Black Sales Journal

I guess you could say that I have “Drank the Kool-Aid”  On this one!  There are just certain skills, attributes, and attitudes that you can have or develop that will put you in the leagues with the best.  Today, Monday (June 10th) and next Thursday (June 13th) I will lay them out.  Read them and be the best!

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Since late November of 2010, we have described many of the traits that a true successful professional would have.  We have outlined the activities and processes that would, over time, make a verifiable difference in this individual’s ability to reach goals, and provide customer satisfaction.

We have discussed personality attributes and skills that make a difference over the last several posts.  Once again it is time to talk about how a sales professional puts these all together and finds success.

Over the next three posts we will revisit these important posts and put these together in an effort to portray that individual who is sought by sales managers and customers alike.

This professional has learned the benefits of mastering relationships, both internal and external, to get the maximum leverage from each personal encounter.  This professional knows the different methods of getting exposure, and how to capitalize on it.  This individual is always prepared.

There will be some references to previous issues of Black Sales Journal, as I want to keep this as concise as possible, yet capitalize on the wealth of information that has been published to date.

Deep Enduring Relationships

There is no area more important in the long run than knowing how to ‘master the relationship’.  It does not matter what your level of intelligence is if you cannot decipher how to ‘work’ your personal relationships to your advantage, and your customers benefit, you will not have maximum effectiveness.

There is an ‘art to the relationship’ that is undeniable.  It cannot be substituted by process, intelligence, or hard work.  You see, the ‘art of the relationship’ is not an inherited trait.  It is something that you hone with every interface.  It can be aided by having a gregarious and engaging personality.

The successful Black sales professional has the ability to form deep and enduring customer relationships (Black Sales Journal 1/13, Deep and Enduring Customer Relationships and Black Sales Journal 1/20, Deep and Enduring Customer Relationships II).  This individual works with the assurance that existing relationships are strong enough to receive ‘preference’ as compared to ‘wanna-be’ sales professionals look to unseat him or her.  In other words, the customer prefers to do business with someone like this professional, and that preference ‘spoils’ the customer.  This is a powerful preference that is enduring, and anchors the relationship.  We all want to work with someone that provides value, and is concerned about our business, and produces results for us.

This ‘preference’ exists not only because of the solid personal and business connection that exists, but also because the professional is effective in providing the customer something of value.  Always strive to always be effective and always show value.

Undying Professionalism

Being effective is a good start, yet by itself it is not enough.  The consummate professional is more than just effective; he or she does those things that exude success.  We talked about this in Black Sales Journal 3/7, Be the Consummate Professional. This individual is:

• Punctual
• Empathetic
• Attentive
• Knowledgeable
• Organized
• Responsive
• Visionary

Most of these are self explanatory, yet I want to spend a minute on a couple of them:

Responsiveness is ever important.  As stated in Black Sales Journal, Responsiveness – the Objective of the Sales Professional 6/16/2011, responsiveness is in the eyes of the customer.  It is defined by the customers expectations, and includes such important items as:

• Answers the phone and returns calls promptly
• Keeps commitments
• Provides answers to inquiries and questions as soon as possible
• Stays in touch – communicates
• Provides requested information promptly

Knowledge will always set you apart.  This knowledge could get you labeled an expert.  This ‘designation’ comes from those people and businesses that have benefited from your knowledge, and make the claim in your behalf.  See a most interesting set of articles in Black Sales Journal 12/20, Your Customer Needs an Expert and Black Sales Journal 6/27, More on Being an Expert – An Edge for the Black Sales Professional.  Expert power is attractive to a customer.

Empathy provides a connection and a serum that convinces the customer you are real.  If you have no empathy for the customer, then why are you calling on them?  How are you going to solve their problem if you don’t have that connection?  Put yourself in you customer’s shoes.  Live their problems and your solutions will come about easier.  Always keep in mind that a customer can tell when you have no empathy as easily as you can tell when a love interest of yours is not interested.

Now for the point that pulls this together:  If you condition yourself to be accomplished at all of these different items, you will havecredibility. Enormous credibility is the product of having deep enduring relationships and being a consummate sales professional.

More to Come….

