Top Three Ways to Become a Sales Truth Teller  
Honest selling is not an oxymoron! These two words are seldom used in the same sentence much less the same breath when talking about salespeople. Maybe it’s time for a breath of fresh air and the intake starts with you. Salespeople are typically characterized as fast talking, self-serving and greedy individuals. Outdated sales training methods continue to create these types of salespeople by teaching outdated methods of selling such as overcoming the objection.  I.e. The first objection is never the real one. Overcome the prospect’s objection a minimum of three times before you let them up for air. No wonder internet sales are booming! Maybe it’s time to incorporate the most powerful selling skill into weekly and one-on-one sales meetings: truth telling.  This skill takes courage, introspection and personal accountability. Here are three ways to apply the powerful skill of truth telling.   

#1:  Look in the mirror.  Truth telling begins with you. 
Be honest with yourself. Quit blaming the company, your price points, the boss and the economy. Are you doing everything you can to succeed in tough times? It’s not the most naturally gifted salesperson that wins business. It is the committed and disciplined salesperson that consistently wins business. Take the quiz below to check your commitment level to success.   

• I have read or listened to an average of one business/sales book a month for the past five years.
• I have actively sought out advice from a mentor, my boss or a colleague. 
• I slow down long enough to figure out gaps in my performance and what to do about it.  (I.e. I turn off all my electronics and focus.) 
• I give 110% to my clients, job and my team.
• I am optimistic and proactively work on positive self-talk. 
• I have written down my goals with specific action steps and deadlines.  
• I have increased my sales activity to compensate for longer buy cycles.
• I attend a minimum of two educational workshops each year that helps me grow personally and professionally.  

Be honest and answer truthfully.  Are you doing all of the above to become a true professional in sales?   

#2:  Tell the truth to your prospects and clients.
There is an old saying, “character not tested is no character at all.” In tough times, character is tested. It can be tempting to sell something you know isn’t of highest value for the client.  This is particularly tempting if your prospect falls in the “doesn’t know what he doesn’t know” space.   For example, a colleague recently referred me to a project, walking away from the sale because she discovered the prospect needed sales training more than her offering of team building. She could have easily sold a day of team building; however, she told the CEO the truth. She didn’t close a sale that day. She did close a relationship and is now regarded as a trusted advisor. 

Truth telling is a powerful consultative selling skill because when you tell the truth you get the truth in return. For example, a salesperson is asked to put together a proposal, however, hasn’t heard real ‘pain.’ Truth telling is a simple as this: “I’d love to put together a recommendation; however, I haven’t heard enough of a reason for you to change/do something. What am I missing?” Or, “I get the feeling this issue is important, however, I am not sure it’s landing in the top five priorities of things to get done at your organization. Should we back-up and really figure out if you need to address this challenge at this time?” Truth telling sets the foundation for honest dialogue. The prospect will agree and give you a no (saving you from writing one more practice proposal) or start selling you (and themselves) on why it’s important to change, improve or switch.   

#3:  Be honest – have you lost touch with customer needs? 
Is it the economy or has your product and service run its’ course? Is it the economy or do you have lousy customer service? Is it the economy or is there another delivery mode your customers prefer when making a purchase.  Zappos is a 1 billion dollar on-line shoe store company. They offer free shipping both ways and returns up to one year. Zappos figured out that customers, like me, hate the hassle of going to the post office to return items. They changed the game of delivery and it’s paying big dividends. Jim Collins, author of, “How The Mighty Fall,” shares the five stages that companies go through on their way to extinction. One of the stages is denial and creating cultures of denial.    Here’s the truth: you might be lousy at what you do and how you do it. You may be selling a product or service no one wants or needs anymore. Or you could be delivering services/product in a mode that is outdated and inconvenient. Get out of denial and seek the truth.

Truth telling is a powerful consultative selling skill and one that will close business for your sales organization.  Don’t create a denial culture.  Be honest and take a hard look at yourself, your sales process and your product and service offerings. It’s time to close more business. 



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