The Breaching Experiment: How Poor Sales Habits Spread

When I was an undergrad studying Communications, I became fascinated with studying the verbal and non-verbal communication styles and the impact it has on the motivation of others. One study has always stuck with me: the Garfinkel Experiment, now more commonly known as a Breaching Experiment. It involves observing how individuals react when surrounded by others breaking social norms. In fact, this study was my motivation for my senior graduation project. With a group of friends in on the study, we secretly filmed students all over campus as we faced the wrong way on the elevator, changed the direction of the checkout line at the bookstore, announced our name loudly as we entered a room, and sat on the floor in the library instead of the chairs. At the time, it felt like filming Jackass-style hijinks and calling it homework. However, as I watched unsuspecting students start with confusion, then succumb to peer pressure, it hit me how powerful herd mentality can be.

Over 20 years later, that class assignment still sits deeply with me. How is it that while the subjects are acutely aware that what they are doing in the moment is wrong, they do it anyway?

As someone who has trained, coached, developed, and led hundreds of salespeople in my career, it’s sad to admit that most organizations are suffering from this problem and are ignoring the consequences. It usually starts with a simple comment from a senior person to a new person along the lines of “that’s not how we do it here.” From that moment on, new concepts are discouraged, and adhering to the norms is what is expected. Whether the norms are successful is irrelevant, acceptance from the herd is the largest unspoken motivation that is plaguing performance and keeping organizations stuck in mediocrity.

The Hidden Sales Norms

Every team has both spoken and unspoken rules. How to prospect. How to qualify. How to use the CRM. How to manage the pipeline. How to close.

These norms aren’t in the handbook or the training, they live buried deep in the culture. When methodology, process, and value proposition are solid, strong norms build trust and close deals. However, when culture aligns with the wrong behaviors, bad habits spread like wildfire.

The Ripple Effect

Here’s the danger: even your top performers aren’t immune. Sometimes, they’re the root of the problem. This is especially true when leadership is blind to what is driving performance and uses the wrong person to give the spotlight and mirror across the organization.

Everyone knows the saying ‘a bad apple spoils the bunch’ but many leaders are unknowingly growing a bushel of them.

Pushing bad habits like not listening, oversharing, or “always be closing” will be swallowed up as gospel by the team. What feels awkward at first becomes normal. And soon enough, everyone starts modeling the same flawed behavior because it feels better to be liked and accepted by the herd than standing out. Even when standing out means more wins and more money.

The Takeaway for Leaders

What you focus on expands. What you ignore, you allow. This is your legacy, your culture.

Habits spread, good or bad. They don’t come with a compass. That’s the real lesson of the breaching experiment: once norms shift, people follow, even against their better judgment.

So, as a leader, ask yourself:

· Do I want this approach to be spread across my entire organization?

· Are we teaching habits that make things easier and better? Or harder and worse?

· What happens if my best people model this behavior? What happens if my new people model this behavior?

Culture spreads faster than a cold in a preschool classroom. Your sales representatives will always be primarily motivated by acceptance. Make sure that acceptance is built around healthy norms that drive results.