Partnering With the CIO: The Future of IT Sales Seen Through the Eyes of Key Decision Makers

Respect Privacy

Since IT plays an absolutely crucial role at most organizations today, IT salespeople frequently participate in conversations involving the most highly sensitive aspects of a client’s business. As an IT rep, you routinely see information that is regarded by the customer—and in some cases, by state or federal law—as secret, confidential, competitive, proprietary, or personal.

It’s imperative that you regard your relationship with your prospects and customers as sacrosanct, and that you treat their information with the same care and respect that you would treat your own personal information.

Perhaps you just met with a telecom organization looking for help because their churn rate is out of control this quarter. Maybe you’re pitching an Internet security solution to a regional bank, or selling financial management software to a large metropolitan hospital.

You’re going to see and hear information that you cannot repeat. If this advice seems simplistic, read this anecdote from Jeri Dunn, formerly of Tyson Foods:

I had three people tell me that they’d overheard our IT consultants talking about Tyson in our local airport. The consultants were just sitting there in the airport, having a conversation. But the people sitting behind them were Tyson employees. I called the senior partner of the consulting firm and read him the riot act.

As they said in World War II, “loose lips sink ships.” If you think nobody’s listening to your conversation, just remember those IT consultants ...