Category Archives: Career Development

Career Development, Entrepreneurship, General, My DN Travel News, Self-Development

Making the Right Purchase – Seven (7) Questions That Can Help You

June 25, 2015 Tayo Solagbade Leave a comment

Let me begin by stating that the ideas I offer here were obtained from studying the writings of experts like Jeffery Meyer. Adapting them to my purposes has actually helped me repeatedly convince prospects to buy from (or hire) me.

If you are an entrepreneur, understanding the ideas I offer here, if you apply them correctly, CAN help you close more sales. I say this from experience. Simply use the questions enumerated below to help them realise they NEED YOUR products/services.

But I’m writing here, NOW, for prospective buyers of products/services – the prospect or existing client, who is considering buying a product/service from a provider.

In the course of my work, I have learnt that some buyers only want one thing: The lowest price (s). To them, the lowest price means they’ve gotten the best value for every Naira spent.

However, even in the Nigerian market, it could prove severely wasteful to base your purchase decisions solely on price. There ARE other things to look for.

Are you scared of paying more than you should?

Well, there is something you can do, to ensure you minimise chances of making that mistake. To spend “wiser”, simply make it a habit to think up YOUR answers to the following questions, before making your purchase decision. I call them the “Prospective Buyers’ Decision Making Questions”.

1. Why do you need the product/service?

Another way to ask this question is “What do you want to use the product/service for?” If you cannot think of a good reason to justify purchasing it, then it would be obvious that doing so, would be likely to be a bad decision – money wasted or poorly spent.

2. How did you go about deciding the kind of product/service you need?

Okay, so you have convinced yourself you NEED the product/service. But just before you go out and get it, why not question yourself further about HOW you arrived at your choice of product/service. For instance, a person could decide s/he needs a new vehicle for the company’s sales department. But buying a luxury car (e.g. BMW) to meet that need might not be the way to go.

3. Why doesn’t the existing product/service meet your needs (i.e. assuming you already have one)?

If you already have something that addresses that need, why is it that you feel a need to purchase this other product/service. Is it that you feel what you have does not fully meet the existing need? Or is it that you anticipate future needs may outstrip the capacity of the existing resource? Take time to carefully reflect on this, as it would go a long way to enable you accurately determine whether or not to go ahead.

4. Because the present product/service doesn’t serve your needs (or because you have none), how is this impacting on your establishment’s effectiveness?

This is related to the preceding question. By implication, you will find reflecting on this question useful in further deciding on how relevant the product/service you are contemplating buying is to your real needs. So, if you are able to identify and enumerate specific/tangible ways that the existing product/service is negatively affecting your company’s performance, it would provide further justification to purchase the new one.

Note however that one possibility you could equally consider is CHECKING to see if there is a way you can get the current product/service to IMPROVE, so that you do NOT have to purchase a replacement or addition, which would require more spending.

5. What will happen if you don’t purchase this new product/service?

Of course, if the existing product/service is not addressing the important needs of your company, the company will continue to suffer for it. Failing to correct that situation will likely result in more negative impact. So, ask yourself what will happen if this trend continues. If the answer you get is NOT what you want for your company, then you’ll have to seriously consider purchasing the identified alternative(s).

6. How did you determine the price you said you want to pay for this product/service?

And this is the most sensitive one of them. Money! Everyone these days is thinking of how to use less of it, to get more of what they want. And who can blame them? It’s plain common sense! The only problem is that some people tend to take it a bit too far. They begin to think of getting EVERYTHING for little or nothing.

Having gone through the process of reviewing the questions before this one, you should have come to terms with the reality that the product/service you wish to purchase is capable of FILLING the need you have identified, or SOLVING the problem you have discovered.

Either way, you will have accepted that it is worth paying for, and since it will be IMPROVING on what you currently have in place, there is a good chance it will not be “cheap”. But it could be affordable. So, I suggest you aim to NEGOTIATE a good bargain, to get it.

7. What if the product/service you purchase doesn’t work properly OR what if it fails to serve the needs you identified?

But we must NOT be academic about this. No one is perfect, and no process is fool proof. This implies that following the above outlined steps may not ALWAYS result in making the right purchase. This could happen for so many reasons. One example is your understanding of the situation that created the need you identified.

If you are not well informed about the dynamics of that situation, you could draw the wrong conclusions about what the need is! The moral here is that you MUST strive to be conversant with whatever aspects of your operations you are evaluating. Be honest with yourself in this regard, and if you are unsure about your ability to do this, consult one or more persons that have the competence (your staff, colleagues etc) to help you make the right assessments.

FINAL WORDS

To end, I now share some details of additional information I provide to my prospects or clients, to further “educate” them about why buying from (or hiring) me would be the right thing to do.

a. We believe in establishing long term relationships.

“A customer who is only interested in doing business with the supplier with the lowest price has no interest in developing long term relationships.” – Anon

For the person contemplating making a purchase, this has already been addressed in the preceding discussion. If you focus only on getting what you want at the lowest possible price, you are likely to end up getting what you don’t want i.e. lower quality. Or the supplier could walk away. If s/he decides to sell to you on that unfair basis, s/he may not be forthcoming when you need after sales support etc. So, be careful!

b. We want to help you become better at what you do.

Jeffery Meyer recommended politely informing the prospect or client that you “are not just a vendor selling products/services”. You will tell him/her that “your vision is become a valued advisor whose knowledge, training, education, and experience will enable him/her get better results”.

For the prospective buyer, the above statement is just as relevant. You should carefully study the “provider” of the service/product you are contemplating, to see if s/he shows signs of abiding by a code of ethics that makes him/her willing to be a “Valued Advisor” to those s/he serves. If YES, that gives you more confidence to do business with him/her. If NO, the logical line of action is obvious!

Final Words: I believe if you as a prospect buyer of product/service adopt the above steps in your decision making thought process, you are likely to make more accurate purchase decisions that you used to. Good luck!

Career Development, Entrepreneurship, Farm Biz, General, My DN Travel News, Self-Development

To Get Lasting Improvements In Employee Performance, Avoid Use of Money As Primary Reward”

June 20, 2015 Tayo Solagbade Leave a comment

Do you want to have a lasting and sustainable training system in your company? If YES, then you must avoid the TRAP of trying to use money to motivate your employees. If you don’t you’ll keep training them and they’ll show little or no improvement in their performance.

Why?

Because money is like a chemical stimulant which helps the “receiver/user” achieve a “high” for a limited time period only after which s/he gets lowered to (and sometimes below!) the base state – no permanent IMPROVEMENT achieved in him/her!

Ask yourself this question:

Do you currently have any staff or employees/team members who willingly Go The Extra Mile (GTEM) on the job, without demanding material or monetary reward for doing so?

If yes, what is the payoff that keeps him/her motivated to continue working for the company in that manner?

It’s CRUCIAL that you find out what that payoff is for 2 key reasons:

a. It could give you insights into what you can do to keep him/her working that way, to the benefit of the company

b. It could also help you discover team members who are reaping undue personal rewards by exploiting “waste” points or loop holes in your process to reward themselves without your consent.

Both a. and b. happen a lot.

In the latter case, we have recorded cases of employees who were – for instance – diverting their employer’s products for monetary gain.

They found it was easier to do this by pretending to work late, so that they could carry out their pilfering and other naughty acts when fewer people were left on the premises.

To add insult to the injury, they would still turn in claims forms at the month end to request payment for overtime spent working after office hours!

The above anecdote proves that managing human resources in an organization can be quite a complex and messy process – filled with lots of intrigue.

However, when a best practice workplace organization system is put in place, the controls that are implemented drastically limit opportunities for mischief making on the part of the staff.

Indeed, best practice workplace organization effectively eliminates waste in man hours as well as process operations.

Basically, each and every member of the team from the shop floor to the CEO ends up with clearly defined Job Descriptions on which they are then assessed for productivity. In addition Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are derived and routine systems put in place to track, measure and analyse them for decision making.

Most importantly, rewards and recognition (as well as sanction) systems that improve career advancement opportunities for employees, along their lines of expressed interest are put in place.

When a system like this is established, and its feedback and reward systems are executed as and when appropriate, the need to use money as an incentive to get desired behavior from employees drops.

This is because each member will see that s/he will be found wanting if s/he does not play his/her role properly for the company’s operations to function effectively, leading to goal achievement.

