Latest / Closing Sales in Nigeria - Sales For The Nigerian Business Person: The Sales and Marketing Blueprint / Unlock Business Growth: Leveraging Islamic Banking in Nigeria (No Faith Required!)

Transcript

Unlock Business Growth: Leveraging Islamic Banking in Nigeria (No Faith Required!) · Closing Sales in Nigeria - Sales For The Nigerian Business Person: The Sales and Marketing Blueprint

• 0:00
  Hello and welcome to the show. Taking today's recording at my
• 0:04
  desk and hopefully we're not going to have too many
• 0:06
  interruptions today. Now, this is your first time of
• 0:08
  listening to the podcast. The goal of this podcast is
• 0:11
  business education. So if you get any value from it
• 0:15
  by the time you're done, please share, promote, and talk about
• 0:17
  the podcast so that your friends and family members in Nigeria
• 0:20
  and abroad can benefit from the questions that we tackle.
• 0:24
  They can do that by subscribing on Spotify, YouTube, Apple or
• 0:27
  any player of their choice. And if you have any sales and
• 0:30
  marketing questions, then bring them to me.
• 0:32
  You can call, you can SMS, you can WhatsApp me on 08064662140.
• 0:40
  And some of you have been reaching out asking for
• 0:44
  finances, you know, funds, financial help.
• 0:47
  And unfortunately that is not the kind of service that I
• 0:50
  provide. You know, I'm not a bank and I'm
• 0:52
  not a charity, but I will try and make a list of those kinds
• 0:55
  of organisations so that those of you who are in dire straits
• 0:58
  to reach out, I should be able to send you some place else.
• 1:01
  But just to let you know, the reason why my phone number is
• 1:03
  here is not because I'm giving out arms.
• 1:05
  I'm not giving out charity. I'm not an NGO.
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  So if you have sales and marketing questions, you have a
• 1:11
  business. The business has some genuine
• 1:13
  problems that you need some help with.
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  Reach out to me. Let's see how we can make things
• 1:18
  happen now. Speaking of finance, since in
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  yesterday's episode we looked at different opportunities that are
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  available for people who want to start businesses in pharmacy or
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  grow a chemist business, you know, that sort of thing.
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  I mentioned something about Islamic banking or non interest
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  financing. So I just want to talk a little
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  bit more about that today because also on the radio show,
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  you know, there are people who call in and say, oh, you know
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  that non Islamic thing, you know, can you give me some more
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  information? So that's what we're going to do
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  briefly today. Now normally in the past I would
• 1:54
  call the name of banks and I think yesterday I said Sterling
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  Bank has non sorry non interest financing and Islamic finance.
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  They have a, a, what do I call department of the bank or they
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  offer those kinds of products and then Taj Bank and then
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  things like that. But going forward, I'm not going
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  to be calling specific bank names anymore.
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  I don't want to give the impression that I am advertising
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  for some banks, or that I am affiliated with some banks, or
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  that I am promoting some banks to the detriment of others.
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  So from now on, I will not be making any recommendations.
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  I don't want to seem to be partial.
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  I don't want to share any preference.
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  I don't want to give free advertising, and I don't want to
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  exercise on due influence because there's some of you who
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  take what I say pretty seriously.
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  So I don't want you guys to just run off to Sterling and Taj,
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  assuming that that's where the best options are, even though
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  there are other options available in other banks.
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  So the solution, just in case you are curious is use Google
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  and use ChatGPT. And here are some key terms that
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  you can use. You can search Nigerian banks,
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  you can search non interest banking, you can search Islamic
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  banking, You can also search low interest banking.
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  And you will see a bunch of options come up and then start
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  doing your research from there. So just run those Google search,
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  use Gemini, use chat, DPT, use whatever it is you like to do
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  and then see what comes up. But I will mention this though,
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  not all businesses can take advantage of non interest
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  financing or Islamic finance. The reason why I'm mentioning
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  that is because I mentioned in the last episode and I mentioned
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  in, you know, all the episodes that you don't have to be a
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  Muslim to take advantage of this kind of financing.
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  The reason why I bring this up is because sometimes when I'm on
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  the air on the radio show and somebody calls, you know, they
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  say, oh, I'm Pentecostal, I'm this, you know, blah, blah,
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  blah. You know, can I take advantage
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  of that kind of financing? And excuse me, you don't have to
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  be a Muslim to take advantage of that kind of finance.
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  So, but however, since the businesses that they finance are
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  determined by Sharia law or by Islamic ethical preferences,
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  there are certain kinds of businesses that non interest
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  financing or Islamic finance products, you know will not work
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  with. So that's what we're going to
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  explore today. So the first one, non interest
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  financing, obviously they are not going to invest in any
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  business that itself charges interest.
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  So if you do POS, I'm not sure, but I'm guessing POS business,
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  they will not cover banking business, you know, they will
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  not cover money lending. They will not cover, they will
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  not work with money lending because that's just the state of
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  Islamic jurisprudence at the moment that interest is bad.
