Latest / Closing Sales in Nigeria - Sales For The Nigerian Business Person: The Sales and Marketing Blueprint / Stop Losing Deals: Master the Art of Scheduling Your Next Call

Transcript

Stop Losing Deals: Master the Art of Scheduling Your Next Call · Closing Sales in Nigeria - Sales For The Nigerian Business Person: The Sales and Marketing Blueprint

• 0:01
  Hello and welcome. My name is Tavi Shima Aidi.
• 0:04
  I'm the host of the podcast that I'm making today's recording
• 0:07
  outside and expect to hear some noise in the background.
• 0:10
  That's because the neighborhood kids and my kids, of course,
• 0:13
  they're all running around and playing and having fun.
• 0:16
  Now, the goal of this podcast is solving business problems.
• 0:18
  So if you're struggling to get customers, your marketing isn't
• 0:21
  working, issues with side hustles, something is holding
• 0:24
  your business back, then this is the show for you.
• 0:27
  So subscribe on Spotify, YouTube, Apple, or any player of
• 0:30
  your choice. And if you'd love to connect,
• 0:32
  you can call SMS or WhatsApp me on 08064662140.
• 0:39
  Today on the podcast, we're going to look at how to schedule
• 0:41
  calls, meetings and appointments.
• 0:45
  Again, today on the podcast, we're going to look at how to
• 0:47
  schedule calls, meetings and appointments.
• 0:51
  And the reason why we're going to be doing this, even though
• 0:54
  this sounds elementary, is because most salespeople, most
• 0:58
  business owners do a very poor job of this.
• 1:01
  And it's killing your sales and it's destroying business
• 1:03
  opportunities for you. It's something that I've
• 1:06
  realised. It's something that has really
• 1:12
  been hitting me in the chest this year in particular because,
• 1:18
  yeah, all I put it, you know, you're coaching for business
• 1:20
  people. You have clients that you're
• 1:23
  working with. And then people reach out
• 1:25
  during, you know, from the podcast and people want to ask
• 1:29
  me questions and things like that.
• 1:31
  And some very basic things like, oh, you know what, I'm busy now,
• 1:34
  so why not get back to me Thursday at 10 AM.
• 1:37
  You know, just that simple something.
• 1:40
  You find that there are lots of people who can't do something
• 1:42
  that simple as scheduling a call, scheduling a meeting,
• 1:47
  scheduling an appointment. So it's not unusual for me to
• 1:51
  tell someone I'm in the middle of something right now.
• 1:55
  Came back, came back to me Friday morning, send me a
• 1:58
  reminder the day before. You know, it's not uncommon now
• 2:03
  for me to have that kind of conversation with someone on a
• 2:05
  Monday and then not hear back from them until next Monday.
• 2:10
  And, you know, I have some people like, OK, didn't you
• 2:12
  schedule it? And people are like, what do you
• 2:14
  mean? So it's becoming clear that lots
• 2:16
  of people don't know how to schedule a call, schedule a
• 2:21
  meeting, schedule an appointment.
• 2:23
  And that is why I'm making today's podcast episode.
• 2:27
  Now. First of all, let's look at the
• 2:29
  why. Why is this important?
• 2:33
  Now, let's pretend that this has nothing to do with me, although
• 2:37
  the reason why I'm making the podcast is precisely because
• 2:39
  I've realized that a lot of you don't know how to schedule.
• 2:42
  But unless you move me from the equation, why should you even
• 2:45
  bother with scheduling? You should schedule because it's
• 2:52
  necessary for sales success. Let me just put it that way.
• 2:54
  Because a lot of us are involved in complex sales and the only
• 2:57
  way we can close complex sales is if we gain advancements and
• 3:01
  avoid continuations. Let me repeat.
• 3:04
  If you want to move your complex sail forward, you're only going
• 3:07
  to do that if you gain advancements and then you avoid
• 3:10
  continuations. Continuations are where you have
• 3:13
  conversations with people and everything seems cool,
• 3:15
  everything seems fine. You guys are just gisting.
• 3:18
  Looks like you are becoming friends, but at the end of the
• 3:21
  call, people who did not agree to anything.
• 3:24
  Now that's OK when you just want to make friends, but The thing
• 3:29
  is if you have somewhere that you're going and the reason why
• 3:32
  you're talking to this person, then continuations are a
• 3:34
  complete waste of your time. Because if you spend 2-3 hours
• 3:39
  talking to somebody in a week, you guys don't decide on this is
• 3:42
  what is the next step. You have just wasted your time.
• 3:46
  So in order to close deals, what we have to do is we should try
• 3:49
  and secure advancements. And advancement is when you and
• 3:54
  the other person who is the other person who is talking
• 3:57
  right now, you know the potential business partner, the
• 4:01
  potential customer, the potential stakeholder, the
• 4:03
  potential whoever. When both of you agree that we
• 4:06
  are going to do something next to further this business deal or
• 4:10
  to further this agenda, then that is an advancement and that
• 4:13
  is how complex business deals are closed.
• 4:18
  So if you're a Carpenter, you're in a simple business situation,
• 4:20
  you know there's no need to get involved with scheduling and
• 4:23
  all, you're just wasting your time.
• 4:24
  Well, if you're a Carpenter, like your business will improve
• 4:27
  if you use some of these techniques.
• 4:29
  But if you don't, maybe you can't say your business is
• 4:31
  suffering because of that. But for those of you who are
• 4:34
  involved in the complex, complex sale, you will need to get on
• 4:37
  board. You say you're a social media
• 4:40
  manager and you're not scheduling meetings with your
• 4:42
  clients. You wonder why you didn't close
• 4:44
  the deal. You've been waiting for them to
• 4:46
  get back to you. Like who is supposed to get back
• 4:48
  to you? Are you not the one who is
• 4:49
  chasing something? You're the person who should be
• 4:52
  scheduling something and be following up on this thing.
• 4:54
  Be on top of your game. Don't say if they're interested.
• 4:57
  They will call me back. That's not how it works.
• 4:59
  This is a complex sale. There are lots of things that
• 5:03
  are involved. It's not a simple decision that
• 5:06
  somebody can just, you know, sleep and wake up and say, well,
• 5:08
  let's go ahead. You need to be on top of the
• 5:10
  ball. You need to be scheduling
• 5:12
  appointments. You need to be scheduling
• 5:13
  meetings. You need to be scheduling
• 5:15
  follow-ups. I prefer to call them follow
• 5:16
  through. By the way, I stay on top of
• 5:19
  this thing. So the reason why a lot of you
• 5:22
  are not closing deals is because you are scheduling nothing.
• 5:26
  And because you schedule nothing, you remember nothing.
• 5:29
  And if you remember nothing, you won't make any any any calls.
• 5:33
  You think if the other person is interested, then they'll wake up
• 5:35
  and then they'll call you. That's precisely the reason why
• 5:37
  your business is in the situation that it is.
