Which line separates ethical and unethical sales behavior? How do you know when you’ve already crossed the line?
Yes! Sales is important and you need to do what needs to be done to get that sale. But at the end of the day, you need to make sure that you feel good about what you’ve done and you feel good with yourself.
In this episode, Dr. Michael Mallin from the University of Toledo shares with us why some salespeople engage in unethical behaviors. After about 16 years of sales industry experience, Michael has decided to join the academia. His research paper, How Do Unethical Salespeople Sleep at Night? also co-written by Dr. Laura Serviere Munoz, delves into the effects of the different types of neutralizations on the ethical intention of salespeople.
Here are the highlights of my conversation with Michael:
How Do Unethical Sales People Sleep at Night?
Nature of the Study:
3 Criterias to Determine Unethical Sales Behavior:
The 5 Types of Neutralizations that Occur When Salespeople Justify their Sales Practices:
Reasons for the prevalence of neutralization in sales:
Where sales neutralization applies:
On the negative stigma of selling:
More common in direct to consumer selling
How to analyze whether you’re doing ethical or unethical sales practice
“Falling on your sword” concept:
Current projects Michael is working on:
Check out the National Conference for Sales Management happening on April 15-18, 2015 in Houston, Texas where university professors and educators come together to discuss research and teaching of sales, share best teaching practices, research in sales, and have fun.
Get connected with Michael by sending him an email through michael.mallin@utoledo.edu.
Or contact Dr. Laura Serviere Munoz through email at lserviere@udallas.edu
Michael’s Major Takeaways:
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Donald is the host of the popular sales podcast,"The Sales Evangelist". He is the founder of The Sales Evangelist Consulting Firm where he helps small companies develop killer sales process to scale their business and increase growth.Donald is also an award-winning speaker, sales trainer, and coach. He's a big fan of traveling, South Florida staycations and high-quality family time. Donald has a belief that “anyone” can sell if they have the desire and receives the proper training.