Importance of Ethics in Internet marketing & Direct Sales companies

Posted on | January 14, 2010 | 8 Comments

Finding an Ethical Direct Sales company to work for

Ethics in your Internet or Direct sales business (pic by S.Vuono)

There are squillions of internet work from home companies and Direct sales companies out there and to find one that delivers on its promises, with leaders who are people of integrity and who follow through on their initial advert that got you signed up with them in the first place, is no mean feat.

I have been fortunate that in the last couple of years I have worked for a certain direct sales company that had just such leaders.  They did not have the best administration (only two support staff), and I never got a weekly pep talk that some salesmen (and sales managers) seem to regard as vital in order for their business to function:on the contrary, I had to motivate myself and find my own prospects (no lead base!) in my job that involved selling by commission only.  The reason-I live on the South Island of New Zealand-they on the North, hundreds of miles away, so communication had to be mainly by phone.  But they looked after me, paid on time, gave us generous vacation rewards and bought a company vehicle for us with paid business fuel allowance just as the economy started tipping into recession.  What they agreed to in terms of salary and commission-they honored.  If I had hassles with customers or a certain government department that was an interface with our customers, they intervened on my behalf , and would always take my side without doubts or belittling cross-examinations.  A rare attitude in managers!

Lack of honor and ethics in Direct Sales and other businesses

My salesman friend, who also has been working in a direct sales company-in the field of life insurance- did not have such a happy story.  He got paid more than me admittedly, but there was a difference.  He would never be in a position where he could trust he was receiving 100% of his earnings.  Why?  One simple reason-his boss in the branch office was busy siphoning off my friend (whom we shall call Bob)’s commissions.  Bob is very good with numbers and was able to discern where the missing commissions were going to.  He would have qualified for an overseas convention with this particular company had not the manager secretly used the points Bob had acquired towards its qualification for the manager’s wife to go instead!  Unfortunately this was not the first experience Bob had had with an unethical business manager.  Rather than complain, he will be moving on to another position and that company will lose an outstanding sales person.  Apparently he will be the seventh salesman to resign!

In contrast, in the Direct Sales company I work for, there is honour and mutual respect between my managers and myself (who are incidentally Christians) I was able to recently talk to them openly of my plans to change direction in my career, which would mean leaving their company.  The managers-whom I count as friends-were obviously upset to be losing me as I generated substantial sales for them, but I think they appreciated the fact that I was honest enough to make them aware of my plans, giving them time to plan for a replacement in this New Year.  Such transparency and open communication would have been impossible if there did not exist three things:

1) mutual trust

2) responsible leadership from them and equally responsible service from me

3) an ethical basis to the company proceeding from an ethical lifestyle and morals demonstrated by the leaders and staff.

Today companies and businesses lack honour.  My friend in America who is in sales told me that even after giving years of service in a senior Sales position he could still be given notice to quit within a few short weeks, should the powers that be decree it.  Equally, he could leave, giving very little notice.  Easy come, easy go.  Within my own field of sales I have run into unethical agents who regularly lie to customers whom they cold-call, and who have even gone in to one of our customer’s homes and removed some of our devices that we sell, on a pretext, in order that they could replace it with theirs!  At this stage in our industry we do not have an official Ombudsman-but that will come!

In most companies, direct sales or otherwise, you would be very lucky to ever get an invitation to stay in the manager’s house.  Every annual conference we have had, my wife and I have been accommodated in our bosses’ home.  The most recent visit was in their new luxury waterfront home.  It did not surprise me to learn that they had got the property “miraculously” when their offer to purchase-which had been the lowest presented-was the one accepted in a local foreclosed (“mortgagee” sale).  God honors ethical (and generous people).

Finding an Ethical Internet Marketing Affiliate Program

The same with internet marketing.  I was fortunate to get an invitation to join an Internet marketing affiliate program from somebody who ‘knows his onions” and one of whose main platforms for launching his internet program was to make it more affordable to newbies:Aussie internet marketer, Sean Rasmussen.  I knew very little about I.M, but I knew I needed to supplement my income and I saw the potential of the internet (see my earlier post)-the problem was-I did not know which program was good .  What he offered (unlike so many affiliate marketing programs) was an 100% money-back guarantee-so there was no real risk to joining. Also it was within my budget-another rarity!

KNOWLEDGE is one of the key ingredients to success in Internet marketing and what you want is an easy-to-follow, systematic, jargon-free program-which Year of the Affiliate is. If you are new to internet marketing the best way to fast track your success is to have a solid internet marketing education through enrollment in an internet marketing affiliate program that can teach you relevant and up to date online marketing strategies. There is a lot to learn! You can put into practice what you have learned on your own site.  In my next post you can learn more.

If you want to get started with your internet marketing education right away-for free,-just click on the image below and start earning and having fun, knowing you are with a good, ethical online company!

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