Awareness

What makes a moral salesperson?

There are many salespeople who think only in the moment.  Since I am an advocate of awareness, this sounds good.  But living in the moment for these salespeople is merely for monetary benefit.  Take my acquaintance that needed her car fixed.  She took it to a popular autobody franchise, who not only fixed her issue but also presented her with a lengthy list of other things her car “needed.”  Not knowing that these salespeople work on commission, she believed every word–after all, they are the experts, right?  This sort of salesperson, who never knows if he’ll be there tomorrow if she returns with her car, or if she’ll go to a competitor down the street, will do everything in his power to commit her to these repairs NOW, while she is under duress.  But there are the other kind of salespeople, too–those who actually benefit from their honesty.

How many salespeople do you know that talk you out of buying something?  I had this discussion today with someone who says that it is against the better interest of a salesperson to talk a potential customer out of a purchase, even if the purchase will not benefit the buyer.  Upon first glance, this affects the company’s bottom line by limiting sales, but think a step further.  If you were going to purchase a product, and the salesperson advised you that this product does not have a solid history of reliability, would you think that salesperson as ethical?  Of course you would, because he is showing that he has your best interests in mind.  Now if he shows you a more reliable brand and gives you his opinions on that, chances are you would trust his statements more, because he has shown you that he cares.  The product may even be more expensive, or it may not be, so the onus is on the salesperson, and his moral fiber, to explain why the product is more expensive, and then step back to allow you to make your decision.

As a salesperson myself, I have been in both places.  In my younger years, I had no problem selling something that did not benefit the buyer.  “That looks GREAT on you,” I would say, even if it looked like she had thrown a paper bag over her head and stuck her arms through it.  Yet now, after decades of sales, I have learned that I can both make money and properly advise my customers as to the products they really need.  After that, in their eyes I have changed my status–from that of “salesperson” to “friend”–which results in subsequent sales.