When Your Company Asks You to do Unethical Sales

by Dave Kahle

I was in the third year in a very fulfilling and lucrative sales position.  I was good at it, was well-respected in the market and inside the company, and was enjoying an excellent income.

           The company I worked for, however, had a reputation for being short-term focused and occasionally taking short cuts.  They came out with a new product and gave every salesperson a quota for selling it.  The quota was prefaced by the announcement that the company had invested greatly in the development of this new product and needed to get its investment back. Therefore, the quota wasn’t optional.  It wasn’t a “Here’s what we’d like to see you sell” approach. Instead, it was “If you don’t sell this, your job is in jeopardy.”

           After a few sales, it became clear that the product did not work as advertised.  If I continued to sell it, I’d actually damage my customers and create a black-spot on my reputation as well as the company’s.  Further, as a Christian, I saw that continuing to sell it was promoting a lie. 

Leaving Millions in Key Account Sales on the Table?

In my 30 years working with over 500 sales teams, I don’t think I’ve ever seen salespeople exposed to the specific strategies it takes to penetrate key accounts.  That’s too bad, because they are missing a huge untapped potential.   

One of our clients (a 100-person salesforce) documented a 73% increase in key account sales as a result of our system.

         On November 3rd, in a one-hour webinar from 12:30 - 1:30, I’ll review the specific strategies, processes and forms we use to get those kinds of results with our clients. In this 60-minute webinar, I’ll share:

• The one mindset shift necessary to manage key accounts.
• The biggest obstacles – unique to key accounts – that you’ll need to overcome.
• The one key strategy that you’ll need to implement.
• Six proven tactics that have generated millions of dollars of key account sales.
• One highly vetted form that will keep you focused on the highest potential actions you can take.

         The webinar is open to any B2B sales pro and is limited in enrollment on a first-come, first-served basis.  It may be one of the best $47 investments you make.

CLICK HERE TO ENROLL.

           I was faced with a major ethical conflict:  Follow the company’s direction, or follow my conscience?

           I suspect that many other Christian professionals have been, or will be, faced with a similar conflict.  How do you handle a situation where your employer wants you to do something which violates your conscience?

           I’ve gained experience with this over the years.  Here are five thoughts to consider.

First

If you are a Christian,  you start every one of these matters with a great deal of prayer.  Bring the issue to God as clearly and specifically as you can and do so on several occasions.  You should have the sense that God is involved in this sititron because you invited him in.  

Second

Make sure it really is unethical.  It could be that your perspective is a bit off.  Maybe you interpreted something incorrectly or your views are skewered in ways that distort reality.  So, first, make sure the th ... CLICK HERE TO READ FULL ARTICLE