A few weeks ago I had a virtual chat with my mentor, a CEO of a software company in Silicon Valley. Our discussion focused on competing in a complex enterprise sales cycle. After describing the challenges I was facing, he reflected and asked a simple question: Are you playing soccer or lacrosse?
Interesting.
My exposure to lacrosse is limited to its appearance on ESPN SportsCenter: Top Ten Plays. It wasn’t a sport I went out of my way to watch. And if I were to, I’d have to learn the history, techniques, and rules of the game.
My mentor could see my thoughts drifting, so he rephrased the question:
Are you trying to get your customer to buy in the way you sell, or are you trying to get your customer to buy in the way your competitors sell? In other words, are you playing soccer, or are you playing lacrosse?
My mentor and I both share a passion for soccer, as we both grew up playing and watching it religiously. He knew the analogy would resonate.
The point he was making was although the customer may be intrigued by lacrosse, it didn’t mean they wanted to play it. It could be that my competitor introduced prospects to lacrosse because they got tired of losing at soccer. By playing along or trying to get the customer to buy in the way my competitors sell, I was expending valuable resources instead of investing in my soccer game. If I continued to go down this path, it’d be a severe case of self-deceit because it’s playing a game where the opponent sets all the rules, so I was bound to lose. I had to make a change.
After some deep self-reflection, I worked with my team to refine my approach and strategy. Here are some of the steps I’m taking:
Dedicating additional time to deeply understand my customer’s business outcomes by scouring through financial statements, interviews, press releases, social media, investor decks, etc.
Developing a point of view from the perspective of achieving each business outcome.
Validating and refining that point of view by speaking with key stakeholders within my customer’s organization, from the executive to the executive assistant.
Crowdsourcing feedback and the best ideas from experts within my organization to further refine the strategy.
Applying critical thinking and asking tough questions to earn trust and mutual respect in every interaction.
Proactively sharing ideas to solve business challenges even if there are no complete solutions to offer…yet.
These steps are netting positive results and rekindling the customer’s passion for soccer. The customer is fortifying their defense in preparation to mount a counter attack and score some business goals.
On a side note, Real Madrid, if you’re reading this, I’m patiently waiting for that invitation to try out or a free ticket 🙂 Thanks!
It is inspiring to see the country come together and reflect on the challenges facing the black community and the pervasiveness of racial injustice.
We all have lives outside of work; however, as we are stuck working from home because of the pandemic, it is becoming increasingly difficult to separate life at work and life outside of work.
Now more than ever, it is crucial to speak up against injustices in our communities and our places of work even when our voice is trembling. Our collective voices can and does make a difference.
I’ve had a few colleagues at work reach out to ask how I am doing, which I’ve appreciated. My response continues to be: What are you going to do differently in light of all this?
We all know the extent of what we can do differently; I hope it’s not to remain silent and wish this all goes away so we can get back to business as usual.
I have been working from home since late February, which means I have had to adjust my way of selling while social distancing and observing the shelter in place order in Seattle. Below are three ideas that have worked for me as I adapt to the new normal of working from home and unable to visit clients face to face. If there are other methods or strategies you’re applying to generate positive results, please share them with me.
1/ Sell with empathy. We are in the midst of social distancing, not empathy distancing. Almost every salesperson, including me, likes to think they connect better with potential clients face to face instead of virtual. The reality is that how we show up is usually consistent regardless of the communication channel. Also, it is times like these where there is uncertainty and crisis that reveals our true self. Now more than ever, investing the time to master social and emotional skills will benefit our customers, employers, and most importantly, ourselves. According to a study by McKinsey Global Institute, one of the fastest-growing skills that employers will demand by 2030 is social and emotional skills. They define “social and emotional” skills as “soft skills,” which include: advanced communication and negotiation, empathy, the ability to learn continuously, to manage others, and to be adaptable.
So what does it mean to sell with empathy?
Selling with empathy for me means walking a mile in someone else’s shoes even if the shoes do not fit. Having empathy is not just the ability to understand the feelings of the other person; it also involves sharing the feelings. Selling with empathy is also about having compassion for these executives navigating these complex challenges. These executives are responding to this crisis with improvisations as there are no playbooks, so be patient and compassionate. Your goal should be to make a genuine connection not just a sale.
2/ Find opportunities to help your potential client execute ideas faster. If you’re in enterprise sales, you’re probably familiar with the concept of Time To Market (TTM). It means the length of time it takes from a product being conceived until it’s available for sale. The companies that can bring the best products to market the fastest often gain the lion share of the market segment. As executives and decision-makers meet internally to explore ideas of how to navigate the challenges that this pandemic is having on their businesses, they will seek partners to help them not just go from idea to revenue, but idea to survival in the shortest time possible. Once you have developed a deep understanding of your potential client’s challenges (because you’ve mastered selling with empathy :)), you will be able to provide a valid and refreshing point of view of why you’re the right partner to execute the ideas.
