Latest / Closing Sales in Nigeria - Sales For The Nigerian Business Person: The Sales and Marketing Blueprint / Why Your Business Proposal Might Be Missing the Million-Dollar Question
Transcript
- 0:00Hello and welcome to the show. I am chilling at an undisclosed
- 0:05location in Abuja and it's really noisy where I am so I
- 0:09decided to step outside and make today's recording.
- 0:12Now if you are interested in free business education, that is
- 0:16the goal of the show. So don't worry, this is not a
- 0:18spy podcast. And if by the time we're done
- 0:22with the podcast, you like what you hear, then please share,
- 0:25promote and talk about the show so that your friends and family
- 0:28members in Nigeria and abroad can benefit from the questions
- 0:31that we tackle. They can do that by subscribing
- 0:34on Spotify, YouTube, Apple, or any player of their choice and
- 0:38you in particular, the person listening right now.
- 0:41If you have any sales or marketing questions, bring them
- 0:43to me. You can call, you can SMS, you
- 0:46can WhatsApp me on 08064662140. Now today on the show, Today on
- 0:55the podcast, we're going to look at questions from my radio show
- 0:59on Radio Maria 91.3 FM, Abuja. A listener of the show, Godwin
- 1:05from Guerinpa called in live on the show and we ended up
- 1:09tackling the question on the 15th of April 2025.
- 1:12Of course, we are past way past that at the date of this
- 1:15recording. But looking back, I think that
- 1:19the question that we tackled and the answers, the topics that we
- 1:22explored have some relevance for audiences today, whether on the
- 1:26radio or whether on the podcast. And so that's the reason why
- 1:31we're going to look at the question today.
- 1:33Now, this is the situation with my man.
- 1:36What's his name? Begins of try.
- 1:39I've forgotten his name. Hold on.
- 1:40I wrote it down somewhere. What is the guy's name?
- 1:45Godwin. Godwin from Warringah.
- 1:47Gigi. Yes.
- 1:49So this is the situation with my man Godwin from Warringah.
- 1:52He is an architect by training and he sells architectural
- 1:59models. And he has a proposal that he
- 2:02intends to use to raise finance for his business ideas.
- 2:06Now, my initial direction to him was to reach out to me later on
- 2:10so that we can chat some more on WhatsApp.
- 2:12Because the thing with live radio shows is, you know, people
- 2:15are trying to call. People are trying to call.
- 2:16So I can't really spend too much time on one particular person.
- 2:20There are some people that we can just, you know, get to the
- 2:23meat of the thing, you know, sharp, sharp.
- 2:24But therefore, other people. I really need to discuss some
- 2:27more because I need to understand his business goals.
- 2:30I need to understand his unique value proposition.
- 2:32Again on the podcast, when we say unique value proposition is
- 2:35just the answer to the question, why would anybody do business
- 2:38with you? That is what unique value
- 2:40proposition means. What is that value?
- 2:42What are the benefits that you provide to your potential
- 2:45customers, to your potential clients?
- 2:47That is the unique value proposition.
- 2:49So I need to understand what is UVP is I need to have a look at
- 2:52the proposal. You know, we need to discuss one
- 2:54or two things before I say or I run them like this or do it like
- 2:58that. Now thing is, he didn't reach
- 3:01out. So the episode, the answer that
- 3:04I gave, I'm on the air and what I'm saying over here on the
- 3:07podcast is purely speculative. So it means I'm just guessing.
- 3:12I'm assuming that when he called, I understood him
- 3:15correctly. So I didn't get to see his
- 3:17proposal. We didn't get to talk some more.
- 3:19I didn't get to understand some key things.
- 3:23So if he had sent me the proposal and if I had looked at
- 3:27the proposal and if we had got in touch on WhatsApp or maybe
- 3:31even phone call out of advice. And look, the main question when
- 3:36you have a proposal, the business plan or whatever, in
- 3:38this case, the main question you should answer is can you
- 3:41profitably sell architectural models for real estate?
- 3:45That's the Coco. That's the main question.
