Sales For The Nigerian Business Person: The Sales and Marketing Blueprint

What are the wrong kinds of conversations to have with peers in the industry?

Is there anything magical about the new year? And is all this joy and optimism warranted?

What do you do when you get that call with an offer that is beneath you?

Whether you agree or not that Christmas themed events and other seasonal pop ups are a good idea to grow sales... the next best question is, how do we go about doing that in the best manner for the business?

The 2021 wrap up episode.

Are sales activity around annual holiday themes a good idea to boost profits?

It’s the time of the year when the whole world is about giving, sharing and being selfless. One of the best ways of doing that would be to sign up to be a mentor at your Uni if they offer those opportunities. It’s a good way to ensure that all the good stuff you’ve learned about life and the pursuit of money are distilled and handed down to the younger generations.

Reciprocal online business communities exist on social media where people can beef up their audiences by following each other and trying to give mutual referrals. Are they a good use of your time? Does this promise business growth? And what is the role of “organic”in growing your audience and your business? These and many more are valuable questions to ask in the search for more followers.

How do you close the deal at what you do? Make sure you have a deal in the first place! Determine whether you have to be consultative or “product” based on your sales approach! And then move the deal forward one step at a time with scheduling tools so you don’t miss a step.

If you agree that it is essential to push the relationship forward by using micro commitments and securing one advancement after the other, it is essential to have some sort of platform weather digital or hard copy that allows you to manage the customer relationship. This will be anything which tells you who you are talking to, and what stage of the relationship you are at... as well as the commit...

Because we have to close the deal incrementally in little steps, it would help if we have tools to keep track of who we’re talking with, what stage we are in the process, and what the next commitments that we have agreed to are. This is a primer on the importance of the role of a CRM in growing your business.

Qualification frameworks are essential when we are having conversations with our potential customers. Without a rough and ready conversation framework, we will be left ambling all over the place.

Before you close the deal be sure to ask questions to confirm that you are speaking to qualified clients in the first place. Properly qualified clients are those who have a need or a want of your product or service, they are also people who have similar expectations when it comes to money. These are also people who are ready to pull the trigger soon!

To close the deal you have to be sure that you had a deal in the first place! How do we do that? That is the subject of “qualification” which old school sales professionals use to figure out if there’s a problem here worth solving, and if there’s a chance that we’re talking with all the relevant parties concerned.

Closing can mean anything between the “big ask” when you ask for the money, or all the small incremental steps in between where you try to move the deal forward. Which is better or more realistic? You decide!

Once we’re done with figuring out whether we’re in a simple or complex sales scenario, the next step is figuring out the implications on how to carry out conversations from there. If you’re in a simple sales scenario, it’s okay to go on plugging features and benefits. If you’re in a complex sales scenario, then you have to be more consultative in your approach with potential clients.

How to close the deal will be determined by whether you’re in a simple or a complex sales scenario. How do you determine that? The deal size, subject complexity, number of parties involved and the prospects for future relationships will determine that.

Is closing the deal in real estate different from closing the deal in weddings? Or other consumer purchases? That depends on the context that you’re in!

A lot of potential business deals are lost because we make assertions without seeking for feedback. It’s not enough to say something without asking to be sure what is a minor provision from what is a “deal breaker”. Always ask questions.

It’s unfortunate that “ghosting” has become a feature of modern business communication. The solution isn’t to gripe and complain, but use questioning techniques to get the conversation back on track. With questions you can find out if they’re interested, or if they went silent because they found your proposition frightening!

When trying move the agenda forward with clients and business partners, it’s a good idea to agree to the follow up item or plan at this present meeting. It saves you the time and emotional pressure of coming up with follow up actions and timing on your own.

Customer service and permission marketing are dandy ideas until you can’t figure out what to talk about... now that you’ve gotten permission to be in touch. Have no fear! It doesn’t always have to be about product and service updates... your client’s personal and professional milestones are fine as well.

Social capital includes the learned skills, attitudes and dispositions that kids acquire just from being around a certain environment. As business people we ought to be VERY conscious about the kind of atmosphere the kids pick up from being around us. There’s no reason why the growth we achieve has to be limited to one generation.

Good customer service can get you the implied permission to be in touch with past clients. What’s to talk about? All the cool new features and services that you’ll be rolling out in the future that could be of help to them.

Getting paid isn’t the last step of the sales process because after we’re done with payment and execution, we still have to worry about securing testimonials and referrals. Testimonials and online reviews beef up our credibility while referrals are the ultimate catalyst for dependable income for the future.