How to Turn Passersby into Customers: The Art of the "Pull"

Hello and welcome to the podcast. Today we're going to talk about how to start conversations in retail. Or if you own a retail shop and you have a sales boy or sales girl as we call them in this part of the world, how you can train them on how to start conversations in retail. Because when you have a retail establishment, when you have a shop in a place like City Plaza, Grand Square, you know, places in Abuja, let's see what else.

OK, Spa Spa is a nationwide franchise. So is this spa? I mean, what's it called again? ShopRite. Yeah, ShopRite. So if you happen to have a retail outlet in any of these establishments, you know, there's lots of food, traffic, people are walking by the store. And sometimes you want to try and get people into the store so you can have a conversation because you never know, you might be able to get a sale that way. Because sometimes people walk into the shop because, you know,

they come there because they want to buy something. And sometimes people walk in just because they, I mean, they walk by, they look through the, the glass window, you know, they're curious. So we're trying to have a conversation to bring them into the store. Now the reason why this is the topic I'd be the question that we're tackling today is because I happen to go by City Plaza, needed to buy AAA batteries and needed to buy some water.

So OK, I was told they didn't the they don't sell water there, that's Seaway. So I put the Seaway bottles outside of the store. I went in, I got my AAA batteries and then I was leaving. Then as I was strolling now, I saw one of my long lost loves because back in the day when we moved to Lagos, when I was about 131213 ish at the time, there was one of my guys, one of my seniors, Benga, Benga Wellington, he's a lawyer now,

was still in touch. So I noticed that he had this watch, it's called a Swatch. It's a Swiss watch. So you know, obviously Swatch and they make water resistant wristwatches. And I, I just fell in love with the brand back then, you know, as a little kid. And I just determined that I was only going to wear swatches. So I went for a very long time just wearing Swatch. If I'm not wearing Swatch, I'm wearing Casio. I was either Casio or Swatch or Shah.

You know, those are the only two things you see on my wrist. Also because, you know, for swimming, for workouts, for exercise, you know, whatever, I wear my watch all the time. So that's how I fell in love with Swatch. But then, of course, you know, you grow up, you get more mature, you meet a girlfriend, you know, she starts trying to expand your horizons. And so my wife started buying me different kind of watches. So I think first she got me a police, police wristwatch.

Then while we were dating, I decided to, you know, I decided to be promiscuous. That's why I moved on. I tried Cieco, I tried Cieco wristwatches. I tried what else? I tried a couple of things, you know, and you know, I was like that. But then by the time I first born, I was born, you know, I bought a Swatch again for me, for wifey. But then by the time we had the second kid, you know, anyway, Sharon, I'm just trying to think.

I had been in a very long relationship with Swatch, as in like me and Swatch, you know, she's like my long lost love. So as I was leaving this place now and I saw a poster of a Swatch. Well, this one looked like it looked like a Casio, like AG shock. I was like Swatch. They're making this kind of wristwatch now, as in a very, very, you know, masculine, rugged, you know, not the simple kind of Swatch that we knew back in the day.

So I said OK, no problem, let me just go and look. So as I was walking by now, I went to the glass section outside as I didn't enter the shop, I just walked by. I just walked past the front and then I went straight to the section where the kiddies watches were. And then next thing, the sales lady who was outside chilling with her friends, she said, hey, Olga, go inside now. And I said, no, no, thank you very much. And she said, Olga, he's free to look.

He's free. And then I started laughing. And then I went and I picked up my water bottles and then I left. So as I sat in the car and I said, OK, let me just make this podcast recording quick, quick, quick. Because if I get home first before I make this recording, I might forget. Oh, by the way, if this is your first time listening to the podcast, you're wondering who is this guy? My name is Tavishima Ayede. I'm a former lawyer turned business consultant, and all I

do is talk about solving business problems, especially from a sales perspective. So we figure out how to grow revenue over here on the podcast and we figure out how to do that one conversation at a time. Having a conversation with one contact, 1 prospect, one potential customer, one potential, you know, whatever it is you call them in your line of business, we see how we can grow our revenues one conversation at a time.

And of course, this girl that said, OK, go inside now, I'll clap for her. She did well because most sales boys or sales girls as we call them in this part of the world, they're outside. If somebody walks by and looks and the person leaves, they don't say anything. They're in their mind. They'll say if the guy's interested, he, you know, he will buy. By the way, sales boys and sales girls listening, this is the reason why you are underpaid.

This is the reason why your orga looks at you as a lowly somebody, because you add no value to the business. They hire you, they put you there. Your own mind view is that you know if they want it, they will buy. So because of that, you don't go to do anything extra to get people into the store. Your orga is looking, your Madam is looking. They can't see you. As far as they're concerned, you're just like a seat woman. So therefore that's the reason why they pay you cheap.

