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The 5 Stages of a Successful Business Phone Call: Greeting, Intention, Questions, Proposal, Close · Closing Sales in Nigeria - Sales For The Nigerian Business Person: The Sales and Marketing Blueprint

• 0:01
  Today on the podcast, we're going to be talking about how to
• 0:03
  make phone calls. Again today on the podcast, how
• 0:07
  to make phone calls. You want to chase somebody,
• 0:10
  you're trying to follow up or follow through.
• 0:12
  You're trying to toast a customer, you're trying to get
• 0:14
  some business. How do you use the phone to try
• 0:17
  and make some money? Now some of you will say, oh
• 0:22
  boy, this question is like it's primary school level now.
• 0:25
  Why are you talking about nothing?
• 0:28
  The reason why we're tackling this is because for me, the
• 0:31
  biggest frustration actually in working with especially those of
• 0:36
  you who are salespeople, employed by someone else,
• 0:41
  because entrepreneurs, they kind of understand and they get with
• 0:44
  the program. But then those of you who are
• 0:46
  salary earners, to be honest, my biggest fight with you guys is I
• 0:51
  have some basic elementary, as in like primary school level
• 0:56
  things you should be doing but you don't because you're too
• 1:01
  proud, all for whatever reason. And I understand because I used
• 1:05
  to be that way too. I thought I was above some
• 1:07
  stuff. Those of you who've been
• 1:09
  listening to the podcast for a while, you remember when I spoke
• 1:13
  about brother Pyos in the CKC Wawalada secondary school, that
• 1:16
  was my GSS. My brother Pyos used to say,
• 1:19
  write this thing down, write this thing down.
• 1:22
  But I thought I was AG like me. I know everything and so I
• 1:26
  wouldn't write things down. But looking back now, I can see
• 1:30
  that man, Bro Pious was correct. You write things down because
• 1:35
  life happens. You get distracted, you forget
• 1:39
  stuff. So anyway, today that's what
• 1:43
  we're going to be looking at. How do you make phone calls?
• 1:47
  And we best learn how to do this because the way the world is
• 1:51
  moving the phone, it's an important tool that we're going
• 1:55
  to use to grow our business. In fact, I remember when I got
• 1:58
  my first mobile phone. I was back in university then.
• 2:03
  I think I was in like, year 4 year.
• 2:05
  Yeah. Year 4.
• 2:07
  I was in OAU all over Hall. I was block eight.
• 2:12
  Yeah. That was a very, very wayward
• 2:15
  hall. Hostile, you know, just a bunch
• 2:19
  of us running around like miscreants.
• 2:20
  Those were the good old days. So Block 7 room 2O2, I had
• 2:25
  gotten a people used to call it Samsung blueface, you know,
• 2:28
  analogue, you punch the phones, you know, you know that kind of
• 2:33
  phone. And one day I remember an
• 2:36
  epiphany holding this wonderful Samsung blueface.
• 2:40
  It was as if they haven't spoke to me and they haven't told me
• 2:44
  Tavi Schuma. I said, hey, who is talking?
• 2:48
  And the voice said, this phone is going to make you millions of
• 2:52
  naira. And then the voice went away.
• 2:55
  Ladies and gentlemen, I'm passing across that epiphany to
• 2:58
  you today. This very phone that you're
• 3:01
  holding in your hand can make you lots of cheddar, lots of
• 3:05
  cash. This very podcast, I say very
• 3:08
  podcast, this very phone that you're using to listen to a
• 3:10
  podcast. And so that is all we're going
• 3:12
  to talk about today. If you love these sorts of
• 3:15
  things, then you can connect with me by calling, sending a
• 3:18
  text message or a WhatsApp message on 08064662140.
• 3:24
  I'm your host Tava Shima Haidi and this is what we do over
• 3:27
  here. We solve business problems.
• 3:29
  And right now the business problem that we're solving is
• 3:31
  too many of you are making phone calls and you don't even know
• 3:34
  how to use the phone properly. So let's start off, let's ignore
• 3:39
  the whole thing about headset and you know all of that.
• 3:42
  We'll come to that later. But the first thing is too many
• 3:45
  of you are making phone calls and you're freestyling, and
• 3:48
  that's not good. Think of it this way.
• 3:52
  If you've been listening to the podcast for any length of time,
• 3:55
  you probably listen to the broadcast episodes where I talk
• 3:57
  about conducting a Zoom meeting or going for a physical meeting.
• 4:02
  It is inconceivable. It is unheard that anybody as
• 4:06
  mature as we are is going for a physical meeting.
• 4:10
  We did not sketch an agenda before we go there.
• 4:16
  In fact, you know, old school, like old school, old school,
• 4:20
  like you're going for a church meeting, things like that.
• 4:24
  The agenda is even printed out beforehand and distributed to
• 4:27
  everybody, and that is church. Now, this is business.
• 4:34
  Money is on the line, profits are on the line.
