A few weeks ago on NCIS, Mark Harmon’s character said that the best salesmen are liars. Many people share this view that salesmen are deceitful and manipulative. However, it is grossly wrong, unjust to an honorable profession, and an attack on capitalism.
Certainly, there are dishonest salesmen, but that is true of any profession. But they are an aberration. Liars and frauds do not succeed in the long term. Ask Bernie Madoff, Jeff Skilling, or Allen Stanford.
A good salesman does not deceive and manipulate—he educates. He first seeks to understand his client’s needs and desires, and then he educates the clients as to why his product or service fulfills that need or desire. A good salesman helps his client make a wise purchasing decision.
A consumer needs such assistance only when he faces multiple buying options. If only one brand of automobile, computer, or toothpaste is available, the consumer does not to be educated regarding the pros and cons of his options—he has no options. It is only in a free, or semi-free, market that a consumer faces choices.
More fundamentally, the view that salesmen are liars is founded on a perverted ethics—altruism. According to altruism, we face the choice of sacrificing ourselves to others, or sacrificing others to ourselves. The only way to get ahead is to deceive and manipulate. The idea that individuals can engage in mutually beneficial exchanges is simply dismissed.
Rational, productive individuals, including good salesmen, engage in mutually beneficial exchanges everyday. They trade value for value.