Do you walk your talk as a professional sales person? Are your personal and professional ethics consistently demonstrated 24/7? Do you have a credible reputation within your sales territory?

If you believe that your reputation is impeccable, then what behaviors are you demonstrating to those within your marketplace? For example, do you respond to every phone call or email promptly?

Much of relationship selling is truly dependent upon the business ethics within the referral generating process. People in business who know other people in business make referrals each and every day. Businesses such as Business Networking International (BNI), Leads or LeTip have actually evolved in helping to increase referrals. However, without a strong reputation within your business community, all the referrals in the world will not increase sales and help you become successful.

Locally, I belong to an informal networking group that has generated over $2,000,000 in sales during the last two years. One of the greatest challenges is making referrals and then having that referred party not respond to the referral. Not responding is a negative behavior that damages the reputation of the referred party as well as the referring party. I am asked to make referrals, but if the referring party does not respond, this creates an incredibly difficult situation.

Reputation is also visible in how you deal with your perceived competition. For me, my competition is myself and dollars, but for many others the competition is that other person or business that is doing something similar.

I believe that speaking ill of the competition is not only unprofessional, bad business ethics, but is also very damaging to my own personal reputation. As my Swedish grandmother once told me: If you cannot say anything nice, just don’t say anything at all.

Gossiping is another negative reputation behavior. When you actively refuse to gossip, you demonstrate your high work ethics and reputation for being authentic. Living your personal core values as a professional sales person is critical.

If you are engaged in relationship selling, then look to maintaining and increasing your professional reputation, your business ethics and personal ethics, with your target market. Remember, people buy from people they trust and an exceptional reputation makes it much easier for people to buy from you.

Do you want more sales? Then register for FREE professional sales skills assessment, click here.

Are you where you want to be? To find out where you are, then M.A.P. for Success, a FREE email course may help you begin to chart a course of business, professional or personal success. Visit this site.

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Tags: business, ethics, corporate, code, managing

The Presidential campaigns have begun, and with them a host of shows, ads and debates. I don’t pay much attentions to ads, mostly because they’re paid for by those supporting said candidate. The ads are, of course, biased. I am a “researcher” and I prefer to find actual FACTS on the candidates. What have they done already? Have they lived up to the promises they made when they ran for previous (or current) office? Did they do their job, representing the people in their respective districts? These are the things that count to me. In other words, the proof is in the pudding. Don’t make promises. SHOW me what you’ve done and what you hope to do.

The biggest peeve I have is bashing. Candidates who feel they have to bash their opponents to get my vote are NOT going to get this vote. If that’s all you’ve got, forget it. I loathe the practice in politics as much as I do in business. When I was in sales, I NEVER, EVER put down a competitor. I believe that people are smart enough to see truth and anyone who has to belittle another competitor must have something to hide. That’s just my take. I made every sale I ever made WITHOUT ever mentioning a competitor. And, when asked to give an opinion on the matter, I would always tell folks that comparison shopping was THEIR job. I can share the differences, but I will NOT put them down. Besides, what most salespeople fail to realize is that by belittling their competition, they’re also risking belittling their prospect. Why? Because if I’m shopping, say, for a car, and I’m doing my research and I’m test driving, etc., let’s say I narrow it down to Toyota and Honda. Now, I go to Honda and the salesman says “Oh, you don’t want a Toyota. They aren’t nearly as good as a Honda. They have problems with….blahblahblah. They’re actually junk.” Okay. NOW the knucklehead has basically just insinuated that I’m stupid because I’m even considering a Toyota. NOT a good thing to do. Again, whenever I am met with such people, I take myself and my business elsewhere.

