Don’t Fall Into a Trap of Dishonest Sales

Running a small business can be overwhelming at times. There are countless decisions to be made, and it’s helpful — even essential — to work with people you trust. You want to be careful not to fall into a trap set by a crafty salesperson. If the integrity of a purchase is questionable, it can trickle down and hurt your entire organization, as well as your customers. The best way to avoid problems is to focus on working with honest individuals.

Why the Person Matters

We generally work with the same person over and over again at a company. When you return for business, you approach the representative who originally sold you the product. If you don’t have complete confidence in that person, you’ll grow increasingly frustrated with each transaction.

When you buy from a pushy salesperson who cares more about making a sale than meeting your needs, you often end up with a product that causes you problems, rather than helps your business run smoothly. When a salesperson is concerned with helping you out, you’re more satisfied, which, in turn, helps your customers.

Another reason to care about the level of honesty in a person selling to you is to avoid losses. If a salesperson lies about how his product would improve your business, you lose money on a bad or inferior product, and you lose time when you have to start over from square one.

Signs of an Honest Salesperson

While a bad salesperson will push for a sale no matter what, a trustworthy salesperson always puts you first. A good, honest salesperson is concerned with helping you solve problems and doesn’t want to sell you something you don’t need or want. She listens intently to understand your situation, without letting phone calls or people passing through the office distract her. She is focused on you.

She also believes in her product. She stands behind it 100 percent and honestly thinks it’s the best of its kind. If the salesperson is exceptionally good and finds that she can’t help you or you’re not a good fit as a client, she’ll happily send you elsewhere. This brings us back to integrity: The best salespeople don’t want to make sales they don’t believe in or can’t stand behind.

Signs of a Trap

Let’s say you’ve done some research and are meeting with a representative from a company that sounds wonderful. Their business has good ratings, and you think they may have just the product you’re looking for. But as you talk with this individual, you notice that the conversation is one-sided. You feel like the seller is pressing hard for a close, even though you’re not quite there. Or maybe he’s answered his phone three times already, and you haven’t even been there half an hour. Perhaps you’ve tried to explain why your situation is different from another client’s, and he’s just not getting it. These are all signs that you should get out.

Whenever you feel pressured to buy, it’s a trap. That doesn’t mean the product is terrible, but you don’t want to be stuck working with someone you can’t trust to put your best interests first. You’ll end up second-guessing your purchase, and you have enough to deal with already!

Never agree to put money toward something if you think the seller is more concerned with closing a deal than finding a solution to your business’s problems. If you have trouble in these situations and get uncomfortable, simply say, “I’m sorry, but I just don’t feel like this is a good fit,” and remove yourself from the situation. Be firm, and stick to your “no.” There’s nothing worse than losing time and money on a bad deal.

There’s already enough risk involved in running your own business without having to worry about losing time and money on bad investments. Be picky about the people you choose to do business with, and you’ll sleep easier knowing there are no traps to avoid.