Joe Makuza Hasst Media

Marketing, Sales & Business Systems · Kigali

Growth should not depend on whoever happens to be paying attention that day.

I find what is really holding a business back — marketing, sales, follow-up, or the systems between them — then build what it actually needs.

I find what's holding your business back, then build what it actually needs.

Find where your growth leaks See selected work
$70K
generated in six months for a US sales teamin six months
30–50
sales calls booked a month for US businessescalls a month
3
markets: Rwanda, Zambia, United Statesmarkets
Joe Makuza speaking, seated in a studio
Joe MakuzaHasst Media

01 Point of view

Attention is not a customer.

Paying for attention with nowhere to put it is the problem. If nobody captures it, follows up and tracks it, the money leaks.

The most common growth plan right now is to pay for attention: a following, a boosted post, an event stand. The views and messages arrive. Then nobody records who asked, nobody follows up, and two weeks later nothing has changed. Nobody can say why, because nothing was tracked.

Influencers are not the problem. Paying for attention when there is nowhere to put it is the problem.

The problem may be bigger than marketing. It could be

  • marketing,
  • sales,
  • the offer,
  • customer experience,
  • follow-up,
  • or the systems connecting them.

So I don't start with “what should we post?” I start by finding out which of these is actually holding the business back.

02 In Joe's words

Seven minutes on why attention alone doesn't grow a business.Watch Joe explain it in 7 minutes.

6:58

03 The growth system

Four things have to work, in order.

Each part only pays off if the one before it holds. A gap anywhere is where the money leaks.

  1. 01

    Attract

    Are the right people noticing and understanding the business?

  2. 02

    Capture

    When someone is interested, do we record who they are and what they need?

  3. 03

    Convert

    Does the team know how to guide the buyer, make the right offer, and follow up?

  4. 04

    Measure

    Can the owner see which sources, offers and actions produce customers?

What you measure decides what you attract next.

Two-minute growth check

Where is your growth leaking?

Answer honestly. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere. It just shows which part of the system to look at first.Four quick questions. Nothing is saved.

01 Do the right people regularly find your business and understand what you offer?
02 When someone shows interest, is it recorded — who, when, and where they came from?
03 Can someone other than you sell properly and follow up without being reminded?
04 Could you say, right now, where your last ten customers came from?

These are not four separate services. They are one system.

Fixing one piece in isolation rarely changes the number. The work starts by finding which part is leaking.

04 A diagnosis, not a prescription

A restaurant asked for more customers.

The request is where the conversation starts. It is rarely where the answer is.

  1. The request

    “We need more customers.”

    The obvious answer would be more ads, more posts, more traffic.

  2. The hidden leverage

    A loyal customer base was already there.

    Regulars who came back without being asked.

  3. One possible idea

    One idea was a VIP membership for those regulars.

    An idea from the diagnosis, not something implemented.

  4. The lesson

    Find the leverage already inside the business before paying for new attention.

Anonymised. Shared to show the thinking, not as a result.

05 Selected work

Built in the field, not in theory.

Every piece of work is shown the same way: the problem, the thinking, the work, and an honest status.

01

NGB Logistics: freight and logistics in Kigali

Current work

Asked for sales training. Ended with two websites and automatic quote capture, now used with US clients.

Problem
The owner asked for sales training for his team.
Thinking
The business already had established customers in Rwanda and abroad. The real gap was visibility: international clients and expats needed an official place to see the business, and a reliable way for enquiries to reach the team.
Work
Sales training. AI tools training for the salesperson, finance and the owner. Two websites for two related businesses. Quote requests on both sites captured automatically and logged in a spreadsheet.
Status
Live and in use. The owner now sends the websites to his US clients.
02

Remote sales for US service businesses

Ongoing · remote

Helped generate $70,000 in six months. Now booking 30–50 sales calls a month.

Problem
A US marketing company selling advertising to auto-service shops (window tint, PPF and similar) wanted to grow sales, but had never built the outbound process properly.
Thinking
Prove the process with one person before scaling it, then turn what works into a repeatable system.
Work
Test case for the external sales team as an SDR. Then appointment setting for 3–8 shops at a time: scripts, follow-up rhythms, a CRM (GoHighLevel) and automation.
Status
Helped generate $70,000 in business in six months. Today: 30–50 sales calls booked a month.

What it taught me Landing pages and video that sell, why the offer matters, and how CRM and follow-up turn interest into booked conversations. The same system I now bring to businesses here.

03

Saladmaster: running sales, then opening a new market

Previous role · Rwanda → Zambia

Ran sales, recruitment and operations for $1,500–$15,000 cookware. Where I learned to close high-value deals.

Problem
Premium cookware ($1,500–$15,000 a set) in a market where buyers need a lot of convincing before they spend.
Thinking
At that price, the sale is won in the presentation. Build the value before the price is ever mentioned.
Work
In Rwanda: sales training, recruitment, the back office and day-to-day problems — effectively the whole operation. Then proposed Zambia as a new market and went with one colleague to open it.
Status
The Zambia expansion didn't take hold. It gave me a real education in running a business day to day, and in closing high-value deals in African markets.
04

Ideal Kitchens: door-to-door sales in Zambia

Previous role · Zambia

Built the sales process, trained the team, and closed about $30,000 personally.

Problem
A kitchen and cupboard company selling door to door, without a defined sales process.
Thinking
Field sales only scales if everyone works the same playbook — and people learn it by doing, not in a classroom.
Work
Designed the sales process, trained the team, and led them in the field, knocking doors across new real-estate developments.
Status
Around $30,000 in sales closed personally over a few months.

06 How Joe works

Nothing gets built before the problem is clear.

Talk → Diagnose → Scope → Build → Train & Support

  1. 01

    Talk

    A short conversation about what is happening in the business.

  2. 02

    Diagnose

    Look at marketing, sales, offer, experience and follow-up together.

  3. 03

    Scope

    Agree in writing what will be fixed, and why.

  4. 04

    Build

    The simplest thing that fixes the real problem.

  5. 05

    Train & Support

    Your team learns to run it without Joe in the room.

Worth knowing

The original request often changes once the real problem is understood. That is the point of diagnosing first.

07 Fit

This works best for some businesses.This is not for everyone.

Saying who this is not for protects your time as much as Joe's.

A good fit

  • An operating business with real customers
  • Real activity: marketing, sales or enquiries already happening
  • A sense that something is leaking, even if you can't see where
  • Willing to look honestly at the whole system

Not for everyoneNot for you if…

  • You want random posts with no wider plan
  • You want a quick tactic, not a diagnosis
  • You want a complicated system because it looks impressive
  • You want guaranteed results without changing how the business operates

The first conversation is a diagnosis, not a pitch.

Start a fit conversation on WhatsApp.

Tell Joe what is happening in the business. If he isn't the right person to help, he'll say so.

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