Armed with what is above you would think that success would be much more probable.  You probably are correct, although what are missing are the activities, habits, and processes that make the person formidable even if some of the personality issues are missing.

We will cover them in the next two information-filled posts.  These are powerful for the Black sales professional.  These items are hard to put together, and even more difficult to master, yet when you do, you have an enormous amount of power and potential.

Next up:  Black Sales Journal 6/10– The Ultimate Sales Professional Pt. II –The Black Sales Professional in Action

We hope you will read it.

Your comments are always welcome.

A week ago we discussed several skills that you’ve got to have, or acquire in order to be the best in your organization, or in sales in general (Black Sales Journal – Must Have Sales Skills – Don’t Be Without Them Part I).

You can make it without some of them, but to be the consummate sales professional, you need appropriate amounts of each of them.  These skills don’t come easy, but they are ultra-important.

Must Have Sales Skills Part I

We already covered the following skills in Part I as was mentioned above (Black Sales Journal 7/9, Must Have Sales Skills – Don’t Be Without Them Part I):

• Interviewing Skills
• Responsiveness
• Communications
• Networking Skills
• Relationship Development/Building Skills (Deep Enduring Relationships)

You need these, but you also need a few more.  We will concentrate on the ‘vital’ ones.

Must Have Skills Part II

The first group of skills was important, and this group is just as important.  Put the two together, and you have a skill set which is admirable.  Put these skills together with the attributes that were discussed in the post, Black Sales Journal 7/5 Customer Facing Attributes You Can’t be Without, and you are building a professional sales persona that has longevity and serious income potential.

• Durable Sales Skills
• Strong Organizational Skills
• Presentation skills
• Negotiation Skills

Durable Sales Skills – Too many take these for granted as they think they are easily attainable.  Fact is that every sales professional should have some real sales training.  Whether their company sponsors it, or the sales professional looks for it on their own. Many black sales professionals that I have spoken to avoid the sales training if it not supplied to them automatically as they question their longevity in this profession.  Recognize that they are not natural, and these sales skills are learned…yes learned.  Skills such as probing, supporting, providing proof sources, and closing to mention a few, are attainable or can be strengthened.

Strong Organizational Skills – I know sales professionals who are ultra organized, and know some with literally no organizational skills.  A quick word to the wise, the more organized you are, the less work you will have to redo.  With this in mind, the easier your life will be.  I fell in the middle of that spectrum, and had to eventually learn to be better organized.  I watched sales professionals who had a ‘handle’ on everything to such a degree including strong expense management, enviable prospect management and prospect follow-up.  They had it all together.  You need this skill if you don’t already have it.

Clean and Confident Presentation Skills – This is very doable with practice.  Giving a presentation to a customer or a group of recipients is an art that deserves practice, and everyone can tell when you are on top of your game.  An ability to read your audience and know when your point gets across or is a hopeless endeavor is important.  Skip the ‘uhs and the ‘you knows’ and deliver a flawless presentation that others will recognize as professional.  Presentation skills are important as you can see in the sales of any product.  When you are confident, you win (BSJ 5/31/2012 The Confidence Game, Why You Have to Win It!)

Advanced Negotiation Skills – When you attempt to bring in the ‘big fish’ there is seldom an easy catch.  Every customer recognizes that when large dollars are involved there is no better use of a buyer’s time than negotiating a price or a fee downward, or attempting to get more services for the dollar.  In each one of these cases the person who touches the customer, the sales professional, is the one that normally has the responsibility to respond to the request.  Knowing how to ‘bracket’ an offer, and how to recognize the gambits that buyers and representatives have to come out with the best outcomes is important.  Additionally, knowing when to respond and when not to are important as is indicated by the post, BSJ 1/12/2012 When Negotiating, Silence is Your Secret Weapon.

There Are Other Skills!

Of course there are other skills, but those shown in Part I and Part II are at the top of the heap.  Black sales professionals who have these skill sets will be outfitted to be premier performers.  Couple these with the attributes mentioned above (Black Sales Journal 7/5 Customer Facing Attributes You Can’t be Without) and you have the requirements for success.  Add to this the desire, mental toughness, and persistence and you will have a professional in the making.

Work at it, and always be the best!

Your comments are welcomed.