Black Sales Journal

In a world of tattoos, hair styles, and social media, so many want to be ‘individuals’.   Be yourself, but also be employed.  Sales may not be unique in its level of internal and eternal visibility, but it is special.  The customer makers it that way!

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This is an interesting topic, and that is why we would like to cover it here.  God has given us the gift of being different.  We come from so many backgrounds that it is difficult to point them all out.  There are as many variations in our culture as there are reasons to rejoice about it.

I am going to give a definition of your culture that is slightly shortened from Webster’s Online Dictionary (Definition of Culture):

The integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that depends upon the capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations.  Additionally, the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social groups.

In other words, that which is part of you because of your surroundings and your past including that which is learned and absorbed, and that which you will be passing on to others.

This is a broad interpretation.  I think you will agree that it is interesting that culture, in the form of one’s diverse background can actually be a lightening rod for criticism or even a reason for exclusion in the world of corporate employment.  Comfort, likeability, even preference is affected by one’s background, color, and certainly culture.  Now these are not synonymous at all, they just blend to make a concoction that many employers avoid drinking.

Decisions on hiring, promotion, and even things as simple as who gets referrals and redistributions are done on the basis of how you are perceived.  Is it always fair?  I am more than certain that it is not!

What Are You Suppressing?

It is always wise to be yourself while in the office or work environment, as it is easier that way.  But…the self you need to be is the one that not only got you hired, but the one that can sustain your employment.  I am not saying you should be a chameleon.  You need to know how to be you, the business professional during the hours that you are selling the services and products that provide your living.

The workplace is a vessel of many principles and traditions.  You don’t have to conform to all of them, yet need to know which ones are important enough to follow so that you don’t damage your chances of success.

Suppress your culture?  Suppress it only if your culture runs afoul of the principles and traditions of your customers and your employer, and then, you only need to suppress it at work.  Should you wear your culture on your sleeve while you are at work?  I think you will agree that the answer is a resounding NO!

Let’s be Practical

Here is a brief look at some of the situations that commonly occur just to give some practical perspective.

Promotion - Your interview for a promotion is much anticipated.  You are working, in a conservative industry (commercial banking), for a conservative bank.  What do they expect from you in terms of your delivery, your approach to customers, your educational background, and your appearance?

Job Interview - You are in search of a position fitting your years of experience and your success in the past.  You are known as a solid sales professional and you want to move up in position by taking a sales manager role.  In addition to all else, your results have indicated that you are the likely candidate.  What will get you hired in this coveted position?

Reduction in Force - You are a solid performer, yet you recognize that they are considering layoffs in your sales department.  You feel you are a key performer, yet realize that there are others who have done a good job as well.  Your numbers are solid, and your product and industry knowledge are exemplary.  How are they going to make that decision as to who stays and who goes?

In each of these examples, there are two common denominators.  One is the fact that you are competing against others.  The other is that you still have a customer who has expectations from a business standpoint.

Note that you still deal with the forces of the 3P’s, Perceptions, Preference and Prejudice. Cultural diversity can and will sensitize this.  Whether you are black, brown, tan, yellow, or white, you need to recognize that if you are race neutral in your professional manner, you have a better chance of professional success.

I don’t care whether you are white or brown, if your organization has a policy against dreadlocks, braids, and Mohawks, you may want to avoid fighting it, and consider a profession or employer who does not care.  Keep your individuality, and exercise it when you are on your own time.

If tattoos and piercings are part of your culture or appearance, you should consider a sales career where those things don’t matter.  Most sales careers are not the place to be too different as there is a customer out there who will make the decision on degree of difference.

There is no doubt that you need to be the image of the consummate professional in the customer’s eyes.

Is this Selling Out?

This is a good question.  What I am actually saying is that you must play the professional role in this theater.  Be as different as you want during your off hours.  Your alternatives to conforming are self-employment and other careers.  You are not selling out by being the professional.

One Last Word

You can be an activist in the street, a militant about social issues, or a pacifist about conflict. Be what you are!  I am advocating that when it comes to professional sales, be the consummate professional (while at work) and recognize that you need to be in a mode that gives the customer confidence.  Be professional in your appearance and you will make the inroads with the customer, and win in your earnings issues.

It can be done.  It is done in sports and in many other arenas.

Be the best!

Your comments are welcome.

Selling is a fluid art, with some components that would make it seem as if it has its basis in science, yet we all know that is not true.  Selling is a process.  It has stages, and for many products and services it will always be necessary to have a human in the process as it depends on recognition of the customer, customer reaction, and intimacy.

