Latest / Closing Sales in Nigeria - Sales For The Nigerian Business Person: The Sales and Marketing Blueprint / How to Command the Room in Your Next Presentation

Transcript

How to Command the Room in Your Next Presentation · Closing Sales in Nigeria - Sales For The Nigerian Business Person: The Sales and Marketing Blueprint

• 0:00
  Hello and welcome to the Oracle's Chamber.
• 0:04
  This is the inner sanctuary where we talk about sales and
• 0:07
  marketing, money tactics, strategy, business growth, and
• 0:12
  solving business problems. Today I want to use a real life
• 0:17
  case study. Of course, I have anonymized
• 0:22
  things a bit because it's something that I'm working on
• 0:25
  with one of my clients. One of my clients who's in the
• 0:28
  solar space has a sales team and one of the sales people, Yes,
• 0:33
  the same person we spoke about maybe 2-3 days ago.
• 0:36
  So let's call her Cinderella. Again, not her real name.
• 0:39
  She's been working on a proposal for a client.
• 0:42
  It's a whole estate and the company's going to provide solar
• 0:47
  and inverter solutions for the whole estate.
• 0:49
  Basically, just get the estate off the grid.
• 0:51
  And I've been going over the proposal that she has just to
• 0:55
  make it more convincing, make it more conversational, make it
• 1:00
  less salesy. Now, I think I already made a
• 1:03
  podcast episode about this where we spoke about how to make your
• 1:08
  proposals more effective. So if this is your first time
• 1:12
  listening to the podcast, after you're done listening to today's
• 1:15
  episode, just keep scrolling and any other episode where you see
• 1:18
  proposals, presentations, you know, stuff like that, just
• 1:22
  listen and you're going to get caught up to speed.
• 1:25
  So there was an older episode where I already went through the
• 1:29
  spin selling framework. And the spin selling framework
• 1:33
  is where you're having conversations with people and
• 1:38
  you're trying to hit certain more or less hit certain factors
• 1:43
  in your presentation or you try and hit certain certain key
• 1:48
  things in, you know, while you're having conversation with
• 1:51
  the people. And so the S in spin stands for
• 1:55
  situation. So you want to ask them
• 1:58
  questions or direct them or point their attention to things
• 2:03
  that show that you adequately understand the situation that
• 2:05
  they're in right now. Then you either ask questions or
• 2:09
  point them to the fact that you understand what the problem that
• 2:12
  they're facing is. Then you also ask questions or
• 2:17
  in your presentation, try and tease out the implications that
• 2:22
  they face if they don't do anything.
• 2:25
  And then the N stands for Need Pay Off.
• 2:28
  And that is where you try and let them know that, look, the
• 2:31
  benefit of going forward is this.
• 2:34
  If you don't take any action, this is what you're going to
• 2:36
  suffer. If you take action, this is what
• 2:38
  you're going to enjoy. So for those of you who listened
• 2:41
  to that episode, you remember how I walked Cinderella through
• 2:45
  the spin selling framework and how it was going to help in this
• 2:48
  particular situation. Now, the scope that Cinderella
• 2:51
  and the company wanted to want to use in the presentation with
• 2:57
  this potential client is they want to make an ROI argument.
• 3:03
  Yes, ROI, that is return on investment.
• 3:05
  So they want to show that, look, this money that you're going to
• 3:08
  spend over 200 M is going to yield you XY and Z number of
• 3:14
  benefits. And we're going to make an
• 3:16
  argument that, you know, to quantify it in naira and cobalt.
• 3:19
  So basically saying that yes, you're spending over 200 million
• 3:22
  and now, but over the length of the next, you know, four or five
• 3:25
  years, this is how much you're going to get back in return.
• 3:28
  And this is not just an investment in solar for the sake
• 3:34
  of solar, but rather this is taking you off the National
• 3:37
  Grid, this is taking you off your diesel headaches.
• 3:40
  And this is an investment that pays for itself in four to five
• 3:44
  years. And then after that, all this
• 3:46
  100 million that you're saving every single ten months in
• 3:49
  diesel costs will now be added back to the top line of the
• 3:54
  company. So that can be, yeah, that'll be
• 3:56
  added back to your top line to, you know, to your revenues, to
• 3:59
  your profits, to your whatever. So the estate, managing the
• 4:02
  estate becomes much more efficient in a practical sense.
• 4:06
  And then also in a financial sense, you know, your, your
• 4:10
  costing, your operations also becomes much more efficient.
• 4:13
  So that's the scope that this client of mine is using and
• 4:17
  they've come up with the presentation.
• 4:18
  So remember, if it's your first time listening to the podcast,
• 4:21
  and of course you won't be familiar with any of this
• 4:23
  because you don't know the back story, just keep scrolling.
