It is time to ready yourself for the 2014 job search.  Factories are producing more, and buying more.  Businesses are projecting more optimism and the market is responding.  This post will help you get ready for the job hunting success that you are due.  Don’t forget that in sales you need a method to your madness.  This post will help.

Selling You! – Putting Your Best Foot Forward

I am going to give you some areas that you might want to focus on that could help you in this job search. Some of these you may have used already so this will take the form of a worthwhile reminder.  Some of these may be somewhat new.  From having hired sales professionals, I can tell you these items will enhance your chances!

I have broken this down to Stage 1 and Stage 2.  Stage 3 is negotiations for a job, and will be covered in another post.  There are items in Stage 1 which could be better relegated to Stage 2 so use your discretion:

Stage 1 of the job search effort (Discovery and Qualifcation):

1. Your Accomplishments
2. Your Sales Numbers/Statistics
3. Customer Retentions Statistics
4. Customer Testimonials
5. Special Skills or Areas of Expertise

Stage 2 of the employment effort (Proving Effectiveness):

1. Reviews/Appraisal ratings and documents
2. Income and Commission/Bonus Verification
3. Your sales agreement/contract

Be prepared! – Stage 1  Who are You?/Who are They?

Most of you have been through these stages before.  Few of us have ever been ‘gifted’ a job, so you had to work to get it.  You know they will ask for your resume and your sales numbers.  My suggestion is that you go in with all of them, neatly recorded and bound.  Remember, your competition is stiff and well prepared.  Go in with this portfolio and show your preparedness:

Your Accomplishments - A good resume featuring your accomplishments is the most solid method.  Dave G. a friend of mine and outplacement professional advises that “… the resume as an indicator of experience is lacking substance if you miss the opportunity to list bullets defining your accomplishments.” An example – “Opened new territory in Kentucky in 2010 – Exceeded sales expectations by 36%”.  If at all possible  be prepared to back up your assertion.

Your  Sales Numbers/Statistics - Gather your sales numbers and put them in their best light.  Whether it is by quarter, by month, or by product.  Know your numbers!  Be an expert on yourself! The numbers do not lie but may tell a special story. I believe you should know this story well.  Use numbers from the last two-three years, plus current, at least.

Customer Retention Statistics - In some types of sales these are important statistics.  Your retention of customers as a percentage of total customers, or retention of business in total as a percentage of total business tells a story about your ability to service and gain loyalty.

Customer Testimonials - Customers who take the time to reduce to writing your value and service to them are invaluable to you.  You should always maintain a file of these and use them appropriately. I would not solicit them, yet when offered I would gladly accept.

Areas of Specialties – Any evidence of specialities can be very important.  Volunteer evidence of your specialties and be prepared to show how this will give you an edge, and how that translates to sales and dollars for your new employer.

Take the Offensive! –  Stage 2 Proving Your Worth

Stage 2 is good ground.  I mention in the listing of items in Stage 2 that could ultimately be integral in getting the job.

Reviews/Performance Appraisal ratings and documents – I would advise that these can get personal. It is a truly a personal opinion as to whether you want to use them, although face a basic fact that they give insight as to your standing with your employer.  When you play this card, it is presumed that you have nothing to hide, and you are serious about a job.  You would only want to use this if you felt comfortable that the information that was in your review is not proprietary regarding the activities of your employer.  You may have an agreement or contract which outlines this, honor it.

Income Verification – In this noble profession, income verification is important.  No one wants to pay you significantly without knowing that you deserve it, and can get it elsewhere.  Be prepared to share an indication of salary and bonus/commission position.  This can be done in a few different ways including W2s, wage stubs, and commission/bonus reports.  Any combination of these items will probably suffice in showing income.

Sales Agreement/Contract – This document is fairly simple.  It will give confidence to anyone that you can work for them and are not restricted.  No new employer wants to be tied up in a legal swamp over the fact that you have agreed to protect materials, client lists, customers, and otherwise in an agreement you signed willingly, then violated.  You may present this in Stage 1 if asked.

Obviously the provision of these items do not guarantee success, but they can increase the probability immensely.

One last important note. I believe that you should protect your employer in terms of the sharing of proprietary information.  Any activity that results in you sharing proprietary information will result in the new employer wondering if you would do the same to them. Plan to pass that test.  Important Stuff!!!

Let us know how you feel about this….send us a comment.

Happy Martin Luther King Day!  There is no more important time than now to begin to affect your appraisal rating.  Read this post and begin the process.  You are the expert on you!  With this in mind prepare your case!  Always be prepared!

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There is no time that is more important, or as intimidating, as annual performance appraisal time.  You probably don’t think that there’s much to be gained in this process.  If so, I vigorously disagree with you.  It is an important time of the year that evaluates your performance for last year, and sets the tone for the upcoming year.  You can have significance impact in this process and document.  Because it is a lasting document, and impacts everything from your salary to your future employment I urge you to insert yourself into the process early.

