Prime-Tec Business Consultants

The Millennial Millennial are joining the market in droves, do they have a coach or mentor at the workplace? Have they been mentored or coached at home, college or church on how to fit and grow at the workplace? Millennial have always been told and schooled that they are the best, anything is possible, YOLO and mu

Marg ERP

OSODO: Role of statutory audit in financial statements An auditor is not a stiff or unfeeling automaton sifting through reams of data in a fluorescent-lit room searching for ways to incriminate management.

The third most important skill in business – the ability to sell to a customer (Part 4)

___Seize the moment when it’s offered.

Over the past few years, I’ve talked to you a lot about the most important skills in business. First and foremost - the capacity to READ. Second, and completely essential: the ability to work in numbers (data). Now in the current series we’re looking at the third most important: Every entrepreneur must be a good salesperson!

Some of you have pointed out that if an entrepreneur doesn’t have the ability to sell and market, no matter what other skills he or she might have, the business will sooner or later be doomed. Sadly, it’s really true. You must never be fearful or shy or apologetic about selling.

Let’s recap this series so far: Part 1) Intro: Every entrepreneur must be a good salesperson; Part 2) Presentation is extremely important: Always present with passion and excellence; Part 3) Study to show yourself approved: Accounting, finance, economics, sales and marketing are the foundational skills for any entrepreneur.

Now let’s get to Part 4: Close the deal!

A young real estate agent was showing a couple around a house.

"Why don't we start in the main lounge," he said.

As soon as they entered the room, the woman exclaimed in delight, "I really love this room! Wow, it's amazing!"

"Let's buy this house," the woman said to her husband. "This is what I'm looking for!"

Excited, the young agent said, "Come, I’ll show you the rest of the house."

Then he added, "I have houses even better than this to show you!"

He hurried them to see the rest of the house. After that he drove them to see some other houses, and encouraged them to call him the next day.

They didn’t call him, and he did not get the sale.

Explaining his disappointment to an older more experienced sales agent, he was totally surprised when the other man laughed at him:

"You should have closed the deal on the first house. When she said ‘I love this room,’ that's the point where you start working to close a deal!"

Many people just don't know how to close a sale. I see it all the time. I'm always watching the sales techniques of people I meet every day, even in shops.

You must know when you have made a sale, and move quickly to close. Don't keep going in circles!

# The customer is the one who is choosing, not the seller. So there was no point in telling them he had other better houses.

There’s a story told about a businessman who was negotiating a multimillion dollar deal in a restaurant. As the negotiations proceeded late into the night, and got to a crucial stage, the waiter came to them and said, "We are about to close, sir." The man looked around and realised that they were the only people left in the restaurant.

He got up and said to the waiter, “I want to see the manager immediately.”

Seeing the manager he asked, "How much do you make in one night?"

"$2000, sir."

"Okay, I will give you $25,000, and one week’s wages for each of your staff if you keep things open."

They shook hands. The man went back to the table and continued the negotiations, until he closed the sale.

# Close the deal! Tomorrow it may not be there. There are always things that can happen that can completely change the trajectory of a deal.

# A good salesperson knows when to seize the moment, and move to close.

To be continued. . .

Beware of p**n, guns and drugs.

__If a business opportunity looks too good to be true, it could be much worse than that!

A friend of mine in South Africa who is into "BEE deals" (as they call them over there, stands for Black Economic Empowerment), called me one morning, very excited: "I have these American guys who want to sell us a company in one of the Caribbean Islands. It's a financial services business. It makes a lot of money. Can I bring them to see you?"

He's a dear friend so I acquiesced to his request. The Americans were smooth, sophisticated guys from Texas who made a very impressive pitch. These were days before things like PayPal and Mobile Money transfers.

After the pitch, I asked them if we could see some financials. We signed the customary Non-Disclosure Agreements and we were given the papers, including the presentations. I promised a quick response. They wanted African partners to roll out in South Africa, and the rest of Africa.

“We need a strong BEE partner, and you guys at Econet can also take us into Africa," was the parting shot.

That evening I sat down to look at their financials. It was a remarkably profitable business!

I quickly called one of my top financial advisors, Ayo Adeboye, and gave him this directive:

"P**n, guns or drugs. I just want to know which one it is?"

A few hours later, Ayo walked in with a big shake of his head.

"P**n."

"I thought so."

"How did you know, because it is not easy to see, based on their presentation?"

