I saw this correction in a Birmingham Alabama newspaper: “A recipe for Italian Breaded Chicken Parmesan on page 2G of Wednesday’s food section suggested beating the chicken with a small mallard. That, of course, is incorrect. A mallet would be a better choice.”
Wouldn’t it be great if, in everyday life, misstatements were as easy to spot and correct as misprints in a newspaper?
They aren’t, of course, and we have to live with the consequences. People say things they shouldn’t. They misspeak. Mislead. Misappropriate the truth (okay…they lie). You confront this frequently in new home sales. As good-intentioned as they may be, buyers will give you information that isn’t true. This could be about their incomes; their reasons for buying a home; their lenders and pre-approved status; their jobs and finances.
Regardless of what they tell you, however, your responsibility doesn’t change. You speak the truth and you seek the truth.
You don’t tell potential buyers what you think they want to hear and you don’t take everything they say at face value. You prequalify them by asking specific questions and listening attentively to their answers. While this won’t guarantee that they will be honest with you, it does considerably reduce the chances that they will waste their time and yours with a sales presentation on a home they can’t afford or don’t want.
Just like with chicken breasts, if you want to thin out the truth, you have to hammer away at the lies.