• 4:26
  You won't have to scroll more than one week's worth of
• 4:29
  episodes, one week, maybe two weeks Max.
• 4:31
  Anything that you see proposals, presentations or that you see
• 4:35
  spin in spin is SPIN. So anything proposal,
• 4:40
  presentation, spin, just listen to that episode.
• 4:42
  Then you will get the background of the conversation that I had
• 4:46
  with Cinderella. Again, not her real name.
• 4:50
  And of course, the name of the company, Linkin Park Solar, of
• 4:53
  course, is not the real name of the company.
• 4:55
  I just sha, I had to call it something.
• 4:59
  OK, Now the stage that we're artists, Cinderella has sent me
• 5:03
  a proposal and I'm sharing it with you guys.
• 5:05
  Not the proposal anyway, because I think that there are a couple
• 5:08
  of things that we can all learn from.
• 5:13
  Yeah, that we can all learn from this.
• 5:15
  So what I did was I looked at the presentation, and in my own
• 5:17
  opinion, I thought the presentation was, well, every
• 5:21
  single presentation can be improved.
• 5:23
  Let me put it that way. But so long as the presentation
• 5:26
  was hitting the key things that we discussed about in the spin
• 5:30
  selling framework, showing that you understand the client and
• 5:33
  their situation, showing that you understand and you have an
• 5:36
  appreciation for the problem, showing them the implication
• 5:40
  that look Orga, this is how bad this problem is.
• 5:43
  If you don't take action now every single month, 15,000,050
• 5:47
  million, 50 million, you'd a bond 50 million.
• 5:49
  If you don't do anything and then need pay off, let's go
• 5:53
  ahead. Yes, you will drop 200 M, but
• 5:55
  The thing is after four to five years or that 50,000,050 million
• 6:01
  way they drop every single month, that is now savings that
• 6:04
  will go to the company's top line.
• 6:07
  Was it top line? I'd be bottom line.
• 6:09
  Those of you who studied accounts, I beg advise me
• 6:10
  accordingly. I can't remember if top line is
• 6:12
  profits and then bottom line is I be.
• 6:15
  How does it go again? Top line is revenue, the bottom
• 6:18
  line is, is profit. Abby, any anyhow, shall those of
• 6:21
  you who studied accounting you know, let me know?
• 6:23
  By the way, if you'd like to connect with me, you can call,
• 6:27
  send me a text message via WhatsApp message on 08064662140.
• 6:34
  If you want me to audit any of your business processes, then
• 6:37
  you can also call me, send me a text message via WhatsApp
• 6:40
  message on the same number 08064662140.
• 6:47
  And yeah, if you're shy, you don't want to chat, but you want
• 6:50
  to be a part of my WhatsApp channel, then send me a text
• 6:54
  message on the same number and I will hook you up.
• 6:58
  OK, so now back to the proposal. So I decided to make some
• 7:01
  suggestions just to make this thing much more conversational
• 7:04
  and also to make it easier to understand.
• 7:06
  So please, for those of us who are professionals, All right, so
• 7:09
  let's say like you're a lawyer, you're dealing with somebody who
• 7:13
  is not a lawyer. And then in your proposals, in
• 7:15
  your documents, in your letters, your writing, caveat emptor.
• 7:20
  He that to none. Therefore, Nemo dot code non
• 7:24
  habit. You know, Latin phrases, Latin
• 7:25
  maxim, this maxim, that maxim. See, The thing is, your your
• 7:30
  clients, they don't know what's up, right?
• 7:34
  For the purposes of your business.
• 7:37
  Now you'll be the subject matter expert, like you're the
• 7:39
  professional, but the person that you're talking to a lot of
• 7:42
  the times, you know, they're in novice, they don't know what's
• 7:44
  up. So if you're a lawyer, take it
• 7:47
  easy on all her Latin or whatever.
• 7:50
  Now, there was a time in the past when because I studied law,
• 7:53
  you know, Buffy me and Willow University.
• 7:55
  So, you know, some of our lecturers used to tell us that,
• 7:58
  you know, it's part of the something, you know, you could
• 8:00
  Latin, you bamboozle somebody by the time you drop, you know,
• 8:03
  big, big phrases, you know, you bamboozle somebody.
• 8:06
  Don't say this lawyer, very, very intelligent fellow.
• 8:11
  So yeah, I guess it can be done. It can be done, but take a
• 8:18
  different approach. Take a different approach.
• 8:21
  Be relatable, be easy to understand.
• 8:24
  Don't try and intimidate people with your intelligence.