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  They will not charge interest. So they are not going to work
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  with any business that is charging interest.
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  So POS banking, money lending, you cannot take advantage of non
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  interest financing. They will not give you money
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  because you are charging, sorry, charging interest.
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  Then there are some businesses that are there are certain
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  things that are Haram. And of course, while Lizos was
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  living in Nigeria, we know that Haram means forbidden.
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  So just in case you know, I'm wrong, if there are any Muslims
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  listening to this podcast, you know, just let me know.
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  But you know, just from watching normal everyday TV, you know,
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  you hear sometimes bandied about.
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  And so the opinion, Abby, no, not the opinion.
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  The impression that I get is that Haram means forbidding.
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  So if you are engaged in any businesses that are Haram or
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  forbidden under Islamic jurisprudence, you are not going
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  to be able to take advantage of non interest financing.
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  So if you do business in alcohol, you like boys to get
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  high, you like boys, you know, shallow and all of that, you
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  will not be able to take advantage of this kind of
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  financing. If you do business in pork, you
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  will not be able to take advantage of this kind of
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  financing. If you do gambling on sport
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  bets, you know sport bets, people bet Niger this bet that
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  bet you know discuss. You know that casino Nope, you
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  guys will not be able to take advantage of this kind of
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  financing. If you are engaged in adult
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  entertainment, whether you're an actor or whether you are a
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  distributor, you will not be able to take advantage of this
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  kind of financing. If you have one of those, you
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  know, gentlemen establishments in Abuja or in Lagos where you
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  know, ladies come and dance and you know, you understand you
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  will not be able to take advantage of this kind of
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  financing, then human trafficking, if you engage in
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  human trafficking, you'll be able to take advantage of this
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  kind of financing. Now, some of you will say human
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  trafficking as in from where, But you know, it's one of these
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  questions that is unsettled. Well, not yet settled as in it's
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  still up for debate. So even though people are not
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  going around selling slaves anymore, the, the coalition on
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  human trafficking and certain organisations like in the
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  Islamic faith and then even in the Catholic Church and
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  different kinds of charities, they say that human trafficking
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  is still alive and well. The reason why I'm bringing it
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  up is because there are some of you in Lagos in particular, or
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  you know, in that part of the world who have agencies in quote
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  where you go and you get young ladies from let's say Republic
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  of Benin or whatever. And then you bring them to Lagos
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  so that they can be housegirls for other people.
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  Or you go to your village and get other people and bring them
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  to the city, whether it's in Makudi or Kaduna or Abuja or
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  Port Arkad or whatever so that they can be housegirls for
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  people. So there are some organizations
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  today who say that even though, excuse me, slavery is no longer
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  with us in quote, that these sorts of practices that seem to
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  take advantage of people's poverty, people's illiteracy,
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  and, you know, stuff like that can amount to human trafficking.
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  So just letting you know that if you have one of those agencies,
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  because they're called agencies where you provide domestic help,
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  you know, blah, blah, blah, it might let me just let you.
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  I'm just letting you know that there are some organisations who
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  might consider what you do to be human trafficking.
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  I mean, of course, depending on how you conduct your business,
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  so just letting you know that it has a kind of agency in quote
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  that you run, you know, there might be some question mark on
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  whether you'll be able to take advantage of non interest and
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  Islamic financing. Then of course they are not
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  going to finance any business that involves speculation.
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  So those of you who are forex Bros or forex babes, nothing for
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  you. You can't take advantage of
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  that. Crypto brews, crypto babes, you
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  know nothing for you then let's see what else.
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  OK, so now that I've told you guys, the bad businesses, or
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  rather the businesses that they won't put their hand in, then
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  the question now becomes what kind of business will they now
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  put their hand in? And that is going to be
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  obviously good business as determined by Islamic
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  jurisprudence or Islamic finance or Islamic, you know, you get
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  the picture. So anybody who is involved in
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  trade on commerce, you're doing buying and selling.
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  You're buying and selling stationary, you have a shot.
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  You're buying and selling shrink on, you have a shot.
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  You're buying and selling computer accessories, you have a
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  shot. You're buying and selling air
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  conditioner, you have a shot. You know, is it trade and
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  commerce, You have a shot. Go in, ask to go into the bank,
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  ask to speak to the people in the sales and marketing
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  departments. Don't ask for customer service
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  because customer service is always crowded.
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  Any bank you enter, once you get to customer service section, I'm
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  talking about Nigerian banks, customer service is full because
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  people have complaints, they can't, don't want to do all
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  kinds of things. So go and ask to speak to sales
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  or marketing department. Those people, they are free,
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  they have time and they're looking for who to talk to.
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  They will be glad to talk to you to talk about the different
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  products that they have for Islamic finance and how we can
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  apply to your business. So are you a trader?
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  You're engaged in commerce, you're selling rice, you're
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  selling TV, you're selling solar panels, you're selling anything,
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  just you're selling tractor. Go, go and talk to them then.