Best practice workplace organization philosophies (like the 5S system) are powerful weapons for getting results from team members without needing to use monetary incentives that rarely endure in their impact.

Click here to contact me if you want to learn more about setting up such a system in your company.

1 Hour Talks, Career Development, Entrepreneurship, Excel-VB Solutions, General, My DN Travel News, My Ideas for Making Nigeria Better, Self-Development

MS Excel Automation Education in African Institutions Can Boost Jobs Creation & Self-Employment!

June 16, 2015 Tayo Solagbade Leave a comment

Universities and business schools across the world often offer full, real world relevant Excel-VBA programming courses. But NONE in Nigeria, Benin, possibly all of Africa do.

This write-up is targeted mainly at educators and providers of learning solutions in Africa. There is a massive dearth of MS Excel learning in general and Excel-VB programming education in particular.

Countless certified accountants in the UK, America, Australia, Canada and Asia excel by developing automated Excel-VB driven applications for their employers and clients.

Same applies to their colleagues in engineering fields. They are able to do this because many of their institutions offer formal training in Excel-VB programming.

In this paper, I explain why this is so, and how it may be limiting the ability of many of their graduates to excel in their working lives, be it in or out of paid employment.

I have a vision to influence the initiation of an Excel-VB programming awareness “movement” across Africa’s educational landscape, in a way that leads to jobs creation and self-employment outcomes for participants – just like it happens in developed societies.

This White Paper has been published to propagate that message. If you run a learning centre or institution and would like to partner with me on this, or you would like to download the full PDF white paper (it’s FREE), send me a message via www.tayosolagbade.com/contact.htm.

Career Development, Entrepreneurship, Excel-VB Solutions, My DN Travel News, Public Speaking

No. 197: Gatekeepers Can Stop You From Marketing to CEOs (4 Tips to Evade Them)]

June 15, 2015 Tayo Solagbade Leave a comment

In marketing for paying clients, smart experts know it’s always best to target a decision maker who can sign a VALID paying cheque. Depending on the company size, and how they operate, you may or may not be able to readily access the CEO.

Yet it ALWAYS pays to aim to meet with the CEO at first…

So many good things can happen for YOU much quicker if you establish a direct relationship with the top decision maker/CEO or business owner from the word go.

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Tayo K. Solagade‘s

Weekly Public Speaking/Web Marketing IDEAS Newsletter

Date: Monday 15th June 2015

No:197

Title: (a) Gatekeepers Can Stop You From Marketing to CEOs (4 Tips to Evade Them) (b) To Achieve Sustainable Success, Closely Monitor News About Current Affairs and Politics! – [MP3]!

Author & Publisher: Tayo K. Solagbade [Tel: +234-803-302-1263 (in Nigeria) or +229-66-122-136 (in Benin Republic) ]

Blog URL: http://www.tayosolagbade.com/sdnuggets

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NB: This newsletter is published every Monday. Point your browser to www.tayosolagbade.com/sdnuggets to read at least ONE new post added to my SD Nuggets blog on a different category from Tuesday till Saturday (sometimes even Sundays) in line with this publishing schedule

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1 of 2: PUBLIC SPEAKING – Gatekeepers Can Stop You From Marketing to CEOs (4 Tips to Evade Them)

Yet it ALWAYS pays to aim to meet with the CEO at first…

So many good things can happen for YOU much quicker if you establish a direct relationship with the top decision maker/CEO or business owner from the word go.

And that’s because there will rarely be delays arising from “waiting” for approval from the boss. Once s/he buys in to your idea, everybody else basically falls in line!

Unfortunately, but understandably, such persons are rarely easy to get a hold of. One reason for this is that tend to have certain individuals who screen any prospective visitors they get.

This could be a PA (Personal Assistant), Manager or other designation. What really matters is the role they play – which will often be to keep their “boss” from being “bothered”, except really necessary.

In certain circles, persons who play the above role (or screening the boss intending “visitors”, are called “GATEKEEPERS”.

Now, some individuals are quite competent in playing this role, and do so to the ultimate benefit of their boss, by ensuring they always make the right people meet their bosses.

However, I have had dealings with others who played that role as if they were there to make most people who tried to see their boss feel unqualified to do so.

During my early years of pavement pounding as a struggling startup entrepreneur, I had countless experiences like that.

Over time however, as I applied the lessons I read in James Cook’s Startup Entrepreneur, about developing a thick skin, I evolved my thinking to explore creative ways to get around annoying gatekeepers.

Today, like I’ve said in several past write ups, I no longer do any pavement pounding to make sales…

Instead I focus my efforts on attracting buyers using my customizable Web Marketing System(WMS)* coupled with data mining of my existing database of subscribers. Quick hint: I continue to earn income at less cost, and with less effort this way.

[*My WMS makes total strangers who need solutions I offer, discover and contact me – often ready to buy.]

But that’s not to say I do all I do online ONLY. Every once in a while, I still go out…but with strategic intent to achieve a purpose that complements my WMS.

For instance recently in Lagos (I’m typing this in a Cotonou cafe) – I visited a high profile computer training centre, to discuss my Excel-VB club and competition offer.

What struck me about the company was the tasteful furnishing, as well as expensive flat screen TVs and computers installed on the walls and tables. Plus, there were students taking classes in all the rooms. The AC units kept the rooms cool, and as I shut the door behind me, the noise from the big petrol generator became muffled.

So, in terms of the physical dimensions, they seemed to have it all fairly well covered.

But I was there to establish the DEPTH of the MS Excel training they offered, in particular.

To my right was a cubicle in which were seated two prettily young ladies, chatting with a well dressed male colleague. The following conversation ensued:

[NB: Keep in mind that my purpose was NOT to see the MD/CEO. Instead it was the person in charge of MS Excel training that I wished to speak with, in order to establish what kinds of Excel training they provided, and what it actually entailed.]

First girl(turning to me): Good morning, how can I help you?

Me: I’d like to speak with your MS Excel trainer please.

First girl: Speak to me. What do you want to know?

Me: Are you the one who does the Excel training here? I don’t think so. You see, this is not the usual kind of enquiry you get. I’m not so sure you can give me the answers I need.

Second girl (cutting in): Excuse me, there is nothing you want to know that we cannot give you an answer to. That’s why we’re here. So, what is your question?

Me(smiling with exaggerated patience now): Okay, if you insist. But I’ll remind you when we’re done that I suggest otherwise.

Second girl (acting impatient): Please ask your question

Me: What topics do you teach learners in MS Excel?

Second girl (laughing mockingly): We teach everything!

Me: Everything? What do you mean everything? That’s neither possible nor practical. I’m sure you will have topics for different levels of Excel learners.

First girl: Look oga, there is nothing about MS Excel that we don’t teach. People come here a lot as you can see (ends waving her hands in the direction of the packed lecture rooms)! If you’re not convinced tell us exactly what topic you want to learn.

Me: Like I said, my enquiry is a bit unusual. I’m not exactly here to register to “learn”. Instead I want to find out what people learn here, to guide a suggestion I wish to make to your trainer – and by extension, your company.

First girl: So what is the topic you want to know if we teach?

Me: Do you teach MS Excel Visual Basic for Applications programming?

First girl(looking confused): Heh, what’s that one?

Me: Excel Visual Basic…it’s the programming language used to automate MS Excel.

Second girl (coming out from the cubicle to stand face to face with me): Okay, I’ve not heard of that before. What is it about?

Me (shake my head slightly): Do you remember I told you it was simply not possible for you to teach all the topics in Excel? Do you also recall that I expressed my doubts about your being the ones who teach MS Excel to the learners?

Well, your answers to my last question have confirmed what I said.

Now, can you please let me speak with the person who does the actual MS Excel training in your company. I am reasonably sure that even if s/he does not train people at that level, s/he is likely to at least know what Excel-VB means.

Second girl (now fairly sober): Okay. Please have your seat, and I’ll get him (second girl makes a point of focusing hard on a notebook on her desk as I glance briefly towards her).

Seconds later, I’m shaking hands with a smallish gentleman in shirt and tie, about my age, who confirms he is the Excel trainer.

As soon as I ask him about Excel-VB, he confirms he knows what it is, but quickly goes on to say: “Here we don’t make promises to learners that we cannot keep. We only offer training in areas where we have competent hands. Excel-VB is not one of them. So we do not offer that training.”

