Selling

Selling—Discussion Guide Performance Indicator: Explain the nature and scope of the selling function

Selling is an extremely important part of our economy. Goods and services must be sold for business to exist and private enterprise to thrive. Millions of people work in a variety of sales careers, and selling skills are also essential in most marketing positions. Anyone going into a business-related field should have a basic knowledge of the nature and scope of the selling function.

KEY CONCEPTS

Slide #1 Selling is a marketing function that involves determining client needs and wants and responding through planned, personalized communication that influences purchase decisions and enhances future business opportunities.

Slide #2 There are three basic types of buyers.

• Some goods are sold directly to consumers for ultimate consumption, which is the process or activity of using goods and services for personal use.

• Some goods and services, on the other hand, are sold to organizations for resale.

• Some organizations purchase goods from other businesses not for resale, but for use in business operations. There are two ways these products are used:

  • In the production of other goods (a company buys wool to make coats)

  • For general operating purposes (a company buys a truck to deliver its products to customers)

Slide #3 Selling is a part of every business. Buyers typically fall into the categories of entrepreneurs, manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers.

• Entrepreneurs sell ideas to banks or investors to get funding.

• Manufacturers sell to both wholesalers and retailers, who then sell these goods and services to customers.

• Wholesalers and retailers often serve the role of intermediary, which is an entity that operates between the producer and the customer. They are typically organizations that both buy and then sell a product.

Slide #4 There are two basic types of products sold.

• Many products are tangible, meaning they can be touched, smelled, tasted, seen, or heard, such as clothing, houses, food, or televisions.

• Intangible products are services provided to customers, such as legal services, financial planning, or lawn care.

Slide #5 Selling is the driving force behind the movement of resources from resource owners to producers and from producers to consumers.

• This continual process is known as the economic flow.

  • It is how sales keep our economy moving.

  • Each business plays some part in this process.

• Businesses seek to gain the largest share of this movement as possible.

  • In order to do so, they must constantly develop new and improved products.

  • In this way, sales promote competition.

• As a company’s sales increase, they hire more people to keep up with the demand for their product.

  • Selling directly affects employment within an economy.

• Selling also adds utility and helps customers determine their needs and the products that can fulfill them.

  • This is how selling helps create the desire for new products, which keeps the whole process moving.

Discussion: How can selling lead to the development of new products?

Slide #6 Every business needs great salespeople to succeed. Luckily, salespeople can acquire all the characteristics they need with a little hard work. Here are some of the characteristics of successful salespeople:

• Education and training

  • While experience goes a long way in improving your selling skills, a degree in business, marketing, or a related field can help you get your foot in the door.

  • Many companies also have training programs for their new salespeople.

• Self-motivation

  • Often, salespeople don’t receive a lot of close supervision over their daily activities.

  • Successful salespeople stay on task anyway!

    • They are excellent time managers who are able to motivate themselves to achieve their goals.

• Self-confidence

  • Stand up straight, speak clearly, look the client in the eye, and be proud of your product.

  • If you don’t believe in your product, neither will the customer.

Discussion: What is more important for your success? Belief in yourself or belief in the product?

Slide #7 Selling requires knowledge and patience that can only be built through focus, study, and doing your homework.

• Product knowledge

  • As a salesperson, you need to be an expert about your product. It is also a good idea to be familiar with your competitors’ products.

  • That way, you can explain why your clients should choose your products over theirs.

• Customer knowledge

  • Each customer is unique, so knowing your customer can be as important as knowing your product.

  • Do your homework, and be creative in your approach.

• Persistence and patience

  • Selling is rarely easy, but successful salespeople rarely get discouraged or give up.

  • It’s important to remain patient to make the sale.

Slide #8 Who you are and how you present yourself matter. You want to make sure your customer feels comfortable working with you.

• Ethics

  • The importance of integrity in your sales career cannot be overstated.

  • If your clients don’t feel they can trust you, it will be difficult to keep them as repeat customers.

• Personal appearance

  • You only have one shot to make a first impression.

  • Pay attention to appearance standards in your industry, and dress appropriately.

Discussion: What reasons do you remain ethical other than repeat business. Does anyone want to share an experience with a salesperson who was not focused on ethics or integrity?

