Latest / Closing Sales in Nigeria - Sales For The Nigerian Business Person: The Sales and Marketing Blueprint / Stop Chasing, Start Advancing: The Power of Follow-Through in Sales (Part 2) -
Transcript
- 0:01Sorry, I've been away for a while.
- 0:03Today on the podcast, we're going to continue with how to
- 0:06follow up on a contact. Now, for those of you who have
- 0:10been listening to the podcast for a while, you already know
- 0:13that we're not supposed to be saying follow up.
- 0:15And it's not just a matter of semantics.
- 0:17It's not just a matter of words, but it's a matter of principle.
- 0:20Because when you follow up, you're stuck in pointless
- 0:24chasing behaviour, sending potential customers messages,
- 0:28people you're hoping will transfer money or send a
- 0:31deposit, or you know, we'll go and look for a site visit or
- 0:34whatever. So we're engaging pointless
- 0:36activity, message after e-mail, after phone call attempt, after
- 0:40office visits and on and on and on.
- 0:43Or we're not making any progress.
- 0:44That's a follow up. Rather what we should be
- 0:47thinking about is follow through.
- 0:48Because follow through is much more focused and it means that
- 0:51we were able to secure advancements.
- 0:53And advancement is when you and a potential customer have a
- 0:56meeting and you guys jointly agree to what the next step is
- 1:02going to be. That is what improves the odds,
- 1:05improves the chances that somebody's going to take your
- 1:08next phone call, read your next e-mail, reply to your next
- 1:12WhatsApp message or open the door when you come for your next
- 1:16office office visit. So we should not be thinking
- 1:20follow up. We should not be engaging in
- 1:22follow up. The philosophy, the proper
- 1:24practice if you want to grow your business is we should
- 1:27always be following through so that when you call someone up,
- 1:30you're trying to follow through on the thing that we discussed
- 1:34the last time. So boss, the last time we saw,
- 1:37we agreed was supposed to do so, so, so, and so.
- 1:39So how far are you done with that so that we can move this
- 1:43thing forward? Or Madam, the last time we
- 1:46spoke, we agreed that I would do so, so, so, and so.
- 1:49So the reason why I'm calling you today is I want to give you
- 1:52updates on what I've done and how we can move this thing
- 1:55forward. So that is the philosophy.
- 1:58It's not just semantics. So this is what we've been doing
- 2:01for I think 2 episodes so far. The last episode was a Part 1 on
- 2:07how to follow up with the contacts.
- 2:08That was the question and I was asked by Abdul with show trucks.
- 2:13He's our brother who is based in China, you know, Niger big boys,
- 2:18you know, those of you who are doing business overseas.
- 2:21So he's based in China and what he sells are tractor heads,
- 2:26truck heads, tractor heads, truck beds, you know, all these
- 2:29kinds of things, you know, big, big equipment.
- 2:31So excuse me. So I anyway here.
- 2:37So that's the context that we're going to be using to answer the
- 2:40question. So the last podcast episode we
- 2:43did a Part 1 where I spoke a lot about speed to lead and the idea
- 2:48behind speed to lead is this Oh, sorry, forgive me.
- 2:51It just occurred to me that in the last episode I didn't define
- 2:55a lead, who a lead is because this is your first time
- 2:57listening like yes, speed to lead.
- 2:59You're wondering lead like bowl like what does that mean?
- 3:03So when we say lead, we mean LE OK.
- 3:07When we say lead, that is LEAD and a lead is someone.
- 3:14How will I put it now? OK, A lead is someone that
- 3:17you're talking to, you suspect that he might have a need for a
- 3:21product or service and the guy or the girl, the babe, the
- 3:25woman, the client, potential client or customer has given
- 3:28some indication that they are interested.
- 3:30Now that person is a lead. That is somebody they are
- 3:33supposed to in the Nigerian sense, follow up on.
- 3:37But actually you know, we know now that our eyes have been
- 3:40opened, we know we're supposed to follow through on.
- 3:42So that is a lead. You think they might be
- 3:45interested in your product or service, They have given some
- 3:48indication that they are interested.
- 3:50OK, good. That person is the lead.
- 3:52So this is how it works in the beginning.
- 3:55You're chasing everybody as everybody shine our prospects.
- 3:59You're chasing anybody who looks as if this person might be
- 4:02interested. This person might not be
- 4:03interested. Then you collect some contact
- 4:06details, you collect the person's address or you get a
- 4:07phone number or you get an e-mail address or whatever.
- 4:10At that stage, the person is just the contact.
- 4:13Contact just means I have some information about somebody.
- 4:16That person is just to contact. Then as you begin the process
- 4:20now, begin the chase, begin the toast.
- 4:23You don't figure out that oh, OK, this person might be
- 4:25interested. Now this person is a lead.
- 4:29Looks like the conversation is getting focused now.
- 4:33So that's who a lead is. So in the last episode I spoke
- 4:38about speed to lead. Speed to lead just means we need
- 4:40to move quick and we have a lead on our hands because there's
- 4:44some statistics that show that 78% of people basically are just
- 4:48going to buy from the people who responded the first time.
- 4:53And let's say, what was the other one that if you respond
- 4:57within 5 minutes, you stand a 20% chance, 21 percent chance of
- 5:02making the final cut as per you'll be the final group of
- 5:04vendors that the person wants to select.
- 5:07So in other words, as soon as, excuse me, as soon as someone
- 5:10does something to show that they might be interested in your
- 5:14product or your service, respond swiftly.
- 5:16Be quick. So that was the first thing that
- 5:19we looked at in the last episode with Abdul on how to follow up
- 5:25or rather follow through. If the person shows that they're
- 5:28interested, then my guy or my babe, my girl, move quickly,
- 5:33move quickly, move quickly, move quickly, speed.
- 5:36Name of the game. Now, the other best practices
- 5:40that we should be looking forward to.
