by Jacques Werth
There are plenty of moral reasons to be honest, but there are also very pragmatic ones. Even in selling, honesty just works better.
When I set out to determine how the top 1% of salespeople actually sell, I did not start out looking for a totally honest selling system. My sole intention in studying Top Performers was to find out what sets them apart and why they were so successful. The most surprising thing that I learned is that most top salespeople are scrupulously honest. It’s just how they do business.
Most people, regardless of their profession, don’t understand the technology of honesty. Most salespeople, however, do understand the technology of manipulation. It’s how they learned to sell. Convincing, persuading, and all other forms of manipulating – what most salespeople are taught – create resistance, a natural barrier to closing a sale.
Top salespeople, on the other hand, have mastered the technology of honesty. It’s what works best. Honesty is not just a moral ideal – it’s an imperative for successful selling and business transactions.
We don’t preach or teach morality. I didn’t start out looking for a totally honest selling system. It just turned out that most of the very best salespeople have mastered the technology of honesty because it’s what works best. That’s why we teach it in High Probability Selling.
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I am fascinated by the fact that the technology of honesty out performs any competitor in the sales market. It is easier to master and it leaves no residue behind, yet the technology of manipulation still dominates the field.
Case in Point: A friend of mine recently interviewed for a medical sales position. His High Probability Training came up in conversation. He explained that manipulation and persuasion are not used by the top 1% of salespeople and that’s what HPS is all about.
The Area Manager (interviewer) said that nobody will be successful selling his product to doctors without manipulation and persuasion.
The concept was so foreign to this seasoned sales manager that the interview got sidetracked as to why HPS won’t work versus if my friend was qualified or not.
My grandfather used to say, “If you tell the truth, you never have to remember what you said.”
Honesty. I don’t know how one would go about selling any other way.
Excellent article one of the best i have read on the subject. I do think that persuasion does not need to be considered a negative connotation but i do agree that there is not need for any form of dishonestly and manipulation in today’s selling situations.
I used to be a mortgage originator for a small bank. Our rates were relatively high, because we were small. So, when prospective customers asked me “How are your interest rates,” I would tell them “No one in town is any higher than us!” From that point on, they knew I would tell the truth, and I did. I led the bank in sales in my first year. Honesty is non-negotiable.
I don’t think persuasion is negative either, as long as it isn’t used in selling. It isn’t necessary.