There is no use denying the fact that the functioning and prosperity of any society depend on a great number of different factors. To be able to survive and, moreover, guarantee their personal development, people have to interact which each other in order to obtain the needed sources, information, or something else. However, one of the primary needs of human being is its desire to have all which is needed to make his/her life more comfortable.
Thus, very often people do not have a thing which is needed, and the only way to obtain it is to take this very thing from the other person. Due to this desire, such a phenomenon as sales appeared. People tried to deliver goods to various countries, aiming to satisfy the need of people who lived in these areas and obtain profit at the same time.
Being a very ancient kind of activity, the issue of sales obviously obtained a great number of different peculiarities which influence the whole process of buying or selling goods. Moreover, as any business which is based on the process of human interaction, sales have their own ethics.
It is obvious that the grounds of the first manifestations of sales appeared at the same time when people made the first exchange. Being at the primitive level, it still existed as people had to have certain rules according to which this very exchange should be organized. Thus, further sophistication of relations between people and the development of society combined with the appearance of philosophical thought led to the increase of complexity of the issue of ethics in sales.
People understood that the image of a seller influenced the whole process greatly. The creation of the image became an important part of the issue of sales. Nevertheless, there is also no use denying the fact that sellers or people who want to promote the purchase of some goods will not act in the way which could be a money-losing. That is why it is possible to say that the development of ethics of sales has always been based on the idea of obtaining some profit while customers satisfaction and trust have been in second place.
Resting on these facts, it is possible to assume that starting with ancient Egyptian sellers, to Roman merchants and ending with modern managers, who work in the issue of sales, all these agents contributed a lot to the development of the issue of ethics of sales (“Summary Version of the DSA Code of Ethics” para. 6). There also have been many various approaches to sales. In the first stages of their development, sellers saw no necessity in the creation of good relations between a customer and seller and tried only to sell some good.
However, in the course of the development of society, people understood that it was necessary to make a customer satisfied as he/she could return again. That is why personal approach to some important clients appeared. Finally, it is possible to say that in the current stage of development, sellers should organize their work in the way which will take the customer as an important part of the process and provide clear and beneficial conditions for him/her. Furthermore, a customer has a great number of rights, however, sometimes, some problems still can occur.
It should be said that the majority of some possible problems might occur because of the disdain of the main ethical concepts which exist. For example, nowadays, a customer has a wide choice, and there is a great number of goods manufactured by different companies. It is quite natural that a person wants to choose the best one and, that is why, information about all products is needed (“Sales Ethics, There Is No Compromise” para. 2).
Very often, a customer can address salesman in order to obtain some information about the products of their competitors (Turner para. 7). It is obvious that some ethical dilemma here can be observed. A seller might have no desire to speak about the advantages of rivals, especially if their products are better. Thus, at the same time, a customer is always right and, that is why his/her request should be satisfied. With this in mind, it is possible to say that the given an example shows how ethics influences the issue of sales.
According to its main concepts, a seller should answer a customer and compare products. At the same time, from the point of view of benefit, it would be better for him/her not to answer. Though, in this very case, a customer could remain unsatisfied. With this in mind, it is possible to say that adherence to the main concepts of ethics can increase the level of customers satisfaction, which, in turn, can lead to significant improvement of incomes (“Ethical sales practices” para.5).
Taking into account the previous example, it is possible to admit that ethics obtained a great number of significant changes in the course of its development. Merchants of the past did not provide any information about their rivals, describing their goods as the only possible variant for people.
Moreover, very often, different kinds of tricks were used in order to deceive a customer and obtain some extra income. Besides, the evolution of ethics, which became possible due to the development of human thought, and sophistication of society, made these cases more seldom. The thing is that ethical law is not the only thing that organizes the functioning of the sphere of sales. They could be taken as recommendations, while an unsatisfied customer can try to protect his/her interests with the help of law.
The main aim of the law in this sphere is to protect the rights of both a customer and a seller as very often they could interact without taking into account the main principles of ethics. Otherwise, they could adhere to some other vision of ethics in sales. With this in mind, it is possible to outline several main approaches to the issue of ethics and analyze them.
As we have already stated, one of the existing approaches takes the needs and rights of a customer as the most important thing of the whole process of exchange and, that is why his/her satisfaction is the same important aim as a benefit. Sellers of this sort care about their image and, that is why it is vital for them to establish clear and trustful relations with their customers. However, there is one more popular approach to the issue of ethics.
There are sellers who care just about the increase in the level of income, no matter what remedies could be used to do it. Companies organized in accordance with this principle demand great efficiency from their workers and make them use any possible variants. That is why, very often employees, who use unfair methods, are stimulated. Furthermore, it should be said that this very ethics leads to the appearance of ill rivalry within the collective and has a pernicious influence on the personality of a person.
Talking about the influence of chosen ethics on a customer and seller, it is possible to say that it obviously affects relations between them. One can admit that people buy goods from companies whose image is popular and associated with a certain level of trust.
Moreover, if a customer has every bought a good from a customer and remained satisfied with its quality, price, and service, he/she will obviously return for the next purchase (Brooks para. 3). That is why it should be said that adherence to the main concepts of ethics can have a beneficial effect on the whole sphere of sales and increase the level of trust between all participants of the process.
Finally, there is one more important thing that should also be mentioned. It should be said that the attitude towards the issue of sales and the point of view on the organization of the process depend on the culture of a person who works in the sphere of sales. The thing is people precept the world through the prism of their culture and language and, that is why they have an absolutely different approach to the way in which a person should behave while making a deal or selling some goods of a person (“Ethics in Sales and Marketing” para.5).
For centuries eastern merchants have been recognized as very good dealers who are able to sell everything with a great benefit. At the same time, they are also taken as cunning and not very honest. It is obvious that these prejudices are formed under the influence of stereotypes. Though, it is impossible not to agree with the fact that ethics of sales differ between different cultures as to be beneficial salespeople have to take into account the mentality of people who are taken as potential customers.
That is why sometimes it can be difficult for a person to communicate or work with the representative of some other culture. Thus, it is impossible not to admit the fact that nowadays, these peculiarities become less significant because of the blistering development of globalization. Nowadays, people are able to find partners in a great number of different countries in the world and obtain high incomes.
Due to this fact, seller should know and take into account peculiarities of the culture of his/her partner. Additionally, the development of cross border trade led to the creation of certain international ethics that a great number of different organizations in the world adhere to.
With this in mind, having analyzed the issue of ethics in sales and information connected with it, it is possible to make a certain conclusion. It should be said that this phenomenon influenced the way in which the whole trade developed. Salespeople had to organize their functioning in accordance with it and, that is why it had a certain influence on the whole sphere. Besides, the sophistication of society also led to the appearance of new concepts in ethics.
Nowadays, it still plays a great role in the functioning of the whole sphere of trade. Thus, not all sellers adhere to the main ethical principles preferring to obtain benefits, however, the modern society people have the instrument which could protect them from manifestations of unfair attitude.
Works Cited
Brooks, Jeb. Code of Ethics for Sales Professionals. 2010. Web.
Ethical sales practices. Web.
Ethics in Sales and Marketing. Web.
Sales Ethics, There Is No Compromise. Web.
Summary Version of the DSA Code of Ethics. Web.
Turner, Willis. Ethics in sales and marketing. Web.