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Ethics: The Foundation for Relationships in Selling

Ethics: The Foundation for Relationships in Selling. Concepts and Practice. Ethics: To Ponder. What do you think are the most common ethical dilemmas that salespeople face? How do you think the average salesperson performs in each of those situations?. Making Ethical Decisions.

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Ethics: The Foundation for Relationships in Selling

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  1. Ethics: The Foundation for Relationships in Selling Concepts and Practice

  2. Ethics: To Ponder • What do you think are the most common ethical dilemmas that salespeople face? • How do you think the average salesperson performs in each of those situations?

  3. Making Ethical Decisions • Business ethics: principles and standards that guide behavior in the world of business • They help translate your values into appropriate and effective behaviors • No one uniform code of ethics for all salespeople, but many businesses, professional associations, and certification agencies have established written codes • See a primer on business ethics on the Web at:

  4. Code of the National Association of Sales Professionals 5.1 FIGURE

  5. Character Development • Colleges and universities are beginning to play a more active role in character development • Courses that focus on ethics are becoming quite common • Despite a growing interest in business ethics, unethical behavior has become all too common

  6. Enron—A Classic Case in Ethics • Largest U.S. corporation to file bankruptcy • Enron culture emphasized • Risk-taking • Personal ambition over teamwork • Earnings growth at any cost • Dishonest practices eroded company character • But, it was listed as number5 in Fortune 2002 list! Why?

  7. Top 500 Wal-Mart Exxon-Mobil General Motors Ford Enron General Electric Citigroup Chevron-Texaco IBM Phillip Morris Best to Work For Edward Jones Container Store Alson & Bird Xilinx Adobe Systems American Cast Iron Pipe TD Industries J. M. Smucker Synovus Financial Wegmans Food Markets Fortune’s 2002Company Rankings

  8. Half-Truths Influencing the Erosion of Character • We are in it only for ourselves • Corporations exist to maximize shareholder value • Companies need tobe lean and mean

  9. Factors Determining Ethical Behavior of Salespeople 5.2 FIGURE

  10. Management as Role Model • Ethical standards filter down from the top • Organization’s moral tone, set by management, is most important determinant of employee ethics • Managers must infuse ethicalvalues in subordinates

  11. Company Policies and Practices • Company policies and practices can have a major impact on conduct • Developing ethical policy statements forces company to take a stand • Policies should include distributor relations, customer service, pricing, product development, etc.

  12. Trust:The St. Paul

  13. Mutual of Omaha’sValues for Success • Openness and trust • Teamwork (win-win) • Accountability/ownership • Sense of urgency • Honesty and integrity • Customer-focus • Innovation and risk • Caring/attentive (be here now) • Leadership • Personal and professional growth Read more about their values at: careerlink.org.

  14. Ethics: To Ponder How would you react to each of the following? • Your company has a set amount for mileage reimbursement, but your sales manager tells you to inflate your expense account to make up for the rising costs of transportation. • You are meeting with a customer and he asks you to take him to lunch. You get the impression that he wants you to pay, but your company has a strict “no gifts” policy.

  15. Additional Policy Areas • Sharing confidential information • Reciprocity • Bribery • Gift giving • Entertainment • Business defamation • Use of the Internet

  16. Sales Manager as Role Model • A salesperson’s actions often mirror those of the sales manager • Sales managers are responsible for interpreting company policy • Values such as integrityand honesty must receiveconstant manager support

  17. Personal Values • Values are deep personal beliefs and preferences, representing the ultimate reasons people have for acting as they do • Values serve as foundations for our attitudes • Attitudes serve as foundations for our behavior 5.3 FIGURE

  18. When Values Conflict You have three basic choices: • Ignore the influence of yourvalues and engage in theunethical behavior • Voice strong opposition to the practice that is in conflict with your value system • Refuse to compromise your values and be prepared to deal with the consequences

  19. Laws, Contracts, and Agreements • Legal environment plays a role in preventing unethical behavior • Cooling-off laws • Uniform Commercial Code—law influencing buyer-seller transactions • Oral and written contracts • Beyond the letter of the law

  20. The Uniform Commercial Code 5.1 TABLE

  21. Develop a PersonalCode of Ethics Some general guidelines: • Personal selling must be viewed as an exchange of value • Relationship comes first, tasks second • Be honest with yourselfand others

  22. Exercising Care with CRM Data • CRM software allows storage of transaction data and personal info • Record facts, not opinions or conclusions • CRM data is “mobile” and otherpeople may see or use it • Do not store anything you donot want the customer to see

  23. The Trust Factor • In transactional sales, the focus is on trust in the product • In consultative sales, the focus is on trust in the salesperson • In strategic alliance sales, the focus is on the other company and its values

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