On Telling The Truth…
September 9th, 2015 // 2:10 pm @ Scott Manning
I’ve talked about this here many times. Never in this way.
There is a deep and powerful secret that is used by the most powerful leaders of all types, motivators, CEO’s, and yes of course salespeople and entrepreneurs.
Very few people are willing to go there.
In their personal relationships or their interactions with their peers or their customers. And it’s a mistake.
We all spend so much energy and waste so much time trying to avoid this when it’s the one thing, as the powerful and profound verse in the bible says – that will set us free.
Yes.
TRUTH
There’s an expression about truth in advertising, but today, I’m here to talk about truth in general.
There are three types of truth when you are selling to your customers, creating an experience for your patients, or working for your clients.
First, there is YOUR truth, your story, your ability to make your self real, human, relatable and at the same time keep your positioning as the authority that you are and must be in what you do.
Often we call these damaging admission.
They are things that you might have experienced ‘the same as’ your patients, clients, and customers, or just mistakes you’ve made.
In Dentistry I tell the story about how I entered the industry as a ‘marketer’ because everyone wanted New Patients and that’s what I sold. Now I realized I was just adding to the problem because new patients in a shitty dental experience, or a clinical firehouse of information, or a practice that is so dysfunctional as a business with systems disorganized and a team running crazy in chaos the last thing any Dentists needs are new patients…unless they are taking care of the ones they have got.
Because they can relate to what I’m saying, it’s truthful, and it makes my point. Do you fill up a restaurant with people when you haven’t figured out the right food to serve, who you are, what you are about, how to profit from the customer so you can create a wowing experience.
You need stories to tell that allow you to state the truth to the people you serve and make yourself more human to them.
I will give you one more of my favorites…again with my clients, many Dentists desire to sell more cosmetic dentistry, smile makeovers, the good stuff, the things patients deserve, but they themselves have not cared enough about their own mouth and believed enough in their own product to be living with a natural and healthy smile today. There are many reasons and some of them do not need cosmetic enhancements…as long as they tell the story of why not and the best thing to do is USE YOURSELF as an EXAMPLE!!!
The second type of truth is what you say about your products and services, about the customer, client, patient’s experience in your place of business.
For example, I often say “success is NOT an a la carte menu” you have to follow the formula, complete the diagnosis, move forward with all parts; not take what you want and leave the rest or it’s not going to work.
Like a car with gas but no gas pedal or an engine but missing a wheel or two. There usually is something about what you do that requires some honesty with the person who is buying.
I often say…listen…you showed up all screwed up and while you may be successful, you are working way too hard to accomplish your goals and it’s killing you…it’s not going to change overnight because you spent decades getting this way, so at least give me a few weeks, months, maybe half a year; if you listen, do something, and quit going back to bad habits or blaming others.
If the first type of truth is about you, the second type of truth is about connecting what you do to the customer, and the third type of truth is about the patient, client, customer you are dealing with.
This is the truth that matters most in the framework of building respect, trust, and having authority.
This is what builds loyalty.
Simply put, tell it how it is.
This is why TRUMP (like him or hate him) gets so much support and attention: because he does not lie to the public. He may not know how to tell the truth in a civilized way but you can be darn sure what he says is what he is thinking and that breeds trust and it breeds confidence.
Two things we have spent a lot of time talking about here over the past couple months.
When you tell your customer the truth about themselves, you tell them what could go wrong, why it won’t work, what their responsibility is.
YOU MAKE THEM A BETTER BUYER BECAUSE you make them OWN their reality.
I can summarize this concept of “truth” in one word.
Responsibility.
You are NOT doing your customers, patients, or clients any justice or service by pretending that their life is going to be any different unless THEY take responsibility. It is their life, just like it is your life, to own the outcome of.
Blame is one of the worst characteristics of any human being and if they have the blame gene they usually never get rid of it – but – it’s often exacerbated by all the people around them because they NEVER tell them the truth.
When I talk with my prospective clients BEFORE they come to visit me and we go through their practice transformation, I know which ones will be extremely successful and which ones will continue their ways of blaming the world around them for their lack of achievement.
And some still slip through the cracks.
The bottom line is – tell your customers what their role in your relationship is, what their responsibility in their own life is, and do not shy away from the truth.
Because you can maybe make some money in this one transaction but it will never be worth it because they will not be a good patient, client, or customer.
It will be your fault if you pander to them instead of truth-tell them about reality.
Giving hope is key to engagement, giving truth is key to long term relationships of value that you can grow your business on and build your wealth on top of – this foundation.
Besides it’s just easier to habitually call it the way you see it and never have to remember what you said or reasons why you treated some people different than others when it comes to doing what’s right.
Telling the truth in all of these ways will open up your business to opportunity and prosperity beyond anything you have imagined before, because when you have patients, customers, and clients founded on integrity of your actual role in their lives and they meet you half way and understand reality of their responsibility it does literally free and liberate you to do what you do best for a whole lot more people and get paid what you are worth and deserve all along the way.
Category : Blog
