Black Sales Journal

Think of the best sales professional that you have ever seen.  Think of what they do sets them apart.  Some are personal attributes (See BSJ 7/5 -Customer Facing Attributes You Can’t Be Without), some are preparations, and some differences are skills.  Skills are attainable, and can improve with practice, preparation, and a desire to be the best. Let’s touch on the most prominent of those skills in this post.  Yes, the best sales professionals have to be intentional about improving skills and skill sets, as these are the ones that what will make them better sales professionals.

Tools That Change Careers!

Skills are the tools that you need to become as complete as possible.  You can have some of these without having the proficiency to make them count, so acquiring the skills and improving on those that you have are both important acts. Here is the skills roster:

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

Superior Interviewing skills – Interviewing skills are important to get the job, and you need to get the job before you can be successful at it.  Master interviewers use a combination of telephone interviews and in person sessions to get comfortable with a candidate.  You want them to get comfortable, and so I suggest the following articles to help you:

Black Sales Journal 1/5/11 Mastering the Telephone Interview Black Sales Journal 9/12/12 An Interviewing

Essential – Communicate Why You are Successful Black Sales Journal 7/7/11 Want to Stand Out in An Interview – You Already Do!

Getting them comfortable includes sharing all positive aspects of ‘you’.  These posts will help, but the most important thing will be how you behave during the interview, so practice, practice, practice.

Responsiveness – Yes, it is a skill! – If you are sales professional responsiveness needs to be your tagline.  It is that part of your ‘tool chest’ which will separate you from your customer’s previous sales professional, and potentially from any in the future. Read these post for deep explanations:

Black Sales Journal 6/16/2011 – Responsiveness – The Objective of the Sales Professional

Black Sales Journal 1/16/2012 – What is the Content of Your Sales Character?

The Black Sales professional has to be most responsive to get the preference that comes with a solid, rewarding relationship.  Never allow your relationship to suffer the chasms that happens in many relationships, which gives opportunities for others to interlope.  Respond with alacrity to customer requests and get the answers they need.  Don’t hide behind your voice mail because your customer needs you.  Change processes and habits to meet the needs of the customer, it will give you the edge for life.

Efficient Communications and Listening Skills – Your ability to communicate is crucial to your success.  This is an area that many take for granted and do not ‘practice’ on to the degree that they may need to.  You will not know what your customer needs if you do not have superior probing and communications skills, including listening skills to get out the key information that you need.

Black Sales Journal 11/7/2011 -  Uh! Umm! Make Communications a Strength Black Sales Journal 11/17/2011 – Are You Listening to Your Customers?

Black Sales Journal 3/12/2012 – Are You Asking Your Customers for Feedback?

These items will help you as your skills in this area, yet I will also suggest role-play, videotape, and even the occasional mirror to help you hone your skills.  You cannot avoid being a good communicator if you want to increase your chances of success.

Networking Skills That Fill Your Sales Funnel – You might believe that not everyone can network, but I guarantee you it is a skill that can be learned and even mastered.  Networking is much like speed dating, you get in and out, and get the requisite information to allow a much more impactful meeting at another time.  You are selective, and at the same time ‘throwing a wide net’ in hopes of finding potential customers.

Read these to learn more:

Black Sales Journal 2/21/2011 – Networking for the Black Sales Professional

Black Sales Journal 10/10/2011 – Entrepreneurs – 6 Areas to Focus On

Black Sales Journal 12/19/2011 – 2012 Has Started Already- Three Ways to Increase Your Prospect Base

The ability to network effectively is important for b2b and b2p, and is a skill that is well defined.  In practice working a room is one thing, but in truth it is an art.  The utilization of an effective ‘elevator pitch’ (Black Sales Journal 8/11/2011 – Know Your Elevator Pitch) and efficient and organized notes on who you engaged and talked to are important.  Good networkers are almost always leading the pack on prospect origination.

Effective Relationship Development and Management – You have heard me say on numerous opportunities that the relationship, in most product and service sales, is everything.  The customer is your ‘reason for being’ and you need to make sure that developing deep, enduring relationships is your goal.  It is a skill, and an art that takes times and an understanding of the process.

Read these for more information:

Black Sales Journal 6/18/12 – The Raw Truth About Your Business Relationships

Black Sales Journal 6/24/12 – Why Can’t Johnny Sell?

Black Sales Journal 1/13/11 – Deepening Your Customer Relationships – The Holy Grail for the Black Sales Professional.

No one item will help you more than to have the type of relationships that are built on mutual trust, credibility, and value.  Be astute as to the your customer’s needs and what you might be able to do to add value.  Master the relationship!

Here is a start, and I will continue next post with more skills that change the game.

Take time to master them. Read Thursday for Must Have Sales Skills Part II!

