Latest / Closing Sales in Nigeria - Sales For The Nigerian Business Person: The Sales and Marketing Blueprint / How to Handle "Let Me Get Back to You": A direct answer to the most common sales stall

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How to Handle "Let Me Get Back to You": A direct answer to the most common sales stall · Closing Sales in Nigeria - Sales For The Nigerian Business Person: The Sales and Marketing Blueprint

0:00
Hello and welcome. Today's episode is being
0:03
recorded at home, so apologies if you hear any noise in the
0:06
background. Now, what we're going to look at
0:08
today is what to do when someone says, let me get back to you.
0:13
Now, the reason why we're looking at that today is because
0:16
obviously it's something that a lot of us face in business.
0:19
You have a conversation with someone, it looks like you guys
0:21
are vibing, it looks like you're flowing.
0:22
You're already calculating how much money is going to enter
0:25
your bank account. And then the person says, let me
0:28
get back to you. You've given somebody a
0:30
proposal. You think everything is smooth.
0:32
You call the person, say, oh boy, how far?
0:34
And the person says, let me get back to you.
0:37
So this is something that we hear a lot, whether you're a
0:41
professional salesperson in Nigeria or whether you're a
0:43
business owner in Nigeria. In fact, it's a global
0:45
something, right? We hear let me get back to you
0:50
all the time. So just like the other podcast
0:54
episode where we're talking about what to say when people
0:58
say this sounds all good or looks all good and then next
1:02
thing the deal doesn't seem to go anywhere.
1:06
You know, it's just, it's just one of those things.
1:07
So don't take it personal. Don't take it personal.
1:11
Do not be angry. No, they'll provoke anyhow.
1:14
Don't want to start writing all kinds of things over on social
1:16
media. In fact, that's the reason why
1:18
we're looking at this one today. Let me get back to you because
1:21
as another salesperson and some of you are wondering that is it
1:24
only you that no salespeople in Nigeria?
1:26
I don't know, maybe you know, but since I started this
1:29
podcast, you know, lots of salespeople have been following
1:31
me and I've been following lots of salespeople back.
1:34
So I get to see not just business owners, but also
1:36
professional salespeople, you know, do their thing, you know,
1:39
live. So there's one guy now a
1:43
potential customer told him, let me get back to you, the guy,
1:46
Vex. Then I begin the rant.
1:49
Just writing anything on LinkedIn up and down and please
1:53
let me say it one more time. For those of you who are
1:55
professional salespeople reading this thing and you know, other
2:01
salespeople, you know in Niger, I beg let us be talking to
2:04
ourselves. This thing is not very
2:06
professional. If you're talking with somebody,
2:08
the person says, let me get back to you.
2:09
You're angry. You would have vent for social
2:11
media. Just assume the person sees it,
2:15
you know, next week or whatever. So things like you and immature
2:18
or somebody say, oh, so because I told this small boy, let me
2:21
think about this as a guy called the para, you know, you just
2:24
look somehow. So let's not be airing our dirty
2:27
laundry in public a beg. So it's frustrating, but because
2:30
somebody says this all good and then, you know, conversation
2:35
didn't move or somebody said, let me get back to you and then
2:37
I'll get it goes to you. It's not the end of the world.
2:39
Don't be vexing. In fact, the emotion that you're
2:42
carrying. I'm pouring on social media.
2:44
Is that emotion and go outside running after other people are
2:46
big. Yeah.
2:47
Let's conduct ourselves professionally.
2:49
Let's not be so you know, it's petty, it's childish.
2:54
And anyway, so let's just leave it like that.
2:57
Now, let me get back to you. If you have heard that thing
3:02
before, let's try to understand what it is that is going on.
3:05
Like I said, first of all, that this thing is universal.
3:07
It happens to everybody. So don't be annoyed.
3:09
It happens to everybody, whether you're a novice, you're a jam
3:12
bite, you're experienced, you're whatever.
3:15
It happens to every single person.
3:19
So the problem is not that it happens to people, and his
3:23
problem is not that it happens one or two times.
3:26
The problem is just that you haven't given it much thought as
3:29
to why this thing occurs and what you can do to respond when
3:35
it happens or what you can do to prevent this thing from
3:39
happening. So that is the right attitude to
3:43
take. So just like in the other
3:45
podcast episode, I spoke about how we need to take the
3:47
initiative and we need to assume responsibility as business
3:50
owners and as sales people to reduce the occurrence of these
3:54
things happening. It's it's the same thing here.
3:58
So where are we? So let me get back to you now.
4:03
When you're here, let me get back to you.
4:04
This is what's going on in sales.
4:07
We call this an objection. Now.
4:09
An objection just means any reason, any concern, any
4:12
question, any K leg, any comma that the person gives for not
4:16
wanting to go ahead, for not wanting to sign, for not wanting
4:20
to talk, for not wanting to go to the side visit, for not
4:23
wanting to sign up for the demo, for not replying your message,
4:26
whatever it is. We just call all of those things
4:29
objections. So you're talking to someone and
4:31
she says, well, you know, they come on, go villa.
4:34
I'll be back in two weeks. You know, that's an objection.
4:36
Somebody says you're too expensive, That's an objection.
4:38
Let me get back to you. That's an objection.
4:42
Drop a proposal with my secretary.
4:44
That's an objection. All of them.
4:46
Shall we just classify all of them as objection?
4:52
However, whenever people say these things, let me get, let me
4:56
get back to you. Send an e-mail to my secretary.
4:59
I'm going to the village. I'm back after two weeks.
