Honesty, as the old saying goes, is the best policy.

An old idiom it may be, but one that remains true today in sales and maintaining customer satisfaction.

The temptation is often to keep people in the dark until a resolution is found or perhaps to stretch the limits of what is true.

But in reality, just being a straight-shooter and keeping customers up to date and offering honest solutions is the best practice. By showing people any downsides, you are actually displaying to them that you have their best interests at heart and can in turn improve trust in the brand.

This approach can certainly be taken when talking to car buyers and where they can save money. If you can show honesty in the showroom, then people are more likely to trust you with their next car purchase.

Why honesty is not always the norm in sales

Sometimes an honest first approach can get lost. Salespeople who are enthusiastic about a product may be tempted to deliver a price that is not actually achievable or promise a timeframe that simply cannot be met.

Moreover, if a deal is teetering on a knife edge, it may feel easier to omit some inconvenient truths or risks when putting forward a proposal in order to get the deal done.

Of course, it is not just the salespeople themselves who may be at fault for such approaches. Managers may put too much pressure on staff to get deals done, which in turn can make salespeople feel compelled to lie to hit certain targets.

Examples in car sales

According to Action Fraud, there were 3,000 reports of online vehicle fraud in 2021 – up by 21% in 2019.

When it comes to buying a car, it should be an exciting experience and one of the bigger milestones in your life but, as with any big purchase, it can be fraught with difficulties.

Be on guard to avoid some common pitfalls, such as being overpromised about how much money your present car may be worth at trade-in or that there is no negotiation on the price of a car.

And be wary of agreeing to things like gap insurance straight away at the dealership, for example, car buyers can generally find better gap insurance deals online than via dealers. If you’re wondering what is gap insurance? It’s an insurance policy which covers you for the difference between the amount your insurance provider pays and the amount you’d need to pay to buy a new or the same model.

Examples of honesty in retail

A study found that 13% of people made a complaint about a business in 2021, so good customer service and honesty has never been so important.

Ultimately, being honest is the right thing to do and will only increase trust with your customer base. Moreover, it will make people more willing to offer positive reviews either via word of mouth or online.

And crucially, honesty can generate larger profits through retaining customers and drawing in new people.

A good example in retail is Zappos – the online shoe retailer – who promise next-day shipping on orders before midnight but will help customers find items not in stock at rival shoe sellers.

Additionally, offering no-cost, hassle-free returns helped Zappos to increase trust and become a major player online.