Black Sales Journal

Without doubt, this is a loaded question.  Playing the race card in the work setting is similar to dropping a hand grenade in a prayer session.  It is polarizing and negative and changes the landscape and the game.  Quite frankly, it creates an explosion when you do it, and even if there are no casualties, you have created strident enemies all around you.

What is this ‘thing’ we call the race card and is there ever a time to use it?

Take a look at this clip:

Talking about it can be entertaining, and as you can see because it can be framed many ways.

Simple Definitions

To capture the definition of race card, I visited Wikipedia.  It is not always the most credible source, but it puts a stake in the ground of controversial subjects including this one:

According to Wikipedia:

In the less critical sense, the phrase is commonly used in two contexts. In the first, and more common context, it alleges that someone has deliberately and falsely accused another person of being a racist in order to gain some sort of advantage.^[1] (Continued)

In the second context, it refers to someone exploiting prejudice against another race for political or some other advantage. The use of the southern strategy by a political candidate is said by some to be a version of playing the race card, such as when former Senator Jesse Helms, during his 1990 North Carolina Senate campaign ran an ad showing a black man taking a white man’s job, intended as a criticism of the idea of racial quotas. The ad was interpreted by many people as trying to play to racist fears among white voters.

Excerpted from “Race Card”, Wikipedia 9/3/2011

The most important portion of the definition of “race card” from Wikipedia above is accentuated here:

“…it alleges that someone has deliberately and falsely accused another person of being a racist in order to gain some sort of advantage.”

Quite simply put, the race card manifest itself in our business environment in a couple of profound ways:

• An individual (let’s say Black employee) suggest issues involving race as the reason for some less than desirable action on the part of a manager or superior, which results in an impairment or disadvantage.  The employee specifically cites race or racism as being evident.
• A manager or another employee attempts to discredit an employee (let’s say Black employee) by falsely suggesting that the employee has cited race as the reason for a particular treatment or actions.

There are other ways that it can play out, yet these represent some of the more prominent issues that have to do with this interchange.  No one wants to be discredited.  Not the manager, nor the employee.  The mere mention that one feels discriminated against is toxic in an organization, so both of these are problematic.

Falsely accusing someone of being racist is a simple concept.  It is wrong and playing that card is detrimental to all Black professionals who are working to be the best that they can be.  Misrepresenting what an employee thinks or feels about any aspect of discrimination to pre-empt an action or discussion is just as wrong.

So playing the race card can mean a lot of things, but it happens both ways.  Both ways are detrimental to good relations, and we should be real careful about alleging that race and racism is a motivation unless it is quite evident.

What if it is true?  If it is true, you might phrase that as ‘playing the race card’ as well, yet be very careful as being able to prove the truth is not an easy task.  Even though ‘the truth will set you free’, it may not get you justice in a case like this.

What Can You Prove?

It is always smart to avoid any claim that you cannot prove.  Remember, “It is not what you know, it is what you can prove!” With that in mind, your claims regarding management should be restrained when it comes to racism, and always yield to that which you can substantiate.

If you have a provable claim of disparate treatment, you should have discussions on the basis of that treatment, not racism.  In other words, if you are being treated unfairly, have those discussions with the manager or HR; yet be reserved with any race card.   The best HR professionals will understand you and your claim if you are clear, and if the claim is actionable, they will act on it.  Good HR professionals consider the possibility racism, whether they tell you or not.

I always say “what you can prove” because racism (in this case) is an attitude which is evidenced by how a manager treats his/her employees.  Proving that there is a racist attitude means nothing if it is not accompanied by activities that show discrimination.  What are you trying to prove?  Proving that you are discriminated against is difficult, yet doable, but it is not easy at all

Win the Smart Way

Don’t make assertions based on the race card.  Challenge management to be fair and unbiased, and you can do that without charges that are extremely difficult to prove.  Stand up for yourself and keep good objective records that will substantiate any objective complaints that you might have.

If you suspect that there is a problem, bounce the situation off of a mentor (if you trust him/her) or a confidant in another field or industry for tips on how they would handle it.  Most bona fide professionals can ‘smell’ racism when it is present.  Always base your complaints on fairness and equity unless it is something simple to prove.  Fairness and equity are important and lend themselves to reasonable proof.  Unfortunately racism is insidious and it is never lends itself to easy proof.

An example of fairness and equity is illustrated in this example:

Your manager is giving all of the new prospects to someone else, and you need new prospects, you should consider approaching that on the basis of fairness and equity even though you suspect racism.

