Latest / Closing Sales in Nigeria - Sales For The Nigerian Business Person: The Sales and Marketing Blueprint / Attract More Customers: The Power of Direct Response Copy and Strategic Planning

Transcript

Attract More Customers: The Power of Direct Response Copy and Strategic Planning · Closing Sales in Nigeria - Sales For The Nigerian Business Person: The Sales and Marketing Blueprint

0:01
Hello and welcome to the show today.
0:03
I'm not in an audio booth, so I expect to hear some
0:05
interruptions in the background. Now today what I want us to look
0:08
at is how to sell your, you know, leftover items, you know,
0:12
bits and bobs and things that you have here and there hanging
0:15
around the house. Now, why do I want to do that
0:17
today? It's because recently me and my
0:20
step sis or rather my step sister has this pair of
0:24
headphones that she has or just lying around the house, you
0:27
know, doing nothing basically and that she wanted to sell.
0:31
Now the reason why she got them in the first place was because
0:34
she wanted to use them for I think podcasting or maybe
0:38
editing videos, I can't remember.
0:40
But eventually it was not her jam and so she didn't end up
0:44
using it. So she tried to use it like two
0:47
or three times and then just put it back in the box.
0:49
That's all. She reached out to me
0:50
eventually. Now this is what I did.
0:53
I requested a photo from her so that I would share on my
0:56
WhatsApp status because I realised that, you know, she
0:59
told me I have this thing for sale.
1:01
But then I reach out to one or two people and I send a message.
1:04
It's not going to do much because lots of people don't
1:06
realise that when it comes to trying to sell something, the
1:09
level of effort and the level of, I put it, the level of
1:14
effort or level of work that is required to sell something is
1:18
actually a whole lot more than most people think.
1:21
So the average person thinks you have something to sell or you're
1:24
about to get into business. You just, you know, tell one or
1:27
two people and then things will take off.
1:28
And that's not the case now because this is what I do for a
1:31
living, helping people fix sales problems.
1:34
I knew that trying to sell these headphones is not just a matter
1:37
of OK, she has told me, me, man, let me just tell one or two of
1:40
my friends and then somebody would be interested and that
1:42
would be it. So I requested a photo from her
1:46
so that I could share on WhatsApp status because I know
1:49
that they're a bunch of you. So are you listening to the
1:51
podcast right now who do that sort of thing?
1:54
You know, you have downtime or you're just curious, you open
1:57
your phone, you start scrolling through people's WhatsApp
1:59
status. And that is how I've been
2:00
promoting the podcast primarily over the last five years,
2:04
WhatsApp status and, and on LinkedIn.
2:08
And that's how I've been able to get the show to over close to
2:12
30,000 downloads so far just by using those two avenues.
2:17
But then for the podcast, you know, I've been doing that every
2:23
single day, more or less. I mean, of course, you know, one
2:25
or two days you're on the road and so you miss things here and
2:27
there. But I've been doing this almost
2:29
on a daily basis. So I knew that OK, she has
2:32
headphones she wants to sell. It's pretty much going to be the
2:35
same thing. So took the photo, was going to
2:37
share it on WhatsApp status. And then I asked her for the
2:39
specifications because, you know, I don't know thing about
2:43
headphones, but because I'm not a tech heavy kind of guy.
2:48
In fact, those of you who've been listening to this podcast
2:50
for the length of time, you know that I'm recording this thing on
2:53
my phone. So I'm not doing any fancy gish
2:56
bound, you know, with microphone, connect to sound
3:01
card, connect to computer, connect to this, connect to
3:03
that. So I'm pretty laid back when it
3:05
comes to tech. I just pick up my phone, I make
3:08
this recording. So, but anyway, I know that you
3:11
gear heads, you know people who like your gear, you know, you
3:13
like your phones, you like your cameras, you like your
3:15
computers. You would like to know, like on
3:17
the computer, you guys would like to know, you know, how
3:19
many, how many RAM, how many mega this, how many that, how
3:24
many that you know all those sorts of things.
3:26
So I collected the specs for the for the microphone and I
3:31
figured, OK, I'm good to go. I now created 5 direct response
3:37
pieces because if I'm going to sell these things on WhatsApp,
3:41
it's not just not just enough for me to put up a picture and
3:44
say interested, you know, ping me.
