Black Sales Journal

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.

Negotiating a salary in a new job, or an existing job is no joke.  It is the way you make your living, and your job is to make sure you get paid!

I received a testimonial that I want to share.  For some reason, the majority of BSJ readers who respond with comments do so by writing me directly.  I certainly do not mind, as many want to ask for advice regarding their relationship with their employer; and that certainly makes sense to me.  I always appreciate comments, responses, and testimonials regardless of whether they appear in the publication.

This following two pieces of correspondence was shared by a BSJ subscriber who we can all be proud of:

DATE – April XX, 2013

Hello Michael,

First, I want to thank you for all the amazing sales advice and insights your blog provides, especially since it’s geared towards professionals of color!

I’m in my first of year of sales (I sell  industrial supplies) and have had some substantial success so far. I’ve been approached by another company and I just received an offer. I just read your post on ’Negotiating Salary’ and have crafted my counter offer. I will present it tomorrow morning and will let you know how it goes. Please keep up the great work!

Sincerely D,
Boston, MA

_______

A few days later I received this one:

DATE –  April XX, 2013

Hello Michael,

I have good news! The negotiations went very well. I was able to get 10k more in base pay with only a 3% decrease in commission (from 8% – to 5%) I also got a bigger car allowance!

I did everything that the articles recommended and the results speak for themselves. I’m not going to lie, I was very nervous, as I had never negotiated my salary before, but like the saying goes: “closed mouths don’t get fed”.

Feel free to use this email as a testimonial and keep up the great work!

Sincerely D
Boston, MA

________

I thank “D” for the communications and the update.  I also thank him, and the rest of you for reading Black Sales Journal.

Need Some Help Negotiation Your Salary?

Almost annually I publish some assistance that you should be aware of.

• Black Sales Journal – How to Get The Salary That You Want – I
• Black Sales Journal – How to Get the Salary That You Want – II

These two posts are common sense approaches to helping you get the salary and benefit packages that will make the position worth while.

It is not a matter of reading these; it is a matter of “buying in” and doing the pre-work.  It is a matter of having substantiation through research, and taking the right actions.

Dedicated to Helping Black Sales Professionals Achieve Success

I have another that I will be sharing in an issue this month.  They feel good because the “cards can be stacked against you”.

Share Black Sales Journal with other Black professionals and make sure to:

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Any of these methods will ensure that you do no miss a post.  I will protect your information and never share your email address.

Also, please note that if you are a Black Sales Journal reader, feel free to link with me on LinkedIn.

Always be prepared.

Your comments are appreciated.