You May Have an Ethical Responsibility to Make the Sale! (Continued)

And now, please return to “reader” and reality

In the previous post, cleverly disguised in the storyline of a self-proclaimed “fun-to-read” allegory (okay, so maybe “cleverly disguised” is a little bit over the top), I audaciously suggested that in some cases, a salesperson may, in fact, be morally responsible for failing to make the sale—a provocative concept that may be initially difficult to get one’s head around.

To comically illustrate my point, I placed you “the reader” into the role of an insurance salesperson who “didn’t want to pressure him” (your customer) into buying a policy, only to read about his freakishly untimely demise in the newspaper a few days later. Knowing that his wife and children would soon be headed down the road toward financial ruin, a “tinge of discomfort” came over you—a subtle indication that maybe, just maybe, you felt a little bit responsible for not making the sale when you had the chance.

Now, all kidding aside, professional selling is serious business. Strip the humorous bits out of the story (Skylab, idiot-proof multiple choice question, etc.) and you’re left with something that reads more like a Greek tragedy than a comedy. The sad reality is that this sort of thing really does happen.

Too often, sales are missed, that could have—and should have—been made. Missed, not because the customer didn’t have a genuine need for the product or service that was being presented, not because the customer “couldn’t afford it”, “wanted to think about it”, or “(fill in the blank)”, but missed for the simple reason that the salesperson lacked the inherent skills, knowledge, passion, or professionalism to properly compel the customer to take immediate action.

Ethical checkpoint

Let’s see if you agree in principle with the following statement:

To a greater or lesser degree—depending upon what it is that you’re selling—failing to make the sale could adversely affect your prospect.

Make sense? If you’re silently nodding you head in agreement, then you probably also agree in principle with the general premise of this article—that you may have an ethical responsibility to make the sale!

Okay, so let’s keep things in perspective. (I don’t want anyone looking for the highest ledge to climb out onto the next time they miss a sale...) Regardless of how skilled, knowledgeable, passionate, or professional you may already be, you’re certainly not going to make every sale. It’s just not possible. So relax. I am not implying that missing a sale here or there somehow makes you a no-good-horrible-unethical salesperson. However, I am suggesting this:

If you approach a prospect knowingly lacking in skill, knowledge, passion, or professionalism—just sort of “winging it” to make the sale—then that, my friend, is unethical.

Unfortunately, when a salesperson’s message falls short of the mark, leaving an otherwise makeable sale undone, the customer is left “at risk” in the future. Whether left “unprotected” (i.e., without insurance, a college fund for their children, a safer automobile, etc.), financially “exposed” (i.e., facing higher prices, expiring incentives, less attractive financing options, etc.), or otherwise “compromised” (i.e., their business is less competitive without the product or service, etc.), it is the customer that is most adversely affected when the sale is missed.

So where do we go from here? How can we fulfill the ethical responsibility we may have to “make the sale”, do it “without pressuring the customer”, and still avoid having to be “talked off the ledge” the next time we miss a sale?

To be continued…

You May Have an Ethical Responsibility to Make the Sale!

“…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…