Latest / Closing Sales in Nigeria - Sales For The Nigerian Business Person: The Sales and Marketing Blueprint / Sales is Leadership: Why Every Businesswoman Needs a Customer Pipeline

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Sales is Leadership: Why Every Businesswoman Needs a Customer Pipeline · Closing Sales in Nigeria - Sales For The Nigerian Business Person: The Sales and Marketing Blueprint

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In the last podcast episode, I spoke about how I was invited to
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speak at the Elevate Women's International Conference on the
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25th of March 2020, sixth, in honour of International Women's
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Day, which occurred earlier on the 8th.
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So I also mentioned that at that particular session, I can only
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talk about how we can use sales and how women can use sales and
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business development skills to advance themselves.
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But I couldn't go into it in any measure of depth.
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And that's because there were two other speakers before me and
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collectively both of them took up about 20, almost 30 minutes
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of the time that was allocated for the session.
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So essentially I just had to answer one question quickly in
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about, you know, in less than 5 minutes and then move on.
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But even though that was all I was able to say, I thought there
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were going to be a couple of issues, you know, up for
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discussion. And actually I had come prepared
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to talk about a whole lot more. Well, since I couldn't say it
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then I figured let me just come and share it here, at least for
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my female listeners who would have loved to be at the event or
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would like to go for events like these.
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So at least you have a sense of, you know, if I were on stage,
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the kinds of things that I will talk about.
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So now I assumed that some of the potential issues that were
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going to be up for discussion will be this whole thing about
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economic empowerment as a right for women.
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Now, the reason why I thought this was going to be one of the
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items that we will discuss is because the convener of the
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conference, that's Ambassador Tina Kenichuku, is someone that
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I've collaborated on twice. That's on January 6th, on
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January 12th, 2026. That's for my own radio show.
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And then she invited me on her own TV show that is wealth
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creation with Ambassador Tina. I think that's on global TV now.
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DSTVI, think channel 365. So we've collaborated twice.
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And eventually she found out that I used to be a lawyer.
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And since then she's been calling me Barry star.
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I can't get her to stop everywhere.
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Barry star. Barry star.
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Barry star. But anyway, so I assume that,
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OK, now that she knows I'd be barrister or at least former
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barrister that we'll talk about some of those things.
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So I came ready. Sorry for those of you who came
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thinking this was a business podcast.
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Yes, we're going to get into some of the business stuff soon.
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We'll get there. So I thought we're going to talk
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about, I was ready to talk about how, yes, we talk about things,
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you know, like economic empowerment as a right.
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We talk about all kinds of rights, especially in the I
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don't know which version of the Constitution we have now because
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to be honest, since I dropped my wig and gown, wig and gown,
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that's the stuff that lawyers wear.
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Since I dropped my wig and gown years ago, I haven't picked up
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anything law related. But I remember the back in
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school, I think with the, I can't remember which
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constitution it was. I think it was either Chapter 6
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or Section 6 or something like that.
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Anyway, that's where, excuse me, the statements of rights were or
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are as the case may be. That's if you haven't changed
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the Constitution yet. Anyway.
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So I remember as a young student back in the Buffalo University,
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you know, talking about these things as from my professors and
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you know, this whole conversation of what is a right
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to self. When you say women have a right
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to economic empowerment, what do you mean?
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Or you say your child has a right to education.
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What do you mean? And then eventually one of my
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professors, you know, he asked, I don't know if it's a point of
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view, but he asked that if these rights are not justiciable,
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justiciable, sorry, justiciable just means, you know, if you
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need to get up as you can't go to court and hang anybody, you
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can't force the government. You can't go to court and force
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the government, you can't hang, hang, you know, hold anybody by
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the truth and say guarantee me this, right.
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So that's one of my lectures positions that if these things
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are not justiciable, can you say really it is a right.
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You just say every child has a right to education.
