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The case for ethical sales behaviour


How important is ethics in business? Just ask any one of VW’s 600,000 employees for their reaction to the emissions scandal. Look at the precipitate drop in share price, the unprecedented forecast recall of 11 million cars. It is hard to think of any other single action that would shred a company’s market value and reputation so thoroughly and so quickly, writes Ian Helps


Surely all company boards must now be wondering how they can improve the robustness of their companies to the threat of ethical transgressions?


In sales, hardly a day seems to go past without yet another example of mis-selling, often driven by profit. What if there was actually a robust business case for ethical sales behaviour, one that can be made to CEOs and heads of sales? Imagine a world, for a moment, where businesses actually competed to sell more ethically, with sales behaviours and practices to match.


The Association of Professional Sales (APS) has been established as a not-for-profit membership association, to promote excellence and best practice within the sales industry. Ethics and standards in sales is at the core of its mission.


I chair a group of committed individuals, representing some of the world’s leading organisations, including Barclays, EY, Pepsico and SAP, who are spearheading this cause. Our goal is to drive adoption of ethical sales practices and to put in place standards of professional conduct that will allow sales to be recognised for what it is, namely a valuable profession which deserves respect and pride amongst those practising it. We have been proud to work closely with experts from EY in building a white paper on Ethical Decision Making in Sales, which we have just published.


To quote David Rutherford, a director at EY and who championed the development of the white paper: “We see a clear need for sustained focus upon ethical standards within broader corporate purpose to ignite long- lasting, positive change within


the sales community, enhancing levels of trust in the light of various marketplace issues such as PPI and door stepping.“


The white paper demonstrates that there is a positive case to be made. The key premise is simple: organisations that purposefully exhibit and operate with integrity and make ethical business decisions continue to be performance leaders. These organisations:


• have better reputations


• have better employee commitment to ethical practice


• have systematic approaches to ensuring ethical business decisions


• are much more likely to be growing businesses.


As the paper makes clear, organisational reputation is paramount. A study of the S&P 500 estimated that 84% of the companies’ market values was related to intangible factors like brand equity. By contrast, in 1975, that figure was only 17%. This makes organisations ever more vulnerable to anything that may damage the perception of their external and internal stakeholders.


The following table makes the case strongly for employee commitment to ethical


How would you rate your company's ethical standards when doing business?


How confident are you that your business operations in different countries meet the same ethical standards?


Do ethical practices often go unnoticed by head office?


Have ethical standards got better or worse in your company in the past two years, or stayed the same?


What impact has regulatory activity in your sector had on ethical standards in your company?


THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – NOVEMBER 2015


practices. Put simply, employee engagement that builds strong ethical foundations results in increased revenues.


The EY fraud and corruption survey also found that in organisations with increasing revenues, 50% of employees would feel supported in reporting ethical concerns versus only 30% in companies with decreasing revenues. This reinforces the need for companies to be systematic with their approach to ethical practices. Whilst there will always be a temptation to go for the 'quick buck', if we consistently and rigorously prove the business case for ethical selling, executive management and in turn sales leadership will increasingly come to see it as a critical value, to be advocated and driven hard in their own organisations.


Of course, turning the 'supertanker' on this subject is something that will take vision, commitment, and hard evidence. The good news is that the journey has begun and we welcome others, especially those in sales leadership positions, who would like to join us on it.


Our first step has been the publication of the white paper, through which we hope to generate a dialogue on ethical selling and to find others who


Results from businesses with increased revenues


31%


Very good 62%


Fairly or very confident


28% Agree


43% Got better 30% Positive impact


Results from businesses with decreased revenues


18%


Very good 41%


Fairly or very confident


19% Agree


20% Got better 14% Positive impact www.businessmag.co.uk


choose to join us on the journey. Our next is to put in place a sales code of behaviour among the fast-growing membership of the APS. These will underpin our development of a robust curriculum to accredit the sales professionals of the future that we hope will become beacons for these best practices.


Given this evidence and the clear direction of travel by customers worldwide, who expect a better and more ethical sales experience, we invite other organisations and individuals to join us. Be part of this vanguard, which is surely the basis for successfully growing your organisation.


On behalf of the APS, I can be contacted directly – details below.


Details: Ian Helps ian.helps@the-aps.com


You may also wish to join in the Twitter conversation at #assocprofsales


Ian Helps is a director of Consalia, a company dedicated to transforming sales. He is also the APS board member for standards and ethics in sales.


Source: Fraud and corruption – the easy option for growth? EMEIA Fraud Survey 2015


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