₦airaland Forum

My son is plus 1, I gave him an awesome punk hairstyle. My mother has been angry ever since lol...Ama never gonna cut my Kings hair...haha

ireneidiva:
oga you guys should stop this entrepreneur rubbish. Most people need a stable environment to work for a while. They also need to save up before they can start their own business. Why did you have to work in your 720k net job in the first place. Stop saying nonsense and derailing this thread. op its not true. Most entry level jobs are actually by merit. Check out the big 4. Will soon share my story.

U no get sense

livgenius:
When I finished NYSC, I got 4 jobs in big organisations without knowing anybody. 1 foreign bank and 3 out of the big 4 accounting firms. The bank job was even waiting for me before I finished NYSC. Within 3 months after I resumed work at one of the big four, I left to an even better job at another foreign bank. All these just by submitting cv and going for test and interviews.
Don't let anybody fool you that there are no jobs. They are there. Dont let anybody fool you that your degree class doesn't matter. It does. It gets you past the initial screening at the very least. Tailoring your cv to each job. And knowing how to behave at interviews. Confidence and a hint of cockiness and of course you must know what you are talking about. People go for interviews
without researching the job or the organisation
How will you be successful?

I started from a 120k job and moved to an over 400k job without knowing anybody

I left a 720k net job to become an enterpreneur. My 25 year old brother who works for me makes more than my initial salary monthly. Work towards liberating yourself from slavery.

[quote author=mottykings post=56635474]if u want to start onion business go to aleiro in kebbi state. biggest onions market in nigeria. go there yourself do ur visibility studies well interact and get a very reliable seller among d traders there,collect his phone number discuss with him u might not av d opportunity of coming down all d time so he can send to u. pls make sure u find out d seller DAT sell at cheaper rate and same time quality onions. don't give ur money to anybody go there yourself . am planning to go into onions biz with my partner but we are not ready now due to some reasons. another thing dont use all ur money to buy onions at once u can start with 500k worth.[/quote

Thanks for this, I just read a few things about one onions market on kebbi state, thanks. Will plan for it.

ajugbo:
i am from the north and i can get you started, if you are serious about this call me on 08030824742. my wife has Conection with producers

Thanks but No.

Hi Folks,

Please my wife just passed out from service and I personally want her to further. I want her to venture into onions business.
Please I need assistance on how and where to get the onions cheap. Transportation cost and any other vital information I should know.
Points: calabar is business environment
Budget: 1-2 million.

I will be most grateful.

Please I tried pulling off details from a previous nairaland post on onions, but left immidiately I realised the lady scammed a whole lot of people..

jollymizzle:
I'm amazed how you said basically the same thing(almost... considering yours wasn't even as concise) as the person you quoted and believed you were right and the other peson was wrong. Now tell me, what are 'features' and what are 'benefits'? Aren't features an encapsulation of benefits. The primary benefit of any pen is that it should work(write) the features of a pen can be to' work and be reliable'among others that set it apart. Even the illiterates who sell water have added a 'feature' to their product by calling it 'pure water'. Now tell me how does one sell a product without stating it's features?

Please, read books and stay informed. Someone above has a more intelligent answer.

.

Afonjashapmouth:
Quote me only if you are intelligent and steer clear if you r ignorant plus full of sentiments ..... I am not here to lecture you since you know it all, so bruff swallow your knowledge or teach your own crowd. I have been selling IT products which are unseen via cold calls and FYI the best sales man in my coy so save me your blah blah blah. Don't mention me again plz

Forgive my indiscretion Sir. Its for a learning purpose ok

Afonjashapmouth:
The problem with an average Nigerian has always been too wise to adopt other people's mode of operation, sales differs from client to client so does products and it's pitching mode. Selling a physical product is quite different from unseen products if you care to know. Back to the pen's question. Selling a pen can be done with different techniques and this will be based on your on-site observation. Some buyers believe every professional pitch is a scam while some will buy anything from a white collar job seller. don't be surprised what an office sales man could not sell would attract a mass sales by a mere inside danfo sales man. I have seen a car selling an herbal product with well packaged site of sales however no patronage for the spent 10minutes of my time at the spot and same product was marketed by a clown who took his time to study the comical part of the product and also observe the danfo persengers who were super stressed out and needs a relief of the weight. He sold at 2x the price to 70% of the persengers plus 80% took his contact. Sales comes with alot of decision making and it differs depending on state and situation of the buyers. Do much of human psycology, body language and ice breaking study and sales will never be the same for you. That's my opinion as an entrepreneur.