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A discussion about selling styles always makes for interesting banter.  Just as soon as you figure out what your style should be, you reflect back on a sales call or situation and determine that you haven’t always acted within that character.

A Look at Some Styles

There are a number of selling styles that should be recognized.  I would note that depending on what text you read you are sure to find countless interpretations and nuances of sales styles.  I will stick to some conventional logic here in describing the styles I am referring to:

• Technical Sellers
• Relationship Seller
• Collaborative & Consultative Sellers
• Account Servicing Sellers
• Closers/Assertive Sellers

Which of these styles is for you?  Which of these styles do you need to exhibit?

There is a good answer to this question…all of them!

Selling is situational.  This is where the art becomes true to form.  Sales professionals who sell in one style will limit their effectiveness to particular situations with particular types of buyers.

A Closer Look

The sales process generates some notable styles.  This is not an endorsement of any of these styles as much as it is a cataloging of them so that the differences between them are known.

Technical Sellers – These individuals are considered experts, usually with a product that is complicated or technical.  They know the product or service like no other, and know its applications from the company view and from the customer view.

Relationship Sellers – These sales professionals sell on the strength of a close, personal relationship with customers and prospective customers.  Not everyone can do this, as it requires the right personality and attractions.

Collaborative and Consultative Sellers – This sales professional consults and collaborates with the buyer, outwardly looking for input and providing suggestions as to what could make his/her product fit the needs of the customers.  They listen well and look for those things that they can agree on changing.

Account Servicing Sellers – These professionals spend their efforts proving their worth providing exceptional customer service and getting sales based on the confidence they have build with the customer.

Closers/Assertive Sellers – This group counts on the technical act of the sales process, particularly the close and aggressive sales manner to get accounts.

There are other types, yet these stand out.

You Need Them All!

I know that this statement intrigues you but we must recognize that although you may have a dominant style, each of the styles plays a rather important role in the sales process.  Often, the buyer, and the buyer’s style determine the style that you use for the sale.

Example 1. Closer/Assertive Seller

A buyer is slow to make a decision in a complex sale.  You can react by buying into that slowness or even ambivalence, or you can move to close at different impasses, forcing the buyer to disclose his/her objections.  You move to being a closer/assertive seller.  In this case, you changed your style to accommodate a buyer, and to accelerate the sales process.  You move past the objections and consummate the sale.

Example 2. Technical Selling

Your product is technical in nature.  Tolerances are tight, and even sophisticated users struggle with the specifications and requirements.  You utilize your expertise to pull together all aspects of the features and benefits, and how they relate to the customer’s situation.  Your competition is bringing in someone from another region to “explain” the product to the prospective buyer.  Your advantage is that you are right here, and will be here when the competition’s expert goes home. Your emergence as the technical expert is what the customer needs to gain assurance and commit to the sale.  You get the order.

Example 3.  Relationship Seller

Inertia may be a physics law, yet it is sometimes difficult in the sales process unless you are the incumbent sales professional.  You spend time with the prospective customer explaining the process, product, and pricing.  You spend so much time that you get to know the customer’s needs better than the competition, and the incumbent.  Your relationship is solid. You know the organization, its financial condition, and its projections for the future.  Your customer data file is complete and you utilize the information to its fullest.  When the incumbent makes a mistake or misstep, what sales professional is the logical choice?  You close the deal.

Example 4.  Collaborative and Consultative Seller

This sales professional acts as the business consultant to the buyer, while collaborating to come up with the best selling situation possible.  You are involved in a sales situation with a buyer who has never purchased at this level.  The size of this ticket, and the complexity of this sale, coupled with the gravity of this sale require you to be close to the buyer.  It requires listening and “making the buyer look good.”  You do so by asking questions, listening, and involving the buyer’s important personnel to determine the product specifications.  You then use your ability to provide expert consultation to consummate the sale. You emerge the most sensible option.

Example 5.  Account Servicing Seller

You are the Account Executive who has been servicing this account.  You have teamed up with the sales professional on the account.  Your responsiveness and your reputation are rock-solid with the buyer, and you can use that to get an order.  You get involved in the specification and the quotation process, as no one knows the customer like you do.  Your reputation of delivering is a primary factor in the customer believing in your organization.   The customer continues the old order and awards your organization with more business.

In Summary

There is no doubt that these situations happen.  Actually, the same individual can be involved in example 1 through 4.  You need to find comfort in situational selling.  Utilize the correct selling style for the situation.  In the coming weeks we will touch on some of these.

Keep selling and stay flexible.

Your comments are welcome.