- 5:41Oh, sorry, I didn't introduce myself.
- 5:43My name is Tavish Shuman Ayede. I am the host of the podcast.
- 5:47And if these kinds of things are your jam, how do you make more
- 5:50money? How do you find more customers?
- 5:52You have a potential customer or client on your hands.
- 5:55How do you carry on the conversation?
- 5:57We're currently talking? How do I get them to pay a
- 5:59deposit? If these are the kinds of things
- 6:02you're concerned about, then subscribe to the podcast on
- 6:05Spotify, YouTube, Apple, or any player of your choice.
- 6:11And if you want to connect with me, then call, send me a text
- 6:15message or WhatsApp message on 08064662140.
- 6:23OK, so last podcast episode now we looked at speed lead and
- 6:26there are some other best practices that we ought to
- 6:28consider. Now when you're having a
- 6:31conversation with someone, remember we're talking about
- 6:34Abdul now, who is in the trucking business.
- 6:36The first thing you're supposed to do because remember, speed to
- 6:40bleed, the person has done something.
- 6:42It looks as if they are interested.
- 6:44The very first thing you should do is confirm the interest.
- 6:47Too many of you, somebody shows up, you now just assume that OK,
- 6:52there's something here, there's business here, there's a lead
- 6:55here and they now start going high pressure.
- 6:57Like relax. Remember when you are in a
- 7:01complex hill scenario like Abdul because he's selling tractor
- 7:04heads you don't like, be cool. You're a consultant to be a
- 7:09professional here, and doctors don't chase anybody.
- 7:12So it's the same thing. You're not supposed to chase
- 7:14anybody. It's a simple conversation.
- 7:16If we're going forward, you know, both of us will agree that
- 7:19we're moving forward and then that's it.
- 7:21If we're not moving forward, we won't, we won't die on top of
- 7:25this matter. So someone reaches out.
- 7:29Best practices just confirm interest.
- 7:32Oh, thank you very much for reaching out.
- 7:34Let's say somebody sends you Adm or the person makes a phone
- 7:36call. Thank you very much for reaching
- 7:38out. And then simple questions just
- 7:41to try and figure out whether they're interested or not.
- 7:43Now, one of the things that I like telling people to do, yes,
- 7:48I know people are afraid of it, but you know, try it works.
- 7:51You can't say simple question like in this case now where
- 7:54somebody's asking about tractor head or tractor bed or truck
- 7:57head. The thing is, there are some
- 7:59people who are really, really interested because something has
- 8:02happened and they need a tractor head now, Now, now, now, now, if
- 8:06they don't buy this tractor head now, they're going to miss on
- 8:09contract deadlines. If they miss on contract
- 8:12deadlines, then the minister for FCT we K is not going to pay
- 8:15their balance. So there's some people who reach
- 8:17out to you now because they need this your thing now.
- 8:22In fact, they need it like day before yesterday.
- 8:25If time travel wasn't was was an option, then the other people
- 8:29who are looking at your tractor heads, looking at your whatever
- 8:32it is that you sell. And The thing is, just curious,
- 8:37somebody can be calling you, checking you out, checking out
- 8:40your stuff. But The thing is, my wife was
- 8:42saying maybe we should enter government contracting.
- 8:45I was thinking, you know what, let me just do small research.
- 8:50After all, I'm going to take cooperative loan in like 8
- 8:54months, nine months from work and he's up to like 50 M.
- 8:58Let me see whether I can enter this tractor business.
- 9:02Now, two of those people who have come in contact with you,
- 9:05we are not supposed to weigh them the same.
- 9:07Their value is not the same. But by the way, when I say their
- 9:10value, I mean, you know, from an economic point of view, because
- 9:13everybody is a child of God and we're all equal in status and
- 9:17equal in dignity. However, for the purpose of
- 9:20business, if I sell tractor heads, the person who needs a
- 9:24tractor head now, now, now, now because they want to finish
- 9:26their contract so that we can can pay them their balance.
- 9:29I will pay more attention to that person then the other
- 9:32person who is well, maybe me and my wife who are thinking we have
- 9:37registered the company. I'm expecting some money, that
- 9:40kind of person. Yes, I'll talk to that person,
- 9:43but we will de prioritize that conversation.
- 9:45Oh, by the way, sorry, forgive me, I forgot to mention that
- 9:47making today's recording at home.
- 9:49Then the midterms are here, so the kids are home.
- 9:53So that's all the noise in the background then plus the
- 9:55cleaning lady is going to come later on.
- 9:57So there might be more noise later on, but still I tried to
- 10:01deliver the best kind of value possible on this podcast.
- 10:04So far, I haven't met anybody who told me that guy, your
- 10:09podcast is rubbish. You know, you're not giving
- 10:10enough value. So just stay here.
- 10:13Let's let's continue. Don't worry, the kids will grow
- 10:15up and leave the house one day. And then when that happens, the
- 10:17podcast will not become quiet and professional.
- 10:20And then of course, you know, one day I'll have enough money
- 10:23and I'll just kick up one room, move into a 5 bedroom, kick up
- 10:26the place, you know, soundproof it, you know, microphone, you
- 10:28know, Guiche bound every, every. Then the podcast will now be
- 10:32high quality. But for now, I'm still doing my
- 10:35best to deliver as much value as I can.
- 10:39Where was I? So basically what I'm trying to
- 10:41say is when it comes to business, everybody's created
- 10:44equal. It's not, it's like
- 10:45relationships, you know you're a babe and you know four or five
- 10:48guys chasing you. OK, let me say two or three
- 10:51because you know most babes don't have like 4 or five.
- 10:54So if you have four or five guys chasing you, you are a star.
- 10:57Enjoy, bask in the attention. So let's say 2 guys are chasing
- 11:03you. Now one person is full of
- 11:06himself. He's just talking anyhow.
