Black Sales Journal

Sales Representative Job Description– Individual needed to convince others to do something that they otherwise would not do! Job Duties – To make this happen, you need to be able to create interest, develop relationships, clarify the product/service and its uses, close the deal, and service the customer.  Not capable of being done by a machine or robot.

Why Aren’t There More Blacks in the Sales Profession? As a Black sales professional, or an aspirant one, you may have wondered the answer to this question.  As the question is intriguing, I attempted to research it on the basis of items written and published.  There is not much discussion in print. The only citation evident appears to have been a doctoral work done in the late ‘70s.  As that is somewhat stale I will pose some observations on this issue for 2011. In a profession that is “rubber meets the road” for most organizations involved in manufacturing and distributing durable goods, providing financial services, and others looking to put their products/services in the hands of business to B2B end users, a simple observance would tell you that Blacks are underrepresented. There are many reasons.  I will outline some major ones:

Many organizations don’t seek out Black Sales Professionals – There are organizations that do recognize the benefit of the Black sales professional and actively hire and recruit.  More organizations need formal recruitment programs.  In B2B keep in mind that only a small portion of that should be related to reaching the African American market, it should be generally to find the best sales talent available.

Lack of Confidence – Based on the fact that most buyers are white, the Black sales professional often has many concerns regarding acceptance.  This can be a serious barrier.  Mentoring, training, and general support can help here.

Difficult Assignments – Often when a Black sales professional is hired, they are more likely to get a difficult assignment.  Sometimes that assignment is related to an area or territory which has languished, or a company trying to reach Black businesses.   Black sales professionals should be very clear about the territory that they are entering and what is expected upon hire and deployment.

Lack of mentoring - It is well observed that we need more mentors, and there are many programs out there attempting to provide more mentoring.  We need to increase this activity to fill the void, as it is obvious that there are deficiencies in this regard.  Organizations need to provide more mentoring, yet mentoring from outside the organization can be effective as well.

Lack of Training and Support – Organizations who hire should attempt to provide the proper training and support. As they have made the first move, now they need to give the Black sales professional the opportunity to succeed. The Black Sales professional should request details about training, and ongoing support prior to accepting a position.

Retention of Black Sales Professionals is Difficult – Much of this is based on what is above.  A solid Black sales professional has many talents, and if thwarted by the points shown above, they will move to other sales positions, and possibly to other occupations.  Having them move out of sales positions keeps the numbers anemic.

The Professional Sales Outlook 2012 – 2018 The importance of this issue is based on the fact that as many occupations languish, professional sales is projected to grow through 2018. Let’s quickly look at the number of sales positions available.   The source of this information is the United States Department of Labor. This link will take you to the actual report.  This report projects through 2018. A quick look at the sales profession in this jobs report will show the following information:

Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Mfg 1,973,000

Sales Whsl and Mfg (Excl Tech and Sci)     1,540,000

Sales Whsl and Mfg (Tech and Sci)               433,000

The jobs pay well in the overall also:

• Wage estimates ex tech/sci– Median $51,920, with the 75^th percentile showing $74,310 in the overall.  This is wage, and does not include commissions or bonuses.
• Wage estimates tech/sci – Median $71,300 with the 75^th percentile showing $100,910 overall.  This is wage, and does not include commissions or bonuses.

Total sales employment for 2018 is projected to rise to 2,116,400 by 2018 for a 7% projected increase. All of the numbers shown are from the May 2009 DOL Report. Almost all sales positions have some arrangement regarding bonus or commission, although some sales positions are commission only.

In Summary In a country that has a reduced focus on manufacturing products, the occupation of sales has increased  in importance.  This importance comes from selling US manufactured goods as well as goods manufactured outside the US to businesses in our country.  This is basically the essence of distribution. You will note that the positive effects of mentoring are mentioned in the major areas above.  You can access Black Sales Journal 1/27, Do You Need A Mentor, Actually You Probably Need Two! Also, as we talk about  finding that new sales job in Black Sales Journal 1/24, 5 Suggested Internet Sites For Finding That New Sales Job. If you are an accomplished sales professional, consider mentoring an upcoming Black Sales professional.  It is the type of giving back that we really need. Thanks for reading, and your comments are always welcome.

