The first impression counts
Hard to believe, but the first 30 seconds in a conversation with a stranger leave a lasting impression that is difficult to correct in the medium term.
In personal conversation, the first perception of a person leaves a lasting impression that is difficult to correct in the medium term. In science, this effect is substantiated as the theory of thin slices (Ambady & Rosenthal, 1993; Stros & Möslein-Tröppner, 2014). In one experiment, Nalini Ambady (1993) tasked students with judging lecturers based on a short video sequence, each lasting 30 seconds. These evaluations were later compared to the actual evaluation forms of students who attended the corresponding lecture with the evaluated lecturers for one semester. The agreement was amazingly high and impressively shows the influence of the unconsciously formed first short impression on the later assessment.
Consequently, the first impression has a measurable influence on the perception of the salesperson. According to Carney (2007), judgment formation occurs during the fifth second of a face-to-face interaction. John Wood (2006) has shown that in the first phase of a personal conversation, the trustworthiness of the sales person is judged by non-verbal signals. In another study, Nalini Ambady (2006) examined the influence of first impressions on sales closure. Several 30-second short video sequences of various sales calls were presented to subjects. The potential of the sales calls for a successful closing could clearly be assessed significantly by the test participants. Consequently, it is possible to assess a sales talk and its closing potential by analyzing the first impression.
Authenticity as a success factor in personal selling
The positive perception and success of a sales conversation is based on the authenticity of a sales person (Algera & Lips-Wiersma, 2012; Diddams & Chang, 2012). Hennig-Thurau (2006) describes authenticity as a measure of the emotional state of discomfort as a central component of interpersonal interaction.
Sigmund Freud (1938) described the ideal state of inner balance. He distinguishes between the emotional ("feeling" [affect]), physical ("acting" [behavior]) and the rational expressions ("thinking" [cognition]), which, when there is a balance between internal and external influences, lead to the ideal mental state and result in an authentic appearance.
Three levels: Feeling, acting and thinking
Level 1: Feeling" (affect) includes emotions such as fear, affection, and joy. Buyers are therefore very quick to judge the salesperson, and vice versa is likely to be the case. In his study, Ayres (2001) examined in detail the sales pitch approach of Chicago car salesmen. He was particularly struck by Bob Golomb, a car salesman, who generated twice the sales revenue of the average. Ayres found that Bob Golomb was able to assess his clientele's intentions well and quickly, without being fooled by their appearances.
Level 2: The level of "acting" ("behavior") has only limited influence on the sales interaction for the isolated elements such as facial expressions, gestures, posture, and laughter (Hari, 2007). Individual elements such as the often cited "smile" have little to no influence on the mutual judgment of buyers and sellers on their own, especially if it is not authentic (Williams, 2001).
Level 3: The third level, "thinking" (cognition), refers to the content of the conversation, i.e., what is said in words, and could also be in written form. According to Lynch (2007), emotional factors may be of greater importance than cognitive criteria in decision making in face-to-face selling. The effect of the content of a sales presentation on the lasting impression was studied by Donald Naftulin (1973) in his "Dr. Fox Experiment." Michael Fox, an actor unfamiliar with the content, gave a rhetorically brilliant lecture to a university audience on "mathematical game theory in the education of physicians." Despite the fact that the content was contradictory and partly wrong, even experienced listeners felt they had learned something. Consequently, the content of a speech can only be a small part of the positive perception.
These findings are confirmed by the study of Mehrabian (1972). According to this, 55 % of interpersonal interaction consists of body language, 38 % of tone, and 7 % of the spoken word.
What does this mean for sales practice?
For sales practice, it is important to be aware of these findings. Firstly, the decisive impression is formed in the first few seconds, and secondly, according to the ABC model, there are three channels of interpersonal interaction that significantly influence the authenticity of a sales person as a central factor. Of particularly large importance is thereby the body language and likewise the emotional connection. The spoken content is secondary.
Taking these circumstances into account, the authentic appearance can be trained. On the one hand, this could be done by means of role-playing; alternatively, you could acquire acting techniques as is already practiced in the United States. Furthermore, it should go without saying that you should never go into a sales talk unprepared. And, of course, an adequate physical appearance is important.
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