Black Sales Journal

Business relationships are special.  They are constantly fragile, but durable enough to ward off competition.  No matter what happens in your business relationship, and no matter how close they feel, don’t forget that you are always safer keeping your language on the formal side.  Yes…I am saying that you never know what might offend someone.  Sales professionals are notorious for dropping an ‘F-Bomb’ in the heat of a conversation.  Is it worth it?

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Business and personal sales requires that a sales professional builds and cultivates relationships.  That position plays the role of relationship manager. All other relationships pivot on the relationship that the sales professional generates.  For those who have sold for years, you know all of this.  Much of this post is for our younger sales professionals.

As relationship manager, it is obvious that each relationship will be different, and will vary in depth.  That is the way relationships work in business and in personal life.  We all believe that we evaluate our relationships carefully, yet that evaluation comes with our own judgmental biases and perspectives.

The comfort of a relationship can lead us to speak and act in ways that are too casual.  I am speaking of the usage of slang and colloquial terms and phrases in your business relationships, as well as on the job in your own workplace.

Your Customer

If you are a Black sales professional, it is most likely that your customer and you coworkers come from a totally different background than you.  Life experiences buildperceptions (Remember the 3Ps, Perceptions, Preference,  Prejudice and Your Customer – Black Sales Journal 12/27) which one carries until they are ready to give them up.  The danger of slang in a business relationship is that you do know when a word or phrase validates a perception that a buyer might have.

This does not mean that you cannot say all slang, yet slang that is culturally significant when you are still in the relationship building stage could be unacceptable.  I will admit to my guilt in using culturally biased slang with some customers.  Usually it was long, well developed relationships where I exercised that ‘privilege’.  The length of some of those relationships was decades, and I was well familiar with their views, and the customer with mine.  I was lucky, and still probably should have been a little more antiseptic.

Is This a Big Issue?

I don’t think this is a big issue, yet for some of our emerging talent, it should be heard.  Forming relationships is hard work.  You need consistency and some personal protocol.  This is one of those things that must be remembered.

We all have a way of feeling comfort.  It can be a review of your relationship with a customer, or having the strength of a relationship confirmed by a new large order.  If you are wrong in your level of comfort you might seem crass, or you might spark something that chips away at a relationship.

Culturally biased slang includes language that in the Black community would not necessarily be offensive, yet we are not often selling to the Black community.  Even when we are, we want to have a solid idea of who our customer is, and what our boundaries are.  I suggest that it is easier to be in a business mode, and not take the risks unless you are certain of your customer and your relationship.

Your Work Environment

The work environment is a territory that you will know better than your customer.  Even in this territory, you should recognize the limitations that you should impose on yourself.  The workplace should always be considered “foreign” territory.  A familiar place for doing what you do to earn money, and make a career, yet a place that quite often has a set of rules that you have become comfortable with, even if your coworkers are barely comfortable with you.

None of this is bad at all.  Being at work is earning a living.  I had the fortune of working at a place that accepted my cultural differences and allowed me to grow.  All places don’t offer that haven, so your judgment is important here.

I was not the first Black sales professional that worked there, yet I was their first Black sales manager.  By the time I worked in that role, there were things that I said that I wish I could have taken back.  I learned on the job, and learned the hard way.  We all will not work for a solid and forgiving organization.

If you follow the same rules that you should use with customers at your job, you will never lose.  It will be easy to remember, and you will not turn anyone off.  Remember, taking back things you have uttered is like trying to “put toothpaste back in the tube.”

A Simple Example

Many years ago I was on a sales call with a sales professional who the customer told some difficult news, to which he uttered “That Sucks!” Think about that comment, and apply it to business relationships 12 years ago when it was even more sensitized.  The response from the customer was a face that I interpreted as being taken aback.

Now, quite frankly, there were many words that could have been used there, yet the one that came to mind did not sit well with the buyer, who was an older female.  When we left the call and were in the parking lot, I coached that this was not an appropriate comment.  I believe it was for laughs to a degree as there were several people in the room, yet that only means that there could have been several people offended (I don’t believe there were, yet our buyer appeared to be).

I believe that the sales rep took it to heart and appeared very professional in other calls.  I also believe that he apologized to the buyer who quickly stated that it “was fine.”  Fact is that it should not have been done.

How About Profanity?

I once had a manager who could use profanity, and no one ever seemed bothered by it.  Now, I don’t know if they were, as I was not polling, yet there were never any repercussions.  He was well accepted, and had a way about how he did it that desensitized.  I never felt I would have been that blessed.