Now, the reason I am on this little rampage is because it’s come to my attention that there are folks out there who are doing the same thing with the company I distribute for. I have heard and seen some of the crap online about this company and done a very thorough investigation into these accusations. And here is what I’ve found:

WITHOUT FAIL, every single person who’s bashed this company (which will remain anonymous in this article, for my own integrity) was, at one time or other, considering the opportunity. And, for whatever their reasons (I know what they are, but again, will NOT go there), they chose to go with some other company. Now they use these same tactics to advertise their new business, using slander as their tool. I don’t get it. I don’t get why people need to do this. I think it’s both despicable and unethical. Am I a bit indignant about this? You bet I am. Because it seems to me that the level of integrity practiced in business (I don’t care WHAT kind of business) is fast diminishing and we are being bombarded with this mentality to the point of madness. It’s just plain CRAZY!

It seems to me that we need more integrity in our business dealings. We need to stop buying the slander and support ethical business practices. We need to look beneath the presentations and see the root of such claims. The sooner we ALL do this, the sooner we’ll eliminate the people who do this and their businesses along with them. Why should anyone support a business that uses negativity for their own gain? What happened to offering a service, or product or opportunity based on the NEEDS of the prospect, as opposed to personal gain? Someone once said, “”When you give people what they want, you will have what you want.”" I think that’s a pretty awesome perspective to take when doing business. And it is from this mindset that I do business. I have what I consider to be a very wonderful opportunity. But just because it’s wonderful for ME, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s wonderful for YOU. But I choose to let YOU decide, without slander, without opinion, without pressure. Because after all is said and done, you’re the one who has to live with your choices and who the hell am I to tell you what’s right for you?

It is my sincerest hope that you will do whatever you do with integrity, with passion and with honesty. These are the tools that are best practiced, all for the greater good. Of course, these are MY opinions and, as they say, everyone has one (or zillions!). Wishing you great success and a good night’s sleep!

Camille Strate is an author, critter-keeper and entrepeneur who has spent her life in search of the perfect pasture. She is a staunch believer in the “Pay It Forward” philosophy, and her business is a reflection of this belief. Marketing Personal Development products is one of her passions; she loves seeing other people empower themselves and find their true paths. Her latest book, “Whispers” will be released sometime in Spring of 2008. Visit this site to read more about this topic or visit my blog here.

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Tags: business, ethics, corporate, code, managing

“Are the business work ethics and values in your organization suffering? Would you like to improve these critical skills necessary for business success? Consider, then looking at the beliefs that are supporting these values and ethics.

Let’s get to the heart of the matter? What do you believe is keeping your employees from the bottom to the top or the top to the bottom from consistently demonstrating high business ethics?

First, let’s take care of some logistical issues so to speak. You must have a written values statement that is explained to all new employees when they hire in. This values statement must be demonstrated by everyone to everyone, both internal and external customers (employees and clients).

Your employees must be held accountable for their ethical behavior or lack thereof. There must no be any exceptions because exceptions only reaffirm the current internal belief systems of your employees. These belief systems started why back in school or within the family when so and so received special treatment.

Then and only then can you begin to address the real obstacle to changing business ethics – the foundational belief systems of everyone within your company. And, no, by belief systems I am not referring to spiritual or religious beliefs even though they may be part of this overall system. But, rather, belief systems are the mental schema from which we take action regarding current events.

Every human being has a foundational belief system. This system is comprised on 3 key elements: Knowledge, experience and emotions.

In the 1960’s a Swiss developmental psychologist by the name of Jean Piaget released his findings from a comprehensive study of his children in how they learned. Many so called other professional psychologists debunked his study because of the limited pool. Yet, Piaget revealed a lot about how we as humans make sense of what we are exposed to within what we call learning.

Human beings learn by matching new knowledge with existing experiences with the goal to make sense of it or learn it. If for some reason, the new knowledge does not make sense, the human being casts it off and learning was not successful. This is why some young people or adults get it while others do not.

Within our belief systems, we have learned knowledge and hopefully have grown through these experiences. Yet, without understanding the impact of emotions within this process, is where many miss the boat.

