier, you were telling me
15:42
that it's important for you that when you buy this equipment, you
15:44
want to be able to achieve 1234. This thing, OK Chuku is telling
15:49
you, I'm telling you, you will not achieve the same result.
15:51
If you don't believe me, no problem, I'll take the system
15:53
back. But when you go back to OK
15:55
Chuku, ask him, I want to achieve XYZ.
15:59
This model you're selling me. Can he do that?
16:03
Now? You won't be able to handle that
16:05
pricing objection if you do not have product knowledge.
16:08
So product knowledge is absolutely foundational.
16:11
It is the beginning of being good in sales.
16:15
Now, you don't have to be the expert, but you need to know
16:17
enough to start having some of these basic, basic conversation
16:21
with people who walk into your shop or who send you Adm.
16:26
And it doesn't matter whether it's camera or whether it's PS4
16:29
or whether it's cement making equipment.
16:32
It also is the same even if it's makeup that you do, you need to
16:35
be able to have a capable conversation with a lady who
16:41
walks into your store and she says that oh, I want to buy
16:43
foundation and I'm looking for something, something something
16:48
blah, blah, blah. And I wanted to have a SP V45.
16:51
You know, if he says SPV 45, that is not the time for you to
16:54
be picking up your phone to now Google what is SPV 45.
16:58
At the very least, you need to know that if you hear SPV now,
17:01
that is some kind of sun protection something.
17:03
And then maybe the lady is preoccupied with her skin
17:05
burning or something like that. You need to be able to have that
17:08
kind of capable conversation like, oh, OK, you know what?
17:11
I'm not sure about this particular one, whether it has
17:14
SPV something, something. But this line over here, this
17:17
line of products, these are the ones that we recommend when
17:21
people are worried about sunburn Sundays, sun that you know, you
17:26
people have a capable conversation, even if it's
17:30
pharmacy that you're on, it's the same thing, product
17:32
knowledge. So there's nobody that can
17:34
escape this. You need to know product
17:37
knowledge. And that is the reason why we go
17:39
on with this client of mine. We're sitting down and we're
17:43
learning product knowledge and then we're also learning active
17:45
listening. That's the second thing that I
17:48
mentioned, active listening, need assessment and then probing
17:51
conversations. Now, the reason why we have to
17:55
also pay attention to active listening and need assessment
17:58
and probing conversations is because active listening, trying
18:02
to figure out who is this person, what do they need while
18:05
asking questions to try and figure out, you know, what's
18:07
going on, What kind of goal are they trying to achieve?
18:09
What problem are they trying to run away from is because
18:12
remember, we're talking about recommendation from product
18:14
knowledge. If I do not know what they need,
18:16
how will I know what they recommend?
18:18
Somebody come and say I want to buy a camera.
18:20
I would only be looking like, you know, like an idiot if I
18:22
know nothing about cameras. But even if I know nothing about
18:25
cameras, but I don't ask the person about what it is he wants
18:28
to use the camera for, how will I know what to recommend?
18:32
Now the mistake that people are making at these guys store was
18:35
that they were asking the question that everybody asks,
18:37
which is what is your budget? Terrible question because what
18:41
is your budget immediately leads you into money objections that
18:45
are this thing is too expensive. Hey, I saw it online for this BC
18:50
is offering this thing at 25% off.
18:52
You now go straight into all those issues.
18:56
Once you start the conversation like that, you know is a serious
18:59
Valhalla. But in the bigger problem is
19:01
this. The person will now go and buy
19:03
something that is more than their power or that is
19:07
inadequate to achieve what they want.
19:10
So back to the makeup thing, if you don't ask her the questions
19:14
but you don't say what is your budget and she tells you you
19:17
give her the cream but then you now give her the cream that does
19:19
not have SPV protection. She goes out and then the song
19:23
burns her skin. She will tell everybody that I
19:25
went to BC shop and BC gave me cream and the cream burns my
19:29
skin. Can see how the thing has effect
19:32
on the business. It's not that you gave them
19:35
cream and the thing burn the skin things.
