Sales Representative Job Description– Individual needed to convince others to do something that they otherwise would 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.

Why Aren’t There More Blacks in the Sales Profession? As a Black sales professional, or an aspirant one, you may have wondered the answer 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. The only citation evident appears to have been a doctoral work done in the late ‘70s.  As that is somewhat stale I will pose some observations on this issue for 2011. In a profession that is “rubber meets the road” for most organizations involved in manufacturing and distributing durable goods, providing financial services, and others looking to put their products/services in the hands of business to B2B end users, a simple observance would tell you that Blacks are underrepresented. There are many reasons.  I will outline some major ones:

Many organizations don’t seek out Black Sales Professionals – There are organizations that do recognize the benefit of the Black sales professional and actively hire and recruit.  More organizations need formal recruitment programs.  In B2B keep in mind that only a small portion of that should be related to reaching the African American market, it should be generally to find the best sales talent available.

Lack of Confidence – Based on the fact that most buyers are white, the Black sales professional often has many concerns regarding acceptance.  This can be a serious barrier.  Mentoring, training, and general support can help here.

Difficult 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.   Black sales professionals should be very clear about the territory that they are entering and what is expected upon hire and deployment.

Lack of mentoring - It is well observed that we need more mentors, and there are many programs out there attempting to provide more mentoring.  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.

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.

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 link will take you to the actual report.  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/sci– 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/sci – 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 Summary 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. You will note that the positive effects of mentoring are mentioned in the major areas above.  You can access Black Sales Journal 1/27, Do You Need A Mentor, Actually You Probably Need Two! Also, as we talk about  finding that new sales job in Black Sales Journal 1/24, 5 Suggested Internet Sites For Finding That New Sales Job. If you are an accomplished sales professional, consider mentoring an upcoming Black Sales professional.  It is the type of giving back that we really need. Thanks for reading, and your comments are always welcome.

I will not attempt to convince you that the annual performance discussion is a guaranteed positive moment in your life. Everyone has a different situation. This is an important milestone in your employment, and you should be prepared for this discussion as it will memorialize the past year.

The Performance Discussion

Whether it is called a performance review, a performance appraisal, or some other term, you will find this time useful in determining if your manager values you. You will be able to determine this based on the amount of preparation and forethought that the manager shows.

For some, this is a time of discovery.  You may be asked to gather baseline data that this session will be based on. In other words you will need to sift through the sales and operational statistics to determine what you have been doing for the past year. You might think that this is laziness on the part of your manager.  You might think that  you have been asked to gather the information to “hang yourself.” On the positive side it gives you the opportunity to determine your weak points, accentuate strong points, and in general fairly and cautiously spin the information in the best light, all while preserving the truth.

Scenarios–A Few Practical Examples

Here are a few examples of how you can use this activity in your favor:

Scenario 1 : You have not been successful in developing one or more portions of your territory. Your numbers show it, and you know it will be an issue.

In your self-review point out the territorial weaknesses, the reasons for the shortfall, and the objectives that you will undertake to solve the issues. Indicate interim check dates, final completion dates and intended results. In essence put together the plan for producing acceptable results. Advance the discussion toward constructive solutions that you have drafted.

Scenario 2: Your sales numbers indicate lower sales figures and close ratios than some of the other sales professionals.

If your activity generates lower production and close ratios than are the company norm, you need to consider “baking in” those lower ratios into your activity goals. It is not uncommon for Black sales professionals to have reduced close ratios yet still be effective and successful. Everyone is not your ideal customer. The reality is that you may have to work more prospective customers to get as many sales as others in your organization. You need to be prepared to point this out and have these additional numbers considered in your sales funnel or plan. Estimate your quote/proposal ratios and sales ratios in a realistic light then share these estimates in your plan if you have confidence in them.

Scenario 3: Your sales totals are lacking and your prospect base is light and lacking productivity.

Here’s where you need to consider some real changes. You need to have a plan that is aggressive, and puts in your own milestones for your goals. Take the opportunity to outline a plan (if possible) based on quarters (this is better than months) and what the numbers will be for the interim checkpoint dates. See the two examples above for examples of how you might structure this. Above all, you must have a stronger prospect base to succeed. Consider a niche for a specialty, maybe even more than one.  As you read here previously (Your Customer Needs An Expert, December 20– see Recent Posts), this can be in terms of industry, product, or maybe even geography. Check the potential of the niche in terms of availability and numbers of customers and go in with a plan to increase your prospect base. Be honest with yourself regarding the potential and do some preliminary research on the niche.

You Are the Expert On You!

Above all, as was stated in the last post,  “Be the expert on you!”.  If your sales funnel is weak you will continuously be subject to problems as you go forward. There is a “law of large numbers”. You cannot have the success that you need without some solid sourcing of perspective customers.

Remember, you cannot instill confidence in others regarding your activities if you don’t have confidence in what you are trying to accomplish.

Resources at Stake

Your access to resources like house accounts, call-in business, and accounts and prospects from terminated reps is all open territory for this annual discussion. All this is made much more easy by having a well-thought-out approach to any deficiencies in your performance. Be prepared with well documented facts and logic. As a manager of a production staff, if someone had a plan, I tended to let the plan play out if it made sense.

Let me know what you think on this issue. Send a reply!