Anatomy of a good sales introduction ‐ part I

Abstract

First impressions last forever! Often this initial meeting sets the impression buyers will have about the salesperson and his or her company. For this reason, the introduction cannot be taken lightly. The introduction consists of these steps, the first three of which are presented in part I: assess the environment and prospect personality type; introduce the salesperson to include name, company name, reason and anticipated length of time for the call; establish first‐name terms. State the rules: business philosophy and payment terms. Request permission to ask questions. Reposition the salesperson ‐ remove physical barriers. To understand what constitutes a successful introduction, we also need to know what the goals or objectives of the introduction stage are and how they can be achieved. A successful introduction should enhance a fair and level “playing field” between the buyer and the seller.

Making a positive (or negative) first impression with small talk

“…This research enhances our understanding of when and why small talk is beneficial or harmful in service encounters. Service providers commonly use small talk to try to build rapport with customers (Garzaniti et al , 2011; Gremler and Gwinner, 2000), and common wisdom is that small talk should be used as an “ice-breaker” to begin encounters with new customers (DeCormier and Jackson, 1998; Dobbins and Pettman, 1997). However, prior research has shown hints that small talk is not always effective (Surprenant and Solomon, 1987).…”

“…In addition, this paper provides a clearer understanding of why small talk is not always beneficial. Most academic research has focused on the benefits of small talk (DeCormier and Jackson, 1998) and has not explained service providers’ observations that not all customers respond well to it (Bettencourt and Gwinner, 1996). We show small talk is problematic when it leads to impatience.…”

“…Small talk is the most common verbal tactic employees use to begin interactions with prospective customers (Alford, 1998; Leigh and McGraw, 1989; Rosenbaum, 2009). Marketing research has, for the most part, found small talk is beneficial (DeCormier and Jackson, 1998; Dobbins and Pettman, 1997). Small talk has been found to contribute to the development of commercial friendships between employees and clients (Garzaniti et al , 2011; Price and Arnould, 1999), increased perceptions of employee friendliness (Surprenant and Solomon, 1987) and increased meeting effectiveness (Allen et al , 2014).…”

Alexinomia: The fear of using personal names

“…It has been argued that calling students by their names makes them feel cared about and taken seriously ( Syverud, 1993 ). Deliberately using first names to establish connection and equality in a relationship is a well-established technique in sales and in other persuasion-based occupational areas ( DeCormier and Jackson, 1998 ). Furthermore, the importance of using names has been discussed in psychoanalytic texts in the context of the unpleasant effects of forgetting someone’s name on the affected individual ( Murphy, 1957 ).…”