Customer Service in Selling—Discussion Guide

Performance Indicator: Explain customer service as a component of selling relationships

THINK ABOUT IT

In selling, customer service is more than just the counter at the back of a retail store that takes your returned items. That kind of customer service is more of a function than a process, more of a department than a relationship. As a salesperson, the kind of customer services you need to demonstrate goes far beyond the boundaries of a mere business function. It’s an attitude, a set of skills, and a style of work that will help you build a customer base for your entire career.

KEY CONCEPTS

Slide #1 Simply put, customer service encompasses all activities and benefits provided by a business to its customers to create goodwill and customer satisfaction.

• Customer service should result in enhancing and facilitating the customer’s use of the good or service.

• A salesperson’s approach to customer service should be tailored for each customer based on the customer’s wants and needs.

Slide #2 Since price and quality can be easily matched by a competing company, customer service is where the real competition begins.

• As a salesperson, you need to demonstrate to your customers that you will meet and even exceed their expectations.

• Otherwise, their loyalty may only be to the company with the best price at the time of purchase.

Slide #3 Because no two customers and situations are the same, a salesperson must understand how customers form their expectations in order to meet and exceed them. Often, a customer’s expectations are based on:

• • • • Past experience

• Word-of-mouth

• Advertising

• Individual needs

Slide #4 Many companies make providing customer service a high priority. These are some keys to taking your customer service a step further and setting yourself and your company apart from the pack:

• • • • Solicit feedback.

• Keep in touch.

• Be prompt.

• Have a good attitude.

Slide #5 The importance of providing quality customer service cannot be overstated. Since every business relies on customers to purchase their products, keeping those customers happy is a big part of a company’s success. There are two major ways that quality customer service can bring in profits:

• Building partnerships with current customers

  • Maintaining a relationship with a current customer is less expensive and time-consuming than generating a new customer relationship. Loyal customers also lead to referrals, which are also cost-effective ways of building your customer base. Satisfied customers can serve as a sort of sales team for you.

• Generating new customers

  • Quality customer service improves your company’s reputation, and a better reputation means more business.

Slide #6 Although much of customer service takes place after the sale has occurred, salespeople still have many opportunities to provide customer service before the sale.

• Suggestion selling

  • A salesperson can add value to a customer’s experience by suggesting additional products or services that will enhance his/her primary purchase. As long as suggestions are appropriate and well-timed, suggestion selling can go a long way toward building solid partnerships with customers.

• Providing ample product information

• Only make promises you can keep.

Discussion: Did you or your family member ever experience when a salesperson did not keep their promise. What their intent todo good or where they just trying to make a sale? Would you buy from them again?

Slide #7 The job is never over just because the sale closes. The post-sale period is a critical time for customer service. Follow-through is crucial to maintaining relationships and gaining repeat customers. Successful salespeople stay involved and engage with their customers throughout these stages of the post-sale process:

• Order processing

• Shipping and delivery

• Installation

• Warranty issues

• Maintenance and repair

• Credit/Financing

• Technical assistance and support

• Customer training

Discussion: What situations would customer training be necessary. Have you ever had to train a family member on a product the salesperson should have done?

Selling Policies—Discussion Guide Performance Indicator: Explain company selling policies

THINK ABOUT IT

Most companies have policies in place that cover all aspects of the selling process. These selling policies eliminate guesswork and make things run more smoothly for the businesses, their salespeople, and their customers.

KEY CONCEPTS

Slide #1 Selling policies are the general rules that a business’s leaders set to guide the personal-selling effort.

• Selling policies are very useful in selling situations because they outline how the selling process should go and ensure that all customers are treated fairly and consistently.

• Whether they are written or simply understood, the primary responsibility for implementing selling policies rests with the individual salesperson.