• 8:27
  Walk people through also, because nowadays there's plenty
• 8:30
  of competition. Plenty, plenty, plenty of
• 8:32
  competition. Like lawyers are like pure water
• 8:35
  in this country. Seriously, I can't remember was
• 8:38
  it like one year when they said it's like 150,000 lawyers
• 8:42
  graduated in a year? And I was wondering Niger small
• 8:46
  company small, I say company small country like this 150,000
• 8:51
  lawyers he So lawyers are everywhere.
• 8:54
  Lawyers are plenty, you know, don't try and make intimidation
• 8:58
  your distinguishing factor. So if you're a lawyer, easy with
• 9:01
  the lasting phrases. If you're in the solar space,
• 9:05
  calm down. Take it easy with all the
• 9:07
  technical specs. If you're a computer person,
• 9:10
  front end back end developer OCIX something module, one
• 9:14
  thing, one thing like calm down with all these things people
• 9:18
  don't understand Now in the technical documentation that you
• 9:22
  submit later on, yes, you put everything there, all the
• 9:26
  kilowatts, all the up cycle battery rating this in the
• 9:30
  technical specs, everything. Suppose D so that you know we'll
• 9:34
  know what it is that we're agreeing to, but The thing is in
• 9:36
  the beginning, in the process of trying to collect that money,
• 9:39
  trying to close this deal, we're actually trying to simplify
• 9:42
  things. Let somebody understand.
• 9:44
  I was talking to another person and person was like, why should
• 9:46
  I dumb it down? No, don't look at it that way.
• 9:50
  It's not dumbing down, not be dumbed down.
• 9:52
  It's just recognizing the fact that you you, I don't know how
• 9:57
  else to explain it. It's not dumbing down, it's just
• 10:01
  recognizing the fact that you, you're standing up.
• 10:03
  This person that you're talking to is just not at your level
• 10:07
  yet. Mine's one time when I had some
• 10:10
  medical issues and I thought I was dying, but glory be to God,
• 10:15
  you know, I'm still here, obviously, but I thought I was
• 10:17
  dying, you know, I was contemplating my life.
• 10:20
  I said, ha, ha, so young man like me now, you know, my wife
• 10:25
  and the children like, hey, and I don't even have life
• 10:27
  insurance. And you know, like I was really,
• 10:29
  really, really, really contemplating my life.
• 10:32
  And then I went to go and see the doctor.
• 10:34
  If the doctor stopped at that level of oh, Mr. Giddy, this
• 10:37
  superior venal cover, this, this, this wanting, wanting the
• 10:40
  occipital blood, you know, all those big, big, big, big terms.
• 10:42
  Like I would have been confused, but I broke it down.
• 10:47
  It's OK. We're seeing this thing.
• 10:48
  This is the next step we're going to take.
• 10:53
  What do you call it again? I can't remember, but the guy
• 10:55
  chose like he took charge, he broke it down.
• 10:58
  It's OK. Look that there's no need to be
• 10:59
  panicking now that yes, tests have revealed this.
• 11:02
  Tests have revealed this. The next thing we need to do is
• 11:05
  we need to do biopsy. Biopsy just means we'll caught
• 11:08
  small. We'll send it to the lab.
• 11:10
  The lab will now tell us, is this thing malignant?
• 11:13
  Is this thing benign? Malignant just means, you know,
• 11:18
  benign just means you know, malignant means, you know, the
• 11:21
  kind of one that can cause serious bodily damage and
• 11:26
  serious health whatever. Then benign just means, you
• 11:29
  know, it's a normal growth between just happens.
• 11:31
  You know, he, he, he, he draws, you know, just calm the whole
• 11:36
  situation down and explained everything.
• 11:41
  And then of course, and that's the reason why I say we should
• 11:42
  always pretend to be like medical doctors whenever we're
• 11:44
  selling because the medical doctor never just presents and
• 11:47
  then keep quiet, which is what lots of Nigerian business
• 11:50
  owners, lots of sales people, lots of founders do.
• 11:53
  You're looking for funds. You want people to invest in
• 11:56
  your business. You go there with your pitch
• 11:58
  deck. You make a wonderful
• 11:59
  presentation. Now at the end of the day, you
• 12:00
  now say thank you and then you keep quiet.
• 12:03
  You expect that somebody will now throw their checkbook
• 12:05
  cartoon and say take money, take money.
• 12:07
  You finish the presentation. Your final slide is thank you.
• 12:11
  You don't tell them this is how you should invest.
• 12:14
  This is when this is how when we would like you to buy in.
• 12:17
  This is like, you know, ask for something.
• 12:20
  So just the next step. And that's what doctors do.
• 12:22
  So just like the guy did in that situation, explain everything.
• 12:25
  And then I said, this is the next step.
• 12:27
  And then of course, I said, OK, no problem, doctor, more to go.
