Latest / Closing Sales in Nigeria - Sales For The Nigerian Business Person: The Sales and Marketing Blueprint / Hooked on You: Keeping Clients Engaged and Coming Back for More

Transcript

Hooked on You: Keeping Clients Engaged and Coming Back for More · Closing Sales in Nigeria - Sales For The Nigerian Business Person: The Sales and Marketing Blueprint

0:01
Hello and welcome to the show. Today we're going to be talking
0:04
about how to keep your customers attention until a deal is
0:09
closed. Apologies for the background
0:11
noise because I'm not in the audio booth today and because
0:13
it's a full house. Now, this question, how to keep
0:16
a customer's attention until a deal is closed is also another
0:20
question that came from NECA the Pretty separate, not her real
0:24
name, but I'm just using that because I didn't take up
0:26
permission to. Yeah, I didn't take her
0:31
permission to use that. So Neca the Pretty Serpent is a
0:33
beauty and skin care specialist who lives and works out of Inugu
0:38
and who is a member of a community of professionals who
0:42
do the same thing. And this is one question that
0:44
came up. How do you keep a customer's
0:45
attention until you close the deal?
0:49
And that's because before the deal closes, you know, lots of
0:52
things happened. You run out of ideas, you enter
0:55
into voicemail, the customer goes into ghost mode.
0:59
You know, like all kinds of things.
1:00
But the way I'd like to look at it is we can just paraphrase
1:03
this question to, to be how do we follow up or how do we stay
1:09
in touch until we can close the sale?
1:13
Because there are some businesses where in simple sales
1:16
scenarios, you just walk up and you can close the deal in 5
1:19
minutes. Now, the example that I give
1:21
over and over again on the podcast is for the sale of
1:23
Agusi. You can close an Agusi sale in 2
1:26
minutes or three minutes because it's, you know, straightforward.
1:28
Everybody knows good Agusi. You get there, you're either
1:31
personable or not. The price is either good or not.
1:33
We're either good to go or not. The guy is either going to buy
1:36
or he's not going to buy. And in some cases I've seen
1:39
where market traders, we won't tell the person that look,
1:43
you've been here, we've been talking 20 minutes, you haven't
1:45
bought anything. Can you please leave my front so
1:48
that somebody else can come out open market for me, please.
1:50
You know, kind of insinuating that you're there bringing bad
1:54
luck and that's the reason why the person is not making any
1:56
business. So in simple sales situations,
1:58
you can't close the deal sharply minutes.
2:01
But then there are situations where people who are involved in
2:04
beauty and skin care, you can't always close the deal shop shop
2:08
like that. Somebody might have used the
2:11
product before they know what's up.
2:12
So they just come to the store and they say, look, do you have
2:14
this beauty pop or cream SPV 45 that is made by Mary Kay, by the
2:21
way. I don't know if Mary Kay makes
2:22
any products like that. I'm just freestyling here.
2:25
So basically come and ask for that particular thing.
2:27
Do you have it or you don't or you have it?
2:30
How much it is 65? I thought it was actually 59.
2:35
OK, OK, no problem. Give me two bottles and then
2:38
they go. But it's not always the case
2:41
that it's going to be that way. So some of them you win them
2:44
quick, some of them you don't win them so quick.
2:47
So what are you going to do to keep the customer's attention
2:50
until the deal is closed? If you'd love opportunities to
2:54
connect, call me on 08064662140, that's my WhatsApp number as
3:01
well. And then connect with me on
3:02
socials, especially on LinkedIn, the name to look for
3:05
establishing my IED. I'm closing down Facebook and
3:07
the other places, so please don't follow me there.
3:10
Just LinkedIn only. So like I said, we're going to
3:13
paraphrase the question, how do you follow up?
3:15
How do you stay in touch? In fact, some people might even
3:18
say why is follow up necessary? Because we know in the Nigerian
3:21
context, we have this thing of if they like it, they will buy,
3:24
If they need it, they'll come and buy.
3:25
If they're serious, they will buy.
3:27
If they don't like it, let them go.
3:29
So yeah, we have the attitude and yes, you can build a
3:31
business with that attitude. Well, The thing is when you do
3:34
that, you're only dealing with how will I put it?
