See me. Feel me. Touch me. Buy me.

Some recent research* validates what most of us have known for a long time - If you can get a prospect to touch the goods, they are not only more likely to buy, but to pay a higher price.

Researchers from Ohio State University and Illinois State University conducted a simple experiment with an inexpensive coffee mug that revealed that in many cases, simply touching the mug for as little as 30 seconds created an attachment that led people to pay more for the item.

According to the lead author of the study James Wolf, assistant professor of information systems at Illinois State University, “By simply touching the mug and feeling it in their hands, many people begin to feel like the mug is, in fact, their mug. Once they begin to feel it is theirs, they are willing to go to greater lengths to keep it.”

This academic research merely reinforces what the best sales pros have known intuitively for generations. It's why car salesmen ask you to take a test drive and why clothing store sales persons ask you to try it on.

It should be noted that the findings of the study are not being used to train better sales persons, but rather to help consumers understand their own buying behavior in order to make more prudent purchasing decisions.

* Ohio State University (2009, January 12). You Can Look -- But Don't Touch. Science Daily.