Black Sales Journal

I was gifted by having a good sales manager in my career, and I considered myself a solid responsive sales manager when it was my turn.  Remember, you will not know every reason why your sales manager does something, but you will be intuitive as to whether your manager is working in your interest.  Read this and give it some thought.

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Your sales manager can be your biggest asset.  They can have a profound effect on your income, your job title, and your longevity in your position.  If they are a successful manager, they do many activities that help you find success, yet by text book definition, the role of management is to plan, organize, lead, and control (POLC).

That description is certainly not a listing of activities that they do as much as the categories that the tasks would be assigned to.  The management role can be the most positive thing about a sales job, or it could be one of the most negative.  The person in the role will make all of the difference.

The unit sales manager or field sales manager will find and hire talent, provide important training, and will manage the ‘troops’ in the effort to make quotas.  No one is more important in the role of a new sales professional.  Additionally, if this person is good at the job, no one is more instrumental in the role of a successful sales professional, even if it’s because he removes obstacles, and stays out of the way.

I am going to share three key points that one of my former managers taught me in the course of his management of my early sales career.  I am not saying that I agreed with all of these points when I worked for him, yet it was amazing in how clear the logic was once I got into sales management.

Do the Most Important Things First!

When I was a young sales professional, I had a manager (I will call him Jim) who always had stellar sales results.  He constantly challenged the sales professionals and could mix in this motivation with some rather ‘pointy’ jabs about your performance.

He was in sales management for well over 30 years, and he knew the turf.  He was hopelessly impatient and let you know it at every turn.  His knowledge of the sales process well exceeded his product knowledge, yet believe me, he was extremely effective.

We would have meetings about our sales funnel prospects that would rival scenes from some of the greatest sales movies (such as Glengarry Glen Ross, 1992, David Mamet) and there was no doubt as to who was in charge.  The process was fluid and the expectation was simple…sell, sell, and sell.

Here are three primary points that he paid attention to:

Pay attention to the most important factors and work them!

He knew that a couple of the items that were most important were prospecting and quoting, and you could not find a rock to hide under that could shield you if you did not do these activities.  It was clear evidence that if you were doing the ‘grunt’ work, that you could have some success even if other facets were weak.

Jim would shield you from upper management, to a degree, if you were doing the most important things and making money for you and him.  The practice was successful as his units had the highest sales numbers, and he provided the highest amount of challenge, sarcasm, and support.  Eventually you would have to do some things that he did not think were important either, yet the real testament to his flexibility was that he knew when it was important to ‘show’ well.

Pay attention to your most productive sales professionals, and get the most out of them while you groom the next star for your unit.

Jim qualified for all of the sales trips because he know this important fact that.  His power and influence came from having the unit be on top.  I cannot say that I always agreed with the approach, yet it worked for him.  He knew that he had some ‘horses’ that he could ride in the present, and he would need more firepower in the future, and that was a constant vigil.  In the beginning, I was obviously opposed because when I was one of those ‘newbies’ who needed help as I found my time pre-empted by some of the veteran sales professionals.

I learned that the unit had to survive, and be on top, and that was to all of our benefit.  Having a conversation about it would not have helped, as no one wants to hear that someone else was more important.  In the end I eventually got my time, and made the most of it.

‘Smell the Breath’ of the Customer!

Be on as many calls as you can reasonably do, so that you can bring the message from the customer back to the organization.  Jim knew that if he stayed at the office that he would never have a complete feel for why sales efforts fail.  He decided that attention would be given to those who took him out to present quotations, or even to develop key prospects.

He knew that he could better explain our weaknesses in program and pricing to upper management if he heard it from the buyer without filter.  Additionally, relationships were out there to make, and being in front of the buyer allowed this to happen.

The best sales manager leads in this way, and controls in this way.  Leading sales professionals from the office does not work.  You have got to go out and ‘smell the breath of the customer’, and Jim did not take that lightly.

Relationships happen for good reason when there is a ‘connection’, and Jim was able to make connections that I was not able to make.

The Wrap-up

So when you ask that inevitable set of questions:

Why the heck is she always on me about prospects?  I feel as if I have a babysitter!

Or

What do I have to do to get some attention here?  This is ridiculous.  He spends way too much time with those two guys.

Or

What is going on with this pressure to go out on calls with me, does he not trust me?  I can’t believe that he wants to go with me…again!

You may have the answers above.

Your comments are always welcome.