- 3:47In other words, is there a demand for this kind of stuff?
- 3:52How profitable is the market? Because these are the kind of
- 3:55considerations that make it likely whether people are going
- 3:59to give you money or not, whether people are going to
- 4:02finance your business idea or not.
- 4:04You people can understand clearly what an architectural
- 4:09model is and that people are willing to pay for this stuff.
- 4:12I mean, sure, no problem to give you money.
- 4:15So of course I also wanted to be clear on what an architectural
- 4:19model means because I was unclear.
- 4:24That's why I wanted more discussions on once because from
- 4:27the small ordinary everyday man understanding that I have.
- 4:32When you say architectural model, does it mean physical
- 4:36skilled replicas of building projects?
- 4:38Now what that means is of course physical something you can see.
- 4:41A skilled replica just means you make something small to give you
- 4:46an idea of how the big thing is going to look like.
- 4:49Now, the reason why that's the model of the definition of
- 4:52architectural model I know is because when I was in secondary
- 4:55school in Crested King College in Waghulada in Abuja, when we
- 5:00said architectural models, that was what we meant.
- 5:03But you understand that I left secondary school, like it's been
- 5:07a while, the meaning of terms change and you know, fashions
- 5:12change, all kinds of things change.
- 5:14So when people say architectural models nowadays, is that still
- 5:18what they mean that you have a physical replica, a smaller
- 5:22replica of what the development project is going to look like?
- 5:26Then another meaning of architectural models that I know
- 5:30is that when you have basically the same thing, but now it is a
- 5:33digital replica or a computer model of the building or of the
- 5:38development project. Now the reason why I know that
- 5:40is because by the time I got to OAU or bathroom at World War
- 5:44University after leaving secondary school, those are fine
- 5:47girl in architecture, I will say her name.
- 5:49Those are fine baby in architecture that I really,
- 5:51really liked and I used to go and hang around Archie
- 5:54department. But I I never had the the balls
- 5:58to, you know, to speak my mind, which is the reason why I keep
- 6:01telling you guys on the podcast, those of you who you know,
- 6:03there's a fine girl in your ambit and you're just keeping
- 6:06quiet. See, my friend, she won't she's
- 6:09not a mind reader. She's not really know what's on
- 6:10your heart. And it's something that even me
- 6:12and my wife quarreled about because in the early days, I was
- 6:16being a good friend. I was hanging around, you know,
- 6:18making one or two jokes and my wife was saying that, look, if
- 6:20you don't open your mouth and say what The thing is like, how
- 6:23is the babe supposed to know? And where my wife explained to
- 6:26me is this, that yes, sometimes you like a guy and then you put
- 6:29yourself forward and then the guy will say, I know you threw
- 6:31yourself at me. So realistically speaking, some
- 6:35babes will just pipe low. They self do chill where they
- 6:38are until you say something. So boys, young men, I'm talking
- 6:42from experience here. If you're feeling the babe say
- 6:45something, don't wait for her to fall into your lap.
- 6:49I mean, if he falls into your lap, you know, Oh well, I'm
- 6:51good, you know, you know, life's the good love story.
- 6:54But one more learn to shoot your shot.
- 6:57Basically, where was I? So now, because I was hanging
- 7:02around this babe in hockey department and now study hearing
- 7:05about architectural models. And I now could see that in
- 7:08between when I left secondary school and when I entered
- 7:11university, people are now doing the same thing.
- 7:13But I'm now doing it digital. You get a computer, I think used
- 7:17to be called an AutoCAD card, CAD, computer aided design, and
- 7:21they will build the whole thing on the computer.
- 7:25So in secondary school we used to use cardboard and glue to
- 7:28make these things. But the time we transition into
- 7:30university, everything was now doing digital.
- 7:33In fact, the gist I had then was that in some other countries
- 7:37that gone far, like in Japan, they would only do AutoCAD and
- 7:40you show how the thing would look.
- 7:41You even do digital simulation that if earthquake happens with
- 7:44the building stand, if a flood happens with the building stand.
- 7:48So they're doing all that cool stuff.