We went on to have a useful conversation. Among other things, I told him about my decision to start an Excel-VB programming movement by promoting access to my home study video tutorials and coaching for business users and kids via my Excel-VB club and competition.

I told him if they invested time/effort to develop in-house Excel-VB expertise, they could begin offering training in that area to independent professionals and corporate executives.

Before I left, he insisted on taking down my website address for the Excel-VB Solutions and my phone number, saying he would discuss it with his boss.

Now, remember that I said I did not go there to meet the CEO. It was the trainer I wanted to see. And I did get to see him – after proving to the receptionist that they did not know enough to make it unnecessary for me to see him!

Interestingly, the trainer on his own went on to suggest discussing my suggestion with the CEO (who was out at the time).

Recall I NEVER asked for that. In fact I told him I did not come looking to get hired, that I just wanted to suggest they start offering Excel-VB training.

…but the impact I made led him to think it!

Indeed, he even asked how much my Excel-VB programming training costs if done for ONE person only…possibly thinking of himself (Pssst: It’s N150k by the way).

Here’s What You Can Take Away From The Above Narrative With Regard to Handling Gatekeepers…

1. Have Enthusiasm and Self-Confidence

The former helps keep you from feeling deflated by snobbish remarks, mockery or outright hostility that you are likely to encounter as you try to get past gatekeepers.

The latter (ie. self-confidence) you should have if you know your stuff, and possess hands-on competence. That way, no matter what happens, if/when you’re asked to SHOW or DEMONSTRATE what you mean, you’ll be able to do just that.

Recall how I responded by asking the girls about Excel-VB? I knew just from speaking with them that they did not know about it. Otherwise they would never have said “We teach everything”!

2. Speak Articulately

This takes practice, and lots of focus. Especially when you’re facing a busy and/or impatient potential buyer who says “You have 3 minutes to tell me something interesting enough to make me speak with you now, or give you an appointment to meet with me later“.

That’s actually happened to me several times.

And those experiences trained me to speak with great articulation – stringing words together in a manner that is convincing and compelling enough to change the mind of the listener in a matter of seconds.

One time, I kept a CEO so wrapped up in what I was telling him I could do for the company using a Web Marketing System that he phone someone he had a meeting with, who he’d kept waiting since I got there: “I’m really sorry. Let’s reschedule.”

That CEO went on to hire me to incorporate a WMS on their existing site.

You can get similar results…

This process begins with you THINKING about what you need to say BEFORE you find yourself before the prospect. Having an elevator speech can help, but sometimes you may encounter a potential buyer that your elevator speech does not fit well.

So, you’ll have to improvise and adapt it to deliver the message you prefer to give that person. All of that may have to happen in a matter of seconds too!

I’ve done this for years, so it’s easy for me now.

But there was a time I was learning to get it right. There were times/days I would leave a prospects office feeling good about how everything came smoothly out of my mouth. Some other times/days, I came out feeling like the most stupid idiot on the planet, because I rambled so much that the prospect walked me out!

Even if you were born a stutterer or stammerer, you CAN train yourself to overcome it(and many have), in order to self-regulate when you’re under stress, thereby suppressing it. I once read somewhere that John Major, one time UK Prime Minister, was a stutterer. Aha!

3. Know Your Target Audience & Use Strategic Intent

This is short, but the most important. Decide what you’ll need to say to throw a gatekeeper off balance, so you can HAVE YOUR way.

Notice in my above conversation with the receptionists that I waited for the right time to ask them if they taught Excel-VB? I knew that would stump them, and give me the opening I needed to insist on being allowed to speak with the person I originally requested.

It pays to be familiar with the society or culture you are in, to succeed in doing this.

A tendency people from my part of the world have, to: (a) focus on superficial aspects…and (b) “commoditize” learning, made me reasonably certain my strategy would work. So, know your target audience demographics!

4. Bypass The Gatekeeper: Get the CEO or Decision Maker’s Contact Details and Reach Out Directly to Him/Her

I always try this first, before considering going out…

You can choose not to even showing up before a gatekeeper. Today, PC and Internet technology makes it easy to get contact details of many decision makers and CEOs.

Use Google. Find the company or personal website. See if s/he comes up. Many creative ways exist to get his/her name. Speak to the security personnel, casually asking for such details. Watch out for names mentioned in media reports, brochures, flyers, Annual Reports etc.

Depending on the individual concerned, you may be able to connect via Twitter, Facebook and other relevant social media platforms and send a response generating message – at the least.

This list is not exhaustible, but it can get you up and running productively, if used right.

Good luck!

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This newsletter (which I use to promote Burt Dubin’s Speaker Mentoring Products/Services) serves experts-who-speak. Starting – Monday 13th April 2015 – it MORPHED in name and content served, to a 2 part Speaking/Web Marketing IDEAS newsletter, to better serve them. You just read the “Public Speaking IDEAS” part above. What follows below is the “Web Marketing IDEAS” part.

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Burt Dubin works with people who want to be speakers, and with speakers who want to be masters. Click here to visit his website NOW and submit a contact form message telling him what challenges you’re facing, and how you’d like him to help you. Tell him I sent you, and you’ll get a pleasant surprise offer from him.

Burt Dubin’s monthly Speaking Biz Strategies Letter [Signup & get a 7-Part Email Course on “How To Succeed And Get Paid As A Professional Speaker“]

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2 of 2: WEB MARKETING: To Achieve Sustainable Success, Closely Monitor News About Current Affairs and Politics! [FREE MP3 DOWNLOAD]

“If you want to achieve sustainable success in business (especially in a volatile market place like Nigeria), it’s in your best interest to develop interest in current affairs and politics, because those are the two key ingredients that really keep this country from having a stable sociopolitical climate.
And for as long as that stable sociopolitical climate does not exist, every person running a business will probably have to sleep with one eye open.” – Tayo K. Solagbade

It’s FREE for all my Web Marketing/farm business clients, and ALL members of my Inner Circle as well as for ALL subscribers to THIS newsletter.

If you are not yet ANY of the above, just send me a message here to let me know.

If you want me to send you the full MP3 recording, just say so in your message.

NB: If you’re already a client or subscriber, email me via tayo at tksola dot com and let me know you want it

Alternatively, click here to request the FREE MP3 DOWNLOAD.

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Question: But who is Burt Dubin, and why do I (Tayo K. Solagbade) think you should you learn from him?

Answer: Burt is a 3 decade veteran in the professional speaking business. After achieving top level cross continental success as an expert-speaker, he has established a reputation for mentoring some of the highest paid speakers in the world. He owns SpeakingBizSuccess.com, SpeakingSuccess.com and BurtDubin.com.

Burt helps those he mentors (experts-who-speak) to Position, Package, Promote, and Present* themselves successfully to clients (*He calls them the 4Ps). That’s why it’s no surprise that on Burt’s website, considerable space capital is devoted to useful business marketing articles as well as products.

It might also interest you to know that MANY years back, Burt established himself as one of the best marketing minds in the world. To really put this FACT in proper perspective, I’ll provide more specific details in form of an example.

A few years ago, Burt contributed an article to a powerful publication titled “The Most Effective Articles Ever – By The World’s Top Marketers“. That 574 page ebook features timeless marketing advice from 71 of the world’s top marketers – including Jack Trout, Joe Vitale, Yanik Silver…and Burt Dubin.

That’s ample proof that (in addition to Public Speaking), Burt would be a great resource to learn business marketing from!

Full Disclosure: I represent Burt as Sole Agent for his products/services, which means if YOU buy from him, I get paid.

But that’s NOT the main reason I represent and recommend him. I have benefited in many ways by learning from Burt. Through his writing, his audio recordings, and from directly relating with him.

Before we teamed up in 2011, I’d been studying his work and adapting it to succeed in my work from way back in 2002. It does not matter what part of the world you’re in. If you know how to adapt them to suit your peculiar local needs, Burt’s ideas and strategies WILL work for you. I am living proof of it!

That’s why I never tire of CONFIDENTLY recommending him to others.

If you need help putting the ideas shared above to use, let me know HERE.

Click here to tell me which of Burt’s speaker mentoring products or services you are interested in.