• 12:30
  And to the glory of God, I'm still here.
• 12:32
  I'm alive and kicking and God willing, I'll be a while for,
• 12:37
  you know, a good while to come and May God grant us all good
• 12:42
  health. So how did I enter this super
• 12:47
  story? Now, how did I get here?
• 12:50
  Anyway, the point I'm just trying to make is because some
• 12:54
  of you are highly technical. You know, you don't have to code
• 12:57
  or you know, you're, you studied engineering and all those things
• 13:00
  else what you say no, that it's dumbing down.
• 13:02
  It's not dumbing down. People are just at a different
• 13:04
  level. So I also, I'm a highly educated
• 13:07
  individual. I'm very literate and I'm very
• 13:09
  smart. But then, you know, when I'm
• 13:13
  sitting in front of a doctor, honestly, there are just some
• 13:15
  things I do not know and some things I do not understand.
• 13:19
  So excuse me if a doctor has to take me along or anybody along,
• 13:23
  they have to break it down to the level that I understand.
• 13:26
  That's just how it is. So if we're making our
• 13:29
  proposals, if we're making our presentations, it's not dumbing
• 13:32
  down well, just breaking it down to the level that people
• 13:36
  understand. That's just it.
• 13:38
  Don't look as if you're dumbing down.
• 13:39
  You're not dumbing down nothing. We know you're intelligent.
• 13:43
  No problem. Nobody's disputing that.
• 13:47
  Just try to be effective in your communication.
• 13:49
  Let people understand. So that's my focus.
• 13:51
  Just make this thing more conversational, make it easier
• 13:55
  to understand. So the first thing I told her to
• 13:58
  do was the front page of the document.
• 14:01
  I had to tell her change it because the mistake she made was
• 14:05
  the same thing that we all do. The first slide is usually a
• 14:10
  picture of our company building or you know, our company logo or
• 14:14
  something. That is normally that's the Page
• 14:17
  1, is it not? If I'm lying, send me a message
• 14:21
  and tell me. But that's how most of us do it.
• 14:24
  No, this thing you're presenting, you're presenting to
• 14:26
  somebody else. So personalize the thing,
• 14:29
  personalize the title, personalize the cover,
• 14:32
  personalize the whatever, customize that first page to the
• 14:36
  client company. It's not about us.
• 14:39
  So when we're making this presentation, the opening page
• 14:41
  should not be Linkin Park Solar with the company building and
• 14:47
  then with the logo and the, you know, website and every, every,
• 14:50
  every, no, you're presenting it to an estate.
• 14:53
  Let's say the estate now is all I call the estate now, OK, let's
• 15:00
  just say let's call Yanobaja Estate.
• 15:02
  By the way, it's not Yanobaja was in Lagos anyway.
• 15:05
  So the presentation is for Yanobaja Estate.
• 15:07
  Opening page should be a picture of Yanobaja Estate or the logo
• 15:13
  of Yanobaja Estate or the, you know, personalize it to them.
• 15:19
  So I told her first of all that cover or something change it.
• 15:23
  This is not about us. We are the ones making the
• 15:26
  proposal at the presentation, but we're talking to other
• 15:29
  people. Change it then, since the flow
• 15:34
  of the proposal was OK because it's following the spin
• 15:36
  framework that you know this is your situation.
• 15:39
  We understand you. This is the problem.
• 15:41
  We know what you're facing. This is the implication.
• 15:44
  If you don't take action on this, this is how much money you
• 15:46
  are losing every single month and then need payoff.
• 15:49
  If you take action now, even though not 200 M in four to five
• 15:53
  years, this is how much money you now stand to make going
• 15:57
  forward. And this, this this system we're
• 16:00
  designing for you will last 20 years.
• 16:04
  So you break even in five years, then you have 15 years of not
• 16:08
  timber profits. So that was the structure that
• 16:12
  the thing was following sign out holder.
• 16:16
  Now look, you know, we'll just change some of the headers.
• 16:20
  Some of the headers were to corporate and put it that way,
• 16:24
  we need to make a little bit conversational.
• 16:27
  Not everybody is brave enough to go really, really
• 16:29
  conversational. So sometimes I try and find a
• 16:32
  halfway approach. I will propose something that
• 16:34
  still sounds corporate, but also simply enough for people to just
• 16:41
  get the gist. So like one of the slides, I
• 16:45
  think 1, Slide 2, what she had there was current energy
• 16:49
  challenge. I also try and show that we
• 16:52
  understand the situation. Like, look, we know what it is
• 16:54
  you're dealing with current energy challenge.