The fact is that Black professionals should be careful about using profanity for more reasons than I could list in this journal.  It is easier to keep it clean, and be expressive and emphatic.  I believe there is no place for it in our day-to-day public image with the customer or employer.

Remember to always be the consummate professional.

We welcome your comments

LinkedIn has basically revolutionized the online presence for business networking for professionals.  LinkedIn (History of LinkedIn – LinkedIn – Our Story) began in 2003 in a slightly cumbersome fashion in its onset but has emerged a well- constructed online aid for professionals in all lines of work who are networking, career hunting, or even looking to increase their knowledge of prospecting targets.  As of 2013, there were over 300 million LinkedIn users worldwide. If you are searching for the next position it could turn out to be almost indispensible.

Your LinkedIn Profile – Your Chance to Tell Your Story!

Today we will focus on your LinkedIn profile as an important portrait of you with all of your relevant information.  The most important aspect of this is that you have an opportunity to properly construct your profile.  This is fitting as this is your story and “you are the expert on yourself.”  No one can tell your story like you can!  If you are a sales professional, you need to exploit this online tool.

This profile underpins your online persona, so you need to really think over how you are going to construct it.

Do You Have an Existing Profile?

If you have an existing profile, you may want to refine it.  I have some quick tips that can help you.

Before you start revising your profile, you will note a button on the right hand side of the on the profile screen which will allow you to “broadcast” changes to your profile to those you are connected with.  I suggest that you toggle this switch to “NO” – “Do not publish an update to my network about my profile changes”. The reasoning here is that you are probably going to do these refinements and changes to your profile over the course of a couple or even a few sessions.  This will allow you to avoid sending numerous notifications to your network about things that many of them already know, and gives you a chance to complete and even modify your work without notifying friends of every change you make.  When you finish, if it is your preference, you can elect to have your profile changes made known to your contacts in real time.

Take time to review and modify your profile and keep it up to date.  Here is why:

• You are searchable- Potential employers can access your LinkedIn profile at any time.
• Electronic application – Many organizations allow you to apply for positions utilizing your LinkedIn profile.
• Added benefits – You can get the equivalent of a “short-link” code allowing you to send a link to your LinkedIn profile that you can embed on your electronic resume.

Don’t Have A LinkedIn Profile?

Whether you are an optimistic college senior or an accomplished professional you should consider taking this first step.

In my discussion above regarding refining an existing profile I suggested, “turning off” the update button.  I would suggest the same action when it comes to constructing your profile, as you may be building it over several sessions.  I don’t think that you necessarily want potential contacts and employer to see your profile in every phase of construction.

The ability to use this profile for job inquiries and increased visibility are big benefits.  I think of it as the job hunt tool of a lifetime! Before you begin your LinkedIn profile, you will want to do make sure that you have a copy of your resume handy as the profile simulates, and essentially turns into an electronic resume foyou.

Remember that your resume is something that you can share when you have an interest.  Your LinkedIn profile is viewable by LinkedIn users without permission.

With that in mind, you will want the profile to be cogently thought-out and without the “chaff” of insignificant short-term jobs.

Suggestion! – When you complete an actual application it is important that you detail all of your positions and the correct dates. If you do not have an actual application it is your responsibility to advise your hiring manager or HR person of the total sum of your positions by having a separate, all position inclusive, resume copy that details all positions you have worked.  This one is not used to garner prospective employer interest, but use this one to detail what you have been in your career.  This item is a necessity only when you actually need it.

The electronic view of you that your LinkedIn profile represents should generate interest by showing the scope of your experiences and the depth of your positions.  It should be concise and mistake free.

LinkedIn – Short link (Public Profile URL)

When using electronic mail (email) you have the ability to include a LinkedIn link to your profile.  If you are corresponding with potential employers regarding job opportunities, or networking with other professionals for whatever reason, you can include your electronic resume in the form of your profile by attaching this link.

At the profile page under the profile section is “Your Public Profile URL” which will allow you to edit, copy, and use this URL or “short link”.  In this section you also have the ability to create an HTML public profile badge that you can use in any HTML based web site, email, or other publication.
The use of a public profile URL is up to you, but it can be useful.

Remember These Points

You might want to give these profile suggestions some consideration:

If you currently have a profile refine it and keep it up to date.

• If you are newly constructing a profile, congratulations.  Do it well and realize it makes you searchable on the Internet by those who are LinkedIn as well.
• Avoid numerous updates being sent out as you refine or construct by turning off the automatic updates at least temporarily.
• Consider using the Public Profile URL as a way to send your information to others who are LinkedIn.

I will have more coming to you about maximizing your LinkedIn usage.  If you have any comments, please feel free to direct them to me at Michael.Parker@BlackSalesJournal.com.