Does the salesperson like customers? A conceptual and empirical examination of the persuasive effect of perceptions of the salesperson's affect toward customers

The influence of salespeople's characteristics on their performance has been an area of extensive research interest. This article examines an unexplored but potentially important area—the influence of customers' perceptions of a salesperson's affect toward customers on persuasion. The results of the research suggest that if customers perceive salespeople to have a positive affect toward their customers, message processing and persuasion are enhanced. In contrast, if customers perceive salespeople to have a negative affect toward customers, lower levels of persuasion and heuristic processing are observed. Managerial implications of the research are suggested and directions for future research proposed.