3/ Insert humor. We all know the saying that laughter is the best medicine. As our potential clients deal with the pressures of today and uncertainties of tomorrow, a good laugh could be the highlight of their day. You don’t have to be a stand up comedian with a special on Netflix to make people laugh. You do need some creativity though. For example, I wore a t-shirt with my client’s logo during a video conference meeting. During my introduction, I shared that although my employer pays me, the company I really work for is my client, hence the t-shirt I was wearing. They all had a good laugh. Mission accomplished.
“You don’t stop laughing because you grow old; you grow old because you stop laughing.”—Michael Pritchard
Bonus: When it comes to staying connected, meet your customers where they are. One of my customers said their preferred method of staying connected is through Telegram, so I downloaded the app. Another said text📱 messages, so we became texting buddies. Another said Slack, so I joined their channel. Another said phone calls☎ , the other said email📧 , and her colleague said fax machine📠. Just kidding about the last one, no one uses fax machines anymore; but if they did, I’ll get a fax machine.😁 This concept of meeting your customers where they are would hold true even after things get back to normal. My recommendation is to discover your customer or potential client’s preferred method of staying connected and adapt to it.
PSA: During this pandemic, let’s all follow the recommendations of medical professionals and do our part to flatten the curve. Also, keep doctors❤ , nurses❤ , and first responders❤ in your prayers.
Happy selling, and be safe.
Amazon Web Services is hiring sales professionals. If interested, find job postings here and send me a note. Happy to refer and coach you through the process.
Last week Monday, I exhausted every means possible to get a hold of a client involved in a deal I was spearheading. I emailed, called, texted, and left a voicemail, but he did not respond.
The next morning, he replied to my text apologizing for being unreachable since he was stuck in back to back meetings. He then suggested we set up a call for 5pm later that day. I asked for an earlier time in the day, but he was firm that he was only available at 5pm. This was a problem. I had a soccer game starting at 5:10pm, and knew our conversation would take at least 30 minutes. There was also a looming deadline, so it was critical we spoke soon. I had to decide whether to take the call at 5pm and risk missing the soccer game or reschedule the meeting to a different day and risk missing the deadline. Playing soccer brings me a lot of joy, and I also thrive on going above and beyond for my customers, so this was a difficult situation.
This dilemma reminded me of a conversation I had a few weeks back with my mentor. He encouraged me to prioritize self-care as part of my daily routine to live a more balanced life. He shared that more than exercising regularly, self-care is any activity that we deliberately do to take care of our mental, emotional, and physical health. According to Forbes, neglecting self-care means not knowing your worth. By making time for self-care, you “maintain a healthy relationship with yourself as it produces positive feelings and boosts your confidence and self-esteem.”
The common challenge with self-care is making adequate time for it. Tchiki Davis, Ph.D, author of Outsmart Your Smartphone, recommends twelve strategies to get started with self-care. To resolve my earlier dilemma, I relied on her “say no to others, and say yes to your self-care” strategy. Below is how she explains it:
Learning to say no is really hard; many of us feel obligated to say yes when someone asks for our time or energy. However, if you’re already stressed or overworked, saying yes to loved ones or coworkers can lead to burnout, anxiety, and irritability. It may take a little practice, but once you learn how to say no politely, you’ll start to feel more empowered, and you’ll have more time for your self-care.
I told the client that 5pm wouldn’t work since I had a soccer game starting at 5:10pm. I suggested we reschedule for the next day, and he accepted. In parallel, I worked to ensure we had enough runway so we could still meet the deadline.
The soccer game started promptly at 5:10pm, and by the end of the first half, my team was down 1 – 4. During the half time break, I encouraged the guys by reminding them we were better than our first-half performance. All we needed was to focus on getting one goal at a time. Within the first 5 minutes of the second half, I scored our second goal, getting us to 2 – 4. We made some technical changes, which allowed our team to score three more quick goals within ten minutes, putting us ahead at 5 – 4. I then added another goal with five minutes left in the game, putting the score at 6 – 4. Our opponents got a quick break and scored a goal with two minutes left, putting the score at 6 – 5. Knowing they would increase the pressure, I reminded the guys that offense is the best defense. Since our opponents committed more of their guys to attack, it left their defense vulnerable. We took advantage, and my teammate provided a perfect through pass. I then dribbled past two defenders before hitting the ball past the goalkeeper on his left side. The score was now 7 – 5, with twenty seconds left in the game. When the referee blew his whistle to signal the end of the game, we had managed to come back from three goals down to win the game 7 – 5. I thought to myself, had I taken the call and missed out on the game, I wouldn’t have been in a position to help my team and be a part of such a memorable comeback story.
The next day, the client asked about the soccer game, and I relived the drama all over again. Even better, we met the deadline, deepened our connection, and progressed our discussions. This experience was a reminder to prioritize self-care because it earns trust with clients and it is good for business.
