The Ethics of Sales
This morning I came across a post on the Click Funnels Facebook group. The overall question was poorly written, but it could have been boiled down to “is selling ethical?” .
Let’s be clear, there is a lot of unethical behavior out there, and it is difficult to discuss ethics in any cut and dry manner. Everyone has slightly different values, and each person may find one act reprehensible and another perfectly OK.
Let’s start with the basics. These are best described in this video by Beau of the Fifth Estate. There is an old phrase that says “not my baby, not my fountain.” The idea comes from a scenario where a person sees a baby playing or drowning in a fountain. Beau breaks these down to three levels. Legal, ethical and moral.
Legal standpoints are the BARE MINIMUM. Obeying the law in sales does not mean you are ethical. This is why Apple suffered a backlash and get fined for tax evasion. They obeyed the law to the letter, but did so in a way that was unfair to other companies. In the baby/fountain scenario, you may not have a LEGAL requirement to do anything about the baby in the fountain.
Ethical standpoints are based on society at large. From a society-wide ethical perspective, you should go to save the baby. Society believes in the preservation of life, and by ignoring the baby you are behaving unethically. Ethics is a reflection of the society and the way it views the world.
The highest standard should be the moral standpoint. These are your own standards. These are the ones that you hold close to your heart and should not compromise on. You save the baby because to not do so would be pure evil.
Beau also brings this into the real world. Think about the United States in the 1850’s and slavery. From a legal point of view, slavery was legal. From an ethical perspective, slavery was ethical in the south but not in the north. From a moral perspective it should have been seen as disgusting by everyone.
So now let’s look at sales. You have the legal right to sell anything that is is not explicitly outlawed. In the mortgage crisis of 2008 the bankers did not break any laws by selling faulty mortgage backed securities. They did however break with ethics and morality.
Bernie Madoff however performed illegal, unethical, and immoral acts. That should be considered atrocious by just about everyone.
Where it gets interesting is with Wells Fargo and their phony accounts. Wht they did was illegal and immoral, but from an ethical perspective within the company, it could be seen as ethical. The society within Wells Fargo not only allowed but encouraged the creation of phony accounts.
Now let’s look at the shift in marijuana over the last 5-10 years. Marijuana is still illegal in this country. Even states that allow it are simply refusing to prosecute the Federal restrictions. However the ethics have shifted toward a very pro-marijuana stance overall. It is also seen as a moral imperative since it has had success treating all sorts of medical issues. So marijuana sales are illegal, but seen as both ethical and moral.
So are sales ethical? The answer is a resounding “maybe”. If you sell a legal product that solves the problem it promises to, then you are selling a legal and ethical standard. However that product can still be seen as immoral. Look at alcohol or cigarettes. They are legal and you can say they solve the problems they promise to, but that does not make them moral products.
Selling a less than reliable car may be legal, but it is not ethical or moral.
There is a lot of wiggle room here, but the best thing to do would be to sell a product that is legal, ethical, and moral. This is going to be the best way to keep a strong reputation in the community you are trying to serve.