Latest / Closing Sales in Nigeria - Sales For The Nigerian Business Person: The Sales and Marketing Blueprint / From Architecture Student to Entrepreneur: A Case Study

Transcript

From Architecture Student to Entrepreneur: A Case Study · Closing Sales in Nigeria - Sales For The Nigerian Business Person: The Sales and Marketing Blueprint

0:00
Hello and welcome. Today's broadcast episode is
0:04
going to be a listener shout out and then we're going to explore
0:07
a few themes around the reality of business growth and learning.
0:13
What else? OK, achieving scale, navigating
0:17
the student market and education.
0:20
That's for those of you who are trying to build businesses and
0:22
you're still in school. Then we're going to talk a bit
0:24
about market strategy. Yeah, market strategy, local
0:29
versus international. And then we're also going to
0:31
look at sales strategy and why sometimes we should focus on
0:37
targeting rather than pitching. Now some of you are going to
0:42
say, wow, that's a lot. Yes, it is.
0:44
It is a lot. And that's because whenever
0:47
people reach out to me from the podcast, you know, we chat back
0:50
and forth and a couple of issues, a couple of issues come
0:54
out. So this is just how and everyday
0:56
normal conversation is with me. Now if you'd like to connect
1:00
with me just like Sam did, that's the name of the person
1:04
who reached out, the person who I have this WhatsApp chat with.
1:08
Then you can connect with me by calling, sending me a text
1:11
message or a WhatsApp message on 08064662140.
1:17
Now, if you're interested in a 15 minute sale audit, you can
1:21
WhatsApp me on the same number, 0806466 2140 or you can join my
1:28
WhatsApp channel for updates every once in a while.
1:31
So listener, shout out, first of all, shout out to Sam and his
1:36
business is Vision World Hub. He's into academic research.
1:43
And for those of you who have been listening for a while, no,
1:46
it's not the same guy. There has been another person
1:49
who was a client who was also in academic research, but he is
1:53
based in Quara, I think. Yeah, he's based in Quara.
1:57
So it's not the same guy. This is a different person.
1:59
So Sam, from Vision World Hub, thank you very much for
2:02
listening to the podcast. Now.
2:03
Thank you very much for reaching out.
2:06
I took the liberty of using a real name because I assumed
2:09
that, you know, you wouldn't mind anyway, I didn't use your
2:14
surname. So I guess, I guess we're
2:16
covered. So Sam sent me a message on
2:19
WhatsApp or several messages, and one of them in particular
2:23
caught my fancy. And that's the reason why I'm
2:25
making today's podcast episode. So he says he had, OK, no, I
2:33
caught this message midway. Anyway, he admitted that he
2:37
listens to me and he has he subscribes to the podcast and
2:43
he's been following other people listening to other things, but
2:46
no method is never enough. And so that's the reason why
2:49
he's also subscribing to my own podcast.
2:51
Then he mentioned that he's been learning to implement the things
2:55
that I talk about over here. He also mentioned that his
2:58
business is not yet on a big scale.
3:00
We spoke a bit about how he currently the the market he
3:05
focuses on is the student market because he's a student of
3:09
architecture in Benin. Then let's see what else.
3:15
OK, then spoke a bit about, you know, building customers locally
3:19
and then internationally. And he said he needs to learn
3:24
more about how to pitch himself and to scale better.
3:27
Then he said that my podcast has been instrumental.
3:30
And thank you very much, Sam, for the very kind words.
3:33
And Sam, if you're listening to today's episode, Please remember
3:36
to share the podcast with other people who might find it
3:39
instrumental as well. So during the chat, I responded
3:43
and of course, because I was glad and flattered to hear the
3:45
nice thing he had to say, although I told him that I don't
3:50
think he has a pitching problem, that I think he has a targeting
3:52
problem. Some of you might wonder what's
3:54
the difference? What's a pitch, what's it,
3:55
what's targeting? Don't worry, we'll get to that.
3:59
But summary, the idea behind this whole thing, targeting
4:02
versus pitching, is sometimes our business problems go away
4:06
when we start talking to the right people.
4:08
Sometimes you're talking to the wrong crowd.
4:10
So it's not a matter of you need to fix something, you need to
4:14
refine something. You just need to stop looking at
4:16
the people they are currently talking to because these people
4:19
that you're trying to chase, you know, they're the wrong crowd.
4:22
It's not going to work. It ain't going to happen.
4:24
So that's just one thing that I wanted to get him to understand
4:27
and that is the main reason why I'm making today's podcast
4:31
episode. So let's explore some major
4:34
ideas from this exchange between Sam and I.
4:38
So now this whole thing of no method is ever enough.
4:40
Now, Sam is absolutely correct. Excuse me, Sam is 100% correct.
4:49
Sorry about that. So yes, there is no silver
4:53
bullet. It is something I keep saying on
4:55
the podcast over and over again. There's no silver bullet.
4:58
So anybody who has found this podcast, for instance, thinking
5:00
that I'm a prophet and I'm going to say something which is a
5:05
divine ray of truth and will solve all your problems, I'm
5:08
sorry, you're going to be disappointed.
5:12
So there is no silver bullet in business.
5:15
The best we can do is to just keep looking for different
5:17
frameworks and different methodologies for growing
5:20
businesses. Now, no matter the frameworks or
5:23
the methodologies that you find, even though they seem disparate,
5:26
even though they seem separate, The thing is for a particular
5:31
context or for particular personality or for particular
5:33
industry or challenge, you will find a bunch of things that work
5:37
together. And so you now have to become
5:39
skilled. You now have to become adept at
5:41
figuring out what to apply and when what you're going to weave
5:45
together a certain number of tools that work for you in your
5:49
own particular situation, in your own particular context.
