Closing Deals and Avoiding Disasters: The Feedback Formula

Hello and welcome to the show. Apologies for the noise in the background because I'm not in the audio booth today. Now today I want us to look at how to use feedback and the qualification to close deals. Yes, I know there's some technical standing stuff there, but don't worry, we're going to define that in a moment. But why do I want us to look at this today? It's because I had a previous interaction with someone who does graphic design.

Now, this was something that happened, I don't know, maybe three, 3-4 months ago. And for some reason I just remembered it today and I figured, OK, there's some lessons that we can learn here. So let me just hop on the microphone real quick and sort this out. Now, I was talking to a graphic designer because I needed a banner for my LinkedIn, my LinkedIn page. Now the banner is for those of you who have LinkedIn, YouTube,

and I think what's that one the one that grab people have Pinterest, yes. So for Pinterest, YouTube and LinkedIn, the banner is the part behind it's just the huge rectangle that is behind the the your profile picture, yes, behind your profile picture. And it's one of those things that you can optimize, you know, make it look nice and pretty and you can use it strategically to help you convert more business or get people to do certain things when they come to your profile.

Now, since I've been spending a lot of time on LinkedIn and I've gotten rid of all the other social media, I figured, you know, time must come. It's time for me to, you know, to shop my my LinkedIn page, look everything, look all nice and make everything look correct. Because if you go check my LinkedIn handle right now, you know, to be frank, you want to see my profile picture there. OK, I have to change it because that one is old.

That's one where I had just shaved my mustache and, and I've grown it back. So I need to change it. Then for the LinkedIn banner, that part was just open, nothing there. So what it is, I just took the logo of this podcast and then I, I put it there. But either way, it's not something that I've been doing consciously. So I, this guy reached out to me, I wanted to do some design work and I was like, oh, OK, I need a LinkedIn banner to be designed.

So that's how we started off the conversation. So I hold on or let me see where are my notes? I made some notes. I just don't forget the hardest thing went well. So anyway, so we started discussing now and summary, the whole thing just turned out to be unproductive because we had a small quarrel at the end of the day. In fact, some people might even say a big quarrel because even though it was a small issue, the thing was he didn't quite understand what I wanted to do with the LinkedIn banner.

And he didn't even understand what a LinkedIn banner was because he provided some designs and the designs were wonderful, more than adequate, but he just designed what I did not ask him to design. So even though it was a wonderful design, it was not fit for purpose. It was of no use to me, and it was definitely was not what I wanted. And so that's how it turned out to be an unproductive engagement. Now, from that interaction,

we're going to come up with some tips for service professionals to prevent this kind of miscommunication. Because there are some of you that actually are very good at your job, like this young man was very good at your job. But the reason why you didn't close the deal or you quarrel with the customer and there's fight and there's this and there's that. It's precisely because there was some miscommunication that went on there.

And if you had the skills or the frameworks, the tool set to prevent that, then this could have turned out to be a productive engagement and you could have ended up closing the deal. So if you are a service professional listening to this podcast, please pay attention. So for those of you in legal, legal services, baby lawyers, established lawyers, pay attention. For those of you in medical, pay attention. For those of you in financial,

you know, you're a wealth advisor, you're a money coach or you're an accountant. Pay attention. For those of you in engineering, pay attention. Architects, IT consultants, business consultants, creatives, hairdresser, makeup artist, photo and video people. Even if you're an artisan, you know, like you Weld stuff, pay attention if you're a service professional because the ideas that we're going to discuss now are going to come in very, very helpful.