• 4:38
  Your reputation is on the line, your credibility is at stake,
• 4:43
  and you want to go for a meeting and be freestyling.
• 4:47
  You didn't sit down ahead of time to draw up an agenda or
• 4:50
  communicate an agenda to the other person.
• 4:53
  And if you want to do that, that's on you.
• 4:56
  But no, don't do that. You don't go for meetings that
• 4:58
  way. Now, what do you think a phone
• 5:02
  call is? It's not a physical meeting.
• 5:07
  It's kind of a meeting of some sorts.
• 5:11
  Even if you don't create an agenda, even if you don't
• 5:13
  communicate the agenda to the person, you, the professional
• 5:16
  initiating the phone call, create an agenda.
• 5:20
  Take some responsibility for how this call is going to go.
• 5:24
  Direct it. Guide it so that you get value
• 5:26
  from the call. The other person gets value from
• 5:28
  the call as well. It'll help you anticipate some
• 5:32
  problems. You can steer towards certain
• 5:36
  outcomes that are in your favour.
• 5:39
  Take some control. Come up with an agenda before
• 5:42
  you make that call. Oh, by the way, I'm making
• 5:44
  today's recording at home and, you know, the kids at home,
• 5:47
  wifey's home. So yeah, there'll be no some
• 5:50
  noise in the background. Now, this is where the thing
• 5:55
  about the pencil and paper comes in.
• 5:57
  Or buy round paper. Stop making call calls without
• 6:02
  sketching a few things on paper first.
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  You're calling this person. There's something you want to
• 6:08
  achieve. There's some points you want to
• 6:10
  discuss. There's some things that you
• 6:12
  don't want to forget. There's some high notes that you
• 6:14
  want to make sure you hit. Then it also makes sense that if
• 6:19
  the person has some questions or the person raises some issues
• 6:22
  that we should address in the future, you should have a place
• 6:24
  to write it down. See this web brother Pios was
• 6:27
  correct and all our primary and secondary school teachers used
• 6:31
  to nagos that write it down, write it down, write it down.
• 6:33
  This is where they're correct. You go for a phone call, you
• 6:36
  have a conversation with someone, you raise five issues.
• 6:39
  The other person raises 3 issues.
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  You guys talk back and forth. You agree?
• 6:43
  OK, we'll talk again. Conversation ends.
• 6:45
  You didn't write anything down. How in the world do you think
• 6:48
  you're going to remember all eight issues now what you need
• 6:52
  to do next on every single one of them?
• 6:54
  Or which was the most important? Can you see how deals start?
• 6:57
  Sleeping. So pencil and paper or by rock
• 7:05
  and paper? Simple charter or a simple
• 7:09
  notebook or old diary. So the diary you didn't use last
• 7:15
  year? Maybe your wife gave you a diary
• 7:16
  for Christmas, he didn't use it. No problem, carry it and use it.
• 7:21
  We don't care that the dates are off.
• 7:22
  You just need a place where you can scribbling down stuff.
• 7:26
  Then make sure you have a structure to your calls.
• 7:30
  Stop freestyling. This helps you to be efficient
• 7:33
  when you have a certain structure that you use
• 7:37
  repeatedly so that for those times when you don't have a pen
• 7:42
  and paper, you can still continue with the phone call
• 7:44
  because it's pretty much the same basic structure you've
• 7:47
  always been using. And The thing is now
• 7:48
  internalized. And that's the reason why I can
• 7:51
  handle calls without having a pen and a paper present.
• 7:54
  It's just that if I'm going to do that, I try and limit it to
• 7:57
  only one thing in particular. And I say, oh boy, you know
• 8:01
  what? I'm on the move now.
• 8:03
  I did drive. I'll be, I'll feel better if let
• 8:07
  me just get home and then I'll call you back.
• 8:09
  I beg, but on this issue, don't worry, I don't know time like I
• 8:13
  I've taken note like I remember it.
• 8:15
  No problem. Let me get home first, then I'll
• 8:17
  boss you. So one simple outline.
• 8:24
  This is not original. I think I got this from Grant
• 8:27
  Cardone, I think. And that is greeting, intention,
• 8:32
  questions, proposal, close. That is A5 part structure for a
• 8:36
  phone call. Excuse me, You start off with
• 8:39
  greetings, then there is intention, then there's
• 8:43
  questions, then there's proposal and then there's a close, a 5 LB
• 8:47
  structure. I think this is Grant Cardone
• 8:51
  greeting that's important for phone calls, sales, business in
• 8:56
  general. Now for Tom Hopkins, he says
• 8:59
  your greeting should always be appropriate, appropriate to the
• 9:02
  person, appropriate to the context.
• 9:04
  That applies also in Nigeria. So the reason why I'm saying
• 9:09
  appropriate greeting is because, you know, some of us feel as if,
• 9:12
  OK, because it's business, you know, the greeting gas be
• 9:14
  formal. Not necessarily.
• 9:16
  There are times when the greeting can be a Cairo.
