Lying to sell an okay product:
It’s still lying.
Not for the first time, I just declined a potential client.
Though there was nothing wrong with his product, everything was wrong with his sales pitch. It relied on sensationalized, exaggerated, flimflam health claims.
To be fair, I don’t doubt that the fellow who called me believes every word of his pitch. That doesn’t change the bogus nature of the claims.
A product sold by use of false or exaggerated claims cannot deliver the promised benefit. Even when there’s nothing intrinsically wrong with the product itself, to promise what cannot be delivered is fraud.
But these were health claims, which are worse than fraud. False or exaggerated health claims can and often do lull people into putting off real medical care. It can be life-threatening. Consider Apple founder Steve Jobs, who relied on “alternative care” until it was too late for real medicine to help.
If yours is a legitimate product that you’re willing to sell without false or exaggerated claims—even if it means selling less than you otherwise might—call me. If you cannot sell it at all by being truthful, kindly lose my number.
Though there was nothing wrong with his product, everything was wrong with his sales pitch. It relied on sensationalized, exaggerated, flimflam health claims.
To be fair, I don’t doubt that the fellow who called me believes every word of his pitch. That doesn’t change the bogus nature of the claims.
A product sold by use of false or exaggerated claims cannot deliver the promised benefit. Even when there’s nothing intrinsically wrong with the product itself, to promise what cannot be delivered is fraud.
But these were health claims, which are worse than fraud. False or exaggerated health claims can and often do lull people into putting off real medical care. It can be life-threatening. Consider Apple founder Steve Jobs, who relied on “alternative care” until it was too late for real medicine to help.
If yours is a legitimate product that you’re willing to sell without false or exaggerated claims—even if it means selling less than you otherwise might—call me. If you cannot sell it at all by being truthful, kindly lose my number.
—Steve Cuno
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