How to sell a pair of shoes to indigenous Africans

Buy the Comb to the Monk - A Stunning Marketing StoryAt the beginning of a company's business, in order to select truly effective talents, each applicant was required to pass a test: to sell 100 wonderfully smart combs in the form of a competition, and to sell them to a specially designated group of people: monks.

Almost all of them expressed skepticism: sell the comb to the monk? How is this possible?

Got it wrong? Many people retreated, but there were three people, A, B, and C, who bravely accepted the challenge. When the one-week deadline expired, the three of them went back to the company to report their sales practices, and Mr. A only sold 10 handfuls, Mr. B sold 10 handfuls, and Mr. C actually sold 1,000 handfuls.

Why is there such a big difference in the results under the same conditions? The company asked them to talk about their sales history.

Mr. A said that he ran to three monasteries and was scolded and chased by monks countless times, but he was still indomitable and finally moved a young monk and bought a comb.

Mr. B went to a famous mountain and ancient temple, and because the mountain was high and windy, the hair of the good men and women who came to worship the incense was blown up. Mr. B approached the abbot and said, "It is disrespectful to face the Buddha with unkempt hair, so a wooden comb should be placed in front of each incense table for good men and women to comb their hair."

The abbot thought it was reasonable. There were 10 incense sticks in that temple, so I bought 10 combs.

Mr. C came to a famous and incense-burning treasure temple in the deep mountains, and said to the abbot: "Whoever comes to the incense has a pious heart, and the treasure temple should have a reward, bless peace and auspiciousness, and encourage more good deeds." I have a batch of combs, your calligraphy is excellent, you can engrave the words 'Jishan comb', and then as a gift.

The abbot was overjoyed and immediately bought 1,000 combs.

The company believes that the three candidates represent three types of people in marketing work, each with its own characteristics. Mr. A is a persistent salesman with the advantages of hard-working, perseverance, sincerity and touching; Mr. B has the ability to observe things and reason and judge, and can boldly conceive and realize sales according to the situation; As for Mr. C, he has developed a new market demand through the analysis and research of the target group, bold creativity, and effective planning. Due to Mr. C's extraordinary wisdom, the company decided to hire him as the head of marketing.

What's even more exciting is that as soon as Mr. C's "Jishan Comb" came out, it spread ten, ten spread hundreds, and there were more worshippers and more incense. So, the abbot placed another order with Mr. C. In this way, Mr. C not only sold 1,000 combs at a time, but also received a long-term order.

Learn about the local culture and customs. The cultures, traditions and customs of indigenous Africans have a deep connotation and may have a certain degree of acceptance of foreign cultures and goods. In the sales process, it is necessary to respect the culture and habits of the locals, such as communicating in the local language, providing shoes that are suitable for the local climate and environment, etc.

Build a relationship of trust. Start by finding the village leader and the most respected people and building a good relationship with them. These people may become interested in your product and help you gain the trust of other villagers.

Find the right sales strategy. Consider building partnerships with local chiefs, relatives, and friends who can help you promote your shoes. You can also set up a stall at a local market or shop to display your shoes and try to sell them.

Adapt to market demand. In the sales process, it is necessary to understand the local market demand, consider factors such as **, quality, comfort and practicality. At the same time, you need to understand your competitors' products and markets** so that you can develop a suitable sales strategy.

Provide after-sales service. If the shoes are of poor quality or do not fit, you need to provide after-sales service, such as return and exchange. This will increase your credibility and make consumers trust your product more.

In short, it is not easy to successfully sell a pair of shoes to indigenous Africans, you need to understand the local consumption habits and culture, find the right sales channels and build a good relationship of trust. At the same time, it is necessary to formulate a suitable sales strategy for factors such as market demand and after-sales service.

Because of the need to expand the African market, a shoe manufacturing factory in Asia appointed two marketing personnel to Africa for inspection. Jiajun spent a few days in Africa, and all he saw were barefoot Africans. He was depressed because there were no shoes to wear, which meant there was no market.

So he reported the situation to the head office and ordered a plane ticket to return to China. After Yijun went to Africa to inspect, he found that everyone was not wearing shoes, and the market potential was very considerable. He called the head office overnight to urge to speed up production to meet future demand.

A and B also looked at the African market, but got two completely different messages. Yijun sees hope in an optimistic mood, and urges to accelerate production at the first time to the best African market. However, Yijun's performance was a failure!

Why? It turns out that Africans have been barefoot for generations, they have no habit of wearing shoes, and they do not know how to wear shoes, and shoes cannot arouse their emotion; Coupled with the result of being barefoot for a long time, the toes are open from side to side, and the average Chinese or Asian designed shoes do not meet their needs. Yijun knows one thing about the market but doesn't know the other, and in the end he still achieves nothing, some people describe Yijun as enthusiastic and unlevel.

Thus, there is a third version of the case of shoe selling in Africa. This latest edition focuses on research and strong execution, taking into account consumer needs and lifestyles. In order to make the shoes sell well in Africa, Bingjun has carried out in-depth research and development, mastered the foot shape of Africans, and customized the feet, so that they can feel comfortable wearing shoes.

On the other hand, Bingjun also attaches great importance to marketing strategies and implements them in place. He chose an important African festival and erected a large statue in the crowded square, and used a large cloth to cover the vertical statue to maintain the mystery. On the day of the opening of the festival, Bingjun invited African celebrities to preside over the unveiling ceremony.

When the master of ceremonies led and shouted: three, two, one, the crowd erupted in "uproar" exclamation. Africans see leaders they admire wearing fancy shoes; There is also a dance of a beautiful woman in beautiful shoes.

Wearing shoes became very fashionable, and everyone followed suit, and thousands of pairs of shoes were quickly sold out.

Although the above cases are fictional, they have some inspiration for us. Jun Jia was pessimistic and negative, lacked market insight, and was blinded by superficial phenomena, and ended up in Baoshan empty-handed. There may be many examples of similar Jia Jun around us.

Yijun is optimistic and enterprising, and his sunny attitude allows him to see what others can't see, make unique judgments, look at the huge market, take the initiative to create opportunities, and take the lead. Bingjun learned from the experience of others, and worked research and execution, and as a result, the business was surging and the money was rolling.