• 9:19
  There are times when the greeting can be good morning,
• 9:21
  Sir. There are times when the
• 9:23
  greeting can be oh boy, how far? There are times when the
• 9:27
  greeting can be babe, long time. Yes, even though there are
• 9:31
  business calls. So the appropriate greeting will
• 9:34
  depend on the context, the relationship that you have with
• 9:39
  the person you know, the level of rapport that you have, all
• 9:43
  those sorts of things, but don't feel as if the greeting always
• 9:46
  has to be. Good afternoon, Sir.
• 9:49
  But yes, appropriate greeting. Then intention.
• 9:54
  One of the reasons why people are never by answering phone
• 9:57
  calls is because you don't know why this person is blowing up
• 10:00
  your phone. So it'll be nice to set people
• 10:03
  at ease when they pick the phone to let them know this is the
• 10:06
  reason why I'm calling. And you can cut straight to the
• 10:09
  chase. Oh, by the way, there are some
• 10:11
  cultural nuances here. When you're talking to older
• 10:14
  folks, like amongst northerners and then almost like tea people
• 10:18
  and you know, old school cultures, there's plenty of
• 10:23
  greeting that happens beforehand.
• 10:25
  Unfortunately, it is what it is. So just learn it.
• 10:29
  So with some of the older folks is good afternoon, Sir.
• 10:32
  How's your wife? How's your family, mommy, uncle,
• 10:36
  this person? And also so, so and so that is
• 10:40
  just a part of the game. So there are some people that
• 10:45
  you're calling, depending on the age and the cultural context,
• 10:48
  where you can't just go straight to the intention immediately.
• 10:51
  If you go straight to the intention and you're being too
• 10:54
  formal. So play it by ear.
• 10:58
  But yes, eventually we have to let the person know why you are
• 11:01
  calling because even in the traditional old school cultures,
• 11:07
  eventually we stop asking about how is your uncle, how's your
• 11:12
  father's uncle? How's your wife?
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  How's your wife's children? How is your brothers, nieces,
• 11:17
  cousin twice removed, this da da da da.
• 11:20
  Eventually we get straight to the point.
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  So on the phone call after greeting, eventually get
• 11:24
  straight to the point. Then there's a stage where you
• 11:28
  ask questions. The reason why we ask questions
• 11:30
  on a phone call is because we're trying to feel the other person
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  out. We're trying to get feedback on
• 11:36
  some of the issues that we're discussing.
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  Because when we feel them out, when we get feedback, it is from
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  there that we're able to figure out what the thorny issues are,
• 11:47
  one of the main things that we're supposed to be paying
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  attention to. And it is there that we'll get a
• 11:52
  sense of where we ought to move the conversation next.
• 11:55
  So questions don't just call and say this is the reason why I'm
• 11:59
  calling. And then you just you know, and
• 12:02
  I don't talk my own and then you end the call.
• 12:04
  No, that is not constructive for the purpose of sales and for the
• 12:08
  purpose of business. It is more like I don't talk my
• 12:12
  own, you own call, ask some questions.
• 12:15
  It's a two way thing. After that proposal, proposal is
• 12:22
  where you tell the other person, you know what?
• 12:25
  I think this is what we ought to do next to move this
• 12:30
  conversation forward, to move this relationship forward, to
• 12:33
  move this agenda forward. There should always be a
• 12:37
  proposal. If you're not making a proposal
• 12:40
  on a phone call, you are keeping yourself in one kind, you know,
• 12:44
  friendly loop where this thing is not making progress.
• 12:48
  The example that I gave when I was talking to Elizabeth and her
• 12:51
  team, those are the people who help me out with the rebrand of
• 12:56
  my podcast and the YouTube channel and everything.
• 12:58
  The example I gave to them was because, you know, there are two
• 13:01
  or three of them. There are young men in her team.
• 13:03
  And I told her I'd look. I told them, you know, remember
• 13:08
  university days when you go out with the babe and the date is
• 13:13
  done, you don't just go back to our hostel and then I'll say,
• 13:17
  all right, I'll be seeing you. No, no, no, no, no.
• 13:20
  I'll be seeing you. You're not making progress.
• 13:24
  You proposed the next date. It was fun.
• 13:27
  It was nice hanging out with you.
• 13:28
  I hope you had fun hanging out with me too.
• 13:31
  I would like to do this more often.
• 13:32
  I hope you opened it up. OK.
• 13:34
  Cool. Next week, Saturday Theatre Arts
• 13:39
  Departmental week. They're doing a play.
• 13:43
  Ole Shonenka, Death and the King's Horseman.
• 13:47
  So how far are you down? Would you like to go?
• 13:51
  You propose something. If you listen to the last
• 13:54
  podcast where I was going on and on about advancements, this is
• 13:57
  an advancement. This is the next step that we're
• 14:00
  going to do. This is how you move things
• 14:02
  forward, personal relationships and business relationships as
• 14:06
  well. So during the phone call, you
• 14:07
  gas to be proposing something to move this sale forward, to move
• 14:12
  this business relationship forward.
