--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have observed several hundred…" description: "\"I have observed several hundred salespeople who were taught to use deceptive practices like 'bait and switch' and encouraged to play negotiation games ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/489/ron-willingham-61736_abuse_i-have-observed-several-hundred-salespeo_2813921.png" --- # I have observed several hundred salespeople who were… ![“I have observed several hundred salespeople who were taught to use deceptive practices like 'bait and switch' and encouraged to play negotiation games with customers. They were so stressed by this behavior that they suffered from a high incidence of alcohol and substance abuse, divorce…” quote by Ron Willingham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/489/ron-willingham-61736_abuse_i-have-observed-several-hundred-salespeo_2813921.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/489/ron-willingham-61736_abuse_i-have-observed-several-hundred-salespeo_2813921.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/489/ron-willingham-61736_abuse_i-have-observed-several-hundred-salespeo_2813921.png) > “I have observed several hundred salespeople who were taught to use deceptive practices like 'bait and switch' and encouraged to play negotiation games with customers. They were so stressed by this behavior that they suffered from a high incidence of alcohol and substance abuse, divorce, job-jumping, and low productivity. In the same industry, I have observed countless people who had been taught to sell with high integrity. Ironically, their customer satisfaction, profit margins, and salesperson retention were significantly higher.” [Ron Willingham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-willingham/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Deceptive sales tactics cause personal and professional harm, while integrity leads to better outcomes for all involved. **In simple terms:** Dishonest selling hurts people; honest selling helps everyone. Key Takeaway Promote ethical sales practices. Themes ethics integrity wellbeing productivity retention Mood concerned reflective Type advice observational When to use this quote - sales training - company policy - employee wellness programs - customer service standards Key Concepts psychology organizational behavior corporate culture Questions to Reflect On - How can organizations enforce ethical sales without sacrificing competitiveness? - What incentives encourage honest behavior? A Different Perspective Integrity may be harder to enforce without strong oversight. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abuse/) [Alcohol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alcohol/) [Behavior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behavior/) [Customer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/customer/) [Customer satisfaction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/customer-satisfaction/) [Divorce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divorce/) [Games](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/games/) [Industry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/industry/) [Integrity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/integrity/) [Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jobs/) [Negotiation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/negotiation/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Practice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/practice/) [Productivity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/productivity/) [Profit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/profit/) [Profit margin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/profit-margin/) [Salespeople](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/salespeople/) [Salesperson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/salesperson/) [Satisfaction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/satisfaction/) [Substance abuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/substance-abuse/) ## Related quotes > [My dad being a salesman taught me you can sell anybody anything if you've got the ability to believe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-manson/my-dad-being-a-salesman-taught-me-you-can-sell-anybody-anything-if/) [Marilyn Manson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-manson/) > [Having a mood disorder is not synonymous with having artistic talent, but it is true that people in the so-called creative professions-writers, actors, artists,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-thompson/having-a-mood-disorder-is-not-synonymous-with-having-artistic-talent/) [Tracy Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-thompson/) > [After approximately two decades and several billion dollars…Among the various types of cancer that account for 78% of the incidence..the upward trend in survival…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-s-greenberg/after-approximately-two-decades-and-several-billion-dollars-among-the/) Daniel S. 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I would still say though that the majority of cancers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-glimcher/there-are-clearly-environmental-factors-that-can-decrease-the/) [Laurie Glimcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-glimcher/) > [It feels as if childhood sexual abuse or domestic abuse of women in the home has increased but actually if you ask women of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/it-feels-as-if-childhood-sexual-abuse-or-domestic-abuse-of-women-in/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Vietnam remains an underdeveloped economy with a high poverty incidence, ... party, people and army will continue to stand united and ... turn Vietnam…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/vietnam-remains-an-underdeveloped-economy-with-a-high-poverty/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The greatest tragedy to ever happen