• 16:56
  See, that's, that's OK. But it's, you know, it's kind of
• 17:02
  corporate and it doesn't quite remember I said the whole focus
• 17:07
  of this presentation now spin is we're trying to show them that,
• 17:10
  look, there's a serious problem. If you don't take action, this
• 17:15
  is how you'll be suffering. If you take action, this is what
• 17:19
  and how you will benefit. So we now have to use simpler
• 17:26
  language, the kinds of, you know, put people in that frame
• 17:31
  of mind and input it like that. So instead of current energy
• 17:35
  challenge, I suggested that she writes something called the
• 17:39
  diesel trap. I think that's why I suggested
• 17:42
  the diesel trap. I think we now added current
• 17:46
  realities at the end, You know, it's compromise.
• 17:48
  What are the diesel trap? So we're in the middle of the
• 17:53
  meeting, We've started the meeting.
• 17:56
  We're talking about how people's over reliance on diesel is
• 18:00
  causing them problems. And then by the time we get to
• 18:04
  slide 2 when I'm supposed to delve in, the team says diesel
• 18:08
  trap. You know, it sets up a very
• 18:14
  strong mental picture. So yeah, so this diesel that I'm
• 18:17
  buying, I'm trapped. And because really, let's face
• 18:22
  it now, why in Nigeria you are trapped?
• 18:24
  Do you have a choice? Nepal misbehave, What else do
• 18:27
  you do? You are trapped.
• 18:30
  We've collected people's rent and they pay service charge.
• 18:34
  You are trapped. So put it there.
• 18:36
  The diesel trap instead of current energy challenge.
• 18:40
  If you say current energy challenge, it sounds corporate
• 18:42
  and they also sound soft. You know, I'm just, I'm just
• 18:45
  having a small challenge. When you're, when you're
• 18:49
  bleeding 15,000,000 every single month on top diesel, that's not
• 18:54
  a challenge. He's a trap.
• 18:59
  We're trying to get them to feel the pain.
• 19:00
  That's the whole point of spin selling.
• 19:04
  Then there's another slide that we when we started talking about
• 19:10
  the company now and what we put there was a proposed solution.
• 19:14
  Yeah, proposed solution. That was the header.
• 19:17
  So I told her let's look Cinderella, I sort of proposed
• 19:20
  solution. How about something like this?
• 19:23
  So what I did was also about all that noise in the background
• 19:29
  because you know, we're just talking about NEPA.
• 19:30
  How NEPA they misbehave. They've been showing us Shaggy
• 19:34
  in this estate as in serious Shaggy.
• 19:36
  I haven't had life for it's lecture in four.
• 19:40
  Sure. Any.
• 19:41
  So light just came back. So that's what all that whistle
• 19:44
  that was coming in now all that we you know, it's people's, I
• 19:49
  don't know what you call those things, but anyway, when light
• 19:51
  comes back, all the whistle just be blowing anyhow.
• 19:53
  So that was just it. So that's the sound of whistles
• 19:56
  blowing people's, people rejoicing and then equipment
• 19:59
  coming on and stuff like that. I'm not sure if it bled through
• 20:03
  the microphone because I'm trying to do some soundproofing
• 20:05
  and stuff, but just in case it did, that's what the that's what
• 20:09
  the noise is, so. Where was I?
• 20:13
  So instead of proposed solution, I've told Cinderella, let's try
• 20:17
  something else like the path to low cost energy.
• 20:22
  You see, proposed solution is OK, kind of corporate, kind of
• 20:26
  academic. But the path to low cost energy,
• 20:28
  like we're signaling to them that where we're taking you,
• 20:31
  we're taking you to low cost energy because right now the
• 20:34
  path you're on is 13 to 15,000,000 naira every single
• 20:39
  month on diesel. We're not even talking NEPA,
• 20:44
  just diesel. So we're signaling that we're
• 20:48
  heading somewhere. The path to low cost energy,
• 20:52
  that's what we're signaling. Another proposed heading that we
• 20:56
  looked was was our road map to energy independence.
• 20:59
  So this company us, we Lincoln Park Solar, this is how we are
• 21:04
  proposing this is our road map so that you would not have
• 21:08
  energy independence that's in you and Nepal.
• 21:10
  Nothing will join you people again, nothing will gum you
• 21:13
  people. You'll be able to manage your
• 21:15
  estate and not worry about Nepal at all.
• 21:17
  You'll be able to say to hell with Nepal.
• 21:20
  Even me personally, that's why I'm trying to work towards now
• 21:23
  because one went to go and see Mumsy during Christmas because
• 21:29
  some of my siblings, you know, we're able to contribute so that
• 21:32
  we can do solar for Mumsy or more.
• 21:34
  I won't like that thing is beautiful as it once the sun
• 21:38
  shines, you now know that the sun is powering your house.
• 21:41
  I won't like that thing is beautiful.