• 14:15
  Don't end the call without proposing something except if
• 14:20
  the whole point of the call was just to call and inform somebody
• 14:22
  because you know, you can be making those kind of calls.
• 14:25
  They also pay today. I just wanted to tell you about
• 14:27
  so so so OK me, I've told you bye bye.
• 14:31
  So outside of those, I just called to inform you phone calls
• 14:34
  be proposing something. Sorry, 1 moment.
• 14:40
  OK, sorry. I thought the call was coming in
• 14:42
  because I record the podcast on my phone.
• 14:45
  So I was proposing something. Now, close clothes just means
• 14:49
  you get the person to commit to something, to taking that next
• 14:53
  step. So back to the date thing.
• 14:58
  The Beaver agrees. She wants to watch Death and the
• 15:01
  King's Houseman with you. No, Allah, No problem.
• 15:04
  And it is Saturday. OK, cool.
• 15:07
  So, Cami, is it OK if I call you on Thursday just to be sure that
• 15:10
  we're still on point? He said yeah, you can call me.
• 15:13
  That's it. You've gone for the clothes,
• 15:17
  you've gotten a commitment, you've scheduled an advancement.
• 15:20
  On Thursday, you'll call her. Hopefully she will say yes.
• 15:24
  If she says no, well, anyway, let's let's leave that one.
• 15:28
  But hopefully she will say yes. You can even throw in some more
• 15:33
  small, you know, micro closes like oh, that's cool.
• 15:36
  On my way, you know, to your place, there's this nice suya
• 15:39
  spot. Abhi, I should buy suya for you.
• 15:41
  Which one do you like? Is this suya or Abhi?
• 15:43
  Is it Balango she tell you what she what she wants?
• 15:47
  That's good. You've gotten another
• 15:48
  commitment. We've confirmed the date.
• 15:51
  She's even told you the nice stuff you can bring for her.
• 15:57
  So same in business. OK, so we agreed.
• 16:01
  The next step is we are going to be going for a site visit in UMA
• 16:05
  here on Saturday. Can I call you on Wednesday to
• 16:10
  be sure that our travel plans haven't changed?
• 16:14
  OK, cool. I'll call you Wednesday morning
• 16:18
  9:45. That is a close.
• 16:21
  You have closed the one small step.
• 16:22
  Now most people when they hear close, what they think of is you
• 16:25
  collect the money in one chunk. Actually what happens is in
• 16:30
  complex hill scenarios where you're selling high value items,
• 16:33
  relationships are important. Let's see what else.
• 16:37
  And you're dealing with complex subject matters.
• 16:40
  You actually close the deal one small step at a time.
• 16:43
  Now let's look at buying cars, for instance.
• 16:45
  Yeah, back to the Tesla cyber truck.
• 16:50
  That's 200 M Very few people just come and drop 200 M one
• 16:55
  time. So if you're the car dealer,
• 16:57
  you're going to close the deal for a cyber truck in small,
• 17:00
  small stages. You guys chat on DM, you have
• 17:04
  one or two phone calls. The person comes for a viewing,
• 17:10
  maybe him. I ought to come for a viewing
• 17:11
  again, maybe with his wife or maybe with his.
• 17:14
  OK, now I was going to say mechanic where you can't come
• 17:16
  with mechanic to, to, to view Cybertruck because my dad car is
• 17:20
  space age. That guy is high tech, very
• 17:23
  sweet, sweet car, nice car. So you can see that it's step by
• 17:29
  step by step by step by step. Now, because it's 200 M, very
• 17:33
  few people have the cash. You just drop your one time.
• 17:35
  Maybe you might be discussing financing, but you see that
• 17:38
  you'll be closing the step, step after step after closing the
• 17:40
  deal. Step by step.
• 17:42
  First was the DM. Yes, we have it available.
• 17:46
  Are you free for a phone call? You know, let's talk.
• 17:50
  I'd like to find out about, you know, your needs and, you know,
• 17:52
  whether this will be a suitable car for you.
• 17:54
  And then you get us up on the phone and then after that.
• 17:58
  OK, cool. Yeah.
• 18:00
  We happen to have two of them on the lot.
• 18:02
  Would you like to come through and have a look?
• 18:04
  You're scheduling a meeting. That's another step.
• 18:06
  So step by step by step. So clothes doesn't always mean
• 18:09
  collect the money, clothes just means get the person to commit
• 18:12
  to the next step. So back to Brother Pios, now on
• 18:18
  CKC Guagulada, my wonderful eccentric teacher.
• 18:24
  Brother Pios, if you're still alive, I'm healing you.
• 18:28
  It's me now, boy, I used to argue with you.
• 18:31
  So you can see that is a basic structure.
• 18:36
  Of course, those of you who are employees, for some reason you
• 18:39
  are too proud and you won't follow this structure or you
• 18:42
  won't follow any kind of structure.