- 11:07Anyhow, it's as if the guy is not focused, you will still have
- 11:12conversations with him because well you know he's a human being
- 11:15so entertain him. Doesn't be talking another
- 11:18person. Seems laser clear and focused.
- 11:20Like babe, since year one I've been seeing you.
- 11:24God has told me that you are my wife.
- 11:27Of all the girls I've seen in this IMSU campus since I came
- 11:30here, non compares to you. I like you because of your this
- 11:34your this. Your dad and I value your drive.
- 11:37I value your ambition. I will do anything to have the
- 11:40privilege of being with you on this journey and God willing, if
- 11:45I can become your husband, I don't mind.
- 11:48So those are two guys. Option A, the guy is anyhow
- 11:52anyhow is full of himself. You know, he's not saying
- 11:54anything. Option 2, this guy is laser
- 11:56focused. 2 of them equally fine, two of them equally smart.
- 12:02All I'm saying is pay more attention to option B because
- 12:07it's looking like there's it's looking like there's progress
- 12:10there. So that's what I'm saying.
- 12:11Same as in business as in relationships.
- 12:14All right, where was I? Oh, by the way, my mom said the
- 12:18last time Momsy was here, is it anybody that is listening to me
- 12:21for romantic advice that the person is doomed.
- 12:23So let me just let you guys know that that's what my momsy said
- 12:26because I was talking about hooking up my sister-in-law,
- 12:28because you know, she don't they near 30 and she never married.
- 12:32So I was saying I hook up, I hook up.
- 12:34So Momsy said that anybody who is relying on me for romantic
- 12:37advice that that person is dead, dead on arrival.
- 12:40So, yeah, just letting you know, where was I?
- 12:44So now everybody is created equal.
- 12:47I mean, we're all created equal, but not all leads are equal.
- 12:50So when you ask these early questions now, like in this
- 12:54case, everything is OK to ask the person.
- 12:56OK, Thank you very much for reaching out.
- 12:58Oh, so you're interested in the MDZ 12,000?
- 13:01Well, fine choice, fine choice. Yeah, lots of our customers in
- 13:04Nigeria and China buy this particular model.
- 13:06But I hope you don't mind me asking, are you doing research
- 13:09on models right now or do you have a problem with your fleet?
- 13:13And then keep quiet and hear what the person has to say.
- 13:17I repeat, you're just asking the person, look, are you doing
- 13:20research? I mean, there's a problem with
- 13:22your fleet. We're trying to confirm
- 13:25interest. Some people will say, hi, I'm in
- 13:29the government contracting space.
- 13:31They awarded us the contract for Abuja Nasawa Expressway.
- 13:37The job is 75% done. I have 7 tractor heads on the
- 13:42road and 6 1/2 of them have backed up so I really need 7
- 13:51heads right now. Tractor heads right now.
- 13:54What's your best price by the way?
- 13:56Sorry those of you in in construction.
- 13:58I know I'm using the wrong terms, whatever, but just flow
- 14:00with me here. Just ignore the fact that I'm
- 14:04getting the facts wrong, but just follow the spirit of the
- 14:06conversation. Now that kind of person,
- 14:10obviously, remember we're talking about following through,
- 14:14following up chasing people. Can you see that?
- 14:19This is the kind of person you ought to be spending time with.
- 14:23This person has a job currently on ground.
- 14:26He needs 7 heads. Six of them have packed up.
- 14:29The remaining 1/2 of it is kind of remaining and the guy is
- 14:33saying, I beg, I need 7 heads. Give me your best price.
- 14:37This is the kind of person you should be spending time with
- 14:41when you ask a question like this.
- 14:43Are you doing research or do you have a problem with your fleet?
- 14:47Because you know, are you having, do you have a problem
- 14:50with your fleet? You know, it's, it's kind of
- 14:53specific, but it's broad enough and it makes a number of
- 14:56assumptions. It assumes that the person needs
- 14:58more than one. It assumes that the person has a
- 15:01fleet. It assumes that the person is
- 15:03doing this thing for business. In answering that question, the
- 15:06person has to clarify a number of issues.
- 15:09Yes, they have a fleet. No, they don't have a fleet.
- 15:11The size of the fleet, what they need the fleet for, you know,
- 15:14stuff like that. So in asking this kind of
- 15:17general question in the beginning, just to confirm
- 15:20interest, you'll be able to sort through.
- 15:23You'll be able to figure out who is a Walker Pass.
- 15:25Walker Pass is just, you know, like your friend is making a
- 15:30movie or something. And then they need people in the
- 15:32restaurant. So they just say get a big, you
- 15:34know, I need you. And you just show up.
- 15:36You sit down in the background and you know, just to take up
- 15:40space in a film. So those are people who are walk
- 15:42up us. And of course walk up us is also
- 15:45back to the girl analogy. So you're an IMSU, you're a
- 15:48correct babe. Like 8 boys are toasting you,
- 15:52premium boys are toasting you, 8 of them.
- 15:55Then this guy comes around and he's a church rat and he's a
- 16:00pastor's boy and he doesn't know what's up and he's a Jew boy and
- 16:08he's not exactly a dance, but he's not as if you know he has
- 16:11nothing going for him. And then the guy has the
- 16:16infantry to come and try and toast you, you who are the
- 16:19finest baby in himsu. You look at that person in your
- 16:22mind you're saying I beg worker pass.
- 16:25So he's also the same in business when he has these kinds
- 16:29of general question. In this case, are you doing
- 16:32research? Do I have a problem with your
- 16:33with your fleet, you'll be able to figure out who is a worker
- 16:36pass who is just passing through because they're curious or who
- 16:40should I be telling worker pass because there actually are some
- 16:44people that you should be telling that that.
- 16:46OK, so you know what, based on the conversation we've had so
- 16:49far, I doubt that I have anything on hand that's going to
- 16:52be able to sort out your problem.
- 16:57Or you know, I don't have, you know, what it takes to sort you
- 17:01out. So how about I refer you to
- 17:02someone else or I recommend that you try someone else.