Now, if you listen to yesterday's episode, the first thing we're going to talk about is no surprise, we're going to talk about qualification and discovery. Now, remember what I told? The main question we're trying to look at here is how to use feedback and qualification to close deals or to make your engagements much more productive every time you're having interactions with potential customers. So qualification and discovery,

if you listen to yesterday's episode, you already know what it is. But if you didn't listen, let me just give a brief definition. That is the stage of the interaction or the business relationship where you are asking questions and you're trying to discover who the person is, what the opportunity is, what the problem is and how you can help. So you're asking open-ended questions because you're trying to figure out who is this guy,

who is this girl, what's the problem that they're facing? What kind of outcome do they want? What kind of solution do they want? You know, all those sorts of things. Now, the reason we should bother with qualification and discovery is because if you don't do this, then you're not going to have the proper understanding that you need to make a relevant proposal or to provide an effective solution. Can you see why I'm saying service professionals, you all need to pay attention.

The medical doctor, if the medical doctor does not ask you, oh young man, how are you? How old are you? Is your father alive? When did your father die? What brings you here today? How is your left leg? Do you have headache? What about your left waist? If he doesn't ask you all these questions, the medical doctor, he's not going to have all the information that he needs to achieve a proper understanding and to make an effective solution to say that, OK, look,

based on all these things that I've asked you, just go and take Panadol, you'll be all right. Or based on all these things that I've asked you come into the hospital on Tuesday morning, we need to cut off your left leg. So if the medical doctor doesn't ask, he will not, he will not get the proper understanding that he needs to make an effective solution. It's the same thing with the lawyer. If the lawyer does not listen and if the lawyer does not ask all these questions about the person, the opportunity, the problem, when did the quarrel start?

What are the stakes? How much have you lost? What were you hoping to gain? Who said this first? Who said that? What happened on March 1st? What happened on March 15th? If you don't ask all these questions, you're not going to get the proper understanding to make an effective solution. Now for business purposes, if you as the sales person does not ask all these questions, questions around the person, the opportunity and the problem,

you're not going to be able to make an effective proposal. So a rather a relevant proposal because whatever proposal you make will be off point. So back to this thing that now happens to me with this guy when he came to designing LinkedIn banner, I was trying my best to OfferUp information, OfferUp information. But to be honest, the guy did not ask me any question at all. His own was just simple. OK, what do you want me to design?

OK, and then I can design it. How much? That was the extent of his question. And for some of you, that is the accent of the question that you do. What do you want me to design? OK, how much? OK, and sure. No problem. No, it's too low at this. At that. OK, here's my account number. I think you enter into the business. You don't ask questions about the person or the problem, the opportunity, what they're trying to achieve.

How did this problem happen in the first place? What is it that you like? What is it that you don't like? Do they even ask these sorts of questions? And then you now wonder, at the end of the day, why this quarrel? You take that thing and you show it to other people, other people who say this design is correct now, because, like I said, the design was not bad. It's just that the design was of no use to me. My guy went to go and design the kind of thing that I didn't ask him for and that I can use.

Even though it was wonderful, it was spectacular. It's just that, OK, you've given me this thing, why am I supposed to use it now? What I wondered was LinkedIn banner. What I was describing to you was LinkedIn Banner. If you did not understand, you should have asked some questions or you should have done some research. So please, service professionals, it is not always you ask the person what do you want and then you tell them how much it is, then they transfer.

Then you go and do the thing you need to ask questions, because if you ask questions about the person, the opportunity, the problem, Let's let's rewind. Let's say this guy was asking me questions. OK, who are you? What do you do? Oh, ah, you're a consultant. Hey, OK, you also have a podcast as well. OK, what other resources do you have? See, from asking that kind of question, you might now he might would now have gotten a sense of what kind of assets or what kind of information could have gone into the, the, what's it called?

The LinkedIn banner, why you even change your LinkedIn banner self? You've been on LinkedIn for 10 years. You've never done anything before. Why are you trying to do this now? What are you trying to achieve? OK, you're trying to achieve this. You're trying to achieve that. See The thing is as a professional who knows your work, when somebody's talking and you ask them these questions, it will be a lot of value for you for you to even say, oh look boss, I understand that you said you want LinkedIn banner.

