MTN: REVVING UP THE RETAIL OUTLET COMPETITION

Unveils 500 Forte Oil Kiosks

LAUNCHES VISA 3000 SALES CAMPAIGN



MTN CEO Ikpoki cut the tape at the event

It was fun and excitement as Nigeria's leading telecommunication giant unveiled a her campaign to set new standards in customer service experience by launching her VISA 3000 aimed at increasing the visibility of the brand at Forte Oil (formerly AP or African Petroleum) filling station at Ikoyi Lagos. At the event titled: FUELING COMMUNICATION AT FORTE OIL, the communication giant said she was also using this as a launch into the bold new world of communication by re-emphasising her commanding brand leadership and opening more outlet for the customers to get more intimate and quick service in their comfort.

Michael Ikpoki satisfied with MTN's coup

Chinyelu Onochie showing the way to MC Abbey

Unveiling the partnership was Michael Ikpoki and Akin Akinfemiwa, CEO's of both companies supported by their top management staff. Both men said they were happy that each complemented the other and would give them mutual benefits which Ikpoki hopes will lead to further growth in revenue for both companies. The Group CEO of Forte said his company was not No 1 yet in the fuel distribution infrastructure of Nigeria but looks forward to leading his company there in the near future. For him, partnering with MTN a leader in its own right, gives Forte Oil reason to strive harder.

The banners welcoming invitees

The station where the event took place

The campagn tagged VISA 3000  (Visible Impactful Stable and Appealing ) is aimed at deploying 3,000 convenient sales kiosks at retail locations that will be easily accessible to customers most hours of the day and 24 hours in the 24 hour fuel stations of Forte Oil as well as other outlets to be added to the stock in Forte Oil.

Group CEO Forte Oil Akin Akinfemiwa

Speaking at the event, 'Tsola Barrow, the Executive in charge of MTN Sales and Distribution reiterated that MTN is the leading international brand in Nigeria and with a subscriber base of 50million, she can not afford to allow customer satisfaction to suffer. Consequently, he promised that MTN would continue to up the ante in customer satisfaction.

Visible Impactful Stable and Appealing (VISA) 3000 Kiosk Project - See more at: http://flairng.com/new/mtn-launches-partnership-with-forte-oil/#sthash.puzJ1V7h.dpuf

Visible Impactful Stable and Appealing (VISA) 3000 Kiosk Project - See more at: http://flairng.com/new/mtn-launches-partnership-with-forte-oil/#sthash.puzJ1V7h.dpuf

Add caption

Visible Impactful Stable and Appealing (VISA) 3000 Kiosk Project - See more at: http://flairng.com/new/mtn-launches-partnership-with-forte-oil/#sthash.puzJ1V7h.dpuf

Some of the top management of MTN led by 'Tsola Barrow, Executive S+D

A cross section of Trade Partners at the event

Some of the invitees with MTN management team

With this innovation, it is obvious that MTN has taken the wind off the sail of the second largest telecommunication company Glo which had been utilising the sales outlet of a sister company (a filling station) to distribute her products in a less visible and commanding manner.

CRYSTAL: Unbeatable Gifts for this Christmas

Labrador figurine made of crystal

Baby dolphins made of crystal

Simple digital or analogue clocks can also be encrusted into crystals like this

I have been thinking of the best kind of gifts for customers this Christmas. I don't know about you. The options are varied but Crystals are the king. Although crystal have become more popular with fashionistas lately, crystals are also being used in a variety of other ways. For instance making of beautiful clocks, figurines and card holders, pen holders or by applying more functions than one e.g. a clock, card and pen holder.
WHY GO CRYSTAL?

• They are affordable unlike a rolex or other very expensive gifts
• They are durable and strong
• They can be branded or have metal plates attached to them with the name or logo of organisations personalised on them
• they come in varieties, shapes and have diverse functions and applications. Myhappiday Communications can demonstrate these advantages at your request.
• They are also suitable as Long Service Award plaques

3d Crystal gift from corporate-gifts-co

So, crystals are here. Use them as gifts to corporate clients and you will be blowing a welcome fresh breeze that is so clear, alluring and functional.

For bulk purchase, customisation, gift branding  and /or  order call 234-8033245215 or 234-8073030307 now.


Latest Marketing tips from Larry Happiday.

How to Eliminate Passivity from Your Professional Selling

By Larry Happiday

In the article entitled: How to be sales Hero, I argued that passivity is a sine qua non for failure in salesmanship. Today, I want to contrast the heroism of the actor-salesmen with his opposite twin: the spectator-salesman, a docile bystander, who wants the world to stand still and wait for it to discover his brilliance. Perhaps in this mirror contrast, we would be able to show the habits and character traits that must be avoided like the plague.

A word of caution from the start: professional sales docility has nothing to do with introversion. As the expression is used here, it only refers a tendency towards dithering and postponing of action as a result of fear. It comes with the realisation that fear is the bedrock of the professional's actions and responses to situations. Fear of failure, fear of mockery, fear of error. It is the emotional baggage that delays actions until too late or too little. The best way to see this is to say that it is ruled by the operative principle: CAUTION. The result that though the actions may be right in the long run, they come too late to make any impact on the bottom line.

