On this episode of Expert and African, we document Nikki Popoola's pivotal role in Nigeria's pursuit of a reliable digital future, spanning from the 2000s to the 2020s and beyond. While at that, we also uncovered what it takes to be a sought-after salesperson. Nikki has been the Sales Director, West Africa, for WIOCC (West Indian Ocean Cable Company) powering the Open Access Data Centres (OADC), for the past seven years. For the past 23 years, she has sold a wide range of products and services beneficial to telecoms and ISPs to solve the continent's challenges. Timestamps00:00 - Sales isn't rocket science00:07 - Intro00:32 - Journey into sales01:27 - Helpful skills 02:32 - Fresh out of uni03:44 - Climbing the ladder04:49 - People buy people07:06 - Benefits11:03 - Sales is black or white13:34 - Can a sales person work in any industry?16:03 - The art of selling17:20 - The sales journey19:22 - Selling to NITEL and Telkom20:59 - Certifications aren't important22:13 - Work-life balance24:06 - Other interests24:23 - Maintaining customer relationships