Is your customer lying to you? Well, they might be, but trust us, they don’t mean any ill-will and definitely don’t aim to deceive you. Customers speak untruths because they are human. Many customers have a hard time expressing their thoughts, and this causes them to mislead or in a more realistic sense – withhold the truth.

The challenge begins when you, as a sales professional, start believing the customer. It won’t take long for your “close ratio” to plummet along with your morale. How can you prevent this from happening to you?

Refuse to believe the lie and move forward! Here are a few simple ways to push through this challenge the next time it happens:

Accept that you will be lied to.

We’re all human with an innate sense of not wanting to share our real thoughts with people that we don’t know or we have no relationship that requires this type of transparency. Think about the number of subpar salespeople a customer has dealt with over the years, and you’ll quickly understand their initial skepticism when meeting with a salesperson for the first time.

Let the customer talk.

When a customer is given the freedom to talk, it allows them to take ownership of the conversation in their comfort zone and in their own words. On the flip side, when you stop talking and simply listen, you will hear their pain points and keywords that will give you valuable information to speak directly to their needs AND allows them to take the lead in the customer to salesperson relationship.

Always ask a follow-up question.

When a customer makes a comment that you feel is dishonest, it’s time to ask a follow-up question. This not only shows the customer that you were listening but helps to drill down into what the customer is really trying to tell you. When follow-up questions are asked, make sure to ask with honest and sincere interest, and not to manipulate the sale. When you do this with their best interest in mind, most times the customer becomes less defensive and more willing to share their honest thoughts with you.

The lesson to be learned is this when people evade the truth in these situations, most of them don’t have bad intentions. Accept their reason – truth or no truth – with a positive attitude, and offer to help them again in the future.