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Michael is a passionate entrepreneur focused on leaving a legacy that is filled with inspiration and courage. With the realization that “life is rented”, Michael approaches his mission to feed millions of people in a sustainable way with great enthusiasm and urgency. Although Jikoro as a company is still in its infancy (about 1 year old), the idea for the company has been gestating for years. Michael is putting to work his training as a scientist to build a company whose mission is to leverage technology to create products from palm oil that are less harmful to the environment and people. Essentially, creating a better product for tomorrow, today. The Agriscience industry in Africa is ripe for disruption as it is dominated by companies with antiquated technologies that also lack leadership when it comes to dealing with the realities of climate change.
Jikoro’s plans include leveraging technology to bring hydroponic farming to Nigeria and partnering with Universities to innovate on seed genomics. In addition to building a company that outlasts him, Michael wants to create millions of jobs for talented youth in Africa who are yearning for the opportunity to make a better life for themselves and their families. Michael and his team at Jikoro have many exciting plans and their version of the future is filled with hope, determination, and courage.
Jikoro recently took first place in a business pitch competition organized by Umu Igbo Unite, at their 2019 annual conference in Minneapolis. I learned about Jikoro through the pitch competition and invited him to take part in the FIVE Questions series. I hope you are inspired and compelled to cheer on the team at Jikoro!
1. What is your unfair advantage as an entrepreneur and why should people want to do business with you?
I find this to be an interesting question because it illustrates in one aspect your fit and the other, characteristics of an entrepreneur. To appreciate my unique abilities, you would have to personally interact or shadow me for a day. You would quickly find out that I equally represent the Naija (Nigerian) hustle and accomplish my goals with a strategic mechanism. Nigeria is a unique country in dire need of multilateral solutions for all including men, women, and the youth. It’s estimated there are nearly 80 million youth ready to learn and work throughout impoverished regions of Nigeria. Throughout West Africa, a few small organizations are doing the best they can to be the change agents. However, to make the real impact it takes a collective of people and organizations. Jikoro LLC is ready to make the difference one-step-at-a-time, as our innovative strategies focus to eliminate the burdening hunger crisis and eliminate the technological barriers to entry. We are crafting a vision and creating opportunities for tomorrow, now. Our motto “Sustainable Agriscience for A Better Tomorrow”, today defines our innate hunger and desire to succeed. We should not lament and willow in stagnation; rather, let us be our own change agents. Our collective actions will be our unfair advantage.
2. What role has mentorship played in your journey as an entrepreneur and what’s your advice on how to seek out and foster relationships with mentors?
Either it’s this question or perhaps it’s the answer that goes on in life to be undervalued in its various forms. I’d have to say my journey as an entrepreneur is unique in experiences and achievement. Each day you wake up to face and overcome adversities through each stage and after each accomplishment. Mentorship is defined by the Oxford dictionary as, “guidance provided by a mentor, especially an experienced person in a company or educational institution.” The reality is that not everyone has a mentor to speak freely or directly to. Similar to myself, you may become indirectly motivated to take the first steps. Virtual platforms such as YouTube and findings on the internet are great tools for those seeking inspiration. However, I should caution everyone not to pay for free advice and stay focused exclusively on stories and interviews without the glam. Watching and learning from women who essentially created their career positions were my first exposure to entrepreneurship. While in college I started my path towards entrepreneurship with a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant, which allowed me to expose myself to as many unknowns as possible. Prior to starting Jikoro, I was presented with the opportunity to meet a few CEOs in the field of biotechnology and other industries. If you are given a similar opportunity, write down a few questions you are going to ask the individual in a notebook or diary. Your goal is to learn about your future mentors’ critical thinking process, focus, and their past experiences (e.g., successes and failures).
3. Why is the cause you are pursuing or problem you are solving the most important for this generation and how can people support /help you move your cause forward?
Well around the world the average age of a farmer is 60 plus years, and in the continent of Africa 60% of the population are under the age of 25. Let’s focus on Nigeria, the most populous country with the largest economic factor (e.g., GDP) in Africa. Without the need of a microscope, youth unemployment and data representing the quality of life is dismal. Primarily such concern for poor health is due to unemployment, hunger, and inaccessibility to resources. While Jikoro is only an agricultural sciences and farming company, the potential of a robust agriculture industry should bring excitement, as the number of improved lives may be exponential. Our vision is to develop the next generation of farming technologies and food crops to feed a nation through science and development of a stable supply chain. Moreover, we are focused on eliminating the biotechnology barrier and innovating to produce bio-engineered oil seeds and specialty crops for advanced technologies (e.g., biofuels and affordable medications). When you do the math, innovation plus product, multiplied by scalability equals profitability in the business world. A profitable agriculture industry translates into new forms of income, resulting in affordability of key services (e.g., healthcare) and investments in infrastructure, such as roads and water systems. There’s a saying, “those who fail to plan, plan to fail” and so far, no one has been able to disprove planning. In all realness, hopefully, individuals with additional resources will pick up where we left off and learn from our mistakes. To succeed, we are utilizing the grassroots community business funding model, so donations, investments, and partnerships are welcome, as well as feedback and advice. If you really want to help, first check out Jikoro’s website (https://www.jikoro.international), then if you feel compelled, contact us by email. Remember, it takes a village.
