Black Sales Journal

Happy Martin Luther King Day!  There is no more important time than now to begin to affect your appraisal rating.  Read this post and begin the process.  You are the expert on you!  With this in mind prepare your case!  Always be prepared!

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There is no time that is more important, or as intimidating, as annual performance appraisal time.  You probably don’t think that there’s much to be gained in this process.  If so, I vigorously disagree with you.  It is an important time of the year that evaluates your performance for last year, and sets the tone for the upcoming year.  You can have significance impact in this process and document.  Because it is a lasting document, and impacts everything from your salary to your future employment I urge you to insert yourself into the process early.

The sales profession is fairly objective from the standpoint of meeting goals.  As I said a couple of posts ago, “You can lie about the numbers but the numbers don’t lie.” In the end, the numbers or lack of numbers will define your future, but your best bet is toframe the situation correctly, enunciating what you have done and what you need to strengthen.  Remember, you will have the edge, as you should “be the expert on you!”  You should know your numbers and your situation, and feel comfortable leading the conversation.  Below you will see what actual items you should take into that discussion.

You might remember the discussion that should have happened mid-year, if one did occur.  We outline some strategies for this in Black Sales Journal 7/21/2011, After a Difficult Mid-term Review….  This was a suggestion to take the offensive, and hopefully you seized upon it.  This level of proactivity may be uncomfortable, yet it is well advised if you do the homework.  There is no way to hide from the fact that everyone can see your activity and performance.

No competent sales manager is going to avoid this opportunity to tell you his or her thoughts regarding improvement.  We all can be better.   If you are already ‘on the top rung’, this could be the opportunity to get additional resources that could result help you be even more equipped for success in the future.

Additional resources could be items such as:

• A sales assistant assigned to you
• An expanded territory
• More prospects
• More house accounts

Preparation for The Session

You know whether there are problems in your performance.  You don’t need to be psychic to know this.  It is not uncommon with being in a sales job that you can be criticized for your prospecting or production numbers.  The key is that you need a plan to get back on track.   You will want to have at a minimum the items below:

• Be honest with yourself –Honest self-evaluation is the most important activity that you can undertake.
• Know your weak points – Outline them, detail them, and understand them fully.
• Know your numbers – The metrics are ultra-important, and your understanding of them is the cornerstone to succeeding.  See Black Sales Journal 2/28 – How Many Prospects do You Really Need? for some help in this area.
• Craft your solutions – Come up with real ways to repair your performance.  Reduce these to writing and be prepared to present them to the manager.  Help can be found at Black Sales Journal 11/10/2011 2012 is Here! – Solidify Your Sales Plan.
• Ask to be first – Get it over with, and avoid the anxiety of waiting to be called.  Get it behind you and get to work on the 2012 year.  If you have the above items and are prepared, you should rather be first rather than last.

Prepare Yourself for Criticism

Criticism is natural in sales, but sometimes hard to take.  Sometimes it is pride that makes it difficult, and sometimes it is just stubbornness.  Tough words are hard to take, especially if you think you are not being treated fairly.  I will provide more on fair treatment below.

If you have done the items above correctly, you will probably have selected many of the same items as your manager has selected to present to you.  So here is your opportunity to ask for the meeting, present these items to him, and show your ability to be objective.  If you do it correctly, you hopefully will have already started the activities that you are talking about.

Fair and Equitable Treatment

In any position, sales or otherwise, you run the risk of being treated differently than your peers.  This is called inequitable treatment and it may be happening for a variety of reasons.  The reason could be as simple as the manager not knowing what goals or measure they used for other sales professionals to situation where a manager who purposely differentiates his or her treatment for any number of reasons.  Among these reasons could be such items as racial preference, age or sex discrimination, or even racial prejudice.

Your remedies need to be structured based on what is actually happening.  Be careful with accusations, and remember that even though anything can happen, it is difficult to prove certain claims if you do not document everything that happens.

Remember that your human resource professional might be your most solid resource if you think you are being treated unfairly.  Don’t hesitate to discuss it, and get opinions based on what you believe, but don’t make wild claims and accusations.  Ranting might feel better, yet it will not gain you an audience.  Like the 60’s television show Dragnet suggested, “Stick to the facts”.  I would suggest you reference Black Sales Journal – 3/32011 – When You Feel ‘Screwed’ – 3 Steps to Getting Help for more on this important issue.

In business you don’t have the ability to beckon for Martin Luther King or WEB Du Bois, you need to be able to surface your grievance to someone who is paid to be objective and readily available.  Think it over first, and check your emotions at the door.

There will be more information on this in some upcoming posts.