3:40
Let's just say your business will grow a whole lot more if
3:42
you have the attitude of look, if you like it though, by if you
3:45
don't like it, let them go. So follow up is necessary
3:48
because some situations are complex sales situations.
3:52
And in complex sales situations, we actually need to follow up
3:56
because things are just going to take a little bit of time
3:58
because they're complex. Now, a complex sales situation,
4:01
for those of you who are newbies to the show, you haven't
4:03
listened to any previous episodes.
4:05
A complex situation is just where the product or the service
4:09
that we're dealing with is expensive.
4:11
Most of the time complex sales are expensive.
4:13
So it's expensive. Usually we have two or three
4:16
parties to deal with. Usually the product itself is
4:19
complex. Now when I say something is
4:21
complex, a product or service is complex, what we mean is that
4:25
the value proposition is plenty. You have to stack two or three
4:28
things together. Like take for instance the skin
4:30
thing. The value proposition is not
4:32
just that your skin is hydrated, but it could be your skin is
4:35
hydrated, your skin is smooth, you don't break out.
4:38
And then also maybe some social signaling that if you use these
4:42
sorts of things, then you're part of the in crowd or
4:44
something like that. So you can see that the value
4:46
proposition is complex and then sometimes it is that the product
4:49
itself is complex. So if you want to buy a jet
4:53
plane, I mean that's a complex purchase.
4:55
You know, what is the seat? What's the size of cabin, local
4:59
flight or international? What are the regulatory
5:04
requirements for Nigeria, for UK, for Dubai, you know, all
5:07
these sorts of things. So yeah, that's an example of
5:11
how complexity comes in. So the value proposition might
5:13
be complex or the product or the service itself might be complex.
5:17
And then of course, skin care. Yeah, it is complex because I've
5:19
been to those shops where I like my wife wants to get her stuff.
5:22
And then we go to Urbano. Urbano is a shop in Abuja.
5:28
It's, it's like a mall. Yeah, let me say it's a mall,
5:32
but basically the guy just owns the whole mall.
5:34
So I think that in the east, definitely in Lagos and two
5:38
locations in Abuja. So Ebano, they sell some, they
5:41
have a nice makeup department, their wigs and things like that.
5:44
So everywhere Mumsy is in town, Mumsy goes there to go and look
5:47
at skin stuff. And whenever we go there, I just
5:50
feel annoyed like we're going to go and waste money because as
5:53
far as I'm concerned, Vaseline is fine.
5:55
Please, ladies, just buy Vaseline and let's get this over
5:58
with Vaseline and lip gloss. You're good to go.
6:02
Anyway, today's episode is not about me.
6:05
So Ebano. So they have all those things
6:07
there. So these products are complex
6:09
because you go and look, you need to make sure that whether
6:11
the base is oil or the base is water.
6:15
And then whether The thing is is smooth or The thing is viscose
6:20
or whether The thing is purple based or whether it is carrot
6:25
based or tomato based or that was the other one that people
6:29
used to use in the old days but they don't use again.
6:32
Was this thing called sheer butter?
6:34
Sheer butter based? And then and like on and on and
6:38
on and on. Does it have sunscreen?
6:39
Does it do this? Does it do this?
6:41
I'm like really complex. So I mean, you're going there
6:44
instead of just going to go and pick up Vaseline and leaving in
6:46
5 minutes. You go there and then you're
6:48
standing and then mumsy and wifey, not just them, but other
6:52
women are there and while staring out bottles and reading
6:55
instructions and reading this and reading that and reading and
6:57
reading and reading, I mean, like 15 minutes just to select
7:01
one cream. Anyway, I was like, yeah, so
7:05
this cream stuff, Yeah, very complex.
7:08
Then another thing that makes some sales last long is because
7:13
complex sales, sometimes it's necessary to maintain a certain
7:17
level of relationship. Not always, but these are the
7:20
sorts of things that make a sale complex.
7:23
The thing that we're buying is it expensive.
7:26
If you're going to go and buy there, and if you're going to go
7:28
there and buy Vaseline, you know, Sharp sharp 1 bottle 2005,
7:34
you know, that's not particularly complex.
7:35
But if you're going to go there and buy a purple based cream
7:40
that is used by Beyoncé and Oprah Winfrey and it costs, you
7:45
know, 165K for 30ML, you know, then OK, now this is looking a
7:51
bit complex. So the cost is expensive, the
7:55
product itself is complex. Let's see what else.