• Selling policies can be categorized into three basic groups:

  • Selling-activity policies

  • Terms-of-sale policies

  • Service policies

Slide #2 Selling-activity policies focus on providing salespeople with guidelines for interacting with customers or potential customers. They cover areas such as:

• Prospecting—A selling activity that focuses on locating and cultivating new clients

• Opening the relationship

• Qualifying the customer—A selling activity that focuses on ensuring the customer is right for the product (e.g., has the funds to pay for it)

• Entertaining the customer

• Sales presentation—A sales procedure in which the salesperson shows the customer the benefits of the product’s features; includes the sales dialogue and product demonstration

• Sales quotas—Specific selling goals set for members of the sales force

• Floor models or “open box” items

• Account servicing

Slide #3 Terms-of-sale policies are guidelines covering the conditions of purchase and transfer of a product between the buyer and the seller. Often covered by the terms-of-sale policies are:

• Pricing policies

• Discount policies

• Credit policies

  • Often includes guidelines for obtaining credit approval, explaining credit denial, and outlining the general ways in which a salesperson operates as a link between the credit office and the customer

• Liability policies

  • Often includes a liability waiver releasing the company from responsibility for something that might go wrong

Slide #4 Service policies are designed to govern the support a company provides to customers after the sale. They often include:

• • • • Return and adjustment policies

      • Delivery policies

      • Installation policies

• Guarantee policies

• Repair and maintenance policies

Slide #5 A business adopts selling policies to help meet its goals and increase profitability. They help accomplish this by providing a framework by which to make appropriate decisions and establish good relationships with customers.

• Selling policies can benefit the salesperson, the company, and the customer.

  • They may also enhance employee loyalty, increase job satisfaction, and contribute to a more pleasant working experience.

• Selling policies should apply equally to every salesperson in the company.

  • They often need to have enough flexibility so that an occasional exception can be made when needed and yet be interpreted and enforced in a reasonably firm manner.

  • In extreme cases, poorly administered policies can force a company out of business.

Slide #6 There are a number of factors that can influence a business’s selling policies.

• Internal factors

  • Corporate goals and objectives

  • Human and financial resources

  • Production capacity

  • Research and development efforts

• External factors

  • Customer needs/wants

  • Competitors’ actions

  • Availability of raw materials

  • Social concerns

Slide #7 The third basic group of influencing factors are regulatory factors. These include:

• Antitrust regulations

  • The Sherman Act prohibits competing companies from conspiring to control prices.

  • The Robinson-Patman Act forbids companies from discrimination in price or services. Businesses can only offer lower prices to big companies if the discounts are based on cost savings.

  • The Clayton Act keeps a company from making the purchase of one of its goods or services dependent on purchases of others.

  • The Federal Trade Commission Act declares any competition deemed unfair by the Federal Trade Commission to be illegal.

• Consumer-protection regulations

  • The Fair Packaging and Labeling Act makes it illegal to use unfair or deceptive packaging or labeling.

  • The Truth in Lending Act and the Credit Card Act of 2009 require companies to be fair and transparent with their credit practices.

Discussion: Why is it important for packaging to be fair? Can you think of an example of deceptive packaging?

Product Information in Selling—Discussion Guide Performance Indicator: Acquire product information for use in selling

THINK ABOUT IT

In most careers, preparation is essential. Sales is no different. Salespeople must be armed with product information before they attempt to sell. When a salesperson is thoroughly knowledgeable about her/his products, it can result in big benefits.

KEY CONCEPTS

Slide #1 Knowledge about product information is a must-have for successful selling. While there are countless benefits that this information can provide for a salesperson, the most common are:

• Boosts enthusiasm

• Increases confidence

• Helps portray credibility

• Assures accuracy in sales presentations

• Helps overcome customer objections

• Allows for detailed product comparisons

• Demonstrates if a product fits specific customer needs

Discussion: have you every worked with a salesperson who did not know the product? What did you think of them? Would you buy from them again?

Slide #2 Before setting out to find product information, a good salesperson has an idea of what to look for. The most important information typically involves:

• Where and how the product was made

• Materials, ingredients, contents information

• Available styles, colors, models, etc.

• Usage information

• Unique or interesting features

• Information about durability/reliability

• Product history

• Information on pricing, discounts, taxes, etc.