- 7:50Back then, you know, was a just to some of us, but you know, now
- 7:53it's commonplace. So I know it's not going to
- 7:55impress anybody, but sure. You know, when I finished
- 7:57secondary school, when we're into uni, these I mean for us in
- 8:01Niger, these were the like mind blowing frontiers that were
- 8:04happening at the time. Anyway, I'm not here to tell you
- 8:07about my love life. Where was I?
- 8:11So where was the architectural models?
- 8:13Now, for somebody like me who's you know, not to with the times
- 8:20when it's architectural models, those are the meanings that
- 8:23comes to my ear. So I need to have a conversation
- 8:25with him to even understand that.
- 8:26Look guy, when it's architectural models, what do
- 8:28you mean? What are you selling?
- 8:31Because that would determine the advice that I was going to give.
- 8:34So either way, no matter the meaning, we still have to ask
- 8:40that question, what makes your own models?
- 8:42What makes your own design unique?
- 8:45Because it's Niger, the number of lawyers that we graduate in
- 8:48this country, hundreds of thousands every year.
- 8:51The number of architects that we graduate in this country,
- 8:53hundreds of thousands every year.
- 8:55So lawyers and architects, there are plenty.
- 8:57Nigeria is not lacking architects.
- 8:59Nigeria is not lacking lawyers. I can tell you them all for
- 9:01free. Nigeria, OK, what I said,
- 9:04Nigeria is not lacking doctors, but unfortunately we are.
- 9:07We graduate hundreds of thousands of doctors, but it
- 9:09makes more sense for all of them to Jack by and we're earning
- 9:12dollars. So we're lacking doctors, but
- 9:15lawyers, architects, we have too much, too many.
- 9:18We can even sell the lawyers that we have, sell the
- 9:20architects we have and we'll still be fine.
- 9:23So given the fact that every single compound you look at,
- 9:26every single village you enter, every single state you go to,
- 9:30every single wherever you go, if you threw a stone into the, you
- 9:34know, threw a stone up and it in lands in the market, you hit an
- 9:36architect on the head course, architects and lawyers were
- 9:38plenty. So given the fact that we're
- 9:41plenty now, what makes you different, what makes your
- 9:45models, what makes your designs unique?
- 9:48What is the value of people going with you?
- 9:50You can see we're not going back to this whole UVP thing.
- 9:53Now, the reason why this is a question we need to ask is
- 9:55because there are already in house functions in property
- 10:00development firms in Abuja, in Lagos and wherever people
- 10:03already have architects and draftsmen on tap.
- 10:07Even though you say draftsman, you know a woman can be a
- 10:08draftsman too. That was just the old term.
- 10:10I don't know if they've changed it now, but back when I was, AI
- 10:14was an embryo and I used to follow my dad to building sites
- 10:18and things like that. That's what he used to call them
- 10:19draftsman. The architect is a professional,
- 10:21the draftsman knows small architecture and the draftsman
- 10:27also understands building and construction and stuff like
- 10:30that. So the draftsman, like he draws,
- 10:32but he's also a handyman, he's on site is one that is trying to
- 10:36make sure that everything is going OK.
- 10:39So they won't build a house and then the house will collapse
- 10:42like my neighbor's house that was now almost collapsing and it
- 10:46goes, it was in this country. Why was I?
- 10:51So any property development firm, any architectural firm,
- 10:54any whatever firm that you go to, they already have these
- 10:57people as member of staff that is already creating the
- 11:02architectural model. So if that's the case that
- 11:05people already have them on staff, why are people going to
- 11:07go with you? Whether it's physical mock up,
- 11:09whether it's digital simulation, why are people going to go with
- 11:12you? We need to answer this question.
- 11:14And nobody's going to give you money to start a business.
- 11:17If as far as they're concerned, if they look outside from their
- 11:21window or if they go to the neighbor's house or if they go
- 11:24to the open market or if they go anywhere, they can find another
- 11:28alternative, another replica, another competitor, another,
- 11:32there's someone else that looks exactly just like you don't give
- 11:35you money. You have to be sort of like a
- 11:39one in town for that to happen because nobody wants to give
- 11:42money that is going to go to waste.
