The DriveSales™ | Sales Ethics: Is There a Code of Ethics for Marketing and Sales?

Sales have become probably one of the most competitive and difficult domains of all time. When you are an integral part of any business, especially a competitive one, you tend to compromise with your ethics and morals easily.

Am I doing right? This question is a direct pocking at your conscience and you often are eager to find your answer. Hear this, if you need to ask this question to yourself, you probably have strayed away from your business ethics.

Ethics form a very important and non-negotiable part of any business and especially in the sales domain, their value increases tenfold. Sales ethics does not necessarily mean doing right by your clients. It is a subjective belief and can vary from person to person or business to business.

Without any doubt, sales ethics can make or break your business. No one will pay any attention to the fact that your product or service is the best in the market amongst your adversaries if you deal in unethical practices.

However, on the other hand, if you have set principles and business values, even if your product is average amongst your competition, you will eventually attract a lot of customers. This will be due to the trust, reliability, and credibility of your business.

You can set your business foundation on loyalty and honesty. This will take you to great heights eventually, and will play a major role in leaving your mark in your domain.

Sales ethics and its importance

Sales ethics refer to all the basic principles that you have set for your business to ensure that every client of yours is treated fairly and with full honesty and integrity.

For a salesperson, it means that instead of coercing your client to buy your product forcefully, you listen to him and his business problem and then recommend a valuable and appropriate solution. This helps in building a trust level between you and your client and makes your business stand out.

It is important to sell your product, but, will you do it at the cost of your client’s trust? The answer to that question categorizes you as an ethical and unethical person. As a salesperson, your goal should be to solve your prospect’s difficulties, rather than misleading him and profiting out of it.

If you inculcate ethical practices in your business, you can rest assured that you are progressing towards a successful business. You are then aiming on building meaningful relationships and networks with your clients and this will benefit your business in a huge way.

Techniques to inculcate ethical culture in your business:

1) Be vocal about your values to your team — The first step is to set a base layer for your business as well as your team. Communicate with your team all the values you stand firm at. Coordinate with your team about the ethical standard of your business so that they are well aware of your expectations.

2) Look for the right qualities while hiring — In order to establish an ethical business, you need to look for the right values in your candidates as well. Try to learn about the candidate’s moral compass. Look for the values you want to integrate into your business such as integrity, honesty, loyalty, kindness, humbleness, etc.

3) Formulate an ethical code of conduct — In order to avoid any confusion, it is imperative to develop an ethical code of conduct. This will prove as a constant guide for your team and thus, will make your ethical foundation crystal clear.

4) Training workshops and sessions — Another wonderful way to educate your employees or team members is through ethical workshops or seminars. This will help them understand the importance of business values and hence, will turn your business in the desired direction.

Now, as an effective SALESPERSON! We can do three things from here.

1. Not ignoring the opportunity and blaming the situation for revenue loss.

2. Taking important notes and going back to revisit your sales strategy with the growth mindset.

3. Reaching out to The DriveSales™ if you need any specialized help for sales.

To conclude, what you choose to think also provides some idea of your development as a consultative salesperson. It is something like Tiffani Bova quotes “How you sell matters, what your process is matters, but how your customers feel when they engage with you matters more.”

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