19:36
You didn't even ask her what she was trying to achieve with the
19:39
cream or with the makeup. You didn't even know that, OK,
19:42
some protection is important for her or that she has delicate
19:45
skin or oily skin or something. And so you made the wrong
19:49
recommendation. So when somebody walks into your
19:51
shop, I want to buy powder, I want to buy cream, I want to buy
19:55
this. The question is not what is your
19:57
budget? That of course you ask, but that
19:59
is not the first thing we start with.
20:02
So need analysis, active listening, need assessment,
20:07
probing conversations. Yeah, I know it sounds somehow,
20:10
but we have to probe. If we don't probe, if we don't
20:12
know what it is that they need, we will make the wrong
20:14
recommendation. Whether it's camera you're
20:16
selling or whether it's laptop you're selling or whether it's
20:20
makeup you're selling. Even if you're offering business
20:23
advisory services, you're designing websites, You don't
20:25
ask them what do you want to use this website for?
20:28
You don't ask. This is how you begin to fail in
20:30
the business. This is how you begin to fail in
20:34
losing the sale. So we also need active
20:36
listening, need assessment. What do they need?
20:40
Probing conversations. Probing because we have to ask
20:42
them questions. We're trying to dig here so we
20:45
can make the adequate recommendation.
20:47
Also so that we can handle objections.
20:52
Because somebody can also come and say your cream is too
20:55
expensive, that Chemi is offering the same thing at 25%
20:59
discount. If you know the product and if
21:05
you ask the questions, you can now have that conversation now.
21:09
Oh, I thought you said hardly stretch marks is important to
21:12
you. Yes, I said so.
21:14
But with this picture that you showed me, based on what Chemi
21:16
wants to give you 45% off, it is good, it achieves blah, blah,
21:20
blah, blah, blah. But this thing does not do
21:22
anything for stretch marks because it does not have this
21:25
component, this component, this component.
21:27
So you see how it's easy to handle some objections to handle
21:31
some pricing things once we know something about the product and
21:36
once we have done active listening, need assessments and
21:40
we've had some probing conversations.
21:42
So that is why for my client in been in this is the beginning of
21:45
where we're starting their training session for the whole
21:47
team. So the example that I use now,
21:54
because it was that morning now as I was chatting with the guy,
21:59
because I like to be friends with everybody that I do
22:01
business with. So once in a while, you know,
22:02
messages it also hide, you know how things are the shopping or
22:05
that kind, you know, just geologist.
22:07
So as I was chatting with the guy now, he accidentally sent me
22:11
one message was meant to be for a customer, but he sent me a
22:13
message and was concerning him. Oraimo, I don't know his, I
22:17
don't know how to pronounce his name, whether it's Oraimo Oraimo
22:19
or whatever. So Oraimo space buds pro hybrid
22:22
ANC IP54 something you just is the Oraimo space buds.
22:28
But all the technical specs were there.
22:30
So that's what I now used to, to start the conversation with the
22:37
sales associates, with the ladies because his team is
22:40
female. So with the ladies, that's why I
22:42
used to start the conversation. And my rationale was this, if
22:47
you do not know anything about the products, all of this
22:54
information is a bit too much. Oramo Spaceboards Pro Hybrid
22:57
ANC, IP54 rater protection, weather and dose protection
23:01
features, noise cancellation, wide area tap, dual device
23:04
connectivity, water resistant, it's a bit much.
23:10
You won't be able to learn everything.
23:12
So we need to come up with a method for learning products
23:17
according to their categories instead of learning about
23:20
specific items. OK, maybe I'm not saying it
23:23
well, but let me put it this way.
23:24
OK, let me go back to the camera example.