Trolling the Internet for Jobs

It is not fun hunting for sales positions.  Although you may not consider it intriguing or exciting, it is a necessity for those who need a change, or are in a situation where there are shortcomings.

Now, in the age of the Internet it is a much more efficient task if nothing else.  Your objective should be to do much of your search with a reasonable amount of effort.  I would never suggest that you should avoid search consultants or even print media, yet the Internet is a good way to start.

What to Look For

I am suggesting that you access as many job sites as you are comfortable working with.  Some sites are devoted to sales positions only and some have all types of positions with an ability to sort down to sales positions.  All of them are chocked full of opportunities.

Here is what you are looking for in a site when looking for sales positions:

• No Fees for Access or Membership. Most will give you this.  In the case of a site that charges a fee, you should be able to access jobs to determine the quality and type of jobs before remitting.  There are some charges at times from sites limited to high earning positions.
• The Ability to Sort Easily – this is important as it will help you find sales positions as well as geographically segment your search.

Normal Job Listings VS Paid Search Listings

I am going to highlight some actual sites that could help you focus your efforts on your job search.  These sites have job listings, and some are “paid search” listings. Paid search is when the party behind a particular ad pays the site (the job posting board) to post the ad.  The position is not on file with the site you are working with, and the organization attempting to get your interest is a separate operation.  The site is compensated by a payment basis called paying by the click (PPC or pay-per-click).

That organization pays the site holder when you click on that job listing.   I only mention this as the pay-per-click ads may, or may not, get you the job posting that you desire, and they may take you to another site.  This is not necessarily bad as in most cases they are ads placed by Google and they do their best to make the advertisers be reliable.

Most of the sites have both.  The paid search ads sponsored by Google will say “Ads By Google.”  Note that they need to generate revenue from their ads to support the site just as we do at Black Sales Journal.  Nothing is free.

Popular Sales Job Sites

Here is a short list of some of the best actual job sites for sales professionals that serve the United States:

Salesheads.com

- This is a very good site with strong sorting and plenty of positions.  A must access site.

Salesjobs.com

- This is a solid site with decent sorting and number of positions

Jobs4sales.com

- This one is a fair site with less sorting horsepower than salesheads.com and salesjobs.com.  This site also seems to have fewer positions on file.

The Ladders – Sales-jobs - For accomplished sales performers and jobs over $100,000.  Also can give access to some of the top sales executive search consultants.  Good site mechanically.

Hotjobs - This site is affiliated with Monster.com. It has solid jobs and great mechanics.  This site has all types of jobs, yet sorts well for you to get down the sales positions.

Many of the organizations above show all of their jobs for free.  The Ladders, which specializes in upper level sales jobs, will ask a for membership fee.  The Ladders stocks higher paying positions essentially advertised at $100,000 and up.

In most cases you will type in a virtual resume including some salary expectations. You will do so by typing in your information. It is cumbersome, yet very common.  These resumes are for the sake of qualifying, and do not have the structure for you to add your full list of accomplishments.

You will still need a solid written resume’ to give you the edge.  It must accentuate your accomplishments.  The listing of jobs will show a chronological history, but the listing and enunciating of accomplishments in these jobs will show your successes as well as your capabilities.  That is extremely important.

Don’t Forget the 8 Items

Black Sales Journal’s Post – 8 Items That Can Help You Land That New Sales Job -  (January 6)  I can’t help but refer you to my comments on the importance of accomplishments on your resume. It is the defining factor in your resume.

Use the “8 Items” to get an edge and good luck in your job search!

For those of you that are happy where you are, we are happy for you, and good luck in 2011!

We look forward to any questions or comments you might have.  Happy hunting.