5:01
Let me talk to my pastor, let me talk to my wife.
5:04
My spirit is not in it. But you know, whatever it is
5:06
that they say, we have to understand something.
5:11
Now, sometimes when people say this and they're just trying to
5:14
brush us off, they're trying to say get out of my sight.
5:17
But Nigerians are polite. So very few Nigerians will
5:20
actually look at you and tell you get out of my sight.
5:23
Most Nigerians will start saying all these kind of things, oh,
5:25
this all sounds good, let me get back to you.
5:27
Oh, sounds nice. I'm dropping my daughter in
5:29
school when I get back from Lagos.
5:31
But you know, all these kinds of things.
5:34
Sometimes it's a brush off and sometimes people have legitimate
5:38
concerns as in legitimately they have some reasons why they need
5:41
fear or they have some concerns that they have not spoken about
5:46
or they have some more questions that they just want to go and do
5:49
some research on their own before they can now come back
5:52
confidently and start talking to you.
5:55
So whenever somebody gives you an objection like let me get
5:58
back to you, it could be a brush off or they might have
6:04
legitimate concerns for why they are not signing this contract,
6:07
why they are no longer talking to you, why they don't want to
6:10
go for site visit, why they don't want to sign up for the
6:12
demo, why they don't want to reply you look, whatever it is,
6:16
they might have legitimate reasons.
6:18
So the whole thrust of dealing with objections is not looking
6:23
for the magic words to say that will bring this thing back on
6:25
track, but rather rather what we're trying to do is we're
6:32
trying to understand first what is going on.
6:34
If it's a brush off, then politely accept the brush off.
6:38
If somebody's politely telling you get the hell out of my face,
6:42
I'm one of those who believes that we should just get the hell
6:46
out of their face and look for somebody else to talk to.
6:48
So if it's a brush off, accept the brush off and just leave it.
6:52
Our job is to sell. Our job is not to be a
6:54
psychologist and wonder why people are hostile towards us.
6:57
But then if they have legitimate concerns, good.
6:59
Then our job is to now ask questions so that we can uncover
7:03
those legitimate concerns so that we can have frank
7:05
conversations about it because that's the only way that we're
7:08
going to stay in this conversation.
7:09
If somebody says, let me get back to you because in the fear,
7:13
unless you're on earth, the things that he's afraid of, how
7:15
do you think you're going to stay in the conversation?
7:18
If somebody says, let me get back to you because the guy gets
7:21
on questions way while, you know, the guy wants to research
7:24
one or two things before he comes back.
7:29
You know, once you figure out what's going on, you, you have
7:32
no realistic hope for continuing this conversation.
7:34
None. But then before we continue, I
7:37
want to point out one thing. Because some people when they
7:40
get objections, they get very, very angry.
7:42
But I want you to consider one thing, Objections versus
7:45
ghosting. Which one is better?
7:48
Objections is when at least somebody is opening their mouth
7:52
to give you a reason or to give you some kind of excuse.
7:57
Ghosts in Anchor, when people disappear, 100% they disappear.
8:01
They know, they pick all. In fact, you suspect that
8:03
they've blocked you. Which one is better, objections
8:04
or ghosting? The reason why I'm saying is
8:08
because we need to put these things in perspective.
8:11
Business owners and professional salespeople put this thing in
8:13
perspective. If somebody goes to you now I'm
8:15
frustrated past now. If somebody's giving you
8:18
objection, OK, no problem, no effects, calm down, let's figure
8:21
out what's going on. Then we'll now be able to know
8:23
what is the next step forward. So objections actually are good
8:29
because it gives you a reasonable shot.
8:33
It means that you are still in the game.
8:35
Ghosting is bad because you can't rescue the situation.
8:39
How can I rescue the situation when somebody's not talking to
8:41
me? You know, that's something that
8:43
I tell my wife that when we quarreled where she squeezes her
8:45
face as I look babe, like when in the vex, like calm down when
8:50
you're annoyed. It's like I can't even talk to
8:51
you like no, what's the way forward?
8:54
You know, So you're passing the ghost.
8:56
That's that's the bad one. If somebody's giving you
8:59
objection, OK, no problem. It's not a problem.
9:02
Let's just try and figure out what it is that is going on.
9:05
So don't be angry when people give you objections.
9:09
Now, one thing we need to understand is let me get back to
9:11
you. And other kinds of objections
9:13
are symptomatic of something. When we say symptomatic, what we
9:17
just mean is there's a disease somewhere and we're seeing some
9:20
signs. Now, all these signs that we
9:22
see, like when somebody says you're too expensive, it is
9:26
symptomatic of something. It shows that you have had a
9:29
failure in the sales process. So when somebody says let me get
9:31
back to you, it's a sign or something.
9:34
It's a sign that the person has unrealistic price expectations.
9:36
Maybe the person hasn't done any research.
9:38
You're the first vendor that the person is talking to.
9:41
If somebody says, let me get back to you, it could be
9:45
symptomatic that whenever you're in conversations with potential
9:49
customers or clients, you don't have the money conversation
9:52
quickly and early or often enough so that at least people
9:55
have expectations about where you stand.
10:00
Like Lecon, who we're going to end up doing business with soon
10:04
if everything pulls through. It's part of the conversation
10:06
that we had. You know, the guy said, bro, I
10:08
hope you're not too expensive. I laugh and I say, too
10:11
expensive. How?
10:11
I mean, I'm too sheep. And then I called the price and
10:15
they say that one is too much. I said no, that's not like that.
