How to Sell When Your Clients Don't Look Like You: A Minority's Guide to Success in Sales

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I. Diversity Selling

1. A New Millennium

2. Selling is an Exercise in Likability

3. Selling Makes the World Go Round!

4. What You are Up Against

The World is Diverse but the Wealth is Concentrated

The Double Minority

Forced to Face my Fears

5. Bridging the Gap

Swimming Upstream

The History of Sales

Prepare-Prospect-Connect-Close

Chapter 1:

A New Millennium

This is a new and wonderful era! An era of diversity, inclusion and appreciation for various cultures, ideas and ethnicities. Racial and social barriers that were in place a generation ago have been replaced by calls for understanding and acceptance. Depending on where you live, this may not necessarily be the case yet, but the wave of diversity is an unstoppable force that is reshaping the landscape of everyday life as well as the way people do business.

As of 2017, the United States is estimated to have more than 324 million people, up from 281 million in 2000. Sixty-three percent of citizens are white, 16% are Hispanic/Latino, 12% are black, and close to 5% are Asian. Large cities have become a confluence of cultures, children are exposed to classmates of varying backgrounds, and television and media have become more representative of all races. Progress may not be happening as fast as we’d like, but this country is a true melting pot of thoughts, ideas, values and beliefs.

With this diverse mix of citizens, it is inevitable that we will have to interact with people who are different from us. People who may not think like us, act like us or look like us. Sometimes this is as simple as a brief interaction at a coffee shop, and other times it may be a complicated business transaction. While the exchange of funds at a coffee shop may not require much understanding, awareness and empathy, when conducting complicated business, success depends greatly on knowing the person with whom we are doing business.

While each of us is absolutely unique, we are all global citizens. We all have basic needs that are the same whether you are from New York City or Paris. Abraham Maslow proposed a psychological theory about our human needs in a paper he wrote in 1943 called A Theory of Human Motivation. According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, he theorized that those needs start with physiological, and extend to safety, love/belonging, esteem and self-actualization. Based on his theory, no matter what environment you grow up in, your basic needs start at the same place – human nature. How those needs are interpreted and valued relative to one another vary between cultures, but we all essentially want the same things.

Those basic shared needs can be clouded by bias, stereotypes and lack of exposure. Our basic needs can be aligned and yet conflict can arise on how we seek to satisfy those needs. That conflict can manifest itself through religion, regional customs or ethnic traditions. While our own beliefs and convictions hold value, we must not lose the ability to appreciate and respect the differences of others. If we take the time to listen to one another, these barriers can start breaking down. Think of ourselves as various species of plants. We look differently, grow at varying rates and need distinct environments to thrive, yet we all need water to live.

A Caucasian construction worker worked 12-hour shifts each day to take care of his family. He was married with two young children, one of which played on the local soccer team. Each evening, after working long hours, physically exhausted and emotionally drained, he would rush to the field to watch his son play soccer. The look on his son’s face when he arrived to the game was enough to overcome any fatigue he felt from work.

Sitting right behind him was another father, a Hispanic business executive who had been fixing problems all day long. His cell phone was still ringing with work issues when he arrived to the game, but he turned it off to focus on the kids. Every few minutes, his son would look into the stands to see if his dad had made it. You could see a calmness come over the boy when he recognized his dad’s face.

As the game went on and the team played well, the fathers would occasionally turn and high five one another. It was an instant and unplanned moment of connection as the fact that they didn’t know one another beyond those interactions did not prevent their expressions of joy. At other times, they would make small talk about the game or the league, showing a genuine respect for one another each time they attended a game.

In the midst of some small talk between halves, the executive realized that the laborer’s company was a client of his. They soon discovered they knew some of the same people because of that business connection. They engaged in an industry and business discussion that confirmed a shared value system. The executive asked the laborer how he thought they could improve their companies’ relationship and make things more efficient. This formed the basis of what would become a mutually beneficial relationship. Eventually, they established a connection that could enhance the executive’s company contract and get the laborer a promotion.

Had it not been for their children’s interest in soccer, these men would likely have never crossed paths. Two different worlds, backgrounds and interests kept them apart except for the hour each time their kids had a game. The men lived in close proximity, but until that conversation, lived in two different worlds.

