Black Sales Journal

There is a point in the career progression of many sales professionals when they come to a decision point on whether to stay or leave their current position.  This situation gives reasons to ponder some of your alliances and loyalties.  If you are wise your first loyalty is to yourself and your family, and that makes it even more important to make the right choices.

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There are a few questions that you should ask yourself:

• Do I believe in the Company and the management?
• Do I believe in the products I am selling?
• Am I tired of the politics in the organization?
• Do I need more money and a better compensation system?

The above questions offer some food for thought. Here are some responses that will give pause.

I don’t believe in the Company and the Management!

This one is as strong as it gets.  If you don’t believe in the organization and have no confidence in the management, it is probably time to leave.  Alignment between management, the organization, and those who sell its products is a wonderful thing when you can have it in total.  Alignment often is slow to take root when there is new management, yet can be powerful once it happens.  Alignment can even work when it is partial.

If you are selling a product for an organization that you do not believe in, it is the start of trouble.  If you are selling for an organization that you do not believe in, and also selling a product that you don’t believe in, I suggest you find the door.

If you can fake passion for your organization and your product for a long period of time, you might feign effectiveness, but you are still a candidate for a job change.

I don’t believe in the Product!

This one can be vexing, as products and services are changed and upgraded constantly.  Be careful in considering changing jobs for this reason, but if you do not believe in the product, it will show.  Defending and promoting a product that is, in your mind, so flawed or ill-priced that you don’t feel that you can properly promote it is a tough situation.

Is your company out of step?   Is your company poor at R&D?  The good part is that usually you have a suite of products, and some are more solid than others.

Do a good evaluation on this issue.  Remember products change, and improvements happen.  Do not use it as an excuse if it is just a reason for concern.  Keep in mind that things are seldom clear-cut as they appear.  For instance, the products that are priced the most attractive and competitively often have lower commission rates.  You then have a more attractive product price, but get paid less.  This is a game of give and take.

No matter what, if the product is lacking, and no one in sales or in marketing cares, then it might be time to leave.

I am sick of the Politics and the Process in My Organization!

There are politics in any organizations as a whole, and there is definitely a home for politics in an organization’s sales department or function.  There is no science in the distribution of prospects, territories, or many of the other spoils of sales.  Much happens that could be considered unfair, depending on your point of view. We face the fact that in the sales function, concerns for one’s own well being makes many things appear unfair.

These inequities should be addressed, if they are real.  I cite some ways to deal with this in Black Sales Journal 3/3 – Do You Feel “Screwed”?.  You should professionally state your concerns and give some opportunity for things to change.

Remember, this is most often less than systemic; it is usually an individual manager’s actions in most cases. When it is systemic, it is hard to prove, yet no less worthy of being spotlighted.  Be prudent, and never petty, as it will diminish your point.  Keep in mind that pushing for transparency in the sales function is probably a battle that will not be totally successful.

I Need More Money!

Perhaps you do, but be honest with yourself about whether that is true, and why you are not making it at your current employer.  Brutal honesty is necessary to keep from “kicking the can down the road”, meaning moving from one sales job to another without changing any particular part of yourself or finding the type of job that fits you could make the next job more ‘permanent’.

The average sales volumes, average commissions, average bonus, and average income for your position, would make for questions that you might want to investigate.  There is one more question that tells a story.  What is the average tenure or longevity of a sales professional in your organization?

So the question is “how long do sales professionals stay, and how much do they make!!!”  Is the problem something structural like the remuneration system?

This one is important as it can be rather revealing for you.  If others are making more because they are selling more than you, then there may be some self-indictment.

Be Brutally Honest with Yourself!

Do a good evaluation of the questions above.  Know how these questions and subsequent answers relate to you.  You cannot be successful in the long haul without making adjustment after adjustment.

If you don’t like prospecting, work to solve your problems.  If you are not organized, get there by coursework and attention to the problem.  Work on your sales skills and your regimen and always seek to improve yourself.

Don’t “kick the can down the road” by changing employers frequently for all of the wrong reasons, engage in constant improvement and adjust and adapt as is necessary.

If the time comes that you must leave for any of the reasons cited above, you should professionally consider moving on.  Always be the professional.

We are anxious to hear your comments. You can reach me at Michael.Parker@blacksalesjournal.com.

Some times you have to face the music.  Know when to let go, and how to do it.  This post will help with this enormous task. Sometimes a situation is “just not for you!”

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In Black Sales Journal we have talked about a lot of topics, many of them being fairly sensitive.  This topic is one of those that is practical, as the profession of sales, and certainly the plight of the Black sales professional can lead to some tough decisions.

There are many solid reasons to leave a sales position at an organization, but more reasons to stay and be successful.  But if you must leave, you must leave!  Organizations are ‘organic’, meaning they change and respond to their surroundings, but these organizations, and their sales functions are far from perfect.

