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Trusting first impressions can significantly boost sales, according to a new study.

The latest findings reveal that salespeople who rely on first impressions perform significantly better than those who analyzed more. 

"Salespeople can make accurate intuitive judgments of a customer's needs, and those judgments can significantly increase sales," study authors Zachary R. Hall of Texas Christian University, Michael Ahearne of University of Houston, and Harish Sujan of Tulane University, wrote. "In fact, when a salesperson deliberately rethinks first impressions of a customer, he or she might lose a potential sale."

The latest study involved four months of data from several mattress stores across the US. Researcher measured two variables: "intuitive" judgments and "deliberative" judgments of salespeople. "Intuition" was determined by how accurate salespeople were of each customer's top needs before interaction. 

The study revealed that sales people who did not deliberately rethink their first impressions or "Intuitive" thoughts performed consistently better than those who analyzed and revised their intuitive judgments.

"The study showed that while skilled deliberation is useful, overthinking can reduce performance. Results also show that empathy improves intuitive accuracy. By encouraging salespeople to focus empathetically on a customer's posture and physique, as well as their tone of voice and concrete emotions, empathy training holds real promise for improving intuitive accuracy and overall sales," researchers concluded.

The findings are published in the Journal of Marketing.