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Selling Integrity comes up time and time again in all my sessions whether the focus is on phone selling, presentations, or customer service. Everyone is searching for some answers to the compelling question of: How do I know when I (or my sales staff) has crossed the line?
All of us have experienced a salesperson that has lied to us in the past. It makes us ALL look bad. We don’t want the word “sales” to become like a four-letter-word.
Recently one of my friends told me that they specifically bought their house so that their kids could go to the top elementary school in Atlanta. After moving, they found out that the realtor lied about the school district they were in. Now, rather than move again, they are sending their kids to private schools. That was clearly unethical on the part of the realtor.
Professional salespeople—at the top of their game—have everything to gain by operating with integrity. How many referrals do you expect this realtor will get from my friend? And the office that she represents is now tainted, too.
These days, your customers are more educated about your products and services than ever before. There is more competition than ever before. In addition, in most businesses, the sales cycle is longer than ever before. What does this mean to you as a professional? That you’ll have to stay on top of your integrity and communicate professionalism.
So, here are seven ideas you can use to sell with integrity:
1. Always tell your customers the truth—that way, if you’re not smart enough to remember a lie, you don’t have to worry about it later!
2. If you don’t know the answer immediately, tell your customer that you will check into it and get back with him/her by a certain time. That way, you preserve your credibility instead of guessing.
3. Beware of what your body language is communicating. If you are unsure, but being truthful, keep your hands away from your mouth while speaking. And everyone knows to maintain good eye contact.
4. Fact check before quoting a price. If you give a ballpark figure on your product or service, this could possibly come back to haunt you later. You may have either over quoted—which negatively affects your credibility, or under quoted, which makes you look like a liar!
5. Make sure you understand what your customer’s real need is. If you don’t understand the customer’s specific problem or goal, you may end up trying to make a square product fit into a round hole.
6. Remember that your long-term success is dependent on happy and loyal customers. Don’t blow it.
7. Think before you speak. (Ever heard this before?) (c) Renee Walkup, SalesPEAK, 678 587-9911 www.salespeak.com
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