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

Tavershima Ayede
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Sales and Marketing Talk with Taver: The Nigerian Business Blueprint. Get straight-to-the-point advice to boost your sales and grow your business in Nigeria. Are you tired of generic sales tips that don't apply here? I give you practical, strategies for the challenges and opportunities of the Nigerian market. From building strong relationships to handling tough conversations, each episode has lessons you can use right away. Whether you're a startup founder, or a seasoned expert, you'll find the tools and inspiration here to succeed. Don't just listen—start selling.

  1. 3D AGO

    Stop Selling Price: How to Discover Real Value

    If you're a founder, a CEO, or a professional salesperson and you're feeling frustrated because your leads seem "unserious," I need you to hear this: Most of them ARE unserious.  We have this wrong expectation that if we talk to 100 people, 50 or 60 should buy. But look at the data - depending on who you ask, only about 3% to 7% of people are actually "in market" and ready to take action right now. That means over 90% of the people you meet are just browsing or curious. Stop being shocked by this! Its the nature of the game. Your primary job isn't to "convince" everyone to buy; its to figure out who is actually serious. And no, giving a discount isn't the magic fix.  Discounts often just devalue your product and hurt your commission.  A discount only works when you're talking to a qualified buyer who already has a sense of urgency. So, how do you fix your sales process? You stop selling price and start discovering value. You cant sell value using your own yardstick; you have to find out what the customer actually cares about. This requires quality, in-depth conversations.  Go back to the "toasting" stage of dating. How did you get to know someone? You asked open-ended questions. Use the "Five Ws and an H": Who, Why, What, Where, When, and How. Instead of just asking technical specs, ask why they want to take action now or when they need the solution in place. When you ask the right questions, the information will just "vomit" from their mouth, giving you the levers you need to actually close the deal. Stop complaining about "unserious" customers and start having better conversations.

    36 min

  2. 5D AGO

    Why Your Customers Actually Hire You (And How to Ask Them)

    Yesterday on the radio show, I had a really interesting conversation with a caller named Stanley about something every single one of us needs to master if we want to sell well: our USP. Whether you call it a Unique Selling Point, a Unique Selling Proposition, or as our American friends say, a Unique Value Proposition, it's the key to your business growth. Are you just guessing why people do business with you? For a long time, I was! Back when I was in the event space, I told everyone to hire me because I didn't use Photoshop. I thought that was my "thing." But after I actually sat down and talked to my clients, I discovered they didn't care about the Photoshop. They hired me because of my professional attitude. I had been wasting time marketing the wrong thing! You owe it to yourself to know your USP with your "full chest" so you can say it confidently without stuttering. When you know exactly why you're different, you can put those exact words on your billboards, your flyers, and your social media. How do you find it? 1. Stop the guesswork. 2. Talk to your customers. Don't just text them; have a real conversation. Thank them for their business, make sure they're happy with your work, and then ask: "What is it that you like about doing business with me?" 3. Listen for the "gems." When a bride told me I was the only vendor she didn't have to worry about, that became my authority. I could tell future clients that I was the proactive one they wouldn't have to chase. If you're like Stanley and you're lucky enough to have too many reviews to count, don't get overwhelmed. Use AI to do the heavy lifting. You can use Google Gemini or even the Meta AI tool right there in your WhatsApp inbox. Copy and paste those reviews, give the AI some context about your business in Abuja or Lagos, and ask it to distill your USP for you. Don't be proud, be humble enough to listen to the feedback, even the bad stuff. That's where the "real koko" is.

    38 min

  3. 6D AGO

    How to Spot Serious Customers (and Stop Wasting Your Time)

    Hey everyone, are you tired of chasing prospects who never actually buy? We've all been there spending weeks talking to 20 people only to find out 19 of them were just "curious" or doing research. If you want a "heavy" bank account instead of an "anorexic" one, you need to change how you filter your leads and talk to potential customers and clients. We talk a lot about the BANT framework "Budget, Authority, Need, and Timeline", but theres a missing piece I see most salespeople forget: the "Why." Asking someone when they want to start is a great first step. But if you don't ask why they chose that date, you're flying blind. Knowing the "why" is what gives you the confidence to follow up with your "full chest." Its the difference between being a professional who respects a client's calendar and being a pest who's just chasing a month-end quota. Think about the example of "Cynthia" I shared. Because she knew her client's family was relocating in September, she could push for that deposit with authority. She wasn't guessing; she was helping them meet a real, personal deadline. Don't just stay on the surface. Dig deeper. Ask why. It turns selling into a creative endeavor and, more importantly, it gets results eventually.

