…As ICSP Inducts New Members
Former Executive Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Architect Obong Victor Attah has said that in trying to sell Nigeria or its products to the world, there is the need for proper training imbued with high dose of patriotism.
He also called for training and continuous training by professional trainers to prepare Nigerians for global competition.
He stated this while delivering the keynote speech at the 2024 investiture ceremony of the Institute of Certified Sales Professionals (ICSP) with the theme: ‘Fostering the Art of Being Outstanding’ held in Ikeja at the weekend.
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Attah who spoke on the topic: ‘The Imperatives of Selling Nigeria to the Outside World in the Post-2023 National Election Era’ said this is necessary because it would amount to a monumental blunder to think the country can grow her economy and shut gates.
“Whatever we want to offer must be of pristine quality and we must be always conscious of the fact that we have competitors and whoever we sell to has a choice,” he added.
According to him, there are two possible approaches to the idea of selling Nigeria to the outside world. “We could be looking at selling the country as a possible destination to investors and tourists or we could be looking at selling Nigerian goods and services to the outside world.
He however added that the nuances might differ slightly but the imperatives remain essentially the same.
Attah explained further that selling a country to the rest of the world has always been a herculean task even for those that are regarded as great nations.
“Rising nationalism, the emergence of new alliances globally and the possibility of a new world economic order have only made the difficult assignment more daunting than ever before.
“Even nations seemingly united are finding unprecedented obstacles in the way towards steady global acceptance and multi-national trade.
“Nigeria as we all know, is far from being united. Lack of domestic unity on our part adds to the problems other nations face in selling themselves to the world.”
The former Governor stated further that selling Nigeria in the aftermath of the 2023 elections is not by any means an easy job.
“As has been shown, our actions and utterances that led up to the elections and have since continued after the elections, have left us with two major strikes,” he said.
He explained that first, we have a gravely damaged product and the second is that our number one salesman has been badly disabled but we must not give up.
“Let me say that the circumstances and conduct of the 2023 elections caused serious damage to the character of our President, our number one salesman, our electoral process and our judiciary.
“It left Nigeria therefore with a badly damaged image. It is difficult enough to sell a good product in the face of stiff competition, to sell a damage product is a daunting task and certain factors like lack of security, non-observance of the rule of law, corruption and lack of basic infrastructure particularly power have worked to exacerbate this problem.
Others he said could be corrected with legislation and policy adjustments are, ease way of doing business which includes the process of obtaining a visa and arrival protocols at our various entry points, a stable exchange rate which would enable prospective investors to realistically calculate risks and finally the simple matter of courtesy.
Giving the examples of Nigerian sales methods in open market, supermarkets, even banks and airlines, he said the conventional method of selling Nigeria, and by extension, our goods and services, has always emphasized what we have to sell, not customer needs or satisfaction.
Attah explained further that, the ingrained contempt for the customer might not prove totally fatal to the business in the domestic market, where bad manners are common, but globally, they portend economic suicide.
“Elsewhere in the world, the customer remains the King and he or she is the reason why people establish businesses, the sooner we learn that the better,” he said.
Posing the question whether it is possible to sell Nigeria to the outside world, post 2023 elections, Attah affirmed that it is possible but there is the need to stop destroying her image further but rather take all necessary and appropriate steps to correct all perceived wrongs.
“We can start by selling Nigeria to Nigerians. This will require patriotic zeal and a firm determination to reconcile all aggrieved parties; to develop national core values that are shared by all and, together, march with confidence to challenge the world anchored on the firm determination to be the best always.”
On developing the political will, Attah revealed that for Nigeria to join the race, the country must possess the vision.
“However, beyond the power of vision, there is the imperative of execution and patriotism which must not be half-hearted, lukewarm or lackadaisical, it must be total,” he stated.
President of the ICSP, Mr. Arthur Ozoigbo said the mission of the Institute is to nurture and promote the attainment of continuously higher levels of selling skills and standards of practice among sales people and others who are passionate about the art of selling, through very innovative and exciting ways.
Giving the experiences of salesmen in handling their duties, Mr Ozoigbo said the institute is all out to assiduously change the narrative and very soon the changed will begin to show.
He congratulated inductees at various categories at the ceremony urging them to always discharge their duties in line with the aim and objective of the institute.
A total of 69 persons were inducted at the ceremony. The inductees cut across various categories which comprises of 10 fellows, 10 inducted members, 19 persons were upgraded to Associates and 30 persons got the Postgraduate Professional Sales Diploma (Ps.D) certificate of the institute at the ceremony.
BV.