• 21:44
  So even me 2000 I'm looking forward to so I can see NEPA to
• 21:47
  hell with you. So they even if they disappear
• 21:49
  for one week, I'll be like I don't care.
• 21:53
  So the path to low cost energy, our road map to energy
• 21:58
  independence instead of the same proposed solution.
• 22:01
  Remember spin selling, we're trying to push them somewhere
• 22:05
  that look, there's a problem. This is a serious problem.
• 22:08
  If you don't do anything, this is the problem you will remain
• 22:11
  in if you if you if you follow us to the promised land, this is
• 22:17
  what you will enjoy. So all the headers that we're
• 22:20
  using in the proposal in the presentation is signaling is
• 22:23
  signaling is signaling. So that's why I say simpler
• 22:26
  language less corporate because all these corporate talk like,
• 22:30
  you know, proposed solution, current energy challenge, you
• 22:34
  know, it's it doesn't hit home diesel trap your signal to them
• 22:38
  that you are in a trap. OK, then let's see another one
• 22:45
  that we switched out some words. OK.
• 22:46
  There was another section where this was the part that I liked,
• 22:51
  monthly financial impact and cost savings.
• 22:54
  That was the header. And then of course, everything
• 22:57
  was there in the table. And see, that is the beautiful,
• 23:00
  the beauty of quantifying a sale.
• 23:03
  When you are in a situation where you can quantify a sale,
• 23:05
  not everybody can quantify. But if you're in one of these
• 23:08
  industries where you can quantify, quantify it well so
• 23:12
  that people will see it. This is how much you'll be
• 23:15
  spending in diesel month one, month 2, month three, month 4.
• 23:19
  If you go with us, this is how all these high, high number
• 23:24
  you're looking at here, this is how these numbers we crash.
• 23:30
  Then you see this figure here, this sweet figure at the end of
• 23:33
  four or five years, all this money now will be reflecting
• 23:37
  well for your company's balance sheet.
• 23:42
  You get me? So, but she titled it monthly
• 23:46
  financial impact and cost savings.
• 23:49
  So sounds corporate, but a little too academic.
• 23:52
  So I told her I would have liked to make these things even much
• 23:55
  more conversational. So conversational that even a
• 23:57
  secondary school student will see it and understand, let me
• 24:01
  even say primary school student. But you know, not everybody's
• 24:04
  brave enough. Not everybody's willing to try
• 24:06
  that. So what I suggested was reducing
• 24:10
  your monthly bill. I wanted that to be the heading,
• 24:15
  reducing your monthly bill. You know, I think it signals
• 24:19
  more strongly than monthly financial impact and cost
• 24:22
  savings reducing your monthly bill.
• 24:29
  I would have liked to even use even more.
• 24:32
  Anyway, let me let me just leave it.
• 24:34
  I already made my point. Let me just leave it.
• 24:36
  But the whole point is that particular section you're trying
• 24:39
  to answer your question, how are we going to save you money?
• 24:44
  In fact, let me say it, I really think it's not a problem for in
• 24:49
  your PowerPoint for the header to be how we will save you money
• 24:53
  over the next 10 months. I don't think that's the problem
• 24:56
  with that kind of header is direct go straight to the point
• 25:02
  you switch the PowerPoint, the header is there clear bam how we
• 25:05
  will save you money in the next 10 months.
• 25:09
  I think that is more compelling than saying monthly financial
• 25:12
  impact and cost savings header, bam, how we will save you money
• 25:17
  in 10 months. Then let's see what else.
• 25:24
  OK, another slide, cumulative 12 months savings.
• 25:29
  OK, it's a little bit too corporate, a bit too academic.
• 25:34
  So what I suggested, because I know that they won't go with my
• 25:37
  overly simplified ways, was recovering costs over 12 months,
• 25:41
  but just trying to show them this is how you recover money
• 25:44
  over this period. So your headers should be strong
• 25:48
  enough and bold enough to say just that.
• 25:51
  Then there's another slide that said projected financial impact.
• 25:55
  That's OK, a bit too corporate. What I suggested was the future
• 25:59
  value of your investment because they need to think of that 200 M
• 26:04
  as an investment. Lots of people be thinking of it
• 26:07
  as cost, as cost as cost. So we should try and reframe
• 26:10
  this thing properly. Now.
• 26:12
  No cost is the one that you're not recovering now 1515 million,
• 26:15
  you're spending every single month on diesel, you can't
• 26:17
  recover it. That's the one that is cost.
• 26:20
  This 200 M that I want to collect from you.
• 26:22
  After five years, you will recover it.
• 26:24
  The system itself, we don't give you guarantee, we don't give you
• 26:26
  warranty. This thing will last for another
• 26:28
  extra 15 years. So what are we talking?
