Liar, Liar

A few years ago, the owner and president of the American chain Radio Shack spoke at a marketing managers' conference and said: "As a manager with so much responsibility on my shoulders, I've been careful all my life about three things: I don't smoke, I don't get drunk and I don't chase women!

"My only problem is that I'm a bit of a liar"...

He was joking, of course, but sadly there are plenty of people among us who have made lying a way of life.

In my lectures and workshops I've said more than once that I hate charlatans. So let me add another group to the list: liars.

Maybe I'm naive, but the moment I catch someone lying, I lose interest in them on the spot.

True, we don't say everything we know. But knowingly giving out false information is a cardinal mistake in general, and in the persuasion professions (sales, negotiation, telemarketing and so on) in particular.

This isn't only about ethics, or about good taste. It's a wrong move that, if it's discovered, can wipe out in one blow years of trust, achievements and relationships.

When I run into skeptical students, I immediately tell them a story (a true one, of course, one of many). It goes like this:

Back in the day, I wanted to buy myself a cell phone. In those days phones were clunky things that came in a briefcase (and in the right circumstances doubled as a self-defense weapon...).

I walked into the company's branch near where I live, and since at that point I wasn't sure I'd actually use the thing, I asked to rent a phone for a month.

The rep who served me had no problem with the rental, but she mentioned that there was a very attractive purchase deal on just then, and it would be a shame for me to miss it... But I insisted on renting a phone for a month.

When the month was up, I went back to the company, and this time I asked to buy the phone. The rep who had served me wasn't there, but I was promised she'd be back in the office in a few minutes. Meanwhile I chatted with the receptionist and asked her what the purchase price was.

"Too bad, you missed it," the receptionist told me. "Last month there was a really attractive deal, but you've slipped into this month"...

"So what's the price without the deal?" I asked, and she said: 3,250 shekels.

Two minutes later the original rep came in and asked what she could do for me. When I explained that this time I wanted to buy, she invited me into her office to take care of the paperwork. On the way there I told her the receptionist said I'd missed the deal. "Yes, she's right," the rep told me. "The deal was last month and you've already slipped into this month."

"But we had an agreement," I said, "that if I rent the phone and then buy it, the rental counts as my first payment. So why not treat me as someone who signed up with you during the promotion?"

"You're right," she said, "but that's above my pay grade. Let's go in and ask the regional manager, he's here today. If he agrees, I'll be just as happy as you," she added.

We went in to see the regional manager. In front of me sat an arrogant, cold, aloof man who didn't even look up from the papers scattered across his desk.

"Yes, what's the problem?" he asked. (Apparently this man only deals with problems...)

I told him the whole story and he cut me off rudely and declared: "Sorry. That's impossible. We work by policy. If I give you a discount, I'm being unfair to everyone who didn't get one."

I didn't give up. I used the most basic objection-handling technique there is, and lo and behold, the man gave in: "Since you've fallen between the cracks, I'll meet you halfway. But on condition that everything stays between us and doesn't leave this room!"

At this point he pulled out a little pocket calculator and started doing calculations (squares, square roots, differentials, integrals...), and then announced in a whisper: "I'll arrange the phone for you for 3,250 shekels, and this doesn't leave this room"... (Exactly the price the receptionist had quoted me.)

Just to be sure, I asked: "And this price is only for me?"

"Only for you, and it doesn't leave this room," he replied.

That's when I turned to him and said: "Look, there's just one detail in this whole story that you probably don't know, and it's that the receptionist out front quoted me the exact same price as an ordinary customer, no calculator and no closed door. And the only question nagging at me now is whether this idea of deceiving customers, misleading them, pulling the wool over their eyes, conning them, is your own idea, or whether you got instructions from your bosses. Since I know your bosses personally, I'll simply take it upon myself to check with them whether this is company policy or your own initiative"...

You can guess how he reacted. The color drained from his face, he pulled the calculator out again and tried to claim he'd only been joking and that I was blowing the whole thing out of proportion.

"Now I wouldn't buy a gold bar from you if you gave it to me for free," I told him, and stormed out of the room, absolutely furious.

The next day I bought a different phone from one of the same company's dealers.

I'm apparently one of the roughly 80% of customers who don't complain. I didn't complain, but a few months later I started running sales workshops at that very same company. Every single workshop opened with this story.

I didn't say which branch it was or who the man was. I just told my students: never assume that the whole world is a bunch of idiots.

There are not-so-bright people you can lie to easily, and even get away with it. But what will you do when it turns out they happen to have a smart friend who opens their eyes a minute later?

There are people who play Columbo (the one-eyed TV detective) their whole lives, and when you try to outsmart them, the Columbo comes out and you regret ever having the idea.

And there are coincidences that expose the lie, and then it's just not worth it.

Those were my arguments for years, until I found myself running a sales workshop at a long-established company that markets income-producing real estate abroad.

As I was repeating this story and its lessons for the umpteenth time, one of the participants, a fairly recent immigrant from the U.S. named Jonathan, interrupted me and asked in his American accent:

"You're trying to convince us we mustn't lie to the customer because he might find out, right?

"But why lie in the first place??"

At that moment I was stuck, for the first time in my professional life. After a few seconds of thought I turned to Jonathan and said, in all honesty:

You're right, Jonathan. You just don't lie. Period!