    18 min

  4. MAY 18

    Don't Change the Business, Change the Way You Sell

    I see it all the time. A business owner is struggling, sales are down, the "vibe" is off, and the bank account is looking thin.  Suddenly, they get a "brilliant" idea: This business is just too hard. I'm going to start a new one! Ill move from soap making to cashew farming, or from corporate gifting to web design. I had to be blunt with "King David" (the subject of today's podcast episode, but not his real name) when we discussed his familys situation: Its not going to work. The truth is that most business failures aren't caused by the industry; they are caused by fundamental flaws in how you operate. If you don't know how to target the right customers, if you lack a framework for business conversations, or if you don't have the courage to ask for the deposit and close the deal, those problems will follow you. You can change the product, but you're still the same salesperson. If you couldn't close a deal for a coffee mug, you won't magically be able to close a deal for a website or a piece of real estate. Beyond the skills, there is the "Learning Curve" to consider. When you've spent years mastering the beauty and soap industry, you have specialized knowledge. Jumping into cashews means starting at zero. You have to learn everything from soil types to harvesting and new regulations. That gap between starting and reaching profitability is a long, dangerous road. My advice remains the same: Build one house until it is strong enough to stand on its own. Don't try to be a "jack of all trades" when your first trade is currently underwater. Fix your unit economics, improve your cash flow by selling your way out of the hole, and master the art of the close. Once that business can run without you needing to be there 247, then you can think about the next venture. Don't carry old flaws into new enterprises. Fix the foundation first.

    24 min

  5. MAY 18

    Rescuing the Family Business: A Guide for the Next Generation

    Hey everyone, I recently had a deep dive with a listener I'll call "King David" (not his real name). He's the firstborn son stepping into his family's beauty products business, trying to help his father, "King Solomon" (also not his real name) navigate a tough season. Like many of you, David's first instinct was to ask: How do we raise capital effectively and efficiently? I had to be frank with him: In todays climate of hyperinflation, there is no such thing as "cheap" money from banks or lenders. If you're looking for low-cost funding, you have to look toward grants and the best way to find them is by using the AI tools already on your phone. Whether its Gemini or even the Meta AI right inside your WhatsApp, you can use specific, detailed prompts to uncover grants tailored to your exact industry and location. But heres the bigger secret: You can't just throw money into a leaky bucket. If your business isn't currently viable or your pricing (unit economics) is off, more capital will just disappear. The real solution? Sell your way out.  In this episode, we discuss:    The AI Research Hack: How to use long, contextual prompts to find funding opportunities.    The "Past & Current" Strategy: Why your best source of immediate revenue is the contact list already in your father's/ business phone.    Fixing the Leak: Separating personal and business accounts to stop cash management issues.    The 80% Rule: How to handle credit and payment terms so you never lose your leverage. Reviving a business is hard work, but with the right strategy and a bit of "reasoning" from AI, you can turn the tide. Listen in and lets get those businesses growing again!

    1h 4m

  6. MAY 16

    Start with Your Mouth, Not Your Invoice

    In this final installment of our three-part series, we dive deep into the world of troublesome clients and the traps even experienced sales professionals like "Fresh Prince" (not his real name!) fall into. We look at the "quote-quote-quote" game where you send multiple invoices only to hear its "too expensive" and why this happens when you fail to use a proper conversation framework. I break down the BANT framework (Budget, Authority, Need, Timeline) as a simple mental map to qualify prospects before you ever hit "send" on a PDF. We discuss why money conversations must start with your mouth, not an invoice, and why "unprincipled concessions" are killing your profit margins and your status as a professional.  You'll learn how to handle the "Big Boss" who offers "exposure" or "promotion" in exchange for a lower price, and why your greatest security in sales isn't closing one big deal, its prospecting. We wrap up with a secret trick: the absolute best time to pick up the phone and hunt for new business is immediately after you've collected a big commission, while your confidence is at its peak.