• 26:33
  These are all projected financial, No, the future value
• 26:36
  of your investment is an investment and the team has
• 26:39
  value. So let's put it there as the
• 26:42
  header. I think another one suggested
• 26:48
  was protecting the estate from future price spikes.
• 26:52
  I think that was another heading.
• 26:54
  You know, I came up with a couple so that, you know,
• 26:56
  discuss the ones that they feel comfortable with because at the
• 26:59
  end of the day, and it's also another reason why when I'm
• 27:02
  working with people on their presentations and their
• 27:04
  proposals, you know, I give leeway because, you know, I
• 27:08
  suggest an idea. But The thing is, at the end of
• 27:10
  the day, now you go make the presentation.
• 27:11
  Now you go propose. I won't be there with you in the
• 27:14
  room when you're talking to your client.
• 27:16
  So at the end of the day, we have to pick something that
• 27:20
  you're comfortable with. So I'll never try a bamboozle
• 27:23
  somebody to say no. This is the best way to say it.
• 27:25
  No, because if you try and talk like me, if you try and sound
• 27:28
  like me when you're there with a potential client, you will
• 27:31
  fumble because you're pretending to be somebody else.
• 27:36
  So let's see. OK, then the final slide was ROI
• 27:41
  summary, ROI, return on investment, you know, corporate
• 27:44
  jargon. So I suggested two different
• 27:48
  headers. One I said was payback timeline,
• 27:54
  a headline that shows them this is when this thing you're
• 27:58
  buying, this is when we'll pay you back, pay back timeline.
• 28:03
  Another head I suggested was when your system pays for itself
• 28:07
  you know to try and signal to them that this thing will pay
• 28:11
  for itself and we are giving you a timetable.
• 28:14
  Year 1 this is what we look like.
• 28:16
  Year 2 this is what we look like.
• 28:17
  Year three it will look like this year 4 break even.
• 28:21
  Year 5 profits the system has paid back for itself.
• 28:28
  So other. Anyway suggestions are plenty
• 28:34
  but let me just leave it like that.
• 28:35
  But I just hope you guys get the point that all the suggestions I
• 28:38
  was making, I just wanted to be much more conversational so that
• 28:42
  the people you're making the proposal to the presentation to
• 28:44
  will get the point. And also so that they will get
• 28:48
  into the spirit of the presentation.
• 28:51
  When you make your presentation, your PowerPoint, your PDF, your
• 28:54
  whatever, The thing is up there on the big screen and you're
• 28:57
  using plenty of corporate speak. People zone out, they zone out.
• 29:03
  They've come for this meeting because you're the consultant,
• 29:05
  you're the professional, you're the engineer, you're the
• 29:07
  whatever. You know, at the end of the day,
• 29:09
  maybe they have one or two questions about the, the, the
• 29:13
  project, but you know, the slide that they're waiting for is one
• 29:17
  that says a price. And then their mind will be
• 29:19
  anchored on the price. You know, so we have to handle
• 29:23
  this, this presentation. We have to handle this, this,
• 29:26
  this proposal differently. We need to make it
• 29:28
  conversational. And there's also another thing I
• 29:30
  told her you don't just put up slide one, then slide 2, then
• 29:34
  slide three. No, you put up slide one, OK.
• 29:37
  This is our understanding of the estate.
• 29:38
  This is our understanding of the company.
• 29:40
  This is our understanding of the situation.
• 29:42
  You now ask somebody, I said facilities manager will be in
• 29:44
  the meeting, right? She say yes, I say good.
• 29:46
  At this stage, you will now ask facilities manager.
• 29:50
  Now, Sir, is my understanding correct so far?
• 29:53
  Then you keep quiet and then you hear what facilities manager
• 29:57
  will say, but design facilities manager says one or two things,
• 30:02
  you know, you continue and then you now ask a specific person
• 30:06
  that Oh, chairman, so, so, so you're the head of the estate,
• 30:10
  estate estate. What do you call them again?
• 30:14
  This estate association, is it resident?
• 30:16
  You're the head of the estate residence association.
• 30:19
  Oh yes. So Sir, Mr. Chairman Adeji, this
• 30:23
  thing that I said about so, so, so, so you know, is that is that
• 30:26
  correct? Am I on point there?
• 30:29
  Is there anything else that Mister Adej like by calling out
• 30:31
  specific people in the presentation?
• 30:33
  As you are talking, you say A, you say B, you say C, you now
• 30:37
  call out one specific person and get his feedback on that.
• 30:40
  By the time people they engage, you say something, facilities
• 30:44
  manager say something, Chief Adeji say something, another
• 30:46
  person say something. This whole presentation will now
• 30:48
  be engaging, will now be lively. Then the people that have
• 30:52
  something at the back of their mind, you know, don't be shy.
