At the just concluded training program for school suppliers and manufacturers of educational resources held on Wednesday, 6th December 2023, at The Zone Event, Gbagada, Lagos, the lead speaker, Mr Olusoji Oyawoye, highlighted some challenges bedevilling the private educational institutions in Nigeria, noting that for companies working in the sector to survive, they needed to proffer solutions to problems.
The event witnessed the presence of distinguished educationists and school owners such as the CEO of Blooming Greens School, Susan Babatunde-Yamah; the School Director, Vivian Fowler Memorial College for Girls, Funke Fowler-Amba; CEO of Hope International Schools, Dr Tolu Sodimu and the host, CEO, Edumark Consult, Yinka Ogunde.
Also in attendance were over 50 business executives representing marketing and sales units of various organizations working in different sectors such as Insurance, school furniture, laboratory equipment, safety and security, toys and playground equipment, book publishing, ethics and many more. The training featured a session on Breaking Sales Barriers and Creating New Territories in the Business of Education by the CEO of Resource Intermediaries, Mr Olusoji Oyawoye with an engaging and interactive panel discussion between school owners and business executives from different firms.
The speakers addressed attendees’ specific marketing challenges, shared insight on penetrating the Education market and helping their organizations gain traction within the education community. The speakers also shared their journeys, experiences and challenges in the education business.
Mr Oyawoye encouraged Business executives to cultivate the habit of networking at every event and gathering like religious places, professional associations/bodies, training and workshops and among colleagues at work. Attendees were also advised to repurpose their business objective from sales to building their brands through nurturing valuable relationships to create a funnel for huge sales and brand loyalists. Corroborating this was the co-founder and CEO of Edves Nigeria Limited, Mr Dare Adebayo who emphasized the need to build relationships, network within the industry, and brand consistency even in the follow-up process.
Mr Adebayo advised the participants to understand the pain points of their target audience before introducing a product to solve their problems. He noted that products and services must be adaptable to the environment and flexible in pricing.
The event concludes with the presentation of Mr Odetola Ebenezer, the CEO of Ebencuts; a creative and art enthusiast who shared his journey in the Business of Education on breaking the marketing barriers within the sector and how he identified and created an array of signature products for his brand to be recognizable today.