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Meanwhile he's nothing. We can go to court and enforce
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anything. So now right to be that right
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just for mouth. So I thought that was more of
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the things we're going to talk about that.
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Yeah. Right to economic empowerment
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for women. But now right to be that just
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the proclaim for mouth. But meanwhile he's not as if you
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can't hold anybody, you can't hold any minister, you can't
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hold any government. Paris later you can't hold any
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office, you can't hold any official, you can't carry them
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to court. I said this no violation of
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social and so right, So now right be that at least the other
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ones, you know, right to life, right to liberty, right to all
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these, you know, all those other rights.
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You can hold somebody. I say the guy who violate my
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rights to social. And so if police my hand do you,
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they do anyhow, you can say they violate my rights to this and
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this and that and that. But all these other ones became
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rights to education, women rights to economic empowerment.
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Now right to be that. So excuse me.
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So I thought these were some of the things that we're going to
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talk about. But however, my own point of
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view was that even though these things are not justiciable, they
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still are important because at least in the West, in the
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Western part of the world, I think particularly in North
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America, they have some research that shows that when you empower
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women with education and some form of economic empowerment,
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you know, the financial outlook for the kids improve.
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In other words, if Mama goes school or Mama get BA, Mama get
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money, it means on average, the children will also be sharp and
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the children will also, you understand, they also make
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money. So there's some research to to
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show that. And so, yeah, my own point of
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view was that, yeah, economic empowerment is a good thing.
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I was also hoping that we're going to talk about mastering
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sales and business development because at the end of the day,
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it's a tool for building wealth and autonomy for any human
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being, whether man, woman or child.
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OK, Well not children because you have to be at least 18 years
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old before you begin to also on a legal setting you guys be 18
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year old before it begin hustle. So all those people with the
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hustle, you know 13141510 you know all of that is considered
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child labour and it's not something that is legal in this
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part of the world. But you know half of do now you
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know when there's poverty in the land, you know if policy say you
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know go and sell this, you won't sell.
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If mumsy say go and do this, you won't do so now poverty, the
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causes guarantee anyway. So yeah, I thought we're going
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to talk about mastering sales and business development because
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it's a tool for building wealth. It's a tool for building
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autonomy. I also thought we're going to
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talk about sales as a leadership skill because in trying to sell,
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you learn a couple of things. You learn how to read people.
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You learn how to read their motivations.
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You learn how to read what's important to them.
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You learn how to align their own motivation with your own
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motivation or align their own motivation with whatever 'cause
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it is that you're trying to promote.
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So last, last sales. When you master sales, it always
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helps you to become a competent leader.
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I thought we were going to talk about stuff like that.
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And then, of course, we'll also talk about sales as a
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transaction versus sales as leadership, because there's some
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people who think sales is a matter of I want to sell cough
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syrup, you want to buy cough syrup, Why I buy cough syrup and
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go now in our sales. Well, yeah, in a certain extent,
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yes, sales can be transactional, but selling can be a whole lot
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more because we have to gain advancement on an idea.
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We have to get people to buy into something, OK?
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Like take for instance, this whole thing of come and buy my
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cough syrup and go or come and buy my hypertension medicine and
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go, OK, yes, on that level you can just do it as a transaction.
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But then there's also that thing that, you know, if you're a
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healthcare worker, for instance, and somebody's in front of you,
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you're trying to sell somebody on a greater outcome that look
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or guy, you're currently overweight or guy, your heart,
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your blood, your BP's like this like this or guy.
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If you want to live a good life, you suppose do 123, take this
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drug, reduce weight, don't eat meat, cut down salt, you know,
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blah, blah, blah. You're trying to gain
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advancement on the idea. There's an idea here that you're
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putting before orga. You want Orga to buy in so that
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our gas life will be fruitful. Then sales skills also very
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important because they come in very handy when it comes to
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securing funding. Because whether we like it or
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not, you know, you're a young man, you're a young woman, you
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want to build your startup, you want to build your whatever you
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have to secure funding. Now sales be that you are
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selling yourself Now This is why I'm worth investing in.