23:27
Remember how I told you guys that I know the difference
23:30
between Sony A700, Sony A7, Sony A77 and the Sony Alpha 77 Mark
23:37
2? Because I started off in
23:39
photography. So I know all these things in my
23:41
sleep. If I want somebody to now sell
23:46
those kinds of cameras, this is their first time.
23:48
It will be hard for them. So instead of sitting down and
23:50
trying to cram the information about Sony A700, Sony A7, Sony
23:56
A77, and Sony A77 Mach 2, remember that is only just for
24:01
Sony. We haven't spoken about Canon
24:04
who makes cameras? Nikon.
24:06
Who makes cameras? Nippon.
24:09
OK, no, Nippon doesn't make cameras, they make printers.
24:12
Then who? Again?
24:14
So you can't be cramming things about models.
24:16
So what you do now, especially when you're new to this, just
24:19
learn about the different categories because all those
24:23
cameras are not the same. One is point and shoot.
24:27
It's just for amateur, as in, you know, anybody can just pick
24:31
up on points and press and get a picture.
24:34
Another one is a learner model, as in your beginning, you want
24:38
to go professional but you don't have money, but you want
24:41
something that can give you some manual control.
24:44
So there's a learner model. Another one is an amateur model
24:48
as per you're not a giant bite anymore, you're very good, but
24:51
you know to hold. So you don't have like 2-3 M to
24:55
spend on a professional model. You only have like that kind,
24:59
you know maybe 900 K 1.5. This model is good for you.
25:04
Then there's the professional model like look, I'm a
25:06
professional photographer. I need something that has full
25:09
manual control, that has dust protection, weather protection,
25:13
so that even if I'm shooting and then rain starts to fall, at
25:16
least I know that I'm covered. I can still walk small, maybe
25:19
like 2 minutes before I dodge, you know that kind of thing.
25:23
So you learn the categories first so that when you're having
25:26
conversations with people, you can now know where to make some
25:29
recommendations. You learn the categories do need
25:32
analysis and you can now start recommending down.
25:35
So when somebody comes and says I want to buy a camera, instead
25:37
of asking what is your budget? And then the person says, my
25:40
budget is for M you now go and sell them professional camera.
25:45
But then they get home and then the options are just too much.
25:48
They get confused. They never use it because of
25:51
that. They're not happy.
25:53
The thing is a waste of money. They'll never recommend anybody
25:55
to your store. So it's not what is your budget?
26:00
Because there are times when somebody's budget is for him.
26:04
But really after you have a conversation with the person,
26:07
because the person is a jam bite and a novice and a complete
26:09
beginner. The ethical thing to do actually
26:11
is to say, look, boss, I know you have for him, but to be
26:14
honest there, if you buy this camera for M, this thing will
26:16
overwhelm you. Just take this one that is 1.5
26:21
simpler, manual, easy to handle. These are that basic.
26:24
If you take this one, you can use this one online work and you
26:27
know when you become a guru, you can now come back and then we'll
26:29
do the 4M camera later. If the person says no, I want to
26:32
buy the four M one. Well, at least you've said your
26:34
piece. At least the person will know
26:35
that look, you're an ethical salesman or it's ethical
26:38
salesperson. It's not as if because they have
26:40
4M, you decide that you collect the whole for him.
26:43
You are trying to sell them what you think they need.
26:48
And people remember that. That look, I dealt with OK
26:51
Chuku, I dealt with Kemi, I dealt with Kelechi.
26:54
They didn't just try to collect all my money.
26:56
They were actually trying to help me buy the one that will
26:59
move my business forward or that will move my hobby forward or
27:03
move my whatever forward. So learn the categories.
27:08
So I told them that look, if you babes want to learn all of these
27:14
things or ammo space board, you now start cramming or ammo space
27:17
board prohibit ANC IP54 rated weather and dust protection,
27:21
noise cancellation, wide area tap, dual device connectivity.