to a nation is not the incidences of war or terrorism. It's when more bookshops close down and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/the-greatest-tragedy-to-ever-happen-to-a-nation-is-not-the-incidences/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [In the USA in 1978, they mandated vaccination and it resulted in a three fold increase in the reported incidence of whooping cough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viera-scheibner/in-the-usa-in-1978-they-mandated-vaccination-and-it-resulted-in-a/) [Viera Scheibner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viera-scheibner/) > [Hermann Goering, Joachim von Ribbentrop, Albert Speer, Walther Frank, Julius Streicher and Robert Ley did pass under my inspectionand interrogation in 1945 but they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/hermann-goering-joachim-von-ribbentrop-albert-speer-walther-frank/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [I've always felt that night doesn't fall. Night rises. There are these incidences in flying where you just sit there. It's one of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-turrell/i-ve-always-felt-that-night-doesn-t-fall-night-rises-there-are-these/) [James Turrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-turrell/) > [Risk reduction for BRCA2 carriers includes taking tamoxifen. Removing ovaries prior to age 40 drops breast cancer risk in half. Ovarian cancer surveillance is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristi-funk/risk-reduction-for-brca2-carriers-includes-taking-tamoxifen-removing/) [Kristi Funk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristi-funk/) > [The State insists that, by thus quarantining the general reading public against books not too rugged for grown men and women in order to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-frankfurter/the-state-insists-that-by-thus-quarantining-the-general-reading/) [Felix Frankfurter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-frankfurter/) ## More by Ron Willingham > [Everything seems impossible until you see success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-willingham/everything-seems-impossible-until-you-see-success/) [Ron Willingham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-willingham/) > [You get paid consistent with your ability to solve problems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-willingham/you-get-paid-consistent-with-your-ability-to-solve-problems/) [Ron Willingham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-willingham/) > [You have the power to change your thoughts and your thoughts have the power to change your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-willingham/you-have-the-power-to-change-your-thoughts-and-your-thoughts-have-the/) [Ron Willingham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-willingham/) > [A salesperson’s ethics and values contribute more to sales success than do techniques or strategies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-willingham/a-salesperson-s-ethics-and-values-contribute-more-to-sales-success/) [Ron Willingham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-willingham/) [Explore all 5 Ron Willingham quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-willingham/) ## More Abuse quotes > [I wrote when I was a young teen, but I didn't put an eye on the available markets until I was seventeen. 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Be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-byers-ruch/build-a-bridge-over-shame-by-teaching-kids-about-sexual-abuse-give/) [Carolyn Byers Ruch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-byers-ruch/) > [It is sure that those are most desirous of honour or glory who cry out loudest of its abuse and the vanity of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baruch-spinoza/it-is-sure-that-those-are-most-desirous-of-honour-or-glory-who-cry/) [Baruch Spinoza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baruch-spinoza/) > [“The sole reason I stand to open it up now is that lots of people who are in pain just like I was, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-dsouza/the-sole-reason-i-stand-to-open-it-up-now-is-that-lots-of-people-who/) [Patricia Dsouza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-dsouza/) > [Democracy must be built through open societies that share information. When there is information, there is enlightenment. 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Never give any one permission to abuse you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/stand-up-for-yourself-never-give-any-one-permission-to-abuse-you/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [All governments should be pressured to correct their abuses of human rights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-stallman/all-governments-should-be-pressured-to-correct-their-abuses-of-human/) [Richard Stallman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-stallman/) > [“Words are free. It does not mean you should abuse them. Be kind with them. They will mirror your actions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hadinet-tekie/words-are-free-it-does-not-mean-you-should-abuse-them-be-kind-with/) [Hadinet Tekie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hadinet-tekie/) > [My illness is one often characterized by dramatic overspending - in my case through frenzied shopping sprees, credit card abuse, excessive hoarding of unnecessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-behrman/my-illness-is-one-often-characterized-by-dramatic-overspending-in-my/) [Andy Behrman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-behrman/) [Browse all 3,113 Abuse quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abuse/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I have observed several hundred salespeople who were taught to use deceptive practices like 'bait and switch' and encouraged to play negotiation games with customers. 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