• 5:40
  If the other guy remembers and calls you back, Oh well and
• 5:42
  good, then you close the deal. If the other person does
• 5:45
  remember on call, if they forget your phone number, if their
• 5:47
  phone gets stolen or if their wife says, oh, I know I better
• 5:51
  somebody then not say you've lost the deal.
• 5:54
  So this is the reason why scheduling is important.
• 5:57
  You're involved in the complex sale.
• 5:59
  Be a professional. Start scheduling things also.
• 6:03
  Scheduling is important for building trust and it
• 6:05
  demonstrates professionalism, especially in Nigeria, It sets
• 6:09
  you apart. How many Nigerian business
• 6:11
  people do you think are scheduling anything?
• 6:13
  Nothing. So the moment you take some
• 6:16
  initiative to say OK Sir, I understand.
• 6:18
  It looks like these are parameters.
• 6:20
  You want to achieve this, you want to achieve this.
• 6:21
  OK, no problem. Give me a moment.
• 6:23
  Let me discuss with my team. Sir, is it OK if I call you back
• 6:27
  Friday 10 AM person says yes and then by Thursday, you send him a
• 6:32
  reminder or you call him saying that?
• 6:34
  Sir, I hope you don't, hope you don't mind just sending a
• 6:36
  reminder. Remember, we're supposed to talk
• 6:39
  tomorrow at 10 AM. By the time you drop the phone,
• 6:42
  the guy will be like, you know what, this guy is sharp.
• 6:44
  That is a professional here in Nigeria.
• 6:47
  This is how you set yourself apart.
• 6:50
  Other people are sleeping. They're not scheduling anything.
• 6:52
  The moment you schedule, you're already ahead of everybody else
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  because other people are sleeping.
• 6:57
  Other people are thinking if the guy is serious, you will call me
• 6:59
  back. So be a professional.
• 7:02
  Schedule your calls. It's very simple.
• 7:05
  Every single phone has Google, Google Calendar or Apple
• 7:10
  calendar or whatever calendar you want to download.
• 7:13
  You just put it there. You finish the phone call.
• 7:15
  You put it there. Open the calendar.
• 7:17
  You type. Mr. Oyebami, finish phone call
• 7:21
  today. Agreed.
• 7:22
  Next meeting Friday, 10 AM. Set a reminder.
• 7:26
  Set the reminder so that the thing will remind you on
• 7:28
  Thursday. When the thing reminds you on
• 7:30
  Thursday, you now send Mr. Ortega by me another text
• 7:33
  message reminding him about the meeting on Friday.
• 7:35
  Is that simple? That simple.
• 7:38
  It's costing you nothing already.
• 7:40
  You're looking like a professional.
• 7:42
  Other people are looking like the, you know, anyhow, Anyhow,
• 7:46
  people, that's why you should schedule.
• 7:50
  Anyway. Sorry that my blood is boiling.
• 7:53
  It just amazes me how in 2025, the kind of things that I have
• 7:59
  to be explaining in 2025, I really don't understand.
• 8:02
  It's not the kind of thing I should be explaining anyway.
• 8:06
  So now what are some of the common mistakes that people make
• 8:08
  when they try to schedule #1 sometimes people are too pushy.
• 8:11
  You're trying to schedule a meeting.
• 8:12
  You're trying to schedule a meeting, but you have to calm
• 8:15
  down 1st on this podcast. When I say being too pushy, what
• 8:19
  I mean is you've not been able to confirm whether the person is
• 8:22
  interested in your product or service.
• 8:24
  You haven't confirmed if they want your product.
• 8:25
  You haven't confirmed if they need your product.
• 8:27
  You haven't confirmed if they can, if you if they can afford
• 8:29
  your product. You've not been able to see
• 8:32
  whether there's any sense of urgency and you're trying to
• 8:34
  schedule meeting schedule meeting like calm down.
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  You don't know if they're interested first.
• 8:38
  The first point of call is to say, oh, Madam, you know, we're
• 8:41
  talking for like 20 minutes now. And to be honest, man, the way
• 8:44
  I'm the vibe I'm getting my is as if you're not really
• 8:47
  interested in da da, da, da da. And my dad might say, oh, you
• 8:50
  know what? I'm not really interested.
• 8:52
  Now my son is getting married next month.
• 8:54
  That is a priority. Now after the wedding, we'll get
• 8:56
  back to you. At least now you know you so OK,
• 8:59
  Madam, congratulations. You know, may the union be
• 9:02
  successful. This is this, that, that, that.
• 9:03
  OK, no problem. The wedding is next month.
• 9:05
  I'll be OK, no problem. Next month, February 15th.
• 9:09
  OK, Ma, can I call you like around that kind?
• 9:11
  March 7th. Oh, yes, that'd be perfect.
• 9:14
  OK, thank you. You now schedule it.
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  But if you're there, you're talking and you know you're
• 9:20
  trying to schedule something, you're meeting resistance.
• 9:23
  Like don't just keep being a pest.
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  Try and figure out what's going on.
• 9:29
  Try to figure out if they're still interested.
• 9:30
  Do they want this thing? Do they need it?
• 9:32
  Can they afford it? Is there such of urgency?
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  Ask questions when you now know that the interest is still there
• 9:40
  and it looks like, OK, there's there's room for progress, then
• 9:43
  you can now schedule something. If you haven't confirmed the
• 9:46
  fundamentals, whether there's want, need, afford or urgency,
• 9:51
  then you're being pushy. Another mistake that people make
• 9:53
  is they give too many options. Some people say, oh, I'm
• 9:56
  available OK, Ma, I'm available for a meeting.
• 9:59
  Third week of April is fine. Does that work for you?
• 10:02
  Third week of April is too vast. Now how can you say I'm
• 10:05
  available third week of April, 3rd week of April can be I'll be
• 10:09
  let me see first, then 7th. So third week of April can be
• 10:13
  anything from April 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15161718.
• 10:19
  That is too many choices. Narrow something down.
• 10:25
  OK man, you're travelling now you're going to be back third
• 10:28
  week in April. OK, no problem.
• 10:30
  When exactly are you coming back?
• 10:32
  OK. April 11th.
• 10:34
  OK, no problem. Let me just give you like 2 days
• 10:35
  to rest my shit. I'll be OK.
• 10:37
  Yeah, sure, no problem. So my if I buzz you April 13th,
• 10:40
  is that fine? Oh, yes, that's good.
• 10:42
  Does 4:00 PM work for you or 4:00 PM is fine?
• 10:44
  You know, go and schedule it. Don't be giving people too many
• 10:49
  options. Narrow things down.
• 10:51
  At best, give them two or three options.
• 10:54
  OK, Mark, I'll call you back again.
• 10:57
  I'm available Thursday, Friday. Does that work for you?