7:59
Anyway, that's why something just take time, Sha.
8:02
And I think that this is one of the situations where the thing
8:04
takes time. Some people might say skin care,
8:07
that's not complex. Now skin care is simple.
8:10
It depends. Now, when it comes to these
8:12
things of complex sale versus simple sale, let's not just
8:15
think of it as binary, that something is either simple or
8:18
complex. Sometimes there is a scale of
8:21
simplicity or a scale of complexity.
8:25
My professional background started off in law.
8:29
Now that is obviously, well, I would say it's obviously
8:32
complex, but some people say that, look, law is
8:35
straightforward. We're trying to figure out did
8:36
the guys steal it or didn't steal it?
8:38
Did the quarrel? Did he inquire with the landlord
8:40
or he did inquire with the landlord?
8:42
Is he justified to end the lease or not?
8:44
Or who owes who, who owes who money and blah, blah, blah,
8:47
blah, blah. So some people think it's that
8:48
straight, that simple, but that engineering now is complex, you
8:53
know, So what are the technical specifications?
8:57
What was the overall budget? Where were the timelines that
9:00
were agreed for completion, you know, on and on and on and on.
9:03
So yeah, in a sense, you know, some things are simple, some
9:07
things are complex, but just think of it in terms of a scale.
9:11
And so it's not binary. So wedding photography, which is
9:14
what I did next, I would say it's a complex sale.
9:17
But then if you compare wedding photography to buying insurance,
9:23
then or of course then wedding photography seems a whole lot
9:27
simpler. So it's a sliding scale, it's
9:31
not binary. So in that sense, we can say
9:33
that skin care and beauty has some complexity needed.
9:39
So the time element, the reason why the time element is really,
9:42
really important when it comes to skin care and beauty and
9:45
things like that is because you need time to do a needs
9:49
assessment. If you've done business with
9:51
somebody before. And she knows that based on her
9:53
skin type and what she likes and everything, every time she comes
9:56
here, she's going to buy Tomato Blend 65, the one that is used
10:00
by Beyoncé and Oprah Winfrey. If she knows, she knows.
10:03
I mean, when she shows up, it's a matter of oh, sister Hannah
10:05
Ivy day long time, blah, blah, blah.
10:07
How's your husband? Is that that OK?
10:09
The regular Abbey, we only have 3 bottles in store.
10:11
Is that going to be OK for you? OK, you want five?
10:14
OK, no problem. Pay for the five.
10:15
Now take these three next week we'll send you the remaining 2.
10:19
Is that OK, Mark? OK, no problem.
10:21
That would be, is it POS or OPA or is it bank transfer or
10:24
something, something. And then you wrap it up.
10:27
If it is a first time client, you need time to do your job
10:31
properly and need to do a skin, sorry, a needs assessment
10:35
because when it comes to these kinds of thing, I mean, left to
10:38
me, I would just tell everybody Vaseline and then close shop and
10:40
be on my way. But The thing is people are
10:42
trying to achieve different kinds of things.
10:44
There are some people that want their natural color to show
10:47
that's where my wife, that's where she likes to abuse me.
10:49
She says that me, I'm black, that my natural color is not
10:52
showing that I need to, you know, I need to do some stuff so
10:56
that my real color will come out.
10:57
So some people are trying to get their real color to come out.
11:02
And then there are some people who don't give a hoot about real
11:04
color. Their own is just that they have
11:06
pimple on their face and they want these pimple to stop.
11:09
And then there are some people who before they were pregnant,
11:12
their skin was oily as hell, but now that they've given birth,
11:15
their skin is dry, as you know. And but only what I'm just
11:21
trying to say is this thing is different people have different
11:24
skin, different needs, different goals.
11:26
You need to take your time. You need to build a relationship
11:29
with somebody. You need to understand what's
11:31
going on here and you need to understand what they're trying
11:32
to achieve. And then when it comes to beauty
11:34
and skin care, sometimes it's a psychological play as well.
11:37
No, maybe Madame is going through a rough patch in a
11:39
marriage or something like that. Or maybe it's that Yurua thing.
