The Gate Man's Sales Secrets: Lessons from a Nigerian Neighborhood

Hello and welcome to the show. Today I'm not in the audio booth, so there's going to be some interruptions coming in from the background because the kids are home. Midterms, then SpongeBob SquarePants. It's on TV and yeah, so just the usual. Anyway, today I want us to look at sales lessons that we can learn from Nigerian gay men. Let me repeat, in case you're wondering, did I hear him correctly? Yes, you did. Today we're going to look at sales lessons that we can learn from Nigerian gay men.

Now, for those of you who are not Nigerian, listening to the podcast, you're wondering who is a gate man or what is a gate man? That's just the way that we say in this part of the world, that's how we call people who are security details for residences and official buildings. So people who stand outside at the gate or who stand in front of the house, security detail basically. Now normally these are salaried individuals and they work in shifts so that houses and buildings can have 24 hour protection.

So that is who a gate man is. Now why are we talking about this today? The reason why we're talking about this today is because recently the gas in my house finished gas finishes every day. So it's not a problem. When I say gas, I mean cooking gas. Now the problem was this was around was about 10:00 PM at night and I had just been coming back from a gig because I was providing media coverage for the British Council. They were having a welcome back session for Commonwealth Scholars and shipping Scholars and was at the deputy high commissioner's residence in Maitama.

And I had been out all day. So of course, you know, wifey got back, she was with the kids, you know, doing some cooking and then the gas ran out. And so, you know, the whole thing now coming back from the gig was ready like around that kind of 10:00 PM. Now, of course I was now wondering try like, what are we going to do? Because the kettle just stopped working. I took it to get fixed. And the problem was the heating element and the kettle that I

bought was the old kettle was a, was a Benatone, you know, one of these big benatones, maybe like 2 liters, like massive keg. But the heating, the, the what's it called? The heating element is inside the body of the kettle, so to replace it you have to destroy the kettle. So basically we have to buy a new kettle. And of course that's like, I beg, we can just buy water on the gas. I'll worry about the kettle another time.

So if there was going to be any way for wife wifey to get to work and for the kids to get to school on time, you know, we need air gas because for me, I always have my bath with cold water. You know, I've been having the bath with cold water since I was in secondary school. And sorry about that. It's a good thing I warned you guys. Anyway, one of the kids just came in, what was I? So I've been having a bath with cold waters in secondary school now.

So you know, boarding school, Hamatan, you know, the cold and everything. So you just get used to it. But every time I insist that the boys should have a bath with cold water. Sometimes it's fun, sometimes it's a nightmare because they're screaming and everything. So summary, all I'm trying to say is I needed to find gas at 10:00 PM in Abuja at night. I need to find gas. So I messaged one of the neighbors now, like about how far this is my situation, and he told me that we can buy gas at the neighborhood garden.

And I was like, yeah, the garden. He said yes, no, I say where they go and drink and they dance and everything. He said, yeah, that same compound, but before you get to the drinking part, I said, OK, no problem. So I went there. Now. So as I entered the compound, as I drove in, the security guys are very rude, you know, as security people can be sometimes. But I just freed them because, you know, it's their way. That's just how it is.

Then I asked them where the gas person was, you know, where I can buy gas. And all of a sudden, their greeting has changed. They started greeting me. Sean, Sir, you know, you do this salute thing. Slam your leg into the ground. Sean, Sir. Bam. Your boys are loyal, Sir. This, that, that, that, that, Sir. That, Sir. I was like, and I was wondering that these were the guys that when I entered, there were, you know, Anyhow, anyhow, now I say I want to buy gas.

You know, they're doing. Sean, Sir. Your boys are loyal, Sir. So I was wondering what led to this change. So as I got there now, one other guy was just leaving. That's why buying gas. But it wasn't this, it wasn't this industrial kind of gas. How did I put it? It was not like the fancy places where you go to NNPC and you know, you stay there. They take the machine and then they put it on the scale. The scale weighs it.

And then you punch the, the, you know, the code and then the thing just does that. You know, that whole mechanized process there was this gas where, you know, boys are doing this thing manual. You take a gas cylinder, you turn it upside down, connect one hose to another hose. And you know that nothing can take time. So anyway, but as long as if I had any choice, so I just stayed there. So when I was there, I was wondering why did these people's behavior change over time?

So I stayed there now and I was just playing chess on my phone waiting for these guys to load up the gas. So as they were doing it now, I noticed a similar pattern with other patrons. If people came in and were going up, up, up towards the club, the security guards were just anyhow, anyhow with them, no special greeting. But anybody who entered and wanted to buy gas and was turning to the left, you know, it's a short sign.