But don’t expect perfection, as a matter of fact, expect imperfection and find a situation that favors you.  It is natural that organizations are imperfect, because the people that run these organizations are imperfect as well.

As you may remember from past issues of Black Sales Journal, you work directly for a person, not for the whole of ABC Corporation!  Your relationship is with a supervisor, manager, or in some cases an owner/principal (if it is a smaller firm).  Remember that issue because your ability to form productive and mutually rewarding relationships is the most important activity that you can undertake.  Relationships are everything!

8 Reasons to ‘Ditch’ Your Sales Job!

These are not the only eight reasons, but they are reasons that manifest themselves in many sales organizations, and some of them specifically affect Black sales professionals.  We talked about some of it in Black Sales Journal 4/7/11, When to Consider Moving On.  Take a look at this one as well.

Let me state before showing these items that I think there are things that stem from adversity that build character and sharpen focus.  Now character building and focus sharpening do not pay the rent or house note.  Make good decisions though and don’t run from difficult situations.  Gotta Go, Gotta Go!

You don’t believe in your product or service anymore – If you really don’t, this is a true reason.  If you don’t believe in it, it will undoubtedly show through in your work.  Find something else to sell, or you will be a faker, a hypocrite, or even worse, a liar.  Understand, you don’t have to believe in your product to sell it, but if you don’t, you won’t necessarily defend, promote, and evangelize the merits of the product to the degree necessary to be a premier sales professional.

You don’t believe in, or respect your company’s management – If it is your belief that your management is ‘Mickey Mouse’ or even worse, you obviously can still work there.  If it grates you to a big degree that they can’t get it right, you may need new management, and thus a new company.  If they can’t define the direction of the organization, or ‘waive like a reed in the wind’ constantly changing program and direction, you may desire new leadership

Your relationship with your sales manager is strained and irreparable – This one is simple, but complicated.  Here we are in the most important relationship you can have in the workplace.  If this one does not work naturally, or does not respond to some attention on your part, you have to ask yourself one question:  “Am I able to make it at this place without managerial support?”  If you pretty much can do it and enjoy the benefits of a solid income and work conditions, even without this relationship being ‘warm’, then I would try to hang in there.  Remember, managers turn over also!

You are working ridiculous hours and have literally no family or personal life – This one does not happen as much in the sales world as in some other office settings, but when it does happen, it is usually because of not having much sales support.  If that is the case, you need to measure the positives of the organization against the detriments.  If you are leaving at 5:30A and getting home at 7:30P with regularity and at the same time you are sure you are efficient at what you do, you probably need another situation.  Maintaining work-life balance is important or your mate will be stressed and your children will miss you.

Business ethics are an issue with your sales manager or company management – If you think that your manager, or your company’s senior management is unethical in terms of they way they treat people, finances, or laws, then it is time to go.  See Black Sales Journal 12/1/2011, Are You Ethical?Make sure that you have solid justifications, and then make your decision and go.  No needs for a spectacle, but if there is an ethics problem and you feel the need to state it, do it in your exit interview or in a well-spoken memo to human resources and your manager.  This one should come from your heart and your head.  If you really feel it, then you need to do it.  We are all known by the company we keep!

You cannot make enough money at this company – If you cannot make enough money to live on because of the compensation or remuneration system, you may need to give it up.  If you cannot make enough money based on the inferiority of the product, you may have to cut ties as well.  You have to be objective regarding your abilities and your effort and you need to ask the question, “How would I fare under another system?”

Stress is taking over your life and causing you medical problems including lack of sleep – If you are stressing over your sales position in such a way that you get no requisite sleep and rest and you are losing appetite, you are either in the wrong job or the wrong profession.  Things always get worse before they get better in employment situations, so begin your assessment as to whether the job, or occupation is for you, and if you need a change, start now.

The issues of racial fairness, and gender equity exist, and all means for remedies are shut down. – This is a big one.  If your manager, or managers are inherently unfair, at least, or potentially prejudiced or discriminatory, you have some decisions to make.  Note BSJ 12/20/2010 Preference, Perceptions, Prejudice, and Your Employer and recognize that the solutions get decidedly slim when you are dealing with the unfairness of racial discrimination.  Racial preference is one thing; prejudice is a whole different ‘ballgame’.  Put up the good and dignified fight, but if you sense the imperative to vacate, then it is understandable.

No matter what you do, leave with dignity, and as a professional. Never succumb to the pettiness of spite.  You are better than that.  In the near future, we will once again discuss remedies for injustices, but in most cases these items above are not injustices, just a bad systems and poor management.

Keep reading over the next few weeks and you will find out how to deal with many of these issues.

Your comments are welcome. You can reach me at Michael.Parker@BlackSalesJournal.com.