If organ and Madam see that you have some initiative. I mean, what do you think they will elevate your profile or you man, you can even make an argument that Madam, by the time I joined the shop as a junior somebody, this is how much we are doing average on a monthly something. But then when Cammy left the shop and I became head of the show floor because of one or two things where they do to bring customers in. Madam, you can see how we have moved from 800K every single month.

We're now doing like 1.7. Madam, I beg it's time for a pay raise. You can make the argument and then of course, remember Olga Madam, they're always looking. They can't see you. So as you see it, they will know that you know what this person actually is better than chemi that left because truly, truly, as I said, as as this person came in, we have seen a rise in profits. So you can see how even if you're a lonely somebody on the totem pole, they don't rate you in the shop and they pay you anyhow.

You can see how you can use sales skills to better your life. Now The thing is this, even if your OGA or your Madam does not agree to a pay raise, right? But from listening to this podcast or learning other things on YouTube or you know, whatever, or from reading PDFs online, you're able to learn one or two things and become a better salesperson than that. It is possible that by the time you move to another organization you can come in at, even if you come in at the same pay scale,

who knows, you might be able to get, you might be able to argue for a higher salary later on. So summary what I'm trying to say is the fact that that that Lady let me not say girl again so that nobody works. So the fact that that Lady looked at me and said Olga go inside now. I'll clap for her. She tried because that particular tactics Olga go inside now or mommy go inside. Now. The thing is, if you ask 10 people go inside now you never know, 2 might enter and all the two that enter, who knows, one might buy.

It's better than just staying outside. You don't say anything and people just walk on by. So very good. OK, I'll go and enter. Very good. Oh, by the way, I forgot. If you'd like to get in touch with me, you can call, send me a text message or a WhatsApp message on 08064662140. Yeah, I'm free like that. I'd like to have conversations with people. So just let me know you have any questions you have any comments you have, any queries, reach out to me.

If there's something that I, I've said on this particular episode that is not clear, let me know so I can come back and make a clarifying episode. Or you can also find me on LinkedIn. Then if you're getting value from this, subscribe on Spotify, YouTube, Apple or any player of your choice. So where was I now? So I gotta go inside now. Yes, we will give her some marks. We'll clap for her. But The thing is, OK, go inside now is not the most effective things you could have done.

Now, lots of people don't know that the most effective thing that we can do when we are in retail actually is we try and spark conversations. We try and draw people into conversations. So if you own a shop in City Plaza, in Grand Square, in ShopRite, in Spa, in whatever you have one particular corner where you sell baby's clothes or where you sell wristwatches or where you sell computers or where you sell, you know, whatever it is because you know how these shops are partitioned.

The best thing you're trying to do actually is to pull somebody into a conversation. So if you have a small corner of City Plaza and and you sell computer accessories because there's a place there that sell computer accessories and the gentleman walks in, what most of them do I notice they just come and stand next to you and then they don't say anything. Can you guys stop that, please? It's kind of unnerving. Anyway, let me talk about that later on.

So we'll just go and stand there and they don't say anything. The trick is to try and engage somebody in a conversation. When you engage the person in the conversation and people start talking, you'll be able to know that the person standing here is the person curious, do they actually have a need? Do they want to buy something or are they just walking through? And then you'll be able to deal with them accordingly. So the goal is to pull somebody into a conversation.

Now back to what this lady said. Olga, go inside now. We'll give her marks. Good. But what are more effective ways to start off from a conversation? How about good morning, Sir? Would you like to come inside? See it's that is a better invitation. Another one is this. I'm standing next to the Swatch window and I'm standing next to the children's section. Now, because of how things work in this part of the world, it will be OK for her to actually walk out to me and say, OK, good morning.

No, ASA, good morning. How are you doing, ASA? ASA, how many children do you have in this part of the world? It's OK. I'm standing next to a display. The display is for children's wristwatches. It is OK for her to assume that I have kids and start on that level. You never know which way the thing can go. I said, oh, I have two kids, but actually it's not because of them that I'm studying here. I said, OK, Sir, how are you thinking about trying this watch?

Have you thought about using this watch before? Now she can ask that kind of question because obviously I am not wearing a Swatch anymore and you know, she can see that. So those of you who sell stuff, you know, like this, you have to be sharp, you know, quick on the draw to size people up. So since I'm not wearing this watch, she could have started, Sir, the question could have been, am I, do I want to try out this watch or am I willing to consider this watch?

Now that would have gone into that whole conversation about how, oh, actually I used to use this watch and I haven't used to buy from the shop. And then, you know, this part of the world, Niger, she kind of said, hey, Olga, So what happened now? Why did you stop buying from us? Remember, sales has to be conversational. We can't sell anything unless we're having conversations with people. Oh, and by the way, all these suggestions I'm making, I'm making them within the Nigerian context.

So if you're in retail in the UK, you know, don't try some of this stuff that I'm saying. But in Nigeria, in this part of the world, it is absolutely OK for a sales girl in quote to walk up to somebody who is standing at a display where their children's things being sold and to ask is and to say good morning Sir, good morning Madam, you know, how many children do you have? It's not rude in this part of the world. But either way, what I'm just trying to show you is that or what?

