The Truth About Client Lies…

Brian Anderson

Executive Editor
100+ Post Club
656
Just posted the latest article (link below) from the National Ethics Association, which is all about how to deal with prospects or clients who you suspect are lying to you.

Whether it’s a little white lie in an attempt to avoid your sales pitch or a willful attempt to bend the truth to their advantage, please share your stories about how you handle such situations – do you simply move on? Call them on it? Try to clarify?

Insurance Forums | The truth about client lies . . . and what to do about them
 
I use to tip-tow around people's objections, not wanting to lose a sale. Now after having chased so many "china eggs" I have grown tired of not getting to the point of things. I will straight out ask someone if they are blowing smoke, are they too afraid to say No to me etc. Usually the real objection will come out, it might not be that particular one I called them out for i.e. price is to high, you don't like me or trust me etc but they will usually level with me if I take the time to initiate the "leveling" myself.
People respect that I feel...

Usually I will pin them down after they level with me in some form of up-front contract. I have even had prospects send me money in the mail after wasting my time (after mailing them more info; but only after I get an upfront contract) but since I had an upfront contract with them they felt bad and tried to make amends. Then I can continue to go through their objections until they are either satisfied and trust my recommendations or they will usually just deny any other objections and I chalk it up to either they don't trust me or they are just tire-kickers, but atleast I found out right away and didn't chase them for months on end.
 
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Prospects and clients want to be liked. They are told to be polite too. Understanding this can give the confident agent/advisor an advantage.

Between two people, all you have is trust. Once violated, you have nothing. The agent/advisor must be worthy of trust from the client and able to foster that trust. That includes having a non-judgmental approach and attitude so that the client can feel completely open and honest with you.

If you have conflicting information, you simply say "Maybe I missed something... maybe you can help me?" or "I don't understand" and then ask for the clarification.

BTW, if I have to choose, I'll take client lies before doing business over lies AFTER doing business any day.
 
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