- 11:45So if you can answer all these questions in your proposal, in
- 11:51your business plan, in your whatever and you can see how
- 11:53this has relevance for all of us.
- 11:55Because whether it is you're raising money to start your
- 11:57fashion business or even if you want to do business of a
- 12:01cleaning soakaway, you want to buy lorry.
- 12:05Maybe you notice that in your estate people don't really clean
- 12:07their soakaways. And so you know poo poo smell is
- 12:10smelling everywhere and you think on Monday is good
- 12:11business. If I buy a lorry and I'm
- 12:13charging each person 100,000 to clear the soakaway and on
- 12:18average each estate in Abuja has maybe like 50 soakaways and you
- 12:23can clear 1. So Kuwait per week, you know,
- 12:24and then you come up with a business plan.
- 12:26We still have to answer all these questions.
- 12:28What is the unique value proposition?
- 12:29Why are people going to do business with you?
- 12:32Because let's face it, so key way is it not a lorry and pump
- 12:36and then stuff, you know while people do business with you and
- 12:41not anybody else. So lots of questions that we
- 12:44have to answer before we can use our proposal, use our whatever
- 12:47to raise our finance. Now, other questions that we can
- 12:50look at or rather that he, my guy Godwin from grandpa would
- 12:55have to look at would be it also would have to be in the
- 12:58proposal, in the document how he's going to build this
- 13:01company. Are you going to build the
- 13:02company by partnering with existing developers or are you
- 13:05going to do this thing alone? Would be nice to answer that
- 13:08kind of question because your financiers, the people who I
- 13:10want to give you money, they'll want to know this kind of thing.
- 13:13How are you going to run display?
- 13:15A good idea is good people want to want to know how, how are you
- 13:18going to execute it Then if you're going to partner with
- 13:21existing developers, what is the plan for identifying developers,
- 13:26starting conversations with them, closing the deal with
- 13:28them, getting the thing moving? People want to know.
- 13:31Nobody wants to just give you like 10 M and then they don't
- 13:33know what the next step is. If you're going to do this
- 13:36alone, how you're going to use funds to build your company?
- 13:40And then of course, I'm also guessing in this kind of
- 13:43business where selling architect, architectural models,
- 13:45I'm assuming your financiers, someone will be curious, are you
- 13:48going to enter into property development eventually?
- 13:51Is it only these models you'll be selling?
- 13:54Abby, one day you will start developing these models,
- 13:57building them and trying to sell these projects.
- 14:00So these are questions that financiers, possible investors
- 14:04want to know. Even if the person is your rich
- 14:06uncle, you can't be assured your rich uncle wants to know one or
- 14:09two things. So you'd have to answer all
- 14:11these questions in the document. Then on a side note, on a
- 14:16personal note, this is one thing I mentioned.
- 14:19If I were trying to build a specialty design house in the
- 14:23architectural space in Nigeria, you know, to serve real estate
- 14:27in Nigeria. I think if you're going to go
- 14:30into it, it might be easier if you pursue A niche strategy
- 14:35because you remember we're trying to have a strong UVP
- 14:37here, unique value proposition. Why should somebody do business
- 14:40with you? And trying to pursue a niche in
- 14:44this space might make it easier. For instance, some of the niches
- 14:47that I thought of additional small research.
- 14:51Also looking around what's happening in Abuja, I'm not sure
- 14:53what's going on in Lagos, what's going on in Port Arcot, what's
- 14:56going on in Kano? What's going on in in Nugu?
- 15:00I'm not sure what's going on, but in Abuja and in Lagos, I've
- 15:04been hearing of luxury villas coming up.
- 15:07I've also been seeing eco friendly or eco friendly living,
- 15:11you know, smart housing, Internet of Things, all those,
- 15:13you know, 21st century houses connected to the Internet,
- 15:16automated houses, all those sorts of things are coming up in
- 15:18Abuja. In fact, the first real estate
- 15:20training that I did for Cairos Real Estate, that's the one that
- 15:25is owned by the bands that the first real estate company that I
- 15:29did training for. That's their whole thing.