5:52
So yeah, Sam is correct. There's no silver bullet.
5:55
And if there's anybody who came here looking for a silver
5:57
bullet, I'm very, very sorry. So this podcast is going to be
6:00
useful to learn how to sell well, especially when we are
6:05
talking about personal selling, which is contexts,
6:11
relationships, situations where you are interacting with someone
6:14
one-on-one, sending an e-mail to somebody one-on-one, making a
6:20
phone call one-on-one, going to visit someone and you are face
6:23
to face, you know, these sorts of situations.
6:26
So having a conversation with one person and that person is
6:28
important enough that you want to build profitable and pivotal
6:33
relationships with. So if you're looking for that
6:35
sort of thing, then yes, I'll help you.
6:37
But my podcast is not sufficient.
6:41
It's not. So you should also be looking
6:44
for podcasts on business management because eventually
6:47
you're going to have a team and people beyond you.
6:49
So you will have to learn management.
6:51
So start looking for podcasts on business management.
6:54
You have to look for podcasts on finance.
6:56
It's absolutely important because people reach out for me
6:58
from time to time. And after we talk, I say, look,
7:01
your problem is a finance problem.
7:03
It's not a sales problem and I'm not a specialist in sales,
7:06
sorry, in finance. So I can help you.
7:09
So start looking for podcasts in finance, but of course you know,
7:13
relative to where you are right now.
7:17
So if you are self-employed and you're looking for podcasts on
7:22
finance where they start talking about special purpose vehicles
7:27
and you know, things like that, like, you know, that's too much.
7:30
It's, it's beyond you. So look for podcasts and money
7:33
podcasts for non podcasts that are relevant to your own stage.
7:37
Then you also need podcasts in people that resource management
7:40
podcasts and negotiation, you know, different things like
7:43
that. So just like some broaden your
7:46
horizons, look for a whole bunch of stuff, but you know, make
7:49
sure that my own podcast is always top five.
7:52
Make sure because sales is the lifeblood of business.
7:56
If you don't have sales, then there's no point in pursuing the
7:58
other stuff. So if your sales are poor, then
8:00
what are you doing listening to business management about?
8:03
Like, if your sales are poor, there's no business to manage.
8:07
The same thing with negotiations.
8:09
If your sales are poor, which one they negotiate?
8:11
There's nobody to negotiate. It's just you in your office
8:14
every day or every week. Maybe once every two months you
8:17
get a customer. But which kind?
8:20
Like which kind of negotiation they do, having one customer
8:25
every month, that's not enough to say you're practicing
8:26
negotiation skills. So always keep my own podcast,
8:29
top five, but you will always have to look for other stuff.
8:34
Then he said his business is not on a big scale yet.
8:37
And I agree with him. But you know, when Nigel Boies
8:40
say that business is not a big scale, sometimes I get the
8:43
impression that they mean something else.
8:45
So that's why I keep talking about scale and what scale means
8:48
Now. Scale just means that you're
8:50
growing a business beyond your personal efforts and beyond your
8:55
constraints. The reason why I'm pointing this
8:57
out is because when most Niger boys say that they want to
9:00
scale, what they mean is they want to hammer, they want to
9:02
blow, they want to get billions. So getting billions does not
9:06
necessarily mean you have scaled.
9:09
Let me explain. So scaling just means I'm
9:13
growing beyond me. So right now I'm consulting, but
9:17
I'm a one man show. So God forbid if I drop dead
9:21
right now, everything comes to an end.
9:23
So my business has no scale because everything starts and
9:27
everything ends with me. That is why I keep telling
9:30
people that, look, don't even call me a businessman.
9:32
I am not a businessman. I am self-employed.
9:36
There's a difference. Because if let's say I'm eating
9:40
a Cara now and I'm rushing the a Cara real fast and I don't have
9:44
water with me and maybe I don't know, something happens and I
9:48
get scared and then I choke and then I die.
9:50
You know, that's it, that's the end, nothing else, because I do
9:54
not have scale. Scale is when your business
9:56
grows beyond your personal efforts and beyond your
9:59
constraints. So if you are alive and well,
10:01
the business will grow. If you are no more, the business
10:04
will grow. If you take a break, the
10:06
business will grow. Whatever it is you're doing, the
10:09
business will grow. Excuse me, because it does not
10:12
depend on the EU. So some of you may get tired
10:16
when I'm making all these distinctions, but it's not, I'm
10:19
not just being theoretical, it's very practical.
10:23
A lot of us are not business people, yes, to big up
10:27
ourselves. When you go home, your auntie
10:29
says, oh, So what do you do? Say I'm a businessman?
10:32
You can't tell her that to show off.
10:33
But really you're not a businessman.
10:36
You're self-employed because you don't have skill.
10:40
Everything so rests on you. So to scale in the real sense,
10:44
what is required is you need people, you need teams, because
10:47
of course you got to delegate to other people.
10:50
Then you need systems, or you need frameworks, or you need
10:53
standard operating procedures. They're all the same systems.
10:56
Frameworks just means the guidelines, the instructions,
10:59
the toolkit that you will use to train other people.
11:03
So in the beginning, when it's just you doing the research and
11:06
the writing, no problem. But eventually you had two, 3-4
11:09
people to now write under you or to now do research under you or
11:14
to now sell under you. And I'm talking to you, Sam.
11:18
So the documents, the processes, the systems that you will use to
11:23
train these new writers, this is how you research your topic,
11:26
this is how you create the synopsis, this is how you do
11:29
draft chapter. This is how you write a
11:32
conclusion. This is how you see all of that
11:34
that will cause systems or frameworks.
