The ethical salesperson
Jerry L. Kennedy | TLT Selling Points December 2009
Doing what’s best for your customers makes you a better business person.
Your ethics are decided upon by you ahead of time, and you should stick by them under all circumstances.
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In October we talked about the importance of being a humble HERO. By now I hope, you’ve had a chance to observe the effects of humility in your sales day. So let’s move on to the next characteristic on the list of HERO traits: being ethical.
After all, there’s no such thing as an ethical salesperson, right? Strange as it might sound, I want to assure you that there are, in fact, a lot of ethical salespeople out there.
How can I say that, though, when most of us have been manipulated by a salesperson into buying something we didn’t really want or need, followed almost immediately by feelings of “buyer’s remorse?”
What about all of the people feeling this pain right now as they see their mortgage payments double because an unethical salesperson talked them into buying a product that really wasn’t right for them? Unfortunate as these encounters are, I’d like to think they are the exception and not the rule. They just happen to stick in our memories for a lot longer than the good experiences we’ve had.
So how can you be sure you are an ethical salesperson—a true HERO of the economy?
First, understand that being ethical means always doing the right thing for your customer. No questions, no hesitation. You just do the right thing. This can be difficult at times, especially when the right thing to do is to not sell your product to the customer in front of you.
Being ethical means having the courage to say, “You know, I really don’t think this a good fit for your situation,” and to refer them to someone else, even a competitor, who can help. The reward, though, is immense. Not only will you sleep better at night, you’ll probably also get great referral business from that person.
Considering the current economy, I can imagine that’s not going to be a popular idea to many companies, but consider the consequences of not treating customers in this way. How long does it take for it to become obvious, both to you and your customer, when a mismatch exists? Usually, not long. And once the mismatch has been identified, how long is it before the customer finds a replacement solution, one that is a match? Again, the answer is not long.
While selling a customer a solution that isn’t an exact fit might look like a win in the short term, in the end it will feel like a bad deal to both of you.
Second, you have to remember that, contrary to popular belief, ethics are not situational. Your ethics are decided upon by you ahead of time, and you should stick by them under all circumstances and conditions. There are, of course, going to be times when someone points out a flaw in your reasoning, which you will need to make an adjustment in your beliefs. That’s called flexibility—and it will make you a better business person. For the most part, though, your ethics are going to be pretty solid. They have to be.
Having a mission statement for your business or career is a good idea. Your mission statement is the constitution for your business. It is the law that you abide by, whether you like it in a particular situation or not. If you haven’t already taken the time to create a mission statement for your business, do so now. While you’re at it, create one for your personal life, as well.
If you want to really be a HERO of the economy, just operate by one simple rule:
always do what’s best for your customer. If you can adopt that simple code of ethics, you will be part of the solution.
Jerry Kennedy, CLS, is owner of Inside Out Business Solutions, a sales and customer service training organization. You can reach him at jkennedy@inside-out-solutions.com.