Ego can be a strong personality driver in a good salesperson, but humility might be an even more powerful attribute. We have all been in situations where
we've asked a question of a someone where, instead of admitting they didn't know something, they have bluffed their way to an answer. Obviously this move is a lot more harmful than good. In many sales situations, once a prospect gets a whiff of insincerity, they may politely ask for a brochure or say they want to think about the purchase, while later completing it somewhere else. Most of the time admitting ignorance makes everything else you say more credible and marks you as a person who speaks the truth.As humans we are are guilty of using deception as a shield to guard us from feeling uncomfortable. We somehow think that are supposed to pretend to know everything as a salesperson. While it helps to know your craft well, we may still be presented with obscure questions that nobody has after asked us before. In these situations, you can actually gain even more brownie points by commending the customer's inquiry by stating "That's a great question," and of course promising to get the answer.
I guess one could also easily relate to a job interview where we were asked something (maybe we did not know) and had to BS our way through. ("That's a great question" works well in that situation too). Ultimately, there is no shame in not knowing something. For some people, that is just hard to admit. This can be attributed to ego, stubbornness, or just plain apathy.
One method to diffuse the awkwardness is to fire back with some questions of your own. Asking questions is not only how we learn as human beings, but also the sign of a good (and hopefully humble) salesperson.
Remember that ultimately "IDK" is a phrase that may win you more sales than it will lose.
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