Your Contact List Don Dry? 4 Ways to Get New Leads

Today on the podcast, we're going to be looking at what to do when your contact list is tapped out. In other words, you have a list, people you e-mail people, you WhatsApp, you have a contact list, you try and get business from that list. You've been sending them messages, you've been doing lead nurturing, you've been engaging with people on that contact list. But man, it looks as if they are tapped out, like people are no longer buying.

What are you going to do? The reason why we're tackling this question today is because I've been having a series of chats with Hijabi Divine, a listener of the podcast, a new listener, only been listening for about two months. And he's in the lighting and accessory space and also sells some solar accessories and things like that. And his business model is drop shipping. So yes, Mr. Divine, if you are listening, this is me tackling your question and that is the scenario.

But before we proceed with that, I just want to give a little bit of warning. I'm making today's recording at home, so there will be noise in the background because it sounds as if my neighbor upstairs is pounding yam. Either that or he's cracking somebody's skull. So at some point you'll be handy. Boom, boom, boom. You know, that's from my neighbor and you know, that's what happens when you live in, you know, multi segmented flat housing.

And that's the reason why the ideal is have your own mansion, nice mansion, hook it up with solar, make sure you have your your own borehole, you know, make yourself a nice little paradise. So that's the ultimate aim. You know, God willing, our containers will arrive. The business will be well so that we can set ourselves up nicely. So you won't be in the middle of recording a podcast or having a business meeting and then somebody will be doing boom,

boom, boom. And then they'll be wondering, where is this guy living? Is he face me? I face you. All right. My name is Tavishima Ayede. I'm the host of the podcast. If you would love to connect with me just like Ajagbe Divine did so that if you have questions, comments, queries, or collaborations, then you can call, send me a text message or WhatsApp message on 08064662140. And if you love these sorts of things, how do you get new customers?

How do you get new clients? How do you deal with the clients you already have? How do you solve sales and marketing challenges? Then subscribe to the podcast on Spotify, YouTube, Apple, or any player of your choice. So like I said today, you have a contact list, but Omar is as if the contact list is tapped out. You're trying to squeeze that contact lists. You're trying to squeeze it for any last drop of profits, any last drop of money.

But the more you squeeze and the more you squeeze, money is not coming out from that list. What are you going to do? So this is the philosophy behind having a contact list. Now in traditional sales or marketing circles, it's called lead nurturing. Now Aja B Divine has been doing a lead in nurturing on WhatsApp. So that means he's been able to gather some numbers, whether it's he's been maybe he sent off lines before or maybe it's customers he's done business with before.

But either way, he has a contact list people stored on WhatsApp. He has been sending those people updates. He has been sending those people happy new month, happy Sunday. He has been sending those people promo messages, brand new lights from China, 20% discount buy now. He has been sending them educational content. He has been sending them messages just to check up on them. Madam, how far, bro? How far? You know, those kind of messages, That's what he's been doing.

All of that, let's just call it lead nurturing. That's what he's been doing. But there's a big problem when you have a list and you have a closed list. By the way, Mr. Divine, pay attention. This is what I've been trying to get you to understand through the messages, but you're not getting it. That's why I said let me make this recording. When you have a fixed list, there's a limit to how much messaging a list can absorb.

Think about it as a bucket. You keep pouring water in the bucket. There's a limit as to how much water can enter into that bucket. At a certain amount, you know the bucket is full. It just is full. Let me repeat, There's a limit to how much messaging one list can absorb if your list is static, especially since you are in the business of electrical lighting and accessories and things like that. Let me break it down, Mr.

Devine. If I'm wrong, by the way, let me know. Some of the fixtures that you're selling are LED lighting. Unfortunately, LED lighting lasts decades. It lasts decades. If somebody buys an LED light from you now and they put in their house, you know, except if they have irresponsible children who like to throw slippers at the ceiling, that lighting is going to last a decade, 10 years. So the person that has bought from you now, quite frankly speaking, as far as LED light is concerned, don't expect to hear from that person another five,

maybe 10 years because it is LED lighting and that is just how long they last. Except if they have irresponsible children who throw slippers at the ceiling, Amazon friends that you sell good quality product. And if you sell good quality products, then you know for sure this thing is going to last a decade at least. Now incandescent lighting, that's the one that we grew up with. That's normal bulb, that yellow bulb, incandescent lighting ahead that one last month.

So somebody can buy from you in January and then by March they need another one because you know, Nepal current will fluctuate. The bulb will now blow. Boo. If it will just bust, then they need a new one. Or they have irresponsible children who like to throw slippers at the ceiling and then you scatter the bulb bash. Then you buy a new light bulb. So econdicent lighting. I'll be incandescent here. Incandescent lighting divine.