• 10:59
  Oh yes. Thursday, Friday is fine.
• 11:01
  OK, No problem man. Should I call you in the morning
• 11:03
  or in the afternoon? I think I might be busy in the
• 11:06
  morning, so afternoon will be fine.
• 11:08
  OK man, when you say afternoon, do you mean like 2:00 PM or 3:00
• 11:10
  PM? No, actually I mean more like
• 11:12
  5:00 PM. OK, no problem, I'll call you
• 11:14
  Thursday, 5:00 PM. OK.
• 11:17
  Thank you very much man. You caught the call.
• 11:18
  You go and schedule it. Make a note, send it.
• 11:21
  Send Madam a reminder 2 days before that.
• 11:25
  Simple, schedule something. Stop giving too many options
• 11:32
  then. I've already said this in the
• 11:35
  podcast. Let me say this again because
• 11:37
  some of you didn't hear me. Let me repeat it again so that
• 11:39
  you hear me. Well, when you schedule a call
• 11:44
  well and you schedule a call, you do a smooth, you sound like
• 11:47
  a professional. I'm telling you, you appear, you
• 11:52
  sound like a true professional. You're standing apart in Nigeria
• 11:57
  immediately. You did not pay anything extra
• 12:01
  for nothing. You just sound different.
• 12:06
  These are some of the things that I discovered in my early
• 12:09
  career as a wedding photographer.
• 12:11
  I assumed that people liked me because of my wonderful wedding
• 12:16
  photography. I assumed that was it.
• 12:18
  When I started asking people, I started hearing things like, oh,
• 12:20
  I don't know, I don't like, I just like you.
• 12:23
  When I started digging down, I started hearing things like oh
• 12:25
  you're professional, you're on time, you're different, blah,
• 12:30
  blah, blah. Eventually I was able to figure
• 12:32
  out that it is all these small, small things that people enjoyed
• 12:35
  dealing with me. Timelines will stay on point,
• 12:39
  meetings will be early, delivery schedule will be on point.
• 12:42
  If there's going to be a delay, I will inform you all these
• 12:45
  small, small things. If our one bride told me, she
• 12:47
  said you are the only wedding vendor that I never had to worry
• 12:52
  about. Now, I would have preferred if
• 12:56
  they love me for my photography, honestly, I would have preferred
• 12:58
  it because you know, as an artist, you know, we like you
• 13:00
  when people like our stuff, but you know, them feeling my
• 13:03
  professional side, you know, it's good.
• 13:05
  And I'm telling you from my own personal experience that just
• 13:08
  doing all these small, small things automatically you stand
• 13:12
  out. Some people talk about achieving
• 13:15
  mindshare and all whatnot. This is how you're achieving man
• 13:18
  share. Sorry, sorry.
• 13:21
  Forgive me is it makes me angry. You see that in 2025 I still
• 13:26
  have to be talking about things like this.
• 13:29
  Then let's look at the how practical tips, practical
• 13:32
  techniques. I've already spoken about how
• 13:34
  use your Apple calendar, use your Google Calendar, use your
• 13:38
  whatever it is you want to do. The tools are plenty.
• 13:40
  So I'm not going to I'm not going to insist on any
• 13:44
  particular tool for you. Whatever tool you want to works
• 13:47
  fine. Funny enough, the lines on these
• 13:49
  things are being blurred because like I like taking notes on
• 13:52
  Google Notes and I've noticed that even in Google Notes you
• 13:54
  can now set reminders. So even in note taking apps now
• 13:57
  you can't even start setting reminders.
• 14:00
  So whatever it is that you know you like, just go ahead and do
• 14:04
  it then. So when should we schedule the
• 14:09
  call? When should you try and schedule
• 14:12
  something? The best time to schedule
• 14:14
  something is as soon as you have wrapped up the agenda for this
• 14:20
  present call or this present meeting.
• 14:22
  In other words, if you're talking to Madam Ogadingbay now,
• 14:26
  she was looking for an architect you were you're trying to toast
• 14:29
  us so you can become the architect of new house she wants
• 14:31
  to build in her village. When you schedule the next
• 14:34
  meeting for your Madam Ogadingbay is now that you are
• 14:37
  on the call with Madam Ogadingbay or if you went to
• 14:39
  Madam Ogadingbay's office and you will are talking across the
• 14:43
  desk, then it is now that you are talking in the office that
• 14:46
  you will schedule the next call. Too many of you wrap up the call
• 14:54
  and then you will now start trying to send text message
• 14:56
  later on to to schedule the appointment.
• 14:59
  But The thing is our clients are busy.
• 15:01
  Madam Ogdenbe is busy. You had our attention now you
• 15:04
  didn't schedule it. Now you're now trying to send
• 15:07
  text message later on saying, hey Madam, I'm just following
• 15:11
  up. You know where she did like
• 15:13
  your. You're wasting her time.
• 15:14
  Madam Ogdenbe is busy now that you have her attention as you
• 15:17
  finish this meeting. You're not allowed.
• 15:19
  OK, Madam Ogdenbe, I understand. These are the specs.
• 15:23
  I'm going to draw proposals and drawings based on this and this
• 15:26
  and that and that and that. How soon will you be available
• 15:30
  for us to go over my proposal? Oh, OK.
• 15:34
  I'm traveling for my son's wedding.
• 15:36
  Something, something, something. OK, I'll be back in three weeks.
• 15:38
  OK, No problem. So my looks like you'll be
• 15:42
  available first week of June. Yes, by then I should be back.
• 15:45
  OK, how about I call you Wednesday, Thursday so we can go
• 15:48
  over these drawings. OK, that's fine.
• 15:50
  You have agreed it. Now in that meeting, in fact, if
• 15:54
  Madam Ogdenbe has PA and the PA is there, collect P as number at
• 15:58
  that meeting apart from sending Madam Ogdenbe reminders, you
• 16:03
  know. Well, first of all, you send out
• 16:04
  congratulation message. Oh, Ma, your son is getting
• 16:07
  married tomorrow. Congratulations by the wedding.
• 16:09
  Be fruitful. You'll be grandmother, you know,
• 16:10
  blah, blah, blah. Long life, you know, you know
• 16:12
  all those greetings. But then you'll also be sending
• 16:15
  her reminders, you know, welcome back into the country, Ma.
• 16:18
  Do not forget our meeting in two weeks.
• 16:20
  Also have P as number be sending PA these messages to PA.
• 16:24
  What's up? How are you doing now?
• 16:25
  It's me architect, the guy that came and met with people in the
• 16:27
  village. Remember Madam said we're going
• 16:30
  to have meetings, send PA reminder.
• 16:33
  True. This is how we stay on top of
• 16:35
  things so we can close the deal. It's no matter of oh, if she's
• 16:40
  interested, she will call me. Madam Morgan Abbey might be
• 16:43
  really, really interested. But I wonder if her son says,
• 16:45
  oh, I went to school with an architect.