For example, how we felt about our experiences is very much ingrained within our memory. My father modeled reading and showed great emotion when sharing a favorite book or explaining something he learned. I became an avid reader for two reasons: His physical modeling of reading and the emotional joy from reading. Therefore, I embraced a belief reflected through an attitude demonstrated by my behaviors that reading was an incredibly good thing and had tremendous value.

My mother on the other hand did not enjoy reading. Consequently, my younger sister saw my mother’s behavior and to this day she is not a great reader because she truly does not enjoy it. Her belief is that reading is not as valuable as my belief. In neither case, no one is wrong or right, but the belief needs to be identify.

A recent survey released by PopCap Games demonstrates how beliefs affect business ethics. The results of this survey suggested that white collar executives believed it was OK to waste up to 1 hour per day playing video games while on the clock. Their reasons for several from needing some down time to just relaxing. However, their beliefs were telling them that is was Okay to take this time away from the company. Again, until you identify the beliefs, you will not change behaviors.

There are many more examples regarding the impact of belief systems on business ethics. People for the most part know what they need to do to get to where they want to go. However, until the beliefs which are reflected through attitudes are changed, your people will still not want to change. And it is this want to which ultimately drives business ethics.

P.S. And if you do not believe that beliefs are the key to changing behaviors, how many times in a day do you hear someone use the word believe or belief compared to know?

Would you like to increase the productivity of your employees? Then you may find the FREE Leadership Audit of interest here.

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Tags: business, ethics, corporate, code, managing

Sexual harassment is a faucet of workplace harassment that occurs daily. The surprising factor for many is that this form of harassment happens to both men and women. The number of men making claims has risen and today, 7 percent of sexual harassment claims are made by men. It’s also surprising that these individuals report women as being the perpetrators.

The core definition of sexual harassment is any behavior that can be deemed as humiliating, intimidating, and above all, unwanted. A sexual harassment claim does not have to be made by the victim, it can also be made by other employees who feel distracted or angered by this behavior.

Sexual harassment is not limited to comments or advances. It can also be committed through offensive language and workplace graffiti. Viewing pornography, suggestive screen savers, and other seemingly minor details can be incredibly offensive to other employees.

There are other forms of harassment. If a female employee chooses to wear provocative clothing to work, it may cause a male employee to be distracted. This distraction may cost him a promotion or even a reprimand for a sluggish performance. Many companies are not only initiating a workplace dress code, some are even initiating measurement requirements for skirts and blouses.

If you feel that you are being treated unfairly by another employee, speak with a trusted individual first. The wise words of an acquaintance can help you figure out which direction you should go in. If you prefer proof of harassment before making a formal complaint to a boss, you are in luck.

Verbal harassment is somewhat easier to prove. Voice recording technology has provided many quality devices that can capture remarks made from across the room.

If you want something more than that you should explore the realm of Hidden Cameras. Hidden Cameras today are completely flexible. You can purchase models tiny enough to be hidden on your desk or even on your tie. This can make amassing solid evidence a quick and easy process.

You can avoid all types of harassment with careful consideration of your workplace. Some employees may find themselves in negative terms with bosses for reporting, however, there are lawsuits in our justice system today regarding harassment. Your company management would be far better served to stop harassment before there are grounds for legal action.

Finally, speak with you HR department after speaking with your friends and gathering evidence. They should deal with the problem immediately and fairly. If not, please consult an attorney.

Mike Rao writes on Crime Prevention, Personal and Family safey as well as Security and Surveillance topics. His websites are loaded with useful information on his blogs and numerous products pertaining to personal safety and crime prevention. Please visit his websites and sign up for his free crime prevention newsletter.

