The ‘Vampire’ In the Next Cubicle

Calendar October 30, 2016 | Posted by Admin9!

This post deals with a serious topic, and once again I think you will enjoy it.  Remember you are there to make goals and make money.  Relationships may be everything, but…..not this kind!

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A sales department is best when it has a vibrant atmosphere and unbridled activity.  Once it gets going, sales professionals can be fueled by this activity and a desire to ‘compete’ with their fellow sales professionals.  If the atmosphere in your sales function is electric you will ended

You work with other sales professionals; some are on your team, and some you compete with.  Know them well and know their disposition as there is money to be made out there and you don’t need anything to slow you down.vor to be a part of it, hoping that success spills over to you.  If the atmosphere is more like a funeral, you will utilize your best judgment in attempting to separate yourself from it or at least insulate yourself as best you can.

Friend or Coworker?

As you already know, if someone is on the payroll they are a coworker.  The important issue is that in the sales profession, not all coworkers are your friends.

This is not meant to be divisive, but to stand in recognition that unless your sales function is organized in a different fashion than most, sales departments or functions are designed in a way that spurs competition.  This is not bad; it is just an environment that pits employees against other employees.  In sales you probably have learned to accept it.

Situations occur when you forget that ‘Emily and John’ are the competition and you believing they are friends share ‘trade’ secrets.  This is where feelings get hurt.  Be ready to compete fairly and recognize that these are coworkers, and you owe them respect, but give no quarter from a business standpoint.  Compete and win on the virtue of hard work, and doing things smarter.  Be relentless in terms of your persistency and always be ethical.  Your friends are not the same as your coworkers even though you may be committed to them.

Treat everyone with respect and don’t expect to find your ‘BFF’ at your job because that is not the way it is meant to happen.

Don’t “Buy” Anyone to Early

You will meet a world of individuals at your job and many will be in the sales function.  You will be asked at some point to give your impression of them to someone inside or outside the organization.  The most important thing you could do is to be cordial and helpful, but to reserve judgment on anyone until you are sure.  These are coworkers remember?  When someone rushes to judgement I call it “buying someone”.

Work with them, cooperate with them, but don’t “buy” them until they prove their worthiness over time.  You can be an excellent sales coworker without endorsing someone.  You definitely will know when it is time.

The problem with buying someone too early is that you may not have an idea of what that individual is really about until you have difficult times.  Tough times do not change people, it unmasks them. If you have given a premature endorsement, you could find yourself backing a real ‘loser’.

The Vampire

I once worked in a sales department that had a variety of characters.  There were journeymen, sage veterans, hard working upstarts, and then there were those who were full of complaints and found nothing right with the manager, the company, the product or…. the world.

I call them vampires and if you know some of these individuals, your quest will be to keep away from them.  You won’t need garlic, or a crucifix, but will need to strictly avoid this person whose quest is to ‘suck the life out of you’.  These unhappy sales people have the poorest of attitudes.  To them everything is wrong with the organization and that they bear not fault or blame for anything.

  • The vampire is constantly on vigil to determine who is trying to accomplish anything new and innovative, so they can discourage them.
  • This individual is peering over your shoulder to determine if you are taking any new training or courses for self-improvement, as he or she would love to talk you out of it.
  • The vampire is trying to determine what prospect you are working on as he or she knows all of them and they want you to think it will be fruitless.
  • This individual would do anything possible to engage you in a long 3-hour lunch as he or she has nothing to do, and they want to make sure you get the same amount done as they do…nothing!

The vampire can be bright and be full of knowledge, but just does not recognize that you get out what you put in.  They may have made a decision as to how much energy they will expend, but now they want to rob you of yours.

It is Real?

I once had the challenge of working with a sales representative who was truly a vampire.  I was the regional sales manager in midwestern office with an individual who complained about everything.  His field sales manager seemed to accept that he was going to complain, but eventually it was realized that he was hurting morale.

The vampire assured us that management was sorely lacking (I did not take it personally), criticized our products, attempted to negatively influence new hires, and did everything possible to turn sales representatives against the organization.

On the basis of performance, we had to help him make a decision that he did not want to be with us.  It was for the best for all parties.  I resisted saying that we put a stake through his heart as …well you know why!  Remember, if your goals are so crosswise with the organization, read Black Sales Journal 4/7/2011 When to Consider Moving On, and think about your next station in life.

Always leave when it is wise and always, always be the professional.

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

Category Categories: African American Sales Professionals, Black Business Owners, Black Entreprenuers, Black Professionals, Black Salesmen, Black Saleswomen, Success Tips for Black Sales Professionals  |  Tag Tags: ,  |  Comments No Comments

Is Your Sales Manager Managing? Here’s How To Tell!