• Distribution and delivery details

• Warranty, guarantee, and repair information

• Complementary products

Slide #3 Salespeople will need to know where to find the information they need. Today’s salespeople have access to a wide variety of product-information sources. These are among the most common:

• Product Manufacturers

• Testimonials/Customer feedback

• Fellow sales representatives

• Product sales representative

• Marketing literature

• Training sessions

• Trade exhibitions

• Industry publications

• Internal sales records

• Wikis, blogs, and podcasts

Slide #4 Product information is actually about more than just the features of the product itself. Zoom out and think more broadly. Consider all of the other knowledge that you can gather that could help. For instance:

• Acquire knowledge of the industry as a whole.

• Find out what’s important to your target customers.

• Avoid jargon.

  • Using too much industry-specific language may overwhelm or confuse your customers. Describe product information in a way that your customers will appreciate and understand. This could change for each customer. In order to be adaptable, be able to put things into your own words.

• Remember: “Features tell, benefits sell.”

  • Explaining features offers the customers facts about a product; explaining the benefits they will get from using the product gives them reasons to buy it.

Discussion - Select an item in your classroom or at home and make a list of features and benefits it has for you. Which benefits would you highlight in a sales presentation?

Slide #5 It can be easy to feel overwhelmed when learning all of the features and benefits of a new product, especially when you know you’ll have to face questions from customers. If you follow these steps, you’ll be off to a good start:

1. Use the product! Practical experience is the best source of product information for selling. If you have a product you cannot easily use yourself, talk to the people who do use it. Have them demonstrate it for you.

2. Read all available product literature. It is your responsibility to keep abreast of any changes made to a product. Even if you think you are already an expert, you may be surprised about what new information you can find.

3. Get connected. Participate in product training. Attend trade shows. Make sure you are receiving online updates. We live in a world of instant communication. There’s no excuse for not staying connected to the latest news about your industry or product.

4. Talk to your customers. Develop relationships with your customers where you can. Find out how they are using the product. What do they like best about it? See if they have any experience with competing brands.

5. If you don’t know something, find out fast! There may be times when a customer asks a question you can’t answer or has a need you’re not quite sure your product will meet. Find the answer and communicate it as quickly as possible.

Discussion: When di you buy a product and found out something new about it after you started using it? If the salesperson followed up, that could have been a benefit for the next customer.

The Selling Process—Discussion Guide

Performance Indicator: Explain the selling process

THINK ABOUT IT

While some salespeople do not feel the need to follow a specific selling process, those who follow a sales process appear organized and more easily gain customer confidence. Furthermore, research shows that an efficient and effective sales process can increase company profits.

KEY CONCEPTS

Slide #1 While there can never be a single, correct selling process that applies to all situations, the typical selling process consists of the following phases, which should be performed consecutively:

• Preparing to sell

• Establishing relationships with customers

• Discovering customer needs

• Prescribing solutions to customer needs

• Reaching closure

• Reaffirming buyer-seller relationships

Slide #2 Preparing to sell almost always involves identifying a product’s features (the characteristics of a product) and benefits (the advantages that features offer the user).

• Acquiring this information is an important step in planning a sales presentation or pitch that provides information, points out benefits, and convinces the customer to buy a product.

• In some cases, salespeople are required to participate in generating sales leads and qualifying sales leads, which are the acts of finding potential customers and then determining if those customers have the interest, ability, and authority to purchase a product.

  • During this process, the salesperson should try to learn as much as s/he can about the business or the personal characteristics of the customer.

Discussion: Have you ever encountered a salesperson who could not answer basic questions about the product? What question was it? Did you buy the product anyway, why or why not?

Slide #3 A large part of a salesperson’s success can depend on the first few minutes spent with a customer. Salespeople can use this first impression to:

• Put customers at ease.

• Encourage customers to want to hear product information.

• Gain customer confidence.

• Create favorable impressions of themselves and the business.

Slide #4 The third phase of the selling process involves gaining information about customer needs by:

• Questioning customers

• Observing their answers and reactions

• Analyzing this information to create a unique experience

• • This information will be used in the next phase of the selling process.

  • Assessing customer needs not only reduces customer dissatisfaction, which can lead to fewer products being returned, but also reduces the amount of selling time required for each customer.

Discussion: What are the characteristics you want a salesperson to exhibit right away? What has been your best experience?

Slide #5 After a salesperson discovers customer needs, s/he can begin to offer solutions for them.

• This process often includes delivering the planned sales presentation that is adjusted for each customer with information discovered throughout the selling process.