10:18
That the last person I spoke to when I called it, the person was
10:20
confused that the person say are you charging in dollar Abe or
10:23
charging in naira? And then when he found out that
10:25
I was charging in naira, not in dollars, the guy lost respect
10:28
for me. And then we laughed and blah
10:30
blah blah. See, all of that seems like
10:31
small talk, but we are having the money conversation early in
10:35
the beginning so that later on by the time we spent 2-3 days
10:40
talking back and forth, Lecom can come back to me and tell me
10:43
you're too expensive. We had the conversation early.
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So when you are facing objections, please realize it is
10:53
a symptom that there's a failure in your sales process somewhere.
10:58
Something has happened before before or something has not
11:01
happened before before that is leading to all these objections.
11:06
So otherwise, let me get back to you.
11:08
This all sounds good. Then you don't hear from them
11:10
again, you're too expensive, What else?
11:17
You know, even a whole thing of, oh, I'm coming, I'm going to the
11:20
village now, I'll be back in two weeks.
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Even that objection is symptomatic of something.
11:25
It shows that there's been a failure on your sales process,
11:27
that you have not had conversations around timelines
11:30
and urgency. That's the reason why you're
11:32
surprised by this kind of move that somebody would say I'm
11:34
coming, I'm going to the villa, I'll be back in two weeks.
11:37
You've not had conversations around urgency around timelines,
11:41
around when do you want to begin around how so would you like to
11:45
start seeing results? You know, simple things like
11:46
that, that will just give you a simple timeline.
11:49
Because if you had all these conversations around timelines
11:53
and you know that honestly speaking, this person is not
11:55
ready to move forward until 2028 and you know that this is the
11:59
beginning of 2026. You will not be confused when
12:02
somebody say at the com at the go villa, since you've had the
12:06
conversation, you will know that OK, yeah, this guy is not ready
12:09
to even start until like next year.
12:11
So he's normal in the go villa. In the go villa.
12:14
It doesn't mean it's a bad sign. You've had the expected the the
12:18
the conversations around timelines.
12:20
And so you know that in the go villa because it's not a
12:22
priority right now. The other things where the guy
12:25
that the guy has to do straight up.
12:30
So if you're getting objections, let's stick to the one for
12:34
today. Let me get back to you is
12:35
because there's a failure on your sales process.
12:39
You've not had conversations with them enough to figure out
12:42
what they want or they need or what they're interested in.
12:45
You haven't had conversations with them to figure out what
12:47
they can afford or you have not had budget conversations.
12:51
Because let's face it, somebody can say, let me get back to you
12:53
because the person has seen the money at the proposal and the
12:56
guy is thinking, hey, this money will kill me.
12:59
But you know, he doesn't know how to come out and say, you
13:03
know, that he doesn't have money or that she doesn't have money.
13:06
So they'll just say, let me get back to you.
13:11
So you haven't had those conversations around budgets,
13:14
around money, about financial expectations.
13:18
You haven't had the conversations around urgency or
13:21
timelines because somebody can be saying, let me get back to
13:26
you. The reason why he's saying let
13:27
me get back to you is because it's a problem.
13:29
But no priority right now. So you're discussing with the
13:33
person you know today in March of 2026 and the guy is
13:36
interested and the guy has the money or she has the money.
13:39
But honestly speaking, you know, no be priority now.
13:42
Like aren't that kind, you know, aren't that kind.
13:46
December is when he's ready to move forward.
13:48
So let me get back to you. Actually just means guy chill.
13:51
I have your details. When I'm ready, we'll get to it.
13:56
Or maybe if not had conversations around authority
14:00
and decision makings, decision making.
14:02
Sorry. Well, as they say in the
14:05
construction industry, the decision making matrix, Abby or
14:08
something like that. Sometimes let me get back to
14:12
you. Just means the guy needs to
14:14
check with the board first. Like one of my former clients
14:20
who is in the solar space and there was a company, he kept
14:25
insisting everything was all good, everything was all good.
14:27
I said, Are you sure? Are you sure?
14:28
I said it's all good. So I called him later on and
14:30
said, hey, how far lady said that?
14:32
Let me get back to you. I say, yeah.
14:34
So we came up with a plan to bring her back on course.
14:39
And, yeah, she started responding to his matches again.
14:41
And it turns out that, you know, her own take was, you know, I'm
14:44
not the owner of the school because we're selling solar to a
14:48
school in Victoria Island in Lagos.
14:51
And the lady loved the proposal, the principal.
14:54
And then they gave the proposal to her and everything.
14:56
But I said, let me get back to you from there.
14:58
She enter, goes in, where would you bring it back online?
15:00
And she said, you know, that it's not my school, I'm just the
15:02
principal. I have to talk to the board.
15:05
You can see that sometimes it's that simple.
15:07
Somebody saying, let me get back to you just means they want to
15:10
talk to the board 1st. The decision is not in their
15:12
hand. So they have to go and talk to
15:14
the person who authorize, you know, payment authorizes,
15:17
authorize that. So from all these things that
15:20
I'm saying, now you can see that it can be a whole lot.
15:25
It can be a whole host. It can't be anything.
15:28
When somebody says let me get back to you, it can't be
15:30
anything. One thing I can tell you for
15:33
sure is if you say, OK, no problem, when you're ready, I'll
15:35
hear from you, aye, Anything can happen after that.
15:39
Anything, anything. Another vendor can come in and
15:44
steal your slot. Let's see what else they can,
15:49
Jabba. And you won't even know what
15:53
else they might lose your phone number.
15:56
That one has happened to me. It happened to me that day.
15:59
I nearly cried because I thought me and the bride were making
16:03
progress. I'll get back to you.
16:05
That's how I waited. And that was the days when I
16:08
didn't have social media. In fact, I still haven't learned
16:10
my lesson because right now I cancelled all my social media.
16:13
The only one I have now is LinkedIn.
16:15
So I called the babe now just to say what's up.
16:18
How fun. She was like, oh, Tava Shima
16:24
that I was. I was wondering.
16:25
I was looking. Nobody had your number.
16:27
No social media. No, this, you know and that they
16:29
say, OK, so I'll find out. I will go ahead.
16:32
She said, today is my wedding day.
16:34
What day to cry as I lost money. So let me get back to you.
16:40
You say, OK, sure, no problem. You don't say anything again.
16:43
And then like back in those days, I didn't have ACRM, so
16:46
nothing to track my phone calls, my appointments, you know,
16:49
things like that. So me just calling her back was,
16:51
you know, just like, oh, I remember that's why I called her
16:54
back. And then was her wedding day.
16:58
And that's how I lost money. Stories that touch.
17:04
OK. So I was like, let me get back
17:09
to you. Can't be caused by anything.
17:10
But like I said at the top of the episode, this is what we do.
17:14
We need to find ways to ask questions to figure out what is
17:16
going on. It's not we know what is going
17:18
on that we can make a proposal or that we can revive Abby.
17:25
Revive the conversation. Yeah.
17:27
It's only when we ask questions that we know how we can revive
17:29
the question. Sorry.
17:30
Revive the conversation. So first of all, whenever
17:32
anybody gives you any kind of objection at all, let me get
17:35
back to you. You're too expensive.
17:37
Drop an e-mail with my secretary.
17:40
Drop a proposal in the showroom floor, whatever it is they say,
17:45
the first thing you do is you agree with them or you
17:47
empathize. Now the homework with agreeing
17:49
and empathizing is to do 2 things.
17:51
Number one, you let the person know that they are being
17:53
perfectly reasonable and #2 you calm the the mood.
17:58
You calm the mood down so that people will be frank to talk.
18:02
Because when people say you're too expensive and then you
18:06
launch into a whole whatever about how you are the best price
18:08
in Abuja and you're the best price in a Korea and you're the
18:11
only person that this, this, this and you know, you have a
18:14
master's degree and blah, blah, blah.
18:16
So it is justified or your equipment is expensive.
18:19
You know you're make you're making the mood high because
18:23
somebody has said you're too expensive for different reasons.
18:27
Maybe the person no get money. Maybe the person has unrealistic
18:29
price expectations. Maybe the person has found
18:31
something cheaper or something. These of you to calm the mood
18:33
down and continue the conversation.
18:35
You're justifying, justifying, justifying, the more you
18:37
justify. What do you think will happen?
18:40
Who do you think likes being run over, whether in personal
18:42
affairs or in business affairs? The guy doesn't want you to run
18:45
him down the babe. In fact, let's say you're a guy
18:49
talking to to a woman. You think the woman wants you to
18:51
run her down. You think so the more you dig
18:55
in, the more she go dig in. So what you do is you calm down,
19:00
calm things down. So you agree and you empathize.
19:04
That's the reason why for those of you who listen to the episode
19:07
where I spoke about you're too expensive, that's the reason why
19:10
I recommend it to my client. He said he tried it and he
19:12
worked as the one who was into audio production.
19:17
He said he worked. Now, Madam, I understand
19:20
perfectly well in this Chernobyl economy.
19:22
I know as it be. And then remember, he said that
19:25
the person was like, my dear, you have no idea.
19:28
We just finished paying school fees.
19:29
We just do this. We just do that.
19:30
Is he? The mood will calm down.
19:33
Then the person is talking. You know, what's that word
19:37
conversate? I mean, you're having a
19:38
conversation. It is when the mood is calm, you
19:43
are growing empathize that you can move to Step 2, which is you
19:46
ask questions because you need to ask questions to figure out
19:49
what is going on. So in this case, let me get back
19:51
to you. You agree, you empathize, you
19:54
say, yeah, Madam. I understand though, boss.
19:56
I understand big decisions like this with plenty, plenty money.
19:59
I understand. You don't just decide anyhow.
20:01
Anyhow, you pause a bit. You know that small, you know
20:05
rapport, you know you small talk, talk, talk back and forth.
20:09
Then from there you slip into questions.
20:14
The questions will be able to allow you to figure out what is
20:18
going on. From when you figure out what is
20:22
going on, you may now be able to make a new proposal or you'll be
20:25
able to secure an advancement. OK then from there we move and
20:30
try and close the deal. Sorry I know this part sounds
20:33
academic or technical. What I'll explain.
20:36
I have explained step one, which is agree or empathize.
20:39
We're now at Step 2 questions from questions.
20:44
We can put a new proposal on the table.
20:46
That is where we try and deal with whatever concerns that they
20:48
have or and then after that, we now try and secure an
20:52
advancement and then close the deal.
20:54
Advancement just means where we both mutually agree that this is
20:57
the next step. Because when people say let me
21:00
get back to you, they either have legitimate concerns or
21:03
they're trying to brush you off. Either way, it puts you in that
21:06
situation where you don't know what the next step is.
21:08
How should you follow up? You don't know if you're
21:10
following up. Are you being on intrusive?
21:12
You know, you don't know. Are you being a pest?
21:14
You don't know. So we need to get an
21:16
advancement. We need both of us to agree that
21:19
this is what the next step is going to be.
21:22
So now questions. Remember I told you that it
21:25
could be a failure on your sales process.
21:26
Excuse me when somebody says let me get back to you.
21:29
It could be that you haven't figured out what they want, what
21:31
they need, or what they're interested in because somebody's
21:33
saying, let me get back to you. It could be that, you know, this
21:36
thing sounds nice, but honestly, I'm not interested.
21:41
Or it could be that they see a proposal and it's like, Chai,
21:47
this money is high, let me go and do small research.
21:50
You haven't spoken about budget. Or it could be a simple matter
21:54
of urgency, lack of urgency. Rather, the proposal seems good,
21:59
the money makes sense, everything is tight, but right
22:03
now would rather pay school fees and maybe we'll deal with this
22:05
other problem later on in the future or the final one like my
22:11
client who the solar salesman who found out that the problem
22:16
was the principal had to discuss with the board, because she's
22:19
the principal, not be her own school.
22:22
She has to discuss with the board.
22:23
It's the board that will say we're going ahead, we're not
22:26
going ahead or the price is good or let us price or whatever.
22:33
So now at the questioning stage, since some of you cannot figure
22:36
out what kind of question to ask, let me introduce you to a
22:41
technique. And I first heard about this one
22:43
from from Grant from Grant Cardone.
22:47
Of course, you know there are other people who use this.
22:48
That's the funneling technique. Now, the idea behind the
22:52
funneling technique is this. You're having conversations with
22:55
somebody, the person is saying something and it looks like the
22:59
person is stalling. Now because you have some
23:03
experience, you have an idea about why people stall in your
23:07
own potential, in sorry, in your own particular industry, in your
23:11
particular context. So this following technique is
23:14
only something that can be used by experienced professionals.
23:19
Like you have the experience. So when some people say some
23:21
things, you kind of know, you kind of know where they're where
23:25
they're heading. So the funneling technique, just
23:30
use that to get them to become and to say what's on their mind
23:35
so that when they say what's on their mind and they identify the
23:40
path that they're on, you don't know how to treat it.
23:42
So funneling technique works like this.
23:44
So remember, we're trying to bring the situation down, bring
23:48
the situation and make everything pipe low.
23:50
So when somebody says let me get back to you, you agree, you
23:53
apathize say Bros, I understand, you know, for costly items like
23:56
this, Madam, I understand for these kinds of things, you know,
23:59
you don't just decide anyhow anyhow told at all.
24:04
In fact, for some people, I advise that you won't throw in
24:06
one or two things just to even reduce the pressure.
24:09
So Madam, I get it, you know, not be by force.
24:11
I don't even like to force people to do business with me.
24:13
So Madam is OK, is OK, all guys OK, Yeah, take your time.
24:18
Whatever it is you need to consider, you know, consider.
24:21
And then what you now do is because you want to ask
24:27
questions now, so you need to get permission to ask questions.
24:30
So this is about where you, you, you say.
24:34
OK, let me stick to how I told sorry about that.
24:42
Yeah. Recovering from a sore throat.
24:43
So that's clear my throat. So can't can't remember which
24:50
client I advised. But anyway, this is how I told
24:52
the geisha. So you agree you empathize
24:55
Madam, OK, it's OK, no problem. I don't it's not good to even
25:01
make these kind of decisions in a hurry.
25:02
No problem. And then say Madam me self the
25:05
way that I do business, you know not be well forced.
25:07
I don't like to pressurise people at all.
25:10
But Madam you know, can I be frank with you on something?
25:13
Of course the Madam or the guy will say sure, no problem.
25:15
You say, look, I understand that you're a very busy person, so I
25:17
want to respect your time and I don't want us to engage in any
25:21
game of endless follow up where, you know, I would pursue you
25:25
anyhow. Anyhow, so it's OK if I just ask
25:29
you some questions. Let me just know where we're
25:31
standing so that out of respect for your time, I no go, I no go
25:35
to pursue you anyhow. You know, we're adults here, you
25:38
know, so I'm sorry, you know, I'm professional salesperson.
25:42
So, you know, whatever it is, you can save freely.
25:45
You have my feelings. You can see that what we're
25:49
trying to do here is we're trying to set the mood of what
25:53
you're saying makes sense and respect your time.
25:56
I don't want to play this game the other people play where I'll
26:01
be calling you three times in a week and you're not answering.
26:04
So let me just ask you one or two questions.
26:06
Let's just know where we stand. I'm a professional.
26:09
If is no, you're no longer interested, it's OK.
26:12
So you can say it now and I won't call you again.
26:15
You'll find that lots of people are actually open to this
26:19
scenario. However, there is one case for
26:24
my clients that didn't backfire. But The funny thing is, he
26:27
already had the basic feeling about the woman.
26:28
So when they think backfired, the guy said his even good self
26:31
is not going ahead the moment he took this approach.
26:34
That's OK, Madam. I understand.
26:36
Yeah, you think about it. Is this this?
26:38
No pressure, in fact where I run my business, you know Madam, you
26:43
know not be by force, you don't have to force anybody.
26:45
The woman blew up and say what do you mean?
26:49
What do you mean? Are you not the business person
26:52
in Nigeria? You are supposed to chase
26:55
everybody that you can chase. Abby, I'm not worthy of your
26:57
time and attention. The woman be in the rant and to
27:00
rant and to rant and to rant and to rant.
27:04
I was actually finished. She said, look, you know what,
27:07
just send the send proposal to this e-mail address.
27:10
Just like I said when I'm ready I'll call you.
27:11
Then she caught the call. So I was about to apologize to
27:15
my clients to say, ah guys, sorry I didn't know that this
27:18
thing will blow up like this. He said no that he is even happy
27:21
after all he had been telling me since that user man, he's
27:24
getting some someone kind of vibes.
27:26
So he's even happy that is like this, that he has even crafted
27:29
the e-mail to tell her that, oh, Madam, we started off on the
27:32
wrong note. You know, this thing is not
27:33
going to pull through. You know, I wish you the best in
27:35
your endeavors, but we're not going to be making a bid
27:37
anymore. So that's how I send the e-mail.
27:40
And then that was it. So yes, that's one situation
27:43
where the thing backfired. So I'm not telling you this to
27:46
say that it's a bad approach. It actually is a very good
27:48
approach. It'll work a lot of times.
27:51
People are going to appreciate your maturity and your honesty,
27:55
and we'll be OK with you asking one or two questions.
27:58
But Please remember when we ask them one or two questions, the
28:00
goal is not to trap them in another conversation for 30
28:02
minutes. We're really just trying to ask
28:04
one or two questions to figure out what's going on.
28:06
So that 2-3 minutes Max, we have ended this conversation and we
28:10
let the person go on their way. But I just told you guys this
28:14
story about the woman, about her vaccine, and then cutting the
28:19
call. First of all, just to set the
28:22
right expectations that nothing works 100% all the time, right?
28:27
Because I realize that I say things on the podcast and
28:29
sometimes I give you the impression on that, oh, this
28:31
thing is a magic phrase. If you say it like this, the
28:33
thing will work. No, no, no, it's not like that.
28:35
Not everything works 100% of the time.
28:37
Sometimes you try something, it doesn't work.
28:40
You know, the context might be wrong, your delivery might be
28:42
wrong, you know, whatever. But you keep trying things over
28:44
and over. And then after a while, you all
28:50
I put after a while, you get get better at preventing some things
28:55
like me. Honestly, let me get back to
28:56
you. I don't hear let me get back to
28:58
you anymore. I don't because I'm curing the
29:01
things in my sales process so that remember objections are
29:06
symptomatic. So I don't hear these things
29:07
again. And then also that's too
29:09
expensive. I don't hear it anymore.
29:12
How will I put it? OK, not as if I don't hear it
29:14
anymore, but it is one of the first things that we talk about
29:17
so that if the if it is ending, the conversation will end today,
29:22
not acting in three weeks, somebody will come and tell me
29:23
you're too expensive, so excuse me.
29:29
All right, so back to the funneling technique.
29:32
Oh, I agree. You need to think about this for
29:36
these kinds of expensive things. You know, people don't just make
29:39
decisions anyhow. In fact, Olga, the way I run my
29:42
business is not by not by force, not by force.
29:44
So I'm not going to pressurize you to buy anyway.
29:47
But Sir, can I be honest on one or two things is OK?
29:50
Yes, my son, go ahead, my son, go ahead.
29:55
So Sir, honestly, I want to respect your time and I don't
29:57
want to engage in this game of endless follow up as we do in
30:01
Nigeria where you say let me get back to you and I'll be calling
30:03
you 2 three times a week. You know, if you handle this
30:06
part well, Olga will just laugh or Madam will say, OK, I
30:09
understand. It's OK, Madam.
30:11
OK, please. No thanks.
30:12
I just want to ask you one question just so I know where we
30:14
where we stand. And by the way, Madam, honestly,
30:16
if the answer is no, you're no longer interested, you can't say
30:19
it so that I won't just be chasing you anyhow.
30:21
OK, no problem my son, go ahead. You can speak now.
30:24
This is where your experience comes in because you are a
30:28
professional in the industry and you know some of the things that
30:33
make people hang at certain stages in the conversation.
30:38
All those options that make people Hank, that is when you
30:40
present it at this stage, you present it in three easy
30:43
options. So for me, typically what I used
30:48
to say was when people say, let me get back to you at this
30:53
stage, usually it could be a sign that they are not
30:56
interested or they don't think I can do this plan that we have
31:04
promised. I can execute on this plan that
31:05
we've promised. Or sometimes it is that they
31:09
need to discuss with somebody else before we move forward.
31:12
So which is it? So you can see that's the
31:15
following technique. I've calmed to move down.
31:18
I've presented them with three options and I'm asking a simple
31:21
question, which is it? Before we get to this stage,
31:24
I've already told the person that I already told the person
31:29
that it is OK to say no. I know they do again.
31:32
And if that's the case, you know, Olga, Madam, I won't call
31:34
you again. In fact, as we finish, I'll
31:36
delete your number from the phone so that I won't
31:38
accidentally dial you again. And then you give them three
31:43
options, let them pick 1. So in my own case, this is what
31:47
I used to use. Now, depending on your own
31:49
industry, your own context, the option A, option B, option C
31:52
might be different. But for me, that it was it, that
31:53
was it. When somebody says, let me get
31:56
back to you, typically what is at the back of their mind is
31:59
they're no longer interested and they just don't want to tell me
32:02
or they don't have faith that I can execute this plan that we've
32:06
come up with or they have to discuss it with somebody else.
32:11
Before that they can take the decision which is it?
32:16
When they answer, you will now be able to come up with a new
32:20
proposal and to seek the advance and advancement.
32:22
If somebody says I'm not interested, you say, oh thank
32:24
you very much Ma for your honesty.