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Learn about Burt Dubin’s speaker mentoring products (books, audios etc) below…

If you need help purchasing ANY of Burt’s products (like “Presentation Magic”), call me on +229-66-122-136 (in Benin Republic, my base) or +234-803-302-1263 (in Nigeria) or email tayo@tksola.com

Have a great week :-))

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CLICK HERE to get full details of what it takes to make yourself a true speaking business champion in Burt’s Boot Camp V: Inside Speaking Business Success Secrets

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NEW: KUKURU DANGER™: 5 True Stories About the Adventures – & Misadventures! – of a School Age Child Trying to Find Purpose in Life

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THEY WROTE…

“(Tayo Solagbade) is amazing and I think he is going to produce some impressive results online…” – click here to read full comment by Patrick Meninga (US based 6 figure income blogger who gained fame for building a $2,000 per month adsense website and selling it for $200,000).

—————————–

“Tayo, I honestly believe you are one of those who will succeed at anything he does. Your commitment and effort has been outstanding….Thanks for all your hard work since I’ve been here – you will be sorely missed. I don’t need to wish you good luck, you have the ability to make your own luck. – Andy”(R. Jones)*

*Operations Manager, Guinness Nigeria Plc Benin Brewery, December 2001 (Handwritten comments in farewell/xmas cards sent to Tayo Solagbade following his resignation to start his own business).

———————–

Click here to contact Tayo…


SD Nuggets Blog™	New posts from last week that may interest you! *
Public Speaking[Monday]:	No. 196: As an International Speaker, Manually Formatting Your MS Excel Invoice Values in Different Currencies Can Cost You [Hint: Watch this 2 Part Home Study ExcelVB Video Tutorial]
[Tuesday]:	THE FARM CEO™Newspaper – Alternative Livestock Feed Ideas [FREE MAIDEN ISSUE – Monday 8th June 2015]
[Wednesday]:	A Proven Solution That Enables Any African Write And Publish An International Quality Physical Book At Zero Cost!
[Thursday]:	“Do Not Ally Yourself With Power Against The Powerless!” – Chinua Achebe
[Friday]:	Teaching People To Make Money Helps Them Better Than Always Giving Them Money
[Saturday]:	N/A
[Sunday]:	It Pays to Keep Truth-Based Relationships (Lesson from True Story by Beyoncé)
Want me to write for you? Click here to send me a message

Tayo K. Solagbade*

Self-Development/Performance Improvement Specialist

*Sole Agent For Burt Dubin’s Speaker Mentoring Service In Africa

Mobile: +234-803-302-1263 (in Nigeria) or +229-66-122-136 (in Benin Republic)

http://www.tayosolagbade.com

Tayo K. Solagbade is a Location Independent Performance Improvement Specialist and Multipreneur (i.e. a highly versatile/multi-skilled entrepreneur), with a bias for delivering Best Practice solutions to

Farm Businesses and others.

Since 2002, he has earned multiple streams of income providing individuals and organizations with personal development training and coaching, custom MS Excel-VB solutions, web marketing systems/web hosting,

freelance writing services, and best practice extension support services (for farm business owners).

Tayo is the author of the Self-Development (SD) Bible™ and the popular Livestock Feed Formulation Handbook. He is also the developer of its accompanying Excel-VB driven Ration Formulator™ and the Poultry Farm Manager™ software.

He has delivered talks/papers to audiences in various groups and organizations, including the Centre for Management Development, University of Lagos, Christ Baptist Church, Volunteer Corps, Tantalisers Fast Foods

and others.

In May 2012 he was the Guest Speaker at the Centre for Entrepreneurship Development’s Annual Semester Entrepreneurial Lecture at Yaba College of Technology in Lagos.

On 1st April 2013, Tayo (who reads, write and speaks the French language) relocated to Cotonou, Benin Republic to begin slowly traveling across the West African region.

His key purpose is to deliver talks, seminars

and workshops on his key areas of focus and interest to interested audiences (Email tayo at tksola dot com for details).

In a previous life, before leaving to become self-employed, Tayo served for seven years as a high performing manager in Guinness Nigeria. He rose from Shift Brewer, to Training & Technical Development Manager, and then later acted in senior management roles as Production Manager and Technical Manager.

He is an Associate Member of the UK Institute & Guild of Brewing, a 1997 National Finalist of the Nigerian Institute of Management’s(NIM) Young Managers’ competition, a Certified Psychometric Test Administrator for Psytech UK, innovator of Spontaneous Coaching for Self-Development™ (SCfS-D™), and Founder of the Self-Development Academy Limited.

When he’s not amazing clients with his superhuman skills (wink), Tayo works as the creative force behind his Daily Self-Development Nuggets blog – on which he also publishes his Weekly Public Speaking IDEAS

newsletter(which he uses to promote Burt Dubin’s Public Speaking Mentoring service to experts working across the African continent).

You can connect with him on Twitter @tksola.com and Facebook.

Visit Tayo Solagbade Dot Com, to download over over 10 performance improvement resources to boost your personal and work related productivity.

====
[IMPORTANT NOTE:====

On 4th May 2014, Tayo’s 9 year old domain (Spontaneousdevelopment dot com), which hosted his website, was taken over by Aplus.net.

Within a few days however, Tayo used his advanced self-taught web development skills to build a SUPERIOR “reincarnation” of it the website http://www.tayosolagbade.com.

But updates are still ongoing to URLs bearing the old domain name in most of the over 1,000 web pages, and blog posts

he’s published.

If you experience any difficulties finding a page or document, email Tayo at tksola dot com.

Click “Tayo, What Happened to SpontaneousDevelopmentDotCom ?” to read a detailed narrative about how the above event occurred :-))

Here’s an article Tayo wrote, to inspire others to defy adversity, and bounce back to even greater reckoning at what they do EVERY time:

Succeed by Emerging from Adversity Like a Phoenix (TayoSolagbade.com launches extra Hosting plan with FREE Web Marketing!)

And he wrote the one below, to explain why losing a domain name, no matter how old NO LONGER determines your online success or otherwise:

A Proven Strategy to Find Profitable Buyers Regardless of Your Domain Name

==================

Burt Dubin’s Public Speaking Mentoring

for Africa Based Experts(PDF…Click!)

Career Development, Entrepreneurship, General, My DN Travel News, My Ideas for Making Nigeria Better, Parenting, Self-Development, Writing/Blogging

It Pays to Keep Truth-Based Relationships (Lesson from True Story by Beyoncé)

June 14, 2015 Tayo Solagbade Leave a comment

What Kinds Of Friends Do YOU Want – And Keep?

I want to surround myself with TRUTH all the time. I do not want to keep diplomatic and “anchorless Social Chameleons” (as Daniel Goleman described them in his book on Emotional Intelligence) in my social circle.

Does not matter if they are relatives or friends. I want people around me who will say what they mean and mean what they say – NO MATTER whose Ox is gored in the process, even if it’s mine! I want these things because I know they will bring out the best in me and those I relate with. What about YOU?

A Lesson About Truth-Based Relationships From A Celebrity

I was watching an interview of the highly successful female singer – Beyoncé- some time ago in which her gutsy venture into production of a solo album in secrecy and (as the reporter put it) without the luxury of a “safety net” to fall on (in event of failure) was discussed.

When asked how she felt about people making up stories about her life and commenting on her as a celebrity, she (among other things) said she felt lucky to belong to a family where people (unlike what obtains for some other stars) don’t tell her everything she says or does is “cute”. She added that as a result, she has always been surrounded “by truth” which has helped her remain herself.

Adults In Society And The Challenge Of Keeping Truth-Based Relationships

Listening to Beyoncé and reflecting on what she has achieved as a member of the immensely successful group – “Destiny’s Child” – and in her subsequent solo career, makes me certain that my belief that “surrounding oneself with truth in order to succeed with integrity” is valid.

Too often in society, especially amongst adults, duplicity, denial and outright dishonesty/insincerity feature prominently in relationships. It is so much so that I sometimes feel it would take only a blind person NOT to see it!

The truth is that inside each of us is a sixth sense, which equips us (if we develop it) to be able to “detect” insincerity in others – to some extent. Unfortunately, vanity, selfish interests and the need for ego gratification, make many people close their eyes to these obvious signs of insincerity when they see them.

I once read the following quote : “We ask for criticism, even though what we actually want to hear is praise”. I’ll take it further and say “…As a result, when we get the criticism we ask for, we take offense against the person(s) who is/are sincere enough to tell us the TRUTH”.

