"Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody's going to know whether you did it or not."
Oprah Winfrey
In a post trust sales world, you must bring your integrity forward every single day. You must live it, breathe it and demonstrate it.
Living with integrity especially in sales takes courage.
Let's look at INTEGRITY through the lens of Wikipedia...
Integrity is the practice of being honest and showing a consistent and uncompromising adherence to strong moral and ethical principles and values.
Questions for all those in sales, sales management and leadership...
- How many of your clients and future clients would define salespeople as being honest?
- Would your clients and future clients use the words moral and ethical in your approach to working with them?
WHY INTEGRITY IN SALES IS IMPORTANT?
What are your sales morals?
Living your sales life full of integrity is the only way, especially in a world where trust is almost non-existent. The way you conduct yourself reflects your character and builds your reputation.
A life of integrity means you never have to spend time or energy questioning yourself. When you listen to your heart and do the right thing, your sales life becomes simple.
Your actions and the way you conduct yourself are open for your clients and future clients to see.
Acting with integrity gives you peace of mind in knowing you did the right thing regardless of the outcome.
You are responsible for your own conduct and you are responsible for your own integrity.
Living with integrity is daunting. How many in sales are drawn to the "dark side" where ego, fear and commission breathe run our every thought?
Let's face it, this happens to all of us. Therefore, we must regularly make adjustments, and about-faced u-turn's to bring integrity back into the forefront of our lives.
Are your words and actions in alignment with your beliefs and values?
"The reputation of a thousand years may be determined by the conduct of one hour."
Japanese Proverb
Are you guarding your reputation?
INTEGRITY, A KEY COMPONENT OF SELLING FROM THE HEART
No longer does old-school bravado and a bragging mindset work in today's sales climate. No one gives a rip what you've accomplished in your sales career. They want to know how much you care about them.
This where I strongly believe servant-led leadership comes in, learning how to serve with heartfelt sincerity and integrity.
The word “integrity” comes from the Latin “integritas,” meaning wholeness and soundness.
Are you serving your clients with wholeness and soundness?
"The servant-leader is servant first… It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first.”
Robert K. Greenleaf
Learning how to serve, leading your life with integrity and selling from the heart; mix these together and this becomes a recipe for a very fulfilling sales career.
Salespeople who have a strong sense of integrity are sadly a rare breed in today's business world.
A FEW TRAITS ASSOCIATED WITH INTEGRITY FILLED PROFESSIONALS
"Integrity gives you real freedom because you have nothing to fear since you have nothing to hide."
Zig Ziglar
Integrity, said author C.S. Lewis, “is doing the right thing, even when no one is looking.” Integrity is a foundational moral virtue. This must be brought back into the sales profession.
Curious to know... What does your moral courage look like? How would you define moral courage?
Acting with integrity in sales means accepting to conduct yourself in accordance with honesty, fairness, and plain decency.
Salespeople with integrity share some of these traits...
- They are always honest
- They never take advantage of their clients
- They are humble
- They give without expect anything in return
- They never manipulate their clients
- They see the good in their clients
In a world full of empty suits, integrity will keep you at the top.
LIVE IT
Are you leading your sales life with integrity?
You can make an accurate assessment by asking yourself these questions devised by ThinkHR, a human resource compliance company.
- Am I willing to say what I’m thinking?
- Am I willing to risk being wrong?
- Does this conduct make me a better person?
- Am I leading by example?
- Am I taking 100% responsibility?
Never ever ever waiver from your integrity. We expect it from others!
Integrity is essential in relational contentment and fulfillment.
A poem by Frank Outlaw
Watch your thoughts; They become your words.
Watch your words; They become your actions.
Watch your actions; They become your habits.
Watch your habits; They become your character.
Watch your character; It becomes your destiny.
Are you doing the right thing because it is the right thing for your clients?
I understand, I get where you all are coming from. Every day, I walk in your shoes. I am fully committed to helping your sales team integrate social aspects and heartfelt strategies into your current sales process to grow new business. I want you to get results. This is why I am passionate about doing this the right way, the genuine way, the authentic way! It's about understanding value before visibility.
Selling From the Heart is making a difference! I poured my heart into every page of this book and I think you're going to love it. You can find it on Amazon in paperback, kindle and in audio. You can click on the book image below and this will take you to Amazon.In a world full of empty suits, I'm passionate about helping sales reps succeed by getting valuable before they get visible. I help sales teams understand the true value they bring to the market.
In a world full of empty suits, I'm passionate about helping sales reps succeed by getting valuable before they get visible. I help sales teams understand the true value they bring to the market.
With great pride I transform, challenge, coach and inspire sales teams to grow new business by helping them share their story and how they communicate it out by integrating the use of social and Selling from the heart inside the sales process. You can follow me on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and on my podcast by clicking on Selling from the Heart.
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