When you meet someone who is from a different place, has a different background, or has a different look, it is easy to assume that you have nothing in common. It can be difficult looking beyond one’s own prejudices, beliefs or stereotypes. We all make assumptions and draw conclusions of others based on our own experiences and environment. These assumptions and stereotypes can hinder our progress in business and professional environments.

It is said that people do business with people they like. Generally, peoples’ likes are a result of their background, upbringing and interests. Those interest tend to be shared by people who live in a close proximity or share a common affiliation like school, sports or any other organization of shared interests. In many cases, those shared experiences bind people together by race. The majority of the time, this is not the result of ill intent or racism, but because of location and commonality. This fact leads to a natural apprehension for doing business with people who may not look like you because it becomes easy to draw the conclusion that they may also not think like you or have similar interests or needs. They may not understand you.

This is not as huge of a hurdle to overcome in all businesses. An engineer or doctor, for example, have a certain level of competence that is standard for everyone in their profession. If they can do the job, it matters less what their race or background is. This is not to say that minorities in these professions don’t face setbacks. I know black doctors and engineers who fight negative stereotypes and racial challenges every day. However, their professions are based on an identifiable skill, and their credentials tend to be a factor upon which they are judged. This is not the case for sales professionals.

Chapter 2:

Selling is an Exercise in Likability!

Corporate America in general has a problem with diversity. With affirmative action being a generation old, progress and mobility in professional jobs has lagged behind the intentions of the policies. In 2018, it is still common place to find minorities across the spectrum of professional occupations on an island. According to the American Bar Association, as of 2016, black attorneys make up 5% of all lawyers, Hispanics make up 4%, and women make up 36%. In large law firms, those numbers are even more skewed toward white males. In a report issued by Fortune magazine, of the 5,089 executives and senior officials in 16 of the Fortune 500 companies, 80% are men, and 72% are white.

Why these numbers are what they are is up for debate, but the fact remains that minorities find themselves in the precarious position of having to work in these professions with very few people who look like them. In 2018, it is not uncommon for a Hispanic corporate executive to find himself in a business meeting where no one resembles him, or a black female lawyer at networking event with all white males.

The euphemism ‘Climbing the Ladder’ is made much more difficult for those who must overcome not only competition based on merit and performance, but stereotypes about themselves and social circles that are hard to penetrate. The exclusion of minorities from top positions becomes much subtler in corporate environments, leaving minorities to fight a psychological battle with themselves and the invisible enemy of passive aggression.

It is not so much overt racism and sexism that minorities face in corporate America as it is a glass ceiling or invisible barrier. Fellow colleagues meeting to help one another while excluding their minority counterparts, unspoken office politics that seem to benefit the status quo, or inequitable judgments of performance based on an apple-and-oranges comparison, are all subtle occurrences that prevent minorities from advancing in corporate America.

One of the last and true meritocracies in business is sales. No matter what you are selling, your performance is based on your ability to sell. You are judged on your ability to generate revenue, not make friends. In sales, building relationships is the most important skill. Your title, credentials or accomplishments matter less, and your ability to connect and relate matter much more. Selling is an exercise in likability! The way you connect, relate, empathize and understand determines how successful you will be in sales. Still, there is a question of establishing that likability with people with whom you share very little in common. How do you achieve this likability with clients who you may not share a culture, background or any personal connection? How do you sell to clients who don’t look like you?

Chapter 3:

Selling Makes the World Go Round!

Have you heard the term ‘nothing happens until a sale is made’? Sales pay the wages for the person filing papers, the human resource managers, the warehouse workers, the marketing department, the technology staff, the drivers, the janitors, etc. The revenue generated by sales is the primary reason for a company’s success, so the more sales generated, the more jobs are created. Sales of products or services pay for the rent, the utilities, the health insurance, the office supplies and everything else. When sales go up, companies do well. When sales go down, recessions occur. Selling makes the world go round! Nothing happens until a sale is made.

That being said, there are different types of sales. All selling does not require the same level of commitment, expertise or sophistication, and all selling does not mandate a degree of relationship or trust. If you are selling a commodity or consumer product like a cell phone, there is very little interaction between the buyer and the seller. However, if you are selling a service like financial planning or accounting, it is imperative that you have great relationships with people.