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  If you're on the manufacturing business, they will get involved
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  in that. Let's see, what else?
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  Agricultural business. I was surprised.
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  There actually was a caller to the show who told me about
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  agriculture. I did some research and I've
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  seen that some of the banks have agricultural finance as well.
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  So you're involved in agriculture then?
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  Yeah, they will get involved in that.
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  Real estate leasing. Leasing is when you're lending
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  or borrowing something, Textile and fashion, education and
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  healthcare, you know, lots of businesses.
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  But what I would just say is if you did not hear your business
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  on this harem list, on the forbidding list, I think you
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  stand a chance. Just go ahead and remember when
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  you get to the bank, don't go to customer service.
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  I'm telling you now, customer service, UEQ and queue and
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  queue. You waste your time, ask to
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  speak to somebody in sales or marketing department, somebody
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  will come and see you. Sharp, sharp, 3 minutes, 5
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  minutes will come and see you and you have a very fruitful
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  conversation because they have these products, they're looking
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  for customers and they're looking for who to talk to.
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  So yeah, that's it. Now Please remember, even though
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  I have mentioned Taj Bank and Sterling Bank in the past, I am
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  not recommending them. I am not affiliated to them and
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  and I am not giving them as preferential options.
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  To be honest the only reason why I remember Taj is because I
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  drive past Taj at least once a week.
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  That's why I remember them. They stick in my head.
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  And the reason why I remember Sterling Bank is because in my
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  wedding photography days when I wanted to take advantage of non
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  interest financing, I went into the bank.
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  I can't remember how I found out anyway, but I went into the bank
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  because I was curious and they confirmed that they have those
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  products. And I did speak to somebody in
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  sales and marketing and we explored a number of products,
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  but there was nothing that would cover the kind of financing that
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  I was looking for at the time. So I'm not saying that the best.
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  I'm not saying that the only ones, to be honest, I only
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  remember them because Taj. I drive past Taj once a week.
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  Sterling, I went into Sterling to go and ask for myself.
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  But go and do your research, go on Google, go on Gemini, go on
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  ChatGPT, go on copilot, go and Bing, go and whatever.
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  And when you get them, ask to speak to someone in sales and
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  marketing department because customer service is always busy.
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  So that is all for today. So let me look at my list.
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  Yeah, that's all for today. So if you have any questions in
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  sales that are related to sales and marketing or problems in
• 12:57
  your business, bring them to me. You can call, you can SMS, you
• 13:00
  can WhatsApp me on 08064662140. Thank you very much for your
• 13:06
  time and attention. I catch you to your listener at
• 13:08
  the next episode. And one more time please.
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  If you are having financial woes, financial troubles, I
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  understand and to be honest, I feel bad for you and you know
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  you are. My prayers for those of you who
• 13:23
  are going through very tough times.
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  But I am not an NGO. I do not run a charity.
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  I will chat with you and I will talk with you.
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  I'll help you solve some of your business problems.
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  But I am doing this for profit. Of course, I'm willing to help a
• 13:42
  couple of people because I want to pay things forward.
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  But if your major problem is you're working as a driver, your
• 13:49
  income is not enough, you don't know what else to do, You're a
• 13:54
  hard worker, but you need help. I cannot help you.
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  That is not what I do. But I will start compiling a
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  list so that for those people who still reach out, I'll be
• 14:06
  able to say, call this organization, call this
• 14:08
  organization, call this organization.
• 14:10
  But for you now, the person who's listening right now,
• 14:14
  you're in a very tough spot. You have just finished your
• 14:17
  nursing degree. You cannot get a nursing job.
• 14:20
  You do not know what else to do. I can't help you.
• 14:25
  That is not my area of speciality.
• 14:28
  I did not study that. I have no skills in that.
• 14:31
  I do not research that. I don't have any contacts, any
• 14:35
  contacts in that field. You know, I can't help you, but
• 14:38
  genuine business problems. Your business is chugging along.
• 14:43
  You're not attracting customers. The customers you're attracting
• 14:45
  are not the right kind of customers.
• 14:47
  Or you're speaking to people, you think they're the right kind
• 14:49
  of customers, but you can't close the deal.
• 14:51
  Or you're closing the deal, but everybody's pricing.
• 14:53
  You like groundnut. You, you want to move away from
• 14:57
  the groundnut pricing. You want to enter into the
• 15:00
  premium market or you want to explore international markets,
• 15:05
  you know, export or something like that.
• 15:07
  You don't know how to get in touch with it.
• 15:08
  So any problem that is related to sales, I want to find a
• 15:12
  customer. I want to find my customers.
• 15:14
  I want to attract my customers. I want to build relationships
• 15:17
  with my customers. I want to flow with my
• 15:18
  customers. I want people to like me.
• 15:20
  I want my bank account as well. Those kinds of problems.
• 15:23
  Yeah, hit me up and I'll do my best and I'll see how I can
• 15:25
  help. So thank you very much for your
• 15:27
  time and attention. I'll catch you, dear listener,
• 15:28
  at the next episode.