11:42
You know how Yurua boys, when they make money next and they
11:44
will start bleaching? I have never understood that
11:47
sort of thing. In fact, this particular
11:49
Nigerian musician that I know, I saw pictures of him and the guy
11:54
just getting yellow and yellow. And I'm wondering like, like
11:57
guy, how far like we know you from 15 years back, you know,
12:02
you were black like charcoal and now you're getting.
12:06
Anyway, let me stop. I'm no insults people,
12:10
especially somebody who has more money than me.
12:11
Let me just give it. So yeah, I need time to do a
12:15
needs assessment so they can recommend the right cream to the
12:18
right person. Because for the person who just
12:20
wants her natural color in quotes to come out, if you sell
12:23
out Vaseline, she's going to be very upset with you because
12:26
she'll come to you in January. And then by February, people are
12:29
saying, ah, sister, your skin is looking darker.
12:32
You would have lost the customer.
12:33
So you need to be able to know what kind of thing you're
12:35
recommending for the people who is for the person who is coming
12:38
to you because she's tired of pimples.
12:41
If you recommend her the wrong thing.
12:43
And next time she comes back, her face looks like a pineapple.
12:45
I mean, that's that's not going to help.
12:47
And if it is that you're a Rob boy who has made money and he
12:51
thinks that now excuse me, he needs to start, you know,
12:55
bleaching like Jude Kosoko and the others before him who made
12:59
it and started rubbing cream. You know, if you give him the
13:01
wrong stuff and his real caller doesn't come out, he's going to
13:05
be upset with you. So you need to take time, build
13:07
a relationship, figure out a need assessment, figure out what
13:09
it is that is going on. So you need that time.
13:12
It's not something you can do in a 2 minute conversation.
13:15
You also need to build a relationship in this kind of
13:17
business. It's not like buying petrol that
13:21
any filling station will do. You need a certain kind.
13:23
You want to be the plug for your customers.
13:26
That OK, when it comes to hair cream that this is the babe I
13:29
will call or when it comes to hand cream, this is the person
13:32
that I will call. Or when it comes to stretch
13:34
mark, this is the person that I will call.
13:36
You need to be that plug. You need to build a relationship
13:39
and then also you also need to give your customers time to
13:44
think it over because like I said, some of these products are
13:46
expensive, especially with how forex has been going and things
13:49
like that. You know, it's not like it's
13:54
Vaseline again. I mean, some of these things
13:57
I've seen like 75 K for 100. MMM, I've seen 75K for 100 MMM,
14:03
I've seen like I've seen all kinds of things.
14:06
If at one time I was angry with mom saying I'm like, why can't
14:08
you just get regular, you know, blah, blah, blah.
14:10
And she said, look, that you don't even know that me.
14:13
I'm I'm trying that are some people that this soap alone is
14:17
80 K for one bar. I was shocked.
14:19
I think soap, one bar of soap, 80K as a medium.
14:24
I'm already complaining that with the way the economy has has
14:27
gone now when I'm buying soap for, you know, me and the kids,
14:30
I'm really looking at, OK, do do or so how much is do, do or so
14:34
is like, you know, close to 1000 per bar.
14:38
And then I'm doing in my head that OK, if it's almost 1000 a
14:40
bar and you know, for all of us, I have to buy like maybe 12.
14:44
Like I'm thinking, oh God, how can I spend so much on soap?
14:47
And some people are spending like 80 K just for one bar of
14:50
soap. Wow.
14:52
And if you know any of these people, please introduce,
14:54
introduce me to them. I'd like to flow in those
14:55
circles because that's that's some good money.
14:58
Because know how you're only going to be using one bottle of
15:00
soap in the month. What was I?
15:02
So because these things are expensive, like these people
15:04
need to take time to think it over.
15:06
Except for people who just have lots of money.
15:08
They're not just going to come and they just drop, you know,
15:10
65K for 100 MMM or drop 80K on one bottle of soap, you know,
15:16
like that. They need time to think it over.
15:18
So we need time in the sales process if you're involved in
15:22
this sort of business. So now here's the crux of the
15:24
question. How are you going to stay in
15:25
touch? First off, you need to map up,
15:28
map out your sales process and then slow things down.
15:32
When I say map out the sales processes, you need to figure
15:34
out the stages that people go through.
15:36
This is an example that I've given time and time again on the
15:38
podcast from my wedding photography days.
15:42
OK, let me go back to even before the lawyer days.
