Often sales mentality dictates that just about anything should be done to turn a prospect into a customer, including stretching the truth, promising more than what can be delivered. We’ve all heard “The customer is king, the customer is always right”. I would rather say “If the customer is king then honesty is god”
My postulate is that being able to say “no” and to be honest is an investment, not a bad thing nor a failure.
You may lose an immediate sale, but what you are doing is investing in your image, and branding yourself as a trustworthy partner.
You will give a strong positive and unexpected experience, and without any doubt your company will be the first choice when the prospect actually needs your services/products in the future. And not only that, you will be awarded with a faithful customer that can act as a good “viral sneezer” on your behalf. It is better to create a long term business relationship and achieve what is known as a “deeply felt affection” in branding terms rather than a quick one-time deal!
“The core of branding is not to be a known trademark. To have a successful branding is to achieve a status where loyalty reaches a deep emotional level, the so-called “deeply felt affection”. And this “deeply felt affection will without any doubts reflect on your results.”
I have experienced both as a customer and as a marketer that honesty pays, even if it means that you may be sending the potential customer away for the time being.
I was trying to arrange an event abroad. Several challenges came up and these of course needed to be overcome in order to make it happen, make it come true. I was well aware that it was a difficult and complex arrangement due mainly to time constraints, but instead of just giving up and postponing the event, I decided to give it a try. I contacted a large well known travel agency to help me out and the employee sounded very service minded and positive. He understood the challenges and would look into it ASAP. Great, I thought. And I waited, and waited… I never heard from him again, probably because he couldn’t confront me with the truth that he wouldn’t be able to deliver what he had promised me.
In the beginning I took his positive attitude as “good service”, but I eventually realized that a true good service would be if he had told me up front that my request was next to impossible and couldn’t be achieved within the desired time frame. See, that would have been customer-focused and honest but he was probably afraid of losing me as customer. He was keen to give me what he perceived as a good service. Basically he told me what he believed I wanted to hear: That it was possible and he would get back to me with a reply in no time.
If he had said “no” I would have found a new and more realistic date and he would have a very good chance of obtaining my confidence and even my loyalty (and my money).
I have postponed the event – and probably won’t be using this travel agency again, not for this event or for any others. Due to a single employee I now have this travel agency marked as unreliable in my book, which means that I will go to a competitor the next time.
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