Feb 22, 2021
The pandemic has affected various industries. In this episode,
Cynthia Barnes talks about how the pandemic has impacted women of
color in corporate America.
Cynthia Barnes is the founder and CEO
of the National Association of Women Sales Professionals. It’s an
organization of women who sell B2B services in predominantly
male-dominated industries. We provide training created by women for
women to help them reach the top 1%.
The sales business during the pandemic
- Businesses have grown over the course of the pandemic. It’s
something that Cynthia has been grateful for.
- With a diverse team in their arsenal and with women closing 5%
more than men do, they’re able to increase their sales year over
year.
- Women just have servants’ hearts. We believe in relationships
and we are excellent in building relationships. Women have skills
that are innate to them such as empathy and servant-nature. When we
learn how to capitalize and amplify them, it makes us better
salespeople.
- The pandemic has given Cynthia three gifts: clarity, focus, and
gratitude.
- Clarity is realizing and tightening up on the
unique value proposition that you offer to the market. You can’t be
everything and you can’t be everywhere.
- The pandemic has prompted us to focus and to
be specific with our offers and focus on the needs of the clients.
We focused on how we can serve them best.
- The pandemic has also taught us how to be grateful, to show
gratitude for everything: for the good, the bad,
and the ugly.
Victim vs victor mentality
- When she was six years old, Cynthia’s father told her that
there are three types of people in the world: those who make things
happen, those who wait for things to happen, and those who wonder
what happened.
- She knew then that she needed to work harder and better than
everybody else.
- Regardless of the situation, it’s best to take full
responsibility for what happens in your own business. You can’t
always be the victim of any situation.
- Life is only 10% of what happens to you and 90% of how you
react to it.
- When things don’t go your way, ask yourself what your role is.
Evaluate whether you prepared for it and planned for it. Always
look for that silver lining. When life gives you lemons, look for
the quickest way to make lemonade.
- Don’t compare yourself to other people. Base your success
efforts and your success metric on what you can do and not on being
better than the next person.
- When you compare yourself to somebody else, you’re only doing
better than what they did.
- You need to set your own back. Don’t think small.
- Cynthia learned that as a woman in sales, you don’t get what
you don’t ask for. So when you’re asking for a relocation package,
ask for the moon. When you’re negotiating a new position, ask for
the moon.
- Women face interruptions all the time even when they have the
‘it’ factor; even when they have that presence. When you are
interrupted, raise your hand and ask to finish what you’re saying
first. There’s a way to be assertive when someone is interrupting
you.
“How the Pandemic Has Impacted Women of Color” episode
resources
Follow Cynthia Barnes on LinkedIn. You can
also check out her book, ‘Reach the Top1%: A Strategic Game
Plan for Warrior Women in Sales’ on
Amazon and her website.
Do you have more stories to tell? Talk to Linda Yates here. This
podcast is produced by TSE Studios. Check out other podcasts by the
TSE Studios including The
Sales Evangelist and more.
This episode is sponsored by The Sales Evangelist, helping
new and struggling sellers close more deals and smash their quotas.
Int-HER-rupt Podcast is produced by the team at TSE Studios,
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Audio created by Ryan Rasmussen
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