- 17:05I recommend you go to so, so, so as in there are some people that
- 17:09you as the business person should be telling them, walk up
- 17:11us, get behind me, away from me, please.
- 17:19For those of us who live in Lagos and Abuja, we already know
- 17:22about those market women. If you go and you're pricing too
- 17:24much, the market woman would tell you herself, she will say
- 17:27look, since money, you know the price, you have not bought
- 17:30anything. If you're not serious, I beg,
- 17:33come on from my shop, leave my presence.
- 17:36You are blocking my market, You are blocking my progress.
- 17:41I don't know about the eastern, other parts of Niger, maybe like
- 17:44Kano or something. But yeah, in Lagos and in Abuja,
- 17:46yeah, there are people like that.
- 17:48Duma will tell you straight that look, you're here, you're
- 17:50wasting my time. Walk up has let somebody who
- 17:54wants to buy, let the person come and open market.
- 17:58Oh, OK. So I'll be back.
- 17:59I think cleaning ladies. Here, let me get the door.
- 18:04OK, I'm back. Excuse me.
- 18:07Yeah. So as the clean ladies just came
- 18:09through and the kids. Oh, yeah.
- 18:12So the clean lady, basically. And she had started.
- 18:15And you just then I realized I hadn't had breakfast.
- 18:18And then the kids didn't finish their car, so I just polished it
- 18:20off. Oh, by the way, for those of you
- 18:23who don't have kids, these are some of the wonderful things
- 18:25that you look forward to. You become a Dozman, basically.
- 18:28So, you know, food that they don't eat.
- 18:30I mean, what are you going to do, throw it away, especially in
- 18:32this economy. So you end up eating lots of
- 18:36leftovers. So if you're a foodie like I am,
- 18:39then of course it's not a problem eating extra a Cara, you
- 18:42know, extra meat. But of course you trust these
- 18:44kids. If it's pizza, nothing will
- 18:46remain. If it's ever, they will remain.
- 18:49If it's a Cara, they will remain.
- 18:51If it's rice and beans, they will remain.
- 18:54If it's pizza, they will finish it.
- 18:56Kids misplaced priorities. All right, where was I?
- 19:01So before she showed up? Now what I was saying basically
- 19:04was this. We need to ask these general
- 19:07questions in the beginning because we're trying to confirm
- 19:09interest. We're trying to sift through
- 19:11people. Some people are work up us.
- 19:14We should let them walk on by. There are some people who are
- 19:17work up us. They are not using their own
- 19:20initiative to work up us to move.
- 19:23You should now politely send them on their way.
- 19:29When people ask me questions like this, how do I follow up
- 19:31with someone? I've noticed that there's an
- 19:33underlying assumption that we should be following up on as
- 19:37many people as possible. So we're just going to keep
- 19:39using the word follow up for the rest of the podcast, even though
- 19:42we should be saying follow through because I don't want to
- 19:44confuse those who are listening to the podcast for the first
- 19:46time. Don't hear follow up, don't hear
- 19:47follow through. You know their mind will be
- 19:49switching back and forth. So let me just use follow up.
- 19:52So there's this assumption that I should be following without
- 19:55met as many people as possible. The answer is no, you're not
- 19:59supposed to follow up with as many people as possible.
- 20:02Your resources are limited, your time is limited, your money is
- 20:06limited, your attention is limited.
- 20:10Yes, it does cost money to follow up with people.
- 20:12I'll be owned by credit. You won't buy data, you won't
- 20:15buy fuel to drive to office. So your time, your money, your
- 20:19resources, your attention is limited.
- 20:22And too many people are thinking, how many people can I
- 20:24be following up on? No, From a sales and business
- 20:29development perspective, we're trying to make sure that we're
- 20:32only spending time with the right people.
- 20:33So the question in fact is not how people should I be
- 20:36following, following up on the question is how many people
- 20:39should I be disqualifying? Should I be removing?
- 20:45It's not everybody who says what's up, are you free?
- 20:48How much do you cost? It's not everybody that you
- 20:50should be answering. Look, we'll be polite, of
- 20:53course, we'll answer everybody. But from asking simple questions
- 20:56like this, are you doing research or is there a problem
- 20:58with your fleet? You should be able to tell some
- 21:00people to politely walk up as there's some people that you
- 21:03say, oh, you know what? Since you and your wife are
- 21:06still at the research stage, I currently don't have any
- 21:09resources that can educate you. However, there's this guy on
- 21:14YouTube. The guy is based out of China
- 21:18and in fact, he's even one of the guys that I buy my equipment
- 21:20from. How about you subscribe to his
- 21:22YouTube channel, keep watching it and there you will get better
- 21:28education. You'll be able to be educated on
- 21:31what kinds of trucks are in the market, what kind of trucks are
- 21:34needed for this industry, for that industry.
- 21:36How do you maintain a truck? How do you do this?
- 21:38How do you do that? So here are two or three other
- 21:41resources you can be paying attention to.
- 21:44Then when you are ready to pull the trigger, then you can give
- 21:49me a call. That kind of person, you can see
- 21:52that you have politely work at them, pass like you have
- 21:56politely move them along so that they are not on your plate now,
- 22:00because it's not as if they're going to be able to buy anything
- 22:03anytime soon. Of course, you still keep the
- 22:06phone number. You still put them on your
- 22:08Google Calendar so that maybe in two months or three months time
- 22:11we can say, ah, chief, how are you doing?
- 22:14So it's me now, the guy that you spoke to Tractor heads, the 1
- 22:17based in China. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's me.
- 22:19The one that sent you that YouTube channel.
- 22:21So how far now you've been watching the YouTube channel?
- 22:23What do you think? The YouTube channel?
- 22:24What do you think now? OK, you're learning some stuff.
- 22:27Cool. So like what kind of heads do
- 22:30you think you're going to be needing for your business?
