Sales Ethics

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Sales Ethics
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Ethics Defined

• Rules of conduct and practice in a society that
  are used to determine what is good or bad,
  acceptable or unacceptable.
• Why are ethics a difficult this to deal with?

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• Personal standards and values are individual but
  influenced by societys loose boundaries.

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• Why it is important in this class?
• You will face
• Can be very subtle
• Performance Pressure
• Can ruin your career

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• Conditions
• Boundary Spanner-Conflicts
• Autonomy
• Performance Pressure

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• What is ethical behavior?
• Honest
• Maintains confidence/ trust
• Follow rules
• Treat other fairly
• Loyal
• Do your share
• Take responsibility

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• 2. Common Sales Issues
• Customers
• A. Deception
• Withholding Information
• Misrepresenting Information
• Overselling
• ½ Truths
• Clarifying Misunderstandings

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• B. Coercion, High Pressure
• C. Gifts, Entertainment, Bribes
• D. Kickbacks, Rebating
• E. Proprietary Information

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• The Company
• Padding Expense Accounts
• Misuse of Expense Accounts
• Company Property
• Games to beat the system

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• Competition
• Sabotage, Bad mouthing
• Unethical Competitors

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• 3. Management Issues
• High Pressure on salespeople
• Biases/ Favoritism
• Hiring and Firing
• Evaluation
• Compensation

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• 4. Promoting Ethical Behavior
• A. The Individual
• Personal Code
• Sensitive to circumstances

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• B. Peers
• Within- Group Think
• Competitors- short run vs long run

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• 3. Management-Starts at the top.
• a. Rewards promote ethical behavior
• b. Be accessible/ encourage checking
• c. Good Controls
• d. Realistic goals/ Expectations
• e. Be honest with your SP

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• 4. Organization and Corp Culture
• 5. Codes of Conduct/
  Policies/Procedures

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Practical Guides

• The golden rule
• 2. The TV test
• 3. Discuss it with someone else
• 4. Five Questions
• Is it legal?
• Is it fair to all concerned?
• Would I want someone else to behave this way?
• Can I explain my actions?
• How will I feel about myself?

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