27:24
What if you're going to be cramming this thing, man has
27:27
extra work. So what you do is you now look
27:29
for a system of learning the categories.
27:33
And since I'm not a specialist in this thing, I just took a
27:35
very common sense approach that when it comes to earbuds, the
27:38
categories are this number one in ear.
27:40
That's one that you took inside your ear.
27:43
My wife doesn't like that because she says when you do
27:45
that, it's like he's touching her eardrum and I want you to
27:48
move it. You now see earwax on it and
27:50
then maybe another person will take it, maybe like your best
27:52
friend in office and then chook inside her own ear too.
27:54
And then before you know it, you are just sharing ear wax up and
27:56
down. So my wife doesn't like in ear.
27:59
For me, I love in earphones. So in ear is one that chook
28:01
inside your ear. Then there's earbuds.
28:05
Earbuds are the ones that rest on your ear, but they don't
28:07
chook inside. So my wife loves earbuds.
28:11
I prefer India. Let me choke inside, increase
28:15
the volume, let me block out the whole world and enjoy my music.
28:18
That's me. Then there's also open air.
28:21
Those ones are brand new. I saw those ones in the Oromo
28:24
store and made those things are fire.
28:27
One, they call their bone conduction you.
28:30
You know how you wear eyeglasses, so you see where
28:32
your glasses rest on your the tempo.
28:35
So that's where the thing will now rest on the temple like
28:37
that. And then The thing is sending.
28:39
I don't know whether it's sending electrical impulse or
28:41
whatever, but sending it direct to your bone and then you're not
28:43
behind. I'm using in your brain.
28:45
I said correct. I said how much it say 500 Ki
28:48
said 500 Ki said sorry. I said it's not me.
28:52
The guy being to laugh. I said no, no, no, no, no, I'm
28:54
not spending 500 Ki Want to hear from that.
28:56
So don't worry, don't worry. And I'll pick the one that was
28:59
my passport and then I left. But one day I'll go and buy that
29:03
ball conduction. Let me see how that thing works,
29:05
because when nothing looks sci-fi, then there's also
29:09
another one they call air conduction, you know.
29:11
But anyway, I'm just trying to say that that's how you look at
29:14
earphones. So I now ask the question, do
29:17
you guys have open ear? And then the owner of the store
29:19
said, no, we don't have what we're going to get.
29:22
And I know that for boys who who have money, boys who like to
29:25
waste money, you know, of course, now they will definitely
29:28
buy now so you can be one in town.
29:29
So oh boy, was this in us as my earphone.
29:32
So here for how it's always bone conduction tech.
29:34
Now, you know, it's it's the latest, it's the newest in town.
29:37
You know, it's just for big boys.
29:39
It's not for small boys like you don't worry.
29:40
When you have money, you join us, but don't worry, you know
29:43
that kind of thing. Some people like to buy because
29:45
of FEC, they like to buy because of these teas.
29:48
So since they don't have open air technology, the only thing
29:53
that the girls have to learn now is in air and then earbuds.
29:59
Then there's also another way to classify the earphones.
30:02
There's wired versus wireless and there's noise cancelling,
30:05
there's sports and there's gaming.
30:07
So that is all that the ladies, the sales associates need to
30:11
know in the beginning. They need to know that look,
30:13
when it comes to earphones, there is in ear and there's
30:15
earbuds, There's also wired versus wireless, there is noise
30:19
cancelling, there is sports and then there's gaming.
30:24
So that when somebody comes into the store, the first question is
30:27
not what is your budget? The first question will now be,
30:30
what do you want to use it for? That is now this is that is how
30:36
you now know how to start making the right recommendations.
30:40
Some people will tell you that, oh, I listen to podcasts every
30:43
day when I'm stuck in traffic. When I'm stuck in traffic, you
30:48
also need to probe a little bit, oh, do you drive or you take
30:51
public transportation? It's very important because if
30:55
somebody is stuck in traffic, he's driving his own car,
30:58
ethically speaking, you should not be selling him in ear
31:02
earphones that have noise cancellation because what that
31:05
means is the guy won't be able to hear Jack when he's driving.
