New research from the Boston University School of Management suggests that the best phrase a sales person can use to build trust and increase the likelihood of closing a sales is to respond with “I don’t know” when stumped by a question rather than making up an answer. Perhaps this has to do with the perception that sales people will say anything that they think gets the sales so therefore, any sales person who admits they can’t answer a question, must be telling the truth and be demonstrating honesty.
The phenomena is certainly true in interviewing. Often candidates sail through interviews with answers too good to be true until it comes to validating the answers with references and then the stories start to change. Few candidates know everything and it is a brave few that are prepared to admit this. These candidates are often the ones that end up being great team players and easier to manager…The ones you want.
See BNET Article The 3 Most Powerful Words in Sales
Image courtesy of Teerapun / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Eliot Burdett
Eliot received his B. Comm. from Carleton University and has been honored as a Top 40 Under 40 Award winner.
He co-authored Sales Recruiting 2.0, How to Find Top Performing Sales People, Fast and provides regular insights on sales team management and hiring on the Peak Sales Recruiting Blog.
Latest posts by Eliot Burdett (see all)
- How To Make Progress On Your Sales Goal Without A Sales Leader - September 15, 2021
- Augment Your Recruiting Strategy During “The Great Resignation” - July 26, 2021
- London Sales Recruiters: 3 Recruitment Insights & Trends - August 5, 2020
