Who Should Be a VP of Sales?

I think it’s sucks that this needs to be pointed out, but it needs to be pointed out.

 In 20 years in tech, the number of black men and women I’ve personally seen in sales organizations is maybe 10. Tech sales is a White man's world. Those black men and women who manage to break-in face long odds. Because so often, the people we work for or hire look like us. They share the same worldview as us. And they get promoted like us.

 This is the world Marcus Knight came into to start his career. And it’s the world he faces today.

 And yet, over the course of his career, he’s been an integral part of 3 very successful companies. Groupon (early in his career), Talentbin (acquired by Monster), and Textio (a sales org he’s built from almost scratch). Those are impressive credentials for ANYONE. Most people in this business have like one win in their career, at least as far as having been an intricate part of a startups success, scale, and liquidity. Marcus has done it three times. One time could be luck. Twice requires world-class talent and maybe a little luck. Three times and you can’t touch him.

 Yeah. Marcus Knight is an incredibly accomplished black sales leader.

 All it takes is one. I asked Marcus how he persevered and he identified two primary reasons why he was able to beat the deck. First, he’s a pretty competitive guy. “I knew I needed to work harder to earn what the other people got for lesser work, lesser accomplishment. I simply wasn’t going to let them beat me.” Was it out of fear? “No. It was more like ‘fuck you’ I’m gonna beat you anyways’”

 Which, not coincidentally, is a pretty good mindset for startup sales success.

 But, maybe most importantly, he was able to find a leader and CEO when he went to TalentBin, Pete Kazanjy, who welcomed diversity and created a culture founded on meritocracy. “Pete believed in me, he wanted me to be successful, and that really instilled confidence in me and taught me so much about what it took to be successful. Everyone was on even footing. That was a critical point in my career. We were and still are a tight-knit team. And that is the kind of teamwork I aspire for with my own teams.”

 Marcus' story doesn't end here. He's made good on all of the years working for Tech orgs and turned that knowledge into his own growth strategy company, Cultured Perspective Inc. Cultured Perspective helps startups scale their business through revenue (think on-demand VP of Sales consultancy). Marcus is committed to serving Black-owned startups through his consultancy. In addition, he also dedicates his time to mentoring Black salespeople into leadership roles. "I am extremely passionate about helping my people become Sales executives. I figured if I want to see change, I have the ability to create it for myself." 

 And yet.

 Marcus Knight should be a VP of Sales.

 But in the end, "should" is what propelled him into entrepreneurship.