Yes, sales and marketing professionals often get so busy at times they have no choice but to refer leads to other sales folks. Yes it happens, but does it sometimes happen just so someone won't have to pay someone else a negotiated referral fee? After all, if you hold a license to perform a particular sales function you really don't have to work for free do you?
You give someone a lead and rather than them work the lead they refer it on to someone else. Not only do they refer it on to someone else they refer it to someone else with a different brand.
What impact do you feel it will have in the short term and the long term? Well to cut someone out a few dollars and suffer the potential for the person getting shafted to totally not trust you no more ever in life. In my viewpoint you can't put a price tag on that. It is priceless, but priceless in the worst way.
One thing that comes quickly to mind is that you've just sent business out the door. You've just betrayed the trust of someone who entrusted business to you. Another thing is any future business which may have been generated from positive interaction and collaboration amongst all parties is gone.
Who do you think that same client is going to provide word-of-mouth referrals for? You guessed it, the one they worked with outside the brand.
Unfortunately this scenario can go cross all kinds of businesses entities, for profits, non-profits. I think all these reality shows on television which get better ratings when stuff happens underhandedly is a major contributor to so many everybody for themselves syndrome of today. In yesteryear a persons word was their bond. You didn't even need it in writing.
You refer a person to a particular car dealership and the salesman refers them on up the road. Or they encourage the client not to let the business person know you actually closed on a transaction. I know the economy bad but does ethics have to go bad with it?
Just like as real estate agents we sometimes refer clients to lenders to help with the financing end of a transaction. Heaven forbid if any of them were shady. If the lender was unscrupulous they could refer that client on to another lender and the other lender then could refer that same client on to another agent. So you see if stuff like that were allowed to happen it could be the start of a very vicious cycle. It makes my head hurt just speculating what would happen if that were to ever occur.
Some people don't understand why certain professions have a cod of ethics. And even why others who don't have a code of ethics still strive to always perform their business transactions ethically.
I feel ethics is what keeps sales and future sales in their own camp. You think?
I know personally if I have to refer business out it is due to reasons beyond the scope of expertise or the time constraints are too daunting. I own my own computer related services company. It definitely a lot of times depends on the scope of the assignment. I love challenges. However, I like to fulfill challenges I can do in a reasonable amount of time.
I would rather work the business than to refer the client on to someone else. If I refer the project to another business if a referral fee is permissible I would gladly appreciate receiving it in an ethical above board manner.
And most importantly than to cheat myself out of future business by letting it go out the door. If I refer the business out the door I am then referring future opportunities that could branch off of that referral out the door as well. It is basically a matter of pay now or pay later.
When sales professionals of any profession think they are getting over by being slick. To me it seems not knowing they are only hurting themselves in the long run. Just some food for thought and the treating is on me.
No most sales people pay a referral fee or give a very warm heartfelt thank you. The intrinsic value of being honest is worth its weight in gold over being shady just to cut someone else out of a referral fee.
It requires no thought when you are doing right. You never know the person you refer out may just go back and let the person know how much of a scoundrel you are. We all know there are no scoundrels when it comes to sales, even though used car sales personnel I have heard have gotten a bad wrap from time to time. Of course this never, ever happens in the real world (wink, wink).
If you give someone a referral they will keep you apprised as to what is going on and be ever so grateful and thankful you gave them the referral. Hey they may be a source for you to refer to in the future. Win-win for everyone right. No one left out right? Everyone needs to get paid for their hard work and effortless and tireless energy they put into making a sale in the first place.
I sleep at night. I do the right thing so I can go to sleep with a clear conscious. What about you?
You give someone a lead and rather than them work the lead they refer it on to someone else. Not only do they refer it on to someone else they refer it to someone else with a different brand.
What impact do you feel it will have in the short term and the long term? Well to cut someone out a few dollars and suffer the potential for the person getting shafted to totally not trust you no more ever in life. In my viewpoint you can't put a price tag on that. It is priceless, but priceless in the worst way.
One thing that comes quickly to mind is that you've just sent business out the door. You've just betrayed the trust of someone who entrusted business to you. Another thing is any future business which may have been generated from positive interaction and collaboration amongst all parties is gone.
Who do you think that same client is going to provide word-of-mouth referrals for? You guessed it, the one they worked with outside the brand.
Unfortunately this scenario can go cross all kinds of businesses entities, for profits, non-profits. I think all these reality shows on television which get better ratings when stuff happens underhandedly is a major contributor to so many everybody for themselves syndrome of today. In yesteryear a persons word was their bond. You didn't even need it in writing.
You refer a person to a particular car dealership and the salesman refers them on up the road. Or they encourage the client not to let the business person know you actually closed on a transaction. I know the economy bad but does ethics have to go bad with it?
Just like as real estate agents we sometimes refer clients to lenders to help with the financing end of a transaction. Heaven forbid if any of them were shady. If the lender was unscrupulous they could refer that client on to another lender and the other lender then could refer that same client on to another agent. So you see if stuff like that were allowed to happen it could be the start of a very vicious cycle. It makes my head hurt just speculating what would happen if that were to ever occur.
Some people don't understand why certain professions have a cod of ethics. And even why others who don't have a code of ethics still strive to always perform their business transactions ethically.
I feel ethics is what keeps sales and future sales in their own camp. You think?
I know personally if I have to refer business out it is due to reasons beyond the scope of expertise or the time constraints are too daunting. I own my own computer related services company. It definitely a lot of times depends on the scope of the assignment. I love challenges. However, I like to fulfill challenges I can do in a reasonable amount of time.
I would rather work the business than to refer the client on to someone else. If I refer the project to another business if a referral fee is permissible I would gladly appreciate receiving it in an ethical above board manner.
And most importantly than to cheat myself out of future business by letting it go out the door. If I refer the business out the door I am then referring future opportunities that could branch off of that referral out the door as well. It is basically a matter of pay now or pay later.
When sales professionals of any profession think they are getting over by being slick. To me it seems not knowing they are only hurting themselves in the long run. Just some food for thought and the treating is on me.
No most sales people pay a referral fee or give a very warm heartfelt thank you. The intrinsic value of being honest is worth its weight in gold over being shady just to cut someone else out of a referral fee.
It requires no thought when you are doing right. You never know the person you refer out may just go back and let the person know how much of a scoundrel you are. We all know there are no scoundrels when it comes to sales, even though used car sales personnel I have heard have gotten a bad wrap from time to time. Of course this never, ever happens in the real world (wink, wink).
If you give someone a referral they will keep you apprised as to what is going on and be ever so grateful and thankful you gave them the referral. Hey they may be a source for you to refer to in the future. Win-win for everyone right. No one left out right? Everyone needs to get paid for their hard work and effortless and tireless energy they put into making a sale in the first place.
I sleep at night. I do the right thing so I can go to sleep with a clear conscious. What about you?
Oh by the way it reminds me of a quote I read online: “More evil gets done in the name of righteousness than any other way.” Glen Cook, "Dreams of Steel".