11:38
Then you also have some people who will be selling on your
11:40
behalf, assuming that those writers are not the ones who
11:43
sell. So the thing that you will use
11:44
to now train those people who are selling on your behalf, we
11:48
only sell to the student community.
11:50
This is how we approach students.
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This is how we start the conversation with them.
11:55
This is how we figure out what they need.
11:57
This is how we argue that we can deliver them value.
12:01
So the thing that you will use to trim them, those are the
12:04
systems, the frameworks, the standard operating procedures.
12:08
So you need them to scale because scaling involves people
12:13
and teams, and you can't just get a team, put them in the
12:18
office and say, Oh yeah, start work.
12:21
It's not like that you have to train them.
12:23
So everything that you use to train them, the frameworks, all
12:26
of that, make sure that they're down in writing, down in writing
12:31
on your Google Calendar, down in writing on a folder in the file,
12:34
in a cabinet, you know, somewhere so that people can
12:37
refer to it so that they can be trained on and so they can get
12:41
all the answers to all the problems that they're facing in
12:43
the business. Then to skill, you also need
12:46
technology. Technology, just to, I'll put
12:50
you now to multiply your efforts and put it that way.
12:52
So those are the things that are required for scaling.
12:55
You need people, you need teams, then you also need systems and
12:59
frameworks. Then after that you need
13:02
technology. So just like that bank, Zenith
13:04
Bank, you know, they used to say back in the day, now Zenith Bank
13:07
people process technology. So that's what you need to
13:11
scale. Now when it comes to scaling, be
13:14
patient. Rome was not built in a day.
13:17
So just be patient. Don't expect that you can scale
13:20
overnight. But the reason why I'm talking
13:22
about the scale thing is just in case there's another guy like
13:26
Sam who's in Benin or somebody else who's in Lagos who thinks
13:30
that scale means you make a billionaire.
13:33
That's not what scaling means. Because you can have a
13:36
billionaire but no scale at all in any of your business ideas.
13:40
So if you have a business, a billionaire right now, but your
13:43
business, your billionaire now the result of a horseshoe, you
13:46
know, you're the also you're a sharp guy on the move.
13:50
You know, 1-2, three, you don't collect.
13:52
You know, if that's where your billion has come from, you don't
13:56
have scale because the moment you can't be moving sharp,
13:59
sharp, sharp. Like if you marry and you go for
14:01
honeymoon, the honeymoon is sweet.
14:02
You stay on honeymoon for maybe like four or five months that
14:05
for five months, no money is coming in because you're not
14:08
moving again. So the fact that I have a
14:11
billionaire does not mean you scale, but we should be aiming
14:14
for both. We should aim to have that
14:16
billionaire. We should also aim to scale.
14:18
Then Sam also says that he's currently in school, he's
14:22
studying architecture. I think that's really, really
14:24
impressive. That's being in school and
14:26
trying to build a business. In fact, this is my guy with her
14:30
Ekenga software factory. That's IKSFI mentioned them in
14:33
the previous episode. If you just listen, you know
14:35
what that's about. There's also one of the reasons
14:38
why I messed with the guy because I really dig, you know,
14:41
people who are in school and you know, then they also they want
14:45
to come up. I dig it.
14:46
I really, really dig it. So for those of you who are like
14:49
Sam and the founder of IKSF, you can get Software Factory who is
14:54
still in school. It's how do I put it now?
15:00
It's tough, really tough. Especially those of you who are
15:05
on the course of first class, you want to graduate first
15:07
class. You know, like my guy at IKEA
15:09
SF. OK Sam, I didn't ask you about
15:12
graduating first class, but it's worth it.
15:14
Try and graduate first class. So for those of you who are on
15:17
the course, almost worth it. It's hard, but it's worth it
15:22
because you are building transferable real world skills.
15:27
You're in school, but you're also doing something that
15:30
relates to the real world. Are you talking to people in How
15:35
to Explain Itself? Look, trying to grow a business
15:39
will force you to get some skills that work in the real
15:43
world. So like say Sam, for instance.
15:45
Sam is talking about how he's struggling to attract the ideal
15:49
client when Sam leaves school because he studied architecture.
15:53
In fact, it is perfect because Sam, you study architecture of
15:56
me. I studied law, so you are my
15:58
brother. Some of you say what does law
16:00
have to do with architecture? This is what law has to do with
16:02
architecture. Now there are other industries
16:05
that when you go and finish school, you know, career part
16:07
nonde, everything is aligned. If you study medicine, it is
16:10
assumed that you will work in a hospital and government
16:13
hospitals are there. You know, you just blend
16:15
accordingly. But now when you study law, when
16:19
you study architecture, it is kind of implied that you will
16:25
fend for yourself. Some of you might not
16:28
understand, but if you're in law, you understand what I mean.
16:31
If you're an architecture, you understand what I mean.
16:33
You know your teachers, when they're teaching you, they don't
16:36
teach you as if when you finish, you go and do government work or
16:40
you finish, you know, this ministry work or something.
16:42
They're teaching you as if when you graduate from architecture
16:48
or when you graduate from law that you sort yourself out.
16:52
So perfect. Sam is studying architecture.
16:54
Now, assuming this research thing doesn't work out and Sam
16:57
finishes with first class architecture and he goes for
17:01
masters. You know, let's say he goes for
17:03
masters, you know, New York School of Architecture or
17:05
something, something the guy come back.
17:07
What will be the first challenge attracting ideal clients.
