Business relationships are special.  They are constantly fragile, but durable enough to ward off competition.  No matter what happens in your business relationship, and no matter how close they feel, don’t forget that you are always safer keeping your language on the formal side.  Yes…I am saying that you never know what might offend someone.  Sales professionals are notorious for dropping an ‘F-Bomb’ in the heat of a conversation.  Is it worth it?

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Business and personal sales requires that a sales professional builds and cultivates relationships.  That position plays the role of relationship manager. All other relationships pivot on the relationship that the sales professional generates.  For those who have sold for years, you know all of this.  Much of this post is for our younger sales professionals.

As relationship manager, it is obvious that each relationship will be different, and will vary in depth.  That is the way relationships work in business and in personal life.  We all believe that we evaluate our relationships carefully, yet that evaluation comes with our own judgmental biases and perspectives.

The comfort of a relationship can lead us to speak and act in ways that are too casual.  I am speaking of the usage of slang and colloquial terms and phrases in your business relationships, as well as on the job in your own workplace.

Your Customer

If you are a Black sales professional, it is most likely that your customer and you coworkers come from a totally different background than you.  Life experiences buildperceptions (Remember the 3Ps, Perceptions, Preference,  Prejudice and Your Customer – Black Sales Journal 12/27) which one carries until they are ready to give them up.  The danger of slang in a business relationship is that you do know when a word or phrase validates a perception that a buyer might have.

This does not mean that you cannot say all slang, yet slang that is culturally significant when you are still in the relationship building stage could be unacceptable.  I will admit to my guilt in using culturally biased slang with some customers.  Usually it was long, well developed relationships where I exercised that ‘privilege’.  The length of some of those relationships was decades, and I was well familiar with their views, and the customer with mine.  I was lucky, and still probably should have been a little more antiseptic.

Is This a Big Issue?

I don’t think this is a big issue, yet for some of our emerging talent, it should be heard.  Forming relationships is hard work.  You need consistency and some personal protocol.  This is one of those things that must be remembered.

We all have a way of feeling comfort.  It can be a review of your relationship with a customer, or having the strength of a relationship confirmed by a new large order.  If you are wrong in your level of comfort you might seem crass, or you might spark something that chips away at a relationship.

Culturally biased slang includes language that in the Black community would not necessarily be offensive, yet we are not often selling to the Black community.  Even when we are, we want to have a solid idea of who our customer is, and what our boundaries are.  I suggest that it is easier to be in a business mode, and not take the risks unless you are certain of your customer and your relationship.

Your Work Environment

The work environment is a territory that you will know better than your customer.  Even in this territory, you should recognize the limitations that you should impose on yourself.  The workplace should always be considered “foreign” territory.  A familiar place for doing what you do to earn money, and make a career, yet a place that quite often has a set of rules that you have become comfortable with, even if your coworkers are barely comfortable with you.

None of this is bad at all.  Being at work is earning a living.  I had the fortune of working at a place that accepted my cultural differences and allowed me to grow.  All places don’t offer that haven, so your judgment is important here.

I was not the first Black sales professional that worked there, yet I was their first Black sales manager.  By the time I worked in that role, there were things that I said that I wish I could have taken back.  I learned on the job, and learned the hard way.  We all will not work for a solid and forgiving organization.

If you follow the same rules that you should use with customers at your job, you will never lose.  It will be easy to remember, and you will not turn anyone off.  Remember, taking back things you have uttered is like trying to “put toothpaste back in the tube.”

A Simple Example

Many years ago I was on a sales call with a sales professional who the customer told some difficult news, to which he uttered “That Sucks!” Think about that comment, and apply it to business relationships 12 years ago when it was even more sensitized.  The response from the customer was a face that I interpreted as being taken aback.

Now, quite frankly, there were many words that could have been used there, yet the one that came to mind did not sit well with the buyer, who was an older female.  When we left the call and were in the parking lot, I coached that this was not an appropriate comment.  I believe it was for laughs to a degree as there were several people in the room, yet that only means that there could have been several people offended (I don’t believe there were, yet our buyer appeared to be).

I believe that the sales rep took it to heart and appeared very professional in other calls.  I also believe that he apologized to the buyer who quickly stated that it “was fine.”  Fact is that it should not have been done.

How About Profanity?

I once had a manager who could use profanity, and no one ever seemed bothered by it.  Now, I don’t know if they were, as I was not polling, yet there were never any repercussions.  He was well accepted, and had a way about how he did it that desensitized.  I never felt I would have been that blessed.

The fact is that Black professionals should be careful about using profanity for more reasons than I could list in this journal.  It is easier to keep it clean, and be expressive and emphatic.  I believe there is no place for it in our day-to-day public image with the customer or employer.

Remember to always be the consummate professional.