But to be honest though, from what you are describing and for what you want to do, actually think this and this and this is what you need to work on 1st to achieve your goal before you start looking on LinkedIn banner. That's the kind of thing that makes somebody look at you in high esteem to say you know what, this graphic designer, excuse me, this graphic designer, this guy, he goes school, he knows his stuff. Hope you guys are going to see why I keep saying that having a sales process and following your framework is the easiest way to set yourself apart in Nigeria.

Because at the level where we are now, people are freestyling, they don't have a process and so it's commoditized. Everybody sounds the same. So the moment somebody comes and is asking intelligent questions and is able to make some relevant proposals, you will know. Sharda. OK, Yeah, this guy is a Carpenter, but he's a Carpenter above other carpenters. This person is a graphic designer, but he's a graphic designer above other graphic designers.

This person is a social media manager, but he or she is a social media manager above other social media managers. This is how this thing makes you stand out. So you should have been asking the questions so that you get the proper understanding, so that the solution, the thing that you designed, the thing that you present at the end of the day will be all right. We'll be on point. You'll be able to make an effective proposal.

And these are the things that make it easier to close the deal because you make a proposal, and the proposal seems to speak to exactly what it is that I want. Of course, you'll make me hungrier to even close the deal. And it's the same thing with your potential clients. So please, those of us who are service professionals, this is really, really important. You sell services, not that you sell product. Because if you sell human hair and the person comes and says they want to buy human hair from Mogadishu and it has to be 68

inches, you know, Mogadishu is Mogadishu 68 inches and 68 inches. So you can get away with not asking any more questions. Although I would still recommend that you ask questions, Shah, so that you know the person you built from our power, from our power. You guys vibe a little bit because that's the kind of thing that I'll be able to get you to bring the person back, to be able to come and bind human hair again. Because you know how this thing is, you know, market goes up,

market goes down. You know, people meet different people. So today as they buy from you, but tomorrow they think they have a sweeter deal as elsewhere also they might buy from somebody else. But at least you sell human hair. You engage in these sorts of conversations and somebody thinks of you as the human hair specialist. Next time, even if they attempted to not buy from you, maybe because you're more expensive than other people, at the very least they will call you and say, OK, let us hear what this person has to say about this particular hair, this particular week, this particular this.

So even those of you who sell products, you know, you sell children's shoes, you sell human hair, you sell Binatone fan, you sell school bag, you sell Dust bean, you sell desks, you sell yams, you sell whatever it is you sell. This thing will help you, but for those of us who are service professionals, it is a cardinal scene for you not to use this sort of process again. I repeat, lawyers listen up. Doctors, accountants, engineers,

architect, IT professionals, consultants, creative people, makeup artist, hairdresser, photography, video artisans, Whether you're a Carpenter, you're a welder because you're still delivering a service at the end of the day. These are the processes that we need to be following. Now, let me define the second term that I mentioned because remember I said we're going to use feedback and qualification to close deals. Now the second term was feedback.

Feedback, OK? This is a term that is hard to define. So for the purposes of this podcast, every time you hear me say feedback, feedback just means did I hear you correctly or did I get the right information? So let me repeat. Every single time you hear me say feedback on this podcast, feedback means either or. It means did I hear you correctly or did I get the right information? The reason why we have to do that step.

Did I hear you correctly? Sorry, what did you say again? So I did I understand you correctly. OK, Did I get the right information? Sorry, I thought what you were saying was, oh, forgive me, I misunderstood. I misunderstood you. Did you actually mean the reason why we should be doing all of this is because this is what will allow us to take that next step and now say, oh, OK, Bros, if what I heard you say was this is this and I heard you correctly, therefore this is what I am proposing to solve this problem.

Therefore, this is what I'm proposing for you to achieve this. Therefore, this is what I'm proposing for you to achieve that. Let me repeat feedback just means did I hear you correctly? Did I get the right information? Sorry, can you, can you come again? Sorry, I don't think I heard you correctly. I thought you said this, this is, is that what you meant? Because if you ask all these kinds of questions and the person says, oh, yes, yes, this is what I said, you can now confidently make your proposal and your proposal or your presentation will be on point.

So if this guy, the graphic designer had asked and said, oh, bro, based on what you're saying, oh, it sounds like you're saying this, this, this, this, this, this, this. If he had said that, I would now have said, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, I didn't say that though. This is not what I have in mind. This is actually what I have in mind. The guy would have, now you can see how he would have prevented quarrel because he would have repeated what he thought I said.

And I would have now said, no, no, no, no, no, no. This is not what I have in mind, though. This is actually what I mean. And then we'll have the conversation back and forth. You can even see why this step is even much more important than the pricing thing, because you can be pricing one thing, but because you understood rubbish, you collect the money and you deliver and then this total quarrel. So this feedback stage is really, really important feedback before you make the proposal.

So bro, is this what I heard you say, Madam? Is this exactly what you had in mind or Wi-Fi? Based on what you have said, if I'm understanding correctly, what you're trying to achieve is this, this, this you're seeking for feedback and you hear what the person has to say. Now, no matter the answer that the person gives, the answer is a good answer. If the person says, Oh yes, yes, you understood me correctly, your own point.

So what do you have for me? That's a good answer. If the person says no, that is not what I had in mind, that is also a good answer because it is better that you find out now that for you to negotiate. You now collect money, you deliver what the person thinks is rubbish even though he did a good job. And then at the end of the day you're having to do a second, a second attempt and now you're losing money. So it doesn't matter what answer the person gives at the feedback stage, any answer they give is a good answer.

If they say yes, all well and good, go ahead. If they say no, then you ask more questions and try and get some more feedback. Oh, sorry, your boyfriend. Sorry, it's my fault. I didn't quite understand. Well, sorry, I begged. We'll just just we'll repeat it again. No time that you said this, this, this, did you mean this? And then the conversation starts again and you're trying to figure out who's your boyfriend, What's the problem?

What is your boyfriend trying to achieve? If you're doing something that is technical, you know what are the he's not asking specific questions about the technical parameters and stuff like that. So that's what this guy should have done. I tried my best to volunteer all the information that I thought I needed. But The thing is, I am an ordinary person. I am not a graphic artist. How am I supposed to know all the information that is required?

This is the reason why we should be asking questions, because you are the specialist. You're the one who knows what is required. If the medical doctor just sits down based on what I say, he now prescribes a treatment. Of course, we end up doing something that is that is totally messed up, something that is wrong. The medical doctor is a specialist. That is the reason why the medical doctor is going to ask questions. An example I've given on the podcast, when I was a younger man, I had one problem.

My leg was dreaming one kind and was getting real bad. So I went to the hospital to go and see the man, the doctor. So from talking to the doctor now, the doctor is not asking me questions about my armpit. And I'm wondering from where to where I think the problem is with my my leg. It's not asking me a question about my armpit. I say yes, yeah, I do have this boil in my armpit. And was it small something, you know, you know, back in those days anyway, you know, God is wonderful.

He's one that saves children. So back in those days, all we used to do was I think there's something called, is it like Ampiclox or something? This thing comes in the capsule. So if you had a boil somewhere on your body, I don't even know who taught us this rubbish. We'll go and buy the Ampiclox. The capsule will now cut the thing inside too, the powder that is inside, you know, while pour it inside your wound. So that's what we used to do back then in the secondary school.

In fact, we used to bring them Epiclock stuff. I don't even know. I don't even know if it's Epiclock. But anyway, sure, if people are still doing that kind of rubbish in in this day and age, please stop it right now. You don't know what you're pouring inside your body and you don't know anyway, please no self medication. Always go and see a doctor. So I told the guy what I was doing. I know. Is it a small something? Now?

