4.15 Marketing Ethical & Technical Considerations in Selling

Ethics in Selling Determine how they conduct relationships with their customers, employers, and competitors. Customers - involve the use of entertainment and gifts and the disclosure of confidential information Employers - involve expenses and job changes. Competitors - how companies talk about competitors and treat competitive products.

Concerns from Employees Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Demographic discrimination Equal pay and compensation Retaliation Pregnancy, Race, Religion Sexual Harrassment

Concerns from Coworkers How do bad work ethics affect you? EXAMPLE: Group projects – who pulls their weight??? Poor work habits Do coworkers possess appropriate skills to complete the job? Personal problems

Concerns about Customers Theft (Hotel Towels) Fraud (Insurance Claims) Overpayments (Receiving too much of a tax refund) Tampering – returning a functioning product for a refund, switching price tags, etc.

Concerns about Competition Comparing / Sharing information Underselling (price cutting to drive down pricing) Unethical Practices (Example: Furs) Plagiarism

Concerns about Sales People Sales people may encounter many situations not covered by company POLICY and therefore must develop personal standards of right and wrong. Can lose their self-respect and the respect of their company and customers salespeople with a strong sense of ethics will be more successful than salespeople who compromise their own ethics for short-term gain.

Reciprocal (Mutual) Sales Considerations How can this create an ethical situation? Two or more parties make an agreement to work with each other This can deliberately ELIMINATE the competition, which makes the sales agreement UNETHICAL.

Technology - SALES How does technology assist sales people? How does technology impact sales forecasting? How does technology affect sales presentations? How does technology affect web-based sales? How does technology affect sales of computers? How does technology prospect sales? How has technology CHANGED in the past 10 years?

TECHNOLOGY IN SALES Caroline is unable to travel to a client's office but needs to demonstrate product features and be able to answer questions as they arise. What technology tool would be helpful to her in making a sale? WEB PRESENTATIONS, TELECONFERENCING, SKYPE, WEBINARS, ETC.