Despite negative preconceptions, UK sales people are concerned about principles, ethics and accountability according to survey. Image courtesy of sxc.hu
Despite often negative preconceptions, sales people in the UK
are concerned about principles, ethics and accountability according to survey from
Xactly and
YouGov. The research, commissioned by sales compensation and sales performance management provider, Xactly and carried out by YouGov between May 21 and May 25, 2012, revealed 55 percent of respondents would leave a job if they had concerns over the product or service they were selling.
As part of the research, 196 sales professionals were surveyed with almost a third (32 percent) saying that they would leave their job if they felt colleagues were behaving unethically. The survey also uncovered that female sales professionals were more likely to leave their job due to unethical behaviour (58 percent), than their male counterparts (53 percent).
In terms of generational differences, 45 percent of respondents born before 1978, commonly referred to as ‘Generation X’, considered their age bracket to be more ethical than those born after this date. This contrasts with the 10 percent of respondents born after 1978, often dubbed
‘Generation Y’, who believed that ‘Generation X’ was more indeed more ethical.
The need for accountability and transparency also appears not to trouble British sales people with over two-fifths (43 percent) of respondents saying that they would find their personal performance being made visible to colleagues
'motivational'.
However, the research did reveal that six percent of sales professionals felt that outcry surrounding
CEO and banker bonuses had tarnished the perception of their role.
Christopher Cabrera, CEO, Xactly explained that: “Selling underpins
business competitiveness – it’s a role many of us play at some point in our lives. So why would those who have chosen sales as a career be any less ethical than other professions? In fact, salespeople are even more accountable for their actions because their performance is often directly linked to compensation and therefore tightly monitored.”
Cabrera continued: “This research shows us, far from fitting the stereotype of doing anything to achieve a sale, salespeople are more ethical than they are given credit for. Given the hugely important role they play within an organisation it is important to recognise and reward the work they do correctly and consistently.”