Salespeople, Sales Process And Ethics

Beaton Consulting and St James Ethics Centre have just released data on what Australian business professionals really think about ethics and this has significant implications for the sales process that organisations adopt…

• 80% of individuals agree that they are willing to put in extra effort at work if they know that their organisation is run ethically

• 77% agree that if their employer acted in a way that contradicted their core principles, they would definitely leave the organisation

• One in four individuals believe their employer is not doing enough to promote ethical behaviour

• One in four individuals experience people behaving unethically towards one another in their organisation

• One in four individuals believe that their organisation’s employees would not adhere to the code of ethics if they thought that profits or funding would be harmed.

So what’s the link to sales process?

It all has to do with the congruency or alignment of salespeople’s personal ethics and values, and how their personal ethics and values align with the sales process they are being asked to implement.

If 80% of individuals agree that they are willing to put in extra effort at work if they know that their organisation is run ethically, we could also draw the conclusion that a major percentage of salespeople will put in extra work if they believe the sales process they are asked to implement is aligned with their personal values and ethics.

A key question for business owners and sales managers (and salespeople of course), is to what extent do salespeople believe the sales process they are asked to implement is ethically sound and aligned with their personal values?

Having trained, coached and interviewed thousands of salespeople and hundreds of sales managers over the past two decades, what I know to be a truth is that many salespeople who have been ‘trained’ and ‘instructed’ to use sales processes, including scripts, questions, tactics and closing strategies that they feel embarrassed, confused, frustrated, apprehensive and even ashamed to use, are more likely to be underperforming and suffering from stress.

If you’re a business owner or sales manager, or a salesperson who has even the slightest hint of apprehension about the validity and appropriateness of the sales process being used by your business, I encourage you to contact me…..because ethical selling is not an oxymoron and you can sell successfully and still maintain your integrity…..regardless of how tough the market and competition are.