You let me know how the real pronunciation that one last months. So remember, we like those of us late 70s, early 80s children. That is all we grew up with econdicent lighting. Then there's new age technology called halogen. Halogen bulb. Halogen bulb, unfortunately, on average that will last maybe like 2-3 years. So in other words, Mr. Devine, anybody who has bought halogen bulb from you now in 2025, you won't smell them again until about 2028, especially if you sell good quality product, The bulb is going to last two or three years.

Then there's CFL, I think that is compact fluorescent lighting. Now, Mr. Devine, if you sell good quality product, that one on average can last anything between 3:00 to 10 years, except if the person has irresponsible children who like to throw slippers at the ceiling. So you can see, Devine, that you're selling stuff that people don't need every day. People don't need lighting every day. If you sell them LED in 2025,

the quickest the person will call you again is 2035. If you sell them the old school incandescent lighting, no problem, you can sell it in January, they will come again in March. But halogene, if they buy halogene from you 2025, the quickest you will see them again is 2028 CFL compact fluorescent. If you sell them good quality one, the quickest you will see them is 2028 or 2035. You are selling stuff that people do not need every day.

So for Someone Like You, Mr. Devine, quite frankly, my suspicion is that your contact list is tapped out. The people that could have bought have already bought and quite frankly, they don't need another one. So somebody who has a similar strategy and let's say the person is selling cars, you can run into this problem too because people don't buy cars every single year. The last time mom, she was here, I told my mom, see that?

Look, mom, see, I'm tired of the stress. She said, what stress? I said, I can't keep living like this. She said, what's the problem? I said I'm spending too much time at the mechanic. So I told her mom, see. She said, yes, my son, I say one day I will blow. She laughed. I said, mom, see, I'm telling you one day I will blow. And then she laughed and I said, and when I blew, I will buy my cars brand new, clean, import them from America, clean from the factory street.

I will use the car for two years, maybe three years Max because I don't want to hear any kind of mechanic whatever. The only thing I want to do is just to be changing oil. I don't even want to change tire. That's why I saw use it for 2-3 years. After that, three years Max, I will sell off the car and I'll buy another car clean straight from the factory, imported direct from America or from Belgium. You know, if I'm getting a BMW,

sorry, Germany, if I'm getting BMW for my fleet. And I told her that's what I'm going to be doing for my cars. Brand new TI robber straight from the factory, sell it off in 2-3 years, buy again. Brand new. Obviously laughter. She said my son, you know that in this part of the world doesn't have people use cars. I say I understand mommy, but for me when I blow, that's how I'm going to be using my cars. Said OK, no problem, I'll be praying for you.

I said thank you mommy, that's what I need. I need your prayers. So assuming you sell cars now and your WhatsApp group is full of people like me, you sell somebody kind 2025, you will not hear from that person again until 2028. And that is best case scenario that you're dealing with guys like me who don't vex. I say, look, I'm tired of this Nigerian system, so every three years I must buy my car brand new. Outside of that, let's be real here, this is Niger.

You know, people change cars if they're quick. Maybe five years, seven years, average person, let's say decade, let's say 10 years. You know, I'm not lying. Just look around your family. You see what I mean? You probably know an uncle, an auntie who has been driving the same car for 20 years. So you know what I'm saying? It's true. So if you sell cars and this is your strategy, then chances are your list is already tapped out.

There's no fresh blood flowing into this list. None. So the people who are on the list who could have bought, most frankly, quite frankly have already bought and have no need to buy again. So for someone using this kind of strategy to grow your business, you have a WhatsApp list, lead nurturing, trying to prime it for sales. After a while, it doesn't matter how many times you squeeze, you have squeezed all the blood out of that list.

The blood is gone. You need some fresh blood. You need to get new contacts. And Mr. Devine, that's what I've been trying to get you to understand. Remember, I asked you 3 questions. I, I didn't mention the questions here in the podcast episode, but on the chat, I asked him three questions. You didn't answer #3 that is what #3 is about. What is the plan for getting some new blood into this list? So yes, Mr. Devine, there are other problems, yes, that we need to solve, but we still have to answer this number three,

what is the plan for getting new blood into this list? Because now you can't squeeze any more blood out of it. You can't. By the way, those of you who sell things like maybe children's pajamas, children's shoes, back to school supplies, you know, you won't run into these sorts of things because, you know, children grow up pretty fast. And believe me, I'm facing this thing right now. I was chilling yesterday trying to watch something on TV.