What Kinds Of Friends Do YOU Want – And Keep?

I think I like the “Beyoncé” kind of surrounding a lot. I want to surround myself with TRUTH all the time. I do not want to keep diplomatic and “anchor less Social Chameleons” (as Daniel Goleman described them in his book on Emotional Intelligence) in my social circle.

Does not matter if they are relatives or friends. I want people around me who will say what they mean and mean what they say – NO MATTER whose Ox is gored in the process, even if it’s mine! I want people around me who will tell me what they think of my words and actions to my face and not smile that I’m OK and then go behind my back to complain to others!

I want people who will give me (and/or anyone who needs it) the help or support I need UNCONDITIONALLY and without complaining or murmuring, and who will be decent enough to let me know when it is NOT convenient enough for them to help/support anymore – instead of continuing to help GRUDGINGLY. I want these things because I know they will bring out the best in me and those I relate with.

And if I cannot find people who fit the foregoing descriptions to be around, I would prefer to be on my own/keep to myself!

Is It The Number Of Friends You Have That Matters – Or The QUALITY of EACH ONE?

Incidentally, the attributes outlined above are those I have always striven to exhibit in my relationships with others. They are powerful qualities that I encourage YOU to also develop (if you do not already possess them), because you will make yourself EXTREMELY valuable and useful in the lives of others as a result.

Let me end with this question, which will be followed by what I consider a VERY powerful quote:

Question: What would be the point of your claiming to have many friends/associates/relatives etc for instance, when most (or all?) of them are not true to you?(i.e. say one thing to your face and another when you’re not around OR they say one thing and do another etc).

Blaise Pascal probably had the above in mind when he reportedly said the following words:

“I lay it down as a fact that if all men knew what others say of them, there would not be 4 friends in the world”.

What do you think?

NB: This article was first published online on 31st October 2007

Career Development, General, My DN Travel News, My Ideas for Making Nigeria Better, Self-Development

“Do Not Ally Yourself With Power Against The Powerless!” – Chinua Achebe

June 11, 2015 Tayo Solagbade Leave a comment

Sometimes people need to be rebuked for trying to protect their vested interests, at the expense of others.

Chinua Achebe once said: “there is a moral obligation “not to ally oneself with power against the powerless.” (See [The Boston Globe] Achebe: Fighting corruption with fame – The Boston Globe)

As a leader in a developed society – EVERYTHING you say, and do, is noted by the press, and the citizens, and it WILL be used for or against you in future. We need to become like that in Nigeria, to progress.

The question is how many of us are prepared to do that? Does it occur to us that by FAILING to speak out against errand boys of selfish leaders in power, who are “planted” among us (e.g. on Facebook) to keep us in line, we “ally ourselves with power against the powerless”??

Considering how many times he has tried and failed at getting elected into office (note that I have never voted for him), Pat Utomi, could justifiably sit back and say I tried but they gave me no support.

When I started out in self-employment in 2002, (then Dr.) Utomi invited me on appointment to his office at LBS (as a result of a management research paper I sent to him, which I would later present at CMD). His parting words to me that day were “Remember…Tenacity! Tenacity!!”.

Looking back at the efforts he made, I give him kudos, for walking his talk for years in taking PERSONAL ACTION continually, to influence positive change in Nigeria.

Below is a post he once made to his facebook wall, that captures my feelings/sentiments about complacent Nigerian elites(See ):

========

“Years ago in India I read that a candle loses nothing when it lights another candle. I wonder therefore that there is so much darkness in a land of many candles. As I see the failure of citizenship with many educated middle class people hugging their comfort zones I think how sad we can not see the masochist in us. How we hurt our own long term interests” – Pat Utomi (See original post here)

========

I have always been VERY sensitive to the existence of extreme imbalances in society that leaves some shortchanged.

I feel the pain of people who suffer because the government/society’s leaders fail to do what is right. Because I ALSO bear part of that suffering, it becomes even more personal, for me.

And that’s why when I READ stuff written by a member of the “jeun soke” (“chop up”) elites, claiming NOTHING is wrong with the status quo, or the slow pace of promised reforms, or that the WHITE we all see the government doing is actually GREEN, I get really upset.

These days, ONLY people in BIG SALARY jobs (and those enjoying “arrangee” business, via connections of all sorts), are reasonably “insulated”, from the negative impact of the many wrong things happening in Nigeria, due to bad leadership.

Sadly, they also constitute majority of the “complacent elite”.

The status quo in Nigeria RIGHT NOW is very very bad. It often ensures perpetual socioeconomic oppression of the majority, regardless of merit or competence.

There is an extreme lack of a fair and impartial opportunity to succeed here in today’s Nigeria.

I do NOT like what I observe and experience in Nigeria daily today. So, when I see/hear any person BLINDLY justify or rationalise it, in a manner that indicates s/he is biased, I WILL rebuke him/her.

I WILL continue doing this, because years of deep thought and reflection have revealed to me that keeping quiet, or sighing and saying “Lef am for God”(i.e. leave it for God) , has never worked for Nigeria or Nigerians.

Those who do NOT like my approach should therefore simply avoid being associated with me. Period.

1 Hour Talks, Career Development, Entrepreneurship, Farm Biz, General, My DN Travel News, My Ideas for Making Nigeria Better, Parenting, Public Speaking, Recommended Websites & Articles, Self-Development, Writing/Blogging

A Proven Solution That Enables Any African Write And Publish An International Quality Physical Book At Zero Cost!

June 10, 2015 Tayo Solagbade Leave a comment

This article is based on a letter dated 31st October 2005 written by Tayo K. Solagbade following a 2 week exploratory business visit to Accra-Ghana, during which time he met with the President of Pan African Writers Association(PAWA).

Tayo emailed the letter to Media Houses in Ghana (e.g. Graphic Ghana), Egypt, Kenya, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, South Africa etc challenging them to do a story on how POD Publishing could enable African writers publish and sell international quality print books at ZERO COST.

I am writing to suggest a story about How Print-On-Demand (POD) publishing companies based on the Internet have made it possible for anyone, living anywhere in the world – including Africa, to:

Click here to continue reading

Career Development, Entrepreneurship, Excel-VB Solutions, Farm Biz, General, My DN Travel News, My Ideas for Making Nigeria Better, Self-Development, Writing/Blogging

THE FARM CEO™Newspaper – Alternative Livestock Feed Ideas [FREE MAIDEN ISSUE – Monday 8th June 2015]

June 9, 2015 Tayo Solagbade Leave a comment

THE FARM CEO™[Screenshots below]

Tagline: If it can help your farm business, you’ll find it in THE FARM CEO™ Newspaper

This FREE MAIDEN ISSUE is packed with reviews and links to the following useful resources:

1. Alternative Feed Ingredients in Swine Diets(PDF): Parts 1 and 2

2. Poultry feed availability and nutrition in developing countries [Subtitle: Alternative feedstuffs for use in poultry feed formulations] – PDF

3. Make Money from Snail Farming (2 FREE E-Books):

a. by Forest Development Authority of Liberia

b. by National Agricultural Extension & Research Liaison Service, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria

4. (INTRODUCTION TO) LAYER FARMING – FREE PDF

5. FARM SUCCESSION PLANS AMONG POULTRY FARMERS in Ogun State, Nigeria (PDF Resarch Paper)

“THE FARM CEO will run into at least 2 pages per issue. It will feature my reviews of news compiled from research and industry sources, including farm visits as I travel across West Africa. My mission is to make THE FARM CEO newspaper a preferred source of innovative, cost-saving/performance enhancing farm business ideas in Africa. If it can help your farm business, you’ll find it in THE FARM CEO newspaper!” – Tayo K. Solagbade, www.tayosolagbade.com

Subscription to THE FARM CEO = $36/Yr [You get a FREE copy of the Feed Formulation Handbook(http://tinyurl.com/tfc-ffhb): $82 value]

Download FREE maiden issue from http://tinyurl.com/tfc-ffhb

Career Development, Entrepreneurship, Excel-VB Solutions, General, My DN Travel News, Public Speaking, Self-Development

No. 196: As an International Speaker, Manually Formatting Your MS Excel Invoice Values in Different Currencies Can Cost You [Hint: Watch this 2 Part Home Study ExcelVB Video Tutorial]

June 8, 2015 Tayo Solagbade Leave a comment

As an expert-who-speaks, you’ll periodically send out invoices. If you serve clients internationally (like I do), your invoices may sometimes have to be formatted in different currencies. For instance, I’ve had to deliver (by hand, but often email) invoices in Naira, FCFA, US Dollars, and Euros.