• 18:46
  Just get your pencil or a piece of paper and just scribble this
• 18:49
  thing in sharp, sharp. It's not an essay, it's not a
• 18:53
  thesis. It doesn't have to look pretty.
• 18:56
  In fact, if you will see my handwriting, you will shout.
• 19:00
  In fact, that's the problem. You can't see my handwriting
• 19:03
  because I'm just scribbling like it not need chicken, but as a
• 19:09
  just scribble. 12345 greeting, intention, questions, proposal
• 19:15
  close. Let that thing be on your desk.
• 19:18
  Let it guide your conversations. You will see the difference that
• 19:20
  this thing is making to your phone calls.
• 19:24
  Freestyling on a phone call is not the way forward.
• 19:29
  Just in case you didn't hear me and you're listening to this
• 19:31
  thing at times 2 speed. Let me say it again.
• 19:34
  Maybe we'll slow down. Freestyling on a phone call is
• 19:40
  not the way forward. After a while you will get
• 19:47
  there. You know, in the beginning I
• 19:51
  found I used to find it crippling, but I couldn't take
• 19:53
  the phone call if I didn't have pen and paper handy.
• 19:57
  But now it's because I was in wedding photography, so in a way
• 19:59
  I needed it because you discussed lots of things.
• 20:02
  The babe will tell you the venue.
• 20:05
  She will tell you the time, she will tell you the number of
• 20:08
  bridesmen, she will tell you the number of groomsmen.
• 20:11
  You will agree on the number of books, the number of frames.
• 20:17
  She will tell you when the program is supposed to start.
• 20:21
  You will agree on when the makeup artist is supposed to be
• 20:25
  there, and you will agree on when you're supposed to be
• 20:27
  there. So for wedding photography, you
• 20:29
  can see that while discussing plenty details.
• 20:31
  So that one, I didn't have a choice.
• 20:32
  I just had to write it down. Brother Pyos was correct.
• 20:40
  So I used to find it crippling that I couldn't answer a phone
• 20:43
  call just like that. But look, it's just one of those
• 20:45
  things. But eventually you become good
• 20:48
  enough that OK, you're on the move, you have hands free, you
• 20:52
  can talk sharply, you know, 4 or 5 minutes, hold a few things in
• 20:55
  your head, get back home, scribble some things down or
• 20:58
  maybe park the car, you know, make a voice note or something,
• 21:02
  just so that you have a recording, you know.
• 21:04
  But please, especially those of you who are starting new in the
• 21:07
  game, just get into this habit. Brother Pius was correct.
• 21:11
  If you had a brother Pius in your life, stop arguing with
• 21:14
  brother Pius. Brother Pius was correct.
• 21:16
  Write it down. There's only 5 things.
• 21:19
  Greeting, intention, questions, proposal, clothes.
• 21:23
  That's from Grant Cardone. You don't like the guy?
• 21:26
  No problem, look for another person.
• 21:28
  You think 5 steps is too much? No problem, Look for another
• 21:31
  person who has three steps or two steps.
• 21:33
  But either way, write something down.
• 21:36
  This is how we get effective our phone calls and then move things
• 21:41
  forward. The reason why I'm talking about
• 21:46
  this today is because I was just going through my notes because
• 21:49
  I'm trying to write a report for one of my clients.
• 21:51
  So going through a notes and then I discovered an outline
• 21:57
  that I was quarreling with one team about the team that was
• 21:59
  responsible for selling solar. And this was the argument.
• 22:02
  And this was a simple script that I just wanted them to do
• 22:05
  greeting where my own opinion, you know, I told them for the
• 22:08
  greeting thing, it's OK to just do appropriate greeting and then
• 22:11
  confirm the identity of the person.
• 22:15
  That's because too many of you who waste time introducing
• 22:18
  yourself. Good morning, my name is Kunle
• 22:20
  Ade Amor from AKC consulting. Somebody some, some look at the
• 22:25
  beginning. Look, you're a stranger and
• 22:27
  nobody gives a hoot about all that.
• 22:29
  So got straight to the point. Apart from that, when you're
• 22:32
  going through all that, at least in Niger, the moment you start
• 22:35
  like that, people know. OK.
• 22:37
  Yeah, you're a salesperson. So it's much more helpful to
• 22:41
  call and say hello. Am I speaking to Chief Ihenatro?
• 22:44
  Yes. This is Chief Ihenatro.
• 22:45
  OK. The reason why I'm calling is,
• 22:47
  you see smooth at last stage. Ihenatro.
• 22:51
  Chief Ihenatro doesn't care about your name yet.
• 22:57
  But of course, you know, I let them have it here.
• 22:58
  No problem. You can call your name.
• 23:00
  OK. So my name is Kemi Adigo.
• 23:04
  Calling from XYZ Solar company. Sure no problem greeting that
• 23:07
  one is down then intention. The people that we were talking
• 23:13
  to at the time were people who had responded to the company's
• 23:17
  ads, advertisements that they put online on Facebook.