Your boys are loyal, Sir. This is this, Sir. You know, the usual hailing that security guys give. So I was trying to wonder like, what's the difference? The people that are going to the club, they just anyhow, if you're going to go and buy gas, special greeting. So I was wondering what is the difference or rather why the difference? Now this is my guess after a while because I didn't ask them why they were greeting us differently.

My own guess is the people who come to the garden, you know, down, down, down, that's the alcohol part. My guess is they spend all their money on drink and on women. So on the way out, there's no money, so there's no point in greeting them. Sean, Sir, your boys are loyal. Sir. Your Excellency, Sir, you know all those greetings because if you greet those ones, you won't get anything. So no tip on the way out. Also because for the garden,

there's a big sign there, you know, POS inside. So that means you don't have to carry cash. You can go there and, you know, use your card and swipe and pay then, Although it makes me wonder if you don't have cash, you know, how do you pay the strippers, the adult entertainers in, in those kinds of establishments? And I just wonder how you pay them if you're going with POS. And but for those of us who are coming to buy gas now, POS was not possible because when I went there is the first thing I asked the guy told the guy, look, I

brought back, I don't have cash, you got POS. I said no for POS, go and meet Malam over there. The guy has POS. I said which Malam said that all I want to say, OK, so we had to go and withdraw cash. So if you enter the compound and you turn left, you can't pay by POS. So that means that you need cash on you. So anybody who says they're going to buy gas, that means the person is going to withdraw cash. So people who are going to go and buy gas, anybody who enters the compound and turns left, the person needs cash, either has cash or is going to withdraw cash from the Malam.

Now that is my guess. And I think that that's the main reason why anybody who entered and drove straight, the security amount does, you know, anyhow, anyhow, with them, because you're going to go straight, you go and buy alcohol, you buy pepper soup, you watch the strippers and you pay with POS and then you leave. There's no cash. But then people like me who entered and who turned left needed to have cash to pay for gas.

That's my guess. So if my guess is correct, the lesson we can learn from how these gate men were behaving. By the way, I'm not endorsing this kind of behavior because I think we should be respectful to everybody, but we have to see that look, there's a lesson that we can learn here. And this I think is the lesson. The gate men in this garden, for whatever reason, they have figured out who their ideal prospect is. They've figured out who their ideal customer is.

They know who is going to tip them. They know where their daily bread is coming from. They have figured it out to AT and for some reason they know that it is people who enter and who buy gas, but it's not people who enter and who go to the pepper soup and strip aside. So because of that, the gate men, they spend their time and their energy executing their sales script only on the ICP. So if somebody enters and goes straight, ignore.

If somebody enters and turn left, you say Sean, Sir, your boys are loyal. Sir, Your Excellency, Sir, you know God will progress you. Sir, you know all that greeting. Now, this is something that we should all learn. I'm not saying we should go around calling our customers, Your Excellency, or saying, Sean, Sir, whether your boys are loyal. I'm not saying we should be engaged in that kind of behaviour. But one lesson that we can learn is we should stop trying to initiate contacts with everyone.

We should only be initiating contacts in business that we think have the highest probability of good outcomes because that is what those security people are doing. If somebody enters and goes straight to the alcohol and stripper side, chances of getting money low. But if somebody enters and turns left to the gas side, chances of getting a tip is high. So they were engaging with people where they have the highest probability of a good outcome and that's what we should be doing with our businesses.

So no matter the business that you do, you need to have a clear idea of the best kind of people that lead to positive interactions. When I say positive interactions, what I mean here is a close deal and some money in your bank account and spend the most time initiating contact with those kind of people and then ignore everybody else. Because those security guards have figured out for some reason that if you do Shansa, Shansa to everybody who drives into the compound, your knee will be paying you.

Because every time you do Shansa, you know, you slam your foot on the ground. And if you do that for the whole night, you're just going to be getting knee pain. It's probably not worth the effort. But if you do Shansa to the people that have the highest probability of giving you a tip more than 500 or whether 1K or maybe 2K, if it's a bigger boy who enters into the prospect or a bigger babe. Although I don't think if you're a decent shake, you should be hanging around those kind of places at 10 PM, 11:00 PM at night.

That's just my thinking. Where was I anyway? So basically, they're looking for people that have the highest probability of good outcomes and that is what we should be doing as well. Who are the people that when we interact with it most likely leads to a good outcome. We need to focus attention and pay attention to them. Now, this is another lesson that I think we need to learn and it applies to most of us. Most none of us who were there that evening dropped money that night because there were three patrons while I was there.