• Typically, the sales presentation contains two parts:

  • The sales dialogue is a discussion in which the salesperson describes the product’s features and customer benefits.

  • The product demonstration is an active presentation in which the salesperson encourages the customer to interact with the product.

Slide #6 Reaching closure is an important part of the selling process.

• Typically, a major aspect of this phase is identifying and answering any remaining customer objections.

• Salespeople should anticipate objections and learn to use them to their advantage in the sales presentation.

• When customers are satisfied that their objections have been addressed, the time has come to close the sale.

  • Salespeople must remember that few customers will buy a product without being specifically asked to do so.

• Finally, the salesperson can get the order and complete the paperwork.

Slide #7 During the final phase of the selling process, the salesperson will follow up the sale to help customers feel confident with their purchase decisions.

• This is often a good opportunity for a salesperson to recommend complementary products.

  • This is called suggestion selling, and it can be very useful for establishing a strong buyer-seller relationship.

• The follow-up can also include answering any lingering questions, checking in on product delivery and/or installation, and providing customer

Discussion: Why is following up on a sales call so important? If the sale is completed, how could the salesperson benefit from a follow-up call? Are there negatives to consider?

Buying Behavior—Discussion Guide

Performance Indicator: Explain factors that influence buying behavior

THINK ABOUT IT

Whether we realize it or not, all of our buying decisions are influenced by a number of factors, many of them beyond our control. Marketers are very concerned with understanding buying behavior—both for individual customers and for business customers—so that they can successfully create and promote products.

KEY CONCEPTS

Slide #1 Buying decisions start with a need or a want that results from a person recognizing a difference between the state s/he is in and the state s/he wants to be in. When it comes to buying behavior, consumers tend to meet their needs in an organized way.

• Consumers will meet their most basic needs (food, clothing, shelter, etc.) before addressing higher order needs (social belonging, achievement, self-fulfillment, etc.).

• Every consumer goes through a similar process when responding to needs and wants.

  • Recognize a need.

  • Assess options for satisfying the need.

  • Narrow down options.

  • Make buying decision.

Slide #2 Perhaps the most influential factors that guide consumers’ buying behavior are cultural.

• A person’s culture tends to shape her/his system of values, traditions, and preferences.

• Although a culture’s norms and tastes may change over time, its core values tend to stay the same.

• Marketers also take subcultures (often based on ethnicity, religion, or geographic location) into account when creating and promoting products.

Slide #3 Social interactions also have a strong effect on purchasing decisions. Among the many social influences that affect buying behavior are:

• Final consumers belong to many social groups in addition to their families. These membership groups include associations at school, religious institutions, neighborhoods, and friend groups.

• Reference groups are those that a consumer is not a part of but can still influence buying behavior.

  • Sometimes consumers make purchases that show they aspire to be a member of a certain group.

  • Sometimes consumers don’t buy a product that they fear will make them appear to be in a group they do not want to be associated with.

• • Opinion leaders are people consumers want to emulate. These role models might be athletes, musicians, actors, or other types of celebrities.

Discussion: When did you not buy something because you felt others would judge you? If you can share, what was it, what made you feel people would not approve?

Discussion: Ever purchase a product because you were inspired by a celebrity or other opinion leader? Ever bought something to impress others at school? What made you think that item would be impressive?

Slide #4 Even consumers who belong to the same culture, subculture, and social groups are still unique individuals.

• Personal factors that affect buying behavior include:

  • Age, gender, stage of life, occupation, discretionary income, personality, and lifestyle

• Every consumer views the world through the lens of her/his own perceptions.

  • This personal picture of the world guides how people make sense of the stimuli they receive.

  • Information that is received through one of the five senses is then interpreted based on a person’s expectations, beliefs, and attitudes.

  • Psychological influences such as motivation, learning, and perception are all of great interest to marketers.

  • Consumers’ buying decisions aren’t based on an objective reality, but rather on their own, individual reality.

• Specific situations can also override some of the more dominant influences on buying behavior such as culture or personality.

  • People might spend more extravagantly on a birthday weekend, for example.

  • Promotions or sales can also create situational influences that affect buying behavior as well.