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You are selling the idea that this idea, this app, this
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website, this whatever is a correct idea, and This is why
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you should key in because returns good day.
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Whether is, excuse me, returns in, you know, XYZ amount or
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whatever Basha Olga drop money now invest because returns go
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day. Then of course, talking about
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how sales skills can come in handy.
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Well, when it comes to public advocacy, because all these
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things that we're going for, you know, women's International
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Conference and all that, you know, now who gets to be that or
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trying to speak up for something or trying to promote certain
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ideals. So I thought we're going to talk
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about things like that. I also thought we're going to
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talk about scaling women LED businesses and of course I will
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talk about scaling any kind business.
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What we need is we want the business to grow beyond the
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founder because if you're a one man show or a one woman gang,
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you will always be the chokehold in your business because there's
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a limit to what it is that you can do.
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So scaling ultimately means you're trying to grow beyond
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yourself, you're trying to hire a team, you need people, you
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need systems, standard or procedure standard operating
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procedure frameworks in place. They will use train your staff.
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Now, of course, you also need technology, you know, just like
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how I talk about how you can use artificial intelligence or
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augmented intelligence as someone's like to call it, you
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know, to increase your productivity and your
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effectiveness. So I thought we're going to talk
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about things like that scaling women LED businesses.
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I thought we're going to talk about market entry strategies
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for women in business. You're a woman, you want to do
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your business whether or not start up, whether or not solar
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panel. Well then no matter what it is,
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I thought we're going to talk about market entry strategies
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now. So you go penetrate the market
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now. So you go enter the market now.
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So you will begin the make waves.
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That's what I thought we're going to talk about.
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I thought we're going to talk about lead generation for women
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LED businesses. Of course, for those of you
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who've been listening, you know that the lead is anybody who has
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done something to show that they might be interested in your
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product or service. The person has done something
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objective, the person has raised their hand so that you have
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confidence to walk up to that person or to call that person or
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to send that person an e-mail because they might be interested
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in them, in your product or in your service.
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I thought we were going to talk about lead generation for women
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businesses. I thought we were going to talk
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about building robust sales pipeline for women builders
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businesses. We'll talk about sales pipeline.
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What we mean is the number of people that you're talking to
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will be prospect. Prospect just means somebody
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might be interested in my product or my service.
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You guys have plenty of prospects because it's from
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talking to prospect that you will get customer.
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Customer no confront you inside your house or inside your
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office. No, it doesn't work like that.
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It doesn't even if you are in fashion retailing you at least
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you go and rent shop in the community and then you put
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sandboard outside. It's still a matter of, you
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know, going out and looking for customer.
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Customer will come and find you. Doesn't work that way.
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So I thought we're going to talk about that.
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How do you put more prospects in the pipeline?
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They also that we're going to talk about other aspects of the
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pipeline, which is repeat business.
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That's people who have bought from you before.
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How do you get them to come back and buy again?
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I thought we're going to talk about that.
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How do we get repeat business, repeat purchase for women, women
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LED businesses. Then apart from that, there's
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also referrals. Referrals are people who have
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bought from you before they were happy and so therefore they
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introduce you to your to to to their friend and the same
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bestie, my friend, come and buy from this woman, not just
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because she's a woman, but because this business is a
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correct business. This is a solid woman.
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I thought we're going to talk about that.
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How do we get referrals for women LED businesses?
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I thought we're going to talk about mentee and mentor
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relationships because at these events, people talk about these
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things all the time. Somebody even spoke about, I
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think was even the former minister for aviation.
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What's her name again? I'd even write it down.
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That's NATO Caesar Mom, this musician, can you big deal?
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Can you big deal. Was this woman's name again?
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Oh, OK, Forgive my ratio. I've written it down.
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I've written it down. But the former minister was
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there, so she talked about mental and mental relationships
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up. We're going to talk about that.
