Just what should all organisations be doing to ensure their cultures \u2013 and their employees \u2013 are following the highest ethical standards in their actions and behaviours?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Firstly, let\u2019s talk about culture. Just what is it and what effect does it have?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sometimes defined in words, often not, culture is \u201cthe way we do things around here\u201d. Culture is a conditioning, a programming which drives our individual attitudes \u2013 the very same attitudes that determine our individual behaviour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The culture of an organisation is the collective conditioning of each individual in that organisation \u2013 some of whom (quite often senior leadership) have a greater influence than others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s reasonable to assume that if behaviour is not what you would like it to be organisation-wide \u2013 that organisation\u2019s culture is not what it should be. To change organisational culture, you have to change individual conditioning. To change conditioning, a process is required. This process must have a leader\/s to drive to drive the necessary change \u2013 maybe a different leader than he\/she who drove your current culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, what has all this to do with selling?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s fair to say that many questions are being asked about the ethics and align (or lack thereof) of many sales-focussed organisations in Australasia today. Something appears to have gone wrong with our perception of what constitutes customer-centric behaviour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A big part of the problem with\u2014and often a key contributor to ethically questionable behaviour\u2014is a sales culture that promotes selling as something that you do to a customer rather than for and with a customer. Most sales training and coaching then reinforces that position by emphasising product knowledge and techniques for persuading (or sometimes manipulating) customers into buying, whether what they\u2019re buying meets their needs or not.
\nThis cultural view of selling can have a significant impact. It influences how the sales manager leads the team, what gets the most \u201cair time,\u201d how salespeople are developed and coached, and how salespeople themselves view selling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A person\u2019s view of selling is linked to their mindset, which could manifest in one of the following ways:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In other words, their mindset determines whether their goal is to push product\u2014the more the better\u2014or to create value and serve the customer\u2019s needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With product and transaction mindsets, the door is open for misbehaviour, especially when the environment created by the managers supports it, either subtly or overtly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But when the salesperson is driven by a guiding belief that says, my role isn\u2019t to push product but to uncover and fill customer needs, there\u2019s an entirely different motivation, which leads to entirely different behaviour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A needs-focussed mindset also releases a great deal of power within salespeople\u2014an \u201cx factor\u201d that we call achievement drive. When people believe they\u2019re doing right by the customer, they feel good about themselves. They have more confidence, more passion and more determination, and as a result, they\u2019re able to build their own momentum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A Quick Self-Audit for Evaluating Sales Cultures<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here are some questions you can ask to help determine whether or not your organisation is at risk or on the right path:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The difference is clear: Focussing on the product breeds a product culture, where selling the product\u2014no matter how questionable the methods or how high the ethical costs\u2014is all that matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Focussing on needs breeds customer-centric sales cultures where everyone wins\u2014because when you teach people how to ask the right questions, they\u2019ll uncover more needs, sell more and build high-value, long-lasting customer relationships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Note the generous use of the word \u2018focus\u2019 above \u2013 we do tend to achieve what we focus our efforts on. Focus your efforts and those of your people on truly serving the needs of your customer and your business will grow \u2013 and both your people and your customers will thank you for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now, that\u2019s a true Win-Win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Looking for unparalleled sales training services in Australia<\/a> or simply curious about the secret sauce of Align Training? Contact us here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Just what should all organisations be doing to ensure their cultures \u2013 and their employees \u2013 are following the highest ethical standards in their actions and behaviours?
\nFirstly, let\u2019s talk about culture. Just what is it and what effect does it have?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":19717,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[202,198],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19716","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-align-training-centre","category-sales"],"acf":[],"featured_image_src":{"landsacpe":["https:\/\/aligntraining.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/post-featured-image-1127x445.png",1127,445,true],"list":["https:\/\/aligntraining.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/post-featured-image-463x348.png",463,348,true],"medium":["https:\/\/aligntraining.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/post-featured-image-300x155.png",300,155,true],"full":["https:\/\/aligntraining.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/post-featured-image.png",1127,582,false]},"yoast_head":"\n