Your analogy is flawed, sales should be effortless. More of conviction less of persuasion. There are a few factors that affect consumer purchase behaviour, and as a sales man you need to quick to listen and access.
The coy that couldnt obviously dont know their market and tilt strategies towards the direction.

Finally, the demand for every good product is in abundance, unlock the abundance.

ayindejimmy:
Quality is the stuff a product is made of
And benefits are what you stand to gain or achieve by using the product.

You are so correct, see scenario below, be the judge.
Selling a bottle water

Eg 1 xyz water is unique,its odourless, its tasteless and it has been certified very safe having gone through the purification process. Its surely the best ma.

Eg 2, Addition to the above eg remind the consumer that the bottle water contains zinc, which aids digestion, diabetes, cancer, etc.

Which would prompt you to make a purchase my friend?

ayindejimmy:
I've seen something like this before. Lemme try.
To sell the pen, you have to ask the buyer look beyond the quality of the pen only.
"Here is a reliable pen unlike any other. I once signed a million dollar contract with this pen. It's consistent, reliable and durable. Think of what you can achieve with this pen-no limitations. Have you ever been in a situation you need to note something down or seal a deal and the average pen just blurred out? Well, here is a pen you can used for years with sustainable perfect readable ink on any paper. This pen is being used by top executives of multinational companies on a daily basis to seal deals worth millions of dollars. It's their preferred choice for signing the biggest contracts you can possibly imagine. Avail yourself of the same experience they are having daily.
We give refund to unsatisfied customers but believe me, none has ever claimed it.
Take one of this pen and experience all the wonders of innovative technology crafted into one piece.
You're sure to thank me later

You have done well? I will hire you for just one statement.
Look beyond the qualities of the pen..

Tonymic4life:
Oga Wats d diff with wat u said and d guy u quoted? From my understanding, both of u r saying same thing, ur explanation is vague while his is more precise, at least he listed some of d benefits. So guy calm down and understand people's comments. Peace out.

What is the difference between qualities and benefits?
Smh

Laurele:
As a sales man i bliv you should learn to pay attention to details, read my comment again and see how indifferent n out of point ur reply to it is

please pay attention to details recruiter.your original reply says.
Just tell the interviewer the qualities of the pen, its durability, its unique color n physique wether or not its a refill etc.. Basically y its different from other pens.

Points: dont sell qualities, sell value. Though the refill is value. This is supposed to be for a learning purpose, no harshness intended.

wunmi590:
Lol, this got me laughing, I nearly pee on my body when similar question was asked in my present coy.

When I got there I was asked to introduce myself and other question and how my last experience can profer solution to the organization, I did all that.

But to the main question, one of the interviewer was having a bottled water beside her, and she said please can you market this water for us? And I was like wetin this one dey ask self, not knowing that's what would give me the job.

And it goes thus:

Me (Marketer): Good morning ma, please may I have few minute of your time and she said yes.

Interviewer : For what? Okey go on

Me (marketer): Am really sorry to take few minute of your time, I have a water I want to introduce to you ma.

Interviewer: Am listening

Me (marketer): This water i used my name for the product, is one of the best, it is refreshing, odourless, it quenches taste and makes you ask for more, as a microbiological manufactured water, it has gone through all normal microbiological analysis to make sure it is free from germs and microorganism.

Do you know, this table water is the first in Nigeria that contains zinc, let me tell you the health benefits of zinc ma, I treats acne, prevents night blindness, cancer and even helps with diabetes. Whenever you thirsty, think xyz water.

And finally ma, if anybody takes this water, it would wash away the person's sins and take them straight to heaven.

How mary cartons would you want you buy-funny closure.

Interviewers: Started laughing, and one of them asked if its holy water.

Me (marketer): Just stood there and started laughing.

That's how I got the job.

Fair enough, you did very well. In your original response to the question, I will attempt to infuse benefit and sell value proposition also never fail to close a sale..

.

Davidolives:
How can you sell a features of a pen I can't Laff oooooooooo



My own point of view is to sell the benefit of the pen and try to enter the emotional part of the buyer 90 percent of things we buy are as a result of emotional decisions.

Spot on...