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I thought so because there are lots of women, young ladies who
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are running around and who I need of a mentor, but they don't
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know how to get that mentor and mentor relationship going.
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I thought we're going to talk about these things at this
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International Women's Conference.
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These are the sorts of things that we're going to talk about
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when it comes to women empowerment.
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Of course, you know, I suspected we might talk about mental
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health. I suspect that we'll talk about
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women in leadership and politics.
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These are the kinds of issues that I thought we're going to
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talk about. Yes, there was some health talks
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and yes, there was some politics talk, but all these sort of
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things that I'm talking about from the business sphere.
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My sisters, for those of you who are organizing these kinds of
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conferences, next time, whether you're going to wait for March
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8th of next year, honestly speaking, I think some of these
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things are the topics we should be talking about in this
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conference. If you don't believe me, repeat
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and start again from the beginning.
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You see that some of these things, it makes sense,
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especially the ones I've spoken about from a business
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perspective. I thought so, I thought so.
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But anyway, that wasn't the case, which is the reason why if
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you've listened to my last episode, if you listen to the
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previous episode, that is the reason why when the moderator
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asked me that was mistake women are making.
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That's the reason why I answered all this way.
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Because honestly, when they invited me for this conference,
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I said correct. And I came, Ginger, to talk
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about some German and cogent issues that women need to hear
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so they can run their businesses well, achieve economic
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empowerment, achieve independence for themselves,
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take care of their kids. In fact, there was something
16:18
that the moderator said at the beginning, you know, cause us to
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laugh and then call some of the men in the crowd to be
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embarrassed. Duma said, when you give your
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own money, you know that the money is coming home.
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People clap. Then those of us who are men in
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the audience will bring you the smile because you know what
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comes next. And then Duma said, well,
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there's some people that if you give them money, you don't know
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whether it's coming home. And then people laugh.
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Funny enough, I was a kid when my father told me nothing.
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We went to the village and there was one of these mama's there
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that was in a rough time. So what Popsy do was I think
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Popsy gave me like 150 this when I was young, really, really
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small. So, you know, money was
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different. And then woman was so happy and
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she was praying and everything. I know what not for Popsy there
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as we left. Now Popsy say you see the way
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the woman was behaving. I say yes.
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And he said the reason why is because this one fifty that I've
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given her, what she was saying was that she would use it to buy
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soap and that for the children who buy uniform, school uniform
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too. That's why she was rejoicing.
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And so epoxy told me then even I was a small boy or primary
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school. I don't even think I was up to
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primary 5 very on board. My father told me this and I
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hasn't left my mind since then. My father told me that look, if
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you want to help the family, give the money to the woman.
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My father is a man, obviously, but now someone obviously tell
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me. He said if you want to help the
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family, give the money to the woman.
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He said, do you know why? I said no Sir, I don't know.
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He said because if you give the money to the woman, she will buy
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soap, she will buy school uniform, she will buy food.
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And she said, if you give the man, the man will drink and the
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man will give it to you, understand?
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The man will use it and acquire small jobs, if you understand
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what I'm saying. Just reading between the lines,
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you hear? You get what I'm saying.
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So it's a pity, you know, the woman said that we all laughed,
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you know, as men in the audience know, we smile, we cover our
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face because we know it's true, unfortunately.
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And then where was I anyway? You know, there's a lot to be
18:38
said, but these business podcasts, not a philosophy
18:40
podcast. Let me just end there.
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Let me just leave it like this because the former minister was
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talking about how men have power and talking about status
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relationships between men and women.
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So there's a lot to be said, but is not a philosophy.
18:55
So it's a sociology podcast. No, nothing like that.
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So I was hearing all those things.
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Basha, please, my sisters, if you do organize this kind of
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event, I beg when we talk about women empowerment, know her,
19:10
know her, know her. Know how some of you say I'm
19:12
biased. It's not.
19:13
I'm biased. It's a critical issue.
