Black Sales Journal

I recognize that you know how to dress professionally.  I also recognize that there is often temptation to ‘relax’ your routine  in the face  of our changing times.  I want to go ‘on record’ against becoming a ‘pedestrian’ in the fast moving world of business.  Your image is at stake!

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I would like to share a couple of views that can only help you increase your effectiveness.

As a Black sales professional, your image and the persona that you are working to build are very much subject to your last encounter with your client, especially a new one.  With that in mind, remember to always look your best.

To Be or Not To Be … Casual?

As a sales professional, when the rest of the world dresses down for casual day, you have your opportunity to stand out as a sales professional.

Whether it is casual Fridays, or “casual dress” office environments, many operations began doing it In the 90s and it is widespread now.

As comfortable as it is, I would like to convince Black sales professionals not to do it.  Here is my reasoning:

• As a sales professional, when the rest of the world dresses down for casual day, you set yourself apart as a sales professional.  Sales professionals look the part.
• In the eyes of your clients you want to stand out as an individual who treasures their business relationship and has something to special to deliver.  Dressing down indicates that you need comfort more than you need to display professionalism.  Don’t be suckered into it; be the consummate professional.
• When you are in casual mode on casual Friday, or in an office casual setting, it makes the rest of your day, casual.  Meeting with a client to solve an unforeseen problem, or responding to that potential “call-in” is not possible, unless you plan to take “casual” with you everywhere.
• To your clients, if you are casual, what makes you different from the next sales professional?  This is when you show your best.  Strengthen your persona!

Be the best-looking sales professional out there.  Whether male or female if your business garb is your “uniform”, then do it in the way that makes you stand out.   This is especially the case when your own office is casual.  Don’t let yourself fall into that mode.  Everyone in your office is not in the same position as you, so they will dress position appropriate for their job, and you need to dress for customer contact.

I believe that any sales professional, who is responsible for being on client visits or potentially greeting clients when they come to your company’s, office should be dressed in attractive business clothing. For the type of work you do, you want the customer to recognize you as a professional who represents yourself and your company as a professions well emblazoned intheir mind.

Always Look Your Best

During my tenure as a regional sales manager many years ago I was interviewing a sales candidate that was being considered for employment by one of my field sales managers.   The objective of having the Regional Sales Manager interview the Field Sales Manager’s prospective hires was to put another set of eyes and ears to it.  On this morning I met a candidate who had received high marks from the interviewing manager.

When I walked in the interview room, I met a candidate who we would pay a salary and bonus as well as a possibility of inheriting some significant customers.  Immediately upon introduction I noticed obvious grease stains on the candidates pants as well as frayed collar on his shirt.  It frankly looked bad.

The interview was better than average, and there were many solid points that the prospective sales representative offered up that made me think that I might be able to endorse the sales manager’s selection.  That is, if issues regarding appearance were not so lightly regarded by this candidate.

If the candidate was that neglectful when putting his best foot forward in an effort to get the job, how was he going to look when visiting one of our customers?  Although I probably don’t need to say it, he did not get the job.

Think About It

A testament to this will be when you exit an important customer’s office into the waiting room to say your farewells and see your competitors in some bad “Christmas” sweaters and deck shoes waiting to see your customer.  Even the janitor will be able to tell you who looks more professional.

Always look your best!  Be impeccable, it’s your image.

I would love your comments.

Racial perceptions can be menacing.  We should all be viewed as individuals.  Changing racial perceptions can be even more menacing as you don’t know what experiences a customer, or an employer has had.  But… you can change perceptions, over time, in an effective way with this simple tactic. I do this column almost annually because you don’t have to go out of your way to change racial perceptions, you just have to do what you already do, and keep doing it.  Read on….

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The role of any sales professional is challenging, even sometimes difficult.  It is a role that comes with many contrasts for those who are Black.  The perceptions that I am speaking of are racial perceptions, and they are a reality (because perceptions are reality) until they meet someone who starts to change them.  These contrasts paint a picture that does not always work favorably for a Black professional.

