Though preliminaries are the first part of a sales call, SPIN Selling addresses them last. Preliminaries have the most negligible effect on a sales call, at least in larger sales. Major salespeople typically talk with new customers less than 5% of the time. Therefore, the initial impression is less important than the continued relationship.

While the chapter stresses that it is worthwhile for salespeople to dress nicely when meeting new clients, attending to minor details is less important. Initial meetings involve a flood of information, and the client is less likely to remember small details. Preliminaries are exceptionally difficult for data gathering because so many factors are involved. Instead, looking at sales transactions from start to finish revealed that first impressions do not necessarily impede large sales. However, they do affect small sales.

Conventional sales training focuses on preliminaries as a critical part of sales transactions. These trainings tell salespeople to connect with clients’ interests and “make an opening benefit statement” (139). These statements include “I know a busy executive such as yourself is concerned with increasing productivity. Our product has been proven to increase productivity by at least 15%. Aren’t you curious how our product can boost your company’s productivity?” (139).