Your integrity is everything! Dr. Phil has often said that how you do one thing is how you do every thing! Your ability to abide by your own standards and to do so with honesty determines the way you deal with yourself and others. If you treat yourself shabbily, it will be reflected in how you treat others. If you allow others to treat you shabbily, it will diminish your self-value, which in turn, diminishes the interaction with others.

Sticking by a personal code of behavior sets the tone for all your external relationships. As this applies to sales, your level of honesty and your ability to have a workable sense of integrity drives the relationships you have with your customers. Not only are you responsible to yourself for your behavior, any lapses in your integrity will be obvious to those around you!

Looking out for your customer's best interests is only possible when you are capable of looking out for your own best interests and being able to put yourself in their position to sense how they perceive things.

In our office, we had a good discussion about, "Is it ever ok to withhold information from a customer?" Some felt that it might be ok if it were to save the customer unnecessary worry or stress. Most of us believe that withholding information is the same as dishonesty and that the conversation that accompanies the bad news can and should ease the stress and concern. It is felt that it is not OK to withhold information from a customer, no matter what!

As a customer, if I believe that a salesperson has not been 100% honest with me, I will walk out on that sale immediately. My personal code of behavior leaves no room for less than total honesty. Having inconvenient conversations is a part of life and the recipient of the information deserves to have all the facts and to make the decision that is best for them.

Luckily for you, YOU get to choose how others view your integrity. Does it exist? Is it for sale? Is it unassailable? Your customers get to choose whether they want to do business with the type and level of integrity you select. If sales are not repeating for you, an area to examine might be how you demonstrate your chosen integrity. In any case, increasing your humanness so that everyone can benefit from your best self is always a great thing!

FINAO - Brad Huisken