Sales Ethics, Transaction-Focused Traditional Selling - Assignment Example

Sales Ethics Question 2: How much would you define sales ethics, and why is this topic receiving so much attention today Answer: Sales ethics has been one of the most important and controversial issues in marketing. To date, sales ethics still lies in the gray area as no exact definition has been formulated for its full description. It is also a fact that the issue of "ethics" is often subjective as what is perceived by an individual as ethical can be unethical to another. An accepted definition of ethics is that "it is the science of moral duty or the science of ideal character (Ethics Study Guide 2005)." This makes ethics as "moral principles and practices." Acting in an ethical way often pertains to conforming to a set standard of moral behavior. The problem now lies on our yardstick or the standard that we use in measuring what is acceptable as ethical. Surely, legal measures are not viable in setting an ethical standard. Though, sales conduct is often regulated by government acts like the Clayton Antitrust Act with its associated and Robinson-Patman Amendment Federal Trade Commission Act with its associated Wheeler-Lea Amendment. Often, a lot of sales practices are considered legal yet unethical. An example of this is when a sales rep treats his prospective buyer to lunch and wins the contract by proposing a drink of alcoholic liquor after it. This is tolerable in the basis of legality yet, this is an unethical sales conduct. I adhere to the definition stipulated by the National Association of Professional Sellers. This institution gave three measures on how to identify whether a conduct is ethical or not. Sales ethics captures idea of the "golden rule," that is an action is considered ethical if you want somebody to do the same thing that you do to them. This is very reasonable as nobody will allow a salesperson to take advantage of him/her. Of course, all of us would want to be fully informed about the products we are considering to purchase. Next, sales ethics is present a salesperson is willing to publicly inform his conduct to the society. This is logical as anybody would be hesitant in notifying the public of any flaw in his transactions and business dealings with customer. If a salesperson is brave enough to be transparent so as to allow others to know every detail of his actions, then he is undoubtedly ethical. The last component of ethical behavior is examining whether or not it aggravated anyone. If the business dealings of a salesperson harms the customer or the company, his conduct is out of the ethical standard and is morally unacceptable. For me, these three measures fully capture the true essence of sales ethics. Sales ethics is a very crucial factor in the success of any business operation. Increasingly, it is observed that customers base their buying decisions on their perception of the company's ethical background. It was found out that buyers prefer to purchase from firms they consider as ethical (Bucaro 1998). It is also important to note that the market's perception of the company's image is strongly associated to the conduct of its salespersons as they are the firm's direct link to customers. Thus, the sales representative's conduct significantly affects the sales and profitability of a business entity. Question 3. There is a role for transaction-focused traditional selling as well as trust-based relationship selling in personal sales. Do you agree Explain your reasons. Answer: The changes that the business world undergoes call for innovative solutions to provide maximum customer value. Because of this, a lot of marketing strategies have evolved in order to suit the changing needs and preferences of buyers. There is an increasing trend of "moving away" from the traditional practices and innovating a new set of technique to boost sales. Traditional selling is now replaced with newer solutions like collaborative and relationship selling. Traditional selling is the salespersons' conventional way of doing business transaction with customers. This transaction often lacks focus as salesperson does not apply target marketing and planning their sales calls. Traditional selling is essential finding a reason to do business with a buyer regardless of the "showstoppers" present (Traditional vs. Honest Selling 2005). This selling technique became prevalent after the World War II when demand for consumer goods mounted to unprecedented levels (Alessandro 2000). However, this is already considered obsolete as newer selling strategies are devised. One of the most widely accepted selling technique is described as trust based relationship selling. This strategy highlights the importance of developing a harmonious relationship with buyers based on honesty and trust. In this type of selling, sales representatives performs an evaluation of the buyer's needs and presents only those products or features which are relevant to him/her. Relationship selling also necessitates building a long-term partnership with the customer, acting as a solution provider to them throughout the relationship (Chapter 2 Consultative or Relationship Selling 2000). The rationale of relationship selling is to generate sales through repeat transactions with a single customer (Relationship Selling 2005). I agree that traditional marketing and relationship marketing can be both applied to the current world market. However, these two selling techniques should be utilized for different commodities. Traditional selling can be employed in selling standardized consumer products which are not differentiated and are perceived by buyers to the same no matter where they are procured. An example of this is salt. Since salt is a standardized product and serves the same purpose to any individual, it can be sold using the traditional technique. Relationship based selling can