What Are the Real Values of the Soft Sell Point of View — Integrity

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 Joe Sugarman, one of the nation’s leading advertising and marketing experts, spoke of integrity in his book Triggers. He said:

 I like to call integrity very simply “walking your talk.” Anybody can have integrity as long as they walk their talk. A criminal can have integrity. You don’t have to be honest or sincere.

Although I think the idea of  “walking your talk,” when you use it as a rule of thumb, can put you on a fast track to some conclusion or action — in the end it’s not sufficient as a definition of true integrity.

Why?

Because, even though it sounds good, it really deflects from the heart of the matter.

 Criminals are criminal because they live with a focus that is pathologically self-involved. They have little meaningful sense of the impact of their actions. They are all about themselves. Others don’t really count. That’s what permits them to criminalize others. They have no true integrity.

But what does that have to do with Soft Sell marketing?

In a previous post dealing with “transparency” I wrote:

A Soft Sell transaction includes a serious and sincere regard for consequences. It’s not just about getting products out the door, but also about the impact of those products on the well-being of customers.

Why? Because there is a felt understanding of the interdependence of us all — the human-to-human connection.

In a Soft Sell transaction, or, in other words, a high integrity transaction, there is a wholeness that  includes an awareness of the other. Buyer and seller regard each other  — not as objects to manipulated or defended against, but as the other member of the partnership.

The integrity of a Soft Sell transaction emerges from the appreciation both parties give to the value of their relationship — a value based on mutual necessity and mutual benefit.

And this value results from an acceptance that the transaction — the sale — emerges from the dynamic intention to create as much value for each other as possible — not just one trying to out-do the other.

This partnership model isn’t just window dressing. It’s the foundation for the success of your sales and all future sales.

When you re-frame the experience and practice of integrity, you place your buyer/seller transaction in the larger context of the partnership. It’s about the relationship between the two of you. That’s as important, in fact more important, than the details of the sale.

When you appreciate and choose to stay true to the larger context — the partnership — you end up being frank, open, and sincere in what you say and do. You stay straight to the point, without evasion -  no gap between promise and result.

You’re as clear as you know how to be so, if you’re the seller, you’re willing to be witnessed and understood giving your buyer the opportunity to make a decision he or she can rely on and feel whole with.

If you’re the buyer, you do the same from your side so you don’t abuse the sincerity of the seller.

When you’re thinking about marketing and selling, do you think about your prospects and customers? Not just in terms of what they want so you can supply it for a price. But that they are just like you — people with joys and pains, fears, and hopes — and they happen to have a need for what you have to offer. You know, real people — not just part of the market you’re going after.

 Because It’s All in the Connection,

 Jim

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