There are some areas of  the sales arena that you do not control.  When it comes to aspects that you do control, always be the best!  Seek to improve incrementally at the least.  Read this post to see how to structure your improvements where they will do the most good.

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Some athletes are amazing individuals.  Many develop a skill set, and let their skills take them to the top of their craft.  If they are fortunate enough, they get a chance in college, or even the professional ranks.

In this process they learn something during that journey that many other individuals don’t get the opportunity to experience.  From the time that you show some mastery of your craft, and even become accomplished, the coach is searching for your replacement!  Yes…someone to knock you off of your perch.

It is natural, and taken for granted.  For example, if you are a sophomore college athlete in basketball, you will be asked to show other athletes around campus in hopes that they will attend.  Any one of these athletes can be your competition for your position…Yes, your potential replacement!  You do it willingly and accept it, as that is how you initially became acquainted with the campus and met the players; that is just the way it is.

Be keen on this issue as in the light of competition, you will recognize the need to do something to get better or be concerned about being replaced, regardless of your color!

Let’s Be Systematic

The sales process for an individual is complicated but simple.  Simple from the standpoint of the components:

• Territory Management/Situational Assessment
• Prospecting/Prospect Management
• Sales Skills/ Training/Development

Underlying each of these is the last portion of the professional process:

• Continuous Improvement

Each of these has its particular role and we should examine them, as each professional needs to govern their own improvement.

Territory Management – Situational Assessments – Black sales professionals need to know and manage their territories just like any other professional.  Knowing the clientele, the buying habits, and the effects of external stimuli such as the economy.  Just as important is being strong at doing situational assessments, which is the ability to ‘read’ sales situations correctly.  Is this buyer ready to buy, and will he/she buy from me?  Am I being played and at what cost?  What proof sources or references do I need to increase my credibility?  What do I need to do to get the edge?  Assessing the situation and recognition of special circumstances are important.

Improving the activities around territory management and situational analysis makes a difference.  Some improvement comes with experience, and some with good analysis.

Prospecting/Prospect Management – Improvement here is one that some veterans might not feel is as important, but many others will see the need to get markedly better.  The act of prospecting, and pipeline management should never be neglected, and any attempts to improve are well worth it.  From knowing your formulas to the actual pitches that you use, prospect sourcing is that one area that demands continuous improvement, and continuous attention.  Get better at the act of prospecting, and know your numbers to a ‘fault’.  Regarding actual technique you might read Black Sales Journal 11/28/11 Tuning Up Your Cold Calling and Phone Etiquetteor Black Sales Journal 3/22/12, Are You Playing Roulette or Working Smart?

Sales Skills/Training/Development – Have you ever thought about whether a sales training course or seminar will help you?  Have you ever pondered buying that paperback about sales but just did not want to pay the steep $16.00 price?  Well, at least you have thought about these items…now do it!  Courses and seminars are not for everyone, but you would be wrong to count them all out.  Whether it is for skills development or motivation, investigate them well and take the plunge.  The ‘morsel’ that you need to improve might be right there waiting.  Other sales professionals can help by making suggestions, but whether it is a good book or an informative seminar, try it, you may like it.

Continuous Improvement – Easier than You Think!

Continuous improvement includes activities from self-study course work to getting an advanced degree.  It can include anything from changing your sales methods to learning a new method of closing sales.  There are sales professionals working on all aspects of their skills with seminars, college coursework, professional sales skills coursework, and a multitude of other types of self-improvement.

Determine the areas that can use improvement, and just …do something!  I can’t think of one sales professional who would not benefit from a seriously good negotiation course.  If it is not new material, it can serve as a refreshing.

Remember, there is always someone who wants to take your place, no matter what you think of the rigors of your sales position, and they may be sharpening their skills.

Always be the best.

Your comments are welcome.

If you are like many of us, there will be a time in your career that things will go wrong.  You will potentially feel slighted if you don’t  get equal or fair treatment, including important resources like preferred territories, distribution of prized or house accounts, or even issues regarding salary increases or promotions as compared to your peers.

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This problem can be vexing in the sales workplace.  You might feel embarrassed, emasculated, and even paralyzed, yet need to have answers.  Your job is important to you and your family, so you must take care to do this correctly.  It is also difficult because you feel powerless to affect outcomes when you believe management is working against you.

Yes, you feel your options are limited as you are working hard to insure that you keep your job, yet your results don’t always put you in a position of strength.  Frankly, I have been there.

