Can You Be Trusted?

Let’s be upfront with each other... A job title with the word ‘Sales’ in it is often surrounded with negative connotations and unflattering stereotypes.

Sales, in some people’s minds, is nothing more than a 5 letter dirty word and is immediately met with scepticism and distrust however, it might not always be the actions or what is said by the sales person which is the underlying cause of these stereotypes!!!

Can You Measure Trust?

Both the Princeton and Kent Universities have conducted research to measure the ‘perceived trustworthiness’ of someone based on purely their facual features. The results are amazing!

Quite simply, subjects were shown pictures of random people and asked [amongst other things in the Princeton test] to give a score about the trustworthiness of the person shown on a scale of 1 to 5. [1= Not at all 5= Very]

The results were so compelling that they have now been able to catalogue those facial features, shapes, and bone structures that will catergorise YOU as someone who people will trust or not. A vaguely important part of sales maybe?

With both Universities having independently arrived at the same conclusions, and with ‘facial modelling’ computer software the Kent research team were able to show that with the tiniest of tweaks they could manipulate someone’s face to appear less or more trustworthy!

Gordon Brown – Ex Prime Minister

[Note... I’m scared by all of them!]

The picture on the left is the original, yet notice how in the second they have been able to manipulate it to give ‘Gord – as I like to call him’ a softer and more trustworthy features.

·         Wider / Rounder jaw line

·         Thinned eyebrows

·         Slightly wider / rounder nose

·         Rounder / larger mouth

Now... the scary one, picture 3 – This guy should not be allowed out without supervision or a tag!

With increased thickness of the eyebrows, a sharper chin, sunken eyes and smaller mouth, ‘Gord’ has become very untrustworthy in his appearance.

Another Examples

David Cameron - Current British Prime Minister

Nick Clegg - David Camerons 'Right hand Man'

Some Random Person

The Measures Of Trustworthiness

[Results from the Kent research]

Characteristics of a 'trustworthy' face:

:: A fuller more rounded shape to the face

:: Jaw line is softer in appearance

:: Eyebrows are thinner and less imposing

:: The eyes are more rounded and larger

:: Eyes also appear brighter

:: The nose is more refined in shape and the nostrils are smaller

:: Larger mouth with thinner lips

:: Smooth face with no facial hair

:: Warmer, brighter complexion

Characteristics of an 'untrustworthy' face:

:: Overall shape of the face becomes more contoured

:: Jaw line becomes sharper and pointed by about 20%

:: Eyebrows become thicker by 25% and are more knotted

:: The eyes become less rounded, relatively wider and more closed

:: Eyes are further apart

:: The appearance of the eyes are dull and darker appearing subtly "dead"

:: Bridge of the nose is wider and nostrils are measurably larger

:: Smaller mouth with fuller lips

:: Facial stubble is more prevalent

Here are the results from the Kent University research.

The Ramifications For You!

So... I am not suggesting that you provide plastic surgery to all of your 'untrustworthy looking' sales team members, nor am I suggesting that you now go to your boss and explain why you are not getting the deals and hitting target because your face fails you!

What I am suggesting is that if you do a self analysis based on the research above then you should be able to understand what your prospects ‘feel’ about you from their first impressions.

In the next edition I will address some of the strategies and techniques for creating, building and sustaining rapport and trust to either help or enhance your ‘unfortunate’ natural facial features.

[note: I am in no way being sexiest here and am contacting the researchers for information about sex and race differences and whether they have carried out research to indicate differences from the above]   

For Elite Sales Training, additional content or to get us in, then either fill out the form below or call us NOW on 0844 8444 099