.bodytext {float: left; } .floatimg-left-hort { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right: 10px; width:300px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-caption-hort { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:300px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-vert { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right:15px; width:200px;} .floatimg-left-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; font-size: 10px; width:200px;} .floatimg-right-hort { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px;} .floatimg-right-caption-hort { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px; font-size: 10px; } .floatimg-right-vert { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px;} .floatimg-right-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; font-size: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; border-top-style: double; border-top-color: black; border-bottom-style: double; border-bottom-color: black;} .floatimgright-sidebar p { line-height: 115%; text-indent: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar h4 { font-variant:small-caps; } .pullquote { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 150px; background: url(http://www.dmbusinessdaily.com/DAILY/editorial/extras/closequote.gif) no-repeat bottom right !important ; line-height: 150%; font-size: 125%; border-top: 1px solid; border-bottom: 1px solid;} .floatvidleft { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatvidright { float:right; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} For years, hotel bathrooms have been asking me to help “Save the Planet.” Signs ask me to use my towels several times so that “millions of gallons of water” can be saved, and Earth’s ecosystem can be realigned.

Now I ask you: Does that hotel want to save the planet or save a few bucks? Why can’t they just be honest and tell me that I can reduce their operating costs a bit if I reduce my towel usage, and it’s also good for the environment? Why can’t they just be honest with me?

Mission statements mean nothing. Companies tell you how great they want to become and how great they want to treat their customers – and then they treat their people with disrespect. Most CEOs can’t recite their company’s mission statement.

Giant corporations and their accounting firms have gone bankrupt because they lied, omitted, shredded or manipulated the truth. Their CEOs are in jails for lying and cheating.

Airlines? I don’t need to go into an explanation, that’s how pathetic their “truth” has become.

Politicians? Ditto. Actually they’re WORSE than airlines, and maybe the worst of the worst, and the lowest of the low. When I ask my audiences, “How many of you think that all politicians lie?” EVERY HAND GOES UP. Is that sad or what?

Former President Bill Clinton lied about sex. You probably have, too. All the other liars in Congress got together and wanted to throw him out of office for lying. Hello!

Other politicians – at all levels – when called upon to tell the truth suddenly lose their memory of what happened. Or worse, they invoke the Fifth Amendment and choose not to incriminate themselves. It’s another form of lying – withholding truth.

Interesting that these same politicians who lie pass laws compelling others to tell the truth or face consequences. The “Truth-in-Lending” law has helped consumers immensely. Sad that such a law has to be written. You would think that the people responsible for lending would just be honest.

Honesty is a scary sales word.

Truth is a scary word.

And just so we understand each other, I’m no perfect example of piety – far from it. Many of the lessons and examples set forth here are from the music I’ve had to face from my own forms of untruth.

And just so we’re on the same page about truth and lies:

“Omission” is a lie. “For their own good” is a lie. “Didn’t want to hurt them” is a lie. “Small lie” is a lie. “Hiding facts” is a lie.

Any questions?

Telling the whole truth takes character, conviction and courage.

Telling the whole truth takes ethics, morality, honesty and full disclosure.

There’s an old saying that goes, “How can you tell when a salesman is lying? His lips are moving.” That does not speak well for the reputation of salespeople.

Every salesperson, every company seeks to build relationships with customers. At the apex is truth. It’s how to keep relationships together, and its absence is why they fall apart.

The lack of truth makes trust fall apart. Once you lie, and someone catches you, you will spend an eternity trying to regain trust.

When someone says, “I’ve lost my trust in you,” it’s because they doubt your ability to tell the truth. They will say, “I can’t believe a word you say,” because they have caught you lying before and believe you’ll do it again.

Loss of faith comes from lack of truth. Loss of trust comes from lack of truth. Loss of faith and trust are symptoms. Lack of truth is the problem. Faith and trust stem from truth.

I am not your mother extolling the virtues of telling the truth. I am Jiminy Cricket, making you aware of the consequences. In sales and in life.

If you want a few truth quotes, go to www.gitomer.com, register if you’re a first-time user, and enter TRUTH in the GitBit box. Jeffrey Gitomer can be reached by phone at (704) 333-1112 or by e-mail at salesman@gitomer.com. © 2007 Jeffrey H. Gitomer