• 16:48
  He's a very good architect, you know, blah, blah, blah.
• 16:49
  You might be more qualified by the other person.
• 16:51
  But the very fact that Madam Morgan and Mason said, oh, I
• 16:53
  know another architect. That's how you, you, you will,
• 16:58
  you fall out of favor. Schedule things and the time to
• 17:03
  schedule is now that you are talking with Madam Ogdenbee, now
• 17:06
  that you're with the client, that's when you schedule.
• 17:09
  Don't let things drag. Our customers are busy.
• 17:12
  Stop letting things drag. Don't cut the call now or leave
• 17:16
  the meeting. Now.
• 17:16
  You don't start sending e-mail and sending text messages.
• 17:18
  You try and schedule something. Schedule it now that the person
• 17:21
  is in front of your face. Now, what are the best days and
• 17:25
  times to schedule a call? Now, this is my own opinion.
• 17:28
  All the things that you see on excuse me, all the things you
• 17:31
  see on Instagram and LinkedIn and everything like that, all
• 17:34
  those are just, you know, American and UK, whatever you
• 17:37
  know, the best day of the week is Monday.
• 17:38
  The best day of the this is this.
• 17:40
  Don't follow all those people. Don't follow them.
• 17:45
  Don't follow them. Don't look for a best time.
• 17:47
  Just ask. Madam will get angry when she's
• 17:49
  free. It's that simple.
• 17:51
  The best time will depend on her.
• 17:53
  If her Mondays and Fridays are very very busy and she's only
• 17:55
  free Saturday to Sunday, she will tell you and you will
• 17:58
  schedule it accordingly. If you're a Christian and you're
• 18:01
  Catholic, she schedules a meeting for Sunday that is no
• 18:04
  problem. Attend the the Saturday evening
• 18:07
  mass. It fulfills your Sunday
• 18:08
  obligation. Then Sunday you'll be free.
• 18:11
  You go and meet her in the office and people discuss and
• 18:13
  then you get your money. So stop looking for any perfect
• 18:18
  day if you follow these American people and be saying the best
• 18:22
  time to set appointments is Monday at 8:00 or Wednesday at
• 18:25
  12:00 PM or something. Anyway, if you want to follow
• 18:29
  the Americans continue well here just ask your clients.
• 18:35
  Stop trying to guess this thing, just ask now.
• 18:39
  However, there are some general rules of thumb in some
• 18:44
  industries. Like I hear that for
• 18:46
  construction in America that during Monday to Friday,
• 18:50
  everybody's on site. So anybody who you want to call
• 18:53
  that is involved in the construction, they don't have
• 18:55
  their phone with them. So the best time to reach them
• 18:57
  is Saturday or Sunday. So maybe in, in Nigeria that
• 19:02
  will also be the case. But to be honest, for all the
• 19:05
  building sites I've been going to, it always looks as if the
• 19:07
  foreman, the architect, the, you know, all those people, it looks
• 19:11
  as if they have their phones all the time.
• 19:12
  So me, I will still call, it is the foreman who will now tell me
• 19:18
  that, oh, you know what, this is not a convenient time.
• 19:20
  How about you call me on weekends when I'm not on site.
• 19:24
  So if you know some of these general rules, no problem.
• 19:27
  Like in Nigeria medical doctors, you shouldn't be able to reach
• 19:31
  them. I think between 9, I think
• 19:33
  between 9:00 and 4:00 because 9:00 is, you know, consultation.
• 19:39
  Then like 12-1 is like rounds, medical rounds.
• 19:43
  You know, they're going to surgery, surgery ward and you
• 19:46
  know, things like that. So I sort of these things where
• 19:50
  you and besides, if you're in that industry, you will know the
• 19:53
  tradition, you will know when doctors are not available.
• 19:56
  That's if you sell to doctors. So I sort of these things stop
• 19:59
  guessing, just ask then. Sorry, it's 20 minutes.
• 20:05
  Looks like it's going to be a long episode.
• 20:06
  But let me just put everything together then.
• 20:08
  If people give you objections like just send me an e-mail or I
• 20:11
  don't have time right now. Whenever you're getting
• 20:14
  responses like that, it might be a sign that there's a problem.
• 20:17
  It might, or maybe they're just busy.
• 20:24
  But if it's a sign of a problem, then actually it's more like
• 20:26
  people might not be interested. So in this case it might not be
• 20:30
  a bad idea to try and confirm their interest.
• 20:34
  But either way, you always affirm and ask questions to try
• 20:37
  and get to the root cause. So you affirm, affirm.
• 20:41
  You say, oh sure, I would love to send you an e-mail.
• 20:43
  What would you like covered in the e-mail that we didn't get to
• 20:46
  on this call? As the person is talking about
• 20:50
  the things that you would like covered, you know you will now
• 20:55
  be able to see how, OK, this current meeting, there's some
• 20:58
  things that you did not address and you would be better prepared
• 21:03
  for the next meeting. Then you can also say something
• 21:10
  like, oh sure, I understand you're busy, Sir.
• 21:12
  Or understand you're busy. Madam Ogdenbe, when would you
• 21:15
  like us to reschedule? And then you hear from her.
• 21:19
  If it's just a matter of genuine busy, you know she will give you
• 21:22
  a nice time. But remember I said it could be
• 21:25
  that maybe they're not really interested so you can ask.
• 21:28
  You said OK, Sir. OK, Sir.
• 21:30
  OK, Mark, I appreciate that you're busy.
• 21:32
  Would you like us to reschedule or if this is not a priority
• 21:37
  right now, should we just drop this matter altogether?
• 21:39
  I know some of you think is too bold, but go ahead and ask
• 21:46
  because that is where if Madam Morgan is really really
• 21:50
  interested. But the problem is her son is
• 21:53
  getting married soon so her mind is in another space.
• 21:55
  It is then you will hear that oh OK, well my son is actually
• 21:58
  getting married blah blah blah blah blah blah, blah blah.
• 22:00
  And if you can reschedule until a later time.
• 22:04
  But just in case somebody says, you know what, to be honest, I'm
• 22:07
  not really that interested right now.
• 22:08
  Let's just drop it. I know some of you think it's a
• 22:11
  bad answer, but it actually is a good answer.
• 22:14
  Let me repeat this. I've said it on the podcast
• 22:15
  before. Let me repeat it again.
• 22:17
  When you're talking to customers, there are three
• 22:18
  possible answers you can get. You can get yes.
• 22:21
  Yes is good answer because it means money will enter your
• 22:23
  pocket. You can hear no or you can hear
• 22:25
  maybe. Some of you think no is a bad
• 22:27
  answer and that maybe is good. It actually is the other way
• 22:30
  around. Yes is a very good answer. 1 is
• 22:32
  entering my pocket. No is a good answer too, because
• 22:36
  it now means that I can leave this person alone and start
• 22:40
  chasing another person. No is a very good answer.
