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Consistency Advantage: How to Build Trust and Grow Your Business · Closing Sales in Nigeria - Sales For The Nigerian Business Person: The Sales and Marketing Blueprint

0:01
Hello and welcome. My name is Tavishma Aide.
0:04
I'm the host of the podcast that I'm making today's recording in
0:07
church because the kids are having catechism classes.
0:10
So expect to hear some noise in the background.
0:12
Now the goal of this podcast is solving business problems.
0:15
So if you're struggling to get customers, if you have issues
0:17
with marketing, issues with your side hustle, something holding
0:20
your business back, then this is the show for you.
0:23
So subscribe on Spotify, YouTube, Apple, or any player of
0:27
your choice. And if you'd love to connect,
0:29
you can call SMS or WhatsApp me on 08064662140.
0:36
Today on the podcast, I would like us to look at the power of
0:38
consistency in business. And that's because this is a
0:43
listener question from Hamza Shaddiz who made a comment on
0:47
YouTube. OK, well, I'm assuming your name
0:50
is Hamza Shaddiz. You know, as per the handle that
0:54
you used. I mean, they had a bunch of
0:55
symbols in it, so I just assumed that, you know, your name is
0:59
Hamza Shahdiz. So, oh, I got that right.
1:02
So he wanted a question. He wanted me to answer the
1:05
question, or rather to make an episode on the power of
1:07
consistency in business. And so that's the reason why I'm
1:09
making today's episode. But I'm going to be making it
1:12
from a sales and business development perspective because
1:14
I don't answer questions in general like that because it can
1:17
become unwieldy. And before you know it, we've
1:20
entered that motivational, you know, side, you know, who will
1:23
aspire to aspire to acquire what you desire and refire what you
1:28
admire and you know, all of that motivational abuse.
1:31
So I don't like to answer question in a very vague sense.
1:35
So I'm narrowing down from a sales and business development
1:38
perspective. So Hamza Shadiz, thank you very
1:41
much for commenting on YouTube. This episode is going to answer
1:44
your question. And of course, if there's
1:46
anything that I don't explain very well or something you'd
1:50
like to hear some more about, then sure, no problem.
1:52
You can drop that in the comments and I will make a video
1:56
about it later on. So when I mentioned yesterday
1:59
that on Spotify, they're taking the away the comments feature
2:03
for those of us podcasters on the African continent, they're
2:06
taking it away on September the 3rd.
2:09
And I mentioned that WhatsApp is 1 opportunity that you guys can
2:13
keep in touch with me. I forgot that there's YouTube.
2:15
So those of you who listen on YouTube, yeah, keep on dropping
2:17
comments and we can be in touch there.
2:22
So, yeah, the power of consistency in business.
2:26
So now, First off, let's start defining a few things.
2:30
Consistency, Consistency, OK, This is the way I'd like to
2:32
define it. If you're showing up
2:35
periodically, you know, that's every day or every week or every
2:40
six, six hours or every 12 to 12 hours.
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I mean, it depends on you really on what you're trying to
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achieve. So long as you're showing up
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periodically, that's number one. So to be consistent, there has
2:50
to be some periodic element there.
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So we can't do every single Monday in January and then in
2:56
February we do first Monday and then we sleep for the next three
3:00
Mondays. And then in March we now say
3:01
we're starting again. Well, you know, once in a while
3:07
the, you know, the body is weak, I understand.
3:09
But we should try and maintain a certain level of consistency.
3:16
You know, the periodical, the periodic element.
3:19
So try and show up periodically. Then there's also a deliberate
3:24
element to being consistent. So it's not just about showing
3:28
up and then just doing anyhow, anyhow, like you need to be
3:32
very, very deliberate, very proactive.
3:34
You need to have thought through a couple of things.
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So you have to be deliberate and you have to be strategic.
3:39
And of course, when we're talking about consistency, we're
3:41
talking about actions and behaviour.
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So I think we actually have to be doing something.
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So I'm not one of those people who say I've been thinking about
3:51
something consistently. Well, OK, well you can't be
3:54
thinking about something consistently.
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But ultimately, you know, consistency boils down to you've
4:00
actually been doing some stuff. So I'll tell you, when we're
4:02
trying to define consistency, those are the elements that we
4:05
should be looking at. We have to be showing up
4:07
periodically. That means, you know, time after
4:09
time shall going to show up. Then we also have to have some
4:13
deliberate and strategic thinking what is that we're
4:16
trying to do? And then we're putting in, in,
4:19
in, in process some actions and behaviors.