4. Reflect on all of the key milestones or sacrifices you’ve had so far in building Jikoro to what it is today, which of these milestones or sacrifices would you say is the most pivotal and why?
Too many milestones but selling my car and investing the money into the business was the most pivotal sacrificial milestone. I woke up and said today is the day, now each day I remember moving forward is the only way to go. Today, I’ve obtained all the necessary permits and formed a few collaborations. Tomorrow, big data will be flowing in, new products will launch, and a new research team will be built from the ground up. All these milestones excite me and I look forward to achieving each one. You can stay up to date with our movements by following us on Instagram — @jikorollc
5. What is the best piece of actionable advice you’ve received that continues to be a source of inspiration in good times and challenging times?
Great question! Idioms and quotes are equally inspirational, from Mahatma Gandhi’s “Be the change you want to see in the world” to Maya Angelou being attributed with “If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.” During challenging times, I find myself going back to the advice I received as a kid and throughout college. If you are frustrated, go for a walk. Feeling disappointed? Remember the hundreds, if not millions, facing a tougher decision than you are. And most of all, communication is key. Stay in touch with family and friends; and remain focused on your vision. As for when all is well, be humble.
A few days ago, I called my uncle who recently underwent knee surgery. Thankfully, he had good news to share. His pain had begun to subside and he was now able to move around. We prayed and laughed together, celebrating his progress.
During our conversation, my uncle shared an Igbo proverb:
Kedu ka i mere ga-agwo oria ma gi jiri obi oma juo ya.
Or in English – asking someone how they are doing can heal their sickness when you ask with a pure heart.
While sales was hardly the focus of our time together, the proverb struck a chord with me. The first half of the idiom is quite intuitive; it’s the second half that I found most poignant, so I’ll focus there.
“…when you ask with a pure heart.”
As sales executives, we are measured on the quantity and quality of our output. As such, we set our sights on delivering these outputs quarter after quarter – making more dials, qualifying more leads and closing more deals. The risk though of getting into this routine is that it’s all too easy to lose sight of the fundamental reason for all of this effort. At worse, our actions could become influenced by insincere motives, which inevitably leads to reduced customer trust and lost business.
With a pure heart, one can climb through layers of rejection and come out unscathed. Even when dealing with what may seem to be a difficult client, a pure heart takes a long term view and eventually earns the customer’s respect and signature. Essentially, a pure heart gets rewarded over and over. It’s also difficult to “act out” having a pure heart for an extended period. In due course, the movie comes to an abrupt end.
In my experience, asking with a pure heart means starting with the customer outcomes, not the product or the competition. If the customer doesn’t believe the intentions are genuine, then nothing else matters and your window of opportunity closes.
Earlier this year, I was invited to give a talk on Developing Executive Presence to a group of startup founders from Morocco, Tunisia, Ghana, and Nigeria. Below are excerpts from my talk with corresponding slides. I hope you get some value from it.
I strongly believe a mastery of executive presence (EP) can help you close more business.
Executive presence starts with you. It requires you to work on your whole self.
From my research, the best definition of executive presence (EP) comes from Sylvia Ann Hewlett in her book “Executive Presence: The Missing Link Between Merit and Success”. She argues that EP rests on 3 pillars: How you act (gravitas), how you speak (communication), and how you look (appearance). Each pillar is somewhat interactive. For example, if your communication skills ensure that you can command a room, your gravitas grows exponentially; conversely, if your presentation is rambling and your manner is timid, your gravitas suffers a blow.
The numbers in each circle means something as well. Of the 268 executives she interviewed, 67% ranked gravitas as the most important pillar. Which means, “you know your stuff cold” and can go “six questions deep” in your domain of knowledge. Next is communication which is at 28% and appearance 5%. The low percentage for appearance explains why executives in Silicon Valley can get away with wearing T-shirts, shorts, and slippers, because they know their stuff cold and can speak to it with confidence and conviction.
Gravitas is the very essence of executive presence. Without it, you simply won’t be perceived as a leader, no matter what your title or level of authority, no matter how well you dress or speak. According to Senior Leaders and Executives, the top aspects of Gravitas are listed in the slide. For this discussion, let us focus on three aspects.
Confidence & “grace under fire” – When you think of any successful executive you know, it’s almost a given that you associate them with being confident and handling “pressure” with ease. If gravitas is the building, then self-confidence is the foundation. Executives want to deal with people who are confident and can handle pressure well because that is their world. When they meet someone with confidence, they are automatically attracted to that individual because they see a similarity.