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Tags: workplace, ethics, business, managing, training

According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), there is around 158 million children worldwide, aged between five and fourteen who are engaged in some form of labor activities. While article 32 of the United Nation’s Convention on the Rights of the Child states that “the right of the child [is] to be protected from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with the child’s education, or to be harmful to the child’s health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development.” the practice is still active on a global scale. This is despite the fact that the articles of the convention has been ratified by all countries in some form. Most of us have already been brought up to have negative reactions to the very idea of child labor, but in many third world or lesser developed countries, the practice is alive and well and often encouraged. 158 million children being subjected to exploitative business practices is a tragedy and needs to be ended. Showing why child labor is a problem will demonstrate why a solution must be proposed. The solution to this however is not what the standard argument has been for years. Boycotting the companies and firms that are associated with the practice or to make symbolic gestures to condemn the nations that allow child labor to happen makes conditions worse for the children. As a matter of fact, the solution is to the exact opposite of what the traditional argument has been; and despite the shock of those who initially hear the proposal, we must allow child labor to continue to lead to its demise. It may not be what traditionalists want to hear, but it is the only proven way.

Since morals and problems are all subjective it may not be necessary to explain to you the over all problem of child labor, but understanding the key issue behind it all gives the importance of why swift action is needed. In many parts of the world, including in the world’s largest democracy, India, children are kept out of school yards, away from swing sets and toys and instead cramped together in dangerous factory or labor intensive settings. While we grew up in air conditioned heavens filled with the latest in toys, games and educational activities, third world children were instead being forced to make those products for us that we grew up enjoying. The very idea of our children being forced to work appalls us, but it is just normal in certain parts of the world. The major issues are laid out in article 32 as read above. By working the children are in a state “that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with the child’s education, or to be harmful to the child’s health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development.” America’s regulation costs American businesses $1.1 trillion a year; included in those regulations are restrictions on the environment someone may not work in, how long a work shift can be, and what a worker can and can not do. In the nations where children are employed, they do not have nearly a as regulated business industry as we do. So not only are they being put into situations that interfere with their well being, but those situations are also more dangerous and detrimental to their health than what it would be in a nation where trillions is spent on protecting the worker. By being unsafe and interfering with a child’s development and well-being, child labor is morally wrong and is indeed a problem.

Since we all believe child labor is a problem, several proposals have been tried out to end it. For years activist groups have taken symbolic gestures and actions to “help” the process along, but their actions have done nothing but been just what it was, symbolic. To end Child labor we need more than “awareness ribbons” and futile boycotts. By examining the old methods versus my proposal of letting the system continue to run and history repeat itself, it will be evident that one will continue to be harmful and nothing more than symbolic and my proposal will work out and lead to the eventual demise of child labor.

This “do-nothing” approach simply allows the industrial and social revolution that America, Great Britain, Germany and the other already industrialized nations already went through to materialize in the nations that currently have a large labor force made up of children. While the naive may believe that simply boycotting the company’s that sell products made from factories that employ children will end the problem, they often overlook the obvious facts. If you take away the children’s job they are not going to just like magic all of a sudden be enrolled in school, be in a backyard playing and be out of impoverished conditions, as a matter of fact if you take away their jobs their condition gets worse. In the 1990′s the United States boycotted carpet exports from Nepal because the carpets were made through child labor. When all was done 5000-7000 Nepalese children were left with no alternative but to prostitute their bodies (Globalization). If asked, would not you think that the children preferred making carpets than being sexually degraded? Maybe this example would better show the universal response to children losing their job. Also set in the 1990′s, after Senator Harkin proposed the Child Labor Deterrence Act that as according to his website would, “prohibit the importation of products that have been produced by child labor, and included civil and criminal penalties for violators” 50,000 Bangladesh children were removed from their garment industry jobs and ended up instead resort to jobs that as UNICEF put it included, “”stone-crushing, street hustling, and prostitution.” They even went as far as to say that their new jobs were, “”more hazardous and exploitative than garment production.” In the same UNICEF study they stated, “[boycotts] are blunt instruments with long-term consequences, that can actually harm rather than help the children involved.” Boycotts are proven to be harmful and actually exploit children more than if they were simply working.

