Are You Ready to Break the Bias?

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Attract the Right Job Or Clientele:

Are You Ready to Break the Bias?

Note: Janice B. Gordon provides today’s guest Blog, ‘Are You Ready to Break the Bias?’ The insights are essential for business growth and the precursor for successful sales.

Janice is listed in the Top 50 Global Thought Leaders and Influencers on Customer Experience, 2020 and 150 Women B2B Thought Leaders You Should Follow, 2021 and LinkedIn Sales 15 Innovating Sales Influencers to Follow, 2021. Janice is a Consultant, International Speaker, Educator and Facilitator; author of Business Evolution: Creating Growth in a Rapidly Changing World and co-author of Heels to Deals: How Women are Dominating Business to Business Sales.

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Are You Ready to Break the Bias?

As an entrepreneur, you do not associate business growth with the skill of selling. When I started my career in sales in the early 1990s, it was because I had a product to sell. It was not until ten years into my entrepreneurial journey that I received formal sales training. I moved from B2C to selling to small businesses and enterprises.

It was customary for me to be the only woman in the room and indeed the only black woman. Unfortunately, as my career has developed with international speaking, consulting, and training, I still find that I am the only black woman in the room. After I learned to get over myself, I looked at being ‘The only’ as an opportunity on which to capitalize. 

After completing my Executive MBA, I moved from financial services sales to customer experience consultancy. Henceforth from 2005, my belief about sellers’ relationship with buyers and customers changed. I realized that sellers must:

• Follow the buyers’ process rather than the seller’s process.
• Understand what is driving the buyers and the business change.
• Lead with the experience and focus on the customer outcomes.

The insights culminated in the Scale Your Sales Framework, which helps companies reimagine revenue growth through customer excellence and sales. Scale Your Sales continues to explore customer excellence and sales through guest interviews on Scale Your Sales podcast.

On the Scale Your Sales highly-rated podcast. We believe it is essential to highlight that women and diverse groups are still underrepresented in sales and campaigns for parity. We work daily to help break the bias.

Although the world has started to inch towards a more gender-equal and diverse world, we still have a long way. The ideal is to create a world without bias, stereotypes, or prejudice. We at Scale Your Sales podcast celebrate the achievements of women and campaign for a world where we can all #BreakTheBias. 

According to the report “Gaining the Talent Advantage: The Case for Gender Diversity in Sales” by CEB:

• 35% of sales managers said they could not find qualified candidates for open positions, yet women are underrepresented in sales. Only 19% of women in sales are in leadership positions— (the sales industry has the second most significant gender equity gap).
• A slightly higher percentage of women in sales (70%) make quota over men (67%). Yet, women receive less pay than men.
• Women typically stay in their roles longer than men (one year longer).
• Companies with greater gender diversity outperform their counterparts.

It is a myth that men are better at sales. The statistics show that women are more successful in sales and often outperform men. The Covid-19 pandemic has led to a step-change in this trend. The B2B sales landscape is shifting towards women in sales. However, organizations still need to step up. A 2019 study by incentive solution provider Xactly reported that 86% of women achieved quota, compared to 78% of men.

All of the above is why this GirlzWhoSell LLC felt it was important to compile the book Heels to Deals: How Women are Dominating in Business-to-Business Sales. The book documents how dozens of diverse women around the globe shattered the glass ceiling to become leaders in professional sales. I am honored to be a contributing writer with thirty other sales leaders. We share our stories and carry the torch to pave the way for future generations. 

In today’s business-to-business sales environment that is still predominantly run by males, these stories remind young women that they can not only work in sales but also be front-runners. Click here to order your copy from Amazon.

Sales leadership is a clear path to executive leadership. It demonstrates high learning agility and is in tune with a quantitative, revenue-driven business model.

The Economist noted that if the gender gaps in participation, hours worked, and bridged productivity, the world economy would be $28.4 trillion (or 26%) richer. According to the Pipeline’s Women Count 2021 report, an additional £123 billion in profits would be gained if companies with less than 33% women on their executive committee performed as well as those with 33% or more. Demonstrating that having more women in your workforce is essential to help scale your sales.

