Demo Psychology: The Halo Effect

No, this has nothing to do with angels or the sun, but it does have a lot to do with good — or the right — behavior.

As I stated in my last post, I’m going to spend some time over the next few weeks writing about the workings of the human brain and how Sales Engineers need to consider these workings when they demonstrate and present. I’ll first confess that I am not a psychologist or psychiatrist. I have no formal certifications. What I do have is 25 years of selling experience and a habit of consuming a healthy amount of reading on human behavior. So, take what I say with that in mind. Feel free to question, debate, and refute. That’s where good learning (and science) comes from.

The Halo Effect is a term and concept that has been in use for over a hundred years but not applied much outside the field of psychology. It means that you have a tendency to like everything about a person or product regardless of whether you have observed anything to support your feeling of that person or product. It’s the part of your brain that is automatic AND lazy. It’s easier to like everything about a person based on the first impression, rather than having to consider every aspect of that person.

For example, think about someone you know casually who you like. You enjoy talking to them when you occasionally see them. But you don’t know a lot about them. Then someone else asks you if you think they should solicit that person for a charitable donation. Because you like that person, and everyone you like is typically generous, you of course assume this person is also. You would of course say yes, even though you know nothing about this person’s charitable giving. Taking it further, if you later found out that this person didn’t end up donating, your good feelings would manufacture a suitable reason to excuse their seeming lack of generosity.

Note here as well, that the sequence of things matters. Because your first impression was positive, you excuse their other behavior. Imagine if things had gone the other way. What if the first thing you learned about this person was their refusal to donate? Would you still like them — or would every experience with them then be tainted by that initial information? The “halo” of your first impression then shines on how you feel about every aspect of this person.

Let’s take it a step further. Let’s say this person invited you to attend an event with them — an event in which you had sincere interest. In the first case, you would probably accept without hesitation. In the second instance, you might not be so quick to accept (“Thanks, let me think about it”) or refuse altogether (“I would never take the invitation of a selfish person like that!”)

So now let’s talk about what this has to do with demonstrations and presentations; although, I suspect at this point you know where I’m going. Which is good. So let’s go there.

First — if you haven’t considered this at all or don’t consider it regularly, then you should. In the eyes of the prospect, you are your product. Your product is you. If they don’t like you, then, they won’t like your product. If they like you, they like your product. I have firsthand experience and remember being part of a deal where the customer admitted we had the more expensive product and that there wasn’t much functional difference between us and the competition. They pushed for us because they liked us better.

Next, and being very cliché, first impressions matter. Very likely when you do your first demonstration with a prospect organization, there will be attendees you have not met. Making a positive initial impression will give you the halo you want. This is where motivation comes in. Motivation is transparent. Come with a sincere desire to help, and you’ll make a great first impression. Come to sell, and they’ll know it. That will set the tone for the rest of the meeting. Establishing that initial favorable impression then gives you room if something in the demo goes wrong or you don’t provide a capability in exactly the way they were hoping. I’m sure you’ve heard “That’s alright, I’m sure we can figure out how to use your product to do that.” I know I have (often to my disbelief).

But also rewind a bit. If you were fortunate enough to be part of the initial discovery meetings, you had the opportunity to create a positive halo with your initial contact. This is a very important investment. Should something go amiss in your demo, the halo you created will most likely inspire this person to defend you. In the follow up discussion, when the meeting is over and you’re gone, your initial contact will still champion your cause. Your halo can have a very far reach.

My final piece of advice here deals with how you compete. I’m sure you’ve been part of the sales strategy debate about whether to demo first or let your competition go first. Some would say that people only remember the last thing they see. That may be true. Just keep in mind, they see that last thing under the influence of the halo created from the first demo. Take that opportunity to create the halo, not have to deal with its effects.