“…an ethical responsibility to make the sale? You’re kidding me, right?” Uh… no, actually I’m not.
Now, I do realize that suggesting that you may have “an ethical responsibility to make the sale” is a rather provocative concept, particularly in light of the more traditional discussions surrounding ethical selling practices. But, I encourage you to keep an open mind. Continue reading, and this article may become more than just a simple thought provoker concerning the subject of ethics.
Sales ethics 101
Let’s begin with a few well-established “ethical selling practices” talking points: Never pressure the customer, don’t oversell, be truthful, and promise only what you can deliver. Sound familiar? Well, let’s hope so. Although I am confident that you could easily add a few more “ethical best sales practices” to this short list, there is no question that following these simple guidelines will go a long way toward ensuring that customers are treated appropriately throughout the sales process.
So, where does “make the sale” fit into the ethical picture? That is a fair and reasonable question—one that requires a fun-to-read allegoric response followed by a (as close to idiot-proof as possible) multiple choice question.
The fun-to-read allegoric response
The scenario: You’re selling a life insurance policy. Your prospect is interested and can easily afford it, but tells you that he doesn’t want to be “pressured” into buying anything. You back off, assuring the customer that it’s okay to “think about it” (after all, no biggie—you just “closed” a good one on your last appointment), and you agree to “give him some space” and call him back in a few days.
The next day, in the freakish of all freaky accidents, your prospect gets pancaked by the last remaining unknown piece of Skylab as it plummets down to earth. In short order, without his income or an insurance policy to cash in, his wife will have to put the house up for sale, cancel the children’s future college plans, and they will be forced to put the dear family dog “Max” up for adoption (hey, dog food can be expensive!).
You (once mere reader, now important allegoric character) unwittingly learn of your “former” prospect’s fate when you open the morning paper and read the front page headline “Unknown Rogue Piece of Skylab Flattens Family Man….” After you finish the article and swish down the remaining puddle of lukewarm coffee in your cup, you pause in reflection for a moment, and you then (here comes the idiot-proof multiple choice question I promised):
A) make a mental note to delete his name from your callback list
B) wonder if his wife has insurance for herself yet
C) feel a tinge of discomfort that you failed to “make the sale” when you had the chance
D) decide to wear a helmet for the next several days—just in case
Please tell me you selected the letter option "C".
Go ahead—it’s okay to react defensively, I’ve been expecting it
Remaining in the spirit of the allegoric character you are still portraying, you would undoubtedly say to me, “Hey, what are you talking about? How can I be responsible for what happened to this guy? He clearly told me that he didn’t want to do anything, AND, I certainly didn’t want to pressure him.” (…desperately attempting to take the moral high ground to defend your argument.)
Okay, okay. So you’re not legally responsible… but morally? That may be a different story.
To be continued…
