International scale and African flavor: SOLARGROUP conference in Côte d'Ivoire
This was the largest SOLARGROUP conference ever held in Africa in terms of the number of participants. On March 4, more than 400 guests came to Abidjan not only from Côte d'Ivoire, but also from Cameroon, Benin, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Lebanon, Great Britain, Canada. One of the participants traveled 4,000 kilometers by bus to talk personally with Andrey Lobov.
A delegation from Russia was represented by top managers of SOLARGROUP Pavel Filippov and Pavel Shadskiy, as well as head of the "Resurs" production cooperative Andrey Lobov. They were all speakers at the conference, along with Gilles Weber, the national partner in Côte d'Ivoire and a number of countries.
The event participants learned the latest information about the project and the "Sovelmash" D&E construction progress, got answers to their questions from the top officials and saw the "Slavyanka" based motors. All this helped them believe more in the project, better understand its essence and benefits, and make a decision to invest.
Moreover, prizes were raffled off among the conference guests: 5 people got investment packages worth $ 100 each, and some participants got prizes branded with SOLARGROUP logos.
In addition to the conference, SOLARGROUP's executives held business meetings and opened the company's office in Abidjan as part of their visit.
We will report about the conference and related events in more detail later. And now we invite you to watch a video and a selection of the most striking photos available here.
How to be persuasive talking to a customer
Making the right impression in a conversation is an art that almost everyone in business dreams of. You talk to a person once, and they immediately accept your offer just because you are persuasive enough.
However, a business offer is made up of many factors, and it depends on the circumstances which of them prevails over the others for a particular person. But under any circumstances, you can leave a good impression of yourself, the project or the company, boost your personal brand - and your words will be taken seriously, resulting in a productive dialogue.
Check yourself. Do you always follow these 6 rules of verbal communication?
• Ask rather than assert. Ask your interlocutor more questions if you want to prove something. Lead them through the questions to the conclusions you want to draw. The interlocutor gets the impression that he or she has come to the decision on their own, and becomes less categorical in their objections.
• Disregard other people's mistakes. Most people have an overly sensitive ego. Even if you very rightly point out an error in your interlocutor's data or point of view, you're impinging on their image, and it will change the attitude toward you. Without direct need, you should not point out the mistakes of others and rush to joyfully correct the interlocutor. If there is a direct need, try to do it as gently as possible.
• Admit your mistake and apologize in a considerate way. "Okay, never mind" or a complete lack of apology is not an admission of wrongdoing, but an attempt to avoid responsibility. Choose the correct phrase and say it in full, that way you will show the interlocutor that your task is to come to a mutual agreement, not just to push your agenda.
• Build your argument. Determine in advance which of your arguments are stronger and which ones are weaker. Start with the weakest, giving the interlocutor time to object, and finish with the most powerful argument. It encourages the other person to accept your point of view, understand your reasoning, and focuses their attention on what's most important.
• Strive for mutual understanding. It often happens that people talk about the same thing in different words. Or vice versa - they mean different things by a certain definition. Don't be afraid to be specific, use such wording as "you mean to say that...", "in other words, you...", "you mean...". That way you show attention to the essence of your proposal, to what you want to communicate to the interlocutor. This will prevent undesirable consequences and earn you respect.
• Don't be fussy and avoid fits of passion. Pause, give yourself time to find the right wording, take your time. It makes your offer solid, because it comes from someone whose words are worth waiting for. Let your speech be moderately emotionally colored, devoted to the benefits for the interlocutor and the arguments, but not solely to your feelings about it.
And, regardless of the outcome, the person you're talking to should be thanked for the conversation!