31:08
Trailer can be coming from the back and he won't know that.
31:10
OK, it's time to get out of the way.
31:12
I need to have those conversations because somebody
31:13
might say, I want to hear my podcast, give me in ear and give
31:17
me, you know, let me block the noise.
31:19
I have to know, Sir, that you know, you drive.
31:22
So to be honest, in spite of health and safety, you need to
31:26
know whether trailer is coming behind you.
31:29
So Sir, instead of doing in ear, why not just do earbuds?
31:34
Or why not just buy this open ear?
31:37
Or better yet, even if you're taking this in ear, at least why
31:41
not buy Bluetooth, something to sync to your car speakers so
31:45
that you can listen that way then maybe when you get home you
31:47
can now choke your in ear. You see how you can now start
31:51
having fruitful conversations with people when they enter into
31:54
your store and they want to buy something.
31:56
But you can only have that if you have product knowledge and
31:59
if you know why they need this thing.
32:03
So this is the beginning. Product knowledge and then
32:07
active listening need assessments.
32:09
Probing conversations for average people to think is rude.
32:13
But look, we are in sales. Doesn't matter what you do, you
32:17
are in sales. You might think of yourself as a
32:20
Baker, but the day you decided to open that Instagram page and
32:23
call yourself Abuja's finance Baker OR Lagos sexiest Baker or
32:27
whatever, that day you became a salesperson and you need to be
32:30
able to have probing conversations.
32:32
It's not just a matter of what is your budget, it's a matter of
32:35
what do you want to use the cake for?
32:38
Who is your son's birthday or congratulations?
32:40
I have two sons as well. Mine are 6:00 and 14.
32:45
How old is your own son? Oh, he's only two.
32:48
A Congratulations, Mommy. I remember that stage.
32:51
So what is the theme of your birthday party?
32:54
OK. Oh, Power Rangers.
32:56
OK, Boy, it's his favorite color.
32:57
What are the things that he likes?
32:59
You know, from all of those small, small conversation,
33:02
You're building rapport. You're finding out about Mumsy.
33:04
Finding out about the boy it is. Then you're not going to be able
33:06
to make an adequate recommendation for a cake.
33:09
If you just say what is your budget and she says it's 30 K
33:13
and then you now want to deliver her 30K cake.
33:15
I mean, she won't be happy or what's your budget or no, I
33:20
don't do 30K cakes. The minimum that I do is 450.
33:23
You know the walk away thing or you're too expensive.
33:26
But by the time you have that conversation with them and you
33:30
know, the ladies getting a sense of OK, the cake is going to tie
33:33
in well to what my son likes, tie in well to the overall theme
33:37
of the party, blah, blah, blah. And then you say, you know, your
33:40
bill is 400,000. She might say, well, OK, little
33:44
on the high side. Maybe they might try on price
33:45
but eventually end up at maybe 350.
33:50
You see this how it's done. You are a salesperson.
33:54
The moment you decide to go into business, you are a salesperson
33:56
and that's how you handle these conversations.
33:58
So that's why I told the team, think in terms of categories.
34:02
This person is coming inside. Now.
34:05
I don't need to know a specific model like Oramo, space boards,
34:07
ANC, IP54. I don't need to know that all
34:10
that jazz. I just need to know in air,
34:14
earbuds, open air and start the conversation.
34:20
I need to be asking questions about them.
34:21
What do they need it for? Is it for travel?
34:24
Is it for commute? Is the person a musician because
34:27
for musicians, because I also learned, started learning guitar
34:31
back when I was in Scotland. And sometimes you ought to
34:33
practice, you know, into midnight.