But doing it manually takes time and effort, and is prone to errors.

In the 2 part Home Study Video Tutorial linked below, I demonstrate how to use MS Excel VB automation to get it done.

CLICK HERE TO READ FULL ISSUE

Tayo K. Solagade‘s

Weekly Public Speaking/Web Marketing IDEAS Newsletter

Date: Monday 8th June 2015

No:196

Title: (a) As an International Speaker, Manually Formatting Your MS Excel Invoice Values in Different Currencies Can Cost You [Hint: Watch this 2 Part Home Study ExcelVB Video Tutorial] (b) To Achieve Sustainable Success, Closely Monitor News About Current Affairs and Politics! – [MP3]!

Author & Publisher: Tayo K. Solagbade [Tel: +234-803-302-1263 (in Nigeria) or +229-66-122-136 (in Benin Republic) ]

Blog URL: http://www.tayosolagbade.com/sdnuggets

Last Week: Read articles published on my blog here

Newsletter Archive (E-mail version started 14th May 2012): Click here to view

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1 of 2: PUBLIC SPEAKING – As an International Speaker, Manually Formatting Your MS Excel Invoice Values in Different Currencies Can Cost You [Hint: Watch this 2 Part Home Study ExcelVB Video Tutorial]

But doing it manually takes time and effort, and is prone to errors.

In the 2 part Home Study Video Tutorial linked below, I demonstrate how to use MS Excel VB automation to get it done.

Beyond the actual act/art of speaking, you are ultimately in business, to make money – meaning you’ll have to send in invoices requesting payments of advance and/or balance fees in relating with clients.

Depending on how busy you are, and the nature of work, there may come a time when formatting your invoice monetary values to reflect a particular currency, can involve drudgery.

I once had a client say he was familiar with the Naira and US dollars exchange rates for his country’s currency (Benin Republic), but that he wanted me to serve him the invoice clearly showing the FCFA equivalent values for each item.

Now, this was NOT a problem for me.

All I had to do was manually format the range of cells (as I demonstrated in the video added below).

But I ended up sending him a “faulty” Invoice Grand Total, because I accidentally left the “Grand Total” formula cell formatted in a different currency!

As a result, the upper values (meant to add up to the Grand Total) appeared in FCFA, while the Grand Total appeared in Naira!

You may argue that this is no big deal, of course. One would simply prepare a new one and send to the client in place of the old one – which was what I did, after the client pointed out the error to me.

However, leaving yourself open to making such avoidable errors can lead to shooting yourself in the foot professionally (even financially).

Consider two possibilities…

1. Sometimes the person you’re sending it to, may not bother checking and could forward it to a superior, who then discovers it…

The sender (who you sent it to) then looks bad before his/her boss, and even though s/he may not say it, s/he could silently blame you for it: you may lose his/her trust as a result.

We are all human of course, and prone to errors, but as professionals, our clients are DEPENDING on us to go the extra mile to serve them.

The decision maker hiring you is hoping you will make him/her good with your performance. Sending in an invoice that states money to be paid in conflicting currencies can result in the OPPOSITE happening!

2. Even worse, if you find yourself dealing with a particularly crafty (read: EXPLOITATIVE) client or decision maker.

For instance if the error you made is such that your grand total converts to LOWER than what it should actually be (e.g. summing US dollar denominated items to make the Grand Total, which you inadvertently leave formatted in Nigerian Naira!).

Such an individual could quietly accept it, and initiative payment processing for you, and then when you discover how much appears on your cheque s/he could claim “Well that’s what you stated as Grand Total on your invoice!”

Incidentally, the above could even happen with a decision maker who did NOT know better.

If the individual is a national of a different country, and not familiar with the considerable difference in value between the conflicting currencies on the invoice, s/he could innocently accept it, without realizing the need to call your attention to it.

NB: In case you wonder, I’ve actually had such an experience before – though not exactly as described above.

My point therefore is that it’s better to proactively invest some quality time to setup a system that enables you prepare your invoices with minimal errors.

What I do is what is demonstrated in the 2 part video tutorial linked in this issue of my newsletter.

Take a few minutes to study it and empower yourself, if you do not already know how to do it

In the video, I start by demonstrating how to do format currency manually. Then I show the automated version of the workbook, in use – with single click form controls (command buttons and a drop menu) changing between the USD, Naira, Euro, GBP and FCFA.

In the second part of the tutorial, I demonstrate step-by-step- how to use Excel VB automation to switch – at the click of a mouse – your invoice values to different currencies.

Note that this can be applied to ANY spreadsheet you’re working on...

In other words, even though I’ve used invoice preparation as an example here, there are many other scenarios that it is relevant to. One simply needs to apply the same thinking as appropriate.

Click here NOW to watch the video tutorial

*******

This newsletter (which I use to promote Burt Dubin’s Speaker Mentoring Products/Services) serves experts-who-speak. Starting – Monday 13th April 2015 – it MORPHED in name and content served, to a 2 part Speaking/Web Marketing IDEAS newsletter, to better serve them. You just read the “Public Speaking IDEAS” part above. What follows below is the “Web Marketing IDEAS” part.

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Burt Dubin works with people who want to be speakers, and with speakers who want to be masters. Click here to visit his website NOW and submit a contact form message telling him what challenges you’re facing, and how you’d like him to help you. Tell him I sent you, and you’ll get a pleasant surprise offer from him.

Burt Dubin’s monthly Speaking Biz Strategies Letter [Signup & get a 7-Part Email Course on “How To Succeed And Get Paid As A Professional Speaker“]

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2 of 2: WEB MARKETING: To Achieve Sustainable Success, Closely Monitor News About Current Affairs and Politics! [FREE MP3 DOWNLOAD]

It’s FREE for all my Web Marketing/farm business clients, and ALL members of my Inner Circle as well as for ALL subscribers to THIS newsletter.

If you are not yet ANY of the above, just send me a message here to let me know.

If you want me to send you the full MP3 recording, just say so in your message.

NB: If you’re already a client or subscriber, email me via tayo at tksola dot com and let me know you want it

Alternatively, click here to request the FREE MP3 DOWNLOAD.

******

SPECIAL OFFER TO READERS OF THIS SPEAKING/WEB MARKETING IDEAS NEWSLETTER

If you said YES to any of the above, THIS offer is for you.

Burt Dubin can teach you to do ALL the above and more. You can learn from him via direct mentoring (regardless of distance) or using the many home study packages he offers.

Get FREE Lifetime Membership of My Inner Circle (OVER $250 USD) when you do 1 or more of the following:

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2. Purchase Burt’s Speaker Mentoring Products up to $500 USD or more (click here to see a popular one)…

HERE’S AN ADDED BONUS YOU GET FROM ME, IF YOU BUY FROM BURT…

Click here to tell me which of Burt’s speaker mentoring products or services you are interested in.

ALSO GET MY PERSONALIZED MS EXCEL-VB VIDEO TUTORIALS (N100K) WHEN YOU BUY FROM BURT…

Buying up to $500 USD or more from Burt will also qualify you to receive my personalized MS Excel VB home study tutorial workbooks/videos – over N100k value.

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Click here to tell me which of Burt’s speaker mentoring products or services you are interested in.

Question: But who is Burt Dubin, and why do I (Tayo K. Solagbade) think you should you learn from him?

That’s ample proof that (in addition to Public Speaking), Burt would be a great resource to learn business marketing from!

Full Disclosure: I represent Burt as Sole Agent for his products/services, which means if YOU buy from him, I get paid.

But that’s NOT the main reason I represent and recommend him. I have benefited in many ways by learning from Burt. Through his writing, his audio recordings, and from directly relating with him.

That’s why I never tire of CONFIDENTLY recommending him to others.

If you need help putting the ideas shared above to use, let me know HERE.

Click here to tell me which of Burt’s speaker mentoring products or services you are interested in.

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Learn about Burt Dubin’s speaker mentoring products (books, audios etc) below…

Have a great week :-))

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CLICK HERE to get full details of what it takes to make yourself a true speaking business champion in Burt’s Boot Camp V: Inside Speaking Business Success Secrets

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for Africa Based Experts(PDF…Click!)

