2008 - Marketing Educators' Association

THE EFFECT OF NONVERBAL SIGNALS ON STUDENT ROLE-PLAY EVALUATIONS
Robert S. Heiser, University of Southern Maine, Portland, ME, 04104; robert.heiser@maine.edu.
Harry A. Taute, Utah Valley University, Orem, UT, 84058; tauteha@uvsc.edu.
While verbal and written communications in a sales
presentation have long been subject to objective
measurement and instruction, nonverbal communications
have received less empirical scrutiny
(Peterson, 2005). This research examines the
influence of enthusiasm, confidence, and
appropriate nonverbal signals within student
National Collegiate Sales Competition (NCSC) roleplay
presentations (Loe & Chonko, 2000). The
NCSC evaluation form arguably contains the
theoretical and empirical dimensions of effective and
persuasive sales presentations. Our research finds
that appropriate nonverbal signals are
underweighted in the NCSC scoring system, and by
extension, should be a more important component in
university and professional sales training classes.
THEORY
Signaling theory suggests that presentations
supported by complementary verbal and nonverbal
expressions are more readily understood and
believable (Heiser, 2005). Belief in yourself and
fervor for the product are considered essential
antecedents in the adaptive/consultative approach to
personal selling; confidence and enthusiasm in a
sales presentation are traditional benchmarks of
strong interpersonal skills and good salesmanship
(Bagozzi, 1978). A salesperson’s use of appropriate
nonverbal signals may be more persuasive as
nonverbal behaviors that are consistent with the
presentation topic are deemed more credible and
trustworthy by consumers (Jones & LeBaron, 2002).
A strong effect of nonverbal communications is
noted within communication dyads; indeed some
researchers believe that nonverbal communications
account for more than 50 percent of the communication
effectiveness within interpersonal encounters
(e.g., Ekman & Friesen, 1997). Controlling emotional
responses enhances social functioning (Pallant,
2000), and studies also suggest that communications
between people are optimized when the verbal
and non-verbal elements are synchronized (Jones &
LeBaron, 2002). We believe nonverbal communications
may also be a significant factor in the effectiveness
of a sales presentation rating, and account for
much of the presentation effectiveness variance.
ABSTRACT
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METHOD
Personal selling courses taught by one of the
authors were organized in an experiential role-play
format consistent with constructive, reflective
learning (Kolb, 1984), instructional standards for
teaching personal selling (Parker, Pettijohn & Luke,
1996), and enhanced learning from competitive
involvement in the sales presentation (Widmeir, Loe
& Selden, 2007). Sixty-five students evaluated a
final role-play sales call presentation by their
classmates with the form utilized in the national
sales competition (NCSC).
RESULTS
The NCSC item “appropriate nonverbal communication”
uniquely contributes seven percent to the total
sales rating. Nonverbal communications were also
positively related to the approach sales dimension in
which the sales person gains attention and builds
rapport (r = .173), and negatively related to handling
objections (r = -.236) and closing the sale (r = -.59)
dimensions. Confidence and enthusiasm were found
to impact evaluations of some students but had no
appreciable effect on mean evaluations overall.
IMPLICATIONS
Our data show that appropriate nonverbal
communications significantly and positively impact
sales evaluations. Conversely, when these
behaviors are lacking or inappropriately delivered,
their detriment to evaluations of the presentation
exceeds that given in the NSCS rating system. The
measure of confidence and enthusiasm negatively
affected some student evaluations but was unrelated
to overall performance in the sample.
Nonverbal training should be an integral component
of sales training programs. Verbal and nonverbal
communications can be synthesized so that a
strong, consistent sales message effectively
solidifies and enhances the exchange relationship.
References Available on Request.