- 15:32You know, smart houses, you know all those fancy houses where you
- 15:34entice and then you clap, all the lights come on and then the
- 15:37house is connected to the Internet.
- 15:40You know, you want to open your garage, you don't Houseboy
- 15:42doesn't have to raise it up. You just press the button pump
- 15:44and then the thing opens. You drive out all those fancy,
- 15:47fancy houses. So that's their thing.
- 15:49So it's becoming a thing in Abuja and I've heard just is
- 15:52also becoming a thing in Lagos. Well, I'll buy that kind of
- 15:59house anyway. It's not about me.
- 16:01So luxury villas, that one is there eco friendly, smart
- 16:05houses, Internet of Things that one is there affordable housing.
- 16:08Now that one has been there since like since I was a boy.
- 16:12We've been seeing them in Lagos Jack on the estate, you know,
- 16:16that's that's affordable housing.
- 16:17You know, mass housing in Abuja. There was some of those projects
- 16:21as well. What else?
- 16:23And then, you know, some people that trying to do their thing
- 16:27around innovative design. I haven't seen that kind of
- 16:29thing in Niger, but I know that in America and in UK there's
- 16:33some design houses, some architectural firms that, you
- 16:36know, that's their thing. You want something avant-garde,
- 16:38you want something that is unique, something, you know, a
- 16:41design that doesn't look like anything that is out there.
- 16:43You want your own house to be unique.
- 16:45You know, one in town so that when they see their house,
- 16:47they'll say that this is chief so, so, so and so's house.
- 16:49It is the only one in town. No other place, whether in
- 16:53America or in Zimbabwe or in Nigeria or in Australia, if you
- 16:56see this design, this is, this is a chief so so and so's house
- 17:01or ladies so so and so's house. So by niching down, you can
- 17:05start putting forward a clearer value proposition.
- 17:11That's my own opinion. Those of you who are architects,
- 17:15you know, you went to school because architects also have to
- 17:17do masters afterwards and I think some of you can do the
- 17:20business focused masters. So if you're one of those
- 17:22architects, you know, I beg give me up.
- 17:24I give my phone number at the beginning of the show and at the
- 17:26end of the show. So give me up if I'm missing
- 17:28something, you know, educate me. That's the point of the podcast.
- 17:31We're all learning and growing together.
- 17:33I'm giving out some of my knowledge.
- 17:34Once in a while I will say one or two things that you know are
- 17:38equal to Musean. When I'm Musean, you guys reach
- 17:41out to me and you know I learn and I grow as well.
- 17:44So in my opinion, the reason why I think niching down is the way
- 17:47to go is because most property development projects whether in
- 17:50Abuja or Lagos is just, they just look traditional, they just
- 17:52look basic. So the unique value proposition
- 17:56now could be that look, the reason why I'm asking people for
- 17:58money is because most designs in Abuja are traditional, they are
- 18:01basic. So if we want to really, really
- 18:04make money, we can make these designs and appeal to a wealthy
- 18:07clients base by using XYZ. You know, this kind of design
- 18:11principles to build luxury housing.
- 18:15Now an example of that is the World Trade Center in Abuja.
- 18:19That is the apple of my eye. Every time I drive past, I look
- 18:22at this place, I say, wow, that is high end.
- 18:27It's a high end luxury development.
- 18:29So they have different things there.
- 18:31In the World Trade Center in Abuja, they have standard
- 18:33apartments, they have duplexes, they have penthouses.
- 18:36Now the prices are as you can understand the prices are you
- 18:39know on the open up and of course the only charge in
- 18:43dollars. So one bedroom apartment there
- 18:46from what I saw online prices are around like under kind
- 18:50$100,000 dollars not 100,000 naira dollars.
- 18:55Then two-bedroom apartments prices can be like from that
- 19:00kind 1.6 M dollars not naira while talking dollars.
