Over the last couple weeks, I've been pondering the quality of integrity more than usual-- its importance and how much I value it in my professional and personal life. Those with integrity earn the respect and trust of others ... they are more effective as leaders, no matter how they are participating in life. Think about the people in your life who you feel have integrity. Managers. Parents. Friends. Co-workers. Coaches. How do they affect you? Are they believable? trustworthy? sincere? When they sell you an idea, do you listen? -- and can they persuade and convince you to accept a different opinion or adopt a new perspective? If someone with integrity provides a testimonial on a product or service, do you consider trying the product or service yourself?
Webster's dictionary tells us it is the quality or state of being of sound moral principle; uprightness, honesty, sincerity. When I look up integrity in a thesaurus, I discover a long list of qualities I continute to strive for in life: character, honesty, genuineness, trueness, veracity, soundness, completeness, and authenticity. But it's not easy to be whole in a broken world ... and certainly not one that moves at such a rapid pace. Change is constant. But perhaps, this is all the more reason we need to be honest and sincere with ourselves and with each other in life ... and it can be as simple as this when it comes to selling:
Years ago, I sold clothes in a national department store as a second job, usually during the holiday season. I liked it ... no, I loved it. I love clothes, I love helping people, I love being good at what I do--the more I sold, the more I could sell. Success is such a confidence booster--especially when you take a risk or work through your fear and come out on the other side with a win. One night, I was helping a woman find a dress for a party. She was attractive and had a "could lose a few pounds" figure for her height, but certainly that wasn't a problem--her "problem" was her perspective. She insisted she had to wear a size 8 and it had to be figure-flattering since this was a huge event--she refused (at first) to even consider trying on a size 10. She just didn't want to admit she may be a size 10 is what I determined. As I saw the size 8 dresses pull across her stomach or the belts stretch to make their way around her waist, I began to realize the need was more than just finding a dress. She needed me to sell her a dress that not only fit right, she needed a dress that would make her look and feel beautiful. That's when I shared my own story about growing from a size 8 to a size 10--and how difficult it was, but because I absolutely could not stand clothes that tugged, twisted, pulled or pinched, I let myself wear a size 10. After all, clothes that tug, twist, pull or pinch, not only feel uncomfortable--they are not flattering! I remember saying, "A size is a number and nobody knows what the tag says--they only know how you look." At the time, I was nervous about revealing my own vulnerablity and concern with weight and size to a stranger, but I honestly felt it was the right thing to do. It was no longer entirely about selling a dress to her -- it was more about listening, hearing her frustration, empathizing with her emotional pain, and conveying my concern and desire to help her solve the problem of finding the perfect figure-flattering dress. (And a size 8 dress wasn't going to be it.) I have to admit my honesty surprised her although I was very tactful; I didn't want to upset her. She did try on some size 10 dresses but she was a tad quiet and my heart was beating faster and faster with thoughts of being fired for my frankness. As it turned out, she bought a size 10 dress that was very slimming and I didn't get fired. I can't say she thanked me that night for my honesty -- in fact, I wasn't sure I'd see her again. But I did. In fact, I saw her several times again and she always looked to me to assist her in finding figure-flattering (size 10) clothes. We may have not spoken again about that famous dress except that her husband loved it, but I think I earned her respect and her trust by persuading her to try on a size 10 that night. I'd like to think so.
I'd love to hear how you define integrity ... and why you think it's important in your business -- in your life. How can honesty help you in selling products? in gaining new customers? maintaining loyal customers? Think about it. Remember, we're ALL the voice behind Sales Speak.