I took Panadol, I opened armpit clocks, I poured inside my armpit. And the doctor said, oh, that's the problem, that there's a something medial nerve that translates to bilateral something, something, something, something, something. The problem is not with your leg. The problem is with your armpit. So whatever it is you're pointing inside your armpit, stop it. Take these antibiotics instead. We'll take to all these injections, blah, blah.

Come back and check me in three days. And I came back and my leg was fine. As a layman who knows nothing about medicine, I thought the problem was my leg. I didn't know that the problem was my armpit on the opposite side of my body that was causing problems with my leg. So you're the professional. You're the one who knows the questions that you need to ask, which is why our service professionals, you should be asking the questions.

If you're a graphic artist, don't assume that the person knows the right information to offer to get the job done. Do your thing, ask the questions. So this is the reason why qualification is important. This is the reason why feedback is important. After you get through the feedback stage of did I hear you correctly? Did I get this information right? OK, Based on what you said, I'm assuming that what you know, what you're saying is this is this after you get past that and you get to now stage of OK, if everything ahead is correct,

this is what I'm proposing. You don't ask for feedback again. Are you cool with that? Are you good with that? Is this something you can afford? Do you think this is going to be able to give you the results that you're talking about? How soon Are you ready to move forward? What else? You know, you seek feedback again. I remember whatever answer the person gives is a good answer. If the person says yes, it's a good answer.

Next thing is you now send the person your OPA accounts, let them transfer to your account. If the person says I'm not quite sure it is good that the person has said that, Now you now know that you either didn't understand the situation correctly and it didn't make you to have an effective proposal. So you now know that you need to start the process all over again of asking questions, trying to figure out what's going on, make the adequate proposal, or maybe you guys have a mismatch around money.

But either way, you don't know that. OK, there's a problem that needs to be resolved. So these are the ways that we can use qualification and feedback to close more deals because our proposal will be on point, the client will feel listened to, and they will feel that they have a competent professional working with them. Most importantly, I don't know about you guys, but he really used to piss me off. When I collect money, I deliver and then we now start quarreling.

I hate that kind of thing. Back in my event days, I like the one that I collect good money, I deliver the job. They look at it and they're like, oh, this is fantastic, this is wonderful, oh, you're the best, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. That's the one that I like the most. I really, really hated. We finished and then this quarrel, if I had one situation, I had delivered the album, that was quarrel when I had to take the album back to the shop for the guys to take apart the album because there's one problematic page and then we hook up the whole thing.

Anyway, that's the story for another day since we're already at 20 minutes. So let me just bring it to a close here. So this is how we use feedback. This is how we use qualification to close more deals, to make sure that our customers are happy, to make sure that after we deliver, there is no quarrel. This thing is for everybody, even for people who sell human hair or baby diapers or children's shoes, or even if you sell cars or washing machine,

but it is more happy. Most important for those of you who sell services, if you're an accountant, please go through this process so you know what it is your client is trying to achieve. If you're a wealth manager, go through this process so you know what your client is trying to achieve before you recommend something that even though it yields growth in their portfolio, but it didn't yield the growth in the part of the portfolio that matters most to them.

Same thing if you're an you're an engineer or you're an architect or you're a hairdresser. In fact, if you're a hairdresser, you need to ask these questions. If you're going to do Sade before, I don't know if it's called Sade. I think Sade is the one where something will come and cover the person's eye. You need to know which part of the person's face they think is their best side, whether left or right, before you do the Sade.

And the Sade will cover the right, but the person thinks that the finest side of their face is the opposite side. OK, 30 minutes, then bring it to a close. So thank you guys very much for your time and attention. If you'd love to connect with me for a strategy session or a business audit or you have questions you want me to answer, the phone number is 08064662140. The country code is +234. That's my WhatsApp number. Then connect with me on LinkedIn.

The name to look for is Tavishima Aede. I have a YouTube channel of the same name as well. So thanks for your time and attention. I'll catch you guys at the next episode.