34:36
But, you know, if you're playing guitar, especially electric
34:39
guitar at 1:00 AM, your neighbors would be angry and all
34:42
of that. In fact, your wife would be
34:43
frustrated or your husband. So there are some people who
34:47
need some of these air phones because they want to block out
34:49
the whole world and, you know, practice in peace at the highest
34:52
volume without disturbing anybody.
34:53
You need to ask. It is not the first question is
34:57
not what is your budget? You ask about their lifestyle,
35:02
what do I want to use this thing for?
35:04
Or when I go to the gym, I don't want people to disturb me, so I
35:07
want a headset. But if you know something about
35:11
products, you can also say, oh, headsets.
35:12
So that might not be a good idea because with headsets you sweat,
35:17
the sweat will leak into the headphones, will damage the
35:20
whole thing. So you should be looking at in
35:22
air, you should be looking at in ear earphones that are water
35:30
resistant so that the sweat will not damage it.
35:32
You don't start having a fruitful conversation.
35:34
Are they going to be using it for outdoor activity?
35:38
Some people buy these things because won't listen to their
35:40
favorite radio show. I assumed that any headphone
35:43
will help you listen to your radio show from the phone, but
35:46
no, it's only the wired ones that work.
35:48
So if the person is a radio user, but the person has enough
35:51
money for Oramo space boards, the person has plenty of money
35:55
for conduction headphone. You actually need to tell the
35:57
person that, oh Sir, you say you like this because you listen to
36:01
Heberlembe every day. So these headphones that you're
36:03
buying don't allow you to listen to Heberlembe.
36:05
You actually need something that has a wire that will act as the
36:10
antenna to your phone. You need to tell them because
36:14
the person says no and they insist and they buy.
36:17
At least the best can call back. I'll shout at you tomorrow
36:19
because you can say Sir, but I told you now.
36:22
Now if it is for radio, these ear headphones will not work.
36:25
You need to buy the one that has cable.
36:30
What else Anyway, gamers, that's true gaming.
36:34
So you need to find out what they need it for so think in
36:38
terms of categories and then we'll make it easier for you to
36:41
handle product knowledge. Now, for those of you who own
36:44
these stores, when it comes to training your people, don't
36:47
train them model to model. If you tell them today we're
36:49
going to look at Oramo Space boards.
36:51
Tomorrow we're going to look at Oramo Solar Plexus.
36:55
Next tomorrow we're going to look at Oramo XZ1150.
37:00
That's information overwhelm and they won't learn it.
37:04
You have had a couple of years to learn all these sorts of
37:07
things. No matter your business, whether
37:09
it's gadgets or solar panels or baking cake, you've had quite a
37:12
while to learn. They are coming into this thing
37:14
for the first time. So just think in terms of
37:17
categories and then the conversation will be easier.
37:23
And so if I had a shop that sold cameras, that is how I would
37:26
train my people. When somebody comes here, all
37:28
you need to know about cameras is there are point and shoot
37:32
models that anybody, even a baby, will take it and use it
37:36
and the photo will be OK. Then there are learner models
37:41
where people are trying to learn some controls.
37:43
Then there are amateur models. The person is now capable but
37:49
the person wants something that gives him a little bit more
37:52
creative option about the styling of photos, you know,
37:56
things like that. And then we have professional
37:59
models. That is all you need to know.
38:01
So first of all, find out where is this person that in his
38:04
photography career, what kind of photos are they trying to shoot?
38:08
You will now know which kind of cameras to move them to.
38:11
And then I will tell the person that look, look at the store.
38:14
All the beginner models, this is where we put them.
38:17
All the amateur models, this is where we put them.
38:20
All the professional models, this is where we put them.
38:23
So now you don't need to worry about learning the difference
38:25
between Sony A700, Sony A7, Sony A77 and Sony Alpha 77 Mark 2.
38:33
You just need to figure out where are they at and where are
38:36
we going to start steering them. We'll start narrowing down the
38:39
conversation. Small, small, small and then it
38:42
will make it easier to close the sale.