Useful Resources for Speakers

177 Wow! Wow!

Showmanship Stratagems

Discover these secrets of making your programs more interesting and valuable to your clients and audiences now.

more information

Burt’s Flagship Album

This is the product to own if you can own only one. Why? Because in it you discover principles of platform mastership available to you nowhere else at any price.

With its Money back if not delighted Guarantee hardly any are returned.

Find out why

Presentation Magic

Presentation Magic Manual with new pages added plus 3 audio CDs.

more information

How To Create a Great Program Manual

This is a reprise of the historic presentation that launched the Speaking Success System.

No copy of this 2 CD program and 50 page Learning Guide has ever been returned.

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NEW: Speaking Ideas: 25 Articles and True Stories for Experts Who Speak and Those Aspiring (Volume 1)

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NEW: KUKURU DANGER™: 5 True Stories About the Adventures – & Misadventures! – of a School Age Child Trying to Find Purpose in Life

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THEY WROTE…

—————————–

*Operations Manager, Guinness Nigeria Plc Benin Brewery, December 2001 (Handwritten comments in farewell/xmas cards sent to Tayo Solagbade following his resignation to start his own business).

———————–

Click here to contact Tayo…


SD Nuggets Blog™	New posts from last week that may interest you! *
Public Speaking[Monday]:	No. 195: (a) Being Likeable Can Cost You Success (b) To Achieve Sustainable Success, Closely Monitor News About Current Affairs and Politics! – [MP3]!
[Tuesday]:	SDAc’s Microsoft Excel Heaven™ Visual Basic Automation Club & COMPETITION [Watch the Full Video Narration of 9 Page Slideshow – by Tayo K. Solagbade]
[Wednesday]:	NEW: Subscribe to “THE FARM CEO: A “Small” Niche Digital/Print Newspaper for Farm Business Owners
[Thursday]:	Download My Feed Formulation Handbook FREE (it sells for over N8k at www.lulu.com/sdaproducts)…
[Friday]:	A WMS Will Help You Generate ZERO COST Sales Leads [Hint: The best way to sell is to target a list of potential buyers who CAME TO YOU BY themselves, with your offers: Like I’m NOW doing with THE FARM CEO Newspaper!]
[Saturday]:	N/A
[Sunday]:	Home Study Tutorial: Create a Macro to Format ANY Currency You Want (Case Study: MS Excel Invoice Template) – Coming Monday 8th June 2015
Want me to write for you? Click here to send me a message

Tayo K. Solagbade*

Self-Development/Performance Improvement Specialist

*Sole Agent For Burt Dubin’s Speaker Mentoring Service In Africa

Mobile: +234-803-302-1263 (in Nigeria) or +229-66-122-136 (in Benin Republic)

http://www.tayosolagbade.com

Farm Businesses and others.

freelance writing services, and best practice extension support services (for farm business owners).

and others.

In May 2012 he was the Guest Speaker at the Centre for Entrepreneurship Development’s Annual Semester Entrepreneurial Lecture at Yaba College of Technology in Lagos.

On 1st April 2013, Tayo (who reads, write and speaks the French language) relocated to Cotonou, Benin Republic to begin slowly traveling across the West African region.

His key purpose is to deliver talks, seminars

and workshops on his key areas of focus and interest to interested audiences (Email tayo at tksola dot com for details).

newsletter(which he uses to promote Burt Dubin’s Public Speaking Mentoring service to experts working across the African continent).

You can connect with him on Twitter @tksola.com and Facebook.

Visit Tayo Solagbade Dot Com, to download over over 10 performance improvement resources to boost your personal and work related productivity.

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[IMPORTANT NOTE:====

On 4th May 2014, Tayo’s 9 year old domain (Spontaneousdevelopment dot com), which hosted his website, was taken over by Aplus.net.

Within a few days however, Tayo used his advanced self-taught web development skills to build a SUPERIOR “reincarnation” of it the website http://www.tayosolagbade.com.

But updates are still ongoing to URLs bearing the old domain name in most of the over 1,000 web pages, and blog posts

he’s published.

If you experience any difficulties finding a page or document, email Tayo at tksola dot com.

Click “Tayo, What Happened to SpontaneousDevelopmentDotCom ?” to read a detailed narrative about how the above event occurred :-))

Here’s an article Tayo wrote, to inspire others to defy adversity, and bounce back to even greater reckoning at what they do EVERY time:

Succeed by Emerging from Adversity Like a Phoenix (TayoSolagbade.com launches extra Hosting plan with FREE Web Marketing!)

And he wrote the one below, to explain why losing a domain name, no matter how old NO LONGER determines your online success or otherwise:

A Proven Strategy to Find Profitable Buyers Regardless of Your Domain Name

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Burt Dubin’s Public Speaking Mentoring

for Africa Based Experts(PDF…Click!)

Career Development, Entrepreneurship, Farm Biz, My DN Travel News, My Ideas for Making Nigeria Better, Writing/Blogging

A WMS Will Help You Generate ZERO COST Sales Leads [Hint: The best way to sell is to target a list of potential buyers who CAME TO YOU BY themselves, with your offers: Like I’m NOW doing with THE FARM CEO Newspaper!]

June 5, 2015 Tayo Solagbade Leave a comment

Below: Screenshot of my auto-generated website contact form database of over 500 people (with names/personal details hidden) from different parts of the world, who found my website (www.tayosolagbade.com) via my Web Marketing System (WMS) & contacted me about my products/services, over the years.

ALL of them are subscribers to my newsletter…and some have since gone on to become customers/clients by buying from me…

But here’s my point: Over 95% of them came to me on their own i.e. they found me while searching online for solutions they needed: mainly Farm Business related, and used my website contact forms to reach me.

In the process (based on my website terms, stated on my website contact forms – like this one) they signed up to my newsletter mailing list.

The above is why products/services I create tend to interest them.

Can you imagine how cost-effective it is to KNOW that the messages you send out are likely to be WELCOME by the recipients?

Don’t bother to imagine it. I’ll tell you: VERY…and that’s why I KEEP working my WMS by creating and propagating new content (articles, books, videos, audios etc) as often as possible!

Not surprisingly, a growing number are repeat buyers – of stuff I promote via my weekly newsletter.

See how this works??

The best way to sell is to target a list of potential buyers who CAME TO YOU BY themselves, with your offers!

Yes it’s true…one can BUY a mailing list of potential subscribers/buyers.

However, you will agree with me that it’s much better to use a list that costs you NOTHING…PLUS when you send sales messages to people who came to you on their own (as against the ones on a list you buy), you’re likely to get better responses.

A WMS will help you BUILD such a ZERO COST list of sales leads/prospects/potential buyers.

NB: You can get more by using other conventional methods: I use smart telephone calls, and email with my WMS.

Your Sales and Marketing will as a result become EASIER and CHEAPER to do…and you’ll attract potential buyers WILLING to pay more to get what you offer …yielding HIGHER sales margins for you.

The above is WHY I am already promoting “THE FARM CEO”, my new digital/print newspaper which goes LIVE from Monday 8th June 2015, to my list of over 500 subscribers with interests in farm business.

This strategy can yield useful EXTRA income in – at least – 2 powerful ways:

1. Subscription income

Interested persons have to subscribe for a YEAR ($24 USD) i.e. 48 issues of “THE FARM CEO”.

Those who do not subscribe will receive a “teaser” preview.

2. Advertising revenue

I’m offering advertising space for sale in “THE FARM CEO” newspaper:

a. to farm owners

b. to farm support providers of various genres e.g. Consultants, raw materials/feed suppliers, equipment suppliers, disease diagnostic service providers etc

Both groups mentioned above are likely to be attracted to my offer if they see/are convinced about the QUALITY of my mailing list of subscribers. I WILL NOT make the contact details of my subscribers available to ANYONE. What I will be doing is simply broadcasting ADVERTS placed by others to my mailing list – and publishing it in relevant issues of “THE FARM CEO”.

It goes without saying that this will not succeed overnight…but it is bound to succeed!

This is a new initiative I’m launching, so there’s no doubt that it may take time to catch on. But I have PLENTY of experience to draw from, based on my past achievements.

So this will not be a problem for me. Indeed, what I know to day makes me better equipped to get faster results.