Discussion: How would you structure a sales presentation to convince a customer to buy something that would break their normal buying behavior?

Slide #5 Marketers know that they have to approach B2B marketing differently than they approach marketing to final consumers.

• Businesses tend to buy more technical products and in larger quantities than do final consumers.

• There is very little “impulse buying” in business purchases, so promotions and sales are not as important.

  • Rather, the relationships between a professional buyer and a salesperson can last years and are less dependent on short-term interactions.

• Distribution channels are typically much shorter in business buying, and there is more competitive bidding for contracts and price negotiation.

Slide #6 Business buying behavior is highly dependent on the environment surrounding the purchase.

• Examples of external influences on business buying behavior include:

  • The economy

  • Politics/Laws and regulations

  • Competition

  • Technology

• Some internal factors can also influence buying behavior for businesses, such as:

  • Business size and structure

  • Business policies and procedures

• 
  Building Clientele—Discussion Guide

Performance Indicator: Explain key factors in building a clientele

THINK ABOUT IT

Every business needs customers, and loyal customers are the best kind. A business’s clientele is made up of the customers that can be relied on for considerable repeat business. Together, this group of repeat customers is the life blood of a company. As such, a company’s employees work very hard to gain these kinds of customers and earn their loyalty.

KEY CONCEPTS

Slide #1 These are some of the benefits that companies come to enjoy if they have a robust customer base and a loyal clientele:

• Increased sales volume

• • Because loyal customers continue to buy from a business, their support often leads to an increase in sales volume.

• Reduced selling costs

  • Making the first sale to a new customer can cost a business a lot of money.

  • Gaining new customers often involves advertising in addition to the time spent learning their needs and wants and building up a new relationship.

• Customer loyalty

  • Loyal customers are sometimes willing to stay with a business even through hard times or mistakes.

• Word-of-mouth advertising

  • A customer that has a great sales experience with a business is likely to tell friends, family, and coworkers about it.

  • In this way, a satisfied customer can be a cost-effective way of generating new business.

• Increased income and profit

  • The combination of these factors leads to the most important benefits: more sales, more income, and greater profits.

Discussion: are these benefits still critical for a client who may buy the product one or twice in their lifetime?

Slide #2 Salespeople are also beneficiaries of building a clientele. Here are some of the ways they can benefit:

• Increased earnings

  • Whether they work on commission or not, salespeople who create loyal customers are great candidates for higher wages and promotions.

• Repeat sales

  • It typically takes less time and effort to close a sale with a familiar customer.

  • Less time spent per sale leaves more time to grow a customer base.

• Referrals

  • Loyal customers often provide salespeople with leads to new customers.

  • In some cases, a loyal customer will even write a letter or make a phone call on behalf of their salesperson.

• Personal satisfaction

  • Building a loyal customer base can be personally rewarding.

  • Some salespeople even develop lifelong friendships with people who started out as customers.

Slide #3 Just as there are ways in which companies and salespeople can benefit greatly by building a loyal customer base and clientele, failing to do so can be very costly.

• High customer turnover means much more time and many more resources spent on finding new customers.

• Unhappy customers are much more likely to share their experiences with friends, family, and coworkers than happy customers.

  • When posted on review websites or on social media, these negative reviews can even lead to a business having to close.

Discussion: Why do customers share more negative reviews about companies than positive one? Have you ever posted a negative review or a positive one?

Slide #4 Finding customers isn’t always easy, and good prospecting is a skill that most salespeople have to work on throughout their careers.

• Salespeople are typically responsible for doing their own prospecting, but they are often helped by leads they get through their company, as well as external and personal sources.

• While getting new customers may be the hardest part of building clientele, keeping them can also present some challenges.

• The most effective activities for salespeople building relationships and developing loyalty start with preparation, presentation, and follow-up.

Discussion: How would you go about getting new customers if you were not provided leads by your company? Where are salespeople most likely to get new customers? Is it easier to get new customers certain kinds of sales? Which ones and why?

Slide #5 As is the case with many aspects of professional sales, keeping the right attitude is crucial.

• To build a clientele, successful salespeople need to be patient, courteous, friendly, sincere, honest, and trustworthy.