3:46
You need to put up something compelling and the kind of thing
3:49
you need to put up needs to be direct response, direct response
3:54
copy. Now, what does direct response
3:57
copy mean? Direct response copy means any
4:00
kind of texts or any kind of words that you're putting out
4:04
that the intention is you want somebody to take action now,
4:08
now, now. So the kind of copy that says
4:11
buy from me now, or if you're curious, send me your contact
4:14
details, you know, those sorts of things.
4:15
You want somebody to take action now, now, now.
4:18
That is direct response. The other kinds of messaging
4:23
that people put out there, that is not necessarily direct
4:25
response. Like this podcast.
4:27
This podcast is not direct response.
4:29
I'm putting out the episodes. Hopefully you find one or two
4:32
things interesting. Hopefully you come back
4:35
tomorrow, you listen again, maybe you listen for a couple of
4:39
months. After a while, you think, you
4:41
know what, this guy sounds legit.
4:43
Let me just give him a call. Let's see what he can do for my
4:45
business. So this is different.
4:48
It's a content marketing play. The podcast is a content
4:50
marketing play. It's a relationship building
4:53
play because I'm building a relationship with you.
4:55
You have me plugged into your earholes right now.
4:57
This is relationship building. Let's see, what else?
5:03
Yeah, it's more of a relationship as content
5:06
marketing is relationship building.
5:08
There's a whole bunch of other stuff.
5:11
But this is not direct response. Direct response would be buy
5:15
now, buy now, buy now, contact me now, give me your phone
5:19
number, give me your phone number, give me your e-mail
5:21
address. You know, do this, do this, do
5:23
that. So since what we're trying to do
5:25
is to sell the headphones, it's a relatively simple product.
5:29
I forgot direct response would be the best.
5:32
Trying to sell consultancy services on the other hand, that
5:35
might not be a good approach, which is the reason why I don't
5:38
take that approach of you know, buy from me now, buy from me
5:40
now. Book a consulting session, book
5:42
consulting session. So that's why I don't do that.
5:45
So I created 5 direct response pieces to show them the WhatsApp
5:50
status. Then let's see.
5:53
OK, now what happened next? By the time I put up the 1st
5:55
post pop, I did that at night. I didn't expect anything of it,
6:00
but I woke up the next day. I had about four or five
6:02
responses. Ultimately I didn't get any
6:04
buyer and one person made a counter offer for 35, I'm sorry,
6:08
38K instead of the full 55 K that my step sister was asking
6:13
for. So I then updated my step sister
6:16
because I won't lie, I was surprised by the response that I
6:19
put this thing up at night. In the morning there was 4
6:21
responses, four or five responses.
6:24
So an updated that. OK, look this is what is
6:26
happening though. So this is what you should do.
6:28
This is what I prepared. This is what I intend to do.
6:32
You start doing the same thing on your own channel as well.
6:36
Let's see what's up. Let's see what happens.
6:37
As she says, cool, What happened next?
6:42
She forgot and she didn't do it. But then eventually I reminded
6:48
her today in the morning and she was like, oh, I forgot, sorry,
6:53
let me do it sharp, sharp. In fact, I'm doing it now and
6:57
then me reminding her that's around 8 something in the
7:00
morning and then I was going about my business and then
7:04
roughly around 1 something in the afternoon feels like a thing
7:08
has been sold. I was like, wow, OK, cool.
7:10
How much full price and I was really, really happy for her.
7:14
Now the lesson, and that's the reason why I'm making the
7:17
podcast episode is this, too many people are getting into
7:20
business or too many people are trying to sell, but they don't
7:24
have a game plan that is backed by effort and execution.
7:29
So like my baby sees, I have this earphone, I want to sell
7:33
this thing, but there is no game plan that is backed by effort.
7:40
And a certain level of execution and intention is not enough to
7:46
sell whatever it is that you want to sell, whether it's your
7:49
earphones or your old dress or, you know, maybe Popsy travelled
7:56
abroad and he bought maybe TM Lewin shirt for you, but the
8:00
shirt was too small. You want to sell it.
8:02
Or maybe you you're starting a business, you want to sell
8:07
household cleaning products. A lot of people have the
8:10
intention. You tell one or two people, but
8:13
that's not enough to get your business going because what you
8:19
need is you need some sort of a game plan.
8:22
You need to back this thing up by effort.
8:24
You need to back this thing up with execution.
8:27
So she told me in conversation that this is what she wanted to
8:35
do, and it's not bad. You understand the business or
8:39
you're trying to sell someone. Yeah, tell one or two people,
8:42
but this is what is really required of you.
