Several years ago, a car dealership was struggling to sell an old car. Instead of trying to hide or pull the customers attention away from the rust, check engine light, or other problems associated with this car, the ad on Facebook highlighted these ‘features’. The car salesman was brutally honest, going as far as showing zoomed in pictures of the rust as part of the ad. As a result, the old car was sold in less than twenty-four hours and the Facebook ad went viral, leading to increased traffic at this car dealership.
The brutal honesty of the car salesmen led to his success. The customer knew exactly what they were getting. They didn’t feel like they were being tricked. This led them to be more trusting of the car salesman, and ultimately make the purchase.
The customer would have discovered the rust and other problems soon after purchasing anyway. Had the dealership not disclosed all this information, the story would have a very different ending. The customer would be upset, and encourage their friends to NOT buy from this dealership as opposed to the increased traffic that came as a result of the brutally honest Facebook ad.
testacr22
That’s an incredible story! It really demonstrates how true honesty in a business is crucial and can even have unexpected benefits! I admire the dealership’s owner and how he decided to just be completely truthful about the car he was trying to sell. Honesty can easily build trust in a customer relationship so it’s definitely something to keep in mind. Great post!
This is a good testament to honesty paying off. I would rather not get a sale because I was too honest than to get a sales from being dishonest. This creates long term payoff rather than getting one sales but having a poor reputation.