A recent McKinsey study conducted in 2021 states that women leaders were twice as likely to spend significant time on Diversity Equity and Inclusion, which falls outside their formal job responsibilities. It includes supporting employee resource groups, organizing events, and recruiting employees from underrepresented groups. Women are also more likely than men to create allyship in mentoring women of color, advocating for new opportunities, and actively confronting discrimination.

Following the pandemic, World Economic Forum’s 2021 Global Gender Gap Report, the gender gap grew by 36 years in 12 months. I do not want to wait 135.6 years to gain gender parity or more for inclusivity; I am demanding it now, not for me but us all.

Women in sales and women in leadership are a clear business advantage. It is time for women to be respected and noted for their exceptional achievements and contributions to the sales profession.

On behalf of your buyers and continued revenue generation, it is essential to attune to how the world is moving/progressing. I urge you to challenge the status quo. Unless you adapt, you die. 

I continue to openly discuss and challenge the barriers to diversity in sales and help sales organizations enable buyers to buy.

Let us all #BreaktheBias.

For More Insights:  Visit Elinor’s Amazon Author Page

“Communicate to Attract Interest”

As the CEO of Smooth Sale, after her near-death experience, Stutz adapted the motto, “Believe, Become, Empower.”Nice Girls DO Get the Sale is an International Best-Selling and Evergreen book – among the classics; HIRED! Helped many to secure the job they desired.

Related Blog Stories:

Sales Tips: Are You Ready to Break the Bias?

1. Be willing to examine difficult situations from multiple perspectives.
2. Admit if you habitually downplay achievements of those different from yourself.
3. Encourage an open work environment inviting new ideas.
4. Invite open dialogue and ideas in team meetings 
5. Reward people for their thoughts that contribute to business growth.
6. Ensure employees are paid equally for the same position titles.
7. Bring the mindset of ‘Yes I Can!’ to every project coming your way.
8. Continue to document what works well and that which needs revision.
9. Commit to refining all that you do to ensure the completion of your goals.
10. Celebrate Success!

Today’s insights are provided to help you achieve the Smooth Sale!

RESOURCES FOR PERSONAL AND BUSINESS GROWTH: 

Advisorpedia  Publishes information to help advisors build their practice, and those having interest in the markets choose investments, and find inspiration.

BizCatalyst360  Presents a life, culture, and biz new media digest serving as a hub of creative expression and personal growth

CatCat Build your future one skill at a time.

For Book Lovers Only   For Book Lovers Only introduces you, the book lover, to new and exciting authors and works of fiction and non-fiction.

GetCiara  Make remote your unfair advantage.

Greg Jenkins Consulting LLC  – Helping organizations realize the value of diversity to build inclusive, evolving high-performing cultures.

Growth Hackers – Helping businesses from all over the world grow with lead generation, growth marketing, conversion rate optimization, data analytics, user acquisition, retention and sales.

Inclusion Allies Coalition   “Everyone is welcome here.” Learn more to train teams, and join the advocacy program.

Internet Advisor Find the internet service right for you among 2083 internet providers across 36,380 cities, plus Cellphonedeal compiles great deals on phones, plans, and prepaids to furnish you with the best options in your area.

Kred  Connect with top rated influencers to learn from and grow your networks.

LinktoEXPERT  “It is not who you know – it is who knows you and what your expertise can do for them plus understands the value of hiring you.”

Lotus Solution LLC Helps organizations create diversity and inclusion to ensure a fair and just workplace, through customized consulting, training, and keynote speeches.

SalesPop!   Purveyors of Prosperity; how to compete against yourself to excel in your career.

Vengreso Provides easy-to-follow on-demand sales training for LinkedIn.

Vunela  Provides a unique opportunity to view Videos and read articles by World Leaders.

WebTalk is the one-stop platform Build your marketplace and grow social connections.

Women’s Information Network (WIN) An education-and-event-based Global Community of Women Helping Women Worldwide Live Their Best Lives through Celebration, Self-Improvement, and Service.