With the most popular idea of boycotting proven to be more detrimental than helpful, the only feasible solution that remains is to let the system continue as is. Think of it this way, if the parents could have the means to save their children from having to work at such a young age, do not you think they would? It is obvious that they would. Our problem is that we are thinking of these economies and nations as just like our own and applying our own standards to them. They are what modern economies were over one hundred years ago. Literally, they are one hundred years behind. One hundred years ago America was employing children in their workforce, and it was not colored ribbons or these ridiculous boycotts that led to its demise, it was economic advancement. World famous economist Milton Freidman showed that the industrial revolution led to a decline in child labor as real wages rose, making it more affordable for parents to be able to send their children to school rather than needing them to work. Thomas DeGregori, a professor at the University of Houston who teaches economics also backs up this belief and said, “it is clear that technological and economic change are vital ingredients in getting children out of the workplace and into schools. Then they can grow to become productive adults and live longer, healthier lives. However, in poor countries like Bangladesh, working children are essential for survival in many families, as they were in our own heritage until the late 19th century.” History and renowned economists back up this belief. By letting real wages grow and the technology that comes with it, families have more money and are able to afford to send their children to schools instead of forcing them to work to make a living. As the wages grow, tax revenue increases as well, leading to more money available to supply those schools with the tools needed to grow future generations of economically sustained individuals. All it takes from us now is to let our history repeat itself in the under developed nations.

“Boycott child labor” ribbons are symbolic and are nothing but futile efforts by uninformed citizens making a statement. The boycott itself has been proven to be not at all helpful and to actually be harmful to these children that the activists claim to be trying to help. Taking away their jobs lead to them being forced into deeper poverty and resorting to extremes such as prostituting their bodies and taking other hasher jobs. The only feasible solution to end child labor is exactly what I proposed, do nothing for now and allow these countries to developed socially and economically. It may take time, but these nations are not on the same level as us and we should stop applying our standards to them for now. While we may all agree that 158 million children is 158 million too many, we have to be reasonable and allow the economic processes that we encountered as a society over century ago, to start up in the nations that currently employ children. The next time you want to boycott anything, boycott those who boycott child labor. It is the right thing to do.

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Tags: workplace, ethics, business, managing, training

Do you walk your talk as a professional sales person? Are your personal and professional ethics consistently demonstrated 24/7? Do you have a credible reputation within your sales territory?

If you believe that your reputation is impeccable, then what behaviors are you demonstrating to those within your marketplace? For example, do you respond to every phone call or email promptly?

Much of relationship selling is truly dependent upon the business ethics within the referral generating process. People in business who know other people in business make referrals each and every day. Businesses such as Business Networking International (BNI), Leads or LeTip have actually evolved in helping to increase referrals. However, without a strong reputation within your business community, all the referrals in the world will not increase sales and help you become successful.

Locally, I belong to an informal networking group that has generated over $2,000,000 in sales during the last two years. One of the greatest challenges is making referrals and then having that referred party not respond to the referral. Not responding is a negative behavior that damages the reputation of the referred party as well as the referring party. I am asked to make referrals, but if the referring party does not respond, this creates an incredibly difficult situation.

Reputation is also visible in how you deal with your perceived competition. For me, my competition is myself and dollars, but for many others the competition is that other person or business that is doing something similar.

I believe that speaking ill of the competition is not only unprofessional, bad business ethics, but is also very damaging to my own personal reputation. As my Swedish grandmother once told me: If you cannot say anything nice, just don’t say anything at all.

Gossiping is another negative reputation behavior. When you actively refuse to gossip, you demonstrate your high work ethics and reputation for being authentic. Living your personal core values as a professional sales person is critical.

If you are engaged in relationship selling, then look to maintaining and increasing your professional reputation, your business ethics and personal ethics, with your target market. Remember, people buy from people they trust and an exceptional reputation makes it much easier for people to buy from you.

Do you want more sales? Then register for FREE professional sales skills assessment, click here.

Are you where you want to be? To find out where you are, then M.A.P. for Success, a FREE email course may help you begin to chart a course of business, professional or personal success. Visit this site.

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Tags: business, ethics, corporate, code, managing