Then my wife should just say, which of these shoes do you like? And I don't like hearing that question because I know what comes next. I said, I said, OK, I like this one. I said, is it time? She said, yes, so it's time. I said, what happened to his shoes? He said, well, you know, he's growing bigger. It's time for us to now buy size 37. This one that he's wearing now is 37. I said, OK, I guess you should now buy size 38.

That's shoes for my son. So those of you who sell things like that, you know, you won't face this problem because people need to buy quick, quick, quick because you buy your shoes, you buy a child brand new shoes in January and you think, ah, I can rest one year. Then by July somebody's saying, Dad, my shoes are tight. I'm like, what do you mean just shoes are tight? We just bought these things in January. I said, Dad, the shoes are tight and say, bring it here, let me see.

And then you look at it and true, true. The thing is tight. So those of you who sell pajamas, you sell shoes, you sell back to school, you won't be experiencing this problem because your contact list, they need to buy the need to reopen. But for other businesses where you know, people don't need your stuff every day, they don't need it every month, they don't need it every couple of weeks, you will run into this problem.

So you need to get some new blood into your contact list. So, Mr. Devine, that was what Question 3 is about. What is the plan for getting you new lifeblood into that list? Now, I'm going to give you a couple of ideas, and I'm going to give you some advice at the end. And the advice applies not just to people in Mr. Divine's position, but a whole host of other people who are listening to the podcast right now. Since Divine your strategy is WhatsApp, let's limit this thing to WhatsApp.

I have said in the past several times on this podcast when I was talking about Google My Business and WhatsApp WhatsApp my WhatsApp business. Yes, WhatsApp business. Now for those of you who WhatsApp is the key thing of your strategy, you should be taking advantage of this whole Click to chat thing because WhatsApp has made it in such a way. And believe me, the first time I tried it back as a wedding photographer, I was stunned and I was really, really happy.

I liked the fact that somebody would be browsing my stuff on Google and then they will click one link and then next thing they will end up in my inbox and then we're chatting. Nothing used to blow my mind. We should be taking advantage of this Click to chat thing. It hasn't gone away. It is still there where WhatsApp will generate one link. You take that link and share it on as many places as possible. Whenever somebody clicks on that link, they end up straight in your WhatsApp box.

Hi, hello. Good morning Sir. Are you available? How soon can I deliver? How much do you cost, blah blah blah. Put it everywhere. So divine Click to chat, the Click to chat link, that is what you should be taking advantage of. Put that thing on your website so that random people who are coming across your website will see it and they will click and enter straight into your inbox. Then they can start new questions. This chandelier that you have,

do you have it in silver? This chandelier that you have, do you have it in purple? This halogen lighting and the thing looks OK. Do you have it in green? Put it on your website, put it in your e-mail signature so that whenever you're sending emails to people, it is there. The option is there, somebody can click. That's as they finish reading your e-mail and they say they Click to link at the bottom. They can click on it.

Next thing, bam, they are in your WhatsApp inbox. You're bringing them into your WhatsApp ecosystem. Put this link on your social media. You have TikTok. Put it on your TikTok so that somebody's watching your video. They're laughing. They say, oh this divine. These guys very, very, very funny. These guys very, very funny. What's this where the guy doing what's up? They just click and they go bump straight into your inbox.

Put it on your Instagram, put it on your whatever your Facebook. For those of you who are using WhatsApp business to grow your business, this Click to Click to chat thing, especially since this thing is free. Look, take advantage of this thing. You don't know, maybe in another five years WhatsApp will say why I start paying for this thing. Right now it's free. Take advantage of it. Create your link and yeah, create your link from your WhatsApp profile and then share that link everywhere.

People should be tired of seeing that your link. So click the chat, take advantage of that link. Then you can also run social media ads, social media advertisements, and then the call to action will be for people to click on the link below to chat with you in WhatsApp. So don't run the advertisement so that they just land on your Instagram handle and they see your wonderful lighting. You run the advertisement, your profile handle will be there anyway.

So if they want to Click to the profile, they will see it. Well, the call to action below will be to find out more, to learn more about these prices, to learn about delivery, to learn about different options that we have, to learn about pricing, to learn about this, to enquire about that, click on the link below to chat with me. So when you run your social media advertisements, that is the call to action. Click on the link below to chat.

Then you're bringing people into your WhatsApp ecosystem. You can see how this way you are bringing new blood into your WhatsApp contact list because the old people, they've been there for a while and whoever could have bought most likely has already bought. And since you're selling things that last decades or at least three years, The thing is they don't need to buy from you again anytime soon, especially since you are a very diligent person and you sell good quality products.

