Arguably, all of these perceived qualities could be beneficial to a salesperson in many selling situations. Other research cited on Phd.org suggests that those with beards are perceived as more powerful, more respected, older and of a higher status. In 2014, a study in the Journal of Marketing Communications found that when endorsing products, men with well-manicured beards were perceived to be more experienced and more trustworthy. I went searching for research that supports the beard. Like any good ex-lawyer, I’ve always liked to look for the counter-argument. Second, the qualities that are attributed to facial hair could arguably be positive for salespeople.

Naturally, I went searching for articles and research to support my long-held belief that salespeople need to be clean-shaven, but my research has challenged my long-held beliefs around the need to be clean-shaven for two key reasons that are pretty hard to ignore.įirst, when you review the research supporting the removal of all facial hair in more detail, the research is pretty questionable and the links to success in sales are very tenuous.

You see, historically I was not a fan of facial hair for salespeople. Let’s get it out there: I’m actually really biased on this topic. Even though your boss is no longer allowed to tell you, “Go home and shave”, as a salesperson or a sales manager, you need to pay attention to the importance of both perception and impression and how much that can impact the behaviour of both customers and prospective customers. There’s still a significant number of sales managers that are very much against facial hair for salespeople.

Mustache shave video