17:11
Now somebody like him who has gone through the trouble while
17:14
he was in university to attract ideal clients when he was doing
17:18
research business, Can you see how somebody like him, you know,
17:21
will fear too much? So we are scared because, you
17:26
know, I've done it before now for Sam and other people who are
17:30
in school, they've they've done it.
17:32
So it's just, you know how I put it, same challenge, just
17:37
different neighborhood, you know, same hustle.
17:39
That's that's how it is. So it's good.
17:44
So keep it up, Sam. And those of you who are in
17:47
school, this is the lady who reached out to me from OAU.
17:51
Sorry, I can't remember your name because it's been a while
17:53
since we spoke. But you know, you know, it's
17:55
you. At the time she reached out to
17:56
me, she was in second, second year, second level OAUI went to
18:01
I graduated from OAU. So I was really nice to, to hear
18:06
one of my juniors listening to the podcast.
18:08
She's in the perfume business. Yeah, perfume business.
18:11
Although me, I was kind of short as like perfume from law to
18:14
perfume from where to where. But anyway was a good
18:17
conversation. So for all my peeps, Sam doing
18:21
research that my OU babe doing perfume who again these ladies
18:30
from Ibadan, I think they finished nursing or something, I
18:34
can't remember. It's been a while.
18:35
You know, shout out to all of you.
18:37
It's tough, will continue. So those ladies who are in
18:41
Ibadan doing nursing, I think was nursing their own business
18:45
was catering. Yeah.
18:46
And then one of them got transferred to Kano.
18:49
So she was even worried like this one that they're sending me
18:51
to Kano. How will I continue?
18:53
You know, so but continue is worth it.
18:57
You are building real world skills.
19:01
You're getting rid of the fear of failing.
19:03
You are learning how to hustle. So continue or please be also be
19:08
focused on school. All right, so if you can
19:11
graduate first class, please graduate first class.
19:14
Some people say first class. We will talk about that in
19:17
another episode. If you can graduate the first
19:19
class, we'll talk about that in another episode.
19:21
Now, one more thing, all of you that are in school and they
19:27
also, I don't know if it's a generational thing, but like you
19:32
don't have, you know, no boyfriend, no girlfriend, like
19:34
what's going on? Like I don't understand.
19:38
I don't get it. What happened?
19:40
Who decided overnight so that romance is no longer a good
19:42
thing? You see, look, it's good that we
19:46
graduate first class and it's good that we have also.
19:48
All right, so it's good that we get first class and I will make
19:51
that money. What about romance now?
19:54
What is going on with you people?
19:57
I understand that relationships are hard.
19:59
And you know, in the media all we hear about is marriages that
20:02
are suffering and, you know, husband and wife that are
20:05
stabbing themselves and marriages breaking up and
20:07
everything. But come on now.
20:10
Male and female, complimentary is a spice of life.
20:16
So as you're hustling and as you're trying to graduate, make
20:19
time for romance. A big.
20:20
And marriage is a necessity. All these boys are running away.
20:24
They know I'm married. I don't understand.
20:26
So. OK, Joshua, I'll call you by
20:28
name, but I won't call you by company.
20:30
But Joshua, even yourself. OK, You may find out.
20:34
Yeah. You don't have.
20:34
Babe. Come on now.
20:36
It's not proper. It's not proper.
20:38
Make time for romance. So Sam, you too, if you don't
20:41
have babe, go and get a beep. And the ladies who are nursing,
20:45
well, although there are members of this church, Kumu is church.
20:49
And in kumu is church, you can't have boyfriend.
20:51
But if you're singing kumu, OK, well, let me not lead anybody
20:56
else straight. But Shah, romance is essential.
20:59
I say romance. I didn't, I'm not saying anyway,
21:03
let me just leave it there. So Sam also says that his market
21:07
is a student market. Yeah, some people are afraid of
21:10
it, but it has its advantages #1 is seasonal.
21:13
So if school is out of session, then there's a problem.
21:16
But having gone through Above My Wallet university and then also
21:23
gone in through University of Aberdeen, looking at things from
21:28
the real estate perspective, I started seeing that, oh, like
21:30
there's some advantages. There's some advantages because
21:35
in OU all the people, the landlords, you know, people who
21:39
bought houses or built houses around campus, like steady,
21:44
you'll always have tenants always.
21:48
Then you collect your money upfront for the whole year
21:51
because it's not like, oh, you bought system where you're
21:54
renting month to month, you know, so you pay the whole year.
21:57
So, and even when I was in OU, there was one guy who I think
22:02
put together something, I can't remember if you put together
22:05
something or maybe like somebody built it and got him to manage
22:08
it. But I saw that was not was not
22:10
bad. So if you have a student market,
22:12
yeah, it's seasonal, but it's not bad.
22:15
And The thing is, as long as that university exists, you will
22:17
be able to count on that market and you'll be able to plan on
22:20
your peaks and trolls peaks are just when business is doing
22:23
good. So money they come and then
22:24
trust is just when, you know, everybody has gone home, so
22:28
there's no money. So like people who used to sell
22:32
food on the campuses, aha. So those people who who had
22:37
restaurants and things like that where everybody's around,
22:40
especially in the beginning of the time when everybody has
22:42
money, business is booming. And during holiday, you know,
22:45
everywhere it goes quiet. So I'm dealing with student
22:49
market. It's not that bad, seasonal.
22:51
But yeah, you can plan. And quite frankly, for real
22:55
estate, I think the thing makes sense because I noticed that in
22:58
University of Aberdeen, the first year the school will give
23:01
you accommodation because it is in Aberdeen was the same thing
23:04
as in UNILAG and OAU. So I think in OAU when I was
23:08
there, I think student population was about 20, I think
23:11
maybe 22,000 or something like that.
23:13
But of course not enough space. So some people will get a
23:17
location on campus, the rest of you won't search yourself out in
23:21
town or you squat. So in the University of Aberdeen
23:25
was was the same thing too. Rooms are limited by in
23:29
Aberdeen, there's no squatting. You know, able people know they
23:31
catch you squatting or more you're your own.
23:33
They evict you and just squatter too.
23:37
So no squatting. But of course you know Nigeria
23:39
now once in a while, you know your guy will come and crash
23:42
maybe like one week before he moves, you know, that kind of
23:45
thing. So I was like, gosh, I've lost
23:49
my train of thought. Anyway, student market is not
23:55
necessarily a bad market. Now, there's something that
23:57
people used to say that students don't have money.
24:00
So when I was in school, that is something that I heard and it's
24:03
something I believed. But now that I've grown up a
24:05
bit, I've seen that look, it's not so it's not so sure because
24:09
OK, Sam, Sam is in Benin, OK, studying architecture.
24:12
I also have another client who is in Benin, but this guy in
24:15
school in Benin, he just decided to settle down there and his
24:19
business is, he is into mobile and computer accessories and
24:24
then gaming accessories and things like that.
24:27
And so I asked him like when I was consulting for him, I need
24:31
to know who his ideal customer audience is, his customer
24:35
avatar. Because you need to know who
24:37
your ideal audience is before you start running up and down,
24:40
you know, coming up with advertising campaigns or coming
24:43
up with marketing campaigns and things like that.
24:45
You need to know exactly who it is you're running after at the
24:47
1st place. So, so this guy said that
24:52
students were his main customers and I said our students how?
24:57
Because you know what I was told when I was in school is that
24:59
students don't have money. So never sell to students.
25:02
That's what I heard. But then this guy is making
25:05
bank, serious bank. If I has opened a new location
25:09
in Abuja right now as we are talking and he said that his
25:14
students are his his main clients.
25:17
I say how He says well, it doesn't know, but you know,
25:21
students, you know you guys to form you have to package.
25:25
And so students actually buy devices from hundreds of
25:27
thousands of naira. So the brand new iPhone comes
25:30
out. Who are the people that are
25:31
going to be buying them? Students, other babes they want
25:35
to impress or boys wear 1 impress and so they're buying
25:39
for babes butcher Students, PS-5, PS, DS, PS dot Sony
25:46
PlayStation, this Microsoft Xbox that anyone we drop who's going
25:51
to buy it? Students because I want to form
25:55
and everything so I will open up my eyes, you know, somehow.
25:58
Students, if you think it's important they find the money,
26:04
if it's some sort of device or whatever that they think looks
26:08
cool, like TV's for instance, like the last time I was in
26:11
ground square and I saw this TV, flat screen TV, I can't remember
26:15
the make, but this was flat, like flatter than the phone.
26:19
The TV was mad. And I think it was like 3 point
26:24
3.6 M, something like that. Yeah.
26:26
So there's some students that have that.
26:28
That's what they have entered their house.
26:30
That's what that's what you see there.
26:32
So somehow they they find the money.
26:35
By the way, I'm not saying you should make students steal.
26:39
So I guess the lesson here is not to say that students don't
26:43
have money, but rather we should, if you are in the
26:48
student market, try and figure out what it is that students are
26:51
willing to pay money on and then sell that.
26:56
And yes, for those of you who are curious, yes it is true,
27:03
students don't buy books. So if you want to open up a
27:07
bookstore on a campus, you're wasting your time.
27:11
And the good news is it seems to be universal.
27:14
In Nigeria, students don't buy books.
27:17
In the UK, students don't buy books.
27:19
So I guess the lesson is if you want to sell to students, look
27:21
for what it is that they want to buy.
27:23
If it is textbook you're selling or more, you're problem, serious
27:28
problem. So yeah, look for students want
27:32
to sell. I guess that's a lesson for
27:33
everybody, no matter the business that you're involved
27:35
in, don't sell what you think is moving.
27:38
Look for the thing that is actually moving in the market
27:40
and then sell that thing. Then on finding the right
27:44
customers locally and internationally.
27:46
Yeah. So I told him, yeah, that's the
27:47
focus. But my own advice is master the
27:50
local game first before you go international because too many
27:54
people try to go international prematurely.
27:57
And that's one problem that one of my OK, she was not a client,
28:01
but she did some work for me, some brand new work for me.
28:03
That was the problem that they were facing.
28:05
They were trying to go international prematurely.
28:08
You're trying to go international prematurely.
28:10
You're trying to target international clients in America
28:12
and in the US. Meanwhile, your sales motion,
28:15
you haven't perfected this in Nigeria yet.
28:19
How do you talk to customers? You don't know, You haven't
28:21
figured it out where you want to learn how to sell to foreigners.
28:25
OK, Who is your ideal audience where you're supposed to be
28:29
targeting? You don't know.
28:30
You haven't figured it out on the local audience yet, but
28:33
they're going to be spending a lot of money trying to target
28:36
international audiences online. I'm paying heavy, heavy, heavy
28:41
money to Facebook to advertise to these people.
28:44
So look, we mean well when we say we want to conquer the
28:51
international market. We mean very, very well.
28:54
But we need to just calm down, figure out the local market
28:58
first. Then the things that we learn
29:03
will help us to become much more effective, much more efficient
29:07
when we start targeting international markets.
29:09
And then apart from that, when you master your craft first in
29:15
Niger, you know that you deliver credible services, Then of
29:19
course, you know that you can deliver services everywhere.
29:23
If you haven't mastered your craft here in Niger, and then
29:26
you want to start trying to sell your branding services abroad,
29:29
your Research Services abroad, but then you're struggling.
29:33
You know, you'll be telling yourself, Oh, no racism.
29:35
No, it's not really narracism. It's possible that you haven't
29:38
really learned your craft as you never let work finish.
29:43
Are you starting his communication barrier?
29:45
It could be, but maybe it's just that you never let work finish.
29:50
And so when you're dealing with people abroad, you are not as
29:55
good as you think. So master your craft.
29:58
But for those of you who do research and academic work like
30:01
Sam, Oh yes, international people pay much better.
30:05
So especially like Nigerians in diaspora, because like one of my
30:09
clients, another guy, this one is based in Quara.
30:11
Yeah, this guy is in Quara and he's also in the in the research
30:15
business was making good money because you know what it is now
30:19
when somebody in America, for instance, you will agree and you
30:24
say, well, I write my project for me and then the guy wires
30:27
you $2000. You know to them $2000 might not
30:32
be BBB, but by the time you receive $2000 here, that's in
30:37
the, you know, teen entire millions.
30:39
So it's good money. So for those of you who do
30:42
research, I understand that after a while you say, look, I'm
30:46
done. No more OAU, no more UNILAC, no
30:49
more Uni made, no more University of Abuja, no more
30:54
Noun National Open University will now be looking for people
30:57
in Harvard and or what not to to be our clients.
31:00
So I understand, but just know that there's some ethical issues
31:04
involved. So my client Inquirer, he's
31:06
getting out of the business precisely because of those
31:09
issues because it's good money. But then after a while he
31:12
started feeling somehow like this thing that people are
31:15
giving me their project and I'm the one writing the project for
31:17
them, you know, the team day one time.
31:20
So because of that, he's trying to leave the business.
31:25
Some of you will be asking me who ethics don't help.
31:27
Look, I'm not going to go into that, but I'm just letting you
31:29
know that there's some ethical issues involved in this
31:32
business. So if you want to be involved
31:33
just I'll put it anyway. I've mentioned that the ethical
31:39
issues involved. Let me just leave it like that.
31:41
Then finally, Sam was talking about how he needs to learn how
31:46
to pitch better. And this is the main thing that
31:48
I wanted him to to stomach to learn.
31:53
And this is the main thing that I'm hoping some of you will get.
31:55
If you didn't learn anything from anything that I've been
31:57
saying so far, I hope you will get something from this one.
32:02
Learning how to pitch better is never the problem.
32:09
I will say it again, learning how to pitch better is never,
32:13
never the problem because pitching is guesswork.
32:17
Sales pitch. Now you meet somebody, you say,
32:19
oh boy, buy my something. Now is the best, is the finest,
32:22
is the brightest, is the blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
32:24
That is never the problem. Never.
32:26
Because pitching is guesswork. Whenever you are in a sales
32:31
pitch, you are guessing. It is guesswork.
32:36
So if you want to improve your pitch, essentially you're trying
32:39
to learn how to guess better or you're trying to be more
32:42
eloquent in your guesswork, and that is not the problem.
32:48
The problem actually is qualification and discovery.
32:51
Qualification and discovery just means you figure out who is this
32:57
person, what do they need, what are they trying to achieve, what
33:01
problems are they running away from?
33:03
You know, things like that. If you can get to the heart of
33:07
what it is that people actually need, then you can start making
33:09
effective presentations. Effective presentations begin
33:14
with listening better and with knowing the audience.
33:19
Let me give you an example. You guys remember the time when
33:24
I think that was last year that kids were going back to school,
33:28
then wifey saw this thing on Instagram.
33:30
You know, something, something sales, something, something,
33:32
whatever, whatever. And we went there.
33:36
But I should have known it was a trap from the beginning because
33:39
I don't like buying clothes. And you know, if I have money,
33:42
I'll use the money and do all that stuff already.
33:44
Buy clothes. So my wife says I have the
33:45
fashion sense of a Ghanaian school teacher.
33:47
Sorry, those of you who are Ghanaian school teachers.
33:51
My wife said it. Mumsy laughed.
33:52
Mumsy agreed. And one of my good friends in
33:56
business, he agreed as well. So I don't know how Ghanaian
33:59
school teachers dress, but apparently I dress like 1.
34:02
So where was I, Where was I? So I should have known I was a
34:08
trap. So we went there now and we
34:10
bought the things I was supposed to buy.
34:12
We bought the shoes for the kids and we bought, I think water
34:16
bottles for the kids. And what do we buy again?
34:18
You know, the normal, normal stuff.
34:20
Then as we were going out, my wife now said, Madam, you get
34:23
jeans. And that's why I just realized
34:27
she set me up. My wife lured me out there so
34:29
she can buy jeans for me by force, by fire, because she has
34:32
been saying go and buy jeans, Go and buy jeans.
34:35
This one you have, you've been wearing it for so long that if
34:38
you take it and you just dust it, that it is mud that will
34:42
start coming out of the jeans. And I kept telling my wife, I'm
34:45
OK, I'm good with these jeans. It's fine.
34:47
OK. Does it look dirty?
34:49
I'll wash it. There's no problem.
34:51
But man, I was too late. She don't set me up.
34:54
There's no I couldn't run. I was there.
34:57
Say my name, you get jeans. And then my name was busy
35:00
outside. So my name told her husband who
35:01
was inside about the jeans. Next thing my husband started
35:05
saying ah Bros see this one now Wrangler jeans something
35:09
something something blah blah blah USA this this this that
35:12
that that that that. You see what Oga was doing is
35:18
called a sales pitch. There are two people in the
35:22
store. My wife said Madam you get
35:25
jeans. The Madam was busy with customer
35:28
outside so she signaled her husband.