- 19:06Then 3 bedroom apartments you want to buy it outright prices
- 19:10between 1.7 to $2.1 million with AD, not an N with AD.
- 19:17Then 3 bedroom duplex could cost anything between 1.9 M dollars
- 19:24to 3.1 M in dollars. What else 5 bedroom duplex down
- 19:30is like 5 M dollars. Then this penthouse, that's the
- 19:33one that I want to buy when I arrive, you know, 5 bed, the
- 19:37penthouse is five bedroom, the six bedroom plus pool and villa.
- 19:40That's the one that I want to buy living on the top, on the
- 19:42top, top top high on the top in Abuja, anybody that is driving
- 19:46past to say Tara Shima is a big boy, he has arrived.
- 19:50So these are the most luxurious, the most expensive options but
- 19:55for that one you'll find the price online.
- 19:57You have to call him on his own bespoke and they will tell you
- 20:00what's up because. It's also going to be built to
- 20:03your own kind of specifications. So that's the one that I want to
- 20:06buy when I arrive, when I'm a big boy, when my container
- 20:09lands. So I'll be up there on the
- 20:12Heights, World Trade Center, top of the world, looking down at
- 20:15all of you commoners. I'll say, look, all of you
- 20:17peasants be there in my swimming pool sipping champagne.
- 20:21I say yes, I've made it anyway. My wife says that all that is
- 20:26too expensive, but what the heck, I don't care.
- 20:29I want to flex and when I get wealthy, I'm going to buy one.
- 20:33But my wife says the moment I start buying things like that
- 20:35should know that I have one side piece.
- 20:37I have one small girl on the side.
- 20:38And you know why woman, why do you assume this kind of guy just
- 20:41buy something? Just because, you know, those
- 20:44guys who wants to buy something must always be connected to
- 20:47small girls anyway. So what I'm trying to say is if
- 20:51you're the architect now or you're the developer and you get
- 20:55a reputation for designing these kind of things in this kind of
- 20:58space, that might be a compelling UVP around which you
- 21:02can build your business. Now look, you know what?
- 21:05Call up Kunle, call up Kemi, call up Ahmed, call up whatever
- 21:11those people that I was social sound so firm, you know, this is
- 21:14what they do. So I am thinking that you could
- 21:18build, you know, a UVPA reputation around those sorts of
- 21:22things. That's just my own guess.
- 21:25But anyway, Sha, those of you who went to school to go and
- 21:27study Aki, the thing main main, especially those of you who
- 21:31after that probably went to go and get an MBA in this regard, I
- 21:34bet you hit me up. Let me know the things that I
- 21:36said that makes sense. Let me know the thing that I
- 21:38said that didn't make sense, you know.
- 21:39Let me know. I am a sharpens iron, so let me
- 21:42learn. If nothing else, the more I
- 21:44learn, the smarter I get, the better I get, the quicker my
- 21:49money will come and the quicker I can buy my penthouse on the
- 21:52World Trade Center. Or by then Meyer says that the
- 21:55problem is that since it's called World Trade Center, that
- 21:57if people want to do another, you understand 911 that, you
- 22:01know, maybe they might say, OK, let me target Niger World Trade
- 22:04Center. But I tell her, no, that's not
- 22:05the case. I think 'cause Kenya, I think
- 22:07Kenya also has World Trade Center.
- 22:08So they probably will destroy those places first before they
- 22:11come here at Niger. I mean, who's looking at Niger
- 22:13anyway? Let me not take up too much of
- 22:16your time. So either way, when you're
- 22:17reaching out to me through the podcast or through the radio
- 22:20show, look, I beg, the more details you can give me, the
- 22:22better. So I can give answers that will
- 22:27be relevant and more tailored to your needs and more tailored to
- 22:30your business context. So that is all for today.
- 22:35If you have any sales and marketing questions, please
- 22:37bring them to me. You can call, you can SMS, you
- 22:39can won't have me on 08064662140.
- 22:44Thank you very much for your time and attention.
- 22:46I will catch you, dear listener, at the next episode.