In fact, there are the five different levels of sales: order taker, product-driven sales, needs-driven sales, consultative and collaborative. The first two require very little relationship, and the focus should be on marketing and making the product as unique and desirable as possible. The last three fall into the professional sales realm and require a certain level of relationship and business development.

Order taker – A salesperson who fills a request or order of goods or commodities but does not make attempts to increase frequency of orders or to find new customers. There is no requirement for any type of relationship in this sales level as long as the client has a relationship with the product. Example: waiter, fast food cashier, department store employee.

Product-driven sales – A salesperson whose focus is based on a particular product or set of products. Their sales success is purely based on the desire or demand of the product being sold. Example: cell phone store employee, car dealership, etc.

Needs-driven sales – A salesperson whose job is to discover and fulfill a need either immediately or on an ongoing basis. Their success is based on matching a need with a solution. Example: banker, insurance salesperson.

Consultative – This is a deep form of sales. Consultative selling involves engagement and interaction around a client’s core need. The goal is to identify the specific underlying need and form the advice or solution around that need. This requires a form of questioning centered on peeling through the initial issue or problem to discover that underlying need. Example: financial planner, attorney or CPA.

Collaborative – Collaborative sales is working with clients jointly to identify needs, evaluate the benefits of the solutions and go through the decision-making process side by side. Think of the professions previously listed in Consultative, but on an ongoing basis.

Your profession and product or service will determine what level of sales you engage in, but if you can add elements of a higher level in your approach, it will be beneficial to your sales success regardless of what type of sales you do. Professional sales require relationship building. To understand, consult and collaborate with clients, they must trust you. To build trust, you must spend time and connect with clients. Otherwise, your advice and expertise will be challenged no matter how knowledgeable you are.

If someone doesn’t trust or like you, they will ask tougher questions, have greater skepticism, and look for confirmation of their negative beliefs and stereotypes, all in an attempt to validate their opinion. You cannot allow your differences to equate to dislike. Your product or service or advantage will not get you the business as much as your relationship.

Professional sales can be one of the most lucrative professions to be in. Whether you’re selling insurance, industrial equipment, investments or consulting services, the opportunity to have unlimited earning potential is there. If you can build a substantial client base and generate sales revenue, you can earn a wonderful living. Sales, is less about education level and more about the ability to connect with people.

I’ve worked with salespeople who earn $3 million to $5 million per year in sales, and many others who make six or seven figures. I’ve been fortunate to establish a career that generated a healthy six-figure income for me each year. While most jobs pay a wage or salary regardless of how productive you may be, sales reward the productive. The more revenue you generate, the more money you make.

There is a reason why the sales profession is so lucrative. It takes a special skill to be able to meet people you don’t know and build enough trust that they are willing to spend money with you or use your products or services. Most sales jobs have a type of commission or incentive tied to them, which takes away the certainty or a definite salary. The removal of a guaranteed salary lifts the cap on how much you can earn. Although there is pressure to meet certain sales goals, the income potential is limitless.

Very few people are brave or skilled enough to have their compensation based solely on sales production. That means you are paid based on your ability to close business and generate revenue. Most people would rather have a guaranteed salary, hourly rate or some form of certainty tied to their pay. Incentive based pay adds pressure, expectation and independence. For those willing to take the chance at sales, freedom, flexibility and high income are all achievable rewards.

The typical career in sales starts with an organic network of friends and colleagues, and grows through networking, referrals and meeting people with similar interests and backgrounds. The people you already know form the basis of your network and potential client base. It is extremely advantageous if your natural network consists of people close to or in the industry to which you plan to sell. For minorities, success can be challenging when you find yourself selling in an industry that is not customary or traditional for people like you.

Suppose you are a CPA in Shawnee Mission, Kansas. Your focus is mid-level business owners in the area, most of whom happen to be older white men. You are a young Hispanic woman who migrated to the area for college and stayed to establish your professional career. You have the expertise and knowledge to meet their needs, but it has been difficult to get business because you share very little in common with many of the people you want to help. How do you get meetings? How do you build trust? How do you close business?

Most sales training teaches strategies for prospecting, networking, building relationships and closing business. Those strategies come from a proven blueprint of sales success in a particular industry. A new sales associate is taught industry