The followings are the key elements of the passive-salesman that should be avoided:

• · Fear of rejection. Experienced salesmen know that there are no sales without objection, resistance or rejection. In fact, experience shows that sales objection is an integral part of any successful sale. Learn to discover the source of your fear and deal with it. Left unattended to, fear is a crippler of initiative and the tomb of good ideas.
• · The second thing that leads to passivity in professional sales life is lack of planning. Nothing inspires and gives confidence like knowing that you have made enough preparation for a sales encounter. The passive sales person either relies on his gift of the garb or eloquence but the actor-sales man sees every sales effort as a battle that has to be won. He works hard to ensure that he wins by seeking information rather than knowledge.
• · That brings us to the third step. the passive sales representative seeks knowledge. He wants to be seen as the guy who predicted right (often negative prediction of doom).So, when he reads, he does so with an eye on the thousands of reasons why the sale effort would not work. A sport writer once said that in Nigeria, there are 140million coaches. He meant that it is easier for the spectators to speculate about who and what should have been done to win matches than to go into the field to play. The passive sales man belongs rightly to the spectator side of the game.
• · The result of being a spectator is that this kind often loses the opportunity to make it big. The dictum: NO VENTURE NO SUCCESS aptly captures the lot of this type of sales person. They see chance, luck or mere coincidence in any achievement recorded by the actor-sales man.
• · Another feature of this type is that they are always cynical. Being cynics, they shun news and innovation rather they seek solace in history (again of failures). Hence, they often behind the times in terms of changes in government policies, trends and business directions. A writer said of them that they prefer to be on the side of antiquity.

·

· WHAT TO DO

· If the above characterization fits you, you need to take change. The three best cures for fear is: [1] take action, [1]take action and [3] take action

· On the problem of pessimistic view of things, the sales man needs to address his self hatred. Usually, the view arises from a condition of not liking one's self enough to trust one's to make the right decision. He may have lived all his life being told how the world is a hopeless place. To change the view, he needs to begin by seeking information about himself and about his area of business. He needs to start asking questions and reading literature that help build up his sense of self worth. That way he would not be guided by jealousy but would applaud when someone else gets it right.

· Consistently done, he himself would become a sales hero admired by the boss and fear by the laggard sales colleagues who refuse to change.

BAYGON: Bring Back The Glory

Mosquitoes stood no chance with the old Baygon

Bug-bursting was Baygon's greatest strenght

Gone are the days when bed bugs feared Baygon. That was some six years ago when the Gongoni manufactured Baygon was king. Though it still maintains a princely price on the shelf, the efficacy is no longer the same.

Then, mosquitoes were no worry at all; even roaches died three days after you'd applied the almighty Baygon. What happened I have no way of verifying but certainly there are unwholesome changes. This Baygon no longer kills roaches instantly. They have to dance around first on contact with the spray before they would die. Some would select their choice of position to die because they would struggle to their preferred burial.

Not the old Baygon. The old Baygon killed the most stubborn pests like the bugs instantly. The old Baygon eliminated the bugs completely if it was repeated after a week because the eggs would have hatched. This is the greatest proof that the Baygon on the shelf is different from the dreaded Baygon of the yore.
So can some one bring back the glory of Baygon please?

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Understanding Buyer Behaviour in an Economic Downturn

The most obvious reaction of the average buyer to an economic down turn is to become more sensitive to her choices. But is it always easy? Is it such a simple activity? In this article, we want to discuss the buyer behaviour as it relates to a twisted economic fortune.
The first consideration is what constitutes an economic downturn. Who does not know that a down turn is when a country's economy can not meet up with present and future needs at the current levels without an extra ordinary measure such as borrowing, austerity measures or wage cuts? Beside this macro perspective, there is another perspective which looks at downturn from the prism of the individual buyer, the consumer whose economic health is the best index of how well the macro economy is doing.
The individual's reaction to a loss of job varies. The worker with limited other options gets the rudest shock following a letter of termination. Those with prospects of gaining employment in other sectors may feel either relief or slight discomfort. The spectrum of reactions ranges from seeing it as a bomb shell to a huge joke. No matter the individual's personal reaction, a  downturn  leads to whole lot of disruption in social and skill bases. What happens with and to those skills could mean speedy recovery from a downturn both for country and individuals. It is these same employees or employers who struggle to survive that end up ricocheting a swirl or reactions that become the national GDP. So how do these buyers, employees and employers react to a sudden slump in buying power?
One  every thinks economic problems are cause by some one else. Hence the blame game. Some blame tangible some blame intangible forces for their problems. If the severance of the source of livelihood was foreseen,  some are relieved that the end had finally come. Usually, they would have been thinking of alternatives. For this group, adjusting is a little easier.
Another group will seek scape goats elsewhere rather concentrate on finding a solution. Cyril, not real name, took umbrage at the american government for not coming to the aid of construction workers like himself as they came to the aid of the banks. Others would invest their resources in other areas or environments including taking their skills abroad. Each of these entails consequences for the local economy and for the individuals involved.
Depending on the individual's psychological make up, the behaviour that follows a sudden loss of economic power can be dramatic/ tragic. Others may be less dramatic but significant all the same. After all it is ability to fend for oneself and family that we are talking about. .
Dramatic Reactions: Adolf Merckle was a German billionaire. He was the 94th richest man in the Forbes Rich list in 2008 with an estimated value of $9.2billion. When economy went tail-spinning, the 74 year old took his own life. according to family sources, “The distress to his firms caused by the financial crisis and the related uncertainties of recent weeks, along with the helplessness of no longer being handle the situation, broke the passionate family businessman, and he ended his life”. 
In 2010, over 31,000 Japanese were reported to have taken their lives. Many of them for reasons not unconnected to prolonged job losses.  
Strategic Reactions:  Those left in employment find themselves working extra hard and may end up with health issues. They also tend to become more cost conscious initially, for fear of they also lossing their jobs. How long this immediate reaction lasts is uncertain though. But resistance to price, cost cutting and leisure aversion are popular reactions. 



