See How Marketing Ignorance Nearly Made Me Kill My Brother As Cain Killed Abel

By Anayo M. Nwosu

As I wrestled my brother to the ground and rained punches at him, both of us knew that the ferocity of my beating was not equivalent to the minor insult I had accused him of.

“What did I do to you that you want to kill me, Anayo?” was what my junior brother kept shrieking until I was satisfied and let go of him.

How would Tochukwu know that his offense was not the “waka !” or “ten fingers” he gave me as an insult but what had started last year and had become a trend?

Tochukwu had overtaken me in quick sales of avocado pears we hawked from Igwe Orizu Road and all through the Agbo Edo Motor and Motorcycles Spare-parts Market at Nkwo Nnewi.

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To make ends meet, my mother would get us to hawk the freshly plucked avocado pears on a flat tray pan.

My brother and I would move together until we got to market and dispersed in different directions only to converge at our mum’s shop, at the foodstuffs section of the Nkwo market.

Initially, I would quickly sell off my goods and helped my brother to sell his. I enjoyed being the first and the best, after all, I was older.

Over the years, I noticed that not many people would beckon at me to buy my wares. My brother, Tochukwu would sell off his goods faster than me and would help me to sell off mine.

It was quite humiliating.

It was after one of those annoying incidents of my inability to reenact my quick sales magic that Tochukwu gave me a slight insult and I was seized by the murderous spirit of Cain, hence the wicked beating I gave him.

I was later to find out why I kept recording poor sales when I fell from the avocado tree in front of our house while plucking the pears for sale.

I wounded my head at the very spot I usually placed the carrier tray pan while hawking.

I was forced to now place my wares on my shoulder as I hawked along the usual routes.

It was only then that I noticed that the sales magic returned. I sold off my pears much faster than I had ever done to the surprise of even my junior brother.

I repeated the feat the next day and was very happy.

Upon deep reflection, I realized that the placing of my wares in such a way that my buyers could see what I was carrying and selling was a crucial key to my quick sales not necessarily my selling skills or desire to sell.

I also realized that my disappointing sales records before then was caused by my increasing height. I was a growing young boy.

My height jumped from 4feet 5 inches to about 5 feet 8 inches which was too tall a height for a hawker who places his wares on his head.

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I was becoming taller than my buyers, the majority of who sit in their shops on seats outside their premises.

People buy what they see.

No customer or buyer cares to price or demand what is not exposed.

You can now understand why hungry men first rush women that wear push-up bra or expose their backside.

Do you have a product which no longer sells?

Find out if your selling price is now taller than the pocket of your customers or if your goods are no longer visible or accessible.

Expose your goods to your customers to see; and the exposure must be at right place and at the right time.

A simple but inexpensive advert can make a huge difference in the way and how fast a product is sold.

You don’t need to have a wound on your head like I did to rediscover yourself. You may not recover from a hit by a lender bank or a hostile competitor.

You must have a management expert or forensic banker like me as your adviser, business associate or relationship officer.

Without knowledge, many traders have fallen prey to fake prayer sellers just like many innocent people have been accused of wicked arrow shooting.

There is neither weapon fashioned nor any fashion “weaponed” against your business.

They may open your eyes to obvious options you have never considered.

The cause of most low sales being experienced in many businesses today is natural and could be fixed.

Sales is a science.