You can also put out lead magnets was put. I spoke about lead magnets I think in yesterday's podcast episodes just yesterday. Yesterday, yesterday I spoke about lead magnets, the kind of lead magnets, the lead magnets, sorry, that you can be using because remember, a lead magnet is just a piece of content that you put out that people find valuable. Then you get it so that before people have access to it, they have to give you something.

So, oh, you like this PDF, You want to continue reading? Give me your phone number. Then they enter your phone number, they enter their phone number, then give them the PDF or you give them the whatever. So Mr. Devine, you should be putting out lead magnets since what you do is lighting and fixtures and accessories. You can be putting out style guides. You know, top five fashion trends for lighting semi detached duplex houses in Abuja.

So forgive me, I'm not an architect so I don't know what is what, I'm just making up rubbish. But show you just something like that, the five top lighting trends from Europe and how you can use them in Nigerian houses. You create it, design some nice stuff, you know, put it out there as a PDF. Click on the link below to download. Click and then a small bug pops up. You know, give me a WhatsApp number. People drop their WhatsApp number.

You are getting new life into your contact list. On WhatsApp. You can create style guides. You can also create energy saving guides. I've seen those ones, but usually seems to be solar companies that are making those ones. Energy saving guides. You know, if you want your solar panel to last longer, use this kind of bulb instead of that kind of bulb Something, something, you know, all those sorts of things. You as well can also be creating energy saving guides.

Mr. Devine, you can create lead magnets around smart home wiring. You know, do you want to live in a smart home? Do you want to know what smart lighting looks like? These are the top five smart lighting brands from China available in Nigeria today. Do you like to find out more? Do you want to know what this is? You know? Click on the link below to request it in my WhatsApp inbox. You understand, you see, you see the whatever as you're putting out lead magnets.

If you get the content, meaning if people have to provide information before they move forward, let the information be. Give me a WhatsApp number. If you think people I'll be afraid of doing WhatsApp number, no problem, we can put e-mail address. But then in the e-mail that you sent to them now in your signature of that e-mail, you will put what you will put the link there Click to chat so that at the end of reading the e-mail, if they're interested,

they can click and end up straight into your inbox and you are getting new lifeblood into your WhatsApp contact list. Then I've also spoken about in the past how businesses in Abuja, I don't know if the trend is picking up in Lagos, but I've been noticing it a lot. You know, pharmacy, neighborhood shops by my local neighborhood store in the estate that I live in, they, they do it a lot. You go there, you finish buying,

you know, before you leave, you notice their QR code is printed there. The idea behind the QR code is, you know, you take your phone, you scan it, you end up straight into somebody's WhatsApp inbox. And so stores are putting it up in Abuja, pharmacies, household stores, like for the pharmacies for instance, you know, do you want to reorder your medicine, scan this QR code, you just bring out your phone, do the scanning thing there, next thing you're in the inbox.

The reason why the pharmacist is doing that is next time you want to buy your new drug, you know your amlodipine or your you know amlodipine, your amlow, you know whatever it is you want to buy, the pharmacist want you to be able to send a chat message. You say or got a pharmacist. How far do you have dequadine or camosunate? Pharmacist now respond yes, we have camosunate, how many do you want or what are your symptoms,

blah, blah, blah. You check back and forth, you say no problem, we have it available in store. You can just transfer now and then on your way tomorrow, just come and pick up the pharmacist. He's trying to use the WhatsApp QR codes to move his business. So in Abuja they're doing it. I don't know about in Lagos or Divine. I'm never sure where you're based, but check around your city. Just see whether people are doing it, boy, in Abuja, The thing is, people are doing it so you can use physical locations and you can get local engagement.

Basically, put your QR code on your business cards. You hand out your business card to somebody, they can scan the QR code and when they scan, what happens, They end up in your WhatsApp inbox and you're getting your lifeblood into your contact list. Put it on your business cards, put it on your Flyers, find ways to put it in physical locations. There's something that some people do in Abuja. I don't know if it's moving in Lagos.

Some people have all started putting WhatsApp QR codes on KK. So I don't know if they go and pay the care care riders, you know, per head as in 111 and then put the QR code. Or maybe what you do is you go to the park and then you negotiate with the head of the road transport person and then you now have permission to be putting the QR codes on individual care cares. But I've been seeing it. There's this is it females in business or women in business or something like that.

