# 64
The Sales Profession
Selling with Integrity
Professional Selling
Why do salespeople exaggerate?
It‟s well established that trust and
integrity on the part of the salesperson are the foundation of a successful
buyer/seller relationship. Let‟s face
it... customers aren‟t
likely to buy from you
unless they feel confident
you will do what you say
you‟ll do and deliver on
your promises. No one
will do business with a
supplier for very long, if
they do not trust them
and believe what they
have to say.
Nevertheless, most
customers report they do encounter
salespeople who make exaggerated or
untruthful claims. If telling the truth
is so important, why would a salesperson ever stray from the straight and
narrow path of absolute integrity?
Although there are many reasons
why a salesperson might waver from
the truth, three come to mind:
First, some people by nature tend
to exaggerate and boast. Buyers say
this type of person seldom lets „the
facts get in the way of a good story.‟
As you might expect, people who exaggerate as a way of life, don‟t last too
long in sales.
The second reason some salespeople make claims that are untrue is because they are afraid to appear foolish
or uninformed. If a customer or pros-
pect asks a question and the sales rep
does not know the answer, they will
make some generalization and try to
cover up for what they do not know.
Unsubstantiated claims
without evidence and
proof builds mistrust.
The third reason salespeople sometimes fail to
tell the whole truth, is
because of pressure they
feel to make the sale, today. They try to „hurry up
the sales process‟ and
omit the key steps necessary to establish credibility, earn the
right to have positive influence, and
build a long-term relationship with
the buyer.
Needless to say, there are no excuses for anything less than 100%
honesty and integrity. When salespeople try to fool buyers into believing
they can do something they can‟t; or
if they exaggerate how their product
or service will perform, salespeople
are fooling nobody but themselves.
Most buyers can read the signs
when a seller is not being truthful.
Because salespeople are normally uncomfortable when stretching the
truth, they transmit deceitful behavior
in different ways. While they may
sound convincing, their gestures
speak louder than their words.
© 2006 JG Henion
Page 2
Building trust in the sales environment
The well known former
CEO of General Electric, Jack
Welch was recently asked, “Is
there a short answer for building trust in the workplace.”
Mr. Welch responded, “Yes,
the answer is very short. Just
say what you mean and do
what you say.”
Welch continued, “Trust
fritters and dies in two ways.
First, trust deteriorates when
people are not candid with one
another. This happens when
they use jargon and baloney to
purposely make matters obscure and themselves less accountable.
“The second trust-killer
occurs when people say one
thing and do another.” Welch
concludes, “Trust, ultimately,
isn‟t very complicated. It‟s
earned through words and actions instilled with integrity."
When you tell the
TRUTH, people BELIEVE
you! Everybody knows that
truth and honesty are the
foundation of a successful selling career. No relationship can
endure unless people can be
counted on to be truthful.
Customers today, especially
business-to-business customers, are incredibly good at
identifying sellers who are not
being truthful. As a result, if
they don‟t believe the seller is
trustworthy, they don‟t have to
take his or her word for anything.
Buyers have constant access
to other vendors‟ counter
claims. They can post their
questions on discussion groups
and get relevant, helpful, immediate answers on any subject.
If a salesperson doesn‟t
know the answer, he or she‟d
better say so. There‟s nothing
wrong in saying, “That‟s a
good question. I‟d like to research that and get back to you
with the latest information.”
Nevertheless, if you ask any
farm buyer whether he or she
has ever had the experience of
dealing with an untruthful supplier, they would no doubt
have several stories to share.
How does a buyer know
when he or she is dealing with
a supplier who is dishonest?
Ed Silba, a consultant from
Asheville, NC, answers this
way: “People can tell from our
facial features and by the manner in which we say things
whether we are being truthful
or not. When you are telling
the truth, you project that.
When you tell the truth, people
sense it and trust you.”
Joe Stewart, Nampa, ID,
adds: “If someone is not being
honest with me, it may not be
immediately obvious. But as
time goes along, if I pick up
little inconsistencies, then I
begin to wonder if I can believe this person.”
Bruce Weaver, Windber,
PA., adds, “If you are not true
to your word, people will see
through that. Before long, the
neighbors will start talking
about you.”
Mark Twain once said, “If
you tell the truth, you‟ll have a
lot less to remember!” This is
why when you tell the truth,
people BELIEVE you.
When you DO WHAT
YOU SAY you’ll do, people
TRUST you! Pete Gelber, of
Alliance Dairy, Bell, FL.,
shares an example of how trust
fails when a supplier does not
follow through on quoted
prices. He says, “When our
guys in the barn are quoted
one price and then a different
price is charged to the secretaries who pay the bills, I consider that almost like stealing.
“Unfortunately, this happens more on the larger farms
where we are buying a lot of
products from many different
suppliers. It seems like we
never get undercharged.
“If your price goes up, the
guy out there who is buying
the product needs to be told
the price has gone up before
the secretary gets the bill.”
Do what you say you are
going to do, and people will
TRUST you!