And that’s the beauty of using this approach: you end up more competent to do what you do with INCREASING proficiency over time.

In my case, just like when I began using my WMS years ago, you can be sure THE FARM CEO newspaper will soon begin to enjoy PLENTY of useful attention from stakeholders in farm business and agriculture within and outside Africa.

Click here to learn more about the “THE FARM CEO” newspaper.

For details of how to purchase your subscription, click here to contact me. [NB: You get a FREE copy of my popular Feed Formulation Handbook, and FREE ad space in “THE FARM CEO” newspaper: click here to get details]

PS: Would you like to learn how to develop a WMS that will help you BUILD such a ZERO COST list of sales leads/prospects/potential buyers?

Or would you like me to DO IT FOR YOU?

Click here to let me know…

Ask yourself this question:

It’s CRUCIAL that you find out what that payoff is for 2 key reasons:

In the latter case, we have recorded cases of employees who were – for instance – diverting their employer’s products for monetary gain.

Indeed, best practice workplace organization effectively eliminates waste in man hours as well as process operations.

Best practice workplace organization philosophies (like the 5S system) are powerful weapons for getting results from team members without needing to use monetary incentives that rarely endure in their impact.

Tayo K. Solagade‘s

Weekly Public Speaking/Web Marketing IDEAS Newsletter

GET LIFETIME MEMBERSHIP OF MY INNER CIRCLE (OVER $250 USD!) WHEN YOU BUY BURT DUBIN’S SPEAKER MENTORING PRODUCTS/SERVICES – LEARN MORE HERE!

1 of 2: PUBLIC SPEAKING – Gatekeepers Can Stop You From Marketing to CEOs (4 Tips to Evade Them)

And that’s because there will rarely be delays arising from “waiting” for approval from the boss. Once s/he buys in to your idea, everybody else basically falls in line!

In certain circles, persons who play the above role (or screening the boss intending “visitors”, are called “GATEKEEPERS”.

Today, like I’ve said in several past write ups, I no longer do any pavement pounding to make sales…

To my right was a cubicle in which were seated two prettily young ladies, chatting with a well dressed male colleague. The following conversation ensued:

Seconds later, I’m shaking hands with a smallish gentleman in shirt and tie, about my age, who confirms he is the Excel trainer.

Before I left, he insisted on taking down my website address for the Excel-VB Solutions and my phone number, saying he would discuss it with his boss.

1. Have Enthusiasm and Self-Confidence

2. Speak Articulately

One time, I kept a CEO so wrapped up in what I was telling him I could do for the company using a Web Marketing System that he phone someone he had a meeting with, who he’d kept waiting since I got there: “I’m really sorry. Let’s reschedule.”

3. Know Your Target Audience & Use Strategic Intent

4. Bypass The Gatekeeper: Get the CEO or Decision Maker’s Contact Details and Reach Out Directly to Him/Her

This list is not exhaustible, but it can get you up and running productively, if used right.

Get Burt’s mentoring at any of the 3 levels below:

2 of 2: WEB MARKETING: To Achieve Sustainable Success, Closely Monitor News About Current Affairs and Politics! [FREE MP3 DOWNLOAD]

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SPECIAL OFFER TO READERS OF THIS SPEAKING/WEB MARKETING IDEAS NEWSLETTER

Get FREE Lifetime Membership of My Inner Circle (OVER $250 USD) when you do 1 or more of the following:

HERE’S AN ADDED BONUS YOU GET FROM ME, IF YOU BUY FROM BURT…

ALSO GET MY PERSONALIZED MS EXCEL-VB VIDEO TUTORIALS (N100K) WHEN YOU BUY FROM BURT…

Question: But who is Burt Dubin, and why do I (Tayo K. Solagbade) think you should you learn from him?

Full Disclosure: I represent Burt as Sole Agent for his products/services, which means if YOU buy from him, I get paid.

*************

Learn about Burt Dubin’s speaker mentoring products (books, audios etc) below…

*************

SPECIAL PRODUCT FEATURE

“Inside Speaking Business Success Secrets”

*************

Get Burt Dubin’s Public Speaking Mentoring for Africa Based Experts(PDF…Click!)

Useful Resources for Speakers

THEY WROTE…

==== [IMPORTANT NOTE:====

Here’s an article Tayo wrote, to inspire others to defy adversity, and bounce back to even greater reckoning at what they do EVERY time:

And he wrote the one below, to explain why losing a domain name, no matter how old NO LONGER determines your online success or otherwise:

What Kinds Of Friends Do YOU Want – And Keep?

A Lesson About Truth-Based Relationships From A Celebrity

Adults In Society And The Challenge Of Keeping Truth-Based Relationships

What Kinds Of Friends Do YOU Want – And Keep?

Is It The Number Of Friends You Have That Matters – Or The QUALITY of EACH ONE?

Blaise Pascal probably had the above in mind when he reportedly said the following words:

The question is how many of us are prepared to do that? Does it occur to us that by FAILING to speak out against errand boys of selfish leaders in power, who are “planted” among us (e.g. on Facebook) to keep us in line, we “ally ourselves with power against the powerless”??

I have always been VERY sensitive to the existence of extreme imbalances in society that leaves some shortchanged.

The status quo in Nigeria RIGHT NOW is very very bad. It often ensures perpetual socioeconomic oppression of the majority, regardless of merit or competence.

I am writing to suggest a story about How Print-On-Demand (POD) publishing companies based on the Internet have made it possible for anyone, living anywhere in the world – including Africa, to:

Tayo K. Solagade‘s

Weekly Public Speaking/Web Marketing IDEAS Newsletter

GET LIFETIME MEMBERSHIP OF MY INNER CIRCLE (OVER $250 USD!) WHEN YOU BUY BURT DUBIN’S SPEAKER MENTORING PRODUCTS/SERVICES – LEARN MORE HERE!

1 of 2: PUBLIC SPEAKING – As an International Speaker, Manually Formatting Your MS Excel Invoice Values in Different Currencies Can Cost You [Hint: Watch this 2 Part Home Study ExcelVB Video Tutorial]

Beyond the actual act/art of speaking, you are ultimately in business, to make money – meaning you’ll have to send in invoices requesting payments of advance and/or balance fees in relating with clients.

But I ended up sending him a “faulty” Invoice Grand Total, because I accidentally left the “Grand Total” formula cell formatted in a different currency!

1. Sometimes the person you’re sending it to, may not bother checking and could forward it to a superior, who then discovers it…

2. Even worse, if you find yourself dealing with a particularly crafty (read: EXPLOITATIVE) client or decision maker.

What I do is what is demonstrated in the 2 part video tutorial linked in this issue of my newsletter.

In the second part of the tutorial, I demonstrate step-by-step- how to use Excel VB automation to switch – at the click of a mouse – your invoice values to different currencies.

Get Burt’s mentoring at any of the 3 levels below:

2 of 2: WEB MARKETING: To Achieve Sustainable Success, Closely Monitor News About Current Affairs and Politics! [FREE MP3 DOWNLOAD]

******

SPECIAL OFFER TO READERS OF THIS SPEAKING/WEB MARKETING IDEAS NEWSLETTER

Get FREE Lifetime Membership of My Inner Circle (OVER $250 USD) when you do 1 or more of the following:

HERE’S AN ADDED BONUS YOU GET FROM ME, IF YOU BUY FROM BURT…

ALSO GET MY PERSONALIZED MS EXCEL-VB VIDEO TUTORIALS (N100K) WHEN YOU BUY FROM BURT…

Question: But who is Burt Dubin, and why do I (Tayo K. Solagbade) think you should you learn from him?

Full Disclosure: I represent Burt as Sole Agent for his products/services, which means if YOU buy from him, I get paid.

*************

Learn about Burt Dubin’s speaker mentoring products (books, audios etc) below…

*************

SPECIAL PRODUCT FEATURE

“Inside Speaking Business Success Secrets”

*************

Get Burt Dubin’s Public Speaking Mentoring for Africa Based Experts(PDF…Click!)

Useful Resources for Speakers

THEY WROTE…

Get Burt Dubin’s Public Speaking Mentoring
for Africa Based Experts(PDF…Click!)

====
[IMPORTANT NOTE:====

Get Burt Dubin’s Public Speaking Mentoring
for Africa Based Experts(PDF…Click!)

====
[IMPORTANT NOTE:====