19:15
We were talking about economic empowerment.
19:18
We can't talk about this without talking about sales and business
19:20
development. We can't because that is what
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women are going to use to build wealth and build autonomy.
19:30
That is what women will use to build leadership.
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That is what women will use to advance the ideas, advance
19:37
themselves. This is what women will use to
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secure funding for their businesses.
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This is what women will use in advocacy for the 'cause we have
19:46
to talk about scaling women LED businesses because women run
19:51
lots of businesses, especially in Nigeria where lots of people
19:55
are in the informal sector. Like this morning, for instance.
19:59
I had a job to do. Of course I couldn't eat in the
20:02
morning. So as I was about to drop my
20:04
wife, I was now racking my brain and why would I eat?
20:06
I say hi, Mama would check. My wife laugh, she said.
20:09
I said, why are you laughing? She said that you know that
20:11
woman's name. I said, now how would I know her
20:13
name? Like when I drop you off and I'm
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leaving, I see some guys there. You know, some people buy yam,
20:19
some people buy beans, some people buy a car.
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You know, everybody knows my Mama would check.
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But of course, my wife doesn't like me going to those places
20:27
because she said when people see you there, they will say that I
20:30
don't take care of you in the house.
20:32
That's the reason why you're going to eat with all those
20:34
other men in Mama or just place. And I have to keep telling her,
20:39
babe, it's not like that. You're looking at it because,
20:41
you know, you're a woman. But for the rest of us, you
20:44
know, guys who are there, it's just a matter of, you know, it's
20:46
like fast food. You know, she's there.
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You just go there sharp, sharp, eat one or two things.
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You're on the move now. Fast food, that's all.
20:56
It's not a statement on what's going on at home.
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So all of us there, men that are buying stuff, whether it's a car
21:03
or yam or rice or beans, is not as if we're not being well taken
21:07
care of at home. And then plus my wife doesn't
21:10
like me hanging around, you know, people that should
21:12
consider as riffraffs, you know, all the other men that go to
21:15
those kind of places. Washa, where was I?
21:20
The point I'm just trying to make is that there are lots of
21:23
women in the informal sector or in the formal sector.
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There are plenty of Mama or chair apart from my manager,
21:30
there are plenty of women like more abudu.
21:32
That's for my Bunny life. Apart from that, there are
21:36
plenty of women like this. For my minister who is running
21:38
her own NGO, who is still running one or two businesses
21:41
even though she's 70 years old. There are plenty.
21:45
We got to talk about scaling women LED businesses, market
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entry strategies, lead generation, building robust
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sales by blind. So I beg my sisters, my aunties,
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my mommies, when the time comes, next year for March 8th of 2027
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or whenever you're listening to this thing, 2028202920302050
22:12
this 2090, whatever I beg, expand the agenda inclusive of
22:16
these things, be very, very helpful.
22:19
And in the meantime, you want me to come and speak on one of your
22:23
panels, Give me a call 080 64662140, call me, send me
22:34
WhatsApp message or send me an SMS.
22:37
I carry some of these matters on my heart because I was raised by
22:40
a woman solo, me and my five siblings from when I was about
22:46
13 years old. So it's a matter behind my
22:49
heart. So that's one reason why even
22:52
though normally I answer one question for free, usually when
22:56
a female buzzes me, I don't talk and talk and talk and talk and
22:59
talk. The reason why is because when I
23:05
see you, actually I see my mom. And anyway, let me just leave it
23:13
like that. Just call me, send me a text
23:15
message. What's that message?
23:16
08064662140? So thank you very much for your
23:22
time and attention. I'll catch you on the next
23:23
episode. And depending on when you're
23:26
listening to this, I hope you had a happy International
23:29
Women's Day celebration. And especially since the month
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of March is dedicated to sensitization around these sorts
23:36
of issues I had. I hope you had a wonderful
23:39
celebration and wonderful deliberations.
23:41
So I'll catch you all some other time.