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Now the whole sum of everything that we're trying to do here is
4:26
we're trying to create predictable growth for the
4:31
business. So as you can see, that's the
4:35
way I like to look at consistency.
4:37
Consistency, Sorry, forgive me. So that's it.
4:40
We have to show up periodically. We have to be deliberate.
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We're thinking strategically, we're actually doing some
4:44
actions and behaviors and we're trying to create growth for the
4:49
business. So I'm assuming that Hamza
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wanted to know why we should be consistent.
4:55
Does it have any advantages? And the answer is YES, yes,
5:01
because consistency builds trust and credibility, especially
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where the consistency is in areas where you're having clear
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communications with people, with stakeholders, with customers or
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regular communications with people and you try to provide
5:14
value at every point, then yeah, it does build credibility.
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So if in your business follow up or follow through, as I like to
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say. So if in your business follow up
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or follow through, you are doing so consistently and each time
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you do that, you're providing value.
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And then in your messaging or your marketing.
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So whether it's your LinkedIn post, your podcasts or you know,
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your WhatsApp status updates, your whatever it is, you're
5:38
trying to deliver value. And then in your performance or
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the execution, every single time you're interacting with your
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clients, your customers, you're trying to provide value.
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So if you are consistent, then it's one way that it builds
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trust and credibility because it makes you a stand up guy, it
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makes you a correct guy or it makes you a correct baby because
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every time they see you, they know that you come correct and
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they know that you come through, you know, reliably.
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So that's the kind of thing that when people haven't heard you
6:06
from a while, you know, they send you a message, they say, oh
6:07
boy, how far now? Like we haven't seen you, what's
6:09
going on? Like those of you who send me
6:12
messages once in a while because like I said, you know, the
6:14
spirit is Wheeling, but sometimes, you know, body will
6:16
be weak or sometimes you have other commitments.
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So those times I disappear for like a week or two.
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And then some people send me a message to say, you know what?
6:24
So how far, what's going on? So thank you very much for those
6:26
of you who reach out during those periods.
6:29
So I'm still here. Don't worry.
6:30
My mom and dad, you know, God willing and want to be here for
6:32
another. Let me see, maybe like 50.
6:35
Yeah, like 50 years. Yeah.
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Want to be here for another 50-60 years.
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So I'm. I'm not.
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I'm not going anywhere. I'm God willing.
6:42
So. Yeah.
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So consistency, it helps to build trust.
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It helps to build credibility. If you're consistent, you become
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the very guy or you become the very babe.
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And of course, that's what we're trying to look for in our
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business because that's when people start to refer you.
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When you are the very guy, when you are the very babe, when you
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are the source of truth, then people refer you, refer you
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easily. But the main reason why I said
7:05
we should be consistent in business actually is because it
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leads to predictable business growth.
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Let me repeat, the main reason why we should be showing up time
7:15
after time periodically, why we should be deliberate and
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strategic and why we should be concerned about our actions and
7:21
our behaviours is because it leads to predictable business
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growth. Predictable.
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That just means you know, you, you can't see it, like you can't
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see how the thing has started. You can see how The thing is
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growing. You can kind of guess where The
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thing is going to be in the future.
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That kind of business growth only comes with consistency.
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Now, back in good old days when I was a wedding photographer, we
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used to go through what at least the Americans, they call it
7:51
feast and farming. All feast and farming means is
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generally we just be quiet, not in the apple.
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Then maybe like March, July, you get one big wedding, but the
8:02
next you have maybe like 800 K. We just enter your account one
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time and then you're feeling cool and maybe the next month
8:09
another like 300K. The month after that, maybe like
8:12
400 K, nothing will just be quiet again until like
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September. Then maybe you get one small
8:18
something, 150K and maybe December another big one.
8:22
Yeah, like 700 K You know, so down is up and then it's down
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and then up and down and up and down.
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So many photographers in America would call that feast and
8:32
farming. And, you know, do a lot of us
8:34
who are in the business back then in Lagos and Abuja and, you
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know, that was our lifestyle basically feast and farming.
8:39
Today there's money and it's good money.
8:41
Tomorrow is quiet. Next week you don't know what's
8:45
up. And then the week after that.
8:48
Good morning. So that one is feast and
8:49
farming. So if you want to get rid of, if
8:53
you're tired of this kind of feast and farming lifestyle that
8:56
you can't even predict, you can't even plan.
8:58
You can't even say, OK, you know what holiday is coming.