What I'm trying to stress is that we cannot sell something unless we draw people into a conversation, especially in this retail context. So those of you who are trying to get people to come into your shop or to get people to come into Madam shop who clap for you, you are doing well. But just remember the way you should try and do is you try and look for ways to be conversational, to draw people into a conversation. And from there you might be able to figure out if somebody is curious, if someone is interested or if someone has an active need.

So if she tries more things like that, would you like to come inside? How long, how long have you been thinking of trying this watch? Is this your first time of coming through the store? Let me see, what else can I say? What else can I say? OK, maybe the particular section where the person is standing, all the models there are maybe black and purple. But then you notice that the gentleman standing there likes to wear lots of tan colours.

You know, that can also be a conversation starter. So, oh, if you like, Sir, I could show you some of these models in brown and grey and blah, blah, blah and take it from there. So of course, I'm sure you guys have noticed that there's some level of assumption going on there and it's perfectly normal in one to 1 normal human conversation. You know, if you're being assumptive, people would like what's up with this guy now,

this guy to forward. But when it comes to sales, it's not a problem. Everybody knows I'm in a shop, everybody knows I'm in a market. So if somebody shows up and is being assumptive, it's not a problem. We kind of expected. So for those of you who own shops and you don't want to be too forward, relax, the rules here are kind of different. If you're being assumptive here is not a problem at all. In fact, it's kind of expected that if I'm standing in the shop and I'm standing in the children's section, it's kind of expected that one of the sales attendance or the whatever or the owner of the shop will come to me and try to get me to buy something or try to help me out.

So now let's see. OK, 15 minutes. What was I trying to say anyway? Let me just wrap it up like this. If you are a lowly paid sales boy in quote, that's what we call them in this part of the world or sales girl in quote. You can improve your lot by listening to podcasts like this, by watching YouTube videos like this, by looking for stuff online to learn how to be a much more effective salesperson. If you do that, you obviously will be adding a lot more to the bottom line of the establishment where you work.

Nigerian employers are typically more appreciative than employers in other parts of the world because here everything is informal. There's not too much red tape. I told you guys in the previous, OK, not the previous one, but an old podcast episode about how if it is America and you want to ask your guy, you know, for a raise, you know, it's a formal something. You will involve HR, you will do this. You write letter you as in the whole thing is a long story, but in Nigeria, you can actually say Oga, Oga, I know you try for us and Oga will say, come on, what do you mean by that?

Say Oga? See now that since I started here, I've been here 8 months, look at how profit has been growing from this this this and that that Oga, you can't even bless your boy. Will it be too much if you add like 75 K to my salary? Like you know, it's Nigel, you can have that kind of informal conversation, no red tape, no human resources, no wanting wanting. It won't become a very official. You can just have that kind of conversation, you know, 2-3

times, you know Olga laughs about it. You ask for 75 K. You know who knows maybe he will now, you know add 3550 K to your salary. It's better than nothing then, if you are trying to bring people into the shop. For those of you who say looking is free, Organto Madame calm inside. That's all right, but rather try and look for ways to draw them into a conversation so you can figure out if this person is curious, just walking by, or maybe they have an actual need.

Then you'll be able to have a conversation with them. You'll be able to help them, and you will be able to. You might be able to get a few of them to buy. So yeah, that's it. That's the reason why I hopped on the microphone today. So like I said, if you would like to get in touch, you have questions, you have comments, you have queries, then you can call or send me a text message or WhatsApp message on 08064662140. Also remember newest training going on right now, OK, well not right now, but pretty soon on how to start your business in three easy steps.

Especially for those of you who are multi potentialates, multi hyphenates, multi creative, multi passionate, multi serial entrepreneur, you know, whatever it is you will call yourself. But basically there are some of you who have 456 different business ideas, but you're not making a single cover from any of them. So that's the whole point of this training. So reach out, let's have a chat. Let's help you select the right idea out of these 345 ideas that you have possibly for a business.

Let's pick the right idea. Then let us validate the idea. Let us show that there's market demand that people are willing to pay for this product, for this service, for this idea, for this, whatever it is that you're working on. Then after that, let's come up with a selling system so that not only can you close sales now you can get people to come back and buy again. And you also will be able to get people to refer business to you in the future because when it comes to sales, it's a long game.

I'm not just trying to collect money from somebody today. I want the person to be so happy that they'll come back again next month, next three months, another five months. And if we have a good relationship by the end of the year, I want them to send three or four people my way. That is how we're going to start seeing explosive business growth when everybody's happy and we don't have to be hustling and selling so much because people are bringing people our way.

Yeah, so that's it. Again, if you'd like to connect with me on LinkedIn, my name is Tavish, and you can find it in the show notes. So thank you very much for your time and attention. I'll catch you all some other time.