Black Sales Journal

We all might have a little gambler in us, but do we all win?  The simple answer to that is no!  We don’t all win when we gamble.  As a matter of fact, some gambling can be bad for your career.

The gambling I am talking about is that the short amount of prospecting time that you spend cold calling is going to yield acceptable dividends and benefits.

I am guessing that prospecting may not be your favorite activities, although you might even agree that it is your most prosperous.  When you prospect extensively, every week is the spring season in terms of renewing hope.  Rejections have less impact on your momentum as you are consistently touching fresh and ready prospects that seal the wounds.

A Different Way of Thinking

First of all, we all need to think of it this way:

• If you are cold calling once a week, you are gambling.
• If you are cold calling twice a week, you are still gambling.
• If you only take out the time to cold-call three times a week, you are still taking a heck of a chance.

I am going to suggest that you cold call/prospect 4 times a week to achieve success. Cold calling gives you your edge in sourcing prospects.  It is an activity that gives you confidence when you have a good day, and keeps you grounded in the reality of this profession when you have a tough day.  Keep in mind that I am not talking about prospecting the whole day; I am suggesting a minimum of 2-3 hours a day, and certainly more if you are new in the sales professional.

Cold calling creates real work in the form of follow-up, appointment setting, and the preparation that goes with it. Between those activities the training, networking, and even preparing for other forms of prospect sourcing you will have your hands full, but not be lacking for qualified prospects to make your sales goals.

The Black sales professional even has more reason to cold call as it will take more prospects to fill your sales funnel. Many of the prospects will fall out as a result of preferences and other problems in the process.  Always have enough to work on and you always will be prepared

Cold Calling Creates Real Work

The best sales professionals are organized and systematic.  You may be correct that cold calling and prospecting (whether phone or in-person) is tedious and monotonous at times, yet you will not be successful on a long term basis without it.

Cold calling creates real work.  After you do it the most important thing is follow-up and organization.  Recording the conversations, cataloging the buyer and the responses is a must.  As a matter of fact, you can waste valuable cold calling effort if you forget important details.  Record and be specific and you will benefit.

Now, many sales gurus and advisors prefer you to do prospect for five days a week, yet I am being realistic.  If you do it right, and you do it with the gusto that you need to, you will deserve the 5^th day off.

Always vary the cold calling times for your cold calling regimen, as you will potentially reach buyers that you were not able to reach at other times.

The Best Use Of Your Time – Alternatives

You are tired of hearing sales managers, and people like me tell you that you should prospect frequently.  I certainly understand that, these comments and urgings have the smell of truth.  Your choice is to increase your prospecting or gamble…but there are a couple of alternatives that I have spoken of in the past, and will spend some time with in some upcoming posts:

• Networking for Success
• Finding Prospects in Seminars

Networking at a networking event produces contacts and prospects in volume.  It may appear more like ‘speed-dating’, but it does have benefits.  They are low cost, as you are only attending, and they are low-risk.  You talk to as many prospects as you can, then make your exit.

Seminars are work, but can deliver results in amounts that are amazing.  Putting people with like needs in a room and talking to them about an important or impending subject is powerful.  Participants ask questions and your responses give you a chance to be the expert that your customer needs.  Don’t miss that opportunity.

We will have more discussion on these subjects in upcoming posts.  You can still have the variety that you need in sourcing prospects to keep you engaged.  Never stop growing your prospect list.

Your comments are welcome.

Fact: Only a small percentage of ‘situations’ involving discrimination end up needing court or government intervention, and that is the way it should be.

As a matter of fact, you should realize that once items are forced into the ‘light’ of conversation, they are usually worked out, even if they are not totally agreed upon.  Employment grievances need to be dealt with correctly for an organization to maintain positive momentum.  How they are handled is evidence of the quality and commitment to fairness of an organization.

I am a believer that employment grievances must be ‘nipped in the bud’, or in other words, handled early and professionally.  If you are an employee who feels as if you are being discriminated against, you need to be prepared to detail your claims and concerns to your manager (See Black Sales Journal 3/3/2011 – When You Feel Screwed, What Do You Do?).  You should record in writing your concerns and your complaints for your own review.  Reducing concerns to writing is always a good practice.  You should not have to convince yourself that your claim is real as it should be evident.

The next important step is to seek counsel from a mentor or confidant for the sake of objectivity.  This gives you an opportunity to review with someone who is not emotional about the issue.  It is important for you to have that outside, objective view, as your objective is to make sure that you have a legitimate and substantiated complaint.  Your credibility is important, and this is just a first step.

Now the interesting part is that managers should do something similar with actions that they take.  Managers should consult colleagues as well as the human resources department regarding actions that may result in potential claims.  With the right amount of scrutiny, you end up with any decisions and actions that are markedly wrong being reviewed and cast correctly.  It is just that simple.  The exceptions to this are small firms without an HR department and those that have no systematic review.

The Equalizer

When discrimination happens, the federal government has put into place an ‘equalizer’ that can help to solve problems.  This process is not a lawsuit.  What they have put into place is an inexpensive way to challenge and be heard on issues involving racial discrimination.

The equalizers are the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEOC) laws.  These laws make it illegal for employers to discriminate against an employee or potential employee in certain workplaces.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is a federal agency that was created by the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  This agency that is charged with the responsibility to “promote equal opportunity in employment through administrative and judicial enforcement of the civil rights laws and through education and technical assistance.”

There can be variance in some state laws, but federal laws prohibit discrimination in employment for the following:

• Race
• Age
• Disability
• Sex or Gender
• Sexual Harassment
• Religion
• National Origin

That means using it after all other options have been exhausted including discussions with your manager and certainly with your human resources department.  There are many that are concerned about making those contacts, yet for something as important as your employment future, you need to be looking the people that affect you face-to-face.  There is no benefit to ‘guerilla’ ambushing your employer in this situation, you should have your discussions about the types of items described in Black Sales Journal 12/30/2010 – Preference, Perceptions, Prejudice and Your Employer.    Your manager needs to understand your concerns if you are aggrieved, and the first question that HR would have for you is, “Did you discuss this with your manager?”

Don’t be intimidated, have the discussion and once complete, reduce to writing in journal form the content of the discussion.  Do not rely on your memory.

For the Price Of A Stamp

Filing an EEOC claim is inexpensive in terms of cost, as it used to be the price of a stamp.  Note that if you are planning to file an EEOC complaint, you should use it wisely.  I would suggest to you need legal counsel and patience.  There can be monetary awards if they are warranted, but the process is not easy, and you should avoid any abuse at all costs.

If you have a claim, it should be evident to you and to those you discuss it with, including your counsel.  This is not the place to play out a vendetta or grudge, but if you are aggrieved, it is the way to go after you have the discussion noted above.

There are time lines with the typical deadline to file a complaint with the EEOC being 180 days from the act of discrimination.  If a state or local law applies to the same act, the deadline can be extended to up to 300 days.

The formal EEOC complaint can be filed at one of the field offices across the country (there are 53 field offices) or you can file by mail with a signed letter.

The EEOC does not accept claims on-line, but does have an online assessment tool that will help you determine whether you have a claim.

Use this information if you have good reason to, and remember that it is not what you know but what you can prove.  Have your ducks in line, or forego the process until you do have them in line.

Always be the professional.

Your comments are welcome.