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China in Africa: The Real Story: The Real Cost of Chinese Railway Construction in Nigeria

China in Africa: The Real Story: The Real Cost of Chinese Railway Construction in Nigeria

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How to Fulfill your Potentials Quickly and become a super hero

Challenges stimulate champions but managing them creatively may turn an ordinary potential into a super hero, irrespective of your trade or profession. Granted that there are different problem solving methods, one of the easiest ways to get to the top quickly is to secure a coach or mentor. Who is a coach or mentor?
He is that rare gem who believes in you and your potential. He or she is willing to accept or offer to nurture you into a promise-fulfilled. He is the experienced player in any field who is ready make the sacrifices (time, energy and comfort) to help the protégé or mentee become a super performer. His greatest tool being the experience he has in the field or area of endeavour which you are interested in. On classic example of what can happen between the protégé and his coach or mentor is that between Thomas Edison, the inventor of the electric bulb and Henry Ford the founder of the Ford Motor Corporation.

BETWEEN FORD & EDISON
Gerald Ford was an admirer of Edison. While he was working on his gasoline powered car, people mocked him and made mockery of his efforts. They said he was wasting his time on gasoline energy because Edison's electricity was the only future to energy for cars. Ford,  not discouraged, decided to ask Edison himself whether there was a future for gasoline cars. 
    Here is Edison's reply to the future of the gasoline engine:
      
"Yes, there is a big future for any light-weight engine, that can develop a high horsepower and be self-contained. No one kind of motive power is ever going to do all the work of the country. We do not know what electricity can do, but I take for     granted that it cannot do everything. Keep on with your engine. If you can get what you     are after, I can see a great future. (Ford, My Life and Work, pp. 234-235).  "Yes, there is a big future for any light-weight engine, that can develop a high horsepower and be     self-contained. No one kind of motive power is ever going to do all the work of the country. We do not know what electricity can do, but I take for granted that it cannot do everything. Keep on with your engine. If you can get what you are after, I can see a great future."

This reply from the greatest expert on energy of the time made Ford develop confidence in his invention and kept his eyes focused on his activities. Perhaps without this encounter, Ford may have given up.

The story is also told of a mathematician who had cracked a centuries old problem without knowing it. It was the view of his mentor that led to his publication of a theory that went on to change history of mathematics significantly.

Speaking on the importance of having a coach, Ryan Giggs, the most decorated player in English football says this of his coach, Alex Ferguson: he "has been the best thing to happen to my career. I have met him since I was 13 years and he (the coach/mentor), has helped me to get this far. I don't think I would have had such an awesome career without him". Incidentally, some of the greatest footballers of our time have passed through Ferguson and Arsene Wenger. So why is a coach so important?
Your coach/mentor helps you to learn more about your values, clarify your vision, and reduce your learning curve by more than half. Goal identification is another reason for wanting a coach. Many people with high potentials end up with half fulfilled aspirations. The reason is that they were not well guided. If you have not identified your goals in life, it seems inevitable that you would need the services of a mentor/coach.  He would help in identifying your strengths and weaknesses, creating a winning strategy for turning strengths into giant performance and weaknesses into strengths. As we saw in the case of Ford, he needed endorsement or encouragement that he was on the right tract and that comment by the greatest inventor of his time gave him a good dose of confidence to continue. Again it is Thomas Edison who said: "Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up." See what would have happened if Ford had given up?

Who Needs a Coach? 
We often seem to believe that only young people need coaches. This is erroneous. Coaches are so by experience in a particular area. A coach in one situation could be the expert in another. So when ever one desires to learn a new thing, he automatically becomes the mentee or protégé. So the protégé is one who s willing to learn and obey instructions and one with a humble heart to appreciate and commend the efforts of the coach.  Remember that the Bible says: "a soft tongue breaketh the bone". (Prov. 25:15).

In Which Areas of Life do we need a Coach?
In every area-professional, social, career, sports, business etc. There are no exceptions. You are your own advisor in this matter. Thorough examining yourself and see in which areas of your life you need the most help. Get a coach. You could have more than more than one coach at the same time but more than one in a life time. Usually, life is segmented into phases, and the life coach you select should be one that can help with your current level of development e.g. career, academics, post-school development etc.

Where to Get a Coach?
You can get a coach from amongst family members, school teachers, lectures, or from the church. However, career guidance services are available at Counseling offices or from related service providers.
The above mentors are visible but we have invisible coaches and mentors too. Invisible mentoring can take place through televisions, internet, books, audio and video Cd's etc. Reading articles and books of successful authors can help you become better at doing everything you set out to do.

