Customers Lie!
We, as sales professionals, are constantly told that customers lie. They never address the reason customers lie nor do they tell what you can do about it.
Customers lie because they do not want to hear how stupid they are if they do not understand how your product or service will help them.
Customers lie because they feel you will take advantage of them if you learn some sensitive piece of knowledge.
Customer lie because they fear you will charge a higher price if you knew how painful the situation really is.
Ok, customers lie because they need to protect themselves. They lie because we, as sales professionals, have lied to them. I cannot tell you how much sales training I have received where the instructor would say something like, “tell them what they want to hear, even if it not true, to get the appointment. You can always fix it later.” We wonder why customers feel the need to protect themselves. I refuse to be party to this kind of mind-set.
As a sales professional, we need to change that. We need to act with the best intentions and the highest effort to do what is in the best interest of our customers. We need to understand their problems and help them solve it.
As a sales professional, we have to assume they are lying to protect themselves and it is our job to act with honesty, integrity, and while having the best interest of our customer in mind at all times so they do not have to (or feel the need to) protect themselves. They understand we are on the same team.
As a sales professional, we must understand how to build rapport quickly and effectively because building rapport is the first step in building trust.
As a sales professional, we must always treat the customers the way they want to be treated so they understand why your product or service is the right and safe choice for them.
If our customers are lying to us we need to stop blaming them and implement actions that allow them to trust us.
If our customers are lying to us we must look inside and see what we are doing they makes them want to lie to us. Then we need to fix it.
