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[Illustration]

CERTAIN SUCCESS

_by_

Norval A. Hawkins

_Author of "The Selling Process"_



THIRD EDITION

1920
DETROIT, MICHIGAN




Contents

CHAPTER                                        PAGE

      TO BEGIN WITH . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   9
      HOW TO STUDY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  24
   I. THE UNIVERSAL NEED FOR SALES KNOWLEDGE. .  29
  II. THE MAN-STUFF YOU HAVE FOR SALE . . . . .  63
 III. SKILL IN SELLING YOUR BEST SELF . . . . . 108
  IV. PREPARING TO MAKE YOUR SUCCESS CERTAIN. . 137
   V. YOUR PROSPECTS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
  VI. GAINING YOUR CHANCE . . . . . . . . . . . 179
 VII. KNOWLEDGE OF OTHER MEN. . . . . . . . . . 209
VIII. THE KNOCK AT THE DOOR OF OPPORTUNITY
        AND THE INVITATION TO COME IN . . . . . 239
  IX. GETTING YOURSELF WANTED . . . . . . . . . 270
   X. OBSTACLES IN YOUR WAY . . . . . . . . . . 298
  XI. THE GOAL OF SUCCESS . . . . . . . . . . . 332
 XII. THE CELEBRATION STAGE . . . . . . . . . . 368




_To Begin With--_


[Sidenote: Salesmanship Essential to Assure Success]

There are particular characteristics one can have, and particular things
one can do, that will make _failure_ in life _certain_.

Why, then, should not the possession of particular opposite
characteristics, and the doing of particular opposite things, result as
_certainly_ in _success_, which is the antithesis of failure?

That is a logical, common-sense question. The purpose of this book and
its companion volume, "The Selling Process," is to answer it
convincingly for you.

Success _can_ be made certain; not, however, by the mere _possession_ of
particular characteristics, nor by just _doing_ particular things.

_Your_ success in life can be _assured_; but only if you supplement your
qualifications and make everything you do most effective _by using
continually, whatever your vocation, the art of salesmanship_.

       *       *       *       *       *

[Sidenote: Why Are Some Men Failures Who Deserve to Succeed?]

Life can hold nothing but _failure_ for the ill-natured, unsociable,
disgusting tramp who is known to be ignorant, lazy, shiftless, a
spendthrift, a liar, and an all-around crook. Such a worthless man will
make a complete failure of life because he is so _dis_-qualified to
succeed.

On the other hand certain success ought to be achieved by the
good-natured, intelligent, reliable man who continually wins friends;
the truthful man who has a fine reputation for thrift, honesty,
neatness, and love for his work. He seems entirely worthy of success.
Yet for reasons that baffle himself and his friends it sometimes happens
that such a man is unsuccessful.

The defeat in life of one who appears so deserving of victory seems to
prove that success cannot be _assured_ by the development of individual
characteristics and by doing specific things. But such a wholly negative
conclusion would be wrong. When a worthy man fails, he loses out because
he lacks an essential _positive_ factor of certain success--the ability
to _sell_ his capabilities. _By mastering the selling process this
failure can turn himself into a success_.

[Sidenote: Self-advertised Disqualifications Unrecognized Capabilities]

We are sure of the failure of the man who is utterly disqualified to
succeed; not because he _has_ particular faults, but because they
_self-advertise and sell the idea_ of his disqualifications for success.
His characteristics and actions make on our minds an impression of his
general worthlessness. Defects are apt to attract attention, while
perfection often passes unnoticed.

Millions of worthy men, otherwise qualified for success, have failed
solely because their merits were not appreciated and rewarded as they
would have been if recognized. Capabilities, like goods, are
_profitless_ until they are _sold_. Therefore the man who deserves to
win out in life can make his victory _sure_ only by learning and
practicing with skill the certain success methods of the master
salesman.

       *       *       *       *       *

[Sidenote: The Duty to Succeed]

Down through all the ages has come the _duty_ to succeed. It was
enjoined in the Parable of the Talents. No one has the right to do less
than his best. Then only can he claim full justification for his
existence. The Creator accepts no excuses for failure. Every personal
quality, and every opportunity to succeed that a man has, must be used,
to entitle him to the rewards of success. He owes not only to himself
and to his fellows, but also to God, the obligation of developing his
_utmost capability_. If he does not pay dividends on the divine
investment in him, his dereliction is justly punished by failure in
life. Sometimes he even forfeits the right to live.