32:26
I'm not going to be calling you again.
32:29
But before I leave, do you know anybody who might be interested
32:31
in and then you try and get a referral.
32:36
If she give you fine, she don't give you no problem.
32:39
So OK, no problem. I will take my leave.
32:41
But before I go, can I drop a flyer?
32:44
Can I drop here's my website link, here's my business card,
32:48
here's my just drop something and then you leave.
32:52
You've done the best you can do. If things change, they change.
32:56
I should get in touch with you. If things never change, oh,
32:58
well, it's one of those things. You don't win every single one.
33:03
He who fights. And what do you say again
33:06
anyway, You leave the fight another day, basically.
33:08
That's that's just what I'm saying.
33:10
If the person says, well, actually I'm not confident about
33:14
this part of the proposal, blah, blah, blah, I say, oh OK, really
33:17
Sir or Madam? Exactly what was it that I said
33:21
that you know, confused you or that is unclear or is on
33:24
something, something, something and the person might talk some
33:28
more. You get a sense of where the
33:30
problem is. But remember, we are not trying
33:34
to pin them into a 30 minute conversation.
33:36
Because if you try and pin them into a 30 minute conversation
33:39
where you are trying to close the deal on them, I can assure
33:43
you the next time in the future where you tell them Sir is OK,
33:46
just talk freely. Talk honestly.
33:48
The gun will fall for it again. So what you do is when he has
33:51
pointed out what it is, remember, we promise them that
33:54
we're on the way out. It's OK.
33:56
No problem, Sir. I've made a note of those
33:58
concerns and I think we can address them.
34:01
But I'd like to be mindful of your time.
34:04
I'd like to be mindful of your time, Sir.
34:06
So when would you like for us to talk again?
34:09
How soon would you like us to talk again?
34:11
Or would it be OK, Sir, if I call you back Wednesday next
34:14
week so I can show you specifically how we're going to
34:17
address this concern? That is what we mean by the
34:22
advancement. They have said what it is that
34:25
they have said. Your new proposal is OK, Sir, I
34:28
think I understand what your concerns are.
34:31
So how about we reconvene so that I can show you how our
34:37
product for stores this problem or how our guarantee or our
34:40
warranty will prevent this or how this and this is how this is
34:46
how these issues have come up with clients in the past and how
34:48
we have addressed it. You know, so that's the new
34:50
proposal. Basically the new proposal
34:51
basically is let's have a let's have a chat later on and let's
34:54
see how we can do this. Then the advancement you're
34:56
trying to secure is can I call you next week Wednesday or how
35:00
soon would you like for us to talk?
35:02
By the way, if you've been listening to the podcast for a
35:04
while, you know that I'm not a fan of putting it in the other
35:06
person's court because if you can say how soon would you like
35:09
us to talk? And the person says, call me in
35:10
three months, that's serious problem.
35:13
I don't want to hear things like that.
35:15
Call me in three months. Anything can happen in three
35:19
months. So typically I would be the one
35:21
to propose something, but you know, take it, take it at this
35:27
stage where you are, if you are afraid that you can't propose
35:31
something and no problem, it's OK to say when would you like
35:33
for us to talk again, that kind of thing.
35:37
And the person admits just like the Madam did for the
35:40
salesperson who sells solar. Madam admitted I am the
35:44
principal, it is not my own school, I have to talk to the
35:48
board. And so that is why I had not
35:50
been responding to your calls or your emails.
35:52
In that case, you will now be asking questions around, you
35:56
know the around the decision making structure so that you
36:00
know how soon to follow up again or the next step is.
36:04
So in his own case, when Madam said it's not my school, I have
36:07
to talk to the board, the conversation wasn't a matter of
36:11
oh, OK, that's true. That actually makes a lot of
36:14
sense. So does the board meet every two
36:17
weeks or is that monthly? So the board meets, the board
36:20
meets meets monthly. They say, oh, OK.
36:24
So when, when is the next meeting?
36:26
Well, actually, the next meeting is next month.
36:28
Next month, yes. Now the board met yesterday.
36:30
But there are so many things on the table, so we're not able to
36:34
to hash it out, say oh, oh, OK. So the board meeting next board
36:39
meeting is Friday. So, so, so next month.
36:42
Oh, yes, that's correct. OK, no problem.
36:45
Ma March. I hope you don't mind.
36:46
Sure, I can buzz you like a week in advance.
36:49
Let me buzz you or text, you know, text you or something just
36:52
to make sure that the our proposal, our tender is still on
36:55
the agenda for the meeting. Well, yeah, sure, that's fine.
36:58
Sure, sure. No problem.
36:58
He can do that. OK, No problem, ma'am.
37:00
No Allah. So I'll be in touch next month.
37:04
OK. When are we now?
37:05
This is OK, the 2nd of March. So I'll be in touch next month
37:13
around OK, No hold on. This is 2nd of March.
37:18
In the example that I'm giving the meeting is going to be one
37:20
week. So I'll be in touch my third
37:22
week of third week of March around March, March 18th March,
37:27
this just to make sure we're still proposal is still on the
37:30
table. So that's OK, Ma.
37:32
It's OK. No problem.
37:33
OK. Thank you very much for your
37:34
time. I really appreciate your time.
37:35
OK. It's OK, my son.
37:37
Have a nice day. Chakam, you got to go.
37:40
So that's it. You can see that now you have
37:42
your advancement because the person has admitted that it is
37:47
not in my power. It is in the power of the board.
37:51
You ask a few questions, you figure out what the next
37:53
advancement is, and then that's it.