- 22:32Yeah, that's a good model. That's a good model.
- 22:34And even this one goes off. None goes off.
- 22:36OK, so how far would the timeline?
- 22:38It's still the same IB you're still waiting for that, your
- 22:40cooperative loan to come through.
- 22:42OK, so how far would the loan now HOD said is is next year OK?
- 22:49Like middle of next year I'll be OK.
- 22:51All right. No Allah, no problem.
- 22:53Anyways, Christmas self don't reach.
- 22:55So bro happy Christmas, huh? I know all I grip Madam.
- 22:59I'll be in touch next year. But that's it.
- 23:02You now put another reminder. You schedule the guy for another
- 23:04two months and the phone call is basically the same.
- 23:07How you doing? What's research looking like?
- 23:11Ready to pull the trigger anytime soon.
- 23:13You know, that kind of general, general thing.
- 23:16Then when he looks as if, OK, the money has come through,
- 23:19they've registered the company, the guys even secured one
- 23:21contract and now you can start putting some pressure on that
- 23:25one. So it's not how many people
- 23:29should I be chasing? We also should be thinking, who
- 23:31should I be removing from my funnel?
- 23:33Who should I be disqualifying? Who should I be moving them
- 23:37along? So we should be asking these
- 23:39kind of general questions. Walk up us let's get rid of
- 23:42them. Some people are just curious for
- 23:44people who are just curious, it's OK have the conversation,
- 23:48educate them, maybe see what their interest is.
- 23:51If you have an e-mail list, put them there.
- 23:53Let them be receiving e-mail from you once in a once in a
- 23:56while. If you have YouTube channel
- 23:58where you put educational content, you know, send them
- 24:00there, you know, so you can stay top of mind and just like the
- 24:03first example, you know, be reaching out to them every once
- 24:05in a while. That's how you deal with people
- 24:07who are just curious. Then for the person who says
- 24:11like I said in my first example, I have a contract.
- 24:16We need 77 trucks. 6 of my trucks are broken down.
- 24:22The remaining 1 is in half condition so I need 6.
- 24:26I need 7 heads now, 7 tractor heads, 7 truck heads.
- 24:30What is your best price? That is the person I start
- 24:32spending time with. So just in case I haven't made
- 24:37myself clear, let me repeat it again.
- 24:39The reason why we're asking ourselves or not ourselves any
- 24:42contact who comes across these general questions to confirm
- 24:46interest is so that you, you the business owner, I mean you who
- 24:51is listening to this podcast right now, you assertively
- 24:56determine who to spend time with.
- 24:59Don't wait for people to decide that you're worthy and then, you
- 25:04know, you're now making do like, oh, people are taking me
- 25:08seriously. Oh, I'm so glad.
- 25:09No, no, no, you are in the driver's seat.
- 25:12You are the one who will determine who am I going to be
- 25:15talking to? Who am I not going to talk to?
- 25:19So that is also a best practice when people reach out, confirm
- 25:23interest. Too many of you are going
- 25:25straight into OK, how many heads do you need?
- 25:295 or 60? Too expensive.
- 25:32OK, I can give you 10% discount like it's it's too quick.
- 25:35Take it easy. Are they interested at first?
- 25:37Do we have someone serious? Are they just curious or they
- 25:41say what Capas? So that's one of the best
- 25:49practices. Oh, OK, we've done 25 minutes.
- 25:52OK, let me just talk about 1-1 more and then we'll wrap this
- 25:55up. This will be like Part 2 because
- 25:57the digest is still plenty. Then for those of you who've
- 26:01been listening to the podcast, you know that I keep talking
- 26:03about qualification and discovery.
- 26:06Qualification and discovery. Qualification and discovery is
- 26:10the part of the business relationship, the part of the,
- 26:13the, how will I put it now, the part of the business
- 26:16relationship where you're asking questions, questions about the
- 26:19person and questions about the problem.
- 26:22The reason why we do qualification and discovery is
- 26:25because we need to know exactly what they need, exactly who they
- 26:29are, exactly what the problem is.
- 26:30That way we can make the right recommendation.
- 26:33And believe you me, lots of business people have made that
- 26:36mistake, mistake before. If you haven't made it where you
- 26:39recommend something to someone, the recommendation actually is
- 26:41not a bad recommendation, but it is not fit for the purpose that
- 26:45the person needs it for. And so because of that, they
- 26:50take a perfectly fine truck, but because it's now mismatched,
- 26:55it's a terrible working experience for them because it's
- 26:58not ideal in that kind of situation.
- 27:00Unfortunately, this is just human nature.
- 27:02They will be angry with you. They won't say I made the wrong
- 27:07choice, I bought the wrong choice.
- 27:09They will say Abdul sold me the wrong truck.
- 27:14This is part of the reason why we do qualification and
- 27:16discovery so that any recommendation you make, you can
- 27:18make it with your full chest, full confidence.
- 27:22Remember what I said about being a doctor?
- 27:23That's the reason why the doctor asks you all these questions.
- 27:26When did you come here last? What is your family history?
- 27:29How tall is your father? How short is your mother?
- 27:31Did your father have heart issues?
- 27:33What about your son? Does your son have eye issues?
- 27:35Which village did you come from? Like all kinds of sometimes I
- 27:39want to like why are you asking me this kind of question?
- 27:44Remember 1 doctor, he told my wife.
- 27:46He said oh please Madam, can you go and look for nursing Kitchi
- 27:51and you know some, some, some, some and my wife went out and
- 27:54then next thing his wife closed the door.
- 27:57The doctor was like what a guy where I live with me, How many?
- 28:00I said how many what he said you know what I'm asking all like
- 28:04how many? I laughed.
- 28:05I said no, no, no, no, no, I don't play like that it's just
- 28:08my wife. He said.
- 28:08He said yes OK. Then my wife now came back
- 28:10inside and my wife said sorry, nothing.