8:44
You actually need to come up with a list and then come up
8:47
with messaging. And I agree on the cadence.
8:51
Cadence just means the, how will I put it, the timetable or how
8:56
you're going to be doing this thing.
8:57
The reason why you come up with a cadence is so that you don't
9:00
get yourself tired because sales and selling is hard.
9:04
To be talking to people every day is hard.
9:07
The level of rejection is going to be high at certain times.
9:10
It's going to be demoralizing. So you come up with a cadence to
9:14
protect yourself. So for me, for instance, OK, now
9:22
let's ignore what I wanted to do because I really told you what I
9:24
wanted to do. So in her own case, if I was
9:25
her, what I would have done when I decided to sell the headphone
9:28
was I would have told myself self, I have this headphone that
9:33
I want to sell. What I'm going to do is I'm
9:37
going to tell my Big Brother, apart from my Big Brother, I'm
9:40
going to tell 10 people every day and I'm going to do it for
9:45
five days at a stretch. So that means that this week I
9:48
would have contacted 50 people. Let me try this thing first and
9:51
see what happens. Let me repeat.
9:55
If I was higher, that's what I would have done.
9:56
I'm only telling my bro. Then I'm going to come up with a
9:59
list of 10 other people that I'm going to tell today, 10,
10:03
tomorrow, 10 day after 10 people every day for five days straight
10:07
after that. I'll now take dressing.
10:10
What worked? What didn't work?
10:12
What do I need to change? What do I need to improve?
10:15
And the average person isn't doing this kind of activity.
10:18
Remember, the reason why we have a cadence is to protect
10:21
ourselves. Because if you're going to be
10:25
telling as many people as possible today, after a while
10:29
the nose will just discourage you.
10:31
But if you decide that I want to do 10 every day, once you do 10
10:35
today while you can go and rest, 10 tomorrow while you can go and
10:39
rest, 10 next tomorrow, you can go and rest, you can go and do
10:42
something else. So is all is, you know to
10:45
protect you and keep your sanity.
10:46
So must all have a cadence. So that's what I would have done
10:48
if I was a 10 people every day. I do for five days straight and
10:53
see what happens. But then I would have contacted
10:56
50 people. I bet you there is someone
11:01
listening to this podcast right now.
11:04
You decided you were going to go into business in January of
11:08
2025. This is currently close to the
11:11
end of February 2025. And I bet you in the last 1 1/2
11:16
month you have not told up to 50 people that you're in business,
11:20
but somehow you're thinking that business is hard.
11:24
How won't business be hard? You decided January 1st, this is
11:27
what I'm going to do. What date is it now?
11:31
This is February 17th. February 17th.
11:33
Now you haven't told up to 50 people and you're saying Kai,
11:37
business is hard. If I had known I would not have
11:40
resigned my job. Yes, business can be hard, but
11:44
truth of the matter is you haven't really given it enough
11:48
thought about what it is that is required, the level of effort
11:51
that is required. You haven't begun to think it
11:53
yet. At the very least by now you
11:59
know you saying that you're going to be in business.
12:00
You should have carried your phone, looked at your contact
12:02
list, depending on the business you're trying to get into, and
12:05
you should have told yourself self, I'm going to talk to 10
12:10
people every day, five days of the week, Monday to Friday.
12:16
Let me do this in two weeks. At the end of that, I will now
12:19
reconsider whether The thing is working, whether The thing is
12:21
not working. Let me see what I'm going to
12:22
change. So that's what I'm talking about
12:26
here. You need to come up with a game
12:30
plan. You need to back it up with
12:32
effort. You need to back it up with
12:33
execution, trying to sell one thing or trying to get into
12:37
business, trying to start your business.
12:39
Go and talking to one or two people.
12:41
Talk to your brother today, talk to your cousin tomorrow and talk
12:44
to auntie next week. Maybe you talk to Deacon in
12:47
church and maybe after that you talk to, you know, Imam on
12:50
Friday. That does that's not really
12:52
getting into business. No, that, that's, that's not
12:54
enough because you'll find that January, February, March of 2025
12:59
with that approach, you'll find that best case scenario, you've
13:04
only told like 12 people that you're getting into business.
13:07
You're getting into business brand new.
13:09
You only told 12 people. And you really think that by
13:11
telling 12 people business, you just pop off.