Decisiveness & “showing teeth” – making difficult decisions is what we look to leaders to do. Executives have to be decisive and are responsible for making the toughest decisions. To sell to executives, you need to develop the same level of decisiveness and showing teeth. According to Sylvia, “real leaders don’t issue edicts just to look and sound like they’re in charge. Real leaders listen, gather critical information, weigh the options carefully, look for a timely opening (typically when everyone else is wallowing in indecision), and then demand action.”
Right-sizing your reputation – your reputation precedes you. The best executives own their stories and you have to do the same. It’s common for someone to google you, check out your Facebook profile, read your tweets, or look at your LinkedIn profile before meeting with you. Are you owning your personal brand and reputation, offline and online?
The author of the book provides eight ways to deepen your gravitas. I want to focus on the three that has helped me win over executives.
Surround yourself with people who are better than you. Studies show you’re the average of the five people you spend the most time with so there shouldn’t be any shame in seeking out people who are better than you and finding opportunities to hang around them. When you seek these individuals, they motivate you to step up your game and raise your standards. This constant pursuit of getting better accelerates the mastery of your craft which will help you win over executives. Executives want to know what other executives are doing and are always looking for opportunities to learn something new or get inspired. Be that inspiration for them.
Be generous with credit – Have you ever had a boss or someone who always took the credit whether they deserved it or not? Well, that is a sign of shallow gravitas. As a leader, the more generous you are with your credit, the more your people will stay engaged and work harder because they know they will be recognized and appreciated. One simple thing I do after calls/meetings with an executive is to thank my team publicly for their insights and contribution in front of the executive. I even make it a point to thank the executive’s staff, whether they were involved directly or indirectly in the meeting. A good example of the impact of this was after a meeting with an executive I had been trying to tie down, I thanked him for his executive assistance (EA) and mentioned how pleasant it was to work with her. An hour or so later, I got an email from the EA, thanking me for going out of my way to say nice things to her boss. Guess what would happen when I ask her to schedule another meeting? Also, I’m sure the executive must be thinking, “this guy went out of his way to thank my EA, what a class act. I’ll definitely meet him again.” He did. This leads me to my next point, humility.
Show humility – Being humble, especially, in a world where everyone is trying to be famous on social media could be difficult. But it really doesn’t have to be. Being humble is always in style. Being humble could be as simple as admitting when you don’t know the answer to a question and committing to finding the answer. Executives can tell when you’re bluffing or making sh*t up. It’s not worth it. Be humble.
The second pillar of executive presence is Communication. I like the author’s definition of communication as it is not so much what you say, but rather how you say it. Essentially, your choice of words matter; your tone matters, your cadence, inflection, articulation, delivery, and eye contact, all play a key role in determining what and how much your listeners take in.
The author identified six communication traits but I want to focus on the first one superior speaking skills. A big component of speaking is your accent. In one of the first cold calls I made early in my sales career, the prospect thought I was calling him from another country because of how thick my accent sounded. I’ve since worked on flattening my accent with practice and coaching. However, when I get nervous, my accent tends to be dominant. Realizing this early in my career allowed me to work on it to ensure it didn’t impede my success.
The key to body language and posture is that to radiate presence, you have to radiate you are present. Have you ever watched someone say one thing in english with their words but their body language and posture was speaking a completely different language? Exactly. You words should match your body language.
Now that we know what communication is, how can we polish it to help with our EP. The author suggested 8 ways to polish our communication skills. The one that has served me well with executives is less can be more. A majority of executives like when you’re succinct and straight to the point. This apply to answers as well as questions. It works magic.
There is one principle that appearance underscores – your appearance should focus your audience on your professional competencies, not distract from them. One of the best advice I’ve received about appearance is to “dress to impress” this has served me well in my career. I’ve found that dressing like the executive or slightly better than the executive works well for me. I never want to dress down. The author describes it as it’s not how good you look, it’s how appropriate you look for your audience. Your appearance is part of your brand, so work on it to make the most of it.
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Chief Dan Obiyo was an early investor in Jomeka Commercial Academy. Chief Obiyo is also the CEO of AVSECO NIGERIA LIMITED. AVSECO’s mission is to eliminate all security challenges through an aggressive training development of hands and minds in the aviation workplace. Recent civil aviation experiences pose the rhetorical question of which way forward for emerging economies. Government efforts cry out to be complemented through supportive private expertise… now provided by AVSECO.
SITUATION
Avu town is located about four miles west of Owerri municipality in Imo state, Nigeria. Avu Community Secondary school, the town’s only secondary education facility was not easily affordable to most parents. The subsistence farming community was poor, requiring a more affordable alternative for the teeming applicants in Avu and environs. Professor J.O.C. Obiyo took on this challenge head-on upon his retirement after a successful career in Abuja. Jomeka Commercial Academy was established to provide primary school rejects as well as secondary school dropouts with placements in a vocational school to realize their dreams. Students whose guardians could not cope with the exorbitant fees at the public school, students who do not have the aptitude for formal education, and indigent students became the target demographic for Prof Obiyo’s vision.