• 23:22
  So I told them it's something that you have to that's part of
• 23:25
  your intentional statement. Hello my name is Kami Adigo from
• 23:28
  XYZ solar. The reason why I'm calling is
• 23:32
  you clicked on our advert recently in June of 2025 and you
• 23:37
  said you are interested in solar, solar and investor
• 23:42
  systems. Is that correct?
• 23:44
  Remember what I said, you know, questions you have to gain
• 23:46
  feedback, is that correct? You ask them, some people say,
• 23:51
  Oh yeah, yeah, that's true. Some people say I don't
• 23:53
  remember. And that's the point where
• 23:55
  remember after intentions, we're now in the question stage.
• 23:59
  OK. But you were curious about solar
• 24:01
  about some point. Yeah, Yeah, I remember making
• 24:03
  some research or something like that.
• 24:04
  Well, yeah. So that's the reason why I'm
• 24:05
  calling and that's how I got your contact details.
• 24:10
  And then from there, questions, One of the questions that I
• 24:13
  wanted the team to ask because in the advertisement that the
• 24:16
  company put up, the respondent, I've been a 0 respondent.
• 24:21
  The person who responds to the advert, whatever it is that
• 24:23
  they're called, the person got to click on, excuse me, the kind
• 24:27
  of system that they were interested in the budget when I
• 24:32
  told them, whatever information that you have, whatever prior
• 24:36
  context, always confirm the context on the call.
• 24:38
  That is part of the question. So in this case, let me repeat,
• 24:41
  my name is Kemi Adigun. OK, No, that's odd because I'm
• 24:44
  saying Kemi and you know, I sound like a guy.
• 24:47
  So my name is Kunle Adigun calling from XYZ Solar Company.
• 24:52
  Am I speaking to chief here? Natural.
• 24:54
  Yes, this is chief. The reason why I'm calling is
• 25:00
  you recently clicked on our ad in June of 2025 to say that you
• 25:04
  are interested in solar and inverter systems.
• 25:06
  Is that correct? And well, yes, I said so sorry.
• 25:10
  Who? Who?
• 25:10
  Who are you? What's your name again?
• 25:12
  Oh, sorry about that Sir. Maybe I was talking too fast.
• 25:14
  My name is Kunle Adigun. The name of the company is XYZ
• 25:19
  Solar. But don't achieve.
• 25:20
  After this phone call, I will send you a WhatsApp message, you
• 25:24
  know, with our website and with our Instagram and you know, so
• 25:26
  you can get some more information about us.
• 25:28
  So, OK, so Chief, are you OK to talk now?
• 25:31
  OK, well, quickly, because I'm busy.
• 25:33
  OK, No problem, Sir. I just need to confirm a few
• 25:35
  things. When you clicked on the advert,
• 25:38
  you indicated a budget of five to 10 million naira.
• 25:43
  Is that correct, Sir? Yes, I am.
• 25:45
  Yes. OK, hope you don't mind me
• 25:46
  asking, how did you arrive at that figure?
• 25:49
  Now that is where I started quarrelling with some of the
• 25:51
  team because they didn't they felt like is somehow is rude.
• 25:54
  No, he's not rude. Now, if you're worried about
• 25:56
  being rude, there are all these things that we call, what do you
• 25:59
  call them again in English? Is it ventilating modifiers as
• 26:02
  in things that you just put to soften it?
• 26:05
  Like, oh, I hope you don't mind me asking.
• 26:08
  Or in Niger you say Bros Iberg, no vex or organ, no vex.
• 26:13
  You know, all these soft, soft, soft, you know, ventilating
• 26:17
  modifiers as we call them. You modify the statement, soften
• 26:20
  the blow. It's OK to ask because
• 26:26
  sometimes, and this is what I've tried to get the team to
• 26:28
  understand, sometimes the reason why somebody clicked on five to
• 26:31
  10 million is because their brother bought a system five
• 26:35
  years ago and then it cost 5 to 10 million.
• 26:37
  Now times have changed. It's a different economy. 5 to
• 26:40
  10 million might no longer be realistic.
• 26:43
  Sometimes they click on five to 10 because they just have a
• 26:48
  random guess, but they have no idea that what they really want
• 26:52
  would cost more like, you know, 15 to 20.
• 26:57
  So this is more the questions that you can ask.
• 26:59
  I also told them we can ask questions on timelines.
• 27:02
  How come you're researching now? How soon would you like your
• 27:06
  system installed? Ask questions about, you know,
• 27:10
  need. Is this going to be for your
• 27:11
  home or your office? Do you live in a Bande
• 27:14
  neighborhood? The team I was talking to, they
• 27:17
  also didn't like that question because they didn't see the
• 27:19
  point. But the point actually is
• 27:21
  sometimes you have some questions indirectly, you're
• 27:23
  trying to figure out if they have a pain point, a problem
• 27:25
  point and asking about band A, you will now know whether this
• 27:28
  person is trying to save costs, you know, or not.