13:16
It doesn't work that way. So in my step sister's case, the
13:22
messaging that I came up with or the messaging that, yeah, the
13:26
message I came up with basically was I came up just five
13:28
different versions of, you know, are you interested in podcasting
13:31
or video editing? This is a brand new XYZ.
13:34
It's only been used twice. The accessories and the
13:36
packaging is still intact. If you're curious, DM me or call
13:40
me on blah blah blah. So there was just five different
13:43
variations of that message. You know, the intro will be
13:45
different, the language will be different, the call to action
13:50
will be different. I created 5 because I figured,
13:53
you know, as you send them now you see that, OK, this one's
13:56
performing more than this one. OK, let me ditch these ones and
13:59
let me keep to these ones that seem to be performing well.
14:03
So that's the scope. So the reason why this is the
14:11
recommended approach is because, well, I'm telling you that this
14:15
is the best way to go about it is because if you do it the way
14:17
my step sister did it, which is the way most people would do it,
14:20
is you tell your Big Brother and your brother says, ah, no
14:24
problem. Now I'll, I'll post and then
14:27
maybe you tell your best friend and your best friend is like, Oh
14:29
yeah, sure, no problem, I'll post.
14:33
And then maybe you tell your boyfriend and your boyfriend's
14:34
like, yeah, sure, sure, no problem, I'll post.
14:37
But what happens is your Big Brother in my post because you
14:41
know, he's your brother now he has your back.
14:43
But The thing is you only post once.
14:46
And at the end of the week you will say, ah, sister, sorry you
14:51
I posted, but nobody in my feed is interested.
14:53
How will somebody be interested when you only posted once?
15:00
Now your boyfriend might be trying to impress you.
15:02
I saw Hima, he might post, but The thing is Hima only post once
15:05
or twice at the end of the week. He would say babe, I tried to
15:09
but nobody was interested. How would they be interested
15:11
when you only posted twice? When you open up WhatsApp, think
15:15
of the number of people on the contact and then think of the
15:17
number of statuses that are flying up and everything.
15:22
It's possible that in a week somebody might see 500 WhatsApp
15:25
status updates. You only posted twice.
15:27
You think that those your twice would make an impression?
15:29
Seriously. You really think 2 posts is
15:33
going to make an impression? Some of you have a poor
15:37
understanding of the level of effort that is required to sell
15:40
something. So that's the reason why at the
15:46
very least for me, without thinking much, I just came up
15:51
with this simple thing. I just came up with five
15:54
different messages and I was going to share one message a day
15:59
and I was going to do it for one week 1st and engaged like OK,
16:05
which of these seems to be more effective?
16:07
The one that seems to be more effective, I would have taken
16:09
that and made different variations of that and continue
16:13
blasting it to my entire status viewing audience.
16:18
So the reason why I'm saying 5 different messages because if
16:21
you use the same message all the time, it's going to be boring as
16:24
it's going to be ineffective the first time you do it.
16:27
Some of like, oh, OK, and then tomorrow is the same message.
16:31
And then after that is the same message.
16:33
People get used to it, people get bored, it gets ineffective.
16:38
But then if you do different messages, you're going to get to
16:41
see what is most effective over time and then optimize the same
16:45
thing with the pictures. It's just that, you know, I was
16:49
not that I was being lazy, but I didn't think she would
16:52
understand if I told her, look, this picture you sent me is OK,
16:55
but next time take a picture, send from the back, then take a
16:58
picture, send it from this angle, take a picture, send it
17:01
from that angle. Give me 5 different pictures.
17:04
Because actually that, that you know, the, the photo itself
17:06
actually makes a difference. So it helps if you can do
17:09
variations in the photo as well, not just variations in the copy.
17:14
So different messages, different photos, because we're trying to
17:17
optimize, we're trying to see what is most effective.
17:21
So my messages, the formula was the same.
17:24
Remember the message was, are you interested in podcasting or
17:28
video editing? I've got this brand new XYZ.
17:30
It's been used only twice. Accessories and packaging still
17:33
intact. Curious.
17:34
DM me. Full stop.
17:38
I was addressing only specific sets of people, people who are
17:41
interested in podcasting or video editing because that's
17:45
what she bought it for. And of course, typically people
17:48
who use those kind of headsets because I went to go and do some
17:51
research. It's people who are involved in
17:53
podcasting, video editing or telemarketing that are
17:56
interested in those sorts of things.
17:58
Now, funny enough, when I blasted out that first message,
18:01
guess who responded to me the next day?