35:31
And then the husband just looked at me.
35:33
For some reason he thought Wrangler jeans now the one we
35:38
sued this guy. So the guy started Wrangler
35:40
jeans, blah, blah, blah, high quality USA, you know, on and on
35:45
and on and on and on and on. Trying to sell Wrangler jeans.
35:50
That is a pitch. The person that you're talking
35:53
to, does he like jeans? You don't know.
35:56
OK, he likes jeans. Is he a Wrangler person you
35:58
don't know? Is he a Calvin Klein person you
36:01
don't know? Is he a Christian dual person
36:03
you don't know? Is he a blue jeans kind of
36:07
person you don't know? Is he a red jeans kind of person
36:11
you don't know? Is he a white jeans kind of
36:12
person you don't know? But in your store, the one that
36:17
looks like he can fit this guy because I'm on the big side
36:20
happens to be a Wrangler Jean. So therefore any guy that come
36:25
into this store that is asking for Jean, so long as it looks
36:29
like you can fit him, I will pitch.
36:31
You must buy. You must buy rank lighting, USA,
36:34
high quality, blah blah blah blah blah blah.
36:38
That is pitching. Learning how to pitch better is
36:43
not the problem. Learning how to guess better is
36:46
not the problem. Or learning how to pitch with
36:48
Fournier is not your problem. Learning how to figure out what
36:52
the person needs is the problem. Say boss, you define Jing.
36:57
I said no, be mule. Now my wife, I'm by force.
37:01
By force. Then from there he will know
37:03
whether he should focus on me or you should focus on Madam.
37:06
If he's focusing on Madam, which is my wife, it's not a matter of
37:09
Madam. OK, so you want to upgrade
37:12
Roger? How do we want to upgrade him?
37:14
What's the plan? And then hear what my wife would
37:16
have to say. Based on what my wife says, he
37:18
will know what kind of recommendations to make.
37:20
He will ask me one of two questions.
37:21
Based on that question, you now know whether.
37:24
OK, now for this particular guy, even though Madam said jeans for
37:28
this particular guy, because of how in the squeezing face or
37:31
because of the things he has said, we're better off giving
37:34
this guy chinos. That is the difference.
37:40
And that is why lots of you are struggling in sales.
37:43
You will are learning how to pitch, to pitch, to pitch
37:45
guesswork. You just be guessing by me.
37:48
I'm the greatest, I'm the fastest, I'm the brightest, I'm
37:50
the newest, I'm the best. UK fairly used America, this da
37:54
da da da Sweden second hand. Do you know if they even care
37:58
about these things? Ask the person, figure out what
38:02
they want, then tailor your proposal or tailor your
38:06
presentation accordingly. Listen to people, know your
38:11
audience. That is what will make a
38:14
difference. So Sam, I didn't tell you this,
38:19
you know, in a text message, but I'm saying it here on the
38:22
podcast. I'm hoping you're listening and
38:24
I'm also saying it for the benefit of other people who I
38:27
hope are listening well. Pitching will not solve your
38:31
problem. Qualification and discovery
38:34
will. Learning who is in front of you
38:38
will solve your problems. Learning what they care about
38:40
will solve your problems. That is what will allow you to
38:44
make an effective recommendation, a recommendation
38:48
that will make sense. So if you're like that Olga, and
38:54
you'll be having problem selling your jeans.
38:57
The problem with selling your jeans is you've been launching
38:59
straight into a pitch. Figure out who the person is
39:04
first. If you don't have what they
39:07
want, you can do the Niger thing of oh, OK, I don't have it, but
39:12
my guy in shop B3 has it. You take him there as a hand him
39:19
over to the guy in B3. You just give that signal, you
39:22
know, raise your eyebrow, you know, so that the guy will
39:23
understand that. OK, you know what, you settle
39:27
you 10% or something. Sometimes that's the right thing
39:30
to do. So get better at learning what
39:33
it is that people actually want, people actually need.
39:37
Then the thing I mentioned about targeting is this.
39:41
Sometimes you're struggling, but sometimes it's because you're
39:43
talking to people. You're talking to the wrong
39:45
people. Wrong people just mean people
39:47
who are not really interested. The person is not really
39:50
interested. Your chances for closing
39:52
anything meaningful is low. You're talking to people who are
39:55
not really interested. You're talking to people who
39:57
have no need. You're talking to people who
39:59
have no money. You're talking to people who
40:01
have no urgency or no compelling reason to take action soon.
40:05
So if you sell Research Services and you're struggling with
40:10
selling your Research Services, perhaps you're in a place where
40:14
people are not really interested.
40:15
Now maybe people in Uni Ben Studios like in OAU, because in
40:20
OAU we did Jack, we did read. Well, at least back then, I
40:23
don't know about now. So if you're trying to sell
40:26
Research Services in the school, like who are you?
40:28
You're wasting your time. Who patronize you?
40:31
Nobody will patronize you because every, you know, we,
40:34
they read. But if you want to sell your
40:39
paper, writing services are not taught in uni like in uni like
40:43
they are not serious. They like to party, they like to
40:47
play, they like to form and go there.
40:49
You will sell your research writing services, your paper
40:54
writing services, you know, write exam for people, write jam
40:57
for people, write everything because you need like they want
41:00
to play. By the way, my wife went to
41:04
UNILAC, so it's OK. I can abuse people from UNILAC
41:06
because you know, we're family. So sometimes you're struggling
41:13
because where you are, these people are not interested.
41:16
You think this is a good idea, You're pitching it, you're
41:18
saying it, but you're in an environment where people just
41:21
can't be bothered or they have no need.
