Are all salespeople swindlers?

Salespeople too often suffer from a negative image: liars, smooth talkers, greedy, willing to do anything to sell, in most countries around the world. This is the image of Michael Scott in the TV series The Office, for example, who is ready to intoxicate a partner to get him to sign a sales contract. This stereotype seems almost worldwide.

Christophe Fournier, University of Montpellier

Some would say "business is business", that's the law of business, and it's up to the consumer to be vigilant. At a time of growing concern about sustainable development issues, when there is increasing talk of corporate social responsibility and the benefits of ESG (environmental, social and governance) assessments are being extolled, it nevertheless seems legitimate to ask the question: is it possible to have a sales ethic, and if so, why and how?

Moral issues aside, there is a certain consensus in the scientific literature that ethical business practices have always proved more profitable than unethical ones. This is all the more true if we take a long-term view of customer relationship management.

Our research shows a beneficial effect from a workforce point of view: the more ethically-minded the company, the greater the incentive for top performers to stay. In other words, a good ethical climate is an excellent way of limiting turnover and retaining the best people. Given the turnover rates that can exist in the sales function and the sector's recruitment difficulties, it would seem that investing in a certain ethical approach is like killing two birds with one stone.

Once alone, the temptation is great

Using 132 French salespeople from a wide range of companies, we examined the long-studied relationship between sales performance and turnover. Although some studies fail to show a significant relationship between these two variables, most conclude that there is a negative relationship: the lower the performance, the higher the turnover.

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Our findings paint a somewhat more complex picture. The relationship between these two variables seems to be moderated by the ethical climate. The more successful salespeople are, the more likely they are to want to leave the company in the event of a weak ethical climate. This is all the more true given that, because of their results, they are highly employable on the job market and are offered good opportunities in other companies, whether competitors or not, but with a favorable ethical climate.

The less successful, on the other hand, will tend to stay with their current company, as there will be little demand for them on the job market. To achieve a certain level of performance, they will also find it easier to cope with a less ethical climate.

Once alone, the temptation is great

But how do you create the ethical climate that attracts the best and brightest employees? Given the uniqueness of the profession, this may not seem obvious at first glance.

One of the characteristics of sales people is that many of them are doubly independent: physically, as many of them are out in the field, and above all psychologically. Alone with the customer or buyer, they have to find solutions, answer questions and sometimes face pressure. It is therefore easy and tempting, in certain situations, to "work things out" and thus engage in behavior that can be described as unethical or unethical.

However, there are a number of simple tools that can easily be used to foster a virtuous climate, such as setting quotas that are appropriate and achievable. It has been clearly proven that the higher the quota, the greater the temptation to vice.

Beware of incentives

Rather than "production" quotas, i.e. sales quotas, it is better to propose quotas based on more qualitative items, such as customer satisfaction, or assessments of key behaviors to be adopted or mastered during the sales process. Strong control and close supervision with rather subjective indicators is preferable, from an ethical point of view, to control that is more focused on results. Beyond that, what's at stake is maintaining or even strengthening the customer relationship.

In the same vein, competitions and other sales challenges launched by a large number of companies can also quickly go awry. Especially if no care is taken to set objectives that are in line with an ethical vision and consistent with the company's strategy.

More broadly, the compensation and motivation package for sales staff is at issue. A number of studies show, for example, that from an ethical point of view, it is always preferable to pay a fixed salary rather than a variable salary with commissions based on sales.

Guardian and guard rails

We should also mention the key role of the manager, who can be both the initiator and the promoter and guardian of the company's ethical spirit. By setting an example, he or she will show the way to employees who are less inclined to venture down tortuous paths. His attention to these issues is evident from the moment he recruits his team.

However, these actions may not be enough. Finally, it's worth mentioning the relevance for the company of adopting an ethical code or charter, a key element in fostering the emergence of a positive climate. In just a few lines, you can formalize the main rules of behavior to which sales staff can refer when in doubt or questioning certain practices. Formalizing ethics in this way is an important safeguard, not to eliminate unethical behavior, but at least to limit it.

Of course, it won't be possible to avoid 100% of salespeople's deviant actions, but implementing a few simple measures can be a great help. Sales and ethics are not an oxymoron.

Christophe Fournier, University Professor, IAE Montpellier, Montpellier Research Management, Member of the Business Science Institute, President AUNEGe, University of Montpellier

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read theoriginal article.