18:03
A business owner that had worked with that I did consulting for
18:07
in Lagos. He runs a a business that's in
18:13
alternative energy, solar panels, that sort of thing.
18:18
He's thinking of acquiring a bunch because he's about to
18:21
launch Tele sales with the telemarketing team.
18:25
Then guess who else reached out to me?
18:28
A fellow podcaster who is thinking of trying out different
18:31
kinds of gear. Then guess the next person who
18:34
reached out to me, a wedding photographer who also happens to
18:38
do some video editing. Then guess who reached out to
18:41
me? Another person who is involved
18:44
in making content that is training engineers.
18:48
And who else? I can't remember.
18:50
Well, you know, like, I don't know, kind of four to six
18:52
people, but you can see how the more targeted your messaging is.
18:57
You can see how it starts appealing to people.
19:00
If I just put up the headphones and said everyone for sale DME
19:03
55K, the response would have been somehow some of you be
19:08
afraid that because I said I made it very specific, I said,
19:12
are you interested in podcasting or video editing?
19:16
I have an XYZ fairly used packaging still intact, DME if
19:21
you're interested. Some of you would say, but if I
19:23
say podcasting or video editing, now that is small.
19:27
Now I have 2000 people on my phone.
19:31
I'm trying to sell this thing. Why would I now say I'm limiting
19:33
it just to people who are interested in podcasting and
19:36
people who are interested in video editing?
19:38
It's too small. Let's make the messaging broad.
19:41
Let's make it wide. Let it capture people.
19:43
Let it capture interest. And that is where your
19:45
advertising starts falling flat. I've made lots of podcast
19:49
episodes on that before. So no need to be labeled the
19:52
point. The more targeted it is, the
19:54
better. So it actually was a good thing
19:57
that I narrowed down my messaging.
19:59
Are you interested in podcasting?
20:01
The person who is scrolling, scrolling is scrolling.
20:03
But who's been thinking, I need to start a podcast.
20:05
I need to start a podcast. You see that you say, ah, the
20:08
universe is sending me a message.
20:10
The headphones are on sale. That's how it works.
20:15
So I know I was like, I just got entry around.
20:19
I've lost my train of thought anyway, but bottom line.
20:23
Different messages, different copy, different call to action,
20:27
things like that. So the lesson I'm trying to say
20:30
for today basically is this, if you're getting into business or
20:33
you're trying to sell something #1 create a plan.
20:37
This whole thing, I'm just talking to people.
20:38
Freestyle, it's not a good idea. It is good that you talk to your
20:41
Big Brother on the freestyle levels now.
20:43
It's good. Those freestyle conversations,
20:46
you know, the gas day as in do have to be there.
20:49
Definitely. So you have to do those kind of
20:51
things. No problem.
20:53
You also need to come up with a plan.
20:56
So apart from those freestyle conversations, you know, when
20:58
you're in church, you're just not your people.
21:00
Talking to your auntie, talking to your brother, talking to your
21:02
cousins, you know, talking to your boyfriend, you know, those
21:06
sorts of things. You also need a come up with a
21:09
plan. Come up with a targeted list,
21:12
create some messaging because the worst time to figure out
21:16
what to say when you're trying to sell something is when you
21:18
are actually in front of the person trying to sell the thing.
21:21
That is the worst time to try and think of something because
21:26
for most people, your brain will go blank.
21:31
If you don't believe me, go ahead and try it.
21:34
Don't come up with a sales script every single time you go
21:37
and talk to somebody. Your brain will go blank or
21:39
you'll be nervous on the spot, thinking, what should I say?
21:43
What should I say, what should I say?
21:45
And by the time you talk to two or three people, you'll be tired
21:48
because with each person you are trying to come up with something
21:51
on the spot, on the fly, original, creative, convincing.
21:55
That's too much work. So when things are nice and calm
21:59
and cool, when you're alone in your room or chilling in your
22:03
car or sitting down in your office, you just give it some
22:06
thought. It doesn't have to be detailed.
22:08
Just get a sheet of paper and then just scribble down some few
22:10
things like, OK, this is how I greet them or this is how I open
22:15
the conversation. Or when I'm talking about the
22:18
headphones or talking about the business, I must highlight this,
22:21
highlight this, highlight that. So by the time you sit down, you
22:24
sketch that kind of thing, mentally it has taken the load
22:29
off you so that when you're in front of somebody and you guys
22:31
are talking, the thing will just be flowing.
