Where Are The Black People In Sales? | DeJuan Brown - 002

Feb 23, 2021

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DeJuan Brown - Where Are All the Black Folks in Sales?

Sales is a huge industry and there is much space for everyone. Still, one could ask “Where are the black people in sales?” DeJuan Brown talks about this subject in today’s episode. 

Black folks in sales

• There are many black salespeople out there across industries. They are, however, below the surface because they’re not vocal on LinkedIn and other platforms. They are focused on hammering down the work and there are reasons for that. 
• The black community is rich with sales leadership but unfortunately, we don’t have many black salespeople in the tech industry. We don’t know where they are because we don’t necessarily hear their voice, they’re not putting out a lot of content, and they’re not doing other things aside from hustling year after year.

The struggle of people of color in sales

• There is a problem with mobility within sales for black people. 
• There need to be more black people, black sales leaders, and black sellers because the more diverse a team is, the more profitable it becomes. 
• The ability to have diverse thoughts, perspectives, and ideas within the team improves the performance of everyone in the team. 
• It takes a long time for black sellers and black leaders to get to the level of social credibility and that is a problem in itself. 
• Black people can speak of a subject matter and post it without getting any invite to any platform. It’s different for white people. They’d post one thing and all of a sudden, they’re invited to all the platforms. 
• Even when a black sales leader has proven his/her work for a long time, there will still be others who’d remain doubtful. Even when heshe has years and years of experience, you’d still be considered a risk to work with. 
• Some companies are trying to fix the problem and starting to invest money in taking away the implicit bias in job descriptions and other hiring practices, promotional practices, and speaking engagements. 
• While the work on fixing the issue has begun, we still have a long way to go towards diversity. 
• There is a good community out there where the black people congregate and help each other out. Along with DeJuan and others, they sharpen their tools in sales, and they put each other in a position where they can understand the waters and become successful. 
• It’s important to broaden our scope on how and where we’re recruiting from and how we view talent. 
• It’s essential to broaden your network and to always be on the lookout for the people on your contact list and the people you connect with on LinkedIn. Be intentional in diversifying your network and the people you speak to and learn from. 

“Where Are The Black People In Sales?” episode resources

Check out Sales for Culture that’s about to launch on February 1st. It’s a space, not only for sales leaders but for everyone who wants to be empowered. It’s a community to help others improve your skills and hone your talent in sales. It’s a place where black tech sellers, leaders, and more congregate. 

Connect with  DeJuan Brown, Marcus Knight, and Jacob Gebrewold on LinkedIn. Speak with Donald directly for more sales talks. Reach him via these channels: LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook about any sales concerns.