• 22:43
  Yes and no. They're both good answers.
• 22:46
  Maybe is a very bad answer because maybe, maybe, maybe is
• 22:50
  how you can be following somebody and be doing a follow
• 22:52
  up. Two months, three months, six
• 22:54
  months, five months, one year. Meanwhile you haven't closed any
• 22:57
  deal. Maybe is a very bad answer.
• 23:00
  The best answer you can hear is yes.
• 23:02
  The second best answer you can hear is no.
• 23:04
  No is actually good. If somebody tells you no, you
• 23:08
  know, ending on a nice note. OK, Sir, it was a pleasure
• 23:10
  talking to you, blah, blah, blah.
• 23:11
  If priorities ever change, you know, you have my phone number.
• 23:15
  You know, can I be in touch once in a while?
• 23:16
  Well, you're sure, young man, you can be in touch once in a
• 23:18
  while. So.
• 23:18
  OK, Thank you very much, Sir. And then, you know, you leave
• 23:21
  once in a while. You drop messages on the gang or
• 23:24
  Madam. But at least you are now free to
• 23:28
  be chasing somebody else. Maybe is a very bad answer that
• 23:32
  maybe maybe maybe you'll be following people up and down
• 23:35
  doing. And the problem with the maybes
• 23:37
  is all the maybes become plenty, plenty, plenty.
• 23:39
  You'll find out that you wake up in a week.
• 23:42
  You have 10 people to call. The yes was 2, which is good.
• 23:46
  The no was 2, which is OK. The remaining 6, maybe you'll be
• 23:50
  following them up and down for like 2 months.
• 23:51
  You think you're making progress meanwhile nothing.
• 23:56
  So please, let us stop being afraid of no.
• 24:01
  Then another question. What is the best time duration
• 24:05
  for a call? You know, those of you who
• 24:09
  follow American influencers, you will you will worry about these
• 24:13
  things. Should I tell them?
• 24:15
  Oh, Madame Ogdenbe, this is just going to be a 15 minute call.
• 24:17
  This is going to be a 30 minute call.
• 24:19
  It's just going to be a 45 minute call.
• 24:22
  You're worrying yourself too much in America.
• 24:25
  Yeah, that's part of their culture.
• 24:28
  But The thing is, over here, every time you're meeting with
• 24:31
  the client, every time you're talking, Madam Mogadingbi, get
• 24:34
  into the habit of getting straight to the point and
• 24:36
  conducting this meeting. To be as short as possible,
• 24:41
  confirm that she's available for the next meeting.
• 24:43
  Put it on the calendar. You don't need to tell her this
• 24:45
  will be a 15 minute meeting. This will be a 5 minute meeting.
• 24:48
  This will be a 2 hour meeting. You don't need to tell her that
• 24:52
  for now. For those of you who are
• 24:55
  involved in really, really, really complex things, like if
• 24:57
  you guys are negotiating heads of agreement for oil and gas
• 25:00
  contracts, that kind of thing is different because as a baby
• 25:05
  lawyer, I was involved in some of those things.
• 25:07
  Some of those meetings, man, is like 7 hours ago.
• 25:10
  So that kind of thing. You have to let the client know
• 25:12
  ahead of time that, you know, boss, if I want to schedule this
• 25:14
  thing, let it be when you're free.
• 25:16
  I need like 1233 free so that we can iron this thing out, but not
• 25:21
  a lot of us are at that stage yet.
• 25:23
  So for now, you don't need to tell Madam Morgan is a 15 minute
• 25:26
  call. So let Americans continue to
• 25:29
  worry about this sort of thing. But in Nigeria, just get into
• 25:32
  the habit of going straight to the point.
• 25:35
  Whether you take 5 minutes or 30 minutes and continue to schedule
• 25:39
  and you won't have any problem. If Madam Morgan this is that
• 25:42
  you're a time waster, trust me, she will not like taking your
• 25:45
  meetings. So get into the habit of getting
• 25:50
  straight to the point. Then another question, Should
• 25:53
  you use technology to make scheduling easier for you and
• 25:56
  your prospects? Well, you know, the Americans
• 26:00
  now, they like doing Calendly, HubSpot, all these things.
• 26:02
  And I just have started adopting this thing.
• 26:04
  But I'm telling you on this podcast, look, the culture here
• 26:08
  is different in Nigeria, in America, Yeah, do that where
• 26:12
  Nigeria don't, because in Nigeria, the attitude is now you
• 26:17
  define something. You understand me?
• 26:19
  You are the person who is looking for something in
• 26:21
  Nigeria. You can be looking for something
• 26:23
  then you will now be sending the other person scheduling link.
• 26:26
  You're the person who think in their mind.
• 26:27
  OK, you're not ready. Sorry. 1 moment.
• 26:33
  OK, sorry about that. I was one of the neighborhood
• 26:35
  kids. I was just looking for my son.
• 26:37
  You know they're playing police antif.
• 26:38
  So anyway, what was I so in Niger Now you define something.
• 26:47
  So if I want to have a deal with Dangote or have a meeting with
• 26:52
  Dangote, I'm hoping that this will get me like 500 M or maybe
• 26:55
  one 1 billion, you know, then OK, sorry.
• 27:00
  One moment. Let me attend to the kids again.
• 27:05
  OK, Sorry about that. Yeah, like I said, the other
• 27:08
  kids are looking for my son. You know, everybody's playing
• 27:11
  the only adult here. So if there's problem, I'm the
• 27:13
  one that is. That is very free.
• 27:16
  I was. I know.
• 27:19
  OK, yes. So using scheduling tools
• 27:21
  because, you know, we listen to American podcasts, you know,
• 27:24
  some of us go to American schools, you know, we come back
• 27:27
  and then we start doing things like, oh, OK, yeah.
• 27:30
  So are you available next week? OK, I'll send you a calendly
• 27:33
  link, you know, to schedule the meeting.
• 27:36
  You'll be feeling cool because when you're in America, that's
• 27:38
  what you learnt. Now in Nigeria, things are a
• 27:40
  little bit different in business or in sales.
• 27:47
  Well, everybody's of equal status, let me put it that way.
• 27:51
  But this whole dynamic of naive define something, it puts an
• 27:54
  imbalance in the dynamics in the relationship.
• 27:58
  So you can be forming big boy, I'm designing, somebody can let
• 28:01
  Calendly link or HubSpot link. You're the one who is trying to
• 28:04
  get something. So try and schedule something
• 28:07
  now that you're face to face with the prospect.
• 28:09
  So if I want to do business with down with it and I'm hoping to
• 28:12
  get like 500 M, 800 M from that deal.