- 28:14She said she doesn't know about this disease so it's OK, no
- 28:16problem, no problem. Then my wife sat down and I
- 28:18realized this doctor is a sharp guy.
- 28:21He said my wife on the wild goose chase so that he could ask
- 28:23me some kind questions so that I won't give the kind of answer
- 28:27that will now crucify me when we go home.
- 28:29So I thought this doctor is a correct guy, Correct guy.
- 28:33So anyway, at the time was asking, I didn't understand like
- 28:38why is he asking me this kind of question?
- 28:39But then later on I did some small research and I realized
- 28:42that oh, OK, somebody's romantic history can actually have some
- 28:45implications on 1234 medical conditions.
- 28:49So it's like that where medical doctors will ask all kinds of
- 28:52questions. Now, the reason why the doctor
- 28:53was asking that question was so that any drug he recommends for
- 28:57me, he can recommend it with his full chest, full confidence that
- 29:01if this guy take this tablet or if he goes undergoes this
- 29:04procedure, this problem will be solved one time.
- 29:08That is the purpose of qualification and discovery.
- 29:12Know the person, know their circumstance, know the history,
- 29:15what do they need this thing for?
- 29:16What is the problem? So that when you make a
- 29:19recommendation, it is a good recommendation.
- 29:21Bam, full authority. All right, so now we're going to
- 29:29talk about qualification in a bit.
- 29:33So apart from this general question, figure out if they're
- 29:38interested. You have to delve deep small.
- 29:42Eventually we're going to have asking them some questions
- 29:44around work routes, ROUTES. Another one of those words.
- 29:51I know Mumsy keeps trying to correct me, but I'm never sure
- 29:53which is rich. So some people say routes, some
- 29:55people say routes. I don't know if it's American,
- 29:58American versus UK, English, or one of those things.
- 30:01So work route, work routes, work routes.
- 30:05You know, where are you going to be driving this truck?
- 30:08Somebody who's going to be driving the truck through the
- 30:10Sahara Desert might need some kind trucks, some kind tires,
- 30:14and somebody who might be driving through the jungles of
- 30:17the Niger Delta might need a different set of tires and a
- 30:19different kind of engine. Where this?
- 30:22Person going to be driving this? Truck you need to ask before you
- 30:25tell the person. Go and buy the MDZ 5000 because
- 30:28there's somebody who come and meet you and say give me MDZ
- 30:305000. That's the truck with the rain.
- 30:32Everybody's using it and then. You ask them, there's some
- 30:36questions. They say one or two.
- 30:38They say, ah Bros, if you buy this MDZ 5000, you say it's
- 30:42Niger Delta. You want to drive me through?
- 30:44Niger Delta is a swampy area. You cannot.
- 30:47Drive this kind of truck. Through that kind of region.
- 30:52You enter into some serious. Blazing, you cannot use the MDZ
- 30:555000. Who is the person that
- 30:57recommended it? Oh, OK, what do they do?
- 30:59And that's why they recommended it for you because they are
- 31:02based in the North and they're driving from Nasarawa to Abuja
- 31:06or from Kaduna to Kaduna. And the nature of the terrain is
- 31:11different, the nature of the road is different.
- 31:13So you need to ask these kinds of questions because remember,
- 31:16somebody shows up and says give me MDZ 5000.
- 31:19And he said no problem, I have MDZ 5000.
- 31:22It is 35,000,000. You guys price.
- 31:25He now buys from you 33.3. He now goes back, he uses it in
- 31:29the Niger Delta. The truck goes and hangs or
- 31:32something happens. He won't say I bought the wrong
- 31:35truck. He would say Abdul sold me the
- 31:38wrong truck. So you ask work routes, driving
- 31:42routes, what are they using it for?
- 31:44What's the? Problem with the guy's current.
- 31:45Fleet, you ask? You also need to have those
- 31:51money. Conversations.
- 31:54OK, is this one going to be an outright?
- 31:56Purchase, why are you considering financing?
- 31:59Why are we looking at the lease? Ask these also questions that
- 32:02let you know whether somebody is serious or not.
- 32:05Because the person who is just doing research, you say, ah,
- 32:08which one is finance? What does leasing mean?
- 32:10You now know, oh, it's a jam bite.
- 32:12I'm talking to this is a first timer.
- 32:14This is not a serial somebody. This is not somebody we don't do
- 32:17for the business. This is why you ask these
- 32:19questions. You also have the conversation
- 32:23where you give a budget range. Oh yeah, the MDZ 5000.
- 32:26Yeah, that's pretty good. We have a couple of models, you
- 32:29know, 2025 model day. We also have the model of 1998.
- 32:33You know, some people look at it just depending on price, you
- 32:36know, So it all depends. But either way, all those ranges
- 32:40go between 35 million to 55 M. Is this beyond what you are
- 32:47willing to? Invest.
- 32:48What do you think about that? Are we good to go for that
- 32:52amount? You know, through a budget, give
- 32:54a range. From the way they stammer or.
- 32:58From the way they stagger or from the way they nod their
- 33:01head, you will know whether you're on the right track.
- 33:06Whether this person has realistic.
- 33:08Price expectations whether this person knows the industry or
- 33:13whether this. Person is a jam.
- 33:15Bite, you see. Why all these questions are
- 33:17important? You also need to try and figure
- 33:20out the the person's authority. Does the person have the ability
- 33:27or the permission to go ahead and make that purchase?
- 33:31Because if it has not happened to you before, I can assure you
- 33:33it will happen to you soon, where you will spend time
- 33:36talking to somebody good time. Only to realize when you now say
- 33:41why are transferred me, the money person will now say, oh
- 33:44actually somebody else is supposed to transfer the money,
- 33:47not me. It has happened to me and I will
- 33:51never forget it. We were talking, we were getting
- 33:54along well. This is my wedding photography
- 33:56days. By getting on good, the family
- 34:00had Pepe. I knew that it was going to be a
- 34:03good, good, good, good, good job.