15:46
The person doesn't just show up and then he's OK.
15:48
We need to go to court. No, you welcome the person to
15:50
the office. So, yeah, sit down.
15:53
Nice to have you here. Oh, sorry, we couldn't make last
15:55
last week's meeting, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
15:57
So tell me, what can I do for you?
15:59
And then the person will not give you the life story about
16:02
how he quarreled with the landlord and about how their
16:04
stepmothers know each other and how this person is wicked and
16:07
this person goes to this society and something something.
16:10
And Christians are this and Muslims are that and blah, blah,
16:12
blah. And if not because of God and
16:14
this and this, you know, the person will tell the whole
16:16
story. So you as a lawyer, from
16:18
listening to that whole story, you will now get a sense of what
16:21
it is that you might need to do, the possible outcomes.
16:24
And from there you'll be able to start making proposals.
16:27
So for someone who is still involved in legal practice, the
16:29
first step actually might be phone conversation.
16:32
Get to know each other a bit and get to figure out who is doing
16:35
the referral. And then stage 2 is, Chief, why
16:37
don't you come to my office? Let's have a meeting, let's talk
16:40
some more. So that is step one, phone call,
16:45
build some rapport. Step 2, office for client
16:50
consultation and then step three, that's where you adjourn.
16:54
I think about possible alternatives.
16:56
And then Step 4 is when you call them again to say, hey chief,
16:59
I'll be thinking about what you said.
17:00
And based on what you said, I think we should explore option
17:04
A, Option B, Option C, All of them should be able to achieve
17:07
this kind of outcomes. When are you free?
17:10
I'm going to be on Lagos mainland like around that
17:12
current 10:00. Will you be in the office?
17:14
OK, no problem, I'll pass through the office.
17:15
Let's talk some more than step four.
17:17
That is you going to his office and you do a presentation.
17:20
Then let's see. OK, after presentation, you try
17:23
and close the deal. That is where you get him to
17:25
commit to a specific line of action.
17:29
And then step 6, if my account is correct, is the person
17:32
transfers the deposit and then you know you're good to go.
17:34
So and then the following steps on and on and on.
17:37
Now this is just a rough sketch. Every business has this kind of
17:46
sales process. Every business has it.
17:49
So for wedding photography for me, because mine was bridal
17:52
shows. So step one, bridal show, they
17:55
come to the table. That's good.
17:57
I've gotten them to come to the table.
17:58
Step 2 is get contact details. Step three, call them up for
18:03
meeting. Step four, look at samples.
18:07
Step 5, standard proposal. Step 6, you know, on and on and
18:10
on. Everybody has that kind of
18:11
steps, so you need to figure out what the steps are for your
18:13
business. So for makeup and beauty sales,
18:15
you need to sit down and then map it out.
18:17
Write it out. If you haven't written it out,
18:20
write it out now. In the beginning, when we're
18:24
walking through things, it helps if you write these things out
18:26
first. Later on, we internalize it and
18:29
we don't have to write things over and over again.
18:30
But for now, write it out. Now when you wrap write it out,
18:34
you now know how to slow down the sales process and take
18:38
things methodically from one step to another because
18:40
sometimes some of you are trying to do too much.
18:43
This is the first time that the person is meeting you and the
18:45
soap you're selling is 80 K per bar.
18:48
I mean, what makes you think that you will just be able to
18:52
get the person to buy 10 bars or soap from you immediately like
18:55
this on day one? You guys have never met before.
18:58
You need to slow things down. Figure out what the sales
19:00
process is, the typical sales process.
19:02
Talk to other people who are in your who are in your space.
19:07
I mean, talk to them. Figure out what the sales
19:08
process is. And then now start planning
19:10
things accordingly. And then you slow things down,
19:15
slow things down and then give the customer some breathing
19:17
room. Don't rush people try to rush
19:20
complex sales so much. You, you can rush these things
19:22
take time. Let's say you're selling cars,
19:26
OK, I don't know how much cars cost now I've been found.
19:30
I haven't even asked about car sales with the way the economy
19:33
has gone recently with hyperinflation.
19:34
But let's just assume now that now a brand new Toyota G wagon,
19:39
something, this is me just guessing.
19:40
I don't know. I'm just guessing.
