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Selling Integrity
But is not integrity more than just actions and words. Even in the business world it starts from within. Who are you when the door's closed? What kind of decisions are you making when know one's looking? What drives your moral compass?
In sales and business arenas the issue of integrity comes up most often in the context of honesty and trustworthiness with customers, coworkers and finances. Is one a reputable salesperson or sales leader in their everyday dealings and actions? Do they fudge their reports, their activities, their product claims? Can they be trusted in their responsiveness and professionalism? We certainly want integrity here and demand it in our organizations.
If we're honest with ourselves, the outside may look good enough but betray an inner hole. Who we are at our core may be more important than if we simply don't cheat on expense reports or tweak the truth with customers. The true, inner-self knows the score. Stepping up integrity of who we are on the inside can lead to improved alignment of behavior and actions of the outside.
In the sales world this resonates as truth: true selling with integrity springs forth from true personal integrity.
2 Rules for Understanding Your Customers Drawn from his book, 42 Rules to Increase Sales Effectiveness, these rules are crucial for understanding your customer:
Practicing What You Preach In Rule #8 (Know How Your Customer Makes Decisions) of my book 42 Rules to Increase Sales Effectiveness I emphasize the power in the "P word" (Process) posed in the following question: "What's the process for making a decision on this and who would be involved?" In both cases the question was posed verbatim and then the customer offered up a world of information about their internal decision-making processes and all the people and titles required to be in the loop. (book excerpt)...there is always at least one and often more than one individual involved in a purchase decision. You need to know who they are....This powerful question kills two birds with 15 words. It's quite remarkable. Try it. It's magic. Prospects love to tell you their process for decision-making, but you have use the "P word." Since all companies have processes in place for assessing and purchasing products, equipment and services, they will often melt with this question and open up the proverbial kimono and provide you with very useful information about people, process, decision-makers and power-brokers. As we will discover...(it's) often people behind the scenes. The Magic Question effectively draws the information out and sets you up for further movement through the sales cycle.... Are you using the Magic Question in your sales calls?
Good Sales Managers Build Good Teams CSO Insight's 2010 Performance Optimization Report reveals that almost 50% of sales reps are rated by sales managers as "Needs Improvement" while less than 6% are rated as "Exceeds Expectations" and 40% "Meets Expectations." The study also shows a 6% increase in quota attainment for those firms using assessment testing during hiring. The manager's job is difficult - build a successful team while hitting the number. The focus shifts between coaching and mentoring and recruiting and hiring, all while making and exceeding quota. Are you making good hires?
Live and Sell with Integrity
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