Calendar October 19, 2016 | Posted by Admin9!

I was gifted by having a good sales manager in my career, and I considered myself a solid responsive sales manager when it was my turn.  Remember, you will not know every reason why your sales manager does something, but you will be intuitive as to whether your manager is working in your interest.  Read this and give it some thought.

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Your sales manager can be your biggest asset.  They can have a profound effect on your income, your job title, and your longevity in your position.  If they are a successful manager, they do many activities that help you find success, yet by text book definition, the role of management is to plan, organize, lead, and control (POLC).

That description is certainly not a listing of activities that they do as much as the categories that the tasks would be assigned to.  The management role can be the most positive thing about a sales job, or it could be one of the most negative.  The person in the role will make all of the difference.

The unit sales manager or field sales manager will find and hire talent, provide important training, and will manage the ‘troops’ in the effort to make quotas.  No one is more important in the role of a new sales professional.  Additionally, if this person is good at the job, no one is more instrumental in the role of a successful sales professional, even if it’s because he removes obstacles, and stays out of the way.

I am going to share three key points that one of my former managers taught me in the course of his management of my early sales career.  I am not saying that I agreed with all of these points when I worked for him, yet it was amazing in how clear the logic was once I got into sales management.

Do the Most Important Things First!

When I was a young sales professional, I had a manager (I will call him Jim) who always had stellar sales results.  He constantly challenged the sales professionals and could mix in this motivation with some rather ‘pointy’ jabs about your performance.

He was in sales management for well over 30 years, and he knew the turf.  He was hopelessly impatient and let you know it at every turn.  His knowledge of the sales process well exceeded his product knowledge, yet believe me, he was extremely effective.

We would have meetings about our sales funnel prospects that would rival scenes from some of the greatest sales movies (such as Glengarry Glen Ross, 1992, David Mamet) and there was no doubt as to who was in charge.  The process was fluid and the expectation was simple…sell, sell, and sell.

Here are three primary points that he paid attention to:

1. Pay attention to the most important factors and work them!

He knew that a couple of the items that were most important were prospecting and quoting, and you could not find a rock to hide under that could shield you if you did not do these activities.  It was clear evidence that if you were doing the ‘grunt’ work, that you could have some success even if other facets were weak.

Jim would shield you from upper management, to a degree, if you were doing the most important things and making money for you and him.  The practice was successful as his units had the highest sales numbers, and he provided the highest amount of challenge, sarcasm, and support.  Eventually you would have to do some things that he did not think were important either, yet the real testament to his flexibility was that he knew when it was important to ‘show’ well.

2. Pay attention to your most productive sales professionals, and get the most out of them while you groom the next star for your unit.

Jim qualified for all of the sales trips because he know this important fact that.  His power and influence came from having the unit be on top.  I cannot say that I always agreed with the approach, yet it worked for him.  He knew that he had some ‘horses’ that he could ride in the present, and he would need more firepower in the future, and that was a constant vigil.  In the beginning, I was obviously opposed because when I was one of those ‘newbies’ who needed help as I found my time pre-empted by some of the veteran sales professionals.

I learned that the unit had to survive, and be on top, and that was to all of our benefit.  Having a conversation about it would not have helped, as no one wants to hear that someone else was more important.  In the end I eventually got my time, and made the most of it.

3. ‘Smell the Breath’ of the Customer!

Be on as many calls as you can reasonably do, so that you can bring the message from the customer back to the organization.  Jim knew that if he stayed at the office that he would never have a complete feel for why sales efforts fail.  He decided that attention would be given to those who took him out to present quotations, or even to develop key prospects.

He knew that he could better explain our weaknesses in program and pricing to upper management if he heard it from the buyer without filter.  Additionally, relationships were out there to make, and being in front of the buyer allowed this to happen.

The best sales manager leads in this way, and controls in this way.  Leading sales professionals from the office does not work.  You have got to go out and ‘smell the breath of the customer’, and Jim did not take that lightly.

Relationships happen for good reason when there is a ‘connection’, and Jim was able to make connections that I was not able to make.

The Wrap-up

So when you ask that inevitable set of questions:

Why the heck is she always on me about prospects?  I feel as if I have a babysitter!

Or

What do I have to do to get some attention here?  This is ridiculous.  He spends way too much time with those two guys.

Or

What is going on with this pressure to go out on calls with me, does he not trust me?  I can’t believe that he wants to go with me…again!

You may have the answers above.

Your comments are always welcome.

Category Categories: Black Business Owners, Black Entreprenuers, Black Professionals, Black Salesmen, Black Saleswomen, Interviewing Tips for Black Sales Professionals, Job Advice, Sales Strategies for Black Sales People, Uncategorized  |  Tag Tags: , ,  |  Comments No Comments