Six sales and public speaking techniques popular with transit buses

E-commerce is certainly gaining ground and is increasingly positioned as a fast and efficient business practice for both consumers and sellers in that it is dematerialized. But, there are still other practices that are emerging and gaining traction in some places around the world such as transit bus marketing.

A recurring practice in Africa, people who have ever taken a public transport bus to travel from one Cameroonian city to another have had to experience this phenomenon. These are men or women who use rhetoric or public speaking during the trip to talk to you about several topics with one goal: product placement.

My experience, as a traveler, has helped me identify the common techniques of these different kind of marketers, whom we propose to call coach marketers. They work as individuals or on behalf of an agency. In either case, the processes are almost the same.

1-Greetings that come out of nowhere

As you leave the agency or start your journey to your destination, a voice appears on the bus and says, "Good morning dear passengers of ..." or "Dear passengers of ... good morning.

For regular passengers, the rest can be imagined but for unaccustomed people, special attention is given to this occasional speaker. After the rule of politeness, he introduces himself and wishes you a safe journey while imploring the good Lord to accompany you throughout the journey. It is in his introduction that you will get an idea of his status. Then follows the advice to better apprehend the trip.

2-Advice of seduction 

The roads of Africa just like all other roads have their own realities as well as for the people conveyed as for the other users and, according to the routes  it can  have particularities related to the safety, the stops or the pauses.

The speaker therefore surfs on this reality to capture the attention of his audience. In terms of safety and security, he will remind you to put on seat belts, if there are any on the bus, to prepare your IDs for the various roadside checks; he takes care to tell you about them with specific checkpoints.

He will tell you what to do in case you do not have your ID with you. He will also introduce you to what there is on the way as products to inquire about, in short he plays the role of a scout whose goal is to facilitate the travelers' journey. It is also during this stage that praise is given to the driver or the travel agency.

After this first catch, another seductive phase follows: a series of question and answers.

3-An impromptu and award-winning knowledge test

The speaker, after playing the good Samaritan who only wishes a wonderful trip to the passengers, with a nice transition introduces you to how you should always update your knowledge to be able to face life well. Another good advice that indirectly invites you to take an impromptu knowledge test.

Before starting with his questions, he presents you with the prizes to be won, usually lollipops or candy.  The questions range from the general to the specific and deal with general culture. He will ask you questions like: what is the longest river in Africa or in the world? In what year did the first world war take place? Who is the greatest footballer of the last century? Who is the author of such and such a quotation?  In which book of the Bible is the following Bible or Quranic verse found...; because the different religious forces in the country must be taken into account.

This phase takes about ten minutes. With each correct answer, the passenger who answered receives a candy or several. The speaker always specifies that it is a candy with proven therapeutic properties. Therefore, it can be consumed by people of all ages. The final questions are more specific and deal with diseases. As an illustration, what is the most deadly disease in the world?  A transitional question for the next phase.

4-Mistakes not to be made anymore

In this other phase, the presenter comes back to the hygiene problems or to the most recurrent diseases and whose solution can be found in local products, in traditional medicine. The hygiene problem is often related to menstrual hygiene or genital hygiene. Mr. Kamdem whom we met during our last trip between Yaoundé and Dschang directed his question on the vaginal sampling: "Which people  regularly do their vaginal sampling in this bus?". A topic that attracted the curiosity of many people, especially women. 

This is again where a kirielle of recurring diseases are presented with solutions. Generally, he will introduce you to a disease, tell you about what is done, what should no longer be done, and most importantly, what should now be done. He will tell you that a toothache should no longer be treated with tobacco, because it is only a painkiller and does not cure the disease. From now on, you will have to crush some wing, combine it with such other product and apply on the gum or tooth that hurts you; the stomach ache commonly known as the "stomach ache" is not cured by the little cola but can be totally eradicated by a product he has.

5-Product Placement 

Here begins the actual selling. Before he starts offering his items, he makes the volunteers taste or try some products or asks the question if there is anyone on the bus who knows the product and its benefits. Each product is presented and sold ,one after another.

Generally, he will present you with an original product that would cost 5 or even 10 times more in a pharmacy or specialty store. He will tell you that the product is either new or on special offer: "this product normally costs 25,000 FCFA (about 17 euros) in the pharmacy but for people present in this bus who want it, I can sell it to them for 5,000 FCFA (about 8 euros) and, those or those who want more can buy 3 boxes or 3 pieces for the price of one.

"Who are the people who want it?", This is a question of identifying potential buyers. When there are few hands raised, he pretends to point out the interested parties. Once interest is shown, he distributes the product, collects the money and moves on to another product. These are usually hygiene products (toothpaste), slimming or blood pressure teas, pain ointments, packaged medicinal plants, pain bands etc. Once the products have been placed, he finishes with further advice and farewells.

6-Greetings in the form of loyalty 

When the shopkeeper finishes the sale, he once again wishes the passengers a good trip by leaving them flyers of documents containing contacts, either personal or from the agency he works for in order to retain his new customers. It is also during this phase that questions are asked about the use of certain products.

Here he also returns to grandma's advice for always being healthy. This is also a time of the various. Different topics can be discussed. It is also a time to pay back those who did not come into possession of their leftovers. Once the sale is over, the speaker takes leave of the passengers and gets off at the next stop or other stops, often to repeat the same exercise on another bus.

In conclusion, bus trading is not regulated in any way. Traders can make sales of up to a hundred euros in two hours of time. When they are not recognized by agencies whose trips they use as a store, they do so individually and give a certain fee to the driver that results from a mutual understanding.

Although there are often positive testimonials from clients in favor of certain products, the fact remains that this commercial practice, especially when the products are therapeutic, is to be feared. There is no traceability both for patient follow-up and for the taxes that might result. Governments would do better to control the activity or regularize it.

It is still necessary to appreciate the oratory techniques of these traders, they can inspire in the normal distribution channels.