We welcome your comments. You can reach me at Michael.Parker@BlackSalesJournal.com.

The presentation gives you the opportunity that you need to secure prospects and customers.  The presentation can envelop customers and clients and hold them firmly while you show value and solutions. The most important aspect of this is your recognition of who this presentation is for…. the attendee. Let’s take a look at some ways that you can fulfill your etiquette responsibilities.  Whether you have a solid presentation or not, everyone notices the things you do incorrectly  from an etiquette standpoint.

An ‘I’ Problem

Years ago I was in a presentation for financial products as a potential customer. The seminar/sales presentation was entitled “Retirement Moves You Should Make Now! It took place at a local hotel, and there were three speakers.  Each of them was noted as an expert in the field of retirement products, strategies, and investments. The three of them spoke for approximately 15 minutes each, and it was evident to me that they were all experts in their subject matter as they had been billed.  I quickly learned that two of them were ‘experts’ on themselves and felt it necessary to tell us over and over.  The other was a great speaker. It got a little sickening hearing them talk about all of the people that they ‘saved’ and how they were preeminent and what others did that could not compare.

“I did this…” and “I did that…” makes for a difficult presentation.  How long can you listen to it?  There are some rules and we will cover them later, but for the preservation of good audiences out there, you can talk about situations and examples without droning on incessantly with the word “I’!

They also did some other rather annoying things.  There were presentation slides with little wording and  numerous presentations featuring cartoons. One of the presenters dined on a piece of hard candy during his whole talk and could not keep it quietly in his mouth. I considered this actual presentation rude and a waste of time given the fact that I was supposed to be there to hear how their products and strategies could help me be able to have a happy and fulfilling retirement. What did they do wrong?  Based on the title of the seminar (and the fact that I understood that it was sales related.  The problem lies in that I just got a basic ‘bait and switch’.  The did not tell me how I could retire well, unless the answer to that is just to turn it all over to their operation.

What Are the Rules?

Here are some things that I am going to suggest that will help you as simple guide to the most vexing etiquette issues:

• Write or display your name prominently
• Establish eye contact
• Be Prepared
• Never waste a customer’s time
• Dress “up” at least one level
• Speak clearly and with intent
• Do not read slides or copy to your audience
• Get rid of the ‘uhs’, ‘ums’, and ‘you knows’
• No candy or gum
• Mind your time
• Take questions with a smile

Above all, remember that the presentation is not for you, but for the audience.  The quickest way to lose the audience is to forget this important point.

Write your name prominently – Always include contact information.  Some people are hesitant to ask questions as they forget the name of the presenter or do not know how to contact him/her. If you have a difficult to pronounce name, spell it phonetically to help them get it right.

Establish eye contact – Then you will want to keep it.  If you are going to read or focus on your slides then send it to everyone in an email.

Be Prepared - Prepare and practice, then make sure that you have prepared for the presentation and the things that go wrong such as overhead projector bulbs, media that does not work, and compatibility issues with others equipment.  Your audience deserves better.  Have paper copies ready.

Never waste a customer’s or prospect’s time – Avoid useless material, cartoons, and novelties.  Realize that the fewest slides and the most meaningful content is what you need, and what your customers deserve.

Dress ‘Up” a level – Presenters should be properly dressed, which means that they should be dressed that when every one else is casual, a tie should be the mode of dress.  Your appearance is important.

Speak clearly – No one is going to ask you more than once to repeat yourself.  They will just tune you out and begin to doodle.  Speak clearly and with intent for all to hear.

Do not read slides - The rudest action of all is to read slides or text to your audience. You might as well send the content to them and let them be read it for themselves.

Get rid of the ‘Ums’, ‘Ahs’, ‘like’, and ‘you knows’- Nothing, I repeat nothing drives an audience mad like the chorus of these three phrases.

Lose the candy or gum – This one is easily self -explanatory.

Manage Your Time – Proper breaks and adherence to the schedule is in your audience best interest, and remember, “It is all about the audience”.  If you need to, assign someone in the front row to help you manage time.

Always leave time for questions – Did I forget to advise that, “It is all about the audience?” Advise them of the format for questions and honor it. Leave ample time for questions.

Have Your ‘I’s’ Checked

As I spoke of in the practical example, the last thing you want to have is an “I” problem.  That is of course when you start talking about yourself and don’t know when to stop.  If you are selling a product or service it cannot be about you.  You will alienate many, and not sell anything. Tell your qualifications and credentials quickly, and then deal with what you are there to do.  Keep it short, and give a link to a bio if they want to get assurance that you are the real deal.

Remember, the best presenter is the one who gives the audience what they need.

Be the best.

Your comments are welcome. Your comments are welcome.  You can reach me at Michael.Parker@BlackSalesJournal.com.