Black Sales Journal

“Who has confidence in himself will gain the confidence of others.”
- Lieb Lazarow

In corporate lobbies and shiny business buildings everywhere there are people trying to rob you of your self-confidence. There are those people who will attempt to find any crack or weakness to attack, and some with good reason.  Testing your meddle is what they are doing, and it is legal, and you should expect it.

One day I went on a call to meet a prospect that I had worked on for over 6 months just to get an appointment.  He indicated that we should meet at 9:00A sharp and that I had 45 minutes total appointment time.  That is not enough time to get the information that I needed, but it was a start.  When I arrived at his business at 8:55A, there were two trucks backed-up waiting to get into the loading docks.  I sat patiently waiting for the trucks to move, which would allow entry to the parking lot.  Feeling as if it would be too long, I parked down the street and walked two blocks.

I walked into reception at 9:06A and immediately was escorted in by the receptionist.  My buyer was sitting at a long table in the conference room staring at his watch.  He said, “I thought I specified that you should we would start at 9:00a?”  I apologized without explaining the situation.  He then said, “We are at 9:10 and you are eating away at your own time!”  He then said, “What in God’s name makes you the person I want to buy from?  You seem so young.”  I responded, “I know his industry well, and had some creative solutions that you will find attractive.”  I was on my heels at this point, and that was all that I knew to say.  His expression showed his lack of acceptance.

We rushed through the appointment.  My questions were hurried and his answers were brief, even incomplete.  I continued to probe, although cognizant of my time restraints. I was getting answers, but needed more.  At 9:45A he abruptly stood up, extended his hand and stated, “My next appointment is waiting.  I hope you have enough information.”  As he was leaving the room he parted by saying, “My assistant will make an appointment for the presentation.”  I did not have enough for a quotation presentation, and if I did not get more, it would have been a wasted opportunity.

Never Show You are Shaken

I was late, although only by a few minutes, but was on the defensive and I was young most likely compared to my competition.  Even on top of that, I was Black.  Being Black might not have been the biggest deal in the world, but I was a in a profession that required that you instill confidence in the customer as the product was an intangible.

I am not going to tell you that race was a factor, because I don’t know, but I will speculate below.

This individual was attempting to rob me of my self-confidence and I was not ready to let it go.   You have been in similar situations.  He questioned my professionalism (being late) as well as my age and I did everything that I could do not to appear defensive.

Build a Portfolio of Proof Sources

As you may have seen in BSJ 4/16/12 – Credibility, You Can’t Buy It, You Have Got To Earn It, one of the most effective tools to help establish credibility is proof sources such as letters of recommendation, accreditations, certifications, and other indications of your professional nature and ability to help customers.  Credibility will help give you confidence.  Armed with these, you can answer the questions about experience, age, and knowledge.

If you are new in the sales occupation, you will eventually have these questions so take the opportunity to prepare your portfolio to house these important items:

• Letter from prominent customers singing your praises
• Certifications and designations indicating technical ability and knowledge
• Your reasons why you should be the customers sales professional

These will help, but the most important display is your own demeanor.

Be ‘Cool’ in the Game

If you are new, you may not have all of these items, but whether a novice or a vet, you still need to be look confident and composed no matter what the situation.

Never appear smug but do recognize that you want to portray that the ‘solution’ just walked into the room.  You don’t want to be ‘worshipped’, only believed.  Make solid eye-to-eye contact and put down your electronics, retreating to a reliance on your personal skills.  Remember you listening skills and your ability to show empathy (BSJ – 10/13/2011, Empathy, Put Yourself In Your Customers Shoes) and always deliver solutions…. then sell (BSJ 6/20/2011 -Deliver Solutions…Then Sell).

Something to Think About

He did not involve my race in any of his comments.  He may have been tough, but he was a professional.  Maybe it was not a factor to him.  No matter what, this buyer was a tough one.

Regardless, all a Black sales professional can do is to exude confidence, be ultra prepared, and armed with as much ‘ammo’ in the form of proof sources to deal with perceptions that you might have basic faults.

I always think about being on time and not starting out a meeting with an apology.  Way back then, or even before it, I realized that you start from a weaker position if you ‘begging’ someone’s pardon as the meeting is starting.

