“I stopped drinking on credit after the very first bill I received,” a friend of mine said, still visibly shaken from the memory. “I realised” he went on, “that I was overly generous when I wasn’t feeling the pinch of a cash transaction.” So, it’s sill January and customers aren’t buying. Resigning to fate is
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When you (like NTSA) blame your customers for your inability to sell, you cross a line that is difficult to ‘uncross’. It’s not me, you say.It’s them. It was the loudest death knell for National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) in particular and the Ministry of Transport in general- the claim that Kenyans, not NTSA,
In this environment, you will see Kenyans binging in a pub lamenting how financially difficult the year was explaining, “We are just drinking away the difficult year” It’s the time of the year again when all logic goes out the window. Buyers brazenly binge and shrewd sellers visibly squeal. Buyers binge for no other reason
“No one cares that the ‘peso was devalued’, or ‘the customer went bankrupt’, or, ‘a new competitor opened next door, or ‘the economy was lousy. You either made the sale or you didn’t. Even earthquakes don’t count.’” Dear Seller, Get cracking! The electioneering period is over. Triggered by the protracted political climate, the tension that
If only we lived in a utopia (Sigh!)-selling would be so much easier, yes? If we lived in an ideal world, selling would be a pure science. In an ideal world, buyers would deliberately involve sellers in crafting spec for say, a tender, ahead of advertising it. That way, sellers would accurately resolve the buyer’s
You are more inclined to listen to the buyer who points out the benefits of having the shirt on; like, “It accentuates your chiseled torso or emphasizes your hip movement.” Stating the benefits of your product isn’t enough to accelerate the sale; to do so, you need to customize them to the respective buyer. The
Contrary to popular belief, buyers don’t know what they want. A bull fight is representative of a misguided seller- buyer relationship. The two lock horns, each digging into his heels, a relationship is broken and future sales lost. This usually occurs when the buyer is experiencing the product; sadly, at this point, the purchase has
So profound is this that a client of mine who sells pesticides tells me that one of their products is more expensive and bulkier than the competitor’s and yet farmers prefer it “Mimi nilivotia Sonko, kwa vile Kidero ametusotesha sana. Na hope Sonko atatulipa mshahara on time kwa vile Kidero alikuwa anakaa sana bila kutulipa.”
Clayton Christensen, Githeri man Chiloba 2017 elections, Jobs to be done theory in selling, Why do customers buy?
Inflict buyer with his pain. There was an insurance agent who used to sell with a miniature coffin, which, as part of his sales pitch, he would point at and crudely tell the buyer, “When you are in here, your family will be suffering in poverty…” “Mtawapelekea nini?” the hawker asked, and we burst out
On the surface these look like genuine reasons to buy; but they are no different than being invited to buy a shirt because “it will cover your nakedness”. Why do buyers really buy your product or service? Chew on that; we’ll come back to it. In my classes, whenever I ask the question, “Why