37:55
Now, when you start buzzing Madam in two weeks or three
37:58
weeks, now you're not an irritant because Madam remembers
38:02
people had that conversation. By the way, whenever you have an
38:08
interaction with somebody, at the end of it, you should send
38:10
text messages that summarize just in case, you know, because
38:14
it helps people to remember. And then it keeps a a written
38:18
track of the conversation on your phone.
38:20
So after this kind of conversation with Madam,
38:23
immediately the conversation finishes, you send Madame a
38:25
WhatsApp message. Thank you very much, Madame, for
38:27
your time today. I really appreciate your
38:29
honesty. And yeah, it makes a lot of
38:30
sense that you have to talk to the board, just like you said
38:33
concerning our proposal. So, Ma, just as we agreed, I'm
38:37
going to be in touch around the 18th of March, just to be sure
38:40
that our tender is still on the table.
38:44
Thank you very much again, Ma, for considering us.
38:48
I really appreciate your support through all this.
38:51
Enjoy the rest of your day, enjoy your work week.
38:54
Happy new month. Happy.
38:55
OK, Happy new month because this is 2nd of March.
38:58
Happy new month. And then leave it like that.
39:00
Madam will see your text message group and then she'll read it.
39:04
You see, so that on the 18th when you're calling her, this
39:06
will register that oh, that guy in Abuja is true, is true, is
39:11
true is true. So sorry that this has been a
39:15
very, very long episode, but I wanted to handle this thing in a
39:21
very, very holistic way because the mistake that some of you
39:25
make is you're looking for influencers or gurus on social
39:29
media who will give you magic recipe.
39:31
Now when somebody say, let me get back to you, you say this
39:34
particular thing and then you bring it back on track.
39:37
It is not like that. I want you guys to have a, a
39:40
holistic idea about how this thing works and a very systemic,
39:47
the right word. Everything is a system.
39:49
Let me put it like that. And for the deal to close, every
39:52
single part of the system has to be working well to close the
39:56
deal. So I just wanted you guys to
39:58
appreciate that. So first of all, anytime
40:00
somebody give you any kind of objection, just realize that it
40:03
is symptomatic of some problems. There's a problem in your sales
40:07
process. There's something that you did
40:08
before and you didn't do well or something that you should have
40:11
done before that you didn't do at all.
40:13
So all those people. All of you, I'm letting you know
40:16
right now, it's not that Nigerians don't like spending
40:18
money, but you invest two months relationship building with
40:22
somebody and then the person says you're too expensive, it
40:24
was your fault, not the client's fault.
40:26
You're the one who wasted your time talking to somebody for two
40:31
months and you didn't even bring up money expectations how it was
40:35
your own fault, you caused it. You bring up the money
40:38
expectation early so that the person who wants to fear and run
40:42
away do say how much and then they'll run and you have gained
40:47
2 months of your life. Excuse me, The person who thinks
40:51
is a reasonable something personal say, OK, that sounds
40:53
about reasonable. The person has kind of committed
40:56
so that in the future when they say you're too expensive, I'll
40:59
be able to say boss. Now in the beginning when you
41:01
spoke, you said that so, so, so as a reasonable something,
41:04
what's going on, we can have an honest conversation.
41:10
So when you hear an objection, something has happened wrong
41:14
before, we need to calm down. We need to reduce the pressure.
41:18
We need to have a simple conversation to figure out
41:20
what's going on in 2-3 minutes. One or two questions.
41:24
We know what the problem is. OK, no problem.
41:26
We'll now try and refocus it. If we can put a new proposal on
41:29
the table, put the new proposal on the table.
41:31
If you can't, then you can put a new proposal on the table.
41:35
You put the new proposal and then you try and close because
41:37
there might be some situations where by the time you ask
41:39
questions, you realize that people are worried about some.
41:41
You say OK, is it like that I didn't tell you before we have
41:47
12 months warranty now say and 12 months warranty say oh God,
41:50
we have 12 months warranty now. Look at page 15 of the contract
41:54
I sent you Now can you just check it?
41:56
You can see it. That thing is thing is just
41:59
there 12 month warranty in fact me.
42:02
So I even give you personal guarantee.
42:04
You want me to come to the office and sign personal
42:05
guarantee for you, I'll come and sign it.
42:08
So is that the only problem? Yes, no problems.
42:10
OK, so if it's like that, no problem.
42:11
Now, let me come over to your office tomorrow.
42:13
Let me come over to your office tomorrow.
42:17
We don't sign the paperwork. You can make transfer straight
42:19
and then we'll begin. Yeah.
42:21
OK. So what do you think?
42:24
So there's some situations where you discover what it is, put a
42:27
new proposal on the table, and then try and close.
42:29
For the situations where you can't do that, put a new
42:31
proposal on the table and close. You try and secure an
42:34
advancement, Both of you mutually agree what the next
42:37
step is and then hopefully it will reduce ghost in reduce.
42:42
Oh, sorry, I missed your call. It will reduce.
42:45
Let me get back to you. It will, you know, so that's how
42:47
we deal with these sorts of things.
42:50
Now, if you are having these sorts of problems in your
42:54
business, people are giving you all manner of objection from let
42:59
me get back to you to you're too expensive to you or whatever.
43:01
You don't know what to do? Then call me, send me a text
43:04
message or a WhatsApp message on 08064662140.
43:12
And yeah, let's see how we can get you sorted.
43:14
So that's it. Thank you very much for your
43:16
time and attention. I'll catch you all some other
43:18
time.