In the end, I did not sell this account at this time, although I did sell him in the future.  My presentation was solid according to my manager who was on the call.   This buyer worked with me two years later.  My manager would later say that I ‘developed’ the prospect during that proposal.

Be confident in your abilities, even though buyers, and situations work to strip you of your ‘high’.  If you have prepared well, and know your trade, you should walk in with your shoulders high and ask for the business.

Always be prepared!

Your comments are welcome.

This is not theater, it is your career.  Show the real “you” in the most positive light!

_________________

Sales is a tough but rewarding career.  It pays extremely well if you are with the right firm, and when you get it going well, you will always have a group of skills that you can call upon to increase your performance, and your income.

Not only is sales a tough career, it is one where opinions and impressions of others can rocket you to success, or make it more difficult. Much of this is because perceptions and trust are so important.

I would like to show how building a perception could boost your sales career.  This is not smoke and mirrors, it is real.

Build A Perception

At a point in my sales career I decided to specialize in transportation and trucking.  I am going to indicate how the three major constituents (customers, coworkers, and managers) can positively affect you career by using a couple of examples of situations that happened to me.  I think you will agree that even though the wind blows both ways, good and bad, having people believe in you is a game changer.

I realized early on that I needed a “hook” in my career as there were so many different individuals that a customer could buy commercial lines insurance coverage from.  How was I going to be any different?  It was a plus that I sold for a reputable company that had a national advertising campaign.  The rest was up to me.

Your “hook” will be based on finding a niche, underserved segment, or category that you can build a constituency in.  Let me go on describing my situation and you will see what I mean.

I made a decision that I needed to “specialize” in something because being a “jack of all trades” was not working too well.  I needed to save my career by specializing, and needed something that would result in near immediate results.  I chose selling insurance to medium to large trucking firms because they would listen.  Remember, I believe in being an expert, and you might want to refresh yourself by reading BSJ – Your Customer Needs an Expert .

What Does Your Customer Believe?

The most important thing that I did was to study the industry, the terminology, and the buying habits.  At the point that I think I knew what the customer wanted, I began to say, “I specialize in trucking business”.  When I said this to my first customer, he asked me some rather in-depth questions about the business that I answered well, and he said that he would give me a chance.  I had passed the first test.

Following this, I researched his business and made a host of suggestions as to things that he should do to make changes.  He shot down every one of them except one.  But… he realized that I did understand his business, and maybe just did not understand his operation well enough.  When I sold his account, he said to me that he was so very concerned that he aligns himself with someone who was working with his business for the long term.  I think he was saying that he needed an expert!

This customer then referred customers to me, and me to customers, and were loyal to me during my sales and sales management career.  Darn it, if the customer said I was an expert, I was an expert!

What Do Your Coworkers Perceive?

Coworkers can help you to build a business persona as well.  They have the ability to tear you down as well.  The more you learn the more you can assist them in learning, so it is important to recognize that when you get the knowledge you will gain more by sharing than by not sharing.

They will sing your praises to others regarding your expertise and will refer others with questions to you.  In situations where there are new technologies or processes, you will be the ‘de facto’ expert and gain ‘expert power’ from this.  The people that you work with will ‘need’ you, and the perception of your skills might even be stronger than the skills themselves.

You might be saying that none of this puts money in your pocket, but I want you to recognize that it increases your credibility.  Giving you a power that you cannot claim without others ‘perceiving’ you in a certain way.

It was always said that if you see three people in the morning and they say you look sick or ailing, you might want to go lie down.  Well…if your coworkers proclaim you are an expert, and you customers consider you an expert….

Does Your Manager Believes In You?

Your manager is bright and  astute enough to be the  leader of your unit, but even this individual must yield to the fact that customers and your coworkers see you as a force to be listened to.  The manager is concerned with results, not just yours, but results for the sales unit.  It is a difficult to manage a band of sales professionals, and any help by having resources within the unit is welcome.

If your manager believes in you, this individual may give you more latitude with this type of business.  Sending call-in prospects or giving orphaned accounts in your field of specialty is an excellent way to recognize your abilities.  Your ability to retain, or convert these to sales gives you one more feather in your cap.

Remember that this individual is the key to increased compensation in many firms, as well as improvements in territories, resources, and support.

You have the ability to shape the perceptions others have of you, and it is time to start doing it.  Always remember that relationships help you win, and the professional who has the best relationships will win in the end.

Your comments are appreciated.