1. Trust and Selling Ethically
Module 2
Trust and Selling Ethically

2. What’s Happening?

3. Question
You have the opportunity to steal/take $100,000 from your company with absolute certainty that you would not be detected or caught. Would you do it? Why or why not?

4. Trust - Components Compatibility Dependability Expertise
Customer Oriented
Candor

5. Why is Trust Important?
A fundamental competitive strategy of a growing number of organizations is to build long-term mutually beneficial relationships with their customers and other stakeholders. The ability of those organizations’ salespeople to earn their customers’ trust is essential to the success of that strategy.

6. Moral Standards
Ethics are moral standards by which actions and situations can be judged
Honesty
Fairness
Trust

7. Case discussion: How Low Will You Go?
What are the issues in the case?
What should Bob do? What are some possible consequences?

8. Discussion Questions
Why do salespeople need to concern themselves with ethical issues? Isn’t it enough to understand and operate within the law?

9. Ethics
Ethics refers to right and wrong conduct of individuals and institutions of which they are a part.
Clearly Wrong
Ethical Dilemma
Clearly Right

10. Ethical Work Climate Exercise

11. Exercise: Ethical Selling Dilemma?

12. How an Organization can help!

13. Codes of Ethics Corporate benefits:
Allow salespeople to identify what their firm recognizes as acceptable business practices
Help salespeople to inform others that they intend to conduct business in an ethical way
Can be an effective internal control of behaviour
Generate greater drive and effectiveness in employees
Allow a company to attract high caliber people more easily
Help salespeople avoid confusion in determining what is ethical
Page 46, Exhibit 2.5 is an example of the American Marketing Association’s Code of Ethics

14. Codes and Performance
Does the behaviour or result achieved comply with…
organizational standards of behaviour as specified in the code of ethics?
professional standards of behaviour as specified in an industry code?
all applicable laws, regulations, or government codes?

15. How Sales Organizations Can Support Ethical Practices
Follow steps provided by the Federal and Provincial Guidelines
Establish and enforce ethical codes
Provide seminars and training in ethics
Consult ethics advisors

16. Areas of Unethical Behavior
Deceptive Practices
Illegal Activities
Exaggerate
Withhold
Deceive
Hustle
Scam
Bluff
Misuse Company
Assets
Defraud
Con
Pushy
Hard Sell
Fast Talking
High Pressure
Non-Customer-Oriented Behavior

17. Issues Surrounding Ethical Standards
Standards are:
Personal and subjective
In many cases people “justify” their actions
May be dependent upon selling approach and an organization’s ethical standards and practices.
Are ethics situational?

18. What is right? What is wrong?
Values congruity is a level of agreement among different people about the values that are important
Salespeople interact with many different people
Reaching agreement on what is ethical can be a challenging task

19. Excuses Four types of excuses: “I was told to do it”
“Everybody’s doing it”
“My actions won’t make any difference”
“It’s not my problem”

20. Ethical Conflict
Each party in a sales transaction brings a set of expectations
Which set of interests does the salesperson choose to satisfy—corporate interests or the customers’ interest?
How do the values of the salesperson affect these decisions?
What are the consequences of the various sales alternatives available to the salesperson?

21. Multiple Business Relationships
The role as a boundary spanner requires salespeople to manage multiple relationships both internally and externally
Salespeople interact with:
Their sales managers
Other marketing personnel
A variety of non-marketing personnel within their organization (internally)
Customers and prospects in the field (externally)
These different relationships can result in various sources of conflict

22. Three Qualities for Ethical Decision-making
Ability to recognize ethical issues and think through consequences
Self confidence to seek others’ points of view
Willingness to make ethical decisions when there’s no obvious solution

23. Ethical Decision Making Framework
Characteristics of the
Decision-Maker
Ethical
Situation
Decision
Outcomes
Significant Influences
Click on each component

24. The Ethical Situation Opportunity Ethical decision history
Moral intensity of the situation
Selective perception
Back to Framework

25. Characteristics of the Decision Maker
Achievement motivation
Need for affiliation
Locus of control
Knowledge
Experience
Risk taking
Machiavellianism
Back to Framework

26. Significant Influences
Salespeople, as they attempt to build relationships, often try to fit their actions in response to others who are involved in the building of that relationship
Family/ friends
Work colleagues
Supervisors
Other significant influences
Back to Framework
Role Episode Process

27. Other Significant Influences on The Salesperson
The Organization
Work
The Law
Economics
Professionalism
Technology
Back to Significant Influences
Back to Framework

28. The Decision Variations in decisions will occur
Some salespeople will judge actions strictly according to their perceived rightness or wrongness
Some salespeople may choose to ignore the consequences of their actions while others focus exclusively on them
Back to Framework

29. Outcomes Performance Satisfaction Feedback Promotions Learning
While outcomes are neither ethical nor unethical,
the actions leading to those outcomes have ethical ramifications
Back to Framework

30. Ethical Problems Faced By Salespeople
Bribery
Fairness
Honesty
Price Deception
Product Deception
Personnel Decisions
Confidentiality
Advertising Deception
Manipulation of Data
Purchasing Decisions