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 Productions.