Facing the buyers: should you pitch first or last?

Beauty contest

Using field experiments with 172 business buying decision-makers with an average of 11 years’ experience, Wagner and Klein examined the impact of the order of sales presentations in a ‘beauty contest’ between competing suppliers. They also examined the impact of the reputation of the product, as a market leader or ‘me-too’.

Me-too vs market leader

The research found that the ‘me-too’ product salesperson benefits most from going last. The market leader salesperson does better with a first or last position in the running order.

You have to work harder if you’re drawn in the middle

The authors conclude that since the buyer determines the running order, firms in the middle of the running order need to pay special attention to impact and the customer orientation of their approach.

Wagner J and Klein N M (2007): ‘Who wants to go first? Order effects within a series of competitive sales presentations’, Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, Vol 27, No 3, pages 259-276.
Thanks to Beth Rogers of Portsmouth Business School for this insight.

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