There are current, the current Abuja program for this year 2025 for was this September, I think. I think we're in November now, Abby. Yeah, we're in November, the time of this recording. So either for October or September. Yeah, KK, that's how we're promoting our you know, I'm just driving mind my business and then I'm seeing it, the QR code everywhere. Businesses can do stuff like that too. You put your QR code on KK,

somebody scans it, they end up in your inbox. I've seen QR codes on taxis, you scan it, end up in your inbox. I've seen some business put the QR codes on the official car, somebody scans it, they end up in the inbox. Although the problem with the official car thing is in Lagos and in Abuja and in Benin, local government authorities that I don't a tear like they are seen red. So for them anything is an Ave. to collect local government revenue tax.

So they will say QR code do say I'll come and pay advertising levy. You now say advertising levy for what? Did I put a billboard on my car? Did I put this on those say QR code is advertisement. You say no, it's not advertisement. While you're quarreling, somebody will just boss your tie UPS or to remove your license plate. You know, those are the tactics. So that's just the problem. If you put the QR code on your personal car at every single traffic light, at every single junction, at every single roundabout, look at government boys.

They will harass your life. So if you're up for the hassle or you're willing to go and pay, you know, the local government people, so that they give you the the pass, then yeah, you can put it on your car as well. So anybody who sees it, they scan the code. They end up where in your inbox. These are just some ideas, Bob. Mr. Devine. So I don't understand too harsh, Bob. I think you know you guys who reach out to me and we talk.

I hope I trust you guys know that I'm coming at this out of out of love. That's why I speak Frank and I speak freely. But some of you, to be honest, you're asking me questions that you don't need to ask because with AI tools, and I've been saying that we can use AI to come up with ideas. Quite frankly, there's some questions that you guys to be honest, should, should, should not be asking me. You could have used Google Gemini to research some of these things on your own and started applying it already so that by the time you reach out to me,

you will tell me that I have been trying to improve my business by doing 123 and four tactics, but it is not working. What can we do to optimize? What can we do to improve all of these ideas that I have said right now concerning Click to link, sorry, Click to chat. You could have found any of these ideas if you just use Google Gemini or if you use ChatGPT. In fact, you didn't have to use anything. Even if you just did a random search on Google, you could have come across any of these ideas.

So Mr. Devine, as per our chat now, question 3 is really important. You should come up with an answer, not me. How are you going to get new lifeblood into your contact list? Because you've already squeezed the blood out of this one. There's no blood left. You know, some people shout blood of Jesus, blood of Jesus. It's only Jesus Christ blood that is everlasting that you continue to squeeze. You get more blood, more blood for redemption, but you're not dealing with Jesus.

You squeezed out all the blood, no blood left. So you need to answer the question, how are you going to get more blood into this list? If you sell cars, people are not buying cars, are not buying cars every year. If you're dealing with people like me who don't want stress, maybe they're buying cars every 2-3 years. So you need now lifeblood into your list. You need fresh blood coming into your list all the time. Fresh blood, fresh blood, fresh blood.

If you're listening to me right now, you use WhatsApp for your business. People don't buy your product every day. I want you to say fresh, fresh blood. That's what you need flowing into your contact list. Fresh blood. Don't ask me how AI tools are there. Use your AI tools. Research. You'll come up with lots of ideas. If you come up with 20 ideas, even if five of them are useless, no problem. The five that seem to make sense, go ahead and try them out.

When you try them out and you run into problems. Now reach out to me to say this is the sales ploy where I won, where they run and the team know they click. So what's the way forward? Then we can have an interesting conversation. So that's it. And that's all for today. Thank you very much for listening to the podcast. Mr. Devine, I hope you find this thing very, very useful. You seem like a sharp guy. So I know they're going to do they're going to do very well.

Or one more thing, Mr. Devine, that your profile picture, you know to tap because you know you're there, we can see your face, but you know you're wearing sports singlets. And how I put it, you know, we're Nigerians now. So you understand what I'm meeting at, you know, when you're a young man in business, we can't be taking picture on on a business profile and a singlet you to wear is just somehow. So I won't say wear suit and suit plus tie, but just change that DP because you know why Niger and Niger people are a packaging people.

Believe me, I don't like packaging, but try and package small, just small. So change your profile picture, remove that singlet yes, the sporty jersey. Yeah, of course, but change it and do something else. So thank you very much for listening. Remember, if you'd love to connect, you can call send a text message or a WhatsApp message to 08064662140 and you'll be in direct contact with me. Please just make sure it's not a question.

If you have a question that you couldn't have already found the answer if you had gone to Gemini or if you had gone to Claude or if you had gone to ChatGPT, you know, do that first. Because I'm also trying to get you guys from listening to this podcast to have a sense of ownership or how will I put it, like personal responsibility or drive for the growth of your business, right? Let me just leave it there like that. So thanks for thanks for listening.

I'll catch you guys some other time.