Business Opportunities Weblog

April 4, 2007 by Rich Whittle | 1 Comment

Entrepreneur Daily:

If your company’s involved with sales, you may have to start working a little harder to close the deal.

A Florida State University researcher says consumers are growing increasingly suspicious of sales pitches and tend to react to them with skepticism.

To gather data, the researchers conducted experiments at a sunglass kiosk.

In the first experiment, the sales clerk flattered consumers before their purchase, while in the second they flattered the consumers after their purchase, and in the third, the sales clerk chatted with consumers but didn’t offer any compliments.

“Consistently, the study participants said that even when it was obvious the compliment didn’t serve any underlying sales motive, they still didn’t trust what the sales clerk had to say,” said Peter Darke, an assistant professor in the marketing department of the FSU College of Business.

So, the next time your sales pitch is met with skepticism, you’ll know why: As consumers, we’re programmed these days to assume the worst.

Photo by MSDesign.

In Uncategorized | 1 Comment
Tags: Psychology, Sales, Strategy