“Sometimes good is not good enough” If you are a black sales professional in B2B or B2P you understand the premise. It is not good enough to be a solid sales person.  It is factual that it does not matter that you are good, or even the best of the professionals courting this company, you have a little more pigmentation.  This changes the playing field. Whether you embrace this theory are not, it is tough being a Black sales professional in a White business world.   As a matter of fact, sometimes, yet not all of the time, it is downright unfair.

Remember… You are selling to an individual!

Embrace the fact that you are selling to an individual, no matter whether  the business is a machine shop down the street, or a Fortune 1000 company. Yes, an individual.  We cannot speak of these companies as if they are monolithic, there is an individual who is the “Gatekeeper” who is going to reject or receive you. As a result we will discuss the tactics that will help you be successful.

The 3Ps – Perceptions, Preferences, Prejudices

If you will recall last week’s inaugural blog, the 3Ps where introduced.  Each individual who is a “Gatekeeper” comes with their own set of concerns. This is natural. You will be initially assessed on the basis of what I call “The 3Ps”:

• Preferences–  based on their level of comfort of who they want to work with
• Perceptions–  based on their life experiences, good and bad
• Prejudices–  based on their life experiences and their level of comfort

All decision-makers are subject to the 3P’s. It does not matter whether they are white, black, or otherwise, the 3P’s will have an effect on their decisions about who they allow “inside.”  In most cases, in B2B sales, your “Gatekeeper” will be White.  Although you cannot change the 3P’s  of this buyer in one stroke, there are tactics that you can employ which aid change process.

7  Success Essentials for Black Sales Professionals

Having these will give confidence, assurance, and credibility that you can be an answer to their problems and needs:

1. Be the product expert – the ‘go to’ person for your customers and your own organization
2. Be a consummate professional – Timely, responsive, quick to communicate
3. Be an industry expert – Know your customer’s business better than all of your competitors
4. Develop deep solid business relationships – garner high levels of commitment from your customer
5. Be a true expert of the sales process – Be an expert of the sales process
6. Give superior, unparalleled service – Set the standard for all others
7. Be a “Visionary” – Anticipate your customer’s needs as your customer’s organization changes and your own organization changes as well

At first blush, these may seem oversimplified.  In the upcoming posts of this blog, we will be in depth in our coverage of the tactics and how they relate to the 3P’s.

In the Weeks to Come

If you are a committed professional I hope you will follow this journal through the posts that follow as well as the upcoming posts regarding timely and significant topics for the Black Sales professional.  Please check the tab showing “Upcoming Posts” for Your comments are welcome, and I am counting on them.  I will be sharing them with the readership, and collectively we can provide the answers.

Please feel free to comment, we need your input.

I welcome you to the inaugural post of Black Sales Journal! This journal is dedicated to the success of Black Sales Professionals.  You will find information here that you will not find in any other publication.  Information that you can use in attaining success and prosperity.  I am Michael L. Parker.  I will serve as author, host, moderator, and whatever role is necessary to help you get to the “promised land” of success in your efforts in sales.  Read a little more about me by clicking the “About” tab.

This is no ordinary blog

The Black Sales Journal is here to render sales tactics and strategies, career advice, account development tips, and a general ear to those in one of the most exciting, yet difficult occupations that exist.  I will look to highlight those tactics and strategies that generate success in the sales profession, B2B and B2P.

The 3Ps – The ‘X’ Factor

We will discuss the 3Ps in depth in many of our posts.  With that in mind let’s start now with what it is.  It changes everything.  More importantly, we will discuss how to recognize it, how to work through it, and otherwise the tactics and gambits to lessen and neutralize the effects.  In simplified form, here are the 3Ps:

• Perceptions
• Preferences
• Prejudices

Perceptions are hard to change, yet they are based on ones background, mindset, and their seat in the arena of life.

Preferences, quite simply, are what a person leans toward in their relationships, where their comfort level lies.

Prejudices are deep, often fueled by perceptions and ones past, that are deep enough to be actionable and problematic.

Everyone of us have two of them.  Most of us have all three! The degrees vary, and our mindset (open minded or closed minded) play a large role in how we work in this triangle.  As a result of the 3Ps a buyer can be sensitive, empathetic, or hardened and calloused regarding the issues of race, ethnicity, and gender in their business relationships.  These exist both in workplace and in the sales theater.

I think you will agree that this will shape up as a powerfully informative post!

Our Contributors

We will use the following sources for input, clarification and advice:

• Experts - We will share suggestions from some powerful current and past sales professionals and sales managers on these practical issues
• Community – Our comments from our readership of sales professionals will be shared and used to solve many issues
• Empirical Research – from articles, books, citations and otherwise in print that examine our important topics
• Moderator input – I will look forward to providing input on those issues that I can help

There is a world of input out there and it will be my pleasure to bring as much of it as possible to your attention.  Tell me the type of things you want to talk about.  Ask the questions you cannot ask anywhere else. The goal is to provide you with the essentials to help you get success in the tough world of sales.

Keep tabs on us, there is much more to come.