In a recent post, I talked about the changing landscape of sales and how the tired, old sales methodologies simply will not work in today’s business environment. Scott Shaeffer refers to this as the “New Authenticity” which emphasizes “service and personal credibility” as keys to this changing landscape.
In recent discussions on these thoughts, I was reminded about the importance of honesty with our customers and a past and valuable lesson once provided by a customer.
A sales partner of mine had a very difficult time telling customers what they needed to know. In his mind, he had to spin things so they always appeared “positive.” In this one case, the spinning actually made him appear as though he was not being completely honest. This situation affected his integrity with the customer to the point where the customer eventually “fired”him, but not me. The reason I didn’t suffer the same consequence, is I told the customer what he needed to know, not what I thought he wanted to hear . Specifically, my customer said:
“New is news. Whether it is good news or bad news is up to me to decide. It is your job to report the news.”
As we continue to focus on “customer service and credibilty” remember to be honest with your customers. Do not try to manage your answers and your information to make them happy, tell them what they need to know in order to accomplish their objectives. Building trust and integrity requires honesty. If your are creatively manipulating your message, you are not being honest and that will eventually cost you.