I’m Going To Be Totally Honest With You

On a recent shopping trip, my wife and I were comparing a few products and talking with salespeople. It was then that we were taken aback by the one seller who chatted for a while doing the normal feature-benefit routine. He was a fantastic Product Peddler on the scale of the four levels of selling.

Then it happened.

A question was asked, and his response was: “Okay, I’m going to be totally honest with you.” When someone says that to you, what do you think? Our reaction was, “Wait, was he lying before? Was he not being totally truthful before? Why did he add the qualifying statement?”

Using qualifying statements like that do more harm to your credibility than good. People assume the people they are dealing with are being totally honest. It’s an expectation we all appreciate and count on. So, when they have to point out that they are going to be totally honest, it has the reverse effect.

Words matter. When you exude the confidence of someone who knows what they are doing and someone who has great knowledge in a particular subject matter – in our case marketing – there is no need for qualifying statements.

Are there words and phrases you catch yourself using that upon further reflection you wish you wouldn’t? I know I have a few others that I’ll share this week in sales tips. I’ll be totally honest with you.

Happy Monday! It’s a new week for you to show your empathy, expertise and problem-solving skills. You are on the front lines of economic success and recovery in your market. Marketing is the fuel that drives the economic engine. You have the power, the skills and the platform. Have a great week helping your community grow.

Jeff Schmidt is the SVP of Professional Development. You can reach him at Jeff.Schmidt@RAB.com. You can also connect with him on Twitter and LinkedIn.