• Perhaps most importantly, they need to exhibit a service attitude.

  • Buying a product can be a lengthy process at times. Some customers prefer to take their time, look around, ask questions, or make multiple visits to a business before making a decision on what, how, and when to buy.

  • This is where a service attitude can set a salesperson apart from their competitors.

• Here are a few of the most important ways you can present a service attitude:

  • Have complete product knowledge.

  • Show interest in your customers.

  • Pay attention to your customers.

  • Say thank you.

  • Stay connected.

Legal and Ethical Considerations in Selling—Discussion Guide

Performance Indicator: Explain legal and ethical considerations in selling

THINK ABOUT IT

When a salesperson makes a sale, offers a warranty, or even just describes the benefits of a product, s/he is acting as his/her company’s legal agent. That’s why it’s so important for salespeople to know about the laws and regulations affecting selling.

If laws and regulations were the only limitations on a salesperson, then some might think “getting caught” is the only possible negative. Beyond laws, however, there are ethical considerations for salespeople as well. Sometimes, violating a code of ethics can be just as damaging as breaking the law.

KEY CONCEPTS

Slide #1 Laws are rules and regulations enforced by the government. Some selling laws can differ from state to state, while some are federal laws, meaning they apply nationwide and are enforced by the U.S. government.

• Selling laws protect both customers and salespeople.

• They can even help protect the economy.

Slide #2 There are many different selling laws, but they can typically be grouped into categories relating to:

• Customers

  • Whether it is under the national enforcement of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) or under state regulation (many states have adopted the Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Law), customers are protected by law against unfair or deceptive acts or practices, such as misrepresentation and negligence.

• Competition

  • There are many ways that the government seeks to ensure fair competition.

  • At the national level, this might mean preventing the formation of monopolies through the Federal Trade Commission Act, the Sherman Antitrust Act, and the Clayton Act. Other state and national laws seek to protect against slander or libel.

  • Bribery, reciprocity, tie-in sales, and price discrimination are also illegal as they can negatively affect competition.

• Employers and coworkers

  • Employers and/or coworkers can be held accountable for requiring or convincing others to participate in any of the illegal activities mentioned above.

Discussion: Should there be laws that prevent the formation of monopolies? What do you think would happen if monopolies were allowed to exist?

Slide #3 As the basic principles that govern behavior, ethics are not laws. In a sense, ethics go beyond laws to the heart of a person’s conduct. Our ethical and moral standards are how we determine what is right and wrong, and they influence every decision we make.

• There are times when a person can be acting ethically but still be breaking a law, just as there are times when a person’s actions can be unethical even though they do not violate any laws.

• Because selling is about building relationships just as much as it is about making a sale, ethical decision-making and behavior is crucial to being a successful salesperson.

• If customers know their salesperson is honest and ethical, those customers are much more likely to continue to do business with her/him.

• Conversely, when a salesperson does not behave ethically, negative effects can occur. This could result in damage to reputations of both the salesperson and the company.

Discussion: Did you ever have a salesperson act unethical, but not break the law? Can you think where a person may be acting ethically but still break the law?

Slide #4 A person’s ethics can help guide them through situations that do not always have a clearly defined right and/or wrong approach. Similar to the laws previously mentioned, sales-related ethical issues can often be grouped together as relating to:

• Customers

  • Salespeople often encounter ethical decisions when giving or receiving gifts, entertaining, answering questions, and maintaining confidences.

    • It is not always clear what constitutes a gift as opposed to a bribe, for example.

  • Salespeople will often have to navigate situations in which they want to be truthful with a customer but also make sure they are keeping company secrets.

• Competition

  • It may be tempting to sabotage competitors, but spending too much time speaking ill of your competition doesn’t always reflect well on a salesperson’s own product or company.

  • Actually altering a competitor’s product to make it appear less desirable is ethically suspect (even if no one is looking).

• Employers and coworkers

• • Being a poor role model, applying unreasonable pressure, or looking the other way when you see bad behavior are all examples of being unethical in the workplace.

  • Sabotage of coworkers can be just as big of a problem as sabotaging competitors.

Discussion: Is it unethical to sabotage your competition? Can you think of any situation where they can manipulate a situation in order to make someone else look bad?