• 28:16
  By the way, if any of you know, even if you don't know down with
• 28:19
  it, please give down with it. My phone number.
• 28:21
  I always put it in the beginning of the podcast and at the end
• 28:24
  tell down with it that this is correct guy.
• 28:26
  You know the guy Gabriel, you know, if you if you hook up with
• 28:31
  him, he will help your business grow.
• 28:32
  So you should tell down with it that I'm here down with it
• 28:35
  doesn't know I'm exist. So tell him I'm around.
• 28:38
  So if I'm now trying to get something from down with you,
• 28:43
  try and hook up this meeting and I'll tell Dangote that I me in
• 28:47
  Nigerian parlance who is a nobody, I will send him calendly
• 28:50
  link. I will wait Tyre for him to
• 28:52
  respond to my calendar link. Do you guys get where I'm
• 28:56
  heading? The same thing Madam Ogdeningly,
• 28:59
  you will go to the same church you want to design her house in
• 29:01
  the village because you're an architect.
• 29:03
  If you like be sending her calendly link from now to next
• 29:07
  year, you will wait tire be sending her Hobbs What link be
• 29:10
  sending her all those scheduling tools that you've heard from
• 29:13
  American podcasts or that while you are in America or in the UK
• 29:16
  you saw the other people use, you will wait tire no BU define
• 29:20
  something. The thing is very simple.
• 29:24
  If I'm with Dan with it right now or if I'm with his PA right
• 29:28
  now, I will schedule something right now while that we are
• 29:31
  here. If Dangote says he's going to be
• 29:35
  in Dubai for the next two weeks, but then he's coming back end of
• 29:40
  August, you know, I'll try and narrow it down or end of August.
• 29:45
  So Saddam is like on that kind 28th 29 to be around.
• 29:48
  He said yes, actually my flight lines 29th after August is what
• 29:52
  last September? OK, so let me say the next
• 29:55
  September is like next Monday said as September 3rd.
• 29:59
  So OK. Oh fantastic.
• 30:00
  So Sir, how about we schedule our next meeting for September,
• 30:05
  for September, Monday, September 3rd he will say, OK, yeah, that
• 30:09
  sounds OK. That sounds all right.
• 30:11
  Now the truth of matter is down with you or Madam Ogdingby or
• 30:15
  whoever your prospect is will not pull out their phone and
• 30:17
  schedule something. This is why I keep saying the
• 30:19
  onus is on you. Now, if Madam Ogdingby or down
• 30:23
  with you have Pai will also make sure I collect PA phone number
• 30:27
  at the end of this engagement so I can also be following up with
• 30:29
  PA as well to make sure that I remain on the calendar.
• 30:32
  Remember, this is Nigeria. Now you define something.
• 30:35
  I hope you're listening. Now you define something.
• 30:39
  If you keep on, you know, calendly link household as you
• 30:43
  Miss Rd. These tools are good in certain
• 30:46
  kinds of contexts, but we're in Nigeria now.
• 30:48
  We haven't gotten to that place yet.
• 30:51
  When we get there, you can do that.
• 30:53
  In fact, me, even me small boy, right now I'm nobody, anybody
• 30:58
  who sends me calendar link. You're wasting your time.
• 31:00
  You're not serious. We finished talking, so I'll
• 31:02
  send you calendar link up. So this guy is trying to impress
• 31:05
  me. He's been listening to American
• 31:06
  sales postcards. He wants to show that he too he
• 31:08
  knows what's up. He will send me calendar link.
• 31:10
  Yeah, no problem. Let him send.
• 31:14
  So scheduling tools. Yes, for America, for UK,
• 31:17
  Australia, I have no idea. I don't know what their culture
• 31:19
  is like there, but in Nigeria we are not at that level yet.
• 31:23
  If you secure a meeting with one of your Popsy's friend, your
• 31:27
  father is trying to make an introduction to you for somebody
• 31:30
  who could be a significant deal or something.
• 31:33
  When you don't want to look at your father's mate in the face
• 31:35
  and start telling him, I will send you Calendly link.
• 31:38
  First of all, how many of them even know what Calendly is?
• 31:43
  So it's nice to listen to American podcasts, but we should
• 31:46
  always adapt the knowledge there, you know, to our own
• 31:48
  local circumstances. So in my own opinion, Calendly,
• 31:51
  HubSpot, all these things, the time will come, but we are not
• 31:55
  there yet. It's an American thing.
• 31:56
  Don't use that in Nigeria right now because of cultural nuances
• 32:02
  and the slightly uneven status that is involved in business
• 32:05
  dynamics. Schedule now that the person is
• 32:09
  in front of you, don't cut the call and then start sending the
• 32:11
  person calendly link or calendly e-mail or whatever.
• 32:16
  Don't. Then what are the best practices
• 32:21
  for sending invitations and reminders?
• 32:23
  You know, it depends on how far out the meeting is.
• 32:26
  But as a general rule, I think it's OK to send two reminders
• 32:29
  and to do one call on the day off.
• 32:31
  In other words, let's say this is January 1st.
• 32:34
  We agreed for January 14th. I really think it's OK to text
• 32:37
  the person some sort of reminder.
• 32:39
  You know, January 7th, another reminder, maybe January 10th,
• 32:45
  then maybe you call the person January 13th, you know, to say
• 32:50
  we're looking forward to the meeting or call the person on
• 32:52
  the morning of the January 14th to say OK, looking forward to
• 32:55
  our meeting at 2:00 PMI think that's all right, but it
• 33:00
  depends. So I can't give any general
• 33:03
  rules, but for me for short something, when I say short, I
• 33:07
  mean like within one month, even within one week's off.
• 33:10
  Generally I'm looking for like 2 touches before the meeting
• 33:14
  because I want to be sure that the person remembers and that
• 33:17
  the person is going to show up. Then let's look at the what
• 33:25
  next? You guys have agreed to the
• 33:28
  meeting. You will have scheduled the
• 33:30
  meeting. Now make no mistake, like I
• 33:33
  said. Now you define something.
• 33:35
  Madame Ogy Dingby or Dangote or Popsy's friend or whoever it is,
• 33:40
  the person is not going to schedule nothing in their own
• 33:43
  calendar. Trust me, they won't.
• 33:46
  So all the scheduling, all the reminder, all the follow up, all
• 33:50
  the everything is on you, the business owner, the salesperson.
• 33:54
  Because like I said, now you define something.
• 33:59
  So send people an SMS that very day to confirm interest or to
• 34:04
  add some excitement or whatever, you know.
• 34:08
  So when we finish that meeting, OK, let's go back to the down
• 34:10
  with the thing. As soon as down with the agrees
• 34:12
  and as soon as we leave, assuming I have down with his
• 34:14
  personal number. Well, I hope I do.
