Based on that finding, here's the hint for retail salespeople who are seen as product or service experts by shoppers: Avoid coming across to the customer as absolutely certain in the recommendations you're making. The bit of uncertainty makes the customer more comfortable in asking questions and expressing concerns. Those questions and concerns are highly valuable to you when facilitating the sale. You can present counterarguments or you can steer the customer toward an alternative which will better fit their needs.
But that's not the whole story from the Stanford study: In three different experiments, the researchers gave study participants a well-written restaurant review identified as coming from either an expert or a novice critic. In some of the reviews of each type, the authors had an attitude of certainty, while in the other reviews, the tone was of some uncertainty. Again, the participants who read reviews by somewhat uncertain experts were more influenced by what was said than when the tone was of certainty. But the findings were reversed when the reviewer was identified as a novice. Here it was certainty that prevailed. Why? In my opinion, it's because the combination of "novice" and "uncertain" led the consumers to pretty much discount what the restaurant critic said.
If customers will see the salesperson as a novice, it might help for that salesperson to come across with a tone of certainty in the recommendations they make. But a better alternative is for the salesperson to learn their trade so well they're consistently seen as an expert.
For your profitability: Sell Well: What Really Moves Your Shoppers
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