Sales Representative Job Description– Individual needed to convince buyers to do something that they otherwise might not do!

Job Duties – To make this happen, you need to be able to create interest, develop relationships, clarify the product/service and its uses, close the deal, and service the customer.  Not capable of being done by a machine or robot.  Cannot be outsourced!

Why Aren’t There More Blacks in the Sales Profession?

As a Black sales professional, or an aspirant one, you may, or may not, have wondered the answers to this question.  As the question is intriguing, I attempted to research it on the basis of items written and published.  There is not much discussion in print. There is not much out there other than a couple of doctoral works done in the late ‘70s.  As those are somewhat stale I will pose some of my own observations on this issue.

Most professional sales positions interface with the ‘paying public’, also known as customers, in business-to-business (B2B) or business-to-personal (B2P).  Thus the sales profession is where the “rubber meets the road” for most organizations involved in manufacturing and distributing durable and non-durable goods as well as personal and business services.

Simple observance would tell you that Blacks are underrepresented in the nation’s professional force.  Whether it is sales positions in large thriving organizations, or sales positions in small and medium sized firms, there are very few organizations that have “too many” Black sales professionals.

There are several reasons why Blacks never get exposed to professional sales positions:

Many Qualified Blacks Avoid Jobs with an Uncertain Income – Those of you who are in sales know that many of your friends and your relatives marvel at the fact that you can’t tell them how much money you will make next year.  In the Black community jobs involving only commission are intimidating and not highly sought after.  Positions that have compensation schemes that involve salary are much more desirable.  Positions that have variations of the two (salary and commission) such as salary and bonus, or a salary draw plus commission garner suspicion because income at risk is not as desirable as a good salary.

Many organizations don’t seek out Black Sales Professionals – There are organizations that do recognize the benefit of the Black sales professional and actively recruit and hire.  Many large organizations have formal recruitment programs and planned goals as they measure hiring and retention of their minority sales talent.    The converse of this is that mid-sized and smaller businesses do not actively seek entry-level sales recruits with or without college educations.  These organizations lack formal sales training programs and thus expect candidates to come into the job with sales experience, and some indication of success.  This can be limiting for aspirant Black candidates, as they must attempt to garner the experience somewhere before getting the most desirable sales positions.

Mobility within organizations – When Black college seniors are recruited they enter the organization through the sales operation.  That makes sales jobs a gateway position.  Many recruits that enter in this way find mobility within the organization and move to positions, even promotions that are more desired. Using the sales position as a portal to get inside an organization is fair, and a good way to work the system. This means that Black professionals in both simple and complex organizations migrate throughout the organization after finding success in the sales job.  Many new Black college graduates have little desire to be a career sales professional, but are highly desirous of getting on with a quality organization.  Many of those quality organizations that hire and train Black professionals allow them upward and lateral mobility within the organization, as these professionals are a known quantity and stable performing minorities are needed.

Lack of confidence – Based on the fact that most buyers are white, the Black sales professional often has many concerns regarding acceptance, preference, and possibility of success.  Depending on the firm that is in question, this might be only a perception, but it can be a serious and a limiting problem.  How many times have students or aspiring professionals indicated to me that they don’t think they could do the sales job?  More than I could ever count.  In reality many of them could do it, but they are intimidated by the nature of the job…. they lack confidence. Although mentoring, training, and general support can help a professional gain confidence, success is the best catalyst to creating that aura of confidence.

‘Bad’ assignments – Often when a Black sales professional is hired, they are more likely to get a difficult assignment.  Sometimes that assignment is related to an area or territory which has languished, or a company trying to reach Black businesses.   Have no doubt -Black sales professionals should be very clear about the territory that they are entering and should have agreement on what is expected upon hire and deployment. Hiring a Black sales professional in hopes that individual is going to handle Black businesses is unfair and limiting.  If you agree to it, that is ok (even though it is limiting).  I consider it a form of discrimination.  Your universe of prospects should be the similar in composition to all of the other sales professionals if your territory is similar to other sales representatives.  This scenario happens too often and can result in failure on the job.

Lack of mentoring - It is well known that we need more mentors to help Black sales professionals learn to navigate the sales environment.  As you will see later in this book, that need for mentors spans both an understanding of the intricacies of the organization as well as the sales environment.  Consequently, the sales professional may need more than one mentor.  Mentoring will help professionals who need to know more about the sales profession, the market, and the organization.  We need to increase this activity to fill the void, as it is obvious that there are deficiencies in this regard.  Organizations need to provide more mentoring, yet mentoring from outside the organization can be effective as well. Mentoring, when done right, represents a way to give experience, expertise, advice, and support.

Lack of training and support – Organizations who hire should attempt to provide the proper training and support. As they have made the first move, now they need to give the Black sales professional the opportunity to succeed. The Black Sales professional should request details about training, and ongoing support prior to accepting a position.

Retention of Black sales professionals is difficult – Much of this is based on what is above.  A solid Black sales professional has many talents, and if thwarted by the points shown above, they will move to other sales positions, and possibly to other occupations.  Having them move out of sales positions keeps the numbers anemic, but also makes managers wary in the hiring process.  This is not favorable for other Black sales professionals.