38:45
So that's what I wanted to share with you guys today because some
38:50
stuff that some of you guys need to know, some of you have sales
38:54
teams and people are struggling. You don't know that the reason
38:57
why your sales team is suffering is because they don't have
38:59
product knowledge. Also because they are not doing
39:03
need analysis and they're not doing active listening.
39:05
So because of that, somebody comes to the store and their
39:08
first question is what is your budget?
39:10
And you're angry that they're not closing sales and you're
39:14
spending 500K every month on Google Ads or whatever.
39:20
And you can see because you have the camera and you have the
39:23
counter that every single day like 100 people are entering the
39:27
shop. Only one person is buying out of
39:29
100. And you're frustrated.
39:31
These are some of the reasons why and these are the things
39:34
that you should be paying attention to.
39:36
So my assignment to the ladies was OK based on their selling
39:42
experience, because some of them had sold some stuff in the
39:44
store. I told one of them, OK, you
39:46
since you've been selling lots of power banks, you come up with
39:51
a system. Let us see what are the
39:53
different kinds of how would you categorize power banks?
39:55
Come back and tell me another one had lots of experience
39:59
selling chargers. So OK for you, how can we break
40:03
down the different categories of chargers and therefore someone
40:06
else was laptops? So let's break it down.
40:09
What are the different categories of laptops?
40:12
Because for laptop especially, you should not be.
40:16
When somebody comes to buy a laptop, the number one question
40:19
you ask is not what is your budget?
40:20
Because you go and sell something that is more than the
40:23
person's power. I know lots of people who have
40:26
bought these, these laptops that fold into into tablets or they
40:33
can detach the screen. But at the end of the day, they
40:37
regret it. They bought it because it is
40:39
cool, but they don't really use it.
40:43
All they do is they type stuff in the office and then they send
40:47
e-mail and some people regret that purchase that why did I buy
40:52
this thing that cost? Why did I buy a laptop that cost
40:55
2 million? So it's not what is your budget.
41:03
You need to be able to have conversations, listen, listen
41:06
actively figure out what their needs are and they be able to
41:09
make the adequate recommendation.
41:11
Anyway, I've overflowed the issue, so let me just bring
41:13
today's episode to a close. If I have any more conversations
41:17
with this particular client of mine as I'm training his sales
41:20
team or as I'm training any of our sales team, of course, I'll
41:23
come and share with you guys so that we can all share in the
41:25
goodness. Now remember that this is a
41:28
listener participation show, so you can reach out to me after
41:32
you don't listen to this episode.
41:34
The number to call to SMS or to WhatsApp is 08064662140.
41:41
Again, the number is 08064662140.
41:48
The country code is +234. For those of you who are not
41:50
Nigerian, thank you very much for your time and attention.
41:54
I'll catch you guys in the next episode and until then, if you
41:57
have a team behind you, please give it some thought.
42:00
Start trying to see how we can train our sales associates on
42:03
product knowledge. They need to know the general
42:05
categories and we also need to be able to teach them that.
42:08
Look, when people come into the shop, this is how we engage the
42:11
customer. This is how we figure out what
42:12
they need. This is how we now make the
42:14
appropriate recommendation. You start putting some of these
42:17
things in place. You start noticing a change in
42:20
your business without spending a single couple, without
42:24
increasing your money in ads or you know something for some of
42:28
you, the leads that you have, the number of leads you have is
42:32
OK. The number of people that you
42:34
have coming into your shop is OK.
42:35
This is just one small thing that you need to change to make
42:38
sure that of the 100 people that are coming to your shop every
42:41
week, but only one person is buying, we can increase from out
42:46
of 100, maybe five are buying and overtime maybe 10, overtime
42:50
maybe 20, overtime maybe 30. And then you start seeing huge
42:53
growth in your business. So I'll catch you guys in the
42:55
next episode.