Onwards and Upwards this 2023

As the title suggests, I will usher in the new year on an optimistic note. Starting with this brand-new newsletter focusing on some of my humorous and insightful experiences working in sales, marketing and business development. Creating this newsletter has been a goal of mine for a long time. If you write or ever struggle with creating content, then you understand how much commitment is required for such an endeavour. I am quite excited to check this off my list of goals.

I feel like I should wish all my subscribers a happy new year. This is even though I had a total of zero subscribers at the time of writing this first post. I will simply pretend that I am writing an unusually long tweet about stuff I hope people care to read. Furthermore, I am not sure how you feel about this greeting 6 days into the new year, which may not be that 'new' any longer. Regardless, HAPPY NEW YEAR to you and may all your wishes come true. Unless it is an evil wish, then it won't be granted by the power of the universe. Ase!

I feel like 2022 was very REAL, in the sense that I got to learn a lot of life lessons both in my career and personal life. I lost people dear to me (still grieving) and watched myself grow in skill and maturity as a human being and service provider. The opportunity to reflect on the journey so far, while venting and releasing, was very beneficial in more ways than I can articulate in this post.

I don't think we share as much about our triumphs or failures as people. All of us try to appear flawless at some point in our lives. My advice here is not to take yourself too seriously. Everybody is winging it and nobody has it all together. I am not suggesting you start spilling your deepest darkest secrets on the internet or to total strangers. That would be a mistake.

Also, desist from turning your work colleagues into probono therapists; mark that as your new year's resolution if possible, even if you have to drop your membership to the gym as a replacement.

There is a 100% chance that whatever you share will spread like a general memo throughout the workplace. (I rebuke all spirits of oversharing from your life this year).

If the number of people I watched unravel after the COVID-19 lockdown is anything to go by, then it is imperative to have an outlet like a supportive sibling, spouse or close friend to talk to about your goals, and challenges with the aim of seeking solutions together. This will have a positive impact on the overall quality of your life, trust me. If you don't have anyone, maybe what you need is a professional therapist to unburden yourself from time to time.

My advice extends to your business and career as well, whether you crushed your marketing and sales goals last year, or you hardly made any return on your investment. Take stock of what worked and what didn't and then quickly refocus. Have an accountability buddy to help keep you on track.

Please don't sit around feeling sorry for yourself. If your goal is to actually get something done, don't ruin it by overthinking and analysing the tiny details. Instead, get started and adjust as you go. How else are you meant to learn?

Learning as much as I could while implementing at the same time, I was able to discover aspects of web design that now allow me to make quick changes to my website without much hassle. I also let go of certain perfectionist tendencies which tend to be quite awful. If you brag about your desire to be perfect at everything you do, please stay away from me this year. I am trying to limit the number of psychotic people in my life...lol....for real though. There's nothing more frustrating than applying impractical principles to yourself as a human being or to activities like marketing and lead generation in sales. Unless you are seeking to sell to a demographic of cyborgs that don't change their tastes and buying patterns.

In this case, hire a team of robots to do the job and while you are at it, get your consciousness transplanted into a cyborg. This will enable you to live your perfect life. As for me and my fellow humans, we will proceed as our nature dictates. People may buy from you today and not buy from you tomorrow. It is up to you to recognise the patterns and plan your approach to sales strategically.

People from the beginning of human existence understood the value of commerce. In the olden days, they would respond to calls to make a purchase at the open market or visit localities known for providing certain services through word of mouth. If your farm produces the highest quality fruits in your village but you sit at home expecting buyers to find you without making any effort every market day, then you and your family will have only fruits to feed on...and then starve when your trees aren't producing.

The same idea applies today. If you don't consistently put your business out there, you won't do so well. Simple and effective methods for boosting sales involve building a contact list or an active social media following that you engage with consistently. There are indeed levels to marketing and sales today that extend beyond just content creation. I will dive into these and more in the " WHAT ARE YOU SELLING?" newsletter as we make progress on this journey.

Thank you for reading!

Ali Afegbua is the Manager of Nubianette Consulting www.nubianetteconsulting.com