Truth-Based Marketing & Sales Compliance

Degrees of truth exist; precise data makes statements more truthful and persuasive.

Replace vague claims like "some people were satisfied" with exact statistics such as "98 percent rated this 4.5 or above." This precision reduces ambiguity, builds credibility, and allows prospects to make better-informed decisions.

Why: Experienced buyers have highly tuned "bullshit detectors"; concrete evidence cuts through skepticism and positions you as the honest alternative.

"truth, like, obviously there's objective truth, one plus one equals two, right? But there's also degrees of truth"

Being believable is more persuasive than being persuasive.

Demonstrate and speak forth your biases and limitations before making any claim. This transparency functions as "damaging admissions"—a fundamental persuasion tactic that paradoxically increases trust and makes subsequent positive claims more credible.

Why: Audiences interpret upfront honesty as integrity, making them more receptive to your actual value propositions.

"Being believable is more persuasive than being persuasive."

You cannot control customer outcomes; you can only increase the likelihood of success.

Education and community businesses monetize information and support, but variables like prior knowledge, effort, and motivation remain outside the seller's control. Acknowledge this limitation up-front to align expectations and reduce refund requests.

Why: Honest expectation-setting filters for customers who take responsibility for their results, leading to better outcomes and fewer complaints.

"the truth is that you cannot control the outcome for your customers"

Earnings claims require four strict FTC elements: permission, context disclosure, substantiation with causal proof, and proof of typicality.

To legally state an earnings claim you must (1) get explicit permission from the individual, (2) fully disclose the unique context and circumstances behind the result, (3) provide bank/Stripe PDFs both before and after your intervention plus evidence that your intervention caused the increase, and (4) demonstrate the result is typical—which usually requires tracking every customer.

Why: These safeguards prevent misleading advertising and protect consumers from unrealistic expectations while keeping you compliant.

"in the United States, the Federal Trade Commission has essentially made earnings claims illegal"

Replace forbidden ROI claims with subjective satisfaction stories labeled as non-typical.

Instead of promising specific outcomes, share enthusiastic but subjective testimonials ("best decision of my life," "completely transformed") while explicitly stating the experience is unique and results will vary.

Why: Subjective satisfaction cannot be disproven and keeps you compliant while still providing social proof.

"the way that you do that is that you show satisfaction"

Begin every recorded sales call with a four-part disclosure: name, company, topic, and recording notice.

The first words must be: "This is [name] calling from [company] in regards to [topic], and by the way, this call is being recorded." Anything said before this disclosure creates liability.

Why: U.S. law holds you liable for statements made before the recording disclosure, so front-loading it protects you legally while setting an honest frame.

"the first thing you have to say on a call... is you have to say four things. You say, this is my name calling from this company in regards to topic, and by the way, this call is being reported"

Lowering promises shifts the demographic slice you convert toward higher-value customers.

High promises attract inexperienced buyers ("broke ass people... one-star reviewers"); low, honest promises attract experienced, higher-value customers ("rich folk... credit cards do not decline"). You'll likely sell the same volume but to better customers.

Why: Experienced buyers trust restrained claims more, so transparency reallocates conversions toward clients who actually succeed.

"you will probably sell the same amount of people. You will just shift what slice of the demographics you convert with"

Under-promise and over-deliver is the only sustainable positioning.

While many marketers pay lip service to "under promise, over deliver" while making huge claims, true adherence means setting modest expectations and then exceeding them. This builds long-term reputation and reduces churn.

Why: Meeting or exceeding modest expectations creates delighted customers who become long-term advocates.

"there's really only one realistic long-term solution, which is and has become a marketing moniker that is quickly ignored, under promise, over deliver"