Many years ago, I worked with a company that had hundreds of items for sale on a website. My job was to answer the phone and help sell the products to the people calling in.
One day, someone called in and said, “I’m thinking about buying this (one particular product).” And then he asked me, “Would you buy this from you guys?”
In this particular instance, with this particular product, I knew that I would not. I knew that you could get it for less on Amazon and that if it were me, I would NOT buy it from the company I was working with – I would buy it on Amazon.
I had a decision to make. What should I tell him?
Again, principles govern the consequences of our choices. We have two choices when we encounter a principle: 1) align with it; or, 2) ignore it to our peril. Take the principle of gravity: we can align with it– build a hydroelectric dam, start a skydiving company, build a ski resort, etc.–or we can ignore it to our peril and fall off a cliff. Gravity doesn’t change. Our respect and alignment (or not) with the principle is the only thing that changes.
Principles govern relationships, too. They, like gravity, are ancient and timeless.
Honesty is a principle – and it is just as real as gravity.
And I had the same choice. Align or Ignore.
Luckily, I chose to align.
“I would just buy it on Amazon. You can get it for less there. Don’t buy it from us.”
Now, some in sales may think I was crazy to tell him this. I was on straight commission and so some might justify saying something that wasn’t honest.
I lost that sale. He didn’t but that product from me.
But here is the interesting thing. Before the end of the call, he made a MASSIVE order of something else – and I could sense that it was because he knew he could trust me.
I gave up a small sale and instead made a massive sale. And it wasn’t because of me. It was because I had the principle of trust and honesty behind me, pushing me forward instead of fighting me.
I was figuratively building a hydroelectric dam – where gravity is on my side – instead of ignoring gravity and figuratively falling off a cliff.
Be honest – even if it hurts you in the short run. It will never hurt you in the long run.
In fact, once people know they can trust you things you never thought possible start to become possible.