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Training Sales staff has always been a conundrum for Compliance and Training professionals. What do they “need” to know to be able to effectively represent the organization compliantly?
As compliance professionals we naturally want every employee from the board of directors to the back office support roles to understand the “why” behind how our organization operates. The problem with this is when we approach the topic of regulatory compliance your sales team may wonder. “How does this impact me and my role?”
Critical Subject Areas
What are the critical topics that need to be addressed in your regulatory compliance training.
UDAAP– This one is a must! Sales and marketing need to fully understand the risks they pose to an organization if they make “deceptive” statements. There are several examples of enforcement actions grounded in deceptive statements on websites and sales/marketing materials. Stay away from words or phrases that embellish or stretch the truth. Examples might be; “above industry standard data security”, or “100% compliant”, etc.
Instead, train your sales and marketing team to ground all statements with hard data. Keep a running list of data driven facts about your organization and review and update it accordingly. Your sales team will be delighted to have this information for their sales presentations and you’re covering a potential risk area!
CAN-SPAM– Organizations love using email to advertise their products and services but in order to use this communication channel you must comply with the requirements in the CAN-SPAM Act. The CAN-SPAM Act covers all commercial messages, which is defined as “any electronic mail message the primary purpose of which is the commercial advertisement or promotion of a commercial product or service,” including email that promotes content on commercial websites. The law makes no exception for business-to-business email. That means all email – for example, a message to former customers announcing a new product line – must comply with the law.
Make sure your training includes the do’s and don’t of any sales/marketing email communications so you don’t receive complaints regarding your sales personnel email activity. If you need specific talking points you can use the FTC’s CAN-SPAM Act: A Compliance Guide for Business.
Other Subjects or the Nice to Have Training Content
Include compliance initiatives that help your sales team tell a story about why clients should choose your company over another. For example, have your complaints or lawsuits decreased year over year. Is that a result of your Compliance Management System? What do clients appreciate about working with your organization, are you transparent about risks or do you proactively work with clients to reduce their risks? These are some great compliance-related information and/or statistics that will help your sales and marketing sell your company and grow compliantly.
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