9:02
You know, me and the children will just, you know, disappear
9:05
to France or something or OK, wifey is, is going to turn 5045
9:11
or you know, whatever, we'll throw her back there.
9:13
You know, you can't send something to Mumsy or you don't
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even know how you're going to. For those of you who live in a
9:19
band, a place like me, you know, you don't even know how high
9:22
you're going to get your next 20 K to pay for electricity for
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another 3 or 4 days. You know, if you're tired of
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that kind of lifestyle, then when you start showing up
9:32
periodically, deliberately and strategically over time, you
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will not be able to get predictable business growth.
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You'll be able to get a reliable pipeline.
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There will be no more feast and farming.
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It just takes time. Now, the reason why it takes
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time is because you have to do some things consistently.
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Remember, I'm talking about things from a sales and business
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development perspective. So from sales and business
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development, the number one thing will be prospecting
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opportunities. Prospecting, thinking about who
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might need your product or service.
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Where do they hang out? How can I reach these people?
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When I reach them, how am I going to start a conversation?
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When I start a conversation, how am I going to get them to become
10:10
a paying customer? When they're paying customer,
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how will I make sure that they're happy?
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If they're happy, how am I going to make sure that they'll come
10:16
back again? When they come back again and
10:18
buy, how will I make sure that they refer when they refer?
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How can I get all of those people to remain lifelong
10:24
customers? When they remain lifelong
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customers, how am I going to increase the value I provide and
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then also increase the amount of money that I collect in, in
10:34
salary or consultation fees or in products, you know, whatever,
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you know, over time. So for those of us who are
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self-employed or who are in business, that's the number one
10:44
question prospecting opportunities.
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And we have to be consistent about it.
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And it took a while before the thing registered when I was my
10:52
wedding photography days, but it took a while before I
10:54
registered. But after a while, you think
10:57
clicked. Now, the reason why I was broke
10:58
in January was because in November or September of the
11:02
year before, I was not talking to anybody.
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Because people make this mistake that when big money comes in,
11:08
what you do is you relax and you start focusing on client
11:12
fulfillment. Client performance just means
11:14
somebody has paid you for a product or service and then
11:16
you're taking your time to satisfy all those customers.
11:20
But then you forget to start doing the small, small things
11:23
that bring people in, in the 1st place.
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For those of you who run Instagram ads, you forget to run
11:28
Instagram ads. For those of you who go to
11:32
business shows like I used to, you forget to go for business
11:34
shows. For those of you who I don't
11:37
know, attend Chamber of Commerce, you forget to
11:39
attention about commerce meetings because life is good.
11:42
But The thing is, you forget that every single business has a
11:45
sales cycle. And so, you know, if you're in
11:47
the business and the sales cycle is like, you know, 3-3 months,
11:50
or let's say your business is like 6-6 months, if you're not
11:54
talking to anybody in January, it just means that in July you
11:56
will be broke. It's that simple.
11:58
It's just the, it's just the nature of the beast.
12:00
That's just how it rose. So it took a while for the thing
12:03
to click in my head, but then eventually it clicks that, OK,
12:06
you know, December, of course, you spend money now because
12:08
that's Christmas and everything. And then January, your children
12:11
are back in school and then you're broke.
12:13
So it took a while, but you can click like, OK, you know what,
12:16
it's a problem. I have not been prospecting
12:19
consistently. I have not been looking for
12:23
opportunities, you know, consistently, which is why
12:26
January is quiet. Some of you say my business is
12:31
seasonal and that's the rubbish we used to tell ourselves back
12:33
then as wedding photographers that our business is seasonal.
12:37
But then I want you to think about this, think about this
12:40
now. Be honest with yourself.
12:41
Be very, very honest. For those of you who like to say
12:43
seasonal, seasonal, let's forget people like paint because paint,
12:47
yes, paint is seasonal. Now we can't run away from it
12:50
until they invent waterproof paint.
12:51
In this part of the world, people like to paint when it is
12:54
not the rainy season. So now that is rainy season, you
12:58
know, paint business is not going to be a good business.
13:01
So let's forget about paint. Well, for the rest of you who
13:04
say my business is seasonal, seasonal.
13:05
Like let's say you're wedding photographer.
13:07
You say, you know, everybody gets married in the ember
13:09
months. So general is definitely quiet.
13:12
Just think about it. Do you know one of your
13:16
colleagues who seems to be doing business during the quiet
13:20
period? Just think, if the answer is
13:24
yes, then whether this seasonality thing is through or
13:28
not, you need to wake up and start doing whatever that guy is
13:31
doing. Because in the high season or
13:34
the low season, there's always one of your colleagues who is
13:36
working. And I thought about it like, now
13:39
my partner Shogun, for instance, Shogun was always working.
13:43
Now, it might not always have been video, but The thing is, he
13:46
got. What's it called?
13:48
What is this thing called again? Photo booth.
13:50
No, no. Yeah.
13:51
Photo booth. You got a photo booth where
13:53
people come and they take props and things like that.
13:54
So he got photo booth, and then he got light and sound, you
13:57
know, to diversify. So for him, that was a way of
14:00
staying in the game that the video is down during these
14:03
months. At least there'll be money
14:05
coming through these sorts of things because the events will
14:07
still continue. Even if it's not wedding events,
14:10
at least there are other kinds of events.
14:13
So any situation, if you look, you will see that is one of your
14:17
colleagues that somehow somehow when things are up, he's
14:20
walking. When things are down, he's
14:22
walking, she's walking. So let's stop this seasonality
14:25
excuse. So there's some people that
14:27
seasonality is a big problem. Like ice cream.
14:30
You know, in the rainy season, if you sell ice cream, you know
14:32
you're, you know, you're your own.
14:34
So go and be buying ice cream for the children during the
14:37
rainy season. So ice cream paint, what again,
14:42
paint, paint what again what again?
14:44
OK, these people would like to do tours in Abuja.
14:46
This would like to go hiking and go and climb mountains.
14:48
So now that it's during rainy season, I'm assuming that that
14:50
kind of business would be down because who want to go and be
14:55
climbing mountains when you know rain can just descend on you
14:59
guys at any time. So everybody else, the problem
15:04
is just that you are not being consistent in whatever it is
15:06
that you're supposed to do in bringing business through.
15:09
So let's be consistent with our prospecting.
15:13
Let us show up periodically. So if it is advertising that you
15:16
have been doing on Instagram, then continue to be doing other
15:20
your advertising every last last Friday.
15:22
If that's how you've been doing it last Friday of every month,
15:25
then last Friday of every month, continue with that advertising.
15:27
Of course, keep trying to track how many people respond to the
15:31
adverts because you need to optimize, you know, whether you
15:34
need to improve your advertising copy, change your call to
15:37
action, you know, things like that.
15:38
But sure, if it is last Friday of every month, continue doing
15:41
last Friday of every month. That is what we lead to
15:43
predictable business growth. So if you advertise last Friday
15:46
in January, you advertise last Friday in January, last Friday
15:51
in February, last Friday in March, and it looks like
15:54
business is going good, you say you know what?
15:56
Let me just relax more. You don't do it in April, you
16:01
don't do it in May. You're causing problems for
16:03
yourself 3456 months down the line.
16:07
It doesn't look like it now because your phone is ringing,
16:11
because customers are coming in, because everything is looking
16:14
good. I'm telling you not just from
16:16
business theory, but from business practice that a time
16:20
will come when you wake up and you say, haha, this phone has
16:22
not rang in three days, what's going on?
16:24
This phone has not rang in three weeks, what's going on?
16:27
So consistency in prospecting, please.
16:30
So for other people, that consistency would be in
16:34
networking or trying to hang out with other business stakeholders
16:37
because you know, people play different levels of the game.
16:39
Because I don't expect that down, which is picking up the
16:42
phone and prospecting like we do.
16:43
So I'm sure for Dangote is, you know, hang out in this Business
16:47
Association, that Business Association, go for a high level
16:49
meeting, you know, stuff like that.
16:51
So on to at the level of high level meeting, please be doing
16:54
your prospecting consistently, be doing your networking.
16:59
Then like I said, for those of you who like to advertise, make
17:02
sure that you're tracking your KPIs as they like to say.
17:06
Those of those, you know, our brothers and sisters in the tech
17:08
space, the key performance indicators are be KPI, key
17:14
performance indicator. Yeah, I think so.
17:16
Key performance indicator. Some people say KPMS as key
17:19
performance metrics. Yeah, key performance metrics.
17:23
So check your KPI, check your KPMS, and that is the main
17:30
things that you're supposed to track to make sure that you're
17:32
on point, you're in the right place.
17:35
So like I said, for advertising, you'll be checking.
17:37
OK. Every time I run Instagram
17:38
campaign, how many people saw it?
17:40
The people that saw how people respond, the people that
17:42
responded, how many people ask for quotes?
17:44
The people that ask for quote. How many people ask for meeting?
17:46
The ones that ask for meeting How many people turn into paying
17:48
clients be tracking it like that, like that, like that.
17:51
You will now know what is that you need to change.
17:54
Then if you are an old school prospecting kind of fellow like
17:58
me, then you should be checking your call volume.
18:01
How many people did I call this week?
18:04
I checked your activity, how many business, how many bright
18:09
office that I attend this week? And then of course, conversion
18:11
rates. The calls that I called, how
18:13
many people agreed to come for meeting, the better shows that I
18:16
went for. How many people agreed to give
18:17
me phone number? The people that gave me phone
18:19
number and I called, how many of them agreed to come for meeting?
18:22
The ones that gave me number, sorry, the ones that came from
18:25
meeting, how many did I give proposal?
18:27
The ones that I give proposal, how many of them say yes, I'm
18:30
going ahead? For the ones I say yes, I'm
18:32
going ahead. How many of them paid, You know,
18:34
be tracking all those things. So that is conversion,
18:37
conversion rate. Conversion rate just means how
18:40
many people are taking the next step.
18:41
So for every 5-5 people I talked to, every 1010 people, 2020,
18:45
3030, forty, 5100, how many people are taking the next step?
18:50
You know that is your conversion rate.
18:52
Then of course social track your deal size because we want to see
18:55
the overtime that the money's you know, going up, up, up, up,
18:58
up. Because if you starting your
19:00
business 10 years ago and you are charging 150K and today is
19:04
10 years after you're still charged 150K, it's you know,
19:09
that's no progress. So deal size 2 should be going
19:11
up and up and up. So if you started out chasing
19:13
150K people, you know, over time you should be moving from 150K
19:17
to 225 to 360 to 420 to 506 to 802 to 1.7 to you know, and on
19:29
and on and on. So deal size should be growing,
19:31
should be growing, should be growing, of course should be
19:33
growing small, small, smaller. Don't want to do what I did in
19:36
the beginning where my first wedding I charged 50K but then
19:39
by the time I finished the wedding, I said what the hell is
19:41
this? I charged them 50K execution
19:43
that cost me 47 Ki said no, I can't live this life man, I
19:47
can't live this life. I said no, no, no, no, no.
19:49
I'm going to be what did I say again?
19:51
I can't remember the time that we used to call you back then.
19:53
Was it premium something? So I said I'm going to be
19:55
premium. The next person that called me,
19:57
I Jack it up. I said 400 K.
19:58
She said thank you. You want to build house on my
20:00
head? And then she she now disappeared
20:02
on the call. I was one that was now begging
20:04
her. And I know, sister, how much you
20:06
pay. So yeah, we should be increasing
20:07
the price. But realistically, you don't go
20:09
from 50K, you know, So you're going to charge 400K.
20:12
You know, everything is step by step is in small, small
20:14
increments and for good reason. So let's see what else?
20:21
OK, The reason why we should be consistent.
20:23
I think I've done that. OK, so dynamics.
20:26
Now what is the dynamic dynamics of of a consistency?
20:29
How does this thing work? Now it's very simple.
20:32
This is how it works. There's something that is called
20:35
compounding. Compounding just means each
20:38
effort that you do or each effort that you do builds upon
20:41
the last and then that leads to a certain amount of momentum.
20:45
Now, since a lot of us are second or third generation
20:49
educated, those of us listening to this podcast, let's think
20:52
back. You remember our grandparents,
20:55
you know, in the village, you know, especially those of us
20:57
from farming communities, you know, you know how it is.
21:00
So even if you have the best plot of land, but you didn't
21:03
clear the land on time, it means you won't plant on time.
21:07
You didn't plant on time. It means that your timing with
21:10
the rains will be off. You are too early for the rains
21:13
or you're too late for the rains.
21:14
It means that your harvest will be one kind see.
21:18
So that's what compounding means.
21:21
Now, each effort you're doing, each activity you're doing is
21:24
building upon the next one, and so upon the last one.
21:28
Now, of course, in financial circles, compounding means
21:31
something entirely different. But we're not talking financial,
21:33
we're not talking compounding interest.
21:34
I'm just saying other areas of life, you know, So that's just
21:37
how it works and it builds a certain momentum.
21:39
So back to how our grandparents used to do it.
21:42
You find the right piece of land, but then you let it live
21:44
hollow for a while so that you know the thing will have
21:47
nutrients in it. You see the nutrients your
21:50
compounding or something, then you will clear the land on time,
21:56
you know, to catch the rainy season on time.
21:59
So the harvesting season will be on time.