What You Would Benefit from Coaches
1.    Experience: No amount of money can buy experience for you
2.    Hands-on know-how or tricks of the trade that help you to outsmart your opponents in the office or the open contest
3.     Puts you through a rehearsal or training that improves your potentials and skills
4.    They provide you with energy that drives your goals and visions
5.     They assist in crystallizing goals and help in fulfilling them
6.    They could connect you to life transforming knowledge, processes, information and institutions

Conclusions

The fable of Albert Einstein turning places with his driver helps to close this topic. The legend holds that Einstein for one reason or the other could not deliver a speech and had consented to his driver of many years delivering the speech. In the process, the driver was said to have done the assignment so well that the audience did not notice the difference.


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How to Organise an Effective Sales Promotion

Experience has shown that an effective sales promotion is best seen as a Project to be planned, managed and executed as such. As in project management there are few stages involved in the process which should be meticulously executed. Whether it be a product or service, the stages are basically the same and would only vary in their details and application.

The first task is to think up a list of committed team members to help in the process. This step is crucial to the success of the Campaign because if the wrong hands are selected, then there would be no commitment to agreed goals and implementation would suffer from a lack of initiative. Remember no matter how well planned the process, there is always a chance that something important is escaping the radar of the planners’ attention. Wrong assembly or ineffective team composition may also lead to shortage of ideas and wish-washy execution.

The next step is to plan out a programme of action. This plan of action or check list in marketing circles is a comprehensive list of all actions required for success of any programme or campaign. Your Check list should ideally include: Venue, Date, Speakers or Speakers or entertainers, dancers or any other attention grabbing devices that may be agreed. Budget considerations are crucial because they determine how extensive or limited the Campaign is to be.

Another step is to consider whether to use internal or external staff or to use a compliment of both. As the Football World Cup approaches for instance, it would be a surprise if Guinness would promote her products in any other way except by the efforts of External Consultants as she has always done. Whether to use Internal or External staff is contingent on a couple of factors: availability of trained and able staff, possibility of retaining and effectively using the team at the end of the Campaign period. It is also crucial that the length of the campaign is considered and whether the company wants to have sales promotion over a long period. Experience shows that long running Campaigns are fraught with tedium, wear-down syndromes.

A good Check list should also include information on resources, Topic or Theme, Public Address System procurement, Publicity materials printing, choice of printers and finance, elevated stands, technicians (PAS), instrumentalists, selection of sub team leader (which should be done be recognized Group heads/ leaders.) As I noted while writing on a similar topic recently, “the complete answers may not be available to these queries but it would do to itemise them and fill them up as the decisions are made concerning what or who would carry out each function”. I also recommend that “you should have alternative processes, venues or actions itemised and crossed out as the events unfold.” As I learnt from Sir Chris Ogbechie of the Lagos Business School (LBS) it is essential to assign responsibilities immediately so that those with various responsibilities would begin to chew up their tasks and improve on what ever they have been assigned. Although this is no guarantee of success, it reduces the chances that you would make a mistake or leave out crucial roles.

The next step is to check out the tasks as they being implemented. Getting a Venue can be problematic if the Campaign coincides with any of the seasonal events in Nigeria. Beginning from September, choice venues like Muson Centre, Eko Hotels, The Event Centre and others are fully booked with rare chances that a day or two may be available in between. For a Campaign that should, all things being equal, last some weeks or couple of days, this will not do.

As with Centres, entertainers such as comedians and dancers are often very busy towards the Christmas festivities. It may become troublesome if you do not start out in time too. Another reason for starting out early is that their names may be required in the publicity materials.

Whether the Campaign is national or localized is also important in choosing which medium to utilize. There would be publicity stunts to promote the Campaign and this will depend on budget, medium, relevance and reach of such media. Every decision to be taken concerning publicity should be weighed against the backdrop of the ROI of the campaign; although it is important to note that a weighed distribution (per annum) may be used to rate the ROI of promotions instead of a Project tenure view. In which case, promotion is considered only as a fraction of the Marketing cost.

The next important step is to get your publicity materials printed on time. Having the computer print out scrutinized by the members of the Committee will help reduce error and promote solidarity amongst the team. Where external teams are involved, it is important to get the views of the Consultants concerning the theme of the Campaign. After all they are the ones to encounter the end users. It is important to note that a feedback form or any other mechanism should be devised such that it would be possible to reach out to the respondents or those who participated in the Campaign. A theme and Scheme may be devised for this purpose.

Security is always an issue in open air Campaigns. There should be a liaison with relevant police authorities in order to safeguard men and materials.

Finally, experience shows that where external consultants are utilized in Campaigns, reporting procedure may be compromised. The Sales Director or Manager therefore needs to include the information that payments to consultants would be contingent upon satisfactory report and return of materials used in the Campaign.

Once the Campaign has rolled off, then you need to keep your eyes on the ball. Ensure that there is regular and constant supply, replenishment of stock. An efficient supply of stock is cost effective and important to success.

If you have done a good preparation, the chances of local variations would be reduced. However, there should be a quick feed back method that ensures that decisions are made quickly. Levels of autonomy available to Sub team leadership are contingent on earlier agreed conditions.

