"Help! My Client Has Accused Me Of Lying!"

A salesman commented on one of my articles recently, as he wanted some ideas on what to do with a certain client.

He had had a medium-term relationship with the client, and things hadn’t always gone along smoothly between them and the salesperson’s company.

The essence of his question was:

"What should I do? This client has now accused me of being dishonest. He misread some information I said to him and thinks that I was lying to him. Nothing was written down at the time. It’s my word against his. My manager is now asking me serious questions. I’m in the health and safety business, so it could prove costly if I’m found to be dishonest. I’m not, by the way!"

I suggested that he approach the client, with a little humility, and ask something like:

"Naturally, we need to sort this out, so may I ask, what evidence do you have that I was dishonest?"

Then he needs to listen carefully to what the reply is, without judgement or emotion.

It’s important to differentiate between facts and opinions.

If something is said that purports to be a fact, then evidence should be used to prove it.

If the reply includes opinions, then there should be some kind of evidence to back that up, too.

If it’s a matter of honesty, some people think you are guilty until proved innocent.

This is difficult to overcome in many people’s minds, but the evidence must be sought before further criticism is accepted.

Depending on what the answer is, the salesman could then approach the client with suggestions of how things should now progress.

If legal authorities need to be informed, this should be done quickly and without prejudice.

Essentially, you would want to get this situation dealt with, not covered over.

When that’s done, the salesman should approach the client and ask how things should now progress.

He needs to identify how the relationship can now advance, so that the supplier-client relationship is rebuilt.

This needs to be professionally done, so that trust is re-established.

Hopefully, if the idea of dishonesty is quickly squashed and proved to be incomplete or incorrect, the link between the two companies can be re-established.

I also advised the salesman that he should learn from the situation:

• How should his behaviour be different next time?
• What lessons has he learned from the experience?
• If he could relive the time again, what should he have done?

When these kinds of questions are answered, we progress effectively and learn how to deal with similar circumstances in the future.

We use the past as a school.

What was the outcome with the salesman who contacted me?

I spoke to him via email and things seem to have sorted themselves out.

He said that the client wanted to move on and they have maintained the business relationship.

Hopefully, my ideas helped him approach the situation with respect, professionalism and efficiency and can assist you if you are in the same situation.

Thanks again

Sean

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