How can you be socially responsible in sales?

In my experience, it’s better to be known as ‘ a credible expert’ than just another supplier. If it’s not about innovation or advertising & support, it’s price . They’ll always be someone cheaper. So if you’re not a credible expert, it’s better to be honest and perhaps suggests someone else. It makes you look more professional and stops you over promising and under delivering. Consistency is key to success.

We have a responsibility to be genuine and authentic supporting causes that we believe in and make a positive impact for our families and community.

The answer to this question can be very simple if you choose to market and sell a product you truly believe in and feel passionate about. I am fortunate my employer's services greatly help an under-served group: our seniors as they approach retirement or reach age 65 and become Medicare-eligible. It is also important to be as knowledgeable as you are passionate, so you can provide the expert guidance they come to rely upon.

Being socially responsible in sales involves conducting business in a way that considers the well-being of society, the environment, and ethical values. Ethical Selling Practices: Conduct sales with honesty, integrity, and transparency. Avoid using deceptive tactics or misleading information to close deals. Sustainable Products: Offer products that are environmentally friendly, energy-efficient, or made from sustainable materials. Educate customers about the benefits of these products for both their needs and the environment. Support Local Communities: Partner with local organizations, charities, or community initiatives. Allocate a portion of sales or profits to support social causes in the areas where you operate.

Sales with Heart: Embrace social responsibility by offering transparent, ethical practices. Prioritize customer well-being through fair pricing, sustainable products, and inclusive service. Give back to communities and safeguard customer data. Educate and build lasting relationships, nurturing trust and positive impact.

Forget what you were told as a child, to treat people how you want to be treated. In sales, you must trust your potential and existing customers how they want to be treated. Listen, ask questions and avoid making assumptions.

I find this item to be particularly true with insurance sales. The purpose of the product is to protect businesses against downside risk, yet many producers don’t understand the fundamental parts of the business they are insuring. They have a superficial understanding of how the business generate revenue, what their profit margins look like, and the difficulties they have in recruiting and retaining people. Know and love your customer and good things come out of it.

This is a vital piece of the sales toolkit - I’ve just been sharing that our business uses the Insights Discovery tool to help our team identify their own communication preferences & styles but as important is to get to know our colleagues & customers preferences. Insights gives us great pointers in using the colours to tailor our meetings & communications to suit others and pick up clues to how that will best land. Being brief or giving sufficient detail, asking about family/social time, selling on benefits to a team etc - lots of ways to make use of Insights to know your customer 🙌

This is very correct! Knowing your customers help you to provide the right services needed and this will also leads to customer satisfaction.

Adherence to ethical standards and professional codes of conduct is simply a non-negotiable. In sales we must avoid actions that could harm others, the planet or infringe on their rights. Additionally, supporting ESG that aligns to your companies manifesto & values is important. So you need to know them !! By doing so, you not only contribute to your company's success but also positively impact the community the UK & wider .

This was always a big one for me. Qualify better and save your Sales Engineer time. Forecast better and prepare your Professional Services teams. Fill out CRM and save Marketing time. Everything starts and ends with the sales person.

Reward those who are ESG focused. Who support the growth of underpresented business owners. Who give back or impact to communities. This can be done by your patronage, referrals and sponsorship. We have don’t this by supporting youth business incubation and connecting them with organizations that can purchase their product for their clients before going to big box, chains or franchises.

You must believe what you were doing is helping others educating, protecting, and being the very best you can be for them, then not only are you serving your community, but succeeding at your business as well

Shift your perspective from solely focusing on "making as much money as possible" to prioritizing "optimizing value." While the former mindset might involve short-term, transactional approaches and possibly unethical actions to close sales quickly, the latter approach of "optimizing value" centers around nurturing relationships, considering the client's long-term goals, and creating opportunities to build strong connections.

Sharing will help you avoid mistakes more if you don't prioritize competition all the time. sometimes sharing/having/recieving more than five brilliant ideas wont help you if you can only use one. why not have 5 ideas out there and from that learn through them all. This not only grows your understanding but widens your thinking scope

I’m unsure if all sales make a positive difference to the world. Take natural resources for example, if you work in fossil fuels right now would that be considered making a positive difference? Now I’d imagine people working for Tesla etc feel their making a real difference in driving the change to EV adoption. Maybe in some industries it’s all about moments in time when your industry or product makes a positive difference Either way if you’re a successful sales person it’s a fair assumption you’re making a real difference to your company which will employ people who make amazing stuff happen with their income so indirectly you’re making a huge difference to the world It’s a complex life that’s for sure & nothing is straight forward.

Think about what's best for you isn't always what is best for your customer. Listen, show empathy, and understanding. In doing this, you will build their trust and grow your relationship as their trusted advisor.

Don't Lie! It might get the sale over the line but once the client finds out, you will lose their trust. Losing their trust can result in a loss of business or reduce speed in future transactions.