PULLMAN, Wash. – When it comes to closing a deal, salespeople may be losing customers before they ever say a word. New research from Washington State University suggests the location of sales interactions may be just as important as the sales pitch.
The research, "Psychological Reactance Among B2C Sales Prospects," published in the Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management , examines how the physical sales environment affects customer behavior in private and public settings.
Researchers Bitty Balducci and Minjoo Kim , both assistant professors of marketing in WSU's Carson College of Business, found that people are more likely to resist a sales pitch when it occurs in settings they perceive as private, such as their home or a members-only lounge, compared to public spaces like sidewalks or retail stores.
The findings are based on a series of experiments that tested how people respond to sales offers in different physical settings. In one scenario, participants were less willing to engage with a product demo when approached at home compared to being approached in a store. Another experiment compared reactions in an exclusive airport lounge versus a main terminal, with participants again showing more resistance in the more private setting.
The driving force behind this pattern is a psychological response known as "reactance," which occurs when people feel their freedom to choose is being threatened.
"Psychological reactance is a kind of mental pushback," Kim said. "In more private settings, customers feel a stronger need to protect that freedom, which can make them more resistant to sales efforts."
Surprisingly, the researchers also found that simply increasing the physical distance between the salesperson and the customer reduced feelings of reactance and made participants more willing to engage, especially when in a private setting.
"Small cues, like how open a space feels or how close the salesperson stands, can shift how customers respond," Kim said. "If salespeople want to reduce resistance, especially in more personal settings, it helps to give customers space and emphasize their freedom to choose."
For salespeople and sales managers alike, recognizing and respecting customers' sense of autonomy can help sales interactions feel less intrusive—and more effective, according to the research.
"Sales professionals spend a lot of time perfecting what to say but paying attention to where and how the conversation happens can go a long way toward building trust and improving results," said Kim.
The study highlights how simple environmental adjustments could improve sales outcomes across a variety of industries.