Remember your all-important objectivity.  I know that is tough, but your self-evaluation as indicated above will give you the edge.

An Important Note

Many managers, for whatever reasons exist, ask you to do the work in constructing the actual performance evaluation.  If you are asked to write your own evaluation and bring it to your manager, then you need to be wise about the level of your self-critique.  Be selective about what you include in such areas of:

• General performance ratings
• Areas needing strengthening
• Skills that need to be acquired
• Training needs

Make sure that you give yourself some room to work, as there is only 24 hours in a day, and 365 days until this process happens again.   Focus on what can actually be done, and that which helps you the most.

The manager should not be ‘bailed out’ from giving his or her evaluation of your performance, and if you do all the work and evaluate yourself, you may rob yourself of the opportunity to hear how your boss really feels.  Additionally, I am not sure that it would be fair to have a manager essentially say, “I agree with your self-assessment’, then sign it.  They need to do their part in your development by advising you of what they perceived would help you.

Get something out of this process.

Your comments are appreciated.

I have  had numerous discussions with sales professionals of all types and colors regarding the issues of prospecting tactics and strategies.  It is without doubt that any sales strategy that does not include strengthening prospecting activities could well be a real gamble.  Read this and get at it!

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We all might have a little gambler in us, but do we all win?  The simple answer to that is no!  We don’t all win when we gamble.  As a matter of fact, some gambling can be bad for your career.

The gambling I am talking about is that the short amount of prospecting time that you spend cold calling is going to yield acceptable dividends and benefits.

I am guessing that prospecting may not be your favorite activities, although you might even agree that it is your most prosperous.  When you prospect extensively, every week is the spring season in terms of renewing hope.  Rejections have less impact on your momentum as you are consistently touching fresh and ready prospects that seal the wounds.

A Different Way of Thinking

First of all, we all need to think of it this way:

• If you are cold calling once a week, you are gambling.
• If you are cold calling twice a week, you are still gambling.
• If you only take out the time to cold-call three times a week, you are still taking a heck of a chance.

I am going to suggest that you cold call/prospect 4 times a week to achieve success. Cold calling gives you your edge in sourcing prospects.  It is an activity that gives you confidence when you have a good day, and keeps you grounded in the reality of this profession when you have a tough day.  Keep in mind that I am not talking about prospecting the whole day; I am suggesting a minimum of 2-3 hours a day, and certainly more if you are new in the sales professional.

Cold calling creates real work in the form of follow-up, appointment setting, and the preparation that goes with it. Between those activities the training, networking, and even preparing for other forms of prospect sourcing you will have your hands full, but not be lacking for qualified prospects to make your sales goals.

The Black sales professional even has more reason to cold call as it will take more prospects to fill your sales funnel. Many of the prospects will fall out as a result of preferences and other problems in the process.  Always have enough to work on and you always will be prepared

Cold Calling Creates Real Work

The best sales professionals are organized and systematic.  You may be correct that cold calling and prospecting (whether phone or in-person) is tedious and monotonous at times, yet you will not be successful on a long term basis without it.

Cold calling creates real work.  After you do it the most important thing is follow-up and organization.  Recording the conversations, cataloging the buyer and the responses is a must.  As a matter of fact, you can waste valuable cold calling effort if you forget important details.  Record and be specific and you will benefit.

Now, many sales gurus and advisors prefer you to do prospect for five days a week, yet I am being realistic.  If you do it right, and you do it with the gusto that you need to, you will deserve the 5th day off.

Always vary the cold calling times for your cold calling regimen, as you will potentially reach buyers that you were not able to reach at other times.

The Best Use Of Your Time – Alternatives

You are tired of hearing sales managers, and people like me tell you that you should prospect frequently.  I certainly understand that, these comments and urgings have the smell of truth.  Your choice is to increase your prospecting or gamble…but there are a couple of alternatives that I have spoken of in the past, and will spend some time with in some past posts:

• Networking for Success (Black Sales Journal 2/21/2011)
• Finding Prospects in Seminars (Black Sales Journal 3/24/2011)

Networking at a networking event produces contacts and prospects in volume.  It may appear more like ‘speed-dating’, but it does have benefits.  They are low cost, as you are only attending, and they are low-risk.  You talk to as many prospects as you can, then make your exit.

Seminars are work, but can deliver results in amounts that are amazing.  Putting people with like needs in a room and talking to them about an important or impending subject is powerful.  Participants ask questions and your responses give you a chance to be the expert that your customer needs.  Don’t miss that opportunity.

We will have more discussion on these subjects in upcoming posts.  You can still have the variety that you need in sourcing prospects to keep you engaged.  Never stop growing your prospect list.

Your comments are welcome.