• 30:54
  They will now ask you the people who think, oh, you're
• 30:57
  manufacturing figures from thin air, they will now, because
• 31:00
  everything is chill and construct, they will now say it.
• 31:03
  I say, look, all these numbers self engineer all these numbers,
• 31:05
  you're just manufacturing these numbers.
• 31:06
  You're not able to say either. OK, no, be manufacturer.
• 31:10
  That is what we do it. We came with energy locker.
• 31:12
  This is how we track your this this is how we whatever whatever
• 31:16
  facilities manager gave me NEPA view.
• 31:19
  And you know, you will now give them the basis for how you
• 31:21
  arrived at these figures. But if you just go up there and
• 31:25
  make this thing a very sterile corporate dry presentation,
• 31:30
  somebody will be thinking in his mind that see them see them
• 31:35
  because they have master because they go school.
• 31:37
  They're just manufacturing numbers up and down.
• 31:39
  They can't deceive us. They can't deceive us.
• 31:40
  That's what the person will be thinking in their mind and then
• 31:43
  they'll collect proposal. So thank you very much.
• 31:45
  We'll think about it then they'll send you away.
• 31:47
  Then they'll now bring out the proposal that they had with the
• 31:49
  other person. And then they will now start
• 31:50
  comparing, start comparing what they don't know.
• 31:53
  Make this thing smooth, make this thing, you know,
• 31:55
  conversational, like be flowing. You're talking to human beings
• 31:58
  here. Yes, we are younger than some of
• 32:00
  these people. So, you know, you defer, you
• 32:01
  show some respect, you know, due respect, Sir Honourable chief,
• 32:06
  you know, but make it conversational so that the thing
• 32:09
  that is on their mind, let them say the person who talks, who
• 32:11
  thinks you're talking, be yes, let him say it.
• 32:15
  If he says it to your face while you're there making the
• 32:17
  presentation, you will have a chance to defend yourself, to
• 32:20
  correct the impression, to educate them to you know, to
• 32:23
  whatever. So even when it comes to
• 32:27
  proposals, please bear in mind, because I keep saying that sales
• 32:32
  and selling is a conversation. Even when you are making this
• 32:35
  proposal, this presentation, please bear in mind it's still a
• 32:37
  conversation. It hasn't stopped being a
• 32:39
  conversation. Yes, I know that group dynamics
• 32:42
  are different, but for lots of you who are listening now,
• 32:45
  you'll be making presentations to small group.
• 32:49
  You don't 5 people, seven people, you don't Max 10 people.
• 32:54
  You can make things conversational in a group of 10
• 32:57
  or even in a group of 15. You say one or two things, say
• 33:00
  auger Chairman, I'll be on my own course.
• 33:03
  Chairman said I know you made a mistake and say oh, you will now
• 33:06
  know that OK, you can adjust your proposal on the fly.
• 33:08
  By the way it happens, that's not a problem.
• 33:10
  You are the specialist, so don't be afraid.
• 33:13
  Any information that they gave you was off is not a problem.
• 33:16
  You will just factor into your presentation and then and then
• 33:18
  you move. Especially for those of you who
• 33:21
  are gurus, you know, geniuses, you use what's this thing called
• 33:25
  Excel. Use Excel to prepare your
• 33:28
  figures and the table and everything.
• 33:30
  Once they give you the correct figure and you put it inside
• 33:32
  your Excel sheet, your Excel sheet, you just do enter all the
• 33:35
  figures, go adjust and then you continue your presentation
• 33:39
  smooth, no problem. So don't be afraid, ask for
• 33:42
  feedback. If you're on course, it's know
• 33:45
  now that you're that you're on course.
• 33:47
  If you're not on course, if you've missed the point, gain
• 33:49
  feedback. Know that you have missed the
• 33:52
  plot. Let them correct you.
• 33:54
  And then because to finish this presentation thinking you did a
• 33:57
  good job, meanwhile what you did is rubbish.
• 34:00
  You now find out from your inside man that what you did was
• 34:02
  rubbish. To get another meeting to come
• 34:04
  back will be harder. Anyway, it's been 30 minutes, so
• 34:08
  let me just bring today's episode to a close.
• 34:11
  So that's it. If you'd like to connect with
• 34:12
  me, then call me, send me a text message or a WhatsApp message on
• 34:16
  08064662140. If you want me to audit any of
• 34:22
  your business processes, you reach out to me on the same
• 34:24
  number 08064662140. If you want to be a part of my
• 34:30
  WhatsApp channel, then send me a text message and I will hook you
• 34:33
  up. So thank you very much for your
• 34:35
  time and attention. I will catch you all some other
• 34:38
  time.