19 Mar Honesty Counts

Of all the character traits and attitudes to develop, one of the most important is honesty. It is funny how most people think of themselves as honest, but tend to act differently when it comes to business affairs.

Telling white lies is becoming a trend, as most people are indulging in it. They say, “After all, if it helps me to make a sale to a customer, then it’s not a big deal.” Perhaps you overstated the quality of your product on sale, or you intentionally sold a defective product to a client because you weren’t ready to go through the stressful process of returning it to the manufacturer. Is it a big deal?

You may get away with being insincere to your customers for now, but it may one day come back to plague you. For example, you may have sold a defective product to a client, and saying that you trust the authenticity of the product completely. What happens then, if the client returns the product with an issue, and you have no idea how to fix the issue?

For your business to be successful, you must develop the habit of long-term thinking. In every decision you take, you must ask yourself, “How will this action affect me and my business in future?” You also have to think about your customers and place them first. You need to take time to study them and find out their desires, their challenges as well as how much they can afford to spend. Customers can sense that you care about them when you show an interest in them. They are smart, and can notice whether you are really interested in them. Whether through talk or body language, they can always tell.

Honesty is a very important attitude which, if practised, can produce success in your personal life and business. You will be surprised how customers will gladly recommend your business to their friends and contacts. People will also see you as a trustworthy person who will always give an honest opinion concerning any issue.