Richard Siayojie, born in 1980 in Njombé, Cameroon, aims to transform sales in Africa. He doesn't just train salespeople, but aspires to create a new category: the "Vendeurs de Race" (Salespeople of Race). His atypical journey, from selling bananas at the age of 14 to holding commercial management positions in large companies, fuels his unique approach.
Since 2022, Siayojie has been leading Projection Company, a firm specializing in training and supporting sales forces. His approach, centered on "King Selling," places the customer at the heart of the commercial strategy. According to him, the salesperson must analyze the market, identify problems, propose suitable solutions, and serve the customer like a king. This method was born from a series of personal experiences where he observed a lack of customer focus in service.
Projection Company claims to have trained over 3,000 salespeople and coached over 300 general managers. The company highlights around twenty publications and positions itself favorably in sales expert rankings. However, these figures, while impressive, require independent analysis to confirm their actual scope.
Siayojie's influence is evident through his collaborations with companies such as Tractafric Cameroon and Boissons du Cameroun, as well as his participation in conferences in Nairobi, Dakar, and Paris. Testimonials from clients, such as Moïse Ebele from Tractafric Equipment and Fadimatou Aboubakary from SECA Cameroon, report significant improvements in their commercial performance thanks to Projection Company's method. Yves Toucasse, from the Canadian company ChallengePlus, also testifies to the effectiveness of Siayojie's approach in structuring a sales force.
Despite these successes, questions remain about the reproducibility of his method. Does "King Selling" rely on the charisma and energy of its founder, or can it be standardized and transmitted to others? Furthermore, his discourse, which mixes personal development and commercial engineering, could obscure the importance of other key factors in sales, such as prices, distribution, and competition.
Richard Siayojie's emphasis on sales as a strategic function is relevant in an African context where many companies prioritize production over commercial structuring. He highlights the need to put the customer back at the center of concerns and to professionalize sales professions. His initiative to give salespeople a language, professional dignity, and a community is a major asset.
Richard Siayojie has identified a blind spot in economic performance in Africa and has undertaken to structure it. His current challenge is to formalize and transmit his method beyond his own person. For "King Selling" to become a true school, it will need to equip itself with robust indicators and prove its sustainability.