- 34:07So as we're talking now, back in my novice days, I now said, OK,
- 34:12we'll need a deposit. So, so, so, so amount.
- 34:16And then the girl said those dreaded words.
- 34:18She said, OK, I will tell my sister.
- 34:19I say, eh, you. Tell your I say yeah.
- 34:23I will tell my sister, I said you're not, the bride said no,
- 34:25no, no, no. I'm the youngest sister of the
- 34:27bride. I thought to myself, ah, I am
- 34:29finished because you know, my mom is always telling me stop
- 34:34counting chickens before they hatch.
- 34:36Because me, I'm in the habit of if I'm talking to somebody now
- 34:38and looks as if, you know, 4 million will come from this one,
- 34:41in my mind, I'm already counting 4 million.
- 34:43Four million. Let me fix my car, let me do
- 34:45this, let me do this. Let me buy this, let me buy
- 34:48this. So my mom was always told me,
- 34:49look, stop counting your chickens before they hatch.
- 34:51Wait when the money is in your hand, plan before money comes,
- 34:55don't plan. So when she said I would tell my
- 34:58sister, I say he won't be because in my mind I had already
- 35:01started, you know, the money. I was really thinking where the
- 35:04money will go, the problems that I will fix.
- 35:08I will never forget the episode so.
- 35:10If it hasn't happened to you before anyway, I pray it doesn't
- 35:13happen to you. Be sharp.
- 35:15Ask these kinds of questions so you don't end up wasting time
- 35:19building a relationship with someone.
- 35:21But that person does not have the ability, does not have the
- 35:23power to take the decision. For those of you who've been
- 35:27listening to the podcast for a while, you already know the
- 35:29story of the lawyer. I was talking at an event.
- 35:33I wasn't sure if I was making sense, but one lawyer said, no,
- 35:36you're making sense. This is what happened to me.
- 35:38Then she gave her testimony. She said that she was talking
- 35:42with the wife. Madam, it was a matter of
- 35:44conveyance of land, you know, buy and sell her property.
- 35:48The husband was abroad, but the land belongs to the woman.
- 35:51So the lawyer in full confidence continued, even started doing
- 35:55one or two things, assuming that this is a done deal.
- 35:57The husband now came back from abroad and as husband and wife
- 36:01do, they talked and then as I do, I said sorry my husband is
- 36:04back and he said we're not going ahead again.
- 36:08Some of you will be angry. With the.
- 36:11Woman some of. You lawyers will say, Madam, is
- 36:14it not your property? Can't you make a decision by
- 36:16yourself, please? You know this is about sales.
- 36:19We're not supposed to challenge, you know, what husband and wife
- 36:22have discussed like, you know, in that bedroom.
- 36:24Just leave them. The fault is not woman's fault.
- 36:29The. Fault is your own, and that's
- 36:31what I was trying to get that audience to understand, And I'm
- 36:34glad the lawyer understood it. The lawyer realized that it was
- 36:37her own fault. She should have asked the
- 36:40question. OK, Madam, I understand the
- 36:42scope. I'm glad we've agreed on the
- 36:44mount. But typically in this
- 36:46environment, for these kinds of landed matters, usually Madam
- 36:52Wife either discusses with the husband or maybe the head of the
- 36:57family. Is there some other person whose
- 36:59input we need before we move forward?
- 37:01As a lawyer, you ask that kind of thing.
- 37:04You don't just assume that the person presenting in front of me
- 37:06is the person who has the authority.
- 37:08We style, we ask questions. I'll figure out the authority
- 37:12structure. Who am I talking to?
- 37:17What is the limit there of of the?
- 37:19Authority. What can they decide on?
- 37:21What can they not decide on? So it's the same thing with
- 37:23Abdul Truck Sales. Oh, are you the owner of the
- 37:26company? Are you the manager of the
- 37:30company? Oh, thank you very much for
- 37:34reaching out. Oh, blah, blah, blah.
- 37:35Oh, sorry to hear about your six trucks and this and this and
- 37:38that. Yeah, sure, we can sort you out.
- 37:39Oh, by the way, just curious, are you the procurement agent?
- 37:44You ask whether the person. Is the owner.
- 37:47The manager, the procurement manager, or the service
- 37:51technician. It will determine a lot about
- 37:53how you follow up, but. Please remember we're not
- 37:57following. Up again, it's follow through we
- 37:58should be saying. So whether the person is the
- 38:01owner, the manager, the procurement agent or the chief
- 38:05mechanic or the service engineer or whatever will determine the
- 38:10steps you're going to follow. So you should be asking
- 38:12questions to know yourself. Who are you talking to?
- 38:15Very important. Well, please don't be
- 38:18interrogating people, but we'll talk about that again.
- 38:21Well, when we're rounding up this episode, then we also need
- 38:25to figure out timelines. When?
- 38:27Do you need this truck on the? Road you sell trucks.
- 38:30It's a question you have to ask. When do you need this truck on
- 38:32the road? Because sometimes you have the
- 38:35truck, you have the price, but the person needs it on the road
- 38:38next week. Or join China and this thing.
- 38:42Is going to be transported. By ship.
- 38:43So it's going to be what, 3 weeks?
- 38:454 weeks in that case you really can't help the person is up with
- 38:51you to be honest. You know I would have loved to,
- 38:55but we just can't. You need this truck next week
- 38:57Wednesday to be honest, you know next week Wednesday, even if you
- 39:01can't take I take the money, the truck will still be on the high
- 39:04sea. So Brooke, I can't help you.
- 39:06Or can you work with a two week delay, you ask?
- 39:11Instead of collecting somebody's money.
- 39:13Then they're now blowing up your phone saying how far I needed
- 39:16this thing for Wednesday. Today is Monday and you say, ah
- 39:20Bros is still on the high sea. We don't do business that way
- 39:25because remember repeat business and.