be applied to differentiated products. These are particularly true in marketing costly high-end goods which are purchased with a huge amount of money. Fostering a good relationship with customer will be a great help in convincing the buyer to avail of the product as he/she trusts the agent offering it to him/her. The customer will also have a feeling of assurance that after sales service and maintenance will be delivered when required. This will encourage him to seek future transactions with the sales representative thereby generating repeat purchases and transactions. This in turn will yield higher revenue and profit as well as good reputation for the company. The changing world situation has facilitated the evolution of different selling techniques which are currently employed by various industry players. However, we can still see that traditional selling can still be useful specifically in marketing standardized products. For other commodities, relationship marketing is the best option to cultivate good company-customer relationship and customer loyalty. Question 4. If you pay a salesperson enough money, you will have a well motivated salesperson. Do you agree Explain your reasons. Answer: Motivation is one of the most significant issues to be address by a company if it wants their employees to perform the best way that the can. Most often, highly motivated employees will lead to the success of the company as each one is motivated to achieve not just for himself but for the firm as a whole. The importance of motivating salespeople should not be overlooked as they are often the primary revenue generator of the company. Managers should design a motivational tool which will maximize the efficiency of each employee for the company's utmost benefit (Managing and Motivating Your Salespeople 2005). Traditionally, monetary benefits have been the primary motivational tool employed by managers to their sales force. However, I disagree with the presumption that a well-paid employee is in turn highly motivated to excel in his sales career. We all know that every individual needs a lot more than money. Monetary benefits should not be thought of as the only motivational factor which will drive the performance of the sales force. Most importantly, salespeople need to know that their managers support them in all their marketing efforts. Motivational tools should also include an instrument which can convey to the sales force the important role that they play in the success of a business venture. It is very significant that employees feel a sense of belongingness to the organization (Managing and Motivating Your Salespeople 2005). In the end, the best way of motivating sales force to boost their performance is by devising a motivational kit which encompasses and addresses all the perceived needs of the sales representatives. John Boe (2005) asserts that the "secret to motivating a salesperson lies in discovering their "hot buttons" and designing an incentive program that showcases them." This translates to identifying the sales force's "hot buttons" through a discovery of their interests, hobbies, and recreational activities. He further stated that incentive programs will be most effective if they create an environment for multiple awards which posts the opportunities for everyone to win (Boe 2005). A simple golf tournament and contests are the provided examples for these motivational activities. In addition, I believe that each company should offer an opportunity for growth not just to its sales force but to all its employees. This means top performers in the company should not just be rewarded with financial benefits but should be "given new opportunities for growth within company." Employees who feel stagnated in their positions often feel unmotivated and do not have the drive to achieve more. I strongly believe that a company should take into account all the factors affecting an employee in devising a motivational tool for them. Though monetary benefits are important, these should not be treated as the primary tool to enhance and boost sales force's performance. As stated earlier, money is not everything for an employee. Taking this into consideration, I propose that sales managers should not treat salesperson as money-hungry but consider all their needs as employees and human beings. Designing an incentive scheme with rewards, instills belongingness, encourages and helps the sales team to grow would be most logical. Bibliography Alessandro, Tony 2000. Collaborative Selling. Retrieved October 28, 2005, from http://www.isquare.com/selling.cfm Boe, Jones 2005 . The Art of Motivating Salespeople. Retrieved October 28, 2005, from http://www.johnboe.com/articles/motivate_salespeople.html Bucaro, Farnk 1998. Sales Ethics: Oxymoron or Opportunity. Retrieved October 28, 2005, from http://www.frogpondgroup.com/articles/fbucaro01.htm Chapter 2: Consultative or Relationship Selling 2000. Retrieved October 28, 2005, from http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/renglish/377/notes/chapt02/ Ethics Study Guide 2005. Retrieved October 28, 2005, from http://www.nasp.com/SiteFiles/Membership/ethics.html Managing and Motivating Your Salespeople 2005. Retrieved October 28, 2005, from http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/resources/article.phpmcid=5&scid=50&aid=1449 Marketing and Sales 2003. Retrieved October 28, 2005, from http://www.amanet.org/askama/market_sales/market_sales4.htm Relationship Selling 2005. Retrieved October 28, 2005, from http://changingminds.org/disciplines/sales/methods/relationship_selling.htm Sales Ethics: A Requirement for Meaningful Long-term Success. Retrieved October 28, 2005, from http://www.salesfocusinc.com/newsarchive/0319_sales_ethics.htm Traditional Selling vs. Honest Selling 2005. Retrieved October 28, 2005, from http://honestselling.com/ask/major_differences.htm Read More