    1h 7m

  7. MAY 15

    Why 3 Months Without a Deal Isn't Always a Failure

    Welcome back to part two of our three-part series on tackling poor sales performance. If you're an employee or salesperson struggling to hit your monthly targets, you're in the right place. Today, we're continuing our case study with "Fresh Prince," (not his real name) who sells roofing sheets in Lagos. He's been worried because he hasn't closed a deal in three months, but as we explore in this episode, whether that's actually "bad" depends entirely on your sales cycle. I break down how sales cycles vary wildly from five minutes for a Bluetooth keyboard to several weeks for a car, and potentially months or years for roofing and government contracts. In the residential roofing sector, a deal usually closes in two to six weeks, so if you're three months out there, we have a problem. However, for large-scale commercial projects, three to six months is standard. We discuss how to identify the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), like site visits and meetings, that show you're on the right track even before the money hits the account. A major focus of this episode is how the way you sell is actually your biggest differentiator. I share a personal story about a roofing professional who won my family's business not through the lowest price, but through a rigorous diagnostic process. By asking the right questions about elevation and square meters, and even catching errors just by looking at a photo of the building, he established himself as an expert. I'll show you how to use your needs analysis to instill confidence and prove you aren't just a vendor, but a subject matter expert. We also get tactical with two powerful strategies: Referral Looping and T-Selling. I explain how to maximize "development clusters" or estates where multiple buildings are at the same stage. With T-Selling, I walk you through the "left-right-opposite" framework, visiting the neighbors of your current client to introduce yourself, offer free inspections, and build a local reputation.  Finally, we touch on seasonality. If you're trying to sell roofing during the peak of the rainy season when wood frames are prone to warping, your lack of sales might just be the weather, not your skill. We wrap things up by looking ahead to part three, where we'll tackle how to handle those troublesome clients who always complain that you're "too expensive."  Whether you're in roofing, solar, or even accounting, the principles we talk about today are designed to help you audit your process and start moving those deals forward.

    46 min

  8. MAY 14

    Why You Aren't Closing: Diagnosing Poor Sales Performance

    I'm back to kick off a brand-new three-part series on a topic that hits home for many: dealing with poor sales performance. I recently heard from a listener I'm calling "Fresh Prince," (not his real name) a salesperson in Lagos who has been struggling to close deals for three months. It happens to the best of us, but as a "business doctor," I know we have to diagnose the system before we can find the cure.  In this first part, I'm breaking down three major areas where your sales process might be breaking down: 1. Targeting: Are you chasing everyone with a pulse, or are you actually talking to your Ideal Customer Profile? If you're selling roofing sheets to someone who just broke ground on their foundation today, you're way ahead of yourself. 2. Advancements: A sale isn't just one big jump; it's a series of mutually agreed-upon next steps. If you aren't securing a commitment for the next meeting or a site visit, you aren't advancing, you're just talking. 3. Conversation Frameworks: From building rapport and credibility to using tools like BANT (Budget, Authority, Need, Timeline), you need a roadmap for your conversations so you aren't just "freestyling." Sales isn't magic; its about looking under the hood and fixing what's broken. If you're feeling like Fresh Prince and need a detailed consultation to look at your data and your process, reach out!

    31 min
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About

Sales and Marketing Talk with Taver: The Nigerian Business Blueprint. Get straight-to-the-point advice to boost your sales and grow your business in Nigeria. Are you tired of generic sales tips that don't apply here? I give you practical, strategies for the challenges and opportunities of the Nigerian market. From building strong relationships to handling tough conversations, each episode has lessons you can use right away. Whether you're a startup founder, or a seasoned expert, you'll find the tools and inspiration here to succeed. Don't just listen—start selling.

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