Excelsior College Self Interest Role in the Sales Process Short Paper

It is easy to see that self-interest plays a role in the sales process. While we hope that all those in the profession would behave ethically in all phases of the sales process, the bottom line is that the ability to pay bills and meet obligations relies heavily on the ability to close the deal and get the client’s signature on the dotted line. This means that techniques to close the deal are important. Creating urgency in the mind of the consumer is part of this process. As a salesperson, ethical boundaries should be a consideration, but may not be entirely clear. This case analysis asks that you consider the ethics of closing the deal and evaluate the complexities of the situation.

Begin by reading 6.4, Closing the Deal

Next, read and reflect upon the following in preparation for composing a case analysis:

• Sales and Marketing Executives International, Inc. (n.d). Sales and Marketing creed: The international code of ethics for sales and marketing (Links to an external site.). Retrieved from http://www.smei.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarti…
• National Association of Realtors. (2012). 2012 code of ethics and standards of practice (Links to an external site.). Real Estate Resources. Retrieved from http://www.realtor.org/mempolweb.nsf/pages/code
• Suppose you knew either that the prospect would eventually decide to buy the property anyway, or that it would genuinely be in the prospect’s interest to buy it. Would that affect your moral assessment of this closing technique?
• Do customers have any grounds for complaining about this closing technique if the law allows them three days to change their minds?
• What ideals, obligations, and effects must Jean consider?
• What interests and rights of the customer are at stake?
• What rule, if any, would a rule utilitarian encourage real estate agents in this situation to follow?
• Consider at least one additional theory in your approach to evaluating this situation.

Then, develop your case analysis using the five following sections:

• Section 1: Introduction and situational analysis. Describe the ethical dilemma, giving appropriate background information. The term “dilemma” implies that there are pros and cons to various options, even if some are clearly more socially acceptable than others. This is also where you do your situational analysis – identify factors related to the individual(s) involved (consider the readings from this module), company and managerial practices and policies, external factors such as economic pressure, and any other aspects of the situation that you believe helped create the dilemma. Do not tell the story of the chosen case, instead spend time on pulling out the relevant points that form the main thrust of the ethical dilemma.
• Section 2: Stakeholder analysis. Identify the key stakeholders and how they are potentially impacted by the various options in the dilemma. Note that stakeholder analysis is particularly pertinent to the consequentialist approach, and that one of the challenges is in estimating positive and negative impacts on relevant stakeholders. Do the best you can, looking at both good and bad consequences for each stakeholder group. Make sure you summarize the overall situation and come to a conclusion about the greater good.
• Section 3: Analysis based on ethical theories. Analyze the ethical dilemma using a relevant theoretical perspective from this module’s material.
• Section 4: Conclusion and recommendations. Up to now, you have been analyzing and comparing options. Here is where you pull together the different threads of your analysis and determine whether or not the company or individual did the right thing. Also, make recommendations about what should have been done. Make sure your justifications clearly flow from your analysis. Make managerial and policy recommendations that would help avoid similar ethical dilemmas in the future and provide guidance to help those facing a similar dilemma.
• Section 5: References. List at least three sources (other than the articles provided, your text, or the case article) where you located additional information about the company and the associated ethical dilemma(s).

General guidance: Include a title page, and label the five sections. Your paper should be 2 to 3 pages in length, not including the title and reference pages. All citations should be in APA 6th Edition format. Double space your paper, and use Times New Roman, 12-point font, with one inch margins.