[Sidenote: Success Cannot be Copied]

Many ambitious people, who recognize their duty to succeed but do not
know how to go about it, make a common mistake in thinking. They believe
the secret of certain success can be learned from _examples_; that
success can be _copied_. So men who have succeeded conspicuously are
often asked to state and explain their rules, for the benefit of other
men who regard them as oracles.

[Sidenote: Other Men's Formulas]

Doubtless you have read much about Marshall Field, J. Pierpont Morgan,
Charles M. Schwab, and similar outstanding business men. You have
studied their principles of success. You have tried to practice their
methods. But somehow the most careful following of their directions has
not made you a multi-millionaire, nor can you see riches as a prospect.
Naturally you are both disappointed and puzzled. Perhaps you have tested
faithfully for years various formulas of success extracted from the
advice of successful men. Yet _you_ have failed, or have achieved only
partial and unsatisfying success. You have been unable to solve the
problem that you once felt so sure could be worked out by the rules you
mastered.

Maybe you have become discouraged and have given up, in disgust, your
ambition for achievement. Very likely you have said to yourself,
"Success is so much a matter of luck and circumstances, there's no way
to make sure of it. I've done everything that Marshall Field, J.
Pierpont Morgan, and Charles M. Schwab have counseled; but I'm still
plugging along on an ordinary salary. Rules for certain success are
bunk. Luck has to break right for a man."

[Sidenote: The Element of Luck]

Unquestionably good luck _has_ brought success to some men who would
have failed without its aid. It is equally beyond doubt that bad luck
has prevented other men from achieving their ambitions. Of course _such_
successes and failures do not fall within any rules. They are altogether
exceptional, and neither prove nor disprove general principles.

Eliminating the factor of luck, good or bad, the success of any normal,
deserving man _can_ be made certain _to the extent of his individual
capacity_. Some men have different or bigger capacities than others;
hence not all successes will be of the same kind, or alike in extent.
But any normal, deserving man can assure himself as great a success as
he is fitted to achieve. It is necessary, however, that he do more than
_develop his utmost capability_. He must learn to employ skillful
salesmanship, in order to _market_ his "goods of sale," or personal
qualifications, _most profitably_.

[Sidenote: Sales Skill Necessary]

Each of us has to make _his own pattern_ of success. "The individual
should develop his individuality," instead of attempting to imitate
anybody else. It is even more necessary for him to _use_ most
effectively all the natural powers he builds up.

A man can assure his success only if he learns how to utilize his
personal qualifications _so as to create and control his opportunities_
to succeed. He should be able to _bring himself to good luck_, and not
expect anybody or any event to bring good luck to him.

One cannot make the most effective use of his capabilities, he cannot
create and control his chances to succeed, until he develops skill in
salesmanship, which is necessary to market his qualifications
profitably. He must practice "selling himself" until the habit of using
sales skill in everything he does and says becomes second nature to him.
Sales skill is the _dynamic_ factor of success. It transforms potential
powers into actual accomplishments. It enables the qualified man to turn
his individual capabilities to best account.

       *       *       *       *       *

[Sidenote: Opportunity A Constant Companion]

Sometimes a man says, as an excuse for his failure, "I never had a
chance." The truth is that Opportunity is a constant companion to every
man. Each of us has _within himself_ limitless wealth. All normal people
are rich in ability. It is possible for anyone to become more
prosperous. _He need only turn his possibilities into realities._ When a
man capable of accumulating riches continues poor, he is like the
shipwrecked discoverer of a bonanza gold mine on an uncharted island. He
cannot exchange his potential wealth for the things he desires; because
he is unable to market his raw gold.

Similarly you who have not yet succeeded are _potentially_ rich. If you
possess the generally recognized fundamentals of success; such as
characteristic honesty, intelligence, energy, etc., you are not
handicapped for want of a market. Even though you now may seem to lack
some of the essential qualifications, you are capable of succeