Latest / Closing Sales in Nigeria - Sales For The Nigerian Business Person: The Sales and Marketing Blueprint / Dealing with Nigeria’s Toughest Customers

Transcript

Dealing with Nigeria’s Toughest Customers · Closing Sales in Nigeria - Sales For The Nigerian Business Person: The Sales and Marketing Blueprint

• 0:00
  Learning how to deal with or manage difficult customers is
• 0:04
  not something that a lot of us learn or are taught by our
• 0:09
  peers, by our bosses or any. You get the point.
• 0:15
  If you've worked in Nigeria before, if you're trying to run
• 0:17
  a business in Nigeria before, nobody has given you the 411.
• 0:20
  Nobody has taught you what to do when you are face to face with a
• 0:24
  difficult customer. And it's a question that I got
• 0:27
  recently from Sunday based in Abuja.
• 0:30
  So I thought that that would be an interesting and very
• 0:33
  practical question to tackle over here on the podcast today.
• 0:37
  Now, before we get into the meat of the matter, if you'd like to
• 0:39
  connect with me just like Sunday did, then you can call, send me
• 0:43
  a text message or WhatsApp message on 08064662140.
• 0:50
  Also, if you're interested in the 15 minute sale audit or
• 0:53
  business process audit, then you can WhatsApp me on same number
• 0:57
  08064662140. If you'd like to join my
• 1:02
  WhatsApp channel, send me a WhatsApp message on the same
• 1:05
  number and I will hook you up. OK, so difficult customers.
• 1:12
  Now, there are different ways of looking at it, but from a sales
• 1:16
  perspective, what we like to do is take the view that one of the
• 1:22
  reasons why we're having problems with our customers and
• 1:27
  we have difficult customers is because there are some unspoken
• 1:33
  expectations or there are some unclear obligations that came up
• 1:39
  during the conversation. And that's the reason why
• 1:42
  there's a quarrel right now, because most people are
• 1:44
  reasonable people and most people don't go around wanting
• 1:47
  to cause ruckus, wanting to fight, wanting to quarrel all
• 1:51
  the time. Now, there are some people like
• 1:53
  that, There are some rude customers like that, people who
• 1:56
  lack home training, you know, as we say in the part of the world,
• 2:00
  but we're not talking about those people yet.
• 2:03
  So I'm trying to look at this from three angles.
• 2:06
  Number one, I'm trying to look at problems that arise because
• 2:08
  expectations were unclear, obligations were unclear #2 I'm
• 2:14
  trying to look at situations where we're dealing with cheap
• 2:16
  customers because that's also another opportunity where we're
• 2:19
  going to have some difficulty and run into how I put it, some
• 2:23
  quarrel, some issues when you're dealing with cheap customers.
• 2:26
  Then the final way we're going to look at is when we're dealing
• 2:30
  with rude customers, as in people who just have no home
• 2:32
  training, like from the day they were born, that's just how they
• 2:36
  are their problem. Anywhere you see their problem,
• 2:38
  you see them in church problem, in the market problem, in the
• 2:41
  office problem, they're just some people like that, that
• 2:44
  every time you see them problem. So those are the three
• 2:48
  perspectives that we are going to look at.
• 2:51
  Now, let's start off with this whole thing about expectations
• 2:53
  and obligations. Now, when we're in a
• 2:55
  conversation with a potential customer, before we collect the
• 2:58
  money, we are going to make a couple of promises.
• 3:01
  Sometimes we make the promise and we have one thing in mind,
• 3:05
  but the customer hears it and the person has another thing in
• 3:08
  mind. For instance, let's talk about
• 3:10
  timing. You say I will deliver at the
• 3:12
  end of the month. In your own mind, end of the
• 3:15
  month is March 31st, which makes sense.
• 3:18
  But The thing is, there are some people who are some Nigerians
• 3:21
  who are kind of forward thinking.
• 3:23
  So end of the month means anything from the week of the
• 3:27
  23rd. So, a quarrel is going to arise
• 3:31
  at the end of the day because we were not clear about what end of
• 3:34
  the month means. You promised the end of the
• 3:36
  month and you intend to deliver on the 31st of March.
• 3:40
  The person had end of month, sorry end of the month, but they
• 3:44
  started making plans based on the week of the 23rd of March.
• 3:51
  So these are situations where 2 normal, otherwise ordinary,
• 3:55
  polite, decent, well behaved people enter into a business
• 4:00
  situation and a serious, big, serious busy from the jump
• 4:05
  because we both were not clear about what we mean on key terms.
• 4:10
  So lots of times what we have to do, the business owner, the
• 4:13
  salesperson is we have to become really skilled at trying to
• 4:16
  figure out what do people want, what do people need.
• 4:23
  We also have to become very clear at being able to explain
• 4:27
  that this is what I mean and this is what I do not mean.
• 4:33
  We need to be clear on what it is we are promising, on what it
• 4:37
  is that we're going to deliver. So we have to become very good
• 4:40
  at managing expectations and at setting expectations.
• 4:44
  So if you can manage and set expectations, then the number of
• 4:47
  difficult customers that you're going to deal with will reduce
• 4:50
  drastically. So when you're having
• 4:52
  conversations with people, you need to be able to figure out
• 4:54
  who am I talking to? Who is this customer?
• 4:56
  What does this person want? What does this person need?
• 5:00
  Because when we know exactly what it is that they want or
• 5:03
  need, we're going to make promises.
• 5:05
  We're going to make recommendations that are
• 5:07
  absolutely how I put it on, on the nose that are going to be
• 5:13
  exactly the thing that they want.
• 5:15
  Because sometimes you don't have a clear sense of what it is that
• 5:18
  they need. And we make a recommendation,
• 5:21
  our honest recommendation about the product or the service that
• 5:25
  is going to solve this problem. But because we were unclear
• 5:27
  about what they really want, what they really need, we make
• 5:30
  the wrong recommendation. At the end of the day, there's a
• 5:32
  quarrel, and the reason why there's a quarrel is because 2
• 5:36
  otherwise decent, polite, respectable, wonderful, loving
• 5:41
  human beings just didn't have a clear understanding of what they
• 5:44
  want or what they need is. We also need to be able to know
• 5:48
  what the critical points are in this whole transaction, the core
• 5:52
  delivery points, because there's some things that are absolutely
• 5:55
  essential to our customer, but we don't tease that out.
• 5:58
  So let's look at this whole delivery thing.
• 6:01
  You say end of the month, you mean March 31st.
• 6:03
  The person hears end of the month.
• 6:05
  They really need it for March 28th and so they think, OK, it's
• 6:08
  OK, I can start hassling the guy on March 23rd.
• 6:12
  If we had asked about timelines to figure out what the critical
• 6:19
  points are, the core delivery points are would have figured
• 6:22
  out that the person actually needs XYZ to be installed at
• 6:27
  this particular date so that they can derive a particular
• 6:30
  benefit. We need to ask, we also need to
• 6:34
  know the whole point of asking who they are, what it is that
• 6:38
  they want and what it is that they need is because we're going
• 6:40
  to be able to do some internal work.
• 6:43
  Because for some of us, we need to clearly assess do we have the
• 6:47
  inventory? Do we have the products in
• 6:49
  store? Do we have the skill sets to be
• 6:52
  able to make a happy customer out of this person.
• 6:55
  That is the reason why we need to ask these questions.
• 6:58
  So at the end of the day, we'll deliver something that will call
• 7:01
  Square for us and then we'll be angry because we've done our
• 7:05
  best and we think that the customer is unappreciative and
• 7:09
  then the customer on the other hand thinks that you're a fraud.
• 7:13
  These things are happening just because we're not able to
• 7:16
  determine the expectations, determine the obligations.
• 7:21
  And that's the reason why there's a quarrel.
• 7:24
  Now for those of us who are self-employed people, business
• 7:26
  owners, I keep saying we have to take the initiative.
• 7:29
  We have to keep getting feedback every single step of the process
• 7:34
  and to make sure that we're on the same page.
• 7:36
  So you should be asking people. So Madam, we've agreed that
• 7:40
  delivery is going to be end of the month.
• 7:41
  You're OK with that, right? Madam says yes also.
• 7:44
  OK, Good. So is there anybody who is going
• 7:47
  to be at home March 31st to take delivery then?
• 7:51
  Madam was March 31st. Did you not say end of the
• 7:54
  month? I said no, Madam, end of the
• 7:56
  month is March 31st. He said Ibago actually need this
• 7:59
  thing to be installed on March 28th.
• 8:04
  You see, because you're trying to get feedback to figure out if
• 8:08
  we're on the same page, we have come up with a potential
• 8:11
  problem. Now remember what I said about
• 8:13
  inventory and skill set? You now have to make the hard
• 8:17
  choice. Talk to yourself, talk to your
• 8:19
  business partners. Can we install this thing by the
• 8:23
  28th of March? We can't be bold enough to tell
• 8:27
  Madam no or descend us someplace else.
• 8:30
  If you say we would try is 5050, then I'm telling you very, very.
• 8:36
  It is 5050. In fact, it's 100%.
• 8:38
  You end up quarreling with Madam at the end of the day because
• 8:42
  you will rush to get this job done.
• 8:44
  You forget one or two things, you know, because it's normal
• 8:46
  human beings big mistake when we're under pressure.
• 8:50
  So we need to be clear and all these things.
• 8:53
  One of the reasons why a lot of us are having difficult
• 8:56
  customers in our businesses in Nigeria is because we have not
• 9:00
  been good at managing expectations, figuring out
• 9:05
  obligations. We have not been clear about
• 9:07
  what it is that we are promising, what it is that we're
• 9:10
  delivering, how we're going to deliver, when we're going to
• 9:12
  deliver or whether we make a recommendation and proposal that
• 9:17
  is adequate for what the customer or the client actually
• 9:21
  needs. If we want to reduce this whole
• 9:26
  thing of difficult customers, we need to be come very clear at
• 9:30
  understanding expectations, managing expectations, setting
• 9:34
  expectations. When you do that, the number of
• 9:37
  queries that you have on your customers will go down.
• 9:41
  Then dealing with cheap customers.
• 9:48
  You know that in Nigeria currently at the time of making
• 9:51
  this podcast, we're going through a period of
• 9:52
  hyperinflation. People have poor earning
• 9:55
  capacity. And of course, you know what
• 9:57
  they say now any man is broke, he needs to assert himself.
• 10:00
  You understand? You know, when a customer, let
• 10:03
  me just put it, when they're broke, they need to assert
• 10:04
  themselves. Nobody wants to be taken for a
• 10:06
  ride. So that's one of the reasons why
• 10:10
  cheap customers are going to be powder care golf dispute.
• 10:15
  They don't have much money. The money that they have is
• 10:17
  valuable to them, so they're going to put their eye on that
• 10:21
  money severely. If you don't live up to it,
• 10:25
  there's going to be serious quarrel.
• 10:27
  When you're dealing with customers who have money and
• 10:29
  they pay you 125 K for something, it's not, it's not
• 10:32
  that much. It's not a big deal.
• 10:35
  While you're dealing with somebody who is cheap, any
• 10:38
  capacity is not much. The person has dropped 125 K
• 10:41
  that might be 80% of their salary, so you know, or 50% of
• 10:45
  their salary as far as they're concerned, like or more this
• 10:49
  thing had better work, better work, correct?
• 10:53
  And like I don't anticipate any hiccups for all this kind of
• 10:58
  this, this kind of big money that I'm dropping.
• 11:02
  So of course, we have to become very good to clarify what the
• 11:06
  expectations are, to manage expectations.
• 11:10
  We have to do it hawkishly when we're dealing with cheap
• 11:12
  customers. When I say hawkishly, I mean
• 11:14
  like shy your eye beyond the ball, don't lose control, don't
• 11:19
  slack at all. You are dealing with a cheap
• 11:24
  customer. You can't slack.
• 11:25
  You need to be very clear about these things.
• 11:27
  Then another thing, when you're dealing with cheap customers,
• 11:30
  don't ask for referrals from them.
• 11:32
  Don't pursue referrals from them because people usually refer
• 11:35
  clients that are like them. If you're dealing with a cheap
• 11:38
  person, you have escaped, there was no problem.
• 11:41
  Don't go back to that person and ask that oh do you know any
• 11:43
  other person who is interested in XYZ?
• 11:45
  Don't secure referrals from them.
• 11:47
  You will get more cheap customers and there'll be plenty
• 11:52
  of opportunity for quarrel again.
• 11:57
  So when we're starting off, know how know how we'll deal with
• 12:01
  cheap customers because in the beginning every single money is
• 12:03
  good money, no problem. But after you've gained some
• 12:05
  traction, after you've diversified your client base,
• 12:11
  try and avoid these cheap customers.
• 12:13
  I'm not saying that. I'm not saying they're not
• 12:15
  worthy of good service. We're not saying that if you
• 12:18
  don't have the mind to be dealing with these kinds of
• 12:20
  people, then just walk on by. Let them be.
• 12:25
  Don't get referral from them. Now let's look at the final
• 12:28
  class, which is rude customers. Sorry, 1 moment.
• 12:33
  OK, sorry about that. I had to take a phone call.
• 12:35
  You know, I make all my podcast recordings on the phone.
• 12:38
  OK, so now the final class of people, rude customers, people
• 12:41
  who lack home training. I was just saying this part of
• 12:43
  the world. Now in dealing with these
• 12:46
  people, you need to understand one thing.
• 12:48
  If you're not a rude person yourself, if you don't lack home
• 12:50
  training yourself, don't argue with these people because you
• 12:54
  can't win, all right? These people who are rude, who
• 12:58
  are doubts, who are, you know, that's just how they are.
• 13:02
  They were born that way. They've been raised at home that
• 13:04
  way. And these kinds of
• 13:06
  confrontations give them joy. If you're not like them, do not
• 13:09
  engage. You will not win.
• 13:12
  Even if you win, it will not be fun for you.
• 13:14
  So this is what you do #1 you empathize.
• 13:18
  Oh, Mr. Sasso, Madam, so, so, so sorry that you feel that way.
• 13:21
  I understand perfectly. Yeah.
• 13:23
  If this thing happened to me, I will feel the same way.
• 13:26
  Empathize. It takes the steam out of the
• 13:27
  situation. Now for anybody who is watching,
• 13:30
  if you're trying to empathize and they'll continue to be on
• 13:32
  the aggressive, you know, that is the kind of thing that people
• 13:35
  who will say abroad like relax. Now I was going yourself.
• 13:38
  You do the para, like relax, Madam is trying to solve this
• 13:41
  thing. Like why are you, you know, so
• 13:44
  empathize because you can't win. If you like fighting and no
• 13:48
  problem, engage. If it gives you joy, engage.
• 13:50
  What if you're like me, you know, a troublesome person, then
• 13:54
  just empathize. Oh, I'm terribly sorry.
• 13:56
  If this sort of thing happened to me, I wouldn't be happy about
• 13:59
  it as well. Then you accept responsibility.
• 14:02
  When I say accept responsibility, I do not mean
• 14:05
  accept blame. Accepting blame is when you say
• 14:09
  it is my fault. Accepting responsibility is
• 14:11
  just. Sir, Madam, I understand what
• 14:14
  has happened. So this is what I'm going to do.
• 14:17
  I'm going to take responsibility to make sure that we resolve
• 14:19
  this matter today or that we resolve this matter before the
• 14:22
  end of the week, before the end of the month, whatever.
• 14:24
  I'll do what was in my power to make sure that we resolve this
• 14:28
  so that at the end of the day, all of us are happy.
• 14:31
  So don't worry. I personally take
• 14:33
  responsibility. I'll do my best to make sure
• 14:35
  that this thing is solved. Then you slip into step three
• 14:38
  questions, Bros. Olga, Madam, to solve this
• 14:43
  problem, I need to ask you a few questions because I'm just
• 14:45
  trying to figure out exactly what it is that is going on.
• 14:49
  Is that OK? And then you go ahead and ask
• 14:51
  your questions. So in asking those questions,
• 14:58
  you're trying to figure out what the core issues are, where the
• 15:02
  problem arose. Because it is only when you
• 15:05
  figure out how the problem arose and what the core issues are,
• 15:08
  then you can move to Step 4, which is make a proposal that,
• 15:11
  OK, I figured out what's going on.
• 15:13
  This is what we're going to do to solve the problem.
• 15:15
  If you happen to work for somebody else, this is the point
• 15:17
  where if it's not satisfactory, you escalate to your line
• 15:20
  manager, you escalate to your business owner.
• 15:23
  Unfortunately, some people have to get involved in ADR.
• 15:26
  That is alternative dispute resolution.
• 15:28
  That's why you call some lawyers.
• 15:29
  You don't really go to court. You go to a multi door
• 15:31
  courthouse or you know, whatever you know your lawyers talk
• 15:34
  together washer you get outside parties and try and resolve the
• 15:37
  dispute. That is alternative dispute
• 15:38
  resolution. But for most cases, you'll find
• 15:40
  that empathizing, accepting responsibility, asking
• 15:44
  questions, and putting forward a new proposal should be enough to
• 15:46
  deal with most of most of these situations.
• 15:49
  But if you like to deal with these rude people and you like
• 15:51
  to fight and it gives you joy, then go ahead, fight with them.
• 15:54
  Enjoy. But summary dealing with
• 15:56
  difficult customers in Nigeria Number one, avoid cheap
• 16:00
  customers. OK, we've already spoken about
• 16:04
  how to deal with rude people by taking control of the situation.
• 16:10
  Then make sure that we understand and set expectations
• 16:14
  correctly and make sure that we're getting feedback at every
• 16:17
  single step of the process to be sure that you and the customer,
• 16:20
  you people understand yourself, you are moving like 5 or 6 so
• 16:23
  that there's no problem. So if we do that, hopefully
• 16:27
  dealing with difficulties situations or managing difficult
• 16:31
  customers should become a whole lot easier.
• 16:33
  So applying these principles can be tricky.
• 16:35
  So if you need me to look into your own particular
• 16:37
  circumstances, give me a call, send me a text message or a
• 16:40
  WhatsApp message on 08064662140. If you also want to try out the
• 16:47
  15 minute sales audit, WhatsApp me on 08064662140 to join my
• 16:54
  WhatsApp channel, send a message to the same number.
• 16:58
  So that's it today. If you've gotten value from the
• 17:00
  podcast, be sure to subscribe, like share on Spotify, YouTube,
• 17:05
  Apple, or any player of your choice.
• 17:07
  Let your friends and family members know that we have good
• 17:09
  quality podcasting. Sorry, I say podcasting good
• 17:12
  quality, you know, business programming in Asia.
• 17:15
  So that's it. Thanks for your time and
• 17:16
  attention. I'll catch you at the next
• 17:18
  episode.