IS IT OKAY TO STRETCH THE TRUTH?
EXCERPTED FROM: PERSPECTIVES ON INCREASING SALES
There’s a major difference between stretching the truth and outright lying—and anyone who tells you that salespeople can be successful without stretching the truth a bit is, well, outright lying. And anyone who outright lies to sell anything—even the idea that salespeople never need to stretch the truth—will inevitably get caught in his or her own trap.
Case in point: A few years back, my organization was competing with another company—our only real competitor—for a large order for an item my company had manufactured for years. But suddenly, a third company arrived on the scene. Their sales manager bid for the work that we knew should be ours, telling the customer that although his company had never made the item before, their manufacturing department had created samples that had passed independent laboratory testing and were ready to be produced. He also offered much faster delivery at a substantially lower cost. The customer bought this guy’s story, got what they wanted faster, and saved a bundle of cash. All was well with their world…until the bottom dropped out. It turned out the sales manager from the other company had outright lied. His company had neither produced nor tested any of these units. His scheme was to obtain the order first and then produce the product. Ultimately, the product they produced failed miserably. The buyer won the resulting court case, and we supplied our product as a replacement—and at a higher price than our original quote.
In the end, these bold sorts of lies will come back to haunt you more often than not. Salespeople live and die by their reputation, and nothing will tear down a reputation faster than getting caught in a lie. That being said, there will be times when a little manipulation of the truth is unavoidable. In a perfect world—one with no competition—it’d be great to tell the customer the truth at all times and let the chips fall where they may. But the world’s not perfect. Competition does exist, and if the customer’s decision comes down to some minor point, then stretching the truth is just a necessary part of sales survival.
Some people may argue that a lie is a lie, no matter how you look at it—that “stretching the truth” is merely a euphemism. But anyone who’s read Dante’s Inferno knows that hell has a lot of levels, and not all sins are equal. The difference between stretching the truth and outright lying is that stretching the truth retains some level of honesty, and can be explained away rather easily in the event you are questioned. For example, suppose a potential customer has already indicated that he’s satisfied with your price, but he’s concerned that you won’t be able to deliver on time. He needs a sample in two weeks, and you know it probably won’t be done in less than three; so, you tell your client that you’re confident you can ship product in two weeks to obtain the order. If you end up shipping it late, it’d be fairly easy to provide a rational excuse to cover yourself—after all, you only have to buy yourself a little extra time. Besides, a good stretch of the truth can even serve as motivation: Tell the factory that story, and it’s very possible they may speed things up and find a way to make good on your promise.
Of course, while embellishing the truth can be justified, a good salesperson knows when not to do it. The previous delivery scenario, for instance, becomes a much different story if the product is needed before Christmas for a holiday sale, but the delivery can’t possibly arrive until after the new year.
Your need to stretch the truth will diminish over time as relationships with customers mature. You’ll know their timelines and sensibilities, and be better able to anticipate their needs—allowing you to rely on pure honesty more often. But there will always be situations that force you to stretch the truth. Find the line between embellishment and lying, and use it judiciously.
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Quite honestly…and I stress the word honestly here, I have to disagree with the statement that “stretching the truth is just a necessary part of sales survival.” As an executive VP in sales and marketing within the franchise world, I understand competition as well as anyone here. I have had my fair share of the “truth stretchers” come and go through my organization and the only difference between them and the outright fibbers was that the “truth” took longer to catch up with them. There is no such thing as “business, sales, or marketing ethics.” It all falls on the word “ethics”. Bottom line? You either have them or you don’t…period! Using your own scenario, I believe better preparation on the salesman’s part could do wonders in putting to rest the “timeline” for delivery. I train my people to be absolutely thorough in the investigative process and get favors ahead of time from the manufacturer. My team knows every trick in the book to get a deal signed. However, we flip the script and use them against our competition letting the client know that we will NEVER compromise our integrity to close a sale like some of the “other” guys. Telling a potential client “NO” is the hardest thing a salesman can do. However, I have learned through the years that this is the most PROFITABLE word in business today. I reward my people for their integrity and ability to make “good” business decisions for the company. Our company has been nationally recognized as one of the fastest growing in our industry for 2009. Sales people in this day need to find out who they are and what they stand for personally…to many reps today “tell” people about it. Start “showing” them your character and watch your pipeline start to flow! I truly appreciate your stance on outright lying and agree with you Marvin. Great Article…just my $0.02 on the backend here. =] Chris Montgomery VP of Franchise Operations, The Glass Guru Inc.