22:01
Then of course, if you're not going to go and be wedding it
22:04
periodically, depending on what it is that you do, you know that
22:07
that will also eat into your harvest.
22:08
So you know like that, like that, like that.
22:11
So that's just what compounding means.
22:13
So everything that we do in business now when I say
22:17
everything, I mean everything that we do in business, whether
22:20
we like it or not, actually it compounds.
22:24
So for those of you, let's use some example for those of you
22:27
who are blogging or podcasting like me, it compounds.
22:32
That is how people build thought leadership.
22:35
That is why some people believe that, you know, I'm the very guy
22:37
when it comes to sales is because I have been consistent.
22:41
I have been podcasting for a while, so the episodes that I
22:44
drop this week are building on the listenership with the
22:48
popularity, the whatever of the episodes that I dropped the week
22:51
before and on and on and on. And now that I am in week,
22:55
sorry, not week, now that I'm in year 5:00-ish of the podcast,
23:01
the progress of Year 5 is built from what I did in year 4 is
23:04
built from what I did in year 3, in year 2 and year one.
23:08
So that is compounding. That's one example.
23:10
So blogging consistently, podcasting consistently, if
23:13
you're trying to build thought leadership, if you're trying to
23:15
get inbound leads, inbound leads just means people see your
23:18
activity, they see what you're forming online and they like
23:21
you, they start reaching out to you.
23:23
That is inbound. Inbound is let me try and hook
23:26
things up so that people will be chasing after me and ought to
23:29
chase after them. That is inbound.
23:31
So, yeah, so that's one example of compounding.
23:35
So be consistent. Everything, everything would
23:38
have compound. So if you blog consistently or
23:41
you podcast consistently for year one and therefore year 2,
23:45
you decide to just disappear and take a mental health rest or
23:49
social media, what do they call is this social media approach or
23:52
be social media vacation or something?
23:54
Then you disappear for two years and you try and resurrect it.
23:57
I mean, what do you think the person who stayed consistent and
24:00
who didn't miss year two or three, by the time you come
24:02
back, the guy will be ahead of you.
24:04
That's just how it works. And that's what I meant in the
24:06
episode where Hamza was asking if I was going to make a podcast
24:10
episode about the power of consistency in business.
24:12
So that's what I was talking about.
24:13
So lots of us were podcasting then back in the day.
24:16
People have given up, people have jackpot, people have, you
24:19
know, all sorts of things. But the small rewards that I'm
24:22
reaping now, the rewards are not big, by the way.
24:24
So don't look at me as if I'm bawling as if I'm on a
24:26
millionaire lifestyle. So I'm not there yet.
24:28
But The thing is the small benefits that I'm seeing now,
24:32
the clientele that is coming through or the comments that you
24:36
people are making or the small, small accolades that I'm
24:39
receiving every now and then is because I stayed consistent.
24:42
So The thing is compounding. And let's look at nothing listen
24:47
like asking for referrals. If you're asking for referrals
24:50
steady every month you're asking 3, three people, 4-4 people at
24:54
the end of the year calculated. No, every month you're asking
24:58
four people, 4 * 7 is what, 48? If at the end of the year you've
25:03
asked 48 people for referrals, I mean, check it now.
25:06
You don't think you'll be able to close at least 5 from that.
25:09
And the thing continues to compound and to compound and to
25:12
compound the more, the longer you do it.
25:14
So whatever it is that you are doing to try and get the revenue
25:18
engine going in your business, just keep doing it.
25:22
The thing compounds on itself over time.
25:26
It's just that when we're talking about being consistent
25:30
and compounding and things like that, we really don't see the
25:33
kind of growth we want. Everybody wants, you know, the
25:35
big, you know the big thing like I would like to receive 500 M
25:39
now, as in cash money. Let somebody transfer that thing
25:42
to my account. We'll be nice to receive that
25:43
500 M now. But The thing is, you know, all
25:47
these quick wins, big, big wins. As I said, all these big wins,
25:51
you know, they come once in a while, but if you want this
25:54
thing to be steady, OK, let's say like Oprah Winfrey now ahead
25:58
with this, her network, with the number of subscribers that she
26:01
receives and the number of shows that she produces on her
26:07
network, because she's one of those people that is collecting,
26:10
you know, and Oprah, now anything she's doing is
26:12
1,000,000 millions. There's not hundreds of
26:13
thousands. So now she's at that level where
26:16
every year is 1,000,000 millions, 1,000,000.
26:19
But that's because she's being consistent.
26:21
But in the early days, it definitely was not like that.
26:24
It definitely was not like that. I've not read her biography, but
26:26
I'll be surprised if there was a point where maybe she even
26:29
needed to borrow money itself just to keep the show on the
26:31
air. I'll be surprised.
26:33
Well, at least in Nigeria, there's some people who have had
26:35
to pull those kind moves. Like you start off your TV show,
26:40
you know, you have faith in the thing.
26:41
It does seem to be working. You're trying to make ends meet.
26:43
So these things happen. But we continue consistently.
26:48
Let's see what else? Any compounding?
26:53
Yeah, that's what I was talking about, compounding.
26:55
So how do you achieve consistently consistency now
26:58
it's very simple. From a sales and business
26:59
development perspective, this is what we do.
27:01
First off, we have to define what the core activities is.
27:05
That's the reason why I was talking about prospecting, going
27:07
out and looking for customers because from a sales and
27:09
business development perspective, that is the first
27:11
thing that we try to be consistent in.
27:13
How do you drum up your business?
27:14
Do you drum up business by going to shout on the middle of the
27:16
road? Then go and make sure you shout
27:18
every day. Do you draw more business by
27:20
running Instagram ads? Then make sure you're running
27:22
your Instagram ads periodically. Or do you like to draw more
27:28
business by attending bridal shows, business exhibitions like
27:31
I used to do? Then make sure you attend as
27:34
many of these exhibitions as you can.
27:36
So first of all, define the core activity.
27:39
What is it that you need for success in this your business?
27:42
And then define your define your cadence.
27:44
You can start off with something that is comfortable with for
27:48
you. After a while you figure out
27:49
what it is that is necessary. So in the beginning you can say,
27:52
you know what I have 50K. Let me just run some Instagram
27:56
ads now just to test. Let me see how far.
27:59
And then from there you will now know whether OK, that 50K was
28:02
too much or that 50K was too small.
28:04
And how many am I going to be doing over?
28:09
How quickly am I going to be to be doing it?
28:12
See, but you'd be surprised anyway, like I said, it's all
28:16
about optimization. Like there's somebody that I'm
28:19
currently working with, she's part of the Orange Corners
28:23
International. So Orange Corners, Orange
28:26
Corners Innovation Fund Abby or CIFI think that is like the
28:33
they're like an NGO from the Kingdom of Denmark.
28:35
Abby, Norway, Abby, Denmark, sorry, forgive me.
28:38
You go from that part of the world.
28:39
I beg Novix. You know, I'm not very I'm not
28:42
widely travelled, so I make those kind of mistakes, so I
28:48
know. So she's with the OCIF, they
28:49
have a program with the Faith Foundation.
28:52
And for her, the last campaign that she did, the last Instagram
28:55
advertisement that she ran, she's in the fashion space.
28:59
What she paid was 20 K. Well, by the time she was done
29:02
with all the deals and everything for the month and she
29:06
ran the numbers, you know, the money that came in actually was
29:08
2 M And I was like, man, that's, that's, that's a good haul.
29:11
It's a very, very good haul to drop 20K.
29:14
And what comes back at the end of the day is to him.
29:16
And she was happy. She said that that's good.
29:18
That has house rent and school fees sorted.
29:20
And I was like, OK, that's cool. It's pretty, pretty good.
29:22
Very good. So define what's the core
29:27
activity? Whatever it is, just be doing
29:29
it. Pick your cadence.
29:31
So like in her own case, she ran for one month.
29:33
This was the result. So now she knows that, OK, she
29:35
can't be running every month, or if the results are sweet and if
29:40
she can execute very well, who knows, maybe be running every
29:44
two, two weeks. So it depends on you.
29:47
So define the activity, then define your cadence.
29:50
This is what I'm going to do. This is how often I'm going to
29:52
be doing it. So if you own business, you grow
29:55
it by standing in the middle of the street and then shouting
29:57
through a megaphone. Then decide, will I be shouting
30:00
every day or every Monday or Monday, Wednesday and Friday?
30:03
So just decide and then go and do the next.
30:06
Traditionally in sales and business development, we block
30:08
time. So in sales, we know that
30:11
nothing will happen unless you block time.
30:12
So you have to decide that you know what, Monday from 8:00 to
30:17
12:00, every first and third Monday, this is what we're going
30:20
to be doing. Just block the time and just do
30:24
it. If you don't block the time, I
30:25
say, you know what, it'll be nice for this thing to happen
30:28
every two weeks. Yes, it is nice for this thing
30:30
to happen every two weeks. But The thing is, you didn't sit
30:32
down with your friend, you didn't sit down with your
30:35
business partner, you didn't sit down with your spouse, and you
30:37
did not agree on a specific date.
30:40
You just said like around that kind of two weeks would be nice,
30:42
forget it, nothing will happen. But if you say the first and
30:47
third Monday of every month from 7:30 to 12:00 in the afternoon,
30:52
nice specific block it out. Put it on your calendar, put it
30:57
on your diary, set notification on your phone so that we don't
31:01
forget. And then go ahead and then do
31:05
it, but set that time aside. Then let's see what else.
31:09
Then of course you need to measure.
31:13
Excuse me. So you also need to measure and
31:16
yeah, measure and adjust. OK, I've already spoken about
31:19
spoken about that. So you, whatever it is that
31:21
you're doing, you, you keep checking, you know, I've done
31:24
this, what is the results? I've done this.
31:25
What is the results? If I want more people, should I
31:27
change this? OK, people are too much, what
31:29
should I cut down or too many people are coming in and it's
31:32
not enough quality people, what should I change?
31:35
So continue to measure, continue to adjust things.
31:39
That's what I was talking about consistent tracking earlier.
31:42
So I'll say that's just pretty much from a sales and business
31:44
development perspective about the power of consistency in
31:48
business and I can help you move your business forward.
31:52
So the summer of what I've been trying to say is quick wins are
31:54
good, Quick wins are very, very good.
31:57
When good money comes in a in a big quantity is very, very nice.
32:01
But The thing is it's not practical.
32:02
It's not feasible and it doesn't happen every day.
32:04
It doesn't happen every month. So you need to do something that
32:07
will make sure that something good will be coming in, will be
32:11
coming, will be coming in. When the quick wins come is
32:13
good, we'll praise God, but let the one be like there's
32:16
something consistent, something steady that is coming.
32:19
So consistent activity actually is the best way to make sure
32:22
that you have sure results over time.
32:27
It's honestly, it's consistent activity is just, it's the best.
32:33
The problem is just that it takes, it takes a long time for
32:37
consistent activity to compound. Like early on in the consulting
32:40
business, you know, or how people know me.
32:42
How people know me. Yeah, that was a concern.
32:44
But I've kept doing the things that I used to do, you know, the
32:47
public speaking, the public speaking engagements, whether
32:51
I'm paid or whether it's free, because you know, there's some
32:53
of those ones that I spoke for free, maybe not lying, if I may
32:57
be honest with you. The first meeting when I did was
32:59
totally free. They didn't give me shishi.
33:03
Well, although it was not speed and shots, speed and did it in
33:06
partnership with someone else. So was the other people that
33:08
happy? They didn't give me shishi.
33:10
And I found out from one of my friends, Benga, he's a lawyer
33:14
and he also did some speaking for Smith and he said how come
33:17
they didn't give you anything? He said the one I went for the
33:20
gave me 500. In my mind I was thinking what
33:22
the hell, they gave you 500 K? They didn't give me anything,
33:26
right? Anyway, so these things happen,
33:29
but keep on at it. And then now it's to the stage
33:32
where two or three times a week I receive messages from people
33:36
saying I love the podcast, listen to the show.
33:39
What do you do? Can you solve this kind of
33:40
problem? You know, blah, blah, blah.
33:42
So, you know, the things are coming in.
33:44
It doesn't mean I get business every single week, but I'm
33:46
saying now I'm getting inquiries every single week, getting the
33:51
kinds of clients that I like every single month or every
33:54
other month, but shy. It's making, it's making
33:58
progress. So yeah, small, small, small, 01
34:03
word though. OK, you know what?
34:05
OK, I'll make that another episode.
34:06
I want to talk about diversifying because in my
34:10
photography days, that's one thing I didn't do very well
34:13
because I was good at bridal shows.
34:15
I only did bridal shows, I did not focus on the Instagram game
34:20
and you know, other stuff that we could have done.
34:22
And we'll talk about diversification later on, but
34:24
for now, just learn to be consistent in what it is that
34:28
you do if you pick the right kind of activities.
34:31
And yeah, you should be fine. All right, so that's all for
34:35
today. Remember, if you'd love to
34:37
connect, call, SMS or WhatsApp me on 0806466 2140.
34:43
Thank you for your time and attention.
34:44
I'll catch you next time. Same place in your headphones
34:47
and in your speakers or rather or in your speakers.
34:50
All right, I'll catch you guys.