What Are Your Options?

There are some things you can do; yet you need to do them correctly.  I am going to give you an example:

Problem -Distribution of orphaned accounts and prospects to favored sales representatives.

As a sales professional you know how refreshing it is to get customers and prospects that you do not have to prospect for.  Customers who get the introduction to you as their new representative  feel instant credibility based on the organization that you work for and will give you a chance to consummate the relationship by your actions.  That credibility can be very important to a Black sales professional.   I also talk about “the spoils of sales” and how the distribution of business and prospects can help, or hinder.  I made references to situations like this in Black Sales Journal December Post of Preference, Perceptions, Prejudice and Your Employer.  Feel free to take another look at it.

When you are seeing these accounts distributed to other sales executives who have less experience, less product or service knowledge, and less tenure than you have, it can be disheartening.  This happened to me years ago when I was a sales representative.  You may feel powerless, but you should not feel voiceless.

I was pretty good at selling commercial insurance products to medium and large businesses in the Chicago metropolitan area many years ago.  I was also proud of the organization that I worked for 5 years (eventually I retired from virtually the same organization with 32 years).  You can imagine what I felt like when in the midst of various situations where there were several distributions of prospects and accounts and I received literally nothing.

What I did was simple.  If faced with the problem, you should do it as well:

STEP # 1 – Research your sales record and your effort and be brutally honest

Be honest with yourself about your record, which will buttress you case, as well as the situation.  Did you handle a previous situation like this poorly?  Take an honest account.

• Seek Counsel - Find someone (a sales colleague or another sales professional) who is objective that you can seek honest counsel with and really listen to his or her response.
• Review Your Activities - Take positive account regarding what you have received in terms of “call-ins”, and other business, and any other failures.
• Take account - Know what you have done with this type of business, and be prepared to show the facts.
• Know Your Total Performance -Note your total performance, activity and production, and be ready to account for why it should have come to you.
• Be Ready to Prove Up! - Note that speculation and conjecture do not count, it is “not what you know, but what you can prove”!

STEP #2 – Have a frank but professional discussion with the sales manager or principal.

I went to my manager and advised of my concerns.  I was one of two Black sales professionals in a staff of over thirty-five.  I talked clearly, and unemotionally, and stated my concerns.  We reached agreement that I did deserve more.  The facts should speak for themselves, yet you still may not reach an agreement.

You may find that it is still an issue.  I met with the manager again four months later, yet felt the need to hedge my actions and set up a meeting with Human Resources as well.  In my discussion with my manager, I had to make the inevitable statement that I was still bothered and that my concerns were being ignored.

Here is the part where you have to put your self “out there”.  Do not be afraid of the conflict generated from it.  Conflict can be healthy if done correctly.  If you believe the situation, it is what you have to do!

This meeting might seem fruitless to some, yet it is the meeting that gives you the opportunity to say that you may need to look for some satisfaction or discussion elsewhere.  The manager should not be surprised at that point when HR calls to get his rendition of the facts.

STEP #3 – Make Your Case with the Human Resource Manager

Let’s be clear here, you need a party that can be fair and is also interested.  I am not telling you that the HR manager or generalist is an ally, but I am telling you that this individual has a tendency to be fair, and has knowledge about how the company will handle such a concern.

The reason that you had the conversation with the manager first is because that would be the first request of HR, or anyone else called in to help.  It just makes sense.

For HR you want to do the following:

• Define the problem.
• Summarize the conversations with the manager
• Be clear about the disparate treatment or inequities, and be ready to prove up.
• Open yourself up to asking for help.  That help might be having a discussion with the manager, getting clarifications, or even having discussion with the manager’s manager.

What you should not do is:

• Lose emotional control
• Play the “race card”
• Talk about confrontation

In Summary

Whether it is distribution of favors, salary, or other issues regarding equitable treatment, Human Resources is not the end-all, yet they can be objective and provide perspective to both parties regarding equitable treatment. If you believe that it is because of racial discrimination you should be prepared to enunciate it clearly and succinctly with as much evidence as possible.

Always note that your previous record with HR, and your current sales record are all in play in this discussion.  But…if you are being treated unfairly, you should find comfort in discussing it without a focus on race as the possibilities of discrimination, if any is obvious, will be on the mind of a good HR manager or generalist anyway.

This is a sensitive subject with a heavy impact on the lives of sales professionals.

I look forward to your comments.