Marketing manager with 3 months experience. You no dey serious. Yeye gnld people

Laurele:
I actually asked someone this exact question for an interview i conducted for my company.
Just tell the interviewer the qualities of the pen, its durability, its unique color n physique wether or not its a refill etc.. Basically y its different from other pens... As a sales man u shld b able to sell just about anything

I will resist the urge to use harsh words. Sell features of a pen and you call it sales? Utter ridiculousness. I advise you understand truly the meaning of sales.

Nobody pays attenrion if you aint ready to sell benefits, why your product is different relevant. A true sales man knows value is what you need to communicate.

Thanks

olasclef:
It's very simple, just talk about those qualities that makes the pen stands out. Example. If you use the pen to write on a paper and water pour on the paper, the ink will not look blur and the content will still be readable.

Very simple indeed, I hope this joke.

Your write up was largely unedited, use of heritage bank was strikingly alarming. Note this next time..

I have this gut feeling its not worth it. If you are resident in owerri, then give it a try..

oluwafreshkid:
We should all know he was asked to sell a pen.... So trivial you'd say.
How do convince a ceo to buy a pen from you? Someone talked about giving the features of the pen and the benefit to the user. Lol
Who doesn't know the use and benefit of a pen. What the writer did here was to place a premium value on the pen. He attached much importance and hype to the pen. Its a mind thing. As a ceo, you'd love to own a collectors pen.
You don't expect that he should start telling him how faster and cleaner the pen writes. Sunny Ade's guitar was sold for 50m not cos it was the best around, but because a premium was placed on it.

You are in an interview for the post of a sales manager, lets say for instance minimie noddles. And you are asked to sell minimie noodles to him? What are you gonna do or sell??

There are lots of articles on linkedin that counters this outmoded sell me a pen analogy!

For you to make a sales pitch, you must have enough information and value proposition of the product you seling.

I once worked as a brand manager of a premium brand in Nigeria, once I meet any key distributor , I quickly remind you that the product you see as the market leader has a lot of refill. This information alone makes our interaction more interesting. Being a sales pro goes beyond knowing your brand, know the competition too. My fifty kobo

GreatHercules:
You are a clown to state outrightly that i have no sales experience because i asked him to give his own perspective of a brilliant answer.

I agree that you have to understand your product to sell it. But you guys are missing something, which is "thinking on your feet". They have the interviewee a product he has no idea of and instead of backing it, he actually came up with something that satisfies the end game "selling the product". his methods, although unconventional, but it worked didn't it.

Btw, your answer to the interview was equally brilliant.

My friend, the moment you attempt to sell a product you dont know in an interview you have failed.leave all this sell me a pen example . asking you to sell plantain flour for example and you go out stunting with all the vitamins bla bla. Failed.. know your product or tactfully beat the interviewer in his own game. Haha

Eastwalk:
Unbiased rating, nice one

My own list

Most developed state capital
1.Ikeja
2.Ibadan
3Port-harcourt
4.Kano
5.Uyo
6.Enugu
7.Calabar
8.Kaduna
9.Akure
10.Owerri

Most beautiful capital
1.Ikeja
2.Calabar
3.Enugu
4.Owerri
5.Uyo
6.Akure
7.Awka

Fastest developing capitals city

1.Dutse
2.Gombe
3Awka

Dutse city

How can calabar be most beautiful city?

GreatHercules:
I have just these words to say, if this answer is far from brilliant, kindly give us a brilliant answer that'll sell a pen.

webincom is so right!! Your response definitely shows you have very little or no sales experience. Let me help you. He was selling features, no way sell, the benefits brother-sell the value proposition. What do I stand to gain when I use your product. How can you attempt to sell a product you dont know?

Point 2: I showed up for a multinational sales manager interview, I was given a milk to sell. I told the interviewer that for me to do that , he will need to tell me more about the product. I was also unsure if he was my target market. I rather should be selling chinese tea in here. They lol loud. In the end he gave me a firm handshake, the rest na history.

Every product out there is embedded with a different feature and benefit, that will attend to peoples needs and wants.

Sell me the benefits brother..

dominique:
So sad
Where did this happen? Abuja?

Yes ooo

Brothers for life, all gone.

Chai jesus

......

adewumiopeyemi:
Realy are u sure about this bro.. so make we no put home on it..

Please go...

What do you expect from a company that uses workbay. Seems you wanna fight for your salary lol...got a job with one coy on same building, they couldnt pay salary lol. Left after 1 week...