• 34:18
  I will send a message. Lovely chatting with you today,
• 34:22
  Chairman. Looking forward to our meeting
• 34:24
  on so, so, so and so. Have a safe trip on your Dubai
• 34:26
  trip. I hope your negotiations with
• 34:29
  the Sultan of Dubai works out well, you know, blah, blah,
• 34:32
  blah. Best regards.
• 34:33
  You know, chairs as in that kind of message, you should be
• 34:37
  sending these kind of messages immediately.
• 34:38
  You're done with the conversation.
• 34:41
  Register in people's minds and register on people's phones.
• 34:45
  Hope you guys are listening because some of you don't even
• 34:49
  send this basic message. So the next time you're calling
• 34:51
  to remind them or the next time you're sending a text message to
• 34:54
  remind them in like two or three weeks time, you know, half the
• 34:57
  time they've already forgotten. Who is this?
• 34:59
  Who is this strange number? But at least if you send this
• 35:02
  immediate number now, whether they remember or not, by the
• 35:05
  time the second message comes in, they will now see, oh, call
• 35:08
  history. This is somebody that I've been
• 35:09
  yawning with before. This is not a message that just
• 35:14
  came out of nowhere. So send a simple text message to
• 35:17
  confirm and that you're looking forward to the prospects.
• 35:21
  Also let them know in the message how you intend to follow
• 35:25
  up. So I always tell people, lovely
• 35:29
  chatting with you. Looking forward to our meeting
• 35:31
  on the 14th. Would it be OK if I call you if
• 35:36
  I send you a reminder on the 7th?
• 35:38
  If I send you on the 7th? Oh yeah, sure, sure, sure.
• 35:41
  That's fine when I was on the 7th or when I send a reminder on
• 35:44
  the 7th. I'm not being an irritant
• 35:46
  because I already told the person already telegraphed it
• 35:51
  during our last meeting. Not only did I say it face to
• 35:53
  face or say it over the call, I also put it in a text message.
• 35:57
  So I'm not being impressed. Then go and create an agenda for
• 36:04
  this meeting. Create the agenda now that The
• 36:08
  thing is still fresh in your head.
• 36:10
  Store that agenda on your phone. Store it in your calendar
• 36:16
  reminder app, or store it under the person's name.
• 36:20
  You cannot wait until the day of the meeting before you now start
• 36:23
  deciding that. Oh, OK, what am I going to
• 36:26
  discuss about with Chairman Dan Gothi?
• 36:29
  Or what am I going to discuss with Madame Morgan?
• 36:34
  You're human. You forget, but if you prepare
• 36:36
  the agenda that immediately all you have to do just open your
• 36:39
  phone, open the calendar, something or check order their
• 36:44
  name and contact. You will see it meeting December
• 36:48
  23rd. Agenda 12345, you say?
• 36:51
  Oh, OK, everything will now rush to your head, brah.
• 36:53
  Good. In fact, that can even be one of
• 36:56
  the follow up items. Hello, Madame Morgan Denby.
• 37:00
  Welcome. I saw the Instagram photos.
• 37:02
  Your son's wedding was beautiful.
• 37:04
  God bless their family. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
• 37:07
  She'll respond. Oh, thank you very much, my
• 37:09
  dear. We thank God.
• 37:09
  We thank God. Oh, by the way, Ma, we haven't
• 37:13
  forgotten our meetings. So, so, so and so.
• 37:15
  Oh, yes, yes, yes. No problem.
• 37:16
  Well, I've prepared an agenda. I'll send it to you 2 days
• 37:20
  before the meeting starts. OK.
• 37:21
  No problem. Thank you very much.
• 37:22
  My son may end the conversation there.
• 37:25
  Then the two days before, just like you said, you send the
• 37:28
  agenda ahead of time. Of course, like I said, if Madam
• 37:31
  Mogading, they showed up with PA, please make sure you
• 37:34
  collected P as phone number. You are sending PA all these
• 37:37
  things as well so that you remain firmly on the calendar
• 37:42
  for this meeting. So this is what you do
• 37:46
  afterwards. These are the post scheduling
• 37:48
  actions. Now, the part that some of you
• 37:51
  might be concerned about, unfortunately sometimes you go
• 37:54
  through all these people don't show.
• 37:57
  So it's possible that Dangote lands and is looking forward to
• 38:00
  our meeting, but then the president calls him and says,
• 38:02
  Aluko, where are you doing now? So I just landed Abuja, so I beg
• 38:06
  show, show, show, show. We have something that we're
• 38:08
  discussing and then now what it takes off.
• 38:09
  Of course, the president calls down to you think that is going
• 38:12
  to prioritize my own meeting? These things happen.
• 38:16
  Same thing with Missus Rogan and Beto.
• 38:19
  Something can come up, they can call me.
• 38:22
  So Madam Ogadembe in the village that this happening, this
• 38:24
  happening, or maybe Madam Ogadembe has been pursuing some
• 38:27
  political something and they have people say we're having
• 38:30
  caucus meeting come and show up. So for lots of reasons we don't
• 38:34
  know, people don't show up for meetings.
• 38:38
  It happens. However, you have no control
• 38:41
  over this. All you do is just stick to your
• 38:42
  process. You've done all the reminders
• 38:45
  show up for the meeting on time. You agree for 10:00 ten o'clock
• 38:49
  you haven't seen the person. It might be rude to calm and I'm
• 38:52
  getting by herself. So call PA by time is like 10 O
• 38:55
  5/10/10 as just like APA. What's up now offer your PA can
• 39:01
  PA one saw you and let you know. Oh sorry, you know this is what
• 39:05
  happened then you now start trying to reschedule.
• 39:10
  Too many of you go for a meeting, the person doesn't show
• 39:12
  up. You wait for one hour and then
• 39:14
  you leave and then you're now angry.
• 39:16
  No, that's not how it's done. Shut up, show up on time.
• 39:22
  When it's time and nobody's calling, maybe send text
• 39:24
  message. If I what I do is by the time I
• 39:27
  get to the venue, I always send a message, try and I arrive
• 39:29
  there earlier. So I get there and I send a
• 39:32
  message. I say hello chairman, I have
• 39:36
  been house on free time, so I got to the meeting early.
• 39:40
  I'll be chilling and waiting at so so so and so for 10:00
• 39:43
  meeting. You know, whenever you're close
• 39:45
  to the venue, just let me know. At least I sent something like
• 39:49
  that. So mentally the other person
• 39:52
  will register that. Oh, OK, this guy on the ground
• 39:54
  like he's around. So if they don't show, that's
• 40:01
  it. You know, don't be annoyed.
• 40:02
  It's just one of these things. It's the cost of doing business.
• 40:06
  Some people show up, some people don't show up.
• 40:08
  Send me a message, send another message, send somebody message.
• 40:11
  You know by if you guys agree for 10:00.
• 40:14
  By 10:10 you haven't seen somebody, 10:15 you haven't seen
• 40:17
  somebody call, you know, send a message.