19:42
I don't know, so don't quote me. So let's say now a ran UG wagon
19:45
is maybe 80 million. You can't rush somebody to buy
19:49
something that costs 80 million. You just can't rush.
19:52
You can't. You take things slow, give
19:56
somebody space. Then when you have figured out
20:03
what your sales process is, you now know how to schedule, or
20:11
what I call it, schedule advancements.
20:13
At every single stage. What an advancement is, is when
20:16
you get somebody to take the next small step that is required
20:19
to close the deal. You're going to close this thing
20:21
in one small step after another small step after another small
20:24
step. So if you do it this way.
20:27
And you spread things out and you're trying to close one small
20:30
step after another small step. Then you'll see that you're
20:34
constantly in touch, you're constantly top of mind, and
20:37
you're constantly moving things forward.
20:40
Now, in between, we also need to figure out value ways of
20:44
following up that add value to the person's life.
20:47
One of those things that I recommend over here is insights.
20:51
While the person is thinking things over, it's not a bad idea
20:54
for you to be sending the person articles, tips, tricks, videos
20:58
or whatever tips on different skin types or material that
21:04
recommends different skin regimens.
21:06
So let's say you're talking to the lady and the problem was
21:10
that during pregnancy, before pregnancy her skin was dry.
21:16
Nowadays after pregnancy, her skin is excessively oily and now
21:19
she now has stretch marks. So while she's considering like
21:23
the last presentation, let's say you give her two products, one
21:25
is tomato based and then the other one is sheer butter based.
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So while she's considering both of them, oh, by the way, I'm not
21:33
a specialist, so I'm just making stuff up here.
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So you're considering two options now, tomato based versus
21:38
sheer butter based. Which one will make the skin
21:41
less oily and which one will reduce stretch marks.
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So it's not a problem to be sending her videos or tutorials
21:52
or something about how you apply the tomato based one, the
21:56
benefit of the tomato based one and the perfect regimen for the
21:59
tomato based one, the perfect regimen for the sheer bottle
22:02
based one, how you apply the sheer bottle based one or the
22:05
advantage of the sheer bottle one over tomato and vice versa.
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So it is nothing that stops you from sending those things.
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In the meantime, when you send it, it is value add.
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It is not you saying Madam, make up your mind and pay me.
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Which one are you picking? It is you being a valuable
22:20
resource person and giving her some more things to consider
22:24
based on the two options that we're looking at.
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You can also be sending her information from time and time,
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you know about promos or discounts or you know, things
22:32
like that. You can also give curated
22:34
product recommendations. So even though she's considering
22:38
only this and this tomato based and sharewater based, wouldn't
22:43
be a bad idea to now show, OK, no, that might be a problem if
22:47
she's considering tomato base and she's shared with her base
22:49
and they are now showing other products that work well with
22:53
those. OK, no, that's you're better off
22:55
doing that as part of an upsell or a cross sell.
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So maybe after she pays you will now show all those other
23:02
options. But any you get what I'm trying
23:05
to say basically. So you're trying to follow up in
23:08
a way that is adding value to the situation and value add.
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Doing that by adding insights always helps, always makes you
23:15
seem like a valuable resource. Then there's also the typical
23:19
one that I keep talking about over here on the podcast, which
23:21
is where you follow up around birthdays and anniversaries and
23:25
work developments. So make sure you followed her on
23:30
her Instagram and on her TikTok and everything.
23:34
You know, that's how you know that, oh, the baby just turned 6
23:36
months or that the baby just turned one year and they're
23:38
doing birthday party and you send a message, you know, to
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congratulate. So that's how you know that
23:42
she's been promoted at work or let's see what else when you get
23:48
the point. So personal developments, work
23:51
developments, anniversaries, birthdays, you know, all these
23:53
sorts of things. Those are also good
23:55
opportunities for keeping in touch as well, especially for
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things like these that are kind of on the personal, personal
24:01
front, you know, beauty and skin care.
24:03
When I started early talking to people about personnel and
24:06
stuff, there are some people in the corporate space who used to
24:08
say, look, we can't do personal because you you're wedding
24:11
photographers. So that and it makes sense.
24:12
I mean, it's not creepy if you call somebody and say, hey,
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what's up now? I saw that your daughter just
24:16
turned 6 years old. Congratulations.
24:19
Some people used to say that in the in corporate space, that
24:21
would be kind of creepy. I don't think so.