How to Organise an Effective Open-Air Christian Crusade | eHow.com

How to Organise an Effective Open-Air Christian Crusade | eHow.com

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How to become a sales hero

Actor-salesmen are self-driven, and self-motivated. They are the initiators and drivers of sales activities that make all the difference to the department's bottom line. He is best distinguished from the passive salesman by his readiness to go forward and make the difference.

Actor-salesmen are discernible by the following attributes:

· they are focused.

· They plan, make out time to gather relevant information without concentrating on the odds against success.

· they are the cynosure of all eyes and envy in the department. The competitors gossip about him and his superiors praise him.

· they are news makers in the department and in the company. Their lifestyle and what they do top the list of favourite topics in the company.

· They are not afraid of failure or mistakes

· because they are usual forward-going, sometimes they make little mistakes. But, interestingly, it is their traducers who worry, the actor-salesman continues with his mission. They are determined, persistent, and resilient

· They have a big mental picture against which their entire activities are measured. They dream big

· When they are faced with failure, they victory; with failure, they see delay. So they are internal focused and primed for high accomplishments.

· Learning for them is not for knowledge as it is to the passive salesman but for information on actions that can lead to his achieving his goals. Learning propels them forward: it does not enlighten them. Rather they see education in the experience acquired in the field. Their best teacher is experience.

· They know the difference between day-dream and vision. The former leads to slumber: the later a sure fire in the soul.

· They are risk takers.

· Sales heroes do not see themselves as stars but as coaches. For these rare breed, success is having successors who have continued in their vision and strategy.

· So, get up and go. Become a sales hero.

·

HOW TO GET A SALES MENTOR

By Larry Happiday

An aspiring sales man has the absence of professional role-models as the greatest issue to contend with. The problem is compounded by the bourgeoning of sales and distribution as a result of globalization and consumerism making all sorts of goods available for sale. Mentoring bridges gaps; reduces learning curves and increasing output in a short time. Mentoring could turn the most hopeless into the best if it is handled with care and if harnessed with love. The problem of getting a sponsor has never been seen as a business challenge until the emergence of The Global-Mentors.
Now we know that it is possible to get Ben Carson or Mary Kay as a mentor. Indeed all over the world, the Mary Kay model is being replicated. So how can a rural suburban folk in the nether parts of Nigeria, Kenya or Lesotho become a protégé of Odumegwu or even Bill Gates? Take the case of Jose Vergara cited below as an exmple, he studied, copied and became great..


VERGARA, JOSE
Vergara, Jose
A Spanish painter, was born at Valencia in 1726. He displayed fine artistic powers at an early age. He adopted the style of the prints of Spagnoletto, and studied the works of Coypel and Paolo de Matteis. He painted many portraits and numerous pictures for the churches of Valencia and neighboring cities, in oil, fresco, and distemper. The most noted of his paintings are the Conception of the Virgin, in the Convent of San Francisco, at Valencia; and Telemachus and Mentor, in the Academy of San Ferdinando. (from McClintock and Strong Encyclopedia, Electronic Database. )

1. Study.
2. Research
3. Technology
4. Books
5. Direct Encounter/ mentoring
6. Workshops/ Seminars



Study: an aspiring protégé should be studious. To benefit most from the mentor, he needs to be versed with the popular view of the mentor and seek ways to appropriate those good sides to his professional selling. Being studious requires making out the time to think, analyse and synthesize the current of new information that he is able to obtain concerning his subject matter
Research: the he should research to find out if there are other people with similar views and where they differ. This helps him to clarify and clear mental clogs that could hamper harmonious relationships. The areas of research include: the strengths and weaknesses of the mentor, the accomplishments and failures of the mentor and what people say about him. The result of this research will help to reduce expectations, provide a realistic model of mentoring encounter and give the protégé the benefit of knowing whether there are issues he must avoid in his relationship with the mentor such as: religious views, sexual preferences, philosophical opinions that may not be helpful etc.
Technology: in the area of technology there are a few that need to be mentioned. Compact discs, PM3 & 4s, videos and DVDs and tapes are some of the popular media that have helped to provide access to prominent men and women of great accomplishment. The internet has also provided a forum for people to get so much information in matter of minutes and so should be utilized to the full. Get information about any body or anything is as easy as googling the name or the question.
Books: Since the invention of the book, no other invention has affected the way we communicate, educate and train. Books contain information on virtually any subject on earth. Like the internet, books can contain nearly every information that man needs. The problem with books is volume and accessibility. Fortunately, the great salesmen of our time have found that they can further their views and knowledge through writing well thought books. The result is that any one can become a distant protégé of any one merely by reading their books.
Workshops / Seminars: the greatest salesmen are delighted to walk the seminar circuits teaching and mentoring. So every available opportunity should be utilized to further your knowledge and performance. They provide an opportunity to ask questions directly from the mentor and even give access to follow-up encounters if the needs arise.

Direct Encounter/ Mentoring: This is the most gratifying mentoring process but it is also the most cumbersome. To get any one to be your mentor approach him. There are issues with contact-mentors but it is worth the while once the initial hiccups are taken care of.

In all determination to scale the hurdles will bring fulfillment.

