Staying on the High Road

Paul Desmet is a long-time friend of mine and former sales competitor from way back. He sold in a new home community several blocks from my own. We were targeting the same buyer base in the same price range. Hats off to Paul, one of the classier people I know. Paul never degraded my community, my company or me in his sales presentation. The competition for sales was fierce, but it was never ugly.

A different salesperson who shall remain nameless was a competitor in my very next sales community, but his tactics were far less admirable. He slammed my community, my builder, the quality of my homes, and even me personally. He was ruthless and unashamed.

In the long run, Paul was not only more ethical but also far more successful. Prospects were turned off by the second salesman, so much so that his sales pace was consistently lagging. He is out of the business now (and perhaps in jail somewhere!), while Paul is a very successful executive.

No matter the sales situation you must always take the moral high road, not because you’ll get more sales (although it is likely you will) but because it’s the right thing to do. You still have to live with yourself. You still have to sleep at night. You still need to be proud of the work you do.

I don’t care what that other salesperson at that other builder is saying or doing – stay above the muck. Two sayings come to mind on this topic:

* “When you throw dirt you lose ground.”

* “Never wrestle with a pig. You’ll just end up dirty…and the pig will like it.”

Stay morally strong, my friends. It is always the best way to live. Now go change someone’s world…in a very positive way!