So I was around like 10:00 PM when I was driving in, one person was going out, so that's two. While I was there, one person came to come and drop gas to fill after me, so that's three. So even though the first two people, the guy leaving at me, didn't drop money, it didn't stop them from saluting the third patron. They continue to execute the script because these gay men have figured out that sometimes it work, but sometimes it doesn't work.

But over time, the math is going to add out. Now let's look at it this way. If six people come every night, it's possible because while I was there, in 30 minutes, three people came. Let's say 3 or 4 people because as I was going out, another person was coming in. So in 30 minutes, four people came. By the way, it got me wondering that what is it with young men and not buying gas on time? Because I didn't see a single woman coming out to fuel gas.

All of us were young men. So I guess maybe women pay better attention to these sorts of things. So you'll never catch a woman stranded at 10:00 PM at night looking for gas. But, you know, was all young men. Anyway, that's the question for sociologists. So where was I now? So if six people come every night, and it's possible because while I was there 30 minutes, four people came, if they can get just one person to tip per night Monday to Friday, that is going to be an extra 20,000

naira in a month. Let me repeat. If they can get one person to tip 1K every night, that's going to be an extra 20,000 naira in a month. In fact, one person doesn't even have to drop 1K because it's possible that on some days nobody would tip, but on some days, maybe four or five people with tip and each person drops maybe 500 bucks. But either way, looking at it realistically, I think that these people can get an extra 20

K every month that will now be added to their minimum wage. And let's face it, minimum wage in Niger is nothing. So because of that, that is why these guys keep greeting. Sean, Sir, your boys are loyal, Sir. God will elevate you, Sir. Your Excellency, Sir, that is why they keep greeting because they know that even if me, I didn't drop and the person who came before me did not drop, eventually somebody must drop. And at the end of the month,

when you look at how much it is that came, came in, it's going to be worth the time and worth the effort. So the lesson that we have to learn here is don't let people who don't drop, people who don't do business with you, don't let that demotivate you because I meet too many people who pay attention to the fact that I spoke to 10 people, seven of them didn't do business with me. You're looking at things the wrong way.

Pay attention to the three people who did business with you or the three people who did business with you out of the 10, the money that came in, it makes sense or it didn't make sense. That is the question. So if 10 people do business with you out of three at the end of the month, as you're looking at all the numbers, you say, OK, that thing makes sense, that thing makes sense. Then continue. And the goal is now to try and see how instead of three people doing business with you, we make it 4 maybe from 4:00 to 5:00.

But for some reason, too many of us pay attention to the seven that we didn't close. That's the wrong way. Learn from the security guards. They keep saying Shanza, Shanza, if they're looking at those who didn't drop anything, they will not be doing Shanza. But they know that for the people that drop at the end of the day, the thing makes sense. So that's the question you should be asking yourself. And that's another lesson that we need to learn.

At the end of the day, at the end of the week, at the end of the month, at the end of the quarter, we need to look at the math and say this math isn't mathing. Is the thing making sense. That is what will determine whether it is that we go, that we continue executing. Because the truth of the matter is, and the basic math of business is there's no 100%, there is no time that will come that you will talk to 10 people and you end up doing business with all 10.

And I'm here to warn you that if you talk to 10 people and you end up doing business with 10, it actually is a sign of a problem. It's a sign of a huge problem. The take out problem is if you talk to 10 people and you end up doing business with 10, it's not that you're a solid sales personnel. One of the problems is that it means you're, you're leaving money on the table. People can see that, eh, this thing is a huge deal.

And so because of that, they want to tap in immediately so that they don't lose out. So 10 / 10 is not possible. And if you're one of those people who is doing 10 / 10, it's a sign of a problem. Different problems, but number one problem is you're too cheap. Because think about it, somebody's only going to buy when there's a need or want or they can afford it, or there's a sense of urgency. And statistically speaking, it is impossible for you to talk to 10 people straight and each one of them has a want or a need.

Each one of them can afford it, and each of them has a sense of urgency. It is just not possible. There's some people who have the money, but yeah, they don't want it. There's some people who want it and they need it now. No, no, no, no, no, no. They sense of urgency, but they can't afford it. The chances that you will run into 10 people straight, each of them has a want and a need each of them can afford. Each of them has a sense of urgency.

Statistically, it's impossible. So if you're one of those people that your closing rate right now is 100%, as in you talk to 10 people, you close all 10 deals, there's a problem. You're too cheap. That's why people are rushing you. They're like, for all these value, we only pay so, so, so I don't believe it. That's why they're rushing you. You're too cheap. Friction is a normal part of the sales process. We just try and minimize the friction.