How to Eliminate Passivity from your Selling

By Larry Happiday

In the article entitled: How to be a sales Hero on eHow.com, I argued that passivity is a sine qua non for failure in salesmanship. Today, I want to contrast the heroism of the actor-salesmen with his opposite twin: the spectator-salesman, a docile bystander, who wants the world to stand still and wait for it to discover his brilliance. Perhaps in this mirror contrast, we would be able to show the habits and character traits that must be avoided like the plague.
A word of caution from the start: professional sales docility has nothing to do with introversion. As the expression is used her, it only refers a tendency towards dithering and postponing of action as a result of fear. It comes with the realisation that fear is the bedrock of the professional's actions and responses to situations. Fear of failure, fear of mockery, fear of error. It is the emotional baggage that delays actions until too late or too little. The best way to see this is to say that it is ruled by the operative principle: CAUTION. The result that though the actions may be right in the long run, they come too late to make any impact on the bottom line.
The followings are the key elements of the passive-salesman that should be avoided:
• Fear of rejection. Experienced salesmen know that there are no sales without objection, resistance or rejection. In fact, experience shows that sales objection is an integral part of any successful sale. Learn to discover the source of your fear and deal with it. Left unattended to, fear is a crippler of initiative and the tomb of good ideas.
• The second thing that leads to passivity in professional sales life is lack of planning. Nothing inspires and gives confidence like knowing that you have made enough preparation for a sales encounter. The passive sales person either relies on his gift of the garb or eloquence but the actor-sales man sees every sales effort as a battle that has to be won. He works hard to ensure that he wins by seeking information rather than knowledge.
• That brings us to the third step. the passive sales representative seeks knowledge. He wants to be seen as the guy who predicted right (often negative prediction of doom).So, when he reads, he does so with an eye on the thousands of reasons why the sale effort would not work. A sport writer once said that in Nigeria, there are 140million coaches. He meant that it is easier for the spectators to speculate about who and what should have been done to win matches than to go into the field to play. The passive sales man belongs rightly to the spectator side of the game.
• The result of being a spectator is that this kind often loses the opportunity to make it big. He abhors risk-taking and ends up being a mediocre. The dictum: NO VENTURE NO SUCCESS aptly captures the lot of this type of sales person. They see chance, luck or mere coincidence in any achievement recorded by the actor-sales man.
• Another feature of this type is that they are always cynical. Being cynics, they shun news and innovation rather they seek solace in history (again of failures). Hence, they often behind the times in terms of changes in government policies, trends and business directions. A writer said of them that they prefer to be on the side of antiquity.
•
• WHAT TO DO
• If the above characterization fits you, you need to change urgently. The three best cures for fear is: [1] take action, [2]take action and [3] take action
• On the problem of pessimistic view of things, the sales man needs to address his self hatred. Usually, the view arises from a condition of not liking one's self enough to trust one's self to make the right decision. He may have lived all his life being told how the world is a hopeless place. To change the view, he needs to begin by seeking information about himself and about his area of business. Information gives confidence. He needs to start asking questions and reading literature that help build up his sense of self worth. That way he would not be guided by jealousy but would applaud when someone else gets it right.
• Consistently done, he himself would become a sales hero admired by the boss and feared by the laggard sales colleagues who refuse to change.

CUSTOMER RESISTANCE INDEX II

By Larry Happiday
Does the need exist? Is the salesman shooting in the dark? Are customers just plain difficult people? Should customers not make this work easier? Unfortunately, customers have a business they are running and are constantly looking for ways to perform better. That should be your guide when you are trying to deal with customer objection. They are duty bound to verify that the solutions you are offering provide the best answer to their expectations. The salesman therefore is the one to make the job easier for the customer. Does not make the Mr. Atlas, but just makes it easier in the long run for the salesman to make more repeat sales, once confidence has been established.

SALES OBJECTION RESOLUTION
So, the resolution of sales objection is tied closely to the apron-springs of a well organized problem identification process. We can liken this process to a clinical examination of a patient. Assume that the sales objection being experienced is a headache. A doctor knows that there are several possible causes of headache. He would therefore embark on a clinical examination which involves oral interviews. In the process, he is able to locate cause-suspects. In the same manner, the experienced salesman knows that a customers’ objection may have multiple causes. The resolution process is designed to locate the TRUE cause of objection. Remember the reason for objection varies from one client to the other.

HANDLING SALES RESISTANCE
• I have a grievance: A customer may have a legitimate grievance that needs to e sorted out first. So, sort it out. Such grievance may be related to after sales disappointments, failure to fulfill previous promises or any other legitimate complaint. Sales situation is life situation and customers buy from people they can rely on. The more the customer sees your disposition as friendly not exploitative, the better for future business.
How to Identify this Problem?
1. customer is personalizing his attack
2. he feels acts violently and in a threatening manner
3. may not want to talk to you
4. may be crossed with the secretary for allowing you in
(EXERCISE: See if you can identify which behaviour in Part I of this article fits here)

• Price: Price objections are often centered on comparison to other products. But as we noted in Part I, the TRUE CONCERN may be different. A good salesman is not intimidated by price because pricing is related to quality. Another company may have a cheaper variant but the salesman needs to be certain about the products differentiation in order to convince on the claim of superiority.