22:34
The reason why it's flowing is because you took the time before
22:37
now to sketch an outline that is guiding you.
22:43
And you'll find that since that one is less nerve wracking and
22:50
less taxing, you'll be able to talk to more people.
22:52
You'll probably be able to talk to 1015 people before you get
22:55
tired. So create a plan, come with the
22:59
target list, create your messaging, and then most
23:02
importantly, come up with the cadence and then execute.
23:07
Nobody's perfect, but please, because like I told you guys in
23:12
the earlier episode, my plan is to drop an episode every day or
23:19
every other day, but I've been missing this past four or five
23:23
days. So it happens, but just do your
23:26
best. If you say you're going to be
23:30
doing 10 people every day, try your best.
23:33
Now, some days that you start #1 by the time you get to #8 you
23:37
receive a call from the school that, oh, missus, so, so, so
23:40
your child is developing a fever.
23:41
Come and pick your child. No problem.
23:43
Go and pick your child. At least you did 8 today.
23:48
And some days you'll feel like, man, I am on fire.
23:52
And you're supposed to talk to 10.
23:54
But because you're on fire, you'll talk to 20.
23:56
That's all right. But just come up with a cadence.
23:59
Be executing it every single day and please let me point out one
24:04
thing that some of you haven't quite gotten yet.
24:07
The only thing that we can guarantee is the level of effort
24:10
that we bring to the table. We cannot determine the
24:13
outcomes. So for me, I came up with a plan
24:19
and I executed it on my OK, I told you my results on the first
24:25
day. I executed it for three days
24:27
before my step sister tried. I gave it mine.
24:34
I executed the way I was going to execute, but I'm not the one
24:37
who ended up selling for her to executed on the first day and
24:41
ended up selling in a couple of hours.
24:44
But that's just business, that's just life.
24:47
You're not guaranteed the result, you're only guaranteed
24:50
the level of effort that you bring to the table.
24:53
So bring your effort to the table and try and put the odds
24:59
in your favour. That's just what it's all about.
25:04
So don't let it discourage if you post day one, day 2, day
25:06
three, nothing is happening. You agreed with yourself.
25:10
Now look self, I'll try this for two weeks.
25:12
If nothing works, I will sit down and I'll review, run it for
25:15
that two weeks first, then after that, review.
25:20
So if you're getting into business and you've only told
25:24
your Big Brother, you've told your friends, you've told your
25:26
classmates, there's something I've said before on the podcast.
25:29
You haven't started yet. You have not started yet.
25:35
What to do is everybody has a phone.
25:37
You're listening to this podcast right now.
25:40
Most likely you're using your phone.
25:42
A couple of you are using your laptop.
25:44
No, that's not a problem. Your laptop has something on it
25:48
called, what's it called, contact list.
25:52
If you check your e-mail account, you see their contact
25:54
list. If you're using your phone, your
25:57
phone has contact list. Look at contact list.
26:01
From the contact list, you will create a list of people who
26:04
might be interested in your product or service.
26:06
Write these things down. Write it.
26:11
From that list you decide that OK, these people, it's best if I
26:15
do phone call. These people, it's best if I go
26:18
to their house or if I go to their office.
26:21
After that, you now sit down and come up with some messaging.
26:25
Don't write it word for word and don't memorize it.
26:28
If you go down, you memorize it. Everybody can tell that you've
26:31
memorized it and then it sounds boring.
26:34
Just do it in outline form. OK, Who are the people I'm
26:38
trying to talk to for this set of people?
26:40
What's the best way to greet them or what should I emphasize
26:43
what I'm talking about? The product or you know, this
26:45
and this and that and that. Then come up with a cadence that
26:49
is reasonable for those people who you're going to go and visit
26:51
them in the office. If you're based in Lagos, let's
26:54
be real here, I don't think you can visit more than two people a
26:58
day in Lagos because traffic is crazy.
27:01
If you live in Abuja, on the other hand, it is possible.
27:04
You can't even see five people a day because you can drive from
27:07
one part of town to another part of town in 30 minutes.
27:10
So it's possible for you to see somebody at 9:00.
27:13
If you have a 30 minute meeting, you can see another person for
27:16
maybe 10:30. If you add traffic, you can see
27:19
another person for maybe 2 and you can see another person for
27:22
maybe four. That can happen.
27:26
You're meeting four people every day, five days of the week.
