The most "overbearing" sentence in sales speech is: "I don't know." What is the charm of this sentence?
Hard to say? According to a new study by Boston University School of Management, this is worth practicing, especially if you are in the sales industry.
Barbara Bicart and Boston University School of Management conducted three surveys to measure the credibility of salespeople and the possibility of consumers buying things from them. They found that for salespeople, when a customer asks a question that puzzles them, answering "I don't know" will not reduce their credibility. For those salespeople who do commission business, saying "I don't know" may actually succeed in selling goods.
Predict the worst case of commission salespeople.
In the first survey, the researchers asked 37 people to read a story about a new employee who asked a financial adviser about the company that sponsored their 40 1(k) fund. In this story, the employee asked the financial adviser whether signing 40 1(k) would affect his contribution to the IRA. Financial advisers don't know the answer to this question.
If the salesperson sells on commission, 75% of the respondents expect the salesperson to talk nonsense and try to cover up the fact that they don't know the answer.
If the salesperson is a contract employee without financial compensation, only 38% of the respondents expect the salesperson to deal with the problem vaguely.
"I don't know" generates trust.
In the second survey, the researchers provided 225 respondents with three possible answers from financial advisers: simply saying "I don't know", irrelevant answer and correct answer.
If you are a commission salesman, admitting ignorance can persuade people to buy products. Respondents in this survey said that if they got the answer of "I don't know", they were more likely to buy products, rather than salespeople avoiding the important and beating around the bush.
It doesn't matter what the salesperson says without taking the commission. If the salesperson doesn't take the commission, no matter which way the salesperson answers, the respondents' purchase intention is the same.
Beating around the bush, boasting: the killer of trading
The same story was used in the third test. However, 65,438+034 respondents were asked to give their opinions on the sales staff. Beating around the bush has become a trading killer for commission salespeople. Respondents thought such salespeople were untrustworthy and said they were unlikely to buy products.
What is the conclusion?
It is better to admit ignorance than to try to confuse them all, especially when consumers or customers know that you are selling them on a commission basis.
Admitting ignorance makes you look more trustworthy and reliable in the eyes of customers, not less reliable.
Professors speculate that the reliability that a salesperson loses because he or she doesn't know the answer will be compensated by the reliability that he or she gains by admitting his or her ignorance. In other words, they wrote, "stupid but honest", not "smart but cunning".
When someone is unable or unwilling to answer a direct question, what is your reaction? Do you feel comfortable when you say "I don't know"? Besides, do you think saying "I don't know" will help you and your customers-or your boss?