Sales Lessons from a Wuse 2 Underwear Vendor

Too many Nigerian entrepreneurs are waiting for that "perfect" customer who slides into the DM, asks for a price, and pays immediately without a single question. We want things to come quick and easy, but unless you are at the scale of a giant like Netflix or Amazon, being impersonal is hurting your business.The truth is, while you are a small, micro, or nano-business, you must have a process for qualification and discovery. This simply means taking the time to figure out who you are talking to and what they actually need before you try to close the sale.I recently saw this in action while trying to overhaul my wife's wardrobe (starting with the undies). I reached out to several "fancy" Instagram vendors and got zero response. They only wanted the "perfect" order they didn't have to work for.Then, my sister-in-law took me to a physical store in Wuse 2 Abuja run by a middle-aged, semi-literate Igbo man. He didn't have a fancy accent, but he had a process:He made no assumptions: He asked questions to figure out exactly who I was buying for and what the situation was.He avoided confusing jargon. He was a consultant, not just a seller: When I asked for "Brazilian" underwear and he didn't have it, he didn't just say "No." He asked questions to understand why I wanted that style and then put multiple options on the table based on comfort, sophistication, and other factors.By being conversational and taking charge of the interaction, this man was averaging sales of 100k per customer while I was there!Stop being lazy. Your superpower is that you are the subject matter expert in what you sell.Whether you sell welding services, water tanks, or lingerie, you need to stop waiting for orders and start having conversations. Figure out the problem your customer is trying to solve, and you will see 20% to 50% growth without spending a kobo more on ads.If you want me to look at your business processes or audit your sales framework, let’s talk. You can reach me via WhatsApp at 08064662140