Understand Your Buyer > How To Lose The Sale> Mislead by omission

 

What is it?

When you aren’t told something that you wouldn’t actually agree with or be happy about because it’s been kept from you, then you’ve been lied to by omission. It’s not that someone told you something untrue – it’s that they left out something important on purpose, knowing that if you had all the info, you might have made a different decision.

 

Why does it work?

Lying isn’t just about actively sharing the wrong information. Sometimes it’s about simply omitting things altogether. It works because technically, nothing false was said – but something important was hidden. That creates a false sense of trust, and by the time the full truth comes out, the damage (or the sale) is already done.

 

How can you use it?

Ideally, you don’t. But you can use this idea to audit your own messaging. Ask yourself, “If I were in the buyer’s shoes, would I feel misled later?” Transparency builds long-term trust, even if it means being upfront about something that might cost you a sale today. Flip it into a strength – be the brand that tells people what others leave out. That honesty can become a selling point all on its own.

 

Example

Cambridge Analytica / Facebook faced an issue where they were collecting and processing data and people claimed they weren’t aware this was the case…

 

 

 

See also

• WYSIWYG
• The Dishonesty Effect