27:29
If you're based in Lagos, don't even try it.
27:31
It's not going to work. It's not possible.
27:34
It's not possible at all. So be realistic here.
27:36
So in Lagos, if the plan is to go and meet somebody in the
27:39
office, I will say target one person a day, don't target 2.
27:43
You give yourself a necessary BP so execute.
27:50
Now, let me give an example because this one is real.
27:54
I'm seeing some people who are thinking of this kind of
27:57
business already. Now, let's say you want to be in
27:59
the business of importing yam from Benin State.
28:03
I'm saying important because I'm not sure how else to call it.
28:06
You know, I live in Abuja right now, I'm from Benin State, but
28:10
the cost of yam in Benin State right now, so in Abuja right now
28:14
is high, very, very high. In fact, there was one time, the
28:18
last time I tried to buy yam myself, that was in general.
28:21
I went somewhere and then I said how much?
28:23
The person said 4-5. I said 4, two.
28:27
The person laughed. He said no, for that, for that
28:29
one over there. I said, which one?
28:31
That one that's more yam, say yes, 4-5.
28:33
So OK, what of these healthy looking one?
28:35
This big one said that one is 6000.
28:37
I said yeah, for one tuber. The person said yes, and I
28:41
removed my phone. I said I'm coming.
28:43
I called my wife. I said babe, I'm in the market.
28:46
This one I'm seeing, you know, my wife laughed.
28:48
She said, yeah, that's how he sees that is OK, that that's the
28:52
price, Say why yam? Sorry, because of that.
28:56
Now there's some people who are trying to take advantage of the
28:58
arbitrage because you can buy yam cheaper in Berry State and
29:05
you know all that area, you know, Berry, NASA, bring it into
29:08
Abuja and then make your money. So let's say you're one of those
29:11
people. Now you're thinking of importing
29:14
yam from Berry State to now sell again in Abuja.
29:17
First thing to do is take your phone, open it.
29:20
Who might be interested in buying this yam.
29:23
Now remember when it comes to sales, sometimes it's common
29:26
sense, sometimes it's a good guess, but it's OK.
29:28
We start from there, we start guessing and we execute and we
29:32
see what happens. So the guess is OK.
29:34
People that have families that need have plenty of mouths to
29:37
feed, those are the people who should target.
29:40
So in that case, now you may now start looking at women in your
29:42
in your contact list. Women who have children, maybe
29:45
who have maybe two or three children.
29:49
Sorry, I'm not trying to be sexist here.
29:50
I'm just coming up with a hunch that I'm assuming if you're
29:52
going to try and do this kind of thing, you're better off calling
29:56
the woman on your phone rather than calling the men.
29:58
You know, maybe the men are more concerned about other things.
30:00
I don't know, maybe fuel or Internet or whatever, but it's
30:07
just my guess. But anyway, The thing is, shall
30:10
I come up with a plan? So for me, we women that have
30:15
children and now start looking through my phone.
30:18
Oh, OK, in case she she has five children.
30:20
Good. And I write down in kitchen on
30:22
my list #1 So Cordelia, Cordelia only has one child.
30:27
Maybe not. I'll ignore Cordelia and then
30:29
I'll go again and then I'll see. I mean, I say, oh, I mean it has
30:32
four children. Good.
30:33
And I write down Amina. That's how I'll be doing it.
30:35
Just be writing it down, writing it down, writing it down.
30:38
And then let's say you're one of these people, you're importing
30:41
the yam. But let's say you already have a
30:42
full time job, so you're working in Zenith Bank.
30:45
You don't have to be realistic with yourself.
30:49
You go to Zenith Bank 830, you work until 6:30.
30:53
Lunch break is one hour. So now be realistic enough to
30:57
look. You know what, with this limited
30:59
time, I think I can only call or chat up five people every day.
31:03
OK, no problem. So you now agree.
31:06
OK, five people. You went through your phone, the
31:09
least you came up with. Maybe it's 40 people.
31:12
If you're doing 5:00 every single day, it's going to take
31:15
you 8 days to get through that. So that's that's a week and a
31:19
half of you Monday through Friday, last five days, then
31:22
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, good, that's it.
31:24
That's a week and a half. They now come up with your
31:27
messaging. The messaging might be something
31:30
this simple. You know, a good afternoon
31:32
Nikkechi long time. Have you noticed the cost of
31:34
yams in Abuja is now becoming exorbitant?
31:38
Of course, in case you might reply, yes.