Your comments are welcome.

This is one of the keys to success. First discussed in BSJ about a year ago, I still believe in it, and you may as well if you read it.  Never miss the opportunity to master the most important relationship you will have in your office.

I am a believer in this topic.  Managing your manager is the way to success.  I was a sales rep, and a sales manager, and know thtat

There should be no negative implications for a topic like this.  We attempt to manage time, territories, expenses, production, and performance outcomes as a natural course in our jobs.  I would hope that understanding how to “manage” your sales manager would be just as important.

“Managing” your sales manager involves important issues such as training, performance evaluations, potential merit increases, territory allocations, participation in sales calls, and the allocation of valuable resources such as prospect distribution, house accounts, and major accounts.

This is not anything nefarious, yet is respectfully making sure that you get the attention you need, and in some cases the space you need to do your job to the fullest.  It also would be designed to give you resources you need in a competitive atmosphere to be the premier sales professional in your unit.

As a Black sales professional, you are quite visible.  You need to be calculated in your performance, and how you frame that performance.  Your manager should be active with you as well as an observer in your performance and work activities.

Relationships Count

The most important relationship you have at your job is the one you have with your manager.  Your ability to ask questions, seek assistance, and suggest improvements should be natural.  Likewise, your ability to get feedback, accept criticism, and be generally evaluated should be a given.

This relationship is a give and take.  He or she is still the boss, and you have expectations of each other.  You need to work at this relationship if you are not the premier performer.  The premier performer has his/her results to support the relationship.  Until you get to that status, you need the manager a little more.

‘Fair Game’ Tactics

Here are some ways to effectively manage your sales manager:

Communicate Upward – Keep your sales manager knowledgeable of your activities, and the status of major clients and prospects.  Your managers should always be kept abreast.  Sales managers communicate upward to their managers regarding major prospects and clients, sales projections, and goal attainment.  The last things they want are surprises.  By communicating these things frequently, it will keep them from making projections and claims that cannot be met.

Request Assistance and Sales Manager Presence – Request your sales manager’s help for profile and difficult prospect/clients.  Remember, you will be in the boat by yourself to get the attention or negative attention depending on the results.  Sharing the attention when you win is better than ending up with the sole negative attention “spotlight” if you blow it.  You can more easily manage your sales manager if you make him or her look good.  Have the sales manager attend calls that you need help on, but also calls that put you in a good light.   You can choose calls that display the strength of your relationships, showcase your strong technical abilities, and calls that reveal your technical sales ability.

Be The Expert on You – Your manager can have as many as 12 direct reports, and the responsibility for getting results from them, and a particular territory.  He cannot possibly know you, your accomplishments, and your strengths, the way you want.  It is easier for the focus to be on your weaknesses.  You must be the expert on you!  Know the following:

• Your goals vs. current production
• Your upcoming prospects and their status
• Know your ratios (prospected to quoted, quoted to sold, etc See Black Sales Journal 2/28/2011 – How Many Prospects Do I Really Need? for some specifics)
• Know as best you can your status versus the other sales professionals

Know Your Sales Manager – Knowing as much as you can know about your manager without being invasive is good business.  It will help you understand the motivations and better be able to answer questions and complete tasks.  Know where your manager went to school and the composition of his/her family.  Know his/her previous jobs, and what motivations are present.  A sales manager who was formerly a financial person may have a focus on the numbers and metrics, and you should know this.  The more you know, the better off you are.  Know the background and feel comfortable discussing it with him/her.  You will notice that the manager will be flattered.  Information from Linked-In, or your company’s website can help you here.  You may even use Google for this purpose.

Volunteer with a Purpose – Every manager needs some help, and you should be prepared to give some assistance and learn in the process when it benefits you.  I certainly am not suggesting that you be ‘oily’ and kiss “you know what”, yet when you can add something you should step-up.  Those that don’t step-up will probably get the items they would not have chosen.

Always be Prepared – Repeat after me “I will never go into a meeting with my sales manager and be unprepared!”  This is important.  When you go in to any meeting with this most important relationship you have at that company, you should go in with a solid agenda.  No rambling and no scrambling but a meeting with a purpose that you requested and are in control of. Have your questions written down, and stick to your appointment time.  Your manager will realize your efficiency and effectiveness.

Always Perform

Here is where you start to make the distinction between you and your counterparts.  To be most effective at this, you need to consistently produce sales results.  It is a given that you need to be in good standing, yet it always helps to be exceeding goals and be a sales leader.

If you do this, you will be “shining” the light on yourself.  This type of self-promotion is totally ‘legal’.  Make sure your managers sees what is necessary and knows your value.  This is something that you can do without seeming like a “weasel”.

‘Manage” this relationship wisely.  It can make a difference in your compensation and your future.

We appreciate your comments.