• 27:31
  So do you live in a band a neighborhood?
• 27:34
  There's no man who said band A for we're that's how she
• 27:38
  responded. And by the time she described
• 27:40
  the situation, honestly speaking, even though she was in
• 27:43
  band, CI think she should have been more like band Z if
• 27:46
  possible. So in our man's case, this is
• 27:49
  obviously a matter of if I don't get this, solar food will
• 27:55
  continue spoiling in my deep freezer every single week and me
• 27:58
  and the children will keep on sleeping uncomfortably.
• 28:03
  So that's why in that case, a question like, oh, do you live
• 28:07
  in a Bande neighborhood? It's not a bad question to ask
• 28:11
  because eventually you will start talking about weather.
• 28:17
  Power supply is bad or whether they're spending lots of money
• 28:20
  on power because in my neighborhood, we've been
• 28:23
  upgraded to Band-Aid. So now I know for a fact that
• 28:26
  yes, there are Nigerians who are paying 250304100K every month on
• 28:31
  power because you're now in Band-Aid.
• 28:35
  So your energy, your, your, your, your Napa bill overnight.
• 28:41
  Yeah, didn't just triple. So it happens.
• 28:45
  Of course, the team didn't want to ask that question and let's
• 28:48
  see what else anyway, you know, simple questions like that.
• 28:51
  But can you see the structure of the call?
• 28:54
  Hello, my name is am I speaking to?
• 28:57
  The reason why I'm calling is are you OK for a chat?
• 29:00
  Can I ask you a couple of questions?
• 29:02
  Then if you want to, you can see how The thing is jaws flowing,
• 29:05
  flowing, flowing. Meanwhile, as the person is
• 29:07
  talking, you have a pen and a paper.
• 29:10
  Like Brother Paio said, you are writing.
• 29:15
  Oh OK Sir, you live in a solo, you scribble it down.
• 29:18
  You solo. Oh it's a 5 bedroom house, you
• 29:21
  scribble it down 5 bedroom. Oh Sir, you're currently paying
• 29:27
  offers of 450 a month. Sir.
• 29:29
  How are you coping? My dear, we have to cope now.
• 29:34
  What we do, we can't run away, we can't die.
• 29:37
  On your sheet of paper, you write it down. 450K Nepal bills.
• 29:43
  So what are you trying to power in the house?
• 29:45
  Well, for me, I'm OK with my five AC and the TV.
• 29:48
  But you know Madam, say deep freezer must be on, fridge must
• 29:51
  be on and deep freezer must be on.
• 29:52
  How many deep freezer? Oh, we have 5, you write it
• 29:55
  down. 5 AC, two big screen TV, 5 deep freezer.
• 30:00
  Write these things down. Can you see now?
• 30:03
  But the pass was correct. You need a pen and you need the
• 30:06
  paper. Too many of you are handling
• 30:11
  this kind of phone call just using brain.
• 30:13
  Then when the phone call ends and it's now time to drop a
• 30:16
  quote, you're now wondering, ah, this quote self, how much should
• 30:19
  I be quoting? You're wondering how much should
• 30:21
  I be quoting because you didn't write anything down.
• 30:23
  If you wrote these things down, you would know OK, it's 5 deep
• 30:27
  freezers each deep freezer. This is the power requirement.
• 30:30
  It is 2 ACS each AC. This is the power requirement.
• 30:34
  It is five bedrooms. That means you know 20 bulbs.
• 30:37
  This is the power requirement. So therefore we need to use a
• 30:41
  100 KVA system and then we can charge this and this and that
• 30:44
  and that. Write things down, pen and
• 30:48
  paper, please. Then eventually you get to the
• 30:54
  part about proposals. I recommend it to the team that
• 30:59
  we should never just give one option in proposal, give 3.
• 31:02
  Because when you give one option in proposal, to be honest, most
• 31:05
  of the times you're dead because the person will look at it and
• 31:08
  see now, OK, one proposal, 15 M, that's all they can see 15 M,
• 31:13
  They'll keep that proposal, they'll say thank you and
• 31:15
  they'll start comparing it to other people.
• 31:17
  Then they'll notice that some people will write 13 M, some
• 31:19
  people will write 18 M, They will just delete you.
• 31:23
  That is 15. The other person who is 18,
• 31:25
  they'll start calling all the other people who are 12 and 13
• 31:27
  M. And that's how the conversation
• 31:29
  will continue. But you give them three options.
• 31:31
  That's Sir. Based on what we've discussed,
• 31:35
  either of these kind of power setting, either of these
• 31:39
  solutions should be able to take care of you.
