Britain's other 2012 legacy How will a new age of ethics affect selling? In Autumn 2012 I was asked to give a talk on the ethics of selling to a network of ethical businesspeople. As a lifelong salesman, I felt a little like a lonely lion being thrown into a den of Daniels. To my surprise I managed to make a good case for the ethical approach of most salespeople. But I've since realised there was more to the invitation than I realised ‒ 2012 was a truly remarkable year ‒ Britain appears to have rediscovered ethics! The feedback from my broadcast of this slide deck was intriguing ... to follow later.

1. sales
ethics

2. Consilium
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Consilium
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Was 2012 the start of
a new ‘age of ethics’?

3. Consilium
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Britain’s other 2012 legacy
Despite continuing poor economic performance, perhaps
in part caused by the fear of a Grexit facing our European
neighbours and major trading partner, Britain had a
wonderful year in 2012:
► We celebrated Queen Elizabeth’s .
► The London Olympics went off almost without a hitch ‒
even the weather was good!
While we wait to see if Britain reaps the Olympic dividend
promised by our politicians from the legacy of the games,
something more significant is happening.
© Consilium Consultancy Ltd 3

4. Consilium
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An outbreak of ethics
It is almost a Bankers’ dream come true, even as the LIBOR scandal was
breaking their reputations have faded into the background while the press,
politicians, the police and the rich suffered severe reputational damage:
► The newspaper industry was subjected to a lengthy public enquiry,
with the 53rd journalist arrested for phone hacking in early December.
► Multinationals were criticised by a Parliamentary committee for
manipulating their UK tax liability, leading to a consumer boycott.
► Tax avoidance proved not to be such a funny matter for the wealthy, with
several extreme tax scams exposed in the press together with their users.
► Following his forced resignation, even a politician appears to have told the
truth after all.
© Consilium Consultancy Ltd 4

5. Consilium
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The new triad: press, police & politicians?
The Leveson Enquiry
“For the seventh time in less than 70 years, a report has been
commissioned by the Government which has dealt with
concerns about the press. It was sparked by public revulsion
about a single action – the hacking of the mobile phone of a
murdered teenager.”
“During the course of the enquiry the relationship between the
press and the police … [and] inclusion of the press and
politicians followed.”
337 witnesses gave evidence in person, nearly 300
others gave evidence in writing.
The report made 92 recommendations.
We have yet to learn what will change following the
report, but public outrage at the scale and indiscriminate
nature of phone tapping by the press might just help to
re-establish a balance between freedom of the press
and the privacy of private individuals.
© Consilium Consultancy Ltd 5

6. Consilium
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Tax Avoidance
The Times exposed a series of extreme tax avoidance schemes used
by the rich and famous including several well known show business
personalities.
► HMRC estimates that £10.2Bn of tax is at risk through aggressive
avoidance schemes.
► Up from £9Bn in 2011.
► Avoidance schemes are used by 40,000+ individuals and small
businesses.
► This figure pales into comparison with the £25Bn of tax at risk from
larger businesses.
This continues despite 93 anti-avoidance laws having been introduced
since 2004.
© Consilium Consultancy Ltd 6

7. Consilium
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“In deciding to invest in the K2 scheme, Carr did indeed make what he has
called ‘a terrible error of judgment’. For while this scheme may be legal, it is
a blatant example of aggressive tax avoidance that most reasonable people
would have felt was neither in the spirit of the law nor fair to the taxpaying
fans from whom he earns his living.
… But there is a world of difference between protecting savings from tax in
an ISA, for example, as millions of people do, and investing in tortuous
schemes involving offshore trusts in order to reduce tax payments to
minuscule levels.
This is the kind of “aggressive” tax avoidance that the Chancellor has
called morally repugnant.
…The issue is not just about Carr. He has climbed down, and quickly, from
K2. That is to his credit.”
The Times 22 June 2012
© Consilium Consultancy Ltd 7
Not so funny!

8. Consilium
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Multinationals under pressure
In November the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee
summoned representatives of Google, Amazon and Starbucks.
Subsequently, perhaps as a result of consumer pressure, Starbucks
agreed to “pay a significant amount of tax”, thought by experts to be
about £20m “regardless of whether they were profitable”.
Meanwhile, Amazon have reported Christmas 2012 sales “up more
than 250% on 2007”. Against this Amazon’s worldwide sales grew
342% from $14.8Bn in 2007 to $48 Bn in 2011. They rarely break out
their UK sales figures, but in 2012 my hallway looked slightly less like
Amazon’s goods inwards than in previous years.
So far Google appears untouched. Only the might of the German
Government seems to be taking them on by trying to require Google
to obtain permission before it publishes links to news web sites.
Though you could try switching your search to www.duckduckgo.com
they won’t track your searches either.
© Consilium Consultancy Ltd 8
Revenue
UK Corporation
Tax
Google £2.6Bn £6m (0.4%)
Amazon £3.3Bn nil
Starbucks £398m nil

9. “Plebgate” turns into “Plodgate”
Andrew Mitchell, the Government’s Chief Whip was forced to
resign in October having been accused of referring to the Police
as “plebs” a particularly toxic term for a Conservative politician
to use.
Yet his reputation may yet be restored.
In December an “independent” witness, previously
thought to have been a member of the public, was
reported to be an off duty policemen who wasn’t
even present at the scene of the altercation.

10. Consilium
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Only the Church of England…
© Consilium Consultancy Ltd 10
… could prove so contrarian.
On November 21st the General
Synod decided not to allow the
ordination of women bishops,
37 years after the
introduction of the
Sex Discrimination Act.

11. Consilium
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Consilium
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How will this affect
the way we sell?

12. Consilium
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Attitudes vary
In the UK people are wary of being sold to, whereas in the US people are more positive.
© Consilium Consultancy Ltd 12
Attitudes will also vary from market to market, but if there is a new ethical climate in
Britain, we should consider being more open about how we sell.

13. Here are a few ideas
Is any of this unethical?

14. Consilium
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Some of the traits of good sales people
► Ready to search for prospects.
► Listen to prospects carefully.
► Explain how their solution works.
► During their campaign they:
● Prove the value of their product or service.
● Check for missing information.
● Minimise any weaknesses.
● Emphasise their strengths.
► … and they are good at managing their time by
qualifying out.
© Consilium Consultancy Ltd 14

15. Consilium
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Be more transparent when qualifying out
► Don’t just drop a prospect cold, politely explain
why you can’t help.
► Spending time trying to sell to someone who
doesn’t need what you’ve got wastes time.
It’s also dispiriting.
► Explaining why you can’t help can be an
investment. The next time the prospect may
return asking for some advice when you can help.
► Good salesmen try to attain “trusted advisor”
status with their prospects and clients. Being
honest when you can’t help encourages trust.
© Consilium Consultancy Ltd 15

16. Consilium
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Encourage a shift in attitude
Encourage people to think of selling as a combination of:
© Consilium Consultancy Ltd 16
detective work
finding prospects
teaching
explaining benefits

17. © Consilium Consultancy Ltd 17
Pictures courtesy of Microsoft clip art, Wikimedia and others.
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