Black Sales Journal

It does not matter what race, ethnic group, or color you are, there is always the possibility of injustice.  You may think it is less prevalent now, but it still happens.  When and if it happens, you might be looking for an ally.  Read this.

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Sales will continue to be a difficult, but rewarding position.  We have had an opportunity to cover issues regarding the Black sales professional, the customer, and the employer, and their interactions in the course of business.  This is a complex relationship.

The effects of the 3Ps often have a role in the relationship.  For a refresher, the 3Ps play into the relationship in varying degrees; sometimes just below the surface, and sometimes playing a much more prominent role.  Today we will cover the reaction of the employer when prejudice rears its ugly head in the customer relationship, and how you might be affected.

The 3Ps Revisited

The 3Ps represent the untold in the workplace, beliefs, attitudes, and practices that can make it more difficult to succeed.  I will draw from the Inaugural Post of Black Sales Journal 11/2010, when they were first discussed.  Specifically, I termed it the “X” factor.

The 3Ps are:

• Perceptions
• Preferences
• Prejudices

Perceptions are hard to change, yet they are based on ones background, mindset, and their seat in the arena of life.

Preferences, quite simply, are what a person leans toward in their relationships, where their comfort level lies.

Prejudices are deep, often fueled by perceptions and one’s past, are deep enough to be actionable and problematic.

We went on to talk about the effect of these on your customer in Black Sales Journal – Preference, Prejudice, Perceptions and Your Customer).  This post covered how you can work with your customer when one or all of the 3Ps are evident.

The most striking statement in the post was that of the elements of the 3Ps, the most insidious is Prejudice. It is the most problematic of the 3Ps, mainly because there is little that can be done about it. Take a moment to review The Inaugural Post of Black Sales Journal and you will see that when it comes to the customer and the 3Ps, prejudice has little or no solutions.

When Prejudice Rears Its Ugly Head

There is always a possibility that a new sales relationship can go south because of Prejudice and its effects.  When and if things go wrong, you will be faced with being in a ‘sandwich’ between an employer who wants to satisfy a customer, continue to reap revenue, and hopefully, wants to support their sales professional.

Your employer’s reactions will obviously be affected by his or her own 3Ps, and you should expect that will be a factor (Black Sales Journal 12/30/2011 Preference, Perceptions, Prejudice, and Your Employer).  As a matter of fact, Prejudice sometimes is unmasked when customers and prospects are handed out to a Black sales professional.  No one has an idea of how receptive the customer will be to the new relationship unless the customer has made statements or taken actions that reveal it.  I would rather see this distribution of business to the Black sales representative than have the employer avoid giving them the best prospects to others in anticipation of a negative response.

When the customer reacts unfavorably, you will get an education, as you will get an opportunity to see whether your employer stands behind you.

An Real Example

I was a sales representative in B2B sales who was assigned an account to service and hopefully sell additional business.  I was more than willing to accept, and take a chance on, any reassigned account, as it was a way to increase sales revenue.  I needed the account badly.

The account was medium in size, and although complicated, well within my capabilities as a sales representative.  After much preparation I made my first visit to the account to make my introduction and discuss a change in pricing on the account.  My sales manager accompanied me on the call as making changing pricing at that time was a touchy issue.

After the introduction it was obvious that the call was not going to be warm and fuzzy.  The customer, who was an older individual, sat motionless with a foul expression even before the increase in price was discussed. Once pricing was discussed, the customer slammed his hand down on the desk  and said, “This is bull _ _ _ _ , you are trying to put me out of business!”.  “I will not accept this!  Get the hell out of my office!” he ranted.  We made a feeble attempt to explain the pricing but were told again to “Get out now!”

We gathered our materials and made a hasty retreat.  The buyer followed us through the open office, full of his employees, ranting at us.

On our drive back to the office, my manager and I discussed the call and it was obvious that neither of us expected the reaction, price increases were happening everywhere and ours was modest compared to others.

Upon arriving at the office the Regional Sales Manager (my sales manager’s boss) called me to discuss.  The customer had called him and advised that he was ticked  and that they were going to move their business if a change was not made.   I told the Regional Sales Manager that I had done everything possible on the pricing.  He said to me “It is not the pricing that he wants to change, he wants you off of the account.  He advised that he was not going to work with you based on your race.”  I knew from the conversation that he was sparing me the actual comments made.

Then came a statement that changed my life.  He indicated that he told the account that if that is the way you feel, “He is our sales representative, and if you work with us, you will work with Michael.  If not, we will, at your suggestion, terminate your account.” The account ‘fired us’ later that day he indicated that he was moving his business and never would return.

It was a modest loss of business for my company but a huge boost in my confidence.  My company had stood behind me!  Quite frankly, I appreciate what the sales manager did and I will never forget it.  There is no greater endorsement of a professional than to have the support of their employer.

Conclusion

I know that this example is unlike others, yet in backing a business resource, a devoted employee, I tend to think that the employer made out well.

Every situation and every company are different.  When I managed sales professionals, my actions had a sympathy to the sales professional involved as well as the customer.

Lesson learned:  Customers are always important, but the customer is not always right!

I appreciate your responses.