The number of Black sales professionals is not representative of the number of Blacks in the workforce.  Some of this was touched on in Black Sales Journal 1/31/11 – Why are There So Few Blacks in Sales?, yet there are so many reasons.  There is one main reason:

There are perceptions regarding whether white (or other) buyers would widely accept Black professionals in roles that have strong fiduciary and/or consultative roles as many sales professionals face.

It is difficult to recognize how many Black sales professionals leave their position before achieving their goals because they are not given an opportunity to show their worth.

Why am I Calling it Easy?

There is simplicity to changing perceptions. It involves a set of basic activities on the part of a large majority of the Black sales professionals and other Black employees that are in the market place.  It does not require a revolution of any kind, and will gradually work to change the perceptions of so many in a positive way.

Note the following statement:

Each Black sales professional or other Black employee must ‘represent’ correctly…being the consummate professional showing exemplary performance in all aspects of manners, skills, and personal interactions.  Being responsive beyond all others, and respectful of one’s time and efforts.

If that is done, we will be well ahead of the game.  As a matter of fact, if 80% of the Black professionals did this, we begin to slowly change perceptions.  There is no doubt about it.  This would be a game changer that would show the professionalism that a few bad performers could not tarnish.

There are many that will object to my premise.  I understand some of their concerns.  They will say “Why should I change anything when others in the majority do not necessarily change anything!”  My response is simple “If it is what you need to do to be successful and make the living for yourself, and your family, it is worth the consideration, you should consider it.”  If we do that, we also change perceptions.

There are times when you do all that is right and still don’t get the credit for “doing the right thing.”  Here is an example of what happens when you do the right thing, yet are subject to perceptions.

Perceptions – An Example from My Past

This is an incident that I cited once before.  I was a sales representative for a major insurance company in commercial business sales.  I was young, and thought that I was on track to get somewhere, yet nothing was assured.

I was at a sales meeting, and was sitting at a table with the Divisional Sr. Vice President, who was someone that I had only seen a picture of him in company publications.  I don’t know why he sat at our table, yet we were all exhibiting our best manners.

During a lull in the meeting a sales associate of mine, who happened to be Black as well (there were 3 of us out of 62 sales professionals) began to criticize one of the local college basketball coaches.  He was a venerable older coach who was not winning the big one but was respectable.

The SVP listened to us from behind his newspaper, and then slammed his had down on the table and said, “How dare you criticize him.  One day you will be judged on your record, just like him, and you should hope you stand up to the criticism.” He went on to say, “If you two would stop reading the sports pages, and read the financial pages, one day maybe you will amount to something.”

I wanted to be rude in my response, but was calculated.  It is unfortunate that someone is “judged” like that.  He did not know either of us.

To this day, there is nothing that has ever infuriated me like that comment.  He did not know, but I was reading a lot more than the financial pages.  Whether I did, or did not, it was not his business.  We were merely having a conversation within his earshot.  What is larger than that was the perception that we were absorbed in the sports pages, which was something that I seldom read, or read now.

He made that assumption based on his perception, and how categorically wrong it was.  Needless to say, he was long retired before I was moved up in to a senior and executive management role, yet I have often relived how I should have reacted to him.  When I reached and exceeded that level, I made sure that I respected our young professionals regardless of color and gave good constructive counsel without inserting my view of what they “must” be like.

Changing the View

You will not know how someone perceives you based on experiences and situations in their life.  What you can do is to put your best foot forward, giving them the view of a professional who is prepared for the opportunity.  We have discussed this type of professional many times in Black Sales Journal (Black Sales Journal 3/7/11- Be The Consummate Professional).

You change the landscape by being the professional that you ultimately are.  You show that race and color have nothing to do with being a solid professional, and that you might have more pigmentation, yet the result will be the same or better.

Your comments are welcome.