I sighed: "Those kind of profit margins and cash flows are only possible from criminal enterprises like p**n, guns or drugs."

The following day, I called my friend and told him that the business these guys were involved in was an immoral and criminal enterprise. He was initially very upset... with me!

I also told him that it was a totally immoral enterprise, whose victims included children, and these guys knew they were facilitating such activities.

The lure to make an extraordinary amount of money was very strong, and I could see that the temptation was there for my friend, to try and justify himself. I don't know what became of it, and I never discussed it again with him. I just know he did the right thing, and quietly walked away from the "deal of a life time"...

There is no such thing! The "financial service” they were offering was a special pre-paid debit card which allowed people to buy p**nographic materials on the Internet without their name being traced.

There are businesses out there that you will know at once are criminal enterprises. They always come with a promise of easy money, or unusually large profit margins.

"Hey. Be careful out there…" (Line from a popular TV series).

Check very carefully what you're being drawn into, even if the people behind it are impressive. Corrupt, criminal enterprises will land you in jail or worse.

End.

The third most important skill in business (Part 1).

A few weeks ago I identified the most important skill in business as the ability to read. The second most important is the ability to count (work in numbers). I've also talked about this before. Now what is the third? It's the ability to sell!

This is a huge topic and one of my favorites: Every entrepreneur must be a good salesperson. You must never stop selling, even if you're the richest man in the world.

I remember listening to Bill Gates one day talking passionately about one of the products from Microsoft. I thought to myself, "Wow, he is the richest man in the world, but he’s still interested in selling his products!"

And it's not just Bill Gates.

__Every great entrepreneur has this skill: the ability to sell.

Let's talk. First things first:

When I was about eight years old, my mother gave me a packet of sweets to take to school. I sold the sweets one by one over the lunch break! After that, I bought my own sweets and sold them to my friends using my profits. Before long I had a little business.

But it almost became a disaster when I took to the streets and got lost, whilst trying to sell my sweets. Then my mother intervened! She stopped me selling sweets on the street and channeled my energy into more creative things, and helped me sell them from her shop. She did not kill my entrepreneurial zeal.

There are a lot of people who dream of getting into business, but they think it’s beneath them to be seen trying to sell something.

__Never look down on a street vendor, because from their ranks will come more great entrepreneurs than from most business schools!

Whatever it is you're trying to do, whether it's a product or a service, you must know how to sell. There are millions of people who work for organizations, even in very senior management positions, who could not even sell an alcoholic beverage to an alcoholic. This is bad.

There’s an old adage amongst military planners which says, "A battle plan is only as good as your first contact with the enemy." In business we say, "A business plan is only as good as your ability to sell to a customer."

The ability to sell is a skill you need, beyond selling something to a customer. It includes "making a proper pitch" to investors and bankers. It also includes "selling your vision" to potential and current employers, and partners.

__It's all about the ability to sell!

I want you to become conscious about what it really takes to sell something. Once you become conscious of selling at its most basic level, we can move on to things like marketing.

Let me close by saying this: Some of the greatest salespeople I've ever known are Americans. I have such admiration for the practice of sales and marketing in the United States.

Imagine for a moment the guy who invented Coca-Cola... How on earth did he persuade people they could overcome thirst by drinking a "black" liquid?! I imagine people would have recoiled at the idea of drinking something that looked dirty, and there were no fridges in those days.

From now on, I want you to think consciously about how a product or service is being sold!

One last thing: It doesn’t matter how good you are in sales, if the product or service is bad, you will not last. Let's talk about how you can become the greatest salesperson, even to the point of selling ice to Eskimos!

To be continued....

Day 5: Identify the knowledge, information and skills you will need to achieve your goals.

What one skill, if you developed and did it in an excellent fashion, would have the greatest positive impact on your life?

Day 4: Identify the obstacles that you will have to overcome to achieve your goals.

80% of the reasons that are holding you back from achieving your goals are inside yourself.

Day 2: Write down everything you want to achieve.

Your goals must be in writing. They must be clear, specific, detailed and measurable. Only 3% of adults have written goals, and everyone else works for them.

Are you a landlord? Then kindly plan to attend the tax amnesty on rental income training sessions which will be starting on 2nd November 2015. Come one, come all. Karibu!

What new Companies Act means for entrepreneurs It is an exciting time for the business community in Kenya. On September 11, 2015, the President assented to the Companies Act, 2015, which repeals the 1948 Companies Act (Cap 486).