Modality and Offering Effects in Sales Presentations for a Good versus a Service

More businesses than ever are using telemarketing as a complement to or substitute for face-to-face selling. More businesses than ever are also selling services in lieu of selling goods. Yet, despite these trends, no empirical research has documented the relative effectiveness of telesales versus face-to-face presentations for selling goods versus services. The author begins to fill this void in the literature by presenting an initial investigation into the effects of modality (telesales vs. face-to-face presentation) and offering (a service vs. a good) on consumer recall, attitudes, and behavioral intentions. The findings reveal that recall is higher in a face-to-face presentation, attitudes and behavioral intentions are more positive following a telesales presentation for a service, and attitudes and behavioral intentions for a good are unaffected by the nature of the sales presentation. Implications of the findings for research, business practice, and future study are discussed.