So where was I before I lost track of my thoughts? And then basically what I was just saying is don't pay attention to those people who are not dropping or who don't demotivate you, who who don't pay you. Don't let that demotivate you. So you talk to 10 people and three people do business with you. Focus on the three. Did the money make sense? Why did the deal close? What have I learned? What can feedback can I take and use and replicate that in future interactions so I can get better?

Ignore the seven that I didn't buy. So the basic lesson today looking at Nigerian gate men is this Determine your ICP, determine your ideal customer, determine the people that you want, determine the people they're chasing after, determine the people that have the highest probability of giving you money or for making that deal close. Once you determine that, that is step one. Number two, come up with a sales script ahead of time that you can execute all the time so that you don't have to think.

So that it's reflex because for the security guards, they were sitting, they were adjusting, they were playing, I was doing Ludo. But once somebody came, they all executed the same script. You stand up, you salute, lift your knee, you slam it down back. Sean, Sir. Boys are lawyers, Sir. Your Excellency, Sir, this like clockwork. And that's how we have to be too. Now, of course, I'm not saying we should be mindless because for those of us who are in complex hill scenarios, you know, you're selling a service,

eventually you're going to have to engage in some conversation. So you're not going to be, it's not going to be robotic or mindless. Let me just put it that way. Because if you sell services, you have to have a conversation, even if you don't sell services. But what you sell is fairly complex or fairly expensive, maybe like a car, for instance, or a house. Eventually you need to have some sort of conversation with the person.

So that's the second thing. Come up with your sales script ahead of time so that when that opportunity presents itself, when the person shows up, you will execute it instead of thinking, what am I supposed to say? Because for those security guards, if they wait every single time somebody comes into the complex, and then I'll start trying to figure out what do I have to say to get a tip? What do I have to say to get a tip?

I mean, how successful do you think they, they, they're going to be in, in a eking after tip? Well then they figured out that if I stroke people's ego. If I salute them, if I, you know, whatever, then this raises the chances of me getting something. But basically what I'm just trying to say is they agree about what this hillship is going to be ahead of time and everybody executes. So it should be the same way. Then Please remember to execute always, whether it works or it doesn't.

That's just life. That's just business. If I go for 10 business meetings or five, it doesn't mean all five will close. If I go for 10, I close two. Glory be to God. Why did those two work? What have I learned? What can I carry away into the next? For me, it's not about the 8 I didn't close. It would be nice if I I closed the other ones, but you know, it's just one of these things. You win some, you lose some, you know, you win, you lose, you learn and then you get better.

That's how it works. And just remember, the basic math is you will always lose more than you win. It's just that the things you win on more than make up for the rest. I mean, look at Warren Buffett, for instance. I mean, of course that's not sales. But somebody said if you want to look at it from a mathematical perspective, somebody said he actually is a crappy investor because he has lost on 60% of his of his of his trades.

I mean, who cares? He has lost on 60%, but look at how rich it has made him. He's just one of those things another person has pointed out in sports, like pick your favorite football star, let's say Messi or whoever, go and check shots on goal. It is atrocious. If I tell my, my, my former flatmate IB, because he's a football guy, IB Dangana, he likes to watch Arsenal. So I used to tell him those days, because you say this our guy, blah, blah, blah.

I pay him. So, so, so million. I'll say what, how many million? And this guy played the whole game. He only scored one goal. I used to tell them, I look, if it was me, he were paying me all this money. You know, 100,000 lbs a game. I'll be 100,000 lbs a week or something, but basically millions of pounds every, I will score like 10 goals every single match. Now, of course you guys know that that's unrealistic because in football or in investing or in business is just one of those things.

You're not going to score every single, every single goal that you, that you, every single shot on goal. It's not going to result in a goal scored. That's just life. So please let us stop being turned off by the ones that don't close. The focus should be on the ones that close. Review it periodically and then ask yourself this business, this hustle, is it worth continuing? Is this math adding up? If the math is adding up,

continue. If there are learnings that you can take, continue. Take those learnings. So that's a pretty much. And that is a lesson that I think we can learn from Nigerian gate men. So if you'd love to connect with me for a business audit strategy session or you have questions that you'd like me to answer, then connect with me on WhatsApp. The number is 08064662140. The country code is +234. Or you can connect with me on LinkedIn, the name to look for establishing my IED.

Also have a YouTube channel in case you want to, in case YouTube is easier for you. So that's you pretty much. Thank you very much for your time and attention. I'll catch you guys at the next episode.