Mimicry

Recently in class, we spoke about mimicry and how to do it strategically in a sales pitch. We learned how mimicry is deeply human because it allows us to connect with our fellow humans in a meaningful way and how it can be described as a social glue and is a sign of trust. This lead us to the term “the chameleon effect”, which means to mimic someone so well without revealing the technique. I found this topic very interesting as it is something that was briefly touched upon in Cutco sales training and a tactic I have used before. During one of our branch division meetings, my manager instructed us to be friendly with potential customers as always, but also to match the customer’s tone and body language minorly to attempt to come off more friendly and easier to talk too. I thought it was a little weird but decided to give it a shot in my next sales pitch. During the pitch, I sat how my potential customer sat, moved my hands how she did, and matched her tone of voice throughout the demonstration. After the 45 minutes (average presentation time), I had a feeling it had gone well but was skeptical still as my customer didn’t appear to take an interest in any specific products. After the post demonstration conversation, I asked what she thought of Cutco and if she wanted to see anything else again or had any other questions. You could imagine my surprise when she ordered our most expensive set which was over $2,000. Naturally, I would continue to use this method in every single demonstration after this amazing sale up until I stopped working for Cutco. Not all my sales were of that size, but I did sell something after every presentation after adopting the mimicry method.