I wanted to share the results of a recent survey by Jobvite, a leading developer of software for job recruitment in social media.  Jobvite’s research indicates a survey of 1,600 recruiters indicated a fact which we all have been concerned about.  The question posed to recruiters was:

Have you ever reconsidered a candidate based on their social profile?

Yes 42%     No 58%

Yes – 42% of recruiters have indicated that they have reconsidered candidates based on their social profile!

Social media can be fun, informative, and enjoyable….depending on who is looking at it.  It can be all of those because it is not the medium, but more how you use it.    Social media involvement is voluntary, and thus the problems that happen as a result of using it are self-imposed ills.

I know some professionals who are wise enough to establish a social media “alias” that will allow them to enjoy social media use and give personal freedom while preserving their privacy.

However you elect to enjoy social media, you will want to remember that you’re ”broadcasting” your life, and you need to be prepared for individuals to interpret or misinterpret everything you say or do.

There has been much press regarding this topic.  The way you handle your social media could possibly interfere with your ability to get, and sometimes keep a job in the digital age. With Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, MySpace, StumbleUpon, Tumblr, and many other social media outlets, even the most devoted sales professional could stand the risk of distraction.

Additionally, if you allow your personal business to be made public, it will come back to haunt you.  Without the careful filtering of your participation in social media sites, you could be making your private life public.

The power of social media is amazing but utter the wrong thing and the ability of social media to go viral could change your life, or at least your employment status.

Using Social Media On the Job

This is an interesting proposition. I was in a group classroom setting in a social media class when the professor asked if any of us knew our employers policy on social media and electronic media. Sadly, 3 out of 20 people raised their hands.  You should have a copy of it if you are engaging in any social media at the workplace , and if you do any social media mentioning your employers while on your own time.  Normally it can be found on your company’s intranet site, or requested from human resources.  In most cases it describes the things that are important, and you will quickly be able to scan it and tell if it is a templated policy, or if it has been tailored for your employer’s needs.

A couple things you do know:

• Avoid criticizing your employer in any social media. It is that simple.  On your e-mails, if on the company email system, I would suggest avoiding any negative references to your boss, your company, or your company’s information.

• Organizations have an ability to track your usage of personal media sites/social media sites in terms of keystrokes and time spent. Make an assumption that they do it! Is it worth losing your job to respond during the workday?

• A preoccupation with social media on the job is widespread. An organization called Nucleus Research of Boston; Massachusetts indicates that 77% of American workers admit to using Facebook while on the job. Think about being the employer who is trying to explain difficult financial performance when it determined that of that 77%, 87% state that had nothing to do with their job duties.

When employees were dealing with predominately e-mail 10 years ago, it was not a big deal.  After the explosion of social media it becomes evident that participation in social media can be very time-consuming.

Many  sophisticated employers have blocked the sites for social media on the job.  In most cases, you will be making entries with your own equipment including your cell phone or tablet.  Be smart there as well.

Using Social Media at Home

Your use of social media in your private life shouldn’t be a big issue. The problems occur when the theater of social media shows you in compromising situations, and is seen by a manager or coworker.

A few examples are:

• A intimate relationship between a manager and one of his direct reports, an act which is proscribed in almost every organization, was discovered when it was posted on one of their Facebook sites.
• A rant about a manager and the employer was posted on Twitter and seen by the manager. The words, though limited to 140 were “damning” and ended with a ‘reassignment’ of the employee to less favorable duties.
• Entries and tweets that are full of tough language and sexual connotations will haunt you as has happened to many who thought their comments were shielded.

As sated to start this piece, prospective employers and recruiters resort to perusing a Facebook site to determine the ‘personality’ of an applicant.  It might not feel right, yet it happens.  What they are really getting is a listing of the personal activities of the candidate.  When they see you with the bottle of vodka in one hand and something we hope is a cigarette in the other, they may make a decision that is…well let’s just say not in your favor.

One Last Point

Black professionals increasingly realize the need for discretion and forethought in this important area. Why?…. Because there is a general ignorance and curiosity regarding how you live your life because of the difference in cultures.  Show them only what you want them to know, or nothing at all.  Wisely protect yourself, your family, and your career.

You are constantly being evaluated as a sales professional; that is something that you cannot change.  No one needs to be afoul of the rules that govern the workplace or business as a whole.  Avoid transmitting anything regarding your company on social media no matter how safe and secure you think it is.  Additionally, avoid using your personal computer or hardware to “broadcast” anything on social media pertaining to your company, an employee of your company, or your work situation.

Be smart and aware and always be the professional.

Your comments are welcome.