• No need: Clearly, where the company does not run or operate with the product offered, it is a waste of time to continue to press. Close the the encounter in a friendly and easily recall-able manner as an entree for future sales effort. But do not repeat such mistake; otherwise, you may go down as a fool who does not deserve the attention of a busy executive. Do your home work well before the pitch.

• Fear of commitment: Apart from pricing, this is one of the least understood problems with selling. Every manager has responsibility to his employer. His duty is therefore to buy products or services that help to reduce costs. Clearly, buying products that are not required is a waste of scarce resources. But apart from wastage, the customer has a reputation to maintain. When he buys under pressure, he may discover that he has made any of the following mistakes:
• high price or
• salesman has taken advantage of his lack of adequate information to sell what he does not need
• he can not eventually explain the features and usability of the product to subordinates and colleagues
These and many others may explain why they often prefer to delay action as long as possible rather than make costly mistakes.

CUSTOMER RESISTANCE INDEX I

By Larry Happiday

Whenever the sales presentation is encumbered by sales resistance or sales objection as it is sometimes called, it is expressed in a couple of expressions that can be categorized as follows:

CATEGORIES OF SALES RESISTANCE BEHAVIOUR

• I have a grievance
• Price
• No need
• Fear of commitment

COMMON EXPRESSIONS OF RESISTANCE

• We are fully stocked
• We do not use this type of product
• This price is ridiculous
• No salesman has ever said to me
• You are the cause of problems in this company
• You are a nuisance
• We can a better price for this product
• ABC….XYZ PRODUCT is far better than yours
• Your company is unknown
• ABC Company is better known so you are better selling their product
• We use quality products here so we are not interested
• I’m not interested
• The company policy prevents us from buying from you
• There is no money
• Drop your letter or proposal or brouchure and we’ll get back to you
• We’re already engaged to another supplier

SALES OBJECTION IS NOT SALES REFUSAL

One general principle to understanding resistance is to note that it is not final. Inexperienced salesman find that it customers who “promised” to study your letter turn around days later or weeks later to act dumb and surprised. If you have ever found yourself having to start explain all over how you had come and met with the customer and was told to go and come back some other time, you would understand how unsettling this can be. It will also reveal what such neophyte salesmen consider customer fickleness.

The good news is that such customers have just exhibited customer resistance which is not final and should actually be a cue to ascertain the source of the dissention. Put differently, super sales men know that some of the above resistance behaviours is a signal that the client wants more information.

Only by providing that information would a purchase take place. And the client is not about to let you know how ignorant he may be. So, experienced salesmen have to find it out.

WATCH THE NIGERIAN TELECOMMUNICATIONS RIP OFFS

The global economic recession is forcing companies to do all desperate things to rip off the customer. Recently, there have been a rash of advertisements promising heaven on earth. In a country with as little as $3.00 (US) per day income, the promise of a million dollar as winning prize in a telecommunications company in Nigeria is making waves. However, based on the experience of the vast majority of people over the last twelve months or so, there is need to examine the claims of companies like GLOBACOM, ETISALAT and others to giving out mouth watering incentives.

BACKGROUND
Since last year, the national Telecommunications regulator Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) had placed a ban on advertisement for sale of new mobile lines due to net work congestion, poor customer service, unusually high dropped call rates and other telecommunication put offs that were threatening the survival of the business. The smart telecommution devices a method of circumventing the directive by embarking promotions that pretended to encourage more calls rather than selling new lines. But they beat the regulator to the game by always ending their adverts by promising OLD & NEW SUBSCRIBERS equal access to the great rewards.
The news is that while the ETISALAT campaign is still on, the GLOBACOM WIN AND RULE PROMO promise of giving out five hundred (500) new cars to subscribers has virtually ended without as much as a thud. What would five hundred cars mean to their campaign?
Come with me to a few state governments and you would understand this company has so much to prove that their campaign was not a huge fraud. Almost every state government has transport company. There hundreds of transport companies in Nigeria and because cars or vehicles are mobile, they can always be seen on the roads. I know of some organisatiions with as little as tree branded cars whose vehicles are ubiquitous. No week passes without seeing one on the road. Now, if five hundred advertised cars are to be given out, GLOBACOM branded cars would be seen every day everywhere in Nigeria. I am a regular traveller and quite often prefer travelling by road. Since the so called campaign to give out five hundred cars, there is not even one that I have seen prompting me to ask where are the GLOBACOM cars on Nigerian roads?
Lagos State is home to more 15% of the country's population but home to more 40% of all the industries in the country.
A little arithmetic of consumer facts would help in making our analysis; more than 80% of all banking transaction nationwide take place in or through Lagos, almost 60% of inhabitants of Lagos own a handset majority have up to three (3) their representing their perceived providers of first choice. Therefore, my argument: there is no way the company could have run a promo for nearly six months and Lagos subscribers would not have won up to 75 cars if the Lagos population of nearly 15million is considered. Given the larger number of subscribers per kilometer, Lagos should be able to win up to two times that figure. Finally, if we consider the purchasing power, Lagos residents are about twice as others citizens to afford telephone services. So, no matter what index what applied, I am still curious that I am yet to see or hear from anyone I know of any one who has won the GLOBACOM WIN & RULE car. Compare these with the fact that when Lagos State Government under Governor Fashola and Tinubu brught in 180 buses, they were every where. So, GLOBACOM, where are the cars?
Incidentally, during the entire period of this dubious promo, I was busy travelling from state to state but NEVER saw one such vehicle. It leads to one conclusion:FRAUD
This conclusion is reinforced by the fact that there is weak if not non existent Consumer protection agency. Forget that there is one in name but it is only an apparatus for addressing angry customers. I am not aware that these promos are scrutinised by any ombudsman. There is no known agency that warehouses these promos or there claims.
SUGGESTIONS

