Ethics in Selling

Unit 5
 importance of business ethics in selling.

 As the basic principles that govern behavior, ethics are not

laws. Laws are enforced by governmental statutes. Ethics go
beyond laws (and rules and regulations) to the heart of a situation.
At the center of everything you do is whether your actions are
right or wrong according to your moral standards (your
ethics).
importance of business ethics in selling.
 If a law says, “Only cross the street at a crosswalk,” but you
see someone injured
 on the other side of the road, you might feel that it’s
important to cross quickly to help the other person. In this
case, your moral standard of helping others outweighs your
desire to obey the law
 Ethics are the basic principles that govern behavior. A high
level of ethics will compel you to behave in a truthful way.
Illegal selling activities – Crossing the line!
 Illegal activities. What are the selling “no-no’s”? Here is a brief list:
 • Misrepresenting the truth (telling a bold-faced lie)
 • Saying something unfair or untrue about another
 business (either out loud or in writing)
 • Saying something unfair or untrue about another
 company’s product
 • Participating in bribery (offering/receiving something
 in return for business or products)Misrepresenting the truth (bold-faced lie)
 Saying something unfair or untrue about another business or product.
 Participating in bribery.
 Neglecting to provide accurate information to the customers.
 Unfairly competing within the marketplace such as: making price deals,
requiring exclusive dealership, tying-in sales (making the purchase of another
product mandatory), requiring reciprocity (doing business only with those who
buy from you.)
Illegal selling activities – Crossing the line!
 Illegal activities. What are the selling “no-no’s”? Here is a
brief list:
 • Misrepresenting the truth (telling a bold-faced lie)
 • Saying something unfair or untrue about another
 business (either out loud or in writing)
 • Saying something unfair or untrue about another
 company’s product
 • Participating in bribery (offering/receiving something
Illegal selling activities – Crossing the line!

 • Neglecting to provide accurate information to

 customers
 • Unfairly competing within the marketplace, such as:
1. Making price deals
2. Requiring exclusive dealership
3. Tying-in sales (making the purchase of another
4. product mandatory)
5. Requiring reciprocity (doing business only with
those who buy from you)
Illegal selling activities – Crossing the line!

 Who is legally responsible for all of these things? The business is, of
course—but so are the salespeople themselves. The legal liabilities
incurred from participating in these activities can cost the company a
lot of money and can ruin the careers of the
 salespeople involved. In short, stay away!
Employer-oriented ethical issues in sales:

 Coworkers In employee-to-employee relationships, such as between

salespeople within the same company, a salesperson
 might be tempted to behave in an overly competitive way.
 When a sales department holds a contest, for example, certain employees
might want to manipulate the contest for their own personal gain. They might
declare sales that were completed at the end of the previous month as
completed at the beginning of the current month. I

 If it’s only a matter of one or two days, no one will notice,

 right? Is it okay to adjust the sales dates if no customers
 are harmed in the process?
Employer-oriented ethical issues in sales:

 Another situation sales coworkers may encounter is their own influence on each
other. Is it right to encourage someone else to behave unethically? If another
person performs an unethical activity you’ve suggested, you’re not responsible,
right? What about keeping unethical behavior “under the table”? Should a sales
employee tell the proper authorities about things that might hurt the company’s
sales overall?

 Questions frequently arise in the course of examining ethical issues. What helps
the most is having an ethical standard by which to measure each questionable
activity.
Personal Code of Ethics

 Personal code of ethics Your ethical standard is your personal code of ethics.
Ethical sales behavior, then, flows directly from this personal code. In other words,
what you do with ethical situations in your personal life determines what you’ll do
in sales situations.

 Consider your individual ethical standards. Are you comfortable

 with locating yourself right next to the legal or moral “line”?
 Or, do you prefer to be further away? Your comfort level reveals
 your level of ethics.
Personal Code of Ethics

 So, how high are your ethics? To find out, think about how
 you conduct yourself as a salesperson. Who are you really? Are
 you an honest salesperson—someone to be trusted? Or, do
 you try to manipulate potential customers into doing what you
 want? During a sales presentation, do you stick with the facts?
 And, do you consistently report your sales expenses accurately
 when no one else is looking? Now, think about your response
 to ethical sales issues. When you face an “iffy” situation, do you
 ask yourself, “What can I get away with?” or “What is required of
 me?” Or, do you ask,“What is the right thing to do?”
Personal Code of Ethics

 Consider which sources influence you the most. Does your

 culture affect your choices? Do you follow in the footsteps of
 your parent or guardian, or do you imitate another role model?
 And, what about the company you work for? Do your company’s
 policies or sales managers influence you at all?

 Finally, look at what determines your final decision. Do your

 ethical decisions rest on what’s best for the moment—or what’s
 best, period? In other words, are you more inclined to decide
 according to the situation at hand or according to your personal
 code of ethics, regardless of the circumstances?
Personal Code of Ethics

 Taking a good long look in the ethical “mirror” can be very revealing. Just as it’s
important to check your physical appearance
 before you start your day, it’s important to examine your personal ethics before
you begin a career in sales. Keep in mind that you are the one who can make a
difference in your firm.

 Every ethical sales department is made up of ethical salespeople. Will you be one
of them?
Ethics in online selling
 customer perception of online retail ethics refers to the
integrity and responsibility of the company behind online
retail sites in shielding transaction security, maintaining
confidentiality of information, acting fairly and honestly, and
protecting the inte
 Ethical issues surrounding online shopping have provoked
critical problems for consumers and also created new issues
for practitionersrests of consumers
Ethical Issues in online selling
 Online Piracy
 Vulnerable Data Lakes
 Web Tracking
 Cyber-Squatting
 Web Spoofing
 Email Spamming
 Counterfeit Products
 Unreliable Customer Service
ethical approach
 Transparency.With transparency, you let your customers
know what data you are collecting and what you will use it
for. Display your data policy to be more trustworthy.
 Integrity. Your foundation should have clear policies and
guidelines for you to follow. That way, you can rightly manage
any wrong behavior.
 Trustworthiness. Fulfill all your promises and
commitments to your customers.
 Respect. Value your customers' rights and privacy. Protect
their information to the standard of your country's laws.