What I learned about Negotiating Buying Food in Ibadan.

I am currently completing NYSC service in Ibadan and I must tell you that watching the small business owners in the market has been an excursion in entrepreneurial training. One of the things that I notice in Ibadan market is that the traders are proud of their products. As a result, when negotiating, they are unafraid to say 'No' when they terms are unfavourable. Granted, as a buyer, there are many times I have been frustrated by their inability to see "reason". However, as an entrepreneur reflecting on their behaviour makes me realise that they are on to something that I perhaps missed in my previous stint as a business owner.

Five Things I Learned About Negotiating:

• Be clear on the value of your products. If you are certain on the value of your product, you are less likely to undersell. Every mango seller will tell you how rare the mango from their corner of the village is. They will tell you cannot go buy it yourself. They are right because the convenience of it being in front of you is part of the value they are selling.

How I learned Product Strategies From a Moin-Moin Seller

My breakfast of choice lately has been moin-moin and bread. There is a woman that sells moin-moin inside of the school where I am completing my NYSC year. On the first day I got her moin-moin, she just told me it was 30 naira for each one (*food is incredibly cheap in Ibadan) and I paid her for the two wraps that I got. However, the next time I wanted to buy moin-moin, I got it from her earlier. She was still at her stall outside the school. She asked me if I wanted to 30 Naira one or 50 Naira one. I asked her what the difference was between the two. It turned out the 50 Naira moin-moin has a whole egg in the middle. Then I noticed in school that the students buy a smaller sized moin-moin that has been steamed in plastic bag. By the time I completed my investigation I realised that the woman has 4 different price levels for her moin-moin. Each type of moin-moin had a clear value to it consumer. The student moin-moin is not steamed in the traditional banana wrappers thereby lacking that distinctive taste.

One thing I realised also is that she knows who buys from her at any particular type. She makes more of the student portions when she is going to sell lunch in the school compounds. She makes a few basic teacher portions and very limited number of the teacher luxury portion. This way of having different value levels and price has meant that she caters to all those who eat her food properly.

What have I learned from her?

• Know your customers at each point of contact and adjust your product offering to your audience
• At each price level, there should be a clear value difference in the products
• Understand your MVP. That is know your minimum valuable product
• Try and have a wide audience base without devaluing your brand. This means your least valuable item still needs to have a high level of quality.