Most businesses and salespeople strive to be highly ethical when dealing with potential customers. Unfortunately, some unethical sales tactics still crop up from time to time, usually to the dismay of everyone involved. Here are three common unethical sales tactics that you should work to eliminate from your sales repertoire:

Never talk bad about your competitors

Saying bad things about the competition does several things that are not in your best interest. First, a potential customer is more likely to remember someone you badmouth than if you say nothing. Second, potential customers (especially today) are pretty smart and able to read between the lines. If you say something negative about other competitors, it’s probably because their offers are threatening you, which means their products and services are inferior, right? That may not be the case, but it’s what your potential customers will think. Third, if you say something bad about a competitor that is false (and they find out), they can sue you for slander or defamation if you publish the statement about them. Therefore, badmouthing your competitors is an unethical sales technique that you’ll want to avoid.

Never promise things you can’t keep

This is just a basic principle of a good business. Yes, you might win a short-term sale or two, but your customers will eventually find out if you don’t keep your promises later on. Also, if your customers are dissatisfied, they will complain about poor performance, and if it’s still not resolved to their satisfaction, they may tell others to avoid you and your company. Worse yet, they may provide negative reports about you to various media outlets (local news, internet, etc.), which is publicity you don’t really need. When in doubt, underpromise and overdeliver to those who choose to be your customers, rather than using this unethical tactic.

Never use large amounts of fine print (especially for important parts of a deal)

Here’s another unethical sales tactic that really needs to go the way of the dodo. Potential clients know that almost nothing beneficial lurks for them within those 16 pages of 4-point type, and it’s a huge inconvenience for them to have to read every section before doing business with you, let alone expect them to hire an attorney. to do so as part of a “standard agreement”. Keep things simple, and if you can’t do without the fine print, at least emphasize any important elements that customers should definitely consider. If your reasonable customers would later get angry or feel cheated upon discovering the finer points of your “deal”, then it’s probably an unethical tactic you should do without.

So when you avoid badmouthing your competitors, only promise things you can deliver on, and stop excessive use of fine print, your sales go up, while your headaches and legal issues tend to go down significantly.

Copyright 2010, by Marc Mays