Why Have We Been So Successful?

Thursday 9/15

Had an early morning meeting with the official who serves as our liaison at the Rwanda Development Board.  RDB is the government department that is charged with business and economic development.   We are working together to put on a customer service seminar in October.  We also discussed our graduation ceremony and other matters.  The meeting went well.

Our visiting executives are busy with mentoring meetings morning and afternoon.  We had a nice lunch meeting at Shokola, a safari themed café in downtown Kigali.  The Shultz's and I head back to meet learners and Dale remains downtown for a mentoring meeting with a graduate who is also a banker. 

People ask us how we have been able to attract such high potential entrepreneurs to our program. 

     1. God’s blessing. 

     2. Effective Approaches to Marketing. One of these is Open House.  Each Thursday evening when class is in session we have Open House – this is an opportunity for the entrepreneurs to invite their friends.  The turn out tonight was great as we had 15 open house guests, all of which seemed very interested in our training.  I talked with them during our break, give them a couple of brochures and we will follow up on them by email and phone calls.

Friday 9/16

Got out bright and early to visit several large local businesses. We are inviting them to our Customer Service and Leadership training in October.  The training is for the top leaders of the top companies in Rwanda.  The response has been encouraging.  There seems to be a real hunger for this kind of training here, and I know that this seminar will be great.

It is a shame I will miss it.  Dr. Mulford and I tag team as facilitators for our training here and it’s his turn in October.  I am excited by the prospect of training other facilitators, however.  I see a day in the future when we will have a great pool of people who do what we do.  This will allow us to expand this program beyond Rwanda – 100 BDCs around the world. 

I am encouraged by how well our VEs are doing with facilitation.  All our VEs this week are also facilitators in training.  90% of the class was led by Dale Fenwick tonight.  Good stuff – SWOT, the 4Ps, etc.

Saturday 9/17

We had a special Open House in our offices today from 9-12 AM for our graduates.  It was great seeing them, and our little office was a beehive of energy.  From the beginning we have wanted to find eMentors for our graduates.  Several are asking for mentors now.  I think of Théoneste in particular.  His business is creating online database driven applications for the B2B market.  His most successful product is a SAS for Rwandan schools.   He would love to have a mentor with some background in IT and web technology.  I just know that the Lord has someone who would be willing to email and occasionally Skype with Théoneste. 

After visiting with Graduates we went to Donatien’ s (our Director here) house for lunch.  What a great day!

The DOs and DONTs of Marketing and Sales

by Patrice Tsague, NPIM

But I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. - 2 Corinthians 9:6-7

Marketing and sales from a biblical approach is a process of identifying markets and developing tools consistent with the Word of God to inform a specific target market about the availability and benefits of your product or service which results in the exchange of goods or services for an amount of money or its equivalent. What are the do's and don'ts of a biblical approach to marketing and sales.

DO'S

Market Consistently. Marketing is about consistency. You must establish a schedule of how and where you are going to market based on your target market and the type of business you are in.

Market According to the Purpose of Your Heart. Remember what your motivation is for being in business. Your motivation must not be money, but rather to serve others while glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ. What is the purpose of your heart? Is it truly to serve the people or is it to make a lot of money?

Market Cheerfully. Enthusiasm fuels the sale and causes your customer to become curious about your product or service. If you are not excited about your product or service, why should anyone else be? Be cheerful about your product or service.

Market to the Spirit and Not to the Flesh. Never, under any circumstance, use ungodly marketing approaches to draw customers to your business. The world uses the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life to entice people to its products or services. You must focus on the benefits of your product or service and emphasize the need it meets in people's lives.

Be Kind to Potential Customers. You never know who will be that next customer or who will refer that next customer to you. Exercise kindness to everyone the Lord brings in your path, whether they buy something from you or not. Every seed you sow will work towards your harvest.

Be Patient. Patience is God's plan to give you everything that he has in store for you according to His will for your life. There will be difficult times but remain patient and trust in God who gave you the strategy and called you to be in business.

Trust God for the Harvest. After you have done all you can, you must trust the Lord to bring the harvest. You must have confidence in the fact that if you have done all you can in the natural and have remained in right standing with Him, in due time, He will cause the harvest to come forth.

DON'TS

Do Not Market Grudgingly (Reluctantly). Do not begin the process of marketing a product or service with uncertainty. This can create the impression that you do not believe in your own product. This could also impact your enthusiasm; so make sure you eliminate anything that can cause you to be reluctant or hesitant.

Do Not Market out of Necessity. The worst time to begin a marketing and sales campaign is when you are in great need. The time of great need is when most gimmicks are created to sell as many products as possible.

Marketing and Sales, a Biblical Approach

-Patrice Tsague, NPIM

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?" - Genesis 3:1

Who made the first sales transaction ever recorded in the Bible? What was the product? What was the price? Who was the customer? The first sales transaction ever recorded in scripture was made by the devil himself who came in the form of a serpent. The product was a fruit that promised to provide God-like characteristics. The price was the life of man. The customer was Eve.

1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?"
2 The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.'"
4 "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. 5 "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Genesis 3:1-6

16 And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." Genesis 2:16-17

The strategy the devil used to turn Eve into a customer is the same strategy that is used today by Madison Avenue to turn us into customers. This same strategy has been adopted by many entrepreneurs and sales people as they attempt to build their customer base. This strategy has its genesis in craftiness. The goal is not to satisfy the customer but rather to make a sales transaction. It uses false and misleading information to achieve its end. It promises something that the product and service can never deliver. It uses the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life as its basic principles. It conceals the fine prints until the transaction has occurred. The conclusion is often a reduction in the quality of the customer's life. Customers are enticed into purchasing a product or service that they either do not need, cannot afford or is bad for them. What the devil failed to tell Eve was that she was already made in the image and likeness of God.

What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? Mathew 16:26

Biblical Entrepreneurs do not have to limit themselves to operating in business using the devil's tactics. God has provided a biblical approach to marketing and sales. This approach defines marketing as sowing and sales as reaping. Sowing is the process of planting seeds to prepare for future growth, while Reaping is gathering the ripe harvest generated from the seeds planted. Marketing and sales from a biblical approach is a process of identifying markets and developing tools consistent with the Word of God to inform a specific target market about the availability and benefits of your product or service, which results in the exchange of goods or services for an amount of money or its equivalent.

Just as marketing is essential to generate customers, sowing is essential to generate a harvest. The harvest generated by God through the seed sown by the Biblical Entrepreneur is the prospective customers who then must be reaped through sales. Sales turn potential customers into actual clients. In Genesis 3 the devil sowed deceit and reaped destruction and enmity. What are you sowing? What method are you using to generate your customers? Remember whatsoever you sow that you will also reap.

Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. -Galatians 6:7-8