Think of the best sales professional that you have ever seen.  Think of what that individual does that sets he or she apart.  Some are personal attributes (SeeBSJ 7/5 -Customer Facing Attributes You Can’t Be Without), some are preparations, and some differences are skills.  Skills are attainable, and can improve with practice, preparation, and a desire to be the best. Let’s touch on the most prominent of those skills in this post.  Yes, the best sales professionals have to be intentional about improving skills and skill sets, as these are the ones that what will make them better sales professionals.

Tools That Change Careers!

Skills are the tools that you need to become as complete as possible.  You can have some of these without having the proficiency to make them count, so acquiring the skills and improving on those that you have are both important acts. Here is the skills roster:

• Superior Interviewing Skills
• Unquestioned Responsiveness Skills
• Solid Communication Skills
• Strong Networking Skills
• Effective Relationship Development/Building Skills (Deep Enduring Relationships)

Superior Interviewing skills – Interviewing skills are important to get the job, and you need to get the job before you can be successful at it.  Master interviewers use a combination of telephone interviews and in person sessions to get comfortable with a candidate.  You want them to get comfortable, and so I suggest the following articles to help you:

Black Sales Journal 1/5/11 Mastering the Telephone Interview Black Sales Journal 9/12/12 An Interviewing

Essential – Communicate Why You are Successful Black Sales Journal 7/7/11 Want to Stand Out in An Interview – You Already Do!

Getting them comfortable includes sharing all positive aspects of ‘you’.  These posts will help, but the most important thing will be how you behave during the interview, so practice, practice, practice.

Responsiveness – Yes, it is a skill! – If you are sales professional responsiveness needs to be your tagline.  It is that part of your ‘tool chest’ which will separate you from your customer’s previous sales professional, and potentially from any in the future. Read these post for deep explanations:

Black Sales Journal 6/16/2011 – Responsiveness – The Objective of the Sales Professional

Black Sales Journal 1/16/2012 – What is the Content of Your Sales Character?

The Black Sales professional has to be most responsive to get the preference that comes with a solid, rewarding relationship.  Never allow your relationship to suffer the chasms that happens in many relationships, which gives opportunities for others to interlope.  Respond with alacrity to customer requests and get the answers they need.  Don’t hide behind your voice mail because your customer needs you.  Change processes and habits to meet the needs of the customer, it will give you the edge for life.

Effective Communications and Listening Skills – Your ability to communicate is crucial to your success.  This is an area that many take for granted and do not ‘practice’ on to the degree that they may need to.  You will not know what your customer needs if you do not have superior probing and communications skills, including listening skills to get out the key information that you need.

Black Sales Journal 11/7/2011 -  Uh! Umm! Make Communications a Strength Black Sales Journal 11/17/2011 – Are You Listening to Your Customers?

Black Sales Journal 3/12/2012 – Are You Asking Your Customers for Feedback?

These items will help you as your skills in this area, yet I will also suggest role-play, videotape, and even the occasional mirror to help you hone your skills.  You cannot avoid being a good communicator if you want to increase your chances of success.

Networking Skills That Fill Your Sales Funnel – You might believe that not everyone can network, but I guarantee you it is a skill that can be learned and even mastered.  Networking is much like speed dating, you get in and out, and get the requisite information to allow a much more impactful meeting at another time.  You are selective, and at the same time ‘throwing a wide net’ in hopes of finding potential customers.

Read these to learn more:

Black Sales Journal 2/21/2011 – Networking for the Black Sales Professional

Black Sales Journal 10/10/2011 – Entrepreneurs – 6 Areas to Focus On

Black Sales Journal 12/19/2011 – 2012 Has Started Already- Three Ways to Increase Your Prospect Base

The ability to network effectively is important for b2b and b2p, and is a skill that is well defined.  In practice working a room is one thing, but in truth it is an art.  The utilization of an effective ‘elevator pitch’ (Black Sales Journal 8/11/2011 – Know Your Elevator Pitch) and efficient and organized notes on who you engaged and talked to are important.  Good networkers are almost always leading the pack on prospect origination.

Effective Relationship Development and Management - You have heard me say on numerous opportunities that the relationship, in most product and service sales, is everything.  The customer is your ‘reason for being’ and you need to make sure that developing deep, enduring relationships is your goal.  It is a skill, and an art that takes times and an understanding of the process.

Read these for more information:

Black Sales Journal 6/18/12 – The Raw Truth About Your Business Relationships

Black Sales Journal 6/24/12 – Why Can’t Johnny Sell?

Black Sales Journal 1/13/11 – Deepening Your Customer Relationships – The Holy Grail for the Black Sales Professional.

No one item will help you more than to have the type of relationships that are built on mutual trust, credibility, and value.  Be astute as to the your customer’s needs and what you might be able to do to add value.  Master the relationship!

Here is a start, and I will continue next post with more skills that change the game.

Take time to master them. Read Monday for Must Have Sales Skills Part II!

Your comments are welcome.

Negotiating a salary in a new job, or an existing job is no joke.  It is the way you make your living, and your job is to make sure you get paid!

I received a testimonial that I want to share.  For some reason, the majority of BSJ readers who respond with comments do so by writing me directly.  I certainly do not mind, as many want to ask for advice regarding their relationship with their employer; and that certainly makes sense to me.  I always appreciate comments, responses, and testimonials regardless of whether they appear in the publication.

This following two pieces of correspondence was shared by a BSJ subscriber who we can all be proud of:

DATE – April XX, 2013

Hello Michael,

First, I want to thank you for all the amazing sales advice and insights your blog provides, especially since it’s geared towards professionals of color!

I’m in my first of year of sales (I sell  industrial supplies) and have had some substantial success so far. I’ve been approached by another company and I just received an offer. I just read your post on ’Negotiating Salary’ and have crafted my counter offer. I will present it tomorrow morning and will let you know how it goes. Please keep up the great work!

Sincerely D,
Boston, MA

_______

A few days later I received this one:

DATE –  April XX, 2013

Hello Michael,

I have good news! The negotiations went very well. I was able to get 10k more in base pay with only a 3% decrease in commission (from 8% – to 5%) I also got a bigger car allowance!

I did everything that the articles recommended and the results speak for themselves. I’m not going to lie, I was very nervous, as I had never negotiated my salary before, but like the saying goes: “closed mouths don’t get fed”.

Feel free to use this email as a testimonial and keep up the great work!

Sincerely D
Boston, MA

________

I thank “D” for the communications and the update.  I also thank him, and the rest of you for reading Black Sales Journal.

Need Some Help Negotiation Your Salary?

Almost annually I publish some assistance that you should be aware of.

• Black Sales Journal – How to Get The Salary That You Want – I
• Black Sales Journal – How to Get the Salary That You Want – II

These two posts are common sense approaches to helping you get the salary and benefit packages that will make the position worth while.

It is not a matter of reading these; it is a matter of “buying in” and doing the pre-work.  It is a matter of having substantiation through research, and taking the right actions.

Dedicated to Helping Black Sales Professionals Achieve Success

I have another that I will be sharing in an issue this month.  They feel good because the “cards can be stacked against you”.

Share Black Sales Journal with other Black professionals and make sure to:

• Subscribe to BSJ through email
• “Like” BSJ on Facebook
• Follow BSJ on Twitter (@BlackSalesJrnl)
• Follow BSJ on LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com/company/black-sales-journal/)

Any of these methods will ensure that you do no miss a post.  I will protect your information and never share your email address.

Also, please note that if you are a Black Sales Journal reader, feel free to link with me on LinkedIn.

Always be prepared.

Your comments are appreciated.