Why is it Important? – The Professional Sales Outlook 2012 – 2018

The importance of this issue is based on the fact that as many occupations languish, professional sales is projected to grow through 2018. Let’s quickly look at the number of sales positions available.   The source of this information is the United States Department of Labor.  This report projects through 2018. A quick look at the sales profession in this jobs report will show the following information:

Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Mfg. 1,973,000

Sales Whsl. and Mfg. (Excl Tech and Sci)      1,540,000

Sales Whsl. and Mfg. (Tech and Sci)               433,000

The jobs pay well in the overall also:

• Wage estimates ex tech/scientific– Median $51,920, with the 75^th percentile showing $74,310 in the overall.  This is wage, and does not include commissions or bonuses.
• Wage estimates tech/scientific – Median $71,300 with the 75^th percentile showing $100,910 overall.  This is wage, and does not include commissions or bonuses.

Total sales employment for 2018 is projected to rise to 2,116,400 by 2018 for a 7% projected increase. All of the numbers shown are from the May 2009 DOL Report. Almost all sales positions have some arrangement regarding bonus or commission, although some sales positions are commission only.

In a country that has a reduced focus on manufacturing products, the occupation of sales has increased in importance.  This importance comes from selling US manufactured goods as well as goods manufactured outside the US to businesses in our country.  This is basically the essence of distribution. In professional sales, you cannot successfully outsource distribution.   It will be domestic, and almost all of it will be face-to-face.

Your comments are appreciated.

Your Manager – “You are not getting it done.  Your territory is underdeveloped, and we are prepared to go in a different direction.  We are prepared to terminate you effective immediately.”  He goes on to say, “However, if you would prefer to resign we would be willing to extend some benefits that you would not get otherwise.  We would request you produce a letter of resignation and sign a severance agreement.”

You – “I am not sure of what I should do?  I need to think about it.  I will get back to you tomorrow.”

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There is nothing gracious about this moment.  There will potentially be a moment when you realize that you are probably going to be taking your talents elsewhere. Of course it may not be your choice.

Since there is nothing gracious about any of it, you should understand that in most cases as this is not personal, it is business.  Business can be cold sometimes…actually frigid might be a better word.

Let’s talk about a decision that could affect your future.  The implications affect both your current and future employment, and you should know them now as when the going gets rough, you don’t want to be deliberating while steeped in emotion.

Should I Resign?

Most sales professionals will deal with this in their lives at some point.  Whether it is because of lack of ability, weak product, poor territory, out-of-line pricing, or some other factor, it is not uncommon to reach the end of the line with your employer.  The Black sales professional have even a little more to be concerned about as credibility for future jobs comes at a premium.

If you have been on a sales performance program (see BSJ 4/30, Are You on a Sales Performance Program?  Can You Beat it?) you recognize that one of the common features is that there is usually a trigger date; that date which termination is imminent.  On this date you are going to have to make this important decision.

Apart from the obvious reasons for importance, you are faced with some important alternatives.  Here is why it is important:

• Concerns with Unemployment Compensation –you normally don’t get it if you voluntarily leave your position.
• Your need for employee benefits – this problem happens whether you resign or are fired.
• Your credibility and marketability to other employers in future years may be preserved.  This is not as prevalent in sales, but certainly is true in other occupations.

When you face this moment, you must realize that the sales occupation is a little bit different than many other professions in the fact that terminations are not wholly uncommon.  In almost all situations, the objective of the employer is to quickly end the employment relationship.

At this point, you may want out as well, it is how it is done that is important.  In some states and situations, resigning can rob you of the rights to your unemployment benefits.   These benefits could be your lifeline while you are out of work.

Resigning may give you an opportunity to negotiate the terms of your resignation.  A lot depends on the strength of the ‘case’ against you and how badly they want you out.  Negotiation may be a strong word in this case, but you might be able to get some better terms for your termination.

Should I Get Fired?

Being fired evokes strong emotions.  Obviously it is a still a termination, but it sometimes creates a feeling of powerlessness and victimization.

Aside from the emotional, this termination can have its good and bad points as well:

• You normally get a severance package.  Nothing comes without exacting some price, and in this case it probably will be your right to an employment action of any type.  Remember, once you sign the severance agreement, you are ‘toast’ regarding any action that you may later seek.
• Most sales professionals don’t get fired for doing something egregiously wrong; they get fired for not producing the right sales numbers.
• Sales differs from many other jobs in that there is a minimal stigma to getting fired for lack of production or effectiveness.

Terminated for Cause?

This is the exception to all of the rules.  If you have done any of the ‘infractions’ that result in a legitimate termination for cause, you could potentially leave with nothing.

These infractions include, but are not limited to:

• Intentional acts of fraud against the company
• Stealing from your employer
• On the job drinking or drug use (as defined by the employee handbook)
• Intentional breech of company policies
• Wanton damage to company property

Some Points to Remember

We are talking about sales personnel, and that is a defining point.  I am pointing out the fact that even the best sales professionals find themselves in situations that result in termination.  They move on and find success elsewhere.  It is the way it goes.

When your previous company is contacted regarding your role there, they are extremely limited as to what they will say.  They normally only give the following information:

• Verification of employment and title
• Verification of dates of employment
• Verification of salary at termination

Larger firms stick to these numbers and go no further.  None of this is incriminating.

Make a wise decision based on calculated information.

Always be prepared

Your comments are welcome.