Few incidents are as striking as the one that surfaced in the media last week regarding  industrial giant ThyssenKrupp.  ThyssenKrupp manufactures, services, and sells almost everything industrial in all four corners of the globe.  ThyssenKrupp Elevator is the division involved in this major issue.

If you have not seen the a video of the incident which happened in 2010, you might want to take a look here:

German Firm ThyssenKrupp Apologizes For Racial Discrimination: MyFoxCHICAGO.com

Defining happenings include:

(A) supervisor applied brown makeup to his face to make his skin tone darker during a skit at a sales conference in Indianapolis, according to the report, which concluded that there was “substantial evidence” that Reese, who worked in the Westchester, IL office, was harassed because of his race.”

The article continues… “Though the supervisor later claimed that he was impersonating a rapper of Asian descent from the musical group Linkin Park, the skin-darkening showed the company “fosters an environment of accepted racial intolerance,” the report states. -Excerpt from Chicago Tribune article

“I never felt more alone in my life. I was in a depressed state. I would sit in my car for 20 to 30 minutes prior to entering the building, because I couldn’t handle being there. These were the people directly responsible for my success in the company. I had to tolerate it. But after that blackface incident, I couldn’t take it anymore. I resigned in one of the toughest job markets in my lifetime, but I didn’t care. It was a regional conference. Management on every level was there. And that was funny to them. It wasn’t behind closed doors. It was out in the open. It was a collective atmosphere created by everyone. Without question, it was tolerated. There was no secret what was going on, because everybody participated.”Montrelle Reese, Former ThyssenKrupp Elevator Sales Representative

“We have had to realize that mistakes were made, for example, the use of epithets to describe a tool to service elevators or disparaging remarks about [black] neighborhoods. … We realize that we need to take further measures to prevent the repetition of this type of behavior…. We will dedicate whatever time and resources are necessary to further education our workforce on the lawful and appropriate treatment of all employees, including the engagement of experts to assist in this education.” ThyssenKrupp CEO Rich Hussey

It is obvious that there are infractions here. I question if we would have even heard about the 2010 incident had ThyssenKrupp not elected to bring a location to the city of Chicago. Although the incident was denied by ThyssenKrupp, the city of Chicago, once advised of the story, brought the situation to the mainstream spotlight by publicly denying any knowledge that TK had such an egregious act happen just west of the city prior to the announcement

Hats Off to Montrelle

I have viewed the interviews of Montrelle Reese, as well as read his written depictions and quotations.  His appearance is solid, and it is difficult not to believe his story.

My hat is off to him because he hung in there and did everything that he could do to maintain employment. He reported it to is organization just as he should have done.  There is nothing that he could do about the fact that the office he worked in and the management that surrounded him were so wrong and insensitive.  Mr. Reese also did what he had to do in leaving.   It takes courage to leave as well.

If there is a God, Mr. Reese’s recompense will be a job in an organization that will treasure his talents, and appreciate the difference that diversity makes.  Sure, he will get paid as the things that happened seem egregious, but more importantly we can all learn from what happened.

The Westchester, Illinois office of ThyssenKrupp has proven that “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing (Burke)!” Hopefully, those who participated will be dealt with severely as is indicated by CEO Rich Hussey (ThyssenKrupp).  I would note even more that those who stood by and watched without comment can’t escape some culpability.

This was Racial Harassment and Racial Bullying

Let’s not be confused, this was not a crude gesture or comment, it was racial harassment and racial bullying pure and simple. It may never happen to you, and I certainly hope it doesn’t.  They were picking on him because he was different than majority and having no voice with human resources, or any other facet of the organization.

I will repeat from other editions of Black Sales Journal that if you are a Black sales professional you will work with, and for, some good people.  There are those who are not  good, and you will be exposed to them as well.  In cases where there is insensitivity remember the two items below and be familiar with the tactics.  When it is grossly egregious as in the Reese case, you will need some different tactics.

• Reacting to Improper Racial Comments From Managers

• Reacting to Improper Racial Comments From Co-Workers

For safekeeping we will include how you might react to comments from customers as well:

• Reacting to Improper Racial Comments From Customers

If You Get Harassed or Bullied

This one is difficult as it can come in many different forms. Objectively, You should always follow a few different actions when you feel this type of activity taking place:

• Always document the actions, including exact times, dates, and places of any incidents.
• Note all participants to a conversation and incident and all that were present when it happened.
• Inform HR when there is an incident, and don’t believe that this is a ‘chumps’ way out.  This is what you should do, and who you should be able to go to for counsel.
• If it is co-workers, management should be informed in writing, and HR should be included.
• If it is your direct manager, it is particularly important that any of your co-workers who witness this are noted.  They are a very important piece of this.
• Save any memos, notes, videos, audios, or whatever might be available

I also think it is important to tell the manager or co-worker verbally that you did not appreciate the comment.  The reactions might be interesting.  Whether you get an apology or an excuse, you need to look them in the face and advise of your sentiments.  Don’t give them the opportunity to say in the future that they did not know that they offended you….don’t give them the chance!

I will do a short post on remedies in and out of the legal system.  I am not suggesting anything in particular, as each situation is different.  Knowing the remedies is important, as you will want to match the incident with the remedy.

Always know your options.

Your comments are welcome.