Eye-Read ~ eye red
- Nii lante Mills
- Jun 12
- 4 min read
Updated: Jun 13
~it means to be serious and desperate over a thing or a situation.
A Sales Lesson from the Streets.
A Nigerian comedian once cracked a joke that’s both hilarious and oddly insightful. He said there was a time in Lagos when a street hawker noticed a couple fiercely arguing in their car. The hawker, after watching them for a while, casually approached and asked,
“Oga, make I bring cutlass?”
It was a joke, of course, but behind the humour was a brilliant sales lesson I picked up. What the hawker did was instinctively smart. He read the situation, studied his “market,” and offered a “product” that fit the mood—even if exaggerated. That, right there, is what we call understanding consumer behaviour and I believe everyone who is involved in some form of sales and marketing should pay attention to.
In Accra—and increasingly across Ghana—street hawkers are part of our everyday urban experience. I travel a lot and one of my favourite spots is just before the Akosombo bridge, where I usually get "aboloo" and fish. Many of these traders may not have formal education, but don’t let that fool you. These are some of the smartest marketers and sales experts you’ll ever encounter and we can learn a lot from them if we pay attention.
They sell under the most intense conditions: no shop, no signage, no social media ads, no brand influencers, no budgets, and no billboards. Just product, hustle, and keen attention to human behaviour. They don’t have time to waste. Every red light is a shot at income. If they miss it, they go home hungry. I once saw a video where a YouTuber (Scanty) bought everything a hawker was selling at 11pm, because she was still on the streets trying to make ends meet. These people hustle and it’s not easy. I guess that’s what we call being eye-read: intense, serious, desperate to sell at all costs. Their approach to sales is a practical application of a key marketing principle known as CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR.
Why Consumer Behaviour Matters
Consumer behaviour refers to the study of how individuals make decisions to spend their resources—time, money, and effort on consumption. It's about knowing what your customer wants, how they think, and what influences their choices. The hawkers have no time to wait for customers to “get back to them.” Traffic may only last for 30 seconds, and if they miss that moment, the sale is gone forever. This makes them highly observant and incredibly proactive.
They don’t just wait to be chosen by the customer; they choose the customer.
One of the most effective tactics hawkers use is eye contact. When you make eye contact with a hawker, you’ve unknowingly sent a signal—an invitation. That simple look is interpreted as interest, and in that brief window, they move in with a pitch. You see this play out especially when several vendors are offering the same product—bofrot, sachet water, plantain chips. In such moments, the hawker who reads the customer quickest often makes the sale. This informal market environment is what economists call a form of perfect competition—many sellers offering similar products, none with significant market power. Sellers must work harder to differentiate themselves, often relying on personal hygiene, creativity, or better positioning.
Why “Eye-Read” is a good Marketing and Sales Strategy
“Eye-read” (a local phrase for eye red) captures the desperation and determination to close a deal. These sellers are constantly observing, reading faces, predicting needs, and initiating micro-pitches with body language, tone, and persistence. This isn’t just hustle—it’s applied psychology. It’s marketing. It’s sales. It’s survival. As entrepreneurs and marketers, we’re constantly evolving, finding new ways of doing things, researching, scaling up, being innovative and sometimes it can get frustrating and stagnating. All, just to hit our targets and sell our products, services or ideas. Perhaps, we must pause and look around us to learn from these hawkers. Sometimes, we can learn the most profound lessons from places which are very obscure.
My suggestions:
Always identify your customer
Don’t sell to everyone. Watch closely and pick out who shows signs of interest.
Observe before you pitch
Don’t jump in with your offer. Watch for cues—body language, eye movement, hesitation.
Make your move at the right time
Like the hawker in traffic, your window to pitch may be small. Be ready.
Be “eye-read”
Be intentional, alert, and proactive. Desperation isn’t a flaw when it's focused—it’s drive.
Know your market
Whether in a perfect competition or a niche space, find a way to stand out.
The next time you’re stuck in traffic and a hawker approaches your window, pay close attention. You might just be witnessing a masterclass in real-time marketing. And maybe, just maybe, you’ll realise that even in the streets, consumer behaviour is the secret sauce that keeps the hustle alive. Wishing you the best in your sales journey.
Nii Lante Mills, MBA.
Co-Founder: Pemia Digital
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