Is sales training ethical?

Some managers may be concerned that sales training will teach their staff how to manipulate people in an unethical way. This is a common misconception resulting from old-fashioned pushy sales techniques, in which customers were effectively tricked into making a purchase.

The most effective sellers do not rely on tricks or shady moral practices in order to manipulate people into buying. Ethical sales training teaches staff how to sell in a way that benefits both the customer and their employer.

What is ethical sales training?

Making the highest number of sales possible should not be the end goal of a sales training programme. Customer loyalty is equally, if not more important, and building customer trust is a huge part of the sales process. Loyal customers will give business to people and companies that they trust and the basis of this relationship is honesty.

Sales training ethics are about representing your company in an honest way in order to build a trust relationship between your business and the consumer.

Ethical sales training is built around the following principles:

• Sales people should not be encouraged to lie about their products and services. All claims should be supported by fact and misrepresentations should not be made.

• Any misunderstandings between what the customer imagines the product or service should do and what it actually does should be explained. The customer should not be left with expectations that cannot be met later on.

• Sales people work on behalf of their employer and aim to achieve the best results for the company, not just for personal gain in bonuses or incentives.

• Sales training should help staff to see the bigger picture of a sales interaction. Customers are worth more to the company in a long-term relationship than in a single sales transaction. Sales techniques that are not honest may result in a sale but can damage the long-term relationship with a customer.

• Sales people should follow up with their customers after a sale and always fulfil their promises.

• Teamwork is encouraged and staff members are encouraged to work together in order to help the customer, rather than being focused on individual gain.

• Sales people are encouraged to maximise their potential by continuous learning and improvement.

Ethical selling leads to better results

Customers are the most valuable aspect of business growth and should be treated as such. Companies that recognise the value of ethical sales treat their customers with respect and do not sacrifice a long-term relationship for short-term monetary gain.

Building customer trust should be the foundation of any sales campaign as trust leads to loyalty, brand awareness and ultimately better sales. Sales technique should never be based on lies, manipulation and misconception.

Ethical sales training can help your staff to better understand the principles behind ethical selling and learn how they can serve your customers more effectively in order to build long-term relationships and improve customer satisfaction.