Dialogue from Africa - First Session

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The world is a market and everybody is selling something. Everybody is a brand and everybody is selling that brand. The effect is competition.

In Sub Saharan Africa, Lartinku images is a burgeoning start up which designs art works and paintings for sale. In 2009, the company commenced business with Douglis Menke as the Chief Executive Officer, Marcus Phil as the company's business developer and one Mr.Salaga as the man in charge of sales.
The year 2012 threw a curve to the company; Demand for art works and paintings of Lartinku images dwindled, sales plummeted and income became slow. It's been six years since the birth of Lartinku images; sales haven't gotten any better. Neither has the company's brand. Their paintings and art works look beautiful on the shelves with few people buying.

Folks! There is a business problem...


Session 1 (The office setting)

SALAGA: The art works are good....we have paintings designed to last. But on the market, our colourful paintings with all its impressive design are looking common on the shelves. Simply put folks, people are not buying. They pick it from the shelves, admire it, give it a smile and drop it back on the shelf. They are not buying. They claim they like it......yet they don't crave to buy them...hmmmm. What do we do?

MARCUS: Kotler will tell you that a company shouldn't focus on the number of people who like their products..but should look at the number of people who are willing to buy their products.

SALAGA: (INTERRUPTS) Marcus, the question is what do we do?

MARCUS: Redraw them from the shelves and give them out as charity....NGO sort of.
So we know that henceforth, our company seizes to be a money making venture but a charity enterprise when we snooze in our cars home dreaming "our reward is in heaven". Well, you could scribble that idea on sheet. We should moot over it when the C.E.O returns from his trip to the other country of extreme excitement for products which can't boast of quality art works like ours. And that, we have a futuristic idea of transmogrifying...NO! Ermm, what's the word....

SALAGA: what word?

MARCUS: The marketing term...Yes, rebranding..Ahuh, rebranding our company as a charity venture.

SALAGA: You are sick in the head..

MARCUS: Sick!

SALAGA: Yes sick! A man spends his all acquired fortune on developing a product...after a decade of artistic development he is craving to make profit…and all you could admonish is re branding his company into a charity venture? Sick boy talk.....sick boy talk! Marcus you can't be serious.
  (Interjection)
MARCUS: Oh yes I am.

SALAGA: What! Turning the company into charity venture!

MARCUS: 1,000 pieces of paintings, we have sold only 150 over the past two years. 150 Salaga....that of course is a problem which I don't expect you a salesman to be asking me

SALAGA: My Jove! What is that supposed to mean?

MARCUS: It means what it means. It's your job Mr.Salaga; you must sell everything by close of year. End of conversation.

                                    (End of session one)

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