1. The Financial crimes agency need to scrutinise Globacom's record to establish that the five hundred cars were given out. I have my doubts that they were.
2. Consumers need to come together under an umbrella to start protecting themselves from unscrupulous businesses who are capitalising on Nigeria's very weak institutions to exploit the people.
3. There is a need for the Ministry of Commerce to come up with guidelines for promos. The Central Bank and NAFDAC have a semblance of this check which makes it possible for claims made by advertisers to be checked before they go public. So, NCC should co-operate with consumers to ensure that telecommunications companies meet their public promise in accordance with their afore-disclosed rules.
4. GLOBACOM and other companies need to make full dislocures of their winners including addresses so as to prove that they were honest in that five hundred cars promo. Otherwise, consumers may begin to bycott and possibly picket their premises.
   
5. The press should come clean on this. This magnitude of fraud can not be going on and the media pretend not to know. Let there be thorough investigations, please.
   

Why Do Customers Resist My Sales Effort?

Why do some sales men make more sales than others? Why do I find it difficult to sustain a sales encounter to the end? Why is it getting more difficult to sell in an these times? Is it something to do with faith or lack of it or just the application of some esoteric business practices? Why is the top echelon of sales occupied by less than 7% of salesmen while the thousands of others wallow in the class of unsung salesmen?
No matter which of the above questions is troubling you right now, the real issue put in a question format that should really bothered you as a sales man is which class of salesmen you wish to belong: the upper 7% or lower 93% of average and failed salesmen.
The question has become even more urgent in view of the global economic meltdown. Make no mistakes, there will still be job losses in the next year. What relief there appears to be is only a slow down in the rise of unemployment. Every salesman should try and figure out who or what department is usually the first to get the knife. put differently, which departmental budget gets the deepest slash in a economic downturn? The answer is obvious to any one who has sat on any management board like I have in the last 17years.
So every sales man needs to make himself the indispensable part of the organisation. Never mind the butts about being queer. What matters is that you are the soul of the organisation. The secret to making yourself the protected specie in the organisation irrespective of the economic tides and turns id simple: learn to handle sales resistance in the most professional manner. But what is sales resistance?

SALES RESISTANCE
This refers to the sum of customer behaviour which results in delayed purchase (in the hands of the adroit sales man) or failed sales effort (in the hands of an inept or inexperienced salesman).

WHY CUSTOMERS RESIST
1. They need more clarification
2. They have no need for the product
3. They have had previous unhappy sales experiences
4. They want to avoid paying exhorbitant prices
5. They want to explore or use alternative products
6. The salesman is insensitive or has not done his home work well
7. Salesman uses pressure tactics or inappropriate behaviour

UNDERSTAND SALES RESISTANCE
To overcome sales resistance, you need to understand its nature. This is where a lot of sales men get it wrong and remain rooted at the bottom of the sales performance ladder. You must seek to understand the source of the resisiting behaviour in order to solve it profitably.
The first step to take is to understand yourself, your strenghts and weaknesses. In a book to be published in December, I have gone into great details to show the shibboleths which we nurse to our chagrin. If you are able to identify your own shibboleths, then you can deal with them and move ahead of the pack.
Then you will need to understand the decision maker in the organisation in which you are about to sell. Prior sales reconnaissance or surveillance will reveal some things that are hidden the beneath the official veneer of officialese. Try to get behind those and you have your target speak to you as a a partner. (More on this process in a subsequent blog post).
You also need to understand the decision making process. In most b2b situations, committees are involved taking decisions. So the Production manager or any other so called functionary may indeed not be the biggest influence on the purchase decision. Or he may not be the only one. So, you will need to perform the above role a little more by also cross checking what you can find about the other decision makers.
The above steps help to reduce the amount of wasted effort that successful salesmen put into get the sale.
However inspite of the great efforts, customers may still resist your sales advances. I always recommend to my participants to see the resolution process as similar to wooing girl.
Consider, is she in the right mood for your advances? If not what do you do? Can you change her mood? Do you have the lightening touch to turn a pensive and angry lady into a laughing and happy one? Humour is one tool that does it real good. How much fun can you poke at yourself and the situation without inflaming the customer the more? If it seems foolhardy to create fun can you sympathise and offer a relief? This is crucial. It does not matter whether this promotes your immediate sales objective. What is important is that the customer is helped to solved his immediate problem. The salesman earns a social credit that can come in handy in due course.

COMMON SOURCES OF CUSTOMER RESISTANCE

1. Price
2. Inadequate information to make appropriate decision
3. Customer is already using a substitute
4. Customer already is "betrothed" to another supplier
5. Target is not the appropriate person or not even qualified to take decision
6. Company does not have need for the kind of product on sale