This research contributes to the sales literature by relating salespeoples’ facial expressiveness (captured by a face reader), to customer responses. Customers impressions are measured in real-time by means of a program analyzer. Results of an experimental study indicate differences in customers’ reactions according to sale peoples’ facial expressiveness.

The essence of any successful personal selling interaction is effective communication. Evidence from research on personal selling has provided extensive support for the effectiveness of nonverbal communication. Nevertheless, an individuals’ nonverbal communication style is difficult to measure during a sales conversation, as it is “encoded and decoded unconsciously” (Stewart, Hecker, & Graham, 1987, p. 305). This research introduces wearable sensor technology as a novel and objective approach for measuring nonverbal behaviors (i.e., kinesics, paralanguage, and proxemics) in a sales context using sociometric badges (Kim, McFee, Olguin, Waber, & Pentland, 2012). Findings reveal that salespeople can improve their appeal by making use of a more dynamic communication style (i.e., enhanced posture activity and variation in speech and volume), as opposed to a rather static, adhesive, and monotone communication. We contribute to the sales literature by relating a salesperson’s nonverbal communication behaviors to customer responses. In addition, we reveal various implications for sales executives and offer guidance on how to improve their sales effectiveness and performance.

Charismatic public figures are often associated with personal magnetism, a captivating aura, and an ability to influence their counterparts. Over the last 25 years, the concept of charisma has gained considerable interest among social scientists, and its positive effects on performance have been reported in multiple research areas (Vercic & Vercic, 2011). Nevertheless, there exists scarce research on charisma in marketing and little is known about specific nonverbal behaviors that predict charisma (Heide, 2013). Additionally, for decades a substantial body of sales research has been focusing on identifying characteristics of sales personnel that predict performance (Bauer & Martin, 2009). Therefore, the aim of this paper is to identify nonverbal behaviors that lead to a salesperson’s charisma in a personal selling context by posing the following research question: Which aspects of body language differentiate salespersons from each other and are such differences antecedents for perceived charisma?Charismatic public figures are often associated with personal magnetism, a captivating aura, and an ability to influence their counterparts. Over the last 25 years, the concept of charisma has gained considerable interest among social scientists, and its positive effects on performance have been reported in multiple research areas (Vercic & Vercic, 2011). Nevertheless, there exists scarce research on charisma in marketing and little is known about specific nonverbal behaviors that predict charisma (Heide, 2013). Additionally, for decades a substantial body of sales research has been focusing on identifying characteristics of sales personnel that predict performance (Bauer & Martin, 2009). Therefore, the aim of this paper is to identify nonverbal behaviors that lead to a salesperson’s charisma in a personal selling context by posing the following research question: Which aspects of body language differentiate salespersons from each other and are such differences antecedents for perceived charisma?in front) should be used more frequently in a personal selling situation to increase a salesperson’s charisma. These studies represent an important first step in conceptualizing charismatic sales behaviors and provide valuable insights for further research.