• 31:41
  We can do 5 kva, we can do 6.5 kva, or we can do 8 kva. 8 kva
• 31:47
  ultimately is the best because of based on what you said and
• 31:51
  what Madam likes and everything. But the eight KV option, we're
• 31:54
  currently looking above 15, but that six KV option, you know,
• 31:58
  good sort out anything, you know, between 7:00 and 8:00 M,
• 32:02
  but you know, it all depends. We'd have to have a conversation
• 32:05
  with you and Madam to now see how we will do power management
• 32:09
  or how we will do load load shedding so that when there part
• 32:13
  takes like you know how many AC you live on or how many feeds
• 32:15
  you live on. So Chief, how does that sound?
• 32:18
  Gain some feedback. See this is the proposal stage
• 32:26
  then you now agree. OK, no problem, Chief.
• 32:32
  I'll have these. Shivan Nacho, I have these
• 32:35
  things ready for you by Friday. Is that OK?
• 32:37
  So yes, that's OK. OK, can I call you Friday 11:30
• 32:42
  to run through these options with you?
• 32:44
  You can see that this is you now moving from proposal.
• 32:47
  You're not trying to get to close, getting them to commit to
• 32:50
  something. Oh, and by the way, for those of
• 32:53
  you who talk worry about ghosting and everything, can you
• 32:56
  see how you prevent ghosting? You're securing advancements.
• 33:00
  You're moving the call logically through certain steps, and can
• 33:05
  you see why you need pen and paper, especially in the
• 33:07
  beginning. It takes a while for this thing
• 33:11
  to become habit. It takes a while.
• 33:14
  Don't be proud, don't quarrel, don't hug you just get a pen and
• 33:18
  a paper. Please buy those shorthand
• 33:25
  jotters. They're not expensive.
• 33:27
  They're not expensive. None of them is up to 1K.
• 33:31
  Yeah, you can buy a fancy diary for, you know, 5710 grand, but
• 33:35
  doesn't need to be fancy. Or for those of you who have
• 33:40
  children, the book that your children used last semester that
• 33:44
  they didn't finish, tear out the pages that they used, the ones
• 33:48
  the pages that they didn't use. That's it.
• 33:50
  That's your notebook from now on.
• 33:53
  Doesn't have to be that hard. Please, let's not be too proud.
• 33:57
  Don't be like me. Don't argue with bra pios.
• 34:03
  And if I'm your brother Pyos in your life right now, you've
• 34:06
  nobody who has been stressing you about writing things down.
• 34:08
  Well, I'm the brother Pyos in your life now.
• 34:10
  And like brother Pyos, I'm telling you, write this thing
• 34:13
  down. Either way, from today,
• 34:17
  henceforth, do not make any call and then start freestyling.
• 34:23
  If I catch you, you claim you listen to my podcast and you're
• 34:26
  freestyling on calls, I will disown you.
• 34:28
  I'll take your phone and I will unsubscribe this podcast from
• 34:31
  your phone. And what is your crisis?
• 34:36
  You know that he who hears my word and does it.
• 34:40
  So it is a very simple something.
• 34:41
  No need to quarrel too much, please.
• 34:43
  Especially those of you who are employees, for the entrepreneurs
• 34:49
  themselves, they understand that well, this is what we have to do
• 34:51
  so that we can get that back. We can get that paper.
• 34:54
  So for those of you who are employees, please stop being
• 34:56
  proud. Yeah, you're smart.
• 34:58
  You went to a fancy school. You're a degree holder.
• 35:01
  You think that this sales job is beneath you?
• 35:03
  I understand. I understand.
• 35:05
  A is beneath you. No problem.
• 35:07
  But for now, this job that is beneath you, do it to the best
• 35:10
  of your ability. Show yourself worthy here first.
• 35:15
  Excel at this one. Greater opportunities will be
• 35:17
  presented to you. So just be humble.
• 35:19
  Get a sheet of paper. Write this thing down.
• 35:21
  It's only 5 stages. 12345 Greeting Appropriate greeting
• 35:27
  intention. Tell them why you're calling.
• 35:29
  Questions. Ask relevant questions.
• 35:31
  We can get the information that you need and gain feedback on
• 35:35
  the stuff that you're saying. Proposal.
• 35:38
  Tell them what the next step is. close gain commitments.
• 35:42
  We will go to site On this date. Is that good for you?
• 35:46
  I will call you back Thursday, 6:30 PM.
• 35:51
  How does that work for you, Sir? Secure the commitment.
• 35:56
  This is how you use the phone to make money.
• 36:01
  So that's it. And that is all for today.
• 36:05
  If you love to connect, if you have a question, you have a
• 36:09
  query, you have a comment. If I confuse you about anything,
• 36:12
  the number to call, send a text message or WhatsApp message to
• 36:15
  is 08064662140. Again, you like these sorts of
• 36:22
  things. Stay locked in.
• 36:24
  Subscribe on YouTube, Apple, Spotify, Stitcher, whatever
• 36:29
  player of your choice. We have over 1200 episodes in
• 36:34
  your feed, so stay here, keep learning, keep applying.
• 36:38
  I'll catch you some other time.