How To Be Honest at Sales

Few weeks back I wrote on Why One Needs to be Honest in Sales. Many readers have asked me to write the ‘how’ of it. I believe, like there can be many ways to arrive at a destination, there are many ways to follow the truths in one’s life and at work. In fact there can many versions of truth itself, if the intent is genuine and the pursuit honest, one finds a way, one route or another! This one below is what I try to follow, happy reading:

How do you ensure that while in sales (or any business endeavour or in life in general) you are genuine and honest to yourself and to your endeavour:

1.?Work like an Entrepreneur, find your Large: Selling is one of the most entrepreneurial experiences one gets to live while at work. Don’t work because you are in a 9 to 5 job so you have to work those hours and deliver what is asked from you. Many a times, sales guys stop working after their targets are achieved. Yes, if it is tied up to the operational delivery capability of your organisation, then ask for what else you would contribute to. But if your organisation is more dynamic and absorbent to growth, do not stop till you’ve achieved your full potential and then some more. Keep searching, keep looking for more to contribute.

It’s not always about more money (that’s one of the byproduct of an endeavour and most businesses never make profits for the owners in the first few years anyways). It’s about the joy of creation, it’s about solving a problem for the larger good that you are contributing to or are a part of. Something larger than money should be driving you at work and in life, find what you care about and choose your work accordingly, it could be god, people, your team, environment, the poor, anything! Larger than you and your daily needs. If you are in a job where it is impossible for you to find a larger good, either leave and find something else or find a reason within your outer environment, say you are passionate about animals, charity, giving in some form.. do it for them! You’ll find the passion, love and happiness in what you do boundless.

2.????Be Honest with prospects: Now this one is very tricky, I am not asking you to bare all secrets your organisation has to everyone and all prospects, but do not lie just to win a deal. Try to make things as crystal clear in terms, do not keep things hidden deliberately so that it may harm the relationship later. Sales is the first step to starting a long-term relationship between two entities (companies, people, depending upon the nature of product/service). Only those relationships which start with truth and honesty as their foundations stand the test of time. If there are difficult conversations to be made, do them at the right time but be brutally honest in them. If you or your organisation has goofed up somewhere along the line, be honest but also be prepared with a correction plan and show genuine effort. Everyone and Every company does mistakes and it's natural, most of the times clients are accommodative, unless it is hitting them very badly financially or otherwise.

Why is this so important? ?For every decision that you make, every communication that you put out today, every promise that you make today with the prospects (or anyone for that matter): would you want to recall the specific conversation naturally and without guilt when needed? or would you weave another story (manage the conversation so to speak)? It is very likely that the more you weave false stories, the more you will have to recall specific conversations, specific contexts, specific coverups to make that story look genuine etc. In no time, you will start weaving a web of lies around you, and a time will come when in a day all you’ll do is manage this web of lies. Someday however, chickens will come home to roost, skeletons will tumble and you’ll lie bare ashamed of yourself or your organisation in some way, worse you’ll live in constant fear that the dreaded lie will somehow come out someday, that cover-up you missed, that conversation you missed managing. That daily guilt and stress, that too is in a way the result (or fruit) of your karma, that’s the punishment, that hell you’ll have to live daily with. Hell and Heaven are both here, you choose yours.

Why mess your life? Keep to the simple truths, do not lie so you don’t have to weave a web of lies around you. You’ll sleep well, and even in your dreams you’ll have the right answers all the time! It’s this simple. Some in the sales world marvel at the fact how easily they could fool their customers, measure of smartness gets measured in how the sales guy could manoeuvre the customer to sign on dotted lines while managing lies and covering them all through, what they don’t realise is the fear with which these people live all through the day. Fear of someone finding out the holes in their story, fear of losing the clients and the incoming commission, their false image... that’s just not worth it! Life is much simpler! We mess it up, control your desire to lie.

?3.????List the Principles you’ll live your life with, measure your thoughts and actions, against them. For example, these are the principles I live my life with (yours could be different, find your own weltanschauung)

?-??????No Fear.

-??????Act with Ownership.

-??????Seek Feedback Actively.

-??????Run Fast, Learn Fast.

-??????Take People along but stand by truth even if you are alone.

-??????Do What is Ought to be Done, Joyfully.

Every night before sleep, analyse yourself, analyse your day. Analyse yourself against the principles you’ve decided to live by. Promise yourself to course correct if there is something you’ve messed up along the way. Be grateful to God for passing through another day alive. And then, sleep tight without guilt.

4.????Keep a Journal: Write down your thoughts. This is the single best thing I’ve realised that has helped me clear my mind, streamline my thoughts properly and find solutions to many problems in life I’ve encountered.?

Don't just believe me blindly, or for that matter anyone trying to give you a framework to conduct your honest and genuine endeavour. Everyone’s story is different, everyone’s truth could be different, find your own truth, find your reasons to live and work, find what you would invest your time into. Don’t stay away from experimenting however, if you find something interesting from this article, please go ahead and try it in your work or life, see if it brings you peace. Inner Peace is the biggest measure of anything working well, aligned with your truest and natural self, if it doesn’t, change, it’s your life, be true to yourself.

?Let me also convey in clear terms that I am in no way perfect. I try to follow the above model, a consciously chosen path as much as possible. But, I falter, goof up, do mistakes and fall down, but I keep trying to make sure that I constantly and consciously choose honesty in my endeavours as much as possible and try to course correct anything which is in my control and circle of influence. This article is in no way a gospel or a framework for anyone, it’s an effort from my side to put forth my experiences and experiments with truth and learnings realised from them.

May God bless you with your learnings, successes, failures, and guide you to a path where you realise your own truth.