Benefit – It puts everyone on notice that you recognize that you are not being treated fairly.

Weakness – You don’t change what has happened in the past, only go forward.

In this situation, you speak to the manager openly and frankly about what you believe is the disparity.  The manager should be the first stop, and he or she will recognize that you are being a professional by bringing it to him/her first.   If it persists, your next stop is HR to discuss the actions.  You will get some advice from there about how to proceed, yet realize that you need your “ducks in a row” as you consider going above your manager.

If it is repairable, it normally can be done at that level.  Always be the professional in your actions.  It will pay dividends.

Your comments are appreciated.

Sales management can be a useful role for any sales professional.  An insight to the general concepts of sales techniques, the sales process, and invaluable sales insights are all great benefits of a manager who has “carried the bag”, found success, and is now in the position to be able to relate leadership and advice to those who are in need.

A special asset to all is the Black sales manager.  On the presumption that this individual has pursued the normal training and rites of passage as any other sales professional.  Couple this with some degree of mastery of the techniques necessary to deal with rejection, preference, and prejudice; this individual can truly be a resource.

This utility and collection of skills and attributes comes with a responsibility to reach production and strategic goals as well as the perfunctory duties of hiring and training sales professionals.  I would suggest to you that even though this is a difficult job, a person that recognizes the rigors of selling for all sales professionals – those in the majority and those in the minority, could gain perspective.

Certainly not to disparage those in the job that are not Black, yet the fundamental premise that I am making is that there is some uniqueness in being Black and selling to a non-Black Audience that once experienced creates lifelong lessons that need to be shared for the benefit of others.

The Black Sales Manager – an Asset

The Black sales manager may not have had any more sales success as a sales professional than the non-Black sales manager.  They very possibly don’t have any different technique, or special desk training.  All things equal, they may not have any different general skill set but what they do have is a set of experiences that have produced an enormous insight that is difficult to “manufacture”.

This set of experiences manifest itself in many ways including the ability to share this knowledge with their direct reports, and the rest of the organization.  This sharing helps the development of Black sales professionals as well as others on being a minority in the sales profession.  The same tenets that apply to Blacks have implication there as well.  Preference in employment as well as prejudice will look similar across race and gender, as well as religion.

Most sales managers have strong sales skills, above average product knowledge, and good people skills.  The Black sales manager would not be in the job without these skills, but also possesses experience dealing with rejection that comes from nothing other than having additional pigmentation.  Many of them learn to scale the mountains of preference and prejudice, as well as racial perceptions it in many of the ways described in Black Sales Journal.  Preference, prejudice, and perceptions represent the 3 Ps that I have discussed so often (Black Sales Journal 12/27/2011 – The 3Ps and Your Customer and many other posts).

How Can You Benefit?

Here is the opportunity to get input from an experienced warrior on a variety of skills and ways to face the market.  Knowledge of prospecting techniques, both phone and in-person would be good questions as well as any other ways to source prospects.

It is a basic fact that having a management that is the same color does not mean that anything should be any less rigorous.  It may be more sympathetic, but the numbers are the numbers.  The production goals of that your manager has a responsibility to meet are an aggregate of yours and your colleagues.  Your performance regarding production/sales as well as goal attainment is a shared goal with the sales manager, so your success is reflected in that relationship.

Don’t expect favors, leniency, or forgiveness, but expect a fair chance and real-life advice on being more effective.  You deserve it, so if you are not getting it, then you need to ask for it.

Relating Practical Experience

At a point fairly early in my career I had my chance to be a sales manager of a field sales unit, a regional sales manager over several sales units, and Vice President of Marketing (responsible for sales from multiple distribution channels).  There was always the struggle to find applicants of color who had the qualifications and presence who wanted to be sales professionals.

When we found this special individual, we wanted to keep him/her.  As you know the sales position is not for everyone, to find someone who is trainable and presentation ready is a tall order, yet we must recognize that they are out there.

This gave me a good opportunity to have a good discussion about how I and others cleared some of the hurdles and gained effectiveness.  Those discussions make a difference.  Sometimes roll playing and even stark criticism are necessary, with an end in mind of helping to advance a sales professionals skills.

If you are thinking about being a sales manager, you might consider reading Black Sales Journal 3/21, Are You Sales Management Material? If you are working for a Black sales manager you might consider asking more questions and getting more clarifications.  I am sure they will share their “secrets”.

I share mine twice a week here at Black Sales Journal.

Your comments are welcome.