The other day I “accidentally” clicked on the BeForward website. I wasn’t even planning to buy a car. I just wanted to check how much a Toyota 300 Series costs. Within minutes, my phone was buzzing like a kombi conductor’s whistle. Emails. Calls. WhatsApp messages. Even a text message that looked like it was written by someone’s auntie in Japan: “Dear customer, we saw you looking. Buy now!”
Same thing with Alibaba. You just pass by their site like a window-shopper, and boom ten suppliers are already pitching to you. One even sends pictures of his children like, “Please support me, boss.”
Now pause. Compare that with how we do business here in Africa.
A customer walks into your shop, asks about prices, and leaves. No one bothers to get their contact. No follow-up. No WhatsApp. No reminder. Nothing. It’s like we’re allergic to money.
On social media, someone comments “How much is this?” under your post. Silence. Ghosted. Not even a reply. And yet, tomorrow you’ll be crying that sales are slow.
But look at these Japanese and Chinese giants. They’re not billion dollar companies by luck. They are hungry. They don’t let you escape easily. They follow up until you either buy or block them. That’s why they’re rich and we’re still selling tomatoes by the roadside, hoping someone will pass by.
Here’s the lesson: business is war. Customers are not sheep who will follow you voluntarily. You have to chase them. You have to be aggressive. Collect numbers. Follow up. Send reminders. Be in their face (politely). Because the truth is, people forget but if you keep showing up, you’ll close the deal.
African businesses must stop treating sales like fishing with a net in Kariba: throw it in and pray. Instead, we must become like BeForward hunt, follow up, and close.
Because hunger is the difference between a struggling shop in Mbare and a trillion-dollar empire in Tokyo.
By The Chartered Vendor
#SalesLessons #AfricanBusiness #StayHungry #CharteredVendor #Entrepreneurship #SalesAggression #BusinessGrowth