31:41
In fact my sister even myself about 1-2 bowl of Yammy will say
31:45
market 5K yesterday, lucky you 5K.
31:50
The one that I saw was 65. The guy was even telling me
31:52
7000. You guys have that conversation
31:54
back and forth. Then the Next up, if you're
31:58
messaging, I've got a plan to deliver yams at 2000 naira for
32:03
one tuber so that if you have 10K, instead of buying 22 bars
32:10
of yam, you can use that 10K to buy 5 tubers in case are you
32:14
interested. And then you want to get she has
32:16
to say. But The thing is you don't
32:19
figure out this message as you are chatting with in Kichi.
32:22
You need to have mapped out this conversation before you start
32:25
chatting with in Kichi so that The thing is there to guide your
32:30
conversation. And if you've decided that this
32:33
is what you're going to do now execute it daily.
32:37
Eventually some people will buy, lots of people will say no, but
32:42
this is actually the level of effort that is required when
32:45
you're starting up into business.
32:48
Some of you will think it is enough that this idea sounds
32:51
brilliant. And when you run into in Ketchi
32:54
at the office, you mention it to her.
32:58
Then maybe you mention it to two or three people in church.
33:02
And then maybe you tell your husband that he too he should
33:05
tell some of his colleagues. But you find that if you don't
33:08
take the structured approach, you'll find that you start this
33:11
your yam importing business in on January 1st.
33:15
And then by January 30th, you'll find that maybe you're only
33:18
told, I don't know, eight people.
33:21
And then you now say, Kai business is hard.
33:25
This thing is a no brainer. Why is nobody behind this yam?
33:31
It's because you underestimated the level of effort and the
33:36
level of activity that was required to sell this yam.
33:40
So basically, that's just what I wanted to let you guys know for
33:44
today. Summary, come up with a cadence,
33:50
come up with a script, have the right level of effort that is
33:56
required to make this thing happen.
33:58
Or then also your messaging should be targeted.
34:02
When you're creating your list, you should be targeted just like
34:05
how for this yam thing, it's not a matter of opening up your
34:08
phone and then blasting the message to all 2000 of your
34:11
contacts. Yam for sale in Abuja, 5 tubers
34:15
of Yam for 10,000. Sit down, it's work or sit down.
34:21
Take the time, come up with this targeted list and then begin the
34:24
execute on the daily. It's going to take more
34:28
conversations than you think, but eventually some will buy,
34:33
some people will say no. The people that say no it's OK,
34:35
leave them. The people that buy, that's
34:37
good. We're trying to see how we'll
34:39
get them to buy again. So if In Ketchi buys this time,
34:44
she said OK, let me test, let me see if this thing works.
34:47
She forwards you 10K from that. Thank you.
34:50
You send her five tubers. She's impressed.
34:53
The goal is to see how In Ketchi bought 5 tubers January 1st.
34:58
The goal is to see how you can get her to buy another 5 tubers.
35:05
Abby No 5 tubers for a House of like four people.
35:09
No it won't last. OK, let's say two weeks.
35:11
So the goal is if she buys 5 tubers January 1st, the goal is
35:15
to see how she can buy again January 14th and maybe buy again
35:21
January 30th and then God willing February 1st.
35:26
She also tells her sister. So that is her and her sister
35:29
that are now sending you 10 Take care each for 55 tubers of Yum.
35:35
So what we're looking for the no people, don't worry it happens.
35:39
They will say no, leave them. The people that say yes, that's
35:42
where the money is. Repeat business and referrals.
35:46
That's where the sweet money is made.
35:47
Anyway, been going on for close to 14 minutes.
35:49
Let me just wrap it up. I think.
35:53
Yeah, I think I've said it all for today anyway.
35:55
So if you're interested in the strategy session, the business
35:59
audit, but you have some questions, then reach out to me.
36:04
The phone number is 08064662140. The country code is +234.
36:12
For those of you who are not Nigerian, and that's my WhatsApp
36:15
number as well. You can also connect with me on
36:18
LinkedIn. The name to look for is
36:20
Tavishima Aidi. I also have this podcast
36:23
available on YouTube in case you're one of those people who
36:26
is watching on the web browser. You're not a podcast in person.
36:30
You'd rather do the YouTube thing.
36:32
Yeah, sure. Go to YouTube and subscribe.
36:35
So thank you very much for your time and attention.
36:36
I'll catch you guys at the next episode.