• 40:20
  If there's need to reschedule, you reschedule.
• 40:21
  If they are running late, they will let you know.
• 40:23
  You know, you wait and hopefully you will do the business and
• 40:27
  everything should go on OK. If you're trying to reschedule
• 40:30
  and then people goes to you after that, then you never know.
• 40:34
  Maybe they're not being, they were never interested in the
• 40:36
  first place. You never know.
• 40:39
  But either way, that's the point where I send a breakup message
• 40:41
  to confirm interest. That was how I'll send a message
• 40:43
  like oh, Madame Ogadenbee, how do I put it now?
• 40:47
  OK Madam, after we missed that, no, how do I put it So 1 moment,
• 40:54
  OK, let me just freeze down. So I'll say, oh, Madam
• 40:58
  Ogadenbee, after I failed December 1st meeting, I tried
• 41:02
  reaching out severely and I haven't gotten a response from
• 41:04
  either you or your PA. I'm going to assume that maybe
• 41:09
  priorities have changed on your end.
• 41:10
  And perhaps you know how I put it, OK, I'm going to go assume
• 41:14
  that, assume that maybe priorities have changed on your
• 41:16
  end. You know, question mark or leave
• 41:18
  it like that question mark, and now just send it like that.
• 41:22
  There's some people who now respond and say, oh, my dear,
• 41:25
  I'm sorry, this is what came up. This is what came up.
• 41:27
  And then the conversation resumes.
• 41:31
  But if somebody even goes to you after that one, then for me
• 41:35
  personally, I just take it, OK, it's one of those things that
• 41:38
  wasn't meant to be. And then I wrap it up and I
• 41:40
  remove my mind from there. Maybe once in a while I'll send
• 41:44
  the person, you know, the usual messages, happy Christmas, happy
• 41:48
  New year, you know, all those kind messages.
• 41:51
  And then maybe value add messages.
• 41:54
  I'll make another podcast episode about that.
• 41:56
  But honestly, my mind will not be there again because you know,
• 42:00
  I followed my process. I scheduled the meeting.
• 42:02
  I tried to, that one didn't hold.
• 42:04
  I tried to shut down another one.
• 42:05
  That one didn't hold. I sent the break up message.
• 42:08
  You know, I used to be interested.
• 42:09
  Our priorities still the same. They ignored that one.
• 42:12
  Honestly, there's nothing I can do again.
• 42:13
  I'm not going to go to my number with the miss house and start
• 42:15
  knocking on her door now. I'm not going to do that and you
• 42:20
  shouldn't either. Don't be desperate, don't worry,
• 42:23
  go to make your way. It happens.
• 42:26
  Then in case you're scheduling the meeting and the meeting is
• 42:30
  far, let's say, you know, like I said, now that let's say
• 42:32
  Download is travelling to Dubai, he's going to be away for two
• 42:35
  months, then what are ways, OK, let's say Madam or getting away,
• 42:39
  OK, because download, it does, it's too big.
• 42:43
  Not everybody can relate to that.
• 42:46
  Don't mind me, I can't really. I don't have any friends who
• 42:48
  have billionaires. I'm just running my mouth, don't
• 42:49
  mind me. So let's say Madam or getting
• 42:51
  away is traveling for two months actually.
• 42:54
  So what are the things that you can do to keep the prospect, the
• 42:57
  person you're chasing? What can you do to keep them
• 42:59
  engaged, maybe even excited about the upcoming event?
• 43:03
  So This is why I say prepare an agenda.
• 43:05
  Setting the agenda ahead of time could be a way of keeping people
• 43:08
  engaged. Some people will even see the
• 43:10
  agenda and might even start texting you back and forth on
• 43:12
  specific things that actually is beautiful.
• 43:15
  If you send the agenda and they start texting you on one or two
• 43:17
  things, My guy, babe, continue be texting.
• 43:21
  Continue anything that is moving the agenda is is nice either
• 43:26
  testing on the agenda continue to converse on the agenda
• 43:28
  because you agreed December 1st doesn't mean you have to wait
• 43:31
  till December 1st. If you agreed December 1st, you
• 43:34
  sent her the message now is September 23rd and she starts to
• 43:37
  engage you continue to engage anything you can do to move the
• 43:41
  deal forward anything. Then of course there's also
• 43:46
  value added stuff that you can do that you can send from from a
• 43:49
  professional points of view. So like in my own case, if there
• 43:56
  are specific techniques, specific problems that we've
• 43:59
  discussed and you know, there are interesting articles or
• 44:03
  resources that the person might want to see dealing with those
• 44:06
  problems. You know, I send people those
• 44:09
  things once in a while. It's just a well remaining top
• 44:11
  of mind. You know, they're just there,
• 44:13
  they're just chilling. And so.
• 44:14
  Oh, OK, I send a message. Oh, boss, Madam, we're getting
• 44:17
  based on our conversation of blah, blah, blah ahead of our
• 44:20
  meeting, I just came across these resources.
• 44:21
  I thought it's something that you might like to have a look at
• 44:24
  send, she said on WhatsApp. I'm remaining top of mind and
• 44:28
  this is one way that we engage people.
• 44:30
  Anyway, 45 minute episode. I'm terribly sorry.
• 44:33
  I know I promised you guys I wasn't going to do anything more
• 44:35
  than 15 minutes, 20 minutes. But it's all just on my chest
• 44:41
  and I just, I just needed to vomit it because I find that I'm
• 44:45
  having to teach so many people how to schedule.
• 44:47
  So these are plenty of ideas around scheduling.
• 44:50
  So please take dressing. It is very, very important.
• 44:53
  It is vital for your business. And these are the ways that we
• 44:56
  close the deal. Small, small, small.
• 44:58
  I hope you guys are seeing that the reason why people are losing
• 45:01
  some big deals is not because your father's people are chasing
• 45:04
  you in the village. It is not a spiritual attack.
• 45:06
  You don't know how to schedule. That is why things are falling
• 45:09
  apart. You don't know how to schedule.
• 45:12
  You do not know how to get advancements in a business deal.
• 45:16
  You don't know how to move things forward one step at a
• 45:18
  time. So it is not your father's
• 45:21
  people. Yes, your father's people don't
• 45:23
  like you. They hate you.
• 45:24
  They want to see your downfall. But honestly, their spiritual
• 45:28
  attack has never reached you yet because you you're doing a good
• 45:30
  job of spawning your business by yourself.
• 45:32
  Learn how to schedule, please. You'll make a huge difference.
• 45:38
  All right, so that's it and that's all.
• 45:39
  Remember, if you'd love to connect, you can call SMS or
• 45:42
  WhatsApp me on 08064662140. Thank you very much for your
• 45:47
  time and attention. I'll catch you next time.
• 45:49
  Same place in your headphones or in your speakers.