If you work in sales or run a business, you understand the importance of ethical behavior in your industry.
The public perception of salespeople is overwhelmingly negative, with only 3% of global respondents to a HubSpot poll reporting that they view salespeople as trustworthy.
Break the stigma of unethical sales by selling with integrity. Wondering how to integrate integrity into your sales process? Let’s dive into why sales ethics are crucial and how to implement these best practices.
Ethical behavior in sales is beneficial for everyone involved – you, your customers and your company.
For your customers, ethical sales practices can:
Build trust and loyalty: Customers value ethical brands, fostering a sense of reliability and trust that keeps them coming back.
Increase satisfaction: Unethical practices, like scams or dishonesty, can anger customers. Treating them like you would want to be treated as a customer can increase their satisfaction levels with your process and brand.
Protect the customer’s interests: Staying ethical in sales also keeps your customers safe. If you are lying or embellishing features of products, this could inadvertently harm customers. If they aren’t aware of a product or service’s drawbacks, they may purchase something that isn’t suited for their situation or, worse, causes physical, financial, or emotional harm.
For your company, sales ethics can:
Protect and enhance company reputation: Your company will be seen as more authoritative and trustworthy if its customer-facing departments — such as sales — showcase integrity regularly.
Increase sales effectiveness and long-term success: Customers will often recommend friends and family members if they’ve had a positive experience with a company that operates ethically.
Attract quality employees: If job-seekers feel as if your company prioritizes ethics and integrity, they’ll be more likely to want to work for you. Distinguishing your business’ reputation in this way, combined with factors such as employee growth opportunities and quality benefits, can set you apart as an employer and make your organization a desirable place to work.
Create a positive work culture: Ethics can create a self-fulfilling cycle of positivity in your work culture. Especially in customer-facing settings, where putting the client first is crucial, practicing integrity can not only show commitment to your customers but can also influence your staff. You’ll attract employees with integrity who will be more likely to abide by an ethical code if they see this modeled by leadership and fellow colleagues.
Examples of ethical behavior in sales
To understand the practical application of ethics and integrity in sales, imagine these scenarios.
A software salesperson realizes that their suite of tools doesn’t include a specific feature the client is looking for. Instead of pretending the feature is included, the salesperson acknowledges the missing feature and offers solutions with different tools within the suite.
In another case, a car insurance salesperson encounters an ideal client for their next sale – a customer who just purchased an older model vehicle. When the salesperson approaches this customer, however, the customer expresses that they just used all of their savings to purchase this car. They detail their financial troubles, and the salesperson acknowledges this, gives them their contact info for when they’re ready, and steps back.
These examples keep the best interests of the customers in mind. The software salesperson won’t be selling their product to a customer that will be dissatisfied. The vehicle salesperson won’t come across pushy and force the customer into a purchase that won’t financially benefit them currently. Both tactics can increase satisfaction and boost trust in the customer, resulting in better reviews and the possibility of future sales.
Part II: 8 Best Practices to Sell with Integrity
Author
Get our newsletter and digital focus reports
Stay current on learning and development trends, best practices, research, new products and technologies, case studies and much more.
