An offer you can’t refuse: consumer perceptions of sales pressure

High-pressure sales tactics may result in short-term increases in sales; however, the long-term effect of employing these tactics on the relationships among the customer, the salesperson, and the firm is generally negative. Despite this widely held view, research on sales pressure has been limited to examining the selling orientation of the salesperson and/or the firm. As such, consumer perceptions of sales pressure have been neglected, and how the consumer experiences and reacts to pressure is not well understood. A structural model of antecedents and outcomes of perceptions of sales pressure is tested using a quota sample of consumers. To facilitate this test, the authors develop and validate a scale to measure consumer perceptions of sales pressure. The resulting scale consists of two factors, aggressive sales pressure and directive sales pressure. While aggressive sales pressure results in negative satisfaction and trust outcomes, directive sales pressure does not. These results underscore the assertion that some perceived pressure on the part of the buyer, assuming there is a directive element present, may not result in negative results for the salesperson and firm.