The sales profession is fairly objective from the standpoint of meeting goals.  As I said a couple of posts ago, “You can lie about the numbers but the numbers don’t lie.” In the end, the numbers or lack of numbers will define your future, but your best bet is toframe the situation correctly, enunciating what you have done and what you need to strengthen.  Remember, you will have the edge, as you should “be the expert on you!”  You should know your numbers and your situation, and feel comfortable leading the conversation.  Below you will see what actual items you should take into that discussion.

You might remember the discussion that should have happened mid-year, if one did occur.  We outline some strategies for this in Black Sales Journal 7/21/2011, After a Difficult Mid-term Review….  This was a suggestion to take the offensive, and hopefully you seized upon it.  This level of proactivity may be uncomfortable, yet it is well advised if you do the homework.  There is no way to hide from the fact that everyone can see your activity and performance.

No competent sales manager is going to avoid this opportunity to tell you his or her thoughts regarding improvement.  We all can be better.   If you are already ‘on the top rung’, this could be the opportunity to get additional resources that could result help you be even more equipped for success in the future.

Additional resources could be items such as:

• A sales assistant assigned to you
• An expanded territory
• More prospects
• More house accounts

Preparation for The Session

You know whether there are problems in your performance.  You don’t need to be psychic to know this.  It is not uncommon with being in a sales job that you can be criticized for your prospecting or production numbers.  The key is that you need a plan to get back on track.   You will want to have at a minimum the items below:

• Be honest with yourself –Honest self-evaluation is the most important activity that you can undertake.
• Know your weak points – Outline them, detail them, and understand them fully.
• Know your numbers – The metrics are ultra-important, and your understanding of them is the cornerstone to succeeding.  See Black Sales Journal 2/28 – How Many Prospects do You Really Need? for some help in this area.
• Craft your solutions – Come up with real ways to repair your performance.  Reduce these to writing and be prepared to present them to the manager.  Help can be found at Black Sales Journal 11/10/2011 2012 is Here! – Solidify Your Sales Plan.
• Ask to be first – Get it over with, and avoid the anxiety of waiting to be called.  Get it behind you and get to work on the 2012 year.  If you have the above items and are prepared, you should rather be first rather than last.

Prepare Yourself for Criticism

Criticism is natural in sales, but sometimes hard to take.  Sometimes it is pride that makes it difficult, and sometimes it is just stubbornness.  Tough words are hard to take, especially if you think you are not being treated fairly.  I will provide more on fair treatment below.

If you have done the items above correctly, you will probably have selected many of the same items as your manager has selected to present to you.  So here is your opportunity to ask for the meeting, present these items to him, and show your ability to be objective.  If you do it correctly, you hopefully will have already started the activities that you are talking about.

Fair and Equitable Treatment

In any position, sales or otherwise, you run the risk of being treated differently than your peers.  This is called inequitable treatment and it may be happening for a variety of reasons.  The reason could be as simple as the manager not knowing what goals or measure they used for other sales professionals to situation where a manager who purposely differentiates his or her treatment for any number of reasons.  Among these reasons could be such items as racial preference, age or sex discrimination, or even racial prejudice.

Your remedies need to be structured based on what is actually happening.  Be careful with accusations, and remember that even though anything can happen, it is difficult to prove certain claims if you do not document everything that happens.

Remember that your human resource professional might be your most solid resource if you think you are being treated unfairly.  Don’t hesitate to discuss it, and get opinions based on what you believe, but don’t make wild claims and accusations.  Ranting might feel better, yet it will not gain you an audience.  Like the 60’s television show Dragnet suggested, “Stick to the facts”.  I would suggest you reference Black Sales Journal – 3/32011 – When You Feel ‘Screwed’ – 3 Steps to Getting Help for more on this important issue.

In business you don’t have the ability to beckon for Martin Luther King or WEB Du Bois, you need to be able to surface your grievance to someone who is paid to be objective and readily available.  Think it over first, and check your emotions at the door.

There will be more information on this in some upcoming posts.

Remember your all-important objectivity.  I know that is tough, but your self-evaluation as indicated above will give you the edge.

An Important Note

Many managers, for whatever reasons exist, ask you to do the work in constructing the actual performance evaluation.  If you are asked to write your own evaluation and bring it to your manager, then you need to be wise about the level of your self-critique.  Be selective about what you include in such areas of:

• General performance ratings
• Areas needing strengthening
• Skills that need to be acquired
• Training needs

Make sure that you give yourself some room to work, as there is only 24 hours in a day, and 365 days until this process happens again.   Focus on what can actually be done, and that which helps you the most.

The manager should not be ‘bailed out’ from giving his or her evaluation of your performance, and if you do all the work and evaluate yourself, you may rob yourself of the opportunity to hear how your boss really feels.  Additionally, I am not sure that it would be fair to have a manager essentially say, “I agree with your self-assessment’, then sign it.  They need to do their part in your development by advising you of what they perceived would help you.

Get something out of this process.

Your comments are appreciated.