- 39:28Referrals. That is what builds a healthy
- 39:30business. People coming back again and
- 39:32again and again. That's what builds a healthy
- 39:34business. Then referrals, people giving
- 39:36out your phone number to other people.
- 39:38You say call Abdul, he's my guy. That is what builds the
- 39:42business. These kinds of negative.
- 39:45Experiences will stop people from buying again, or will stop
- 39:49people from sending or giving other people your number.
- 39:55So these are some simple questions.
- 39:56That we can ask, all right. So it's 40 minutes, so let me
- 40:00bring. This episode to a close, let's
- 40:01just say this Part 2, because there's still some orgies we
- 40:03need to just on this matter. So let's say that, OK, there
- 40:06definitely will be a Part 3. We'll do that tomorrow.
- 40:08So, so far, how to follow up with the contact?
- 40:11We've discussed a couple of things now #1 we should not be
- 40:14following up. It's pointless.
- 40:15We should be following through. Get your advancements, let your
- 40:18follow through activities be focused, agree on what people
- 40:21are supposed to do next. And we've talked about some best
- 40:24practices #1 speed to lead. Once somebody has given you sign
- 40:28that they might be interested, move quickly then.
- 40:33When we start the conversation. Confirm that they are indeed
- 40:36interested because not everybody who, you know, one real estate
- 40:39professional was saying I took somebody to site, blah, blah,
- 40:41blah. Since then, I've not heard from
- 40:43the guy. It's not everybody who comes to
- 40:44the site that is interested. So excuse me.
- 40:48And it's something that you babes know.
- 40:49It's not everybody that approaches you that is
- 40:51interested. Some people approach and like,
- 40:52whoa, this guy is feeling me. But then the next two or three
- 40:55weeks play out and you're like, no, this guy is a confused human
- 40:58being. I don't even know what he wants.
- 40:59It happens in business and in relationships.
- 41:03Some people seem hot hot, hot, hot hot hot hot like they want
- 41:05to buy a distractor head now and then.
- 41:08As the days go on. It's like this person's self is
- 41:10confused. I don't even know.
- 41:12By the way, it's not your business to know, yours is.
- 41:14Have your sales process, execute your sales process, continue on
- 41:18it. Leave all those personal
- 41:19motivations like this. There's no no room for
- 41:21heartbreak here at all. So confirm that somebody's.
- 41:26Interested. You confirm that they're
- 41:28interested by asking them some simple questions after thanking
- 41:32them for reaching out. General questions depending on
- 41:36your own business. For me, if I was selling trucks,
- 41:38I would start with something like that.
- 41:40Or are you just doing research or do you have a problem with
- 41:42your fleet? Before you can remove that
- 41:43research part, you can just ask the person, So what is the
- 41:46problem with your fleet question mark?
- 41:48Leave it there. In answering that question, the
- 41:51person has to now say a couple of things that he has a fleet or
- 41:54he doesn't have or that the fleet is 50 trucks, but they
- 41:58need 10 or you know, any which way.
- 42:01So in fact, remove that research part.
- 42:03So thank you very much for reaching out.
- 42:05Show trucks, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
- 42:07So what's the problem with your fleet now?
- 42:11How can I help you today? Anyway, you'll figure out the
- 42:13question. You know, these things take some
- 42:14practice and then plus ChatGPT, Google Gemini, you can do some
- 42:19research about good qualification and discovery
- 42:22questions to be asking your particular sector.
- 42:24So use these tools, do the research, come up with some nice
- 42:28ideas, but remember, execute. Then once somebody's interested.
- 42:34We're now going to ask some more questions to try and figure more
- 42:39things out about them and their need.
- 42:42So in this case for Abdul, since he's selling trucks, we're going
- 42:45to have to figure out their routes or their work habits or
- 42:49the problem with the the fleet, whether this is going to be.
- 42:52Then we'll also discuss budget issues, give them a range to be
- 42:56sure we're talking to the right person.
- 42:58Because if you say 25 to 30 and when the person says, ah, Bros,
- 43:01no vex, I was hoping we'd get this done for 20.
- 43:03You don't know that this is an unserious somebody.
- 43:06And then what you do is you move them along.
- 43:10Keep them in your emailing list, you know, let them subscribe to
- 43:14your YouTube channel and give them some helpful resources to
- 43:16educate them. Why should I move this person
- 43:18along? It's not going to work.
- 43:21And then? Once you need to figure out.
- 43:23Their authority, is this the person who can pay me, or is
- 43:30this person the houseboy or the house girl who is only going to
- 43:33gather information and then gather the information up to
- 43:35Madam. By the way, those situations are
- 43:37hard, just so you know. So if anybody reaches.
- 43:43Out to Abdul, but the person is just the let's say the person is
- 43:45just the chief service technician for the company.
- 43:49It's not as if the deal can't close or will be hard because
- 43:51service technician will report to his manager.
- 43:55The manager will report to you know by the time reports to
- 43:59report to report to you know a guest to orga.
- 44:01As in that is plenty links in the chain, but it can be done.
- 44:06Anyway, so when you're. Deciding how am I going to
- 44:09follow through with someone personalized in front of me
- 44:11today. These are some of the
- 44:12considerations that we should be looking at now.
- 44:14Hopefully tomorrow we should be able to wrap up with a Part 3.
- 44:18So thank you very much for listening to the podcast.
- 44:20If you getting, if you're getting value from this or even
- 44:24if you. Just find it mildly.
- 44:25Entertaining Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube, Apple or any
- 44:29player of your choice. Also, please share the show with
- 44:33others who might get a value from it as well all the people
- 44:37who you think might find it entertaining.
- 44:39And then if you have any questions, comments, queries or
- 44:42collaborations. Or you just want to connect?
- 44:46Call, send me a text message or a WhatsApp message on
- 44:4908064662140. So that's it, that's all.
- 44:55Thank you for listening. I'll catch you some other time.