24:23
I think it can be done adequately in a way that doesn't
24:27
seem as if you are stalking them.
24:30
It can be done. So these are different follow up
24:35
ideas, but basically start off with trying to add value to the
24:39
situation. Try and give insights, try and
24:41
give tips, try and give recommendations.
24:43
Let them know promos, discounts, stuff like that.
24:45
Give like creative product recommendations.
24:48
Happy birthday, happy anniversary, how's the husband,
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how's the children blah blah blah.
24:54
What else? Sorry, let me check my notes.
24:56
Let me see if I wrote anything that when I was considering
24:58
this. I think that's all that I have
25:00
pretty much for now, but this is how you can stay top of mind
25:04
with potential customers if you're in the beauty and in the
25:06
king care skin care space. But the main thing that I just
25:10
want to let you guys know is don't rush.
25:12
Sometimes you're dealing with very, very expensive items.
25:15
If the person comes and says give me 5 jars of Vaseline,
25:17
that's different, 5 jars of Vaseline, you can close that
25:20
deal, you know, sharp, sharp in 5 minutes because you either
25:23
have it or you don't because for some reason Vaseline is scarce.
25:26
I don't know why. So either have it or you don't
25:28
either have it at the price that they want or you don't.
25:30
You either going to haggle or you will not and then you close
25:33
the deal. But if it's something that is a
25:34
bit more complicated that hello, my name is Ineka.
25:38
I just gave birth to twins right now.
25:39
I got your number from Injedeka and she said that you really
25:44
helped her. She had stretch marks after the
25:46
surgery and she had scar tissue where they did the CES me to a
25:50
house. Scar tissue, you know.
25:52
So that one is a different conversation.
25:53
Take things easy, step things down, pipe things low, calm
25:57
down, hear her out, stretch it out, have a long drawn
26:01
conversation. Try and map out the sales
26:03
process, take things step by step.
26:05
Maybe that first phone call if it's late at night, you can say,
26:08
oh, oh, sorry, my late where I am right now.
26:11
Can I call you back tomorrow like around 9:00 so that you
26:15
know, when I get to the office, let me sit down my diary and in
26:18
fact, let's do Zoom call. Let me even see some of what
26:20
we're dealing with and you know, blah, blah, blah.
26:22
You know, so that's the next step.
26:23
Just stretch things out, slow things down, map out the sales
26:27
process. Take it from one step to
26:28
another. Remember that you're trying to
26:30
close the deal in small increments.
26:32
You're trying to get advancements.
26:34
So step one, Step 2, step three-step 4IN between where
26:38
people are thinking things over and things like that, you need
26:40
to find ways of being value add. So like in this case, you've
26:44
discussed the horrors of the CES and you've made your
26:48
recommendation if you find videos that shows that these are
26:51
the top five ways that Nigerian women deal with postpartum
26:55
stretch Marks and something. So if you send out that kind of
26:57
video, it's not bad, shows that you're thinking about how you're
27:02
still top of mind and it's not something that says Madam, make
27:05
up your mind. I've given you two options.
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Which one are you picking? Option A, option B or option C.
27:10
So you do that and that is how you keep customers.
27:13
You keep a customer's attention until the deal is closed.
27:16
And then please, let's have realistic expectations.
27:18
You are not going to close 100% of the deals that you 100% of
27:24
the customers that you talk to. Sometimes we have unnecessarily
27:27
high expectation. Now, what is the typical closing
27:30
rate in the beauty and the skin care space?
27:32
I have no idea. You have to talk to people in
27:34
the business, keep your records and then you get a sense of what
27:37
seems realistic, but 100% is unrealistic.
27:40
So sometimes you win some, you lose some.
27:43
I know it's easier. I said that I'm done, but you
27:45
don't get depressed when you lose every single thing.
27:49
So it's 30 minutes. Let me just bring you to a close
27:51
on this one. And that's all for today.
27:54
So if you're ready to get actionable strategies to grow
27:56
your business, you can book a low cost business audit by
27:59
calling me or messaging me on 08064662140.
28:05
The country code is +234. For those of you who are not
28:07
Nigerian or connect with me on socials on LinkedIn, the name to
28:11
look for establishment. Ayed, thank you very much for
28:13
your time and attention. I'll catch you guys in the next
28:15
episode.