41:26
If you're sending your academic writing services in a place
41:29
where the average CGP is, I don't know, 4.2 or something or
41:34
more will be hard because already you know Nene Jack on
41:38
their own, they're sufficient on their own, like you'll be hard,
41:43
No interest, no need. Sometimes it is no money.
41:48
You want to sell your research writing services, You want to
41:50
sell your paper writing services, you want to sell your
41:52
whatever. But you do not want to take this
41:55
job for anything less than 650 K.
41:59
Some people say 650K. You know what?
42:04
I'm better off writing it by myself.
42:05
I carry and getting extra and trying again rather than
42:08
carrying the 650K and giving it to somebody when there's no
42:12
guarantee that if I give them the 660 K that I will pass.
42:18
Please, I am not advocating that any of you should be engaging
42:21
in, you know, illegal, unethical.
42:24
You see this, I say that these are some of the ethical issues
42:27
involved, which is why my client inquire is bailing because for
42:30
him it's like he has had enough that he's made some money, but
42:34
he thinks sky by conscience, I beg is too much so his own way
42:37
out. So sometimes people have no
42:40
money, sometimes they have no sense of urgency.
42:44
You might be trying to sell your services, but most of the
42:46
people, maybe plenty of them already have extra.
42:49
So as far as they're concerned, like already have extra.
42:52
My GPA has already suffered. I'm coming back again next year.
42:55
Like, what's the rush? Let me just relax.
42:59
I'll be back next year. No urgency, no compelling
43:01
reasons to take action soon. So sometimes you are talking to
43:05
the wrong people. Sometimes when you start talking
43:08
to new people or the right kind of people, the problem is
43:11
solved. Oh dear, 45 minutes.
43:14
OK, let me bring it to a close. The example that I like to give,
43:17
although there are lots of factors involved, is this very
43:19
podcast. When I started off this podcast,
43:22
some of you who have discovered the show and I've started from
43:25
the beginning is something that you guys mentioned.
43:28
And I'm terribly sorry. I did not mean to deceive any of
43:31
you at all. I didn't mean to deceive any of
43:33
you. But honestly speaking, in the
43:35
beginning, when I started, this was because a friend of mine was
43:39
a wedding planner, said Tavishima, you're good at sales,
43:42
come and train my girls. And that's how I started.
43:46
And I thought it was something that every single wedding
43:49
planner, every single event planner, every single wedding
43:51
photographer, every single video person, every single cake
43:54
person, I thought it was a gospel that they needed to hear.
43:57
So that is why if you discover the first podcast episodes,
44:00
maybe like the first, I don't know, 203 hundred.
44:05
That is the reason why I was talking only to photo people,
44:08
video people, wedding planners, because I thought it was a
44:12
gospel that they needed to hear. But we came clear at the end of
44:17
the day that I was I was talking to a wall.
44:24
It could is a message that they need to hear.
44:27
Yes, because there are lots of photographers and graphic design
44:30
artists and people like that who are suffering and I think oh is
44:33
the economy or as village people, they don't know is that
44:35
it's because they're bad at selling and they don't have a
44:38
sales process. Maybe the problem was I was not
44:43
good enough then in talking about these sorts of things as I
44:46
am now. But clearly the people I was
44:49
talking to and even me, my, the person talking there was
44:52
dissonance was not blending, it was not correlating.
44:59
So after I figured out that lots of people who reach out to me
45:05
just like Sam did were people who were not in the event space,
45:10
I decided to open it up and started talking to Nigerians in
45:12
general. And once I started talking to
45:14
Nigerian business people in general, guess what happened?
45:17
The podcast grew. I wasted a long time talking to
45:23
the wrong people. I was still saying the same
45:25
thing. All I just did was instead of
45:28
looking doing, you know, looking straight and talking, I just did
45:32
about 10. I started talking to somebody
45:34
else, ma'am, that's it. And then started picking up.
45:40
So sometimes you're struggling in your business not because you
45:44
don't know how to pitch, it's because you don't know how to
45:49
figure out what it is that people want, what it is that
45:51
they need. And so you can't tell your
45:52
presentation accordingly. And then sometimes is that you
45:55
are talking to the wrong people. Once you try a new crowd, I had
45:59
these people, it's not working. You try a new crowd like, oh,
46:04
OK, I guess that was a problem. But anyway, there are lots of
46:09
things that are involved. So you'd have to sit down with a
46:12
specialist or have to do lots of research to figure out which of
46:16
these parts are the problem. Is your messaging the problem?
46:19
Are you saying things the right way?
46:21
Is your targeting the problem? Are you going after the right
46:23
people? Is the problem with your cells,
46:26
with your, your sales process, your selling framework?
46:31
You don't have a way to figure out what people want, what they
46:33
need, and then how to make an effective proposal.
46:41
So yeah, you have to sit down and look at, but don't always
46:45
just assume that I need to learn how to pitch.
46:49
And please my brothers and sisters, Nigerians, let's stop
46:52
being fascinated by pitching. I don't know when this thing
46:56
became popular in Nigeria, but nowadays everybody wants to
46:59
pitch. You want to have the perfect
47:02
sales pitch, you want to have the just relax.
47:07
The pitch is not always the problem.
47:09
So applying these principles can be tricky.
47:11
So if you need me to look at your particular circumstances,
47:14
just call me, send me a text message or WhatsApp message on
47:17
08064662140. You're interested in the 15
47:23
minutes here. Lord, did you want me to look at
47:24
some of your business processes? WhatsApp me on the same number,
47:27
08064662140. So that's it.
47:32
Thank you very much for your time and attention.
47:34
I'll catch you all at the next episode.