For everyone everywhere, literacy is…a basic human right.
– Kofi Annan, Former UN Secretary-General
ACTION
Away from downtown Avu but within easy reach of the cluster of houses bordering the village to the north, Prof. Obiyo secured an ideal location for the academy. Registration formalities with the Ministry of Education, construction of temporary structures at site of classrooms and basic facilities to kick start the project were primarily
funded by Prof Obiyo’s retirement benefits. Notices were put up in church services to canvass for students and skilled staff. Volunteers and National Youth Service Corps members were requested to beef up the staff strength. Cash Crunch-Provision was made for students with special cases to pay their fees in several installments without interrupting studies. The vision was actualized.
RESULT
Igbo Kwenu! Mezie Avu! Twilight gradually changed to dawn for the tiny town which separates the city of Owerri from the large food producing areas of Ohaji. Education in Avu gradually became less of an effortless privilege and more of an earned right. Avu town discovered that vocational school graduates were more readily employable. The National Basic and Technical Education Board certificate gained popularity in Avu opening up a wider horizon for higher education. Knowledge is power which opens doors for greater opportunities to do even greater things.
The following post is from the e-book, The Most Interesting Thing About Investing in Africa, which features a series of conversations with entrepreneurs, community leaders, students, executives, and doers both home and abroad driving economic empowerment in several parts of my beloved continent of Africa.
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Mr. Peter Nalika
Peter Nalika leads the Digital PR department at Tellem Public Relations East Africa, a digital public relations company established to help organizations communicate better on online platforms.” He was previously a Technical writer at CIO East Africa, where he reported on ICT innovations, policy development, and product reviews. During his time at CIO East Africa, he interviewed several global technology leaders including Oracle’s Mark Hurd, IBM’s Dr. Mark Dean, Microsoft’s Jean-Philippe Courtois among others.
Investment: Digital Public Relations in Kenya
SITUATION
In the 18th century, spice trading was the main economic activity around East Africa. This was before the Agrarian revolution swept through the world in the 19th century, followed by the industrial revolution in the 20th Century.
The 21st century is experiencing what is now being referred to as the technology evolution. Kenya may have struggled to simultaneously catch up on both the agrarian and Industrial revolution in the 20th Century, but the country feels quite at home when it comes to the technology revolution. Tourists from around the world stream into Kenya not only to see the wild animals, or beaches, but also to see how mobile payments are transforming everyday lifestyles in the country.
Kenya also plays home to some of the startups that are changing the way we do things in the world, by incorporating technology. Small Kenyan firms have developed software solutions that are used to collect information and coordinate response in disasters, while others are exporting automated payment systems to Kenya’s neighbors, and even as far as West Africa. In this era, information technology has become a key component in our daily lives, and I believe it has affected the way we manage our information and data. For the few years I have studied and worked in the fields of IT and Information Management, the power of information and how it empowers different organizations and society structures has stood out for me.
In the future, I see myself enabling my organization and our clients to take advantage of technology as an enabler. This is something I have envisioned long before becoming a Public Relations consultant. Four years ago, as a field reporter working with CIO East Africa, I developed an art of compiling information and news from events through information posted on Twitter, the social network. Thus, my computer and an information network became my virtual pen and paper, enabling me to source a variety of opinions of the topic in discussion from the various stakeholders. At CIO East Africa I further explored social media beyond a tool for just reporting my stories, but tried it out as a tool to distribute my published works. Like a newspaper vendor delivers a newspaper to your door, with social media, I could target my stories especially to the valuable “C” level executives. A tweet tagging them would virtually deliver my story to their computers, or phones, in front of their eyes. Further, social media enabled me to bring new business to my employer through meeting of potential advertisers and striking deals with them. Through messages on these platforms, I was able to position my publication to advertisers and come to a value proposition that suited them, and paid our bills.
I started a Digital Public Relations (PR) company to help organizations communicate better on online platforms. For so many years, many Kenyan organizations have relied on traditional PR to reach various audiences, they have invested a lot of resources (time & money) in press briefings, open-ended editorials and one on one interviews in order to pass a message to the general public. This has since then changed once the country was connected through fiber optic cables, access to the Internet became affordable, and device manufacturers brought in smart devices that allowed people to consume content from online social forums.
Since then, organizations realized the need to use social media as online concierge for their brands, because this is where most people access content. This is when I realized the need to help them strategize and communicate better on online forums. The level of Internet adoption and proliferation of affordable smart devices among Kenyans forced companies to think twice and invest on managing social communities for a two-way engagement and harness reviews about their brand and products.
ACTION
The digital world is abound with opportunities. Not only can a Mandarin speaking Chinese in Shanghai have their tweet to an English-speaking Kenyan automatically translated, resulting in conversation where it was no longer possible, but a firm can have their consumers send a tweet to machine in return for a cup of tea or even can of soda. Social Media further breaks the news cycle. No longer are the roles, such as those of the audience, news-makers and subjects cast into stone, but these can be easily reversed. Clients easily find themselves becoming the news, but with the audience playing the previously unfamiliar role news-makers, say if they like something about the client, or bad news if they are not happy with a client’s move.
It thus requires immense experience and skill to help clients walk this tight rope, and hold their hands, as they become front-runners in the digital world. My task is helping organizations not talk to their clients, but rather, to have a conversation with their clients, with the ultimate aim of having both understand each other better and forge a long-term relationship. We undertake a feasibility study, which involves learning the communication objectives of various clients on digital platforms, and then understanding how online audiences prefer to consume such content before coming up with a strategy and community management plan. We invested a lot on training on the employees to enable them understand how to deliver best practices and models that sell, manage and measure digital communications.
Relevancy is the corner-stone of social content.
But in order for organizations to be relevant online they need to understand what is happening in the online world around them. To do this we invested on a comprehensive social listening tool like Radian 6 to ensure our clients jump onto relevant online conversations. In everything we have done in terms of pulling together online monitoring tools, resources and capacity building, we try to be helpful experts by giving clients more than just managing their online communities. We have venture into business intelligence around their customers to enable our clients monitor various consumer behaviors.
This kind of information has encouraged participatory conversations between the client and online communities which has built engagement among these two parties and given the client’s organization a personal side. However, despite the time and effort we have taken to advice organizations on social forums, there is still some sort of resistance. Most organizations are not willing to engage on social media, they don’t understand the importance of having a level of approachability social platforms give to a brand. This has been a challenge so far in addition to quantifying the return on investment when a client or an organization engages into digital communication.
RESULT
Through various engagements, organizations have restructured how they present their messaging to various online audiences. While these audiences have grown to be passive recipients of online messaging, communities have sprout up and created value by connecting members to each other and not just the brand. We have designed remarkable strategies for brands, and even counties in the Kenyan government, the social media strategies have enabled these organizations to have some sort of unity by harnessing the power of social capital and a high purpose among communities. Measurement planning was also one of our outcomes, it is a necessary element of social strategy, and most of our strategies are deeply rooted in measurement planning that is evaluated against client’s marketing and business objectives.
As a company, our objective is to marry traditional PR and digital integration, being a small outfit we started by assisting our clients to creatively use PR and media engagements and we are determined to build the company into a global player. My goal is to have all our existing clients realize and achieve more value through digital platforms. Digital platforms will enable these clients establish personal relationships with their clients and fans, something that is now possible with little effort. Even as a consultant that is highly regarded by my clients, akin to a captain guiding a ship in the high seas, social media and the digital world have also been, and remains a learning experience for my team and me.
To keep up to date with the latest tricks and best practices, my team and I have attended various digital communication training, both in-house and from our affiliates in South Africa. Going to the future, I am aiming to turn social media from more than just being a communication and relationship tool for my clients, but make the same a valuable business insight tool. Through analytics and business intelligence, I aim to provide insight into Kenyan businesses, such that, based on what people are saying online, they can predict the impact of the same on their brand, and be in a position to favorably react to the same, resulting in a positive impact to the business.
Investment: Digital Public Relations in Kenya
L = 50
I = 25
C = 30
BUSINESS IDEA METRIC (BIM): 105
You can connect with Peter on Twitter:@peternalika
Akin Akinboro (left) and Mobolaji Sokunbi (right) are the Co-Founders of The 234 Project
The following post is from the e-book, The Most Interesting Thing About Investing in Africa, which features a series of conversations with entrepreneurs, community leaders, students, executives, and doers both home and abroad driving economic empowerment in several parts of my beloved continent of Africa.
*** Mobolaji is a results-driven Marketing Executive and Entrepreneur. In his capacity as a marketing manager, he established a track record of successfully recruiting and training top sales teams, managing a $150M+ sales campaign P&L, and driving innovative strategies across multiple business units. He has a remarkable gift for identifying and evaluating intricate challenges in an organization and successfully communicating solutions and recommendations to senior leadership. His experience spans across notable companies including Dell, Procter & Gamble, and The Southwestern Company. In his capacity as an entrepreneur, Mobolaji consistently makes things happen from a business development standpoint including as the co-founder of The 234 Project. He is passionate about sharing the untold stories of Nigeria’s greatness and publicizing the achievements of Nigerians around the world.
*** Akin exhibits a masterful set of skills in his work as an Enterprise Systems Engineer and Entrepreneur. Pertinent to his work as a systems engineer, Akin enjoys bridging the gap between IT experts and non-experts alike. Throughout the course of his career, he has established a solid foundation in product & solution development; and he is very experienced in leading efforts related to solution design, infrastructure architecture & implementation, test & testing frameworks, and project management. This experience has allowed him to excel in a variety of engineering roles with major technology companies such as Oracle and Dell. In his entrepreneurial endeavors, Akin is involved in a number of successful ventures including co-founding The 234 Project. He believes that the future for Nigeria is bright and thus essential to the world. Akin is passionate about impacting lives positively and encouraging others to find sustainable solutions to everyday challenges.
Investment: Online Platform to Tell the Positive Stories of Nigeria | The 234 Project
SITUATION
There are many fascinating things about investing in Africa, especially investing in projects that empower young minds. To that end, Mobolaji and Akin sought to develop a deeper understanding of the growing interest in startups and self-employment among young Africans, particularly young Nigerians. This perceived interest seemed to be buoyed by a number of factors like high levels of youth unemployment, lack of opportunities at more established companies in Nigeria, and the foreign investment shift from BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) to MINT (Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria, Turkey) countries with Nigerian startups at the beneficiary forefront of this shift.
Upon closer examination, Mobolaji and Akin discovered that young Nigerians were not only motivated by economic factors, they were also motivated by the opportunity to live out their own definition of success; and so, working with a startup or being self-employed in Nigeria offered them the best chance to stay close to home and stay even closer to self-actualization.
Historically, many young Nigerians yearned to leave Nigeria for greener pastures in North America or Europe (see Forbes article on Brain Drain). They tended to identify with a skewed version of professional success in life i.e. the “non-African” version. Nowadays, with the widespread use of the internet and mobile phones, more young people in Nigeria opt for a career path which allows them to think global but act local.
In his interview, Mobolaji expressed that he had always wanted to reach out to young Nigerian professionals in Nigeria… “to be a mentor or offer some advice from the standpoint of [his] experience in sales and marketing”. The 234 Project now allows him to take his mentoring to a whole new level– the project is an ongoing investment to tell a different story of Nigeria.
“For some time now, if you ask people, particularly westerners, what they know about Nigeria, you’re likely to hear about terrorism, corruption, the Niger-Delta violence, or those kinds of negative stories; before you hear many westerners and sometimes even Nigerians say anything positive about Nigeria, they probably would have already gone through a list of negative things,” he noted.
In 2011, I was at a stopover in London Heathrow Airport and I met a young man from Katy, Texas (United States). He worked for Shell and was on his way to Port Harcourt, Rivers State (Nigeria). He was reading a thick book about the dangers of living in Nigeria. We got into a conversation about his trip and I could tell he was petrified about going to Nigeria. At that moment, I thought to myself, what if this young man also had easy access to the positive elements of living in Nigeria? Imagine a platform that would have shown him great places to eat and visit while living in Port Harcourt.
-Mobolaji recounts his experience on a business trip
Akin and Mobolaji believe that Nigeria, known as the Giant of Africa, has positive stories to tell– from technology to politics, from politics to entertainment, from entertainment to fashion, there are people making positive waves…
While attending a youth event in Johannesburg, South Africa for the MTV BASE Meets show, First Lady Michelle Obama (wife of the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama) was spotted wearing Nigerian label Maki Oh by the young designer Amaka Osake. Michelle Obama took to the stage wearing a chiffon blouse from the Spring/Summer 2013 collection. – Source:africanfashionguide.com
The 234 Project is not in the business of denying that there are negative things to report about Nigeria, instead the project is simply advocating for the other side of Nigeria’s story.
The cinema of Nigeria, referred to as Nollywood, grew quickly in the 1990s and 2000s and became the second largest film industry in the world in the number of annual film productions, placing it ahead of the United States and behind only India. In 2013, it was rated as the third most valuable film industry in the world after generating a total revenue of NG₦1.72 trillion (US$10 billion) in 2013 alone, placing it behind India and the United States.
– Source: un.org/apps/news/story (UN News Centre)
ACTION
Akin and Mobolaji, in collaboration with their global team (a collection of young, brilliant minds), are building out an online platform with global access to tell the positive stories of Nigeria– from positive stories that impact celebrities to politicians, from boardroom bosses to classroom champions. The platform will be used to create and share content.
There are two value proposition pillars that they are keeping in mind:
Stewardship;
Empowerment
Stewardship – they are employing a network of young people in Nigeria to help create the content.
Empowerment – they are then connecting the content they create to action items like raising awareness, project fundraising, and professional networking.
RESULT
They have implemented some key performance indicators that are part of an ongoing evaluation process to measure the success of the project on multidimensional scale. Notably, in five years, the groundwork is in place to create hundreds of jobs (across different disciplines such as videography, writing, editing, and more).
Investment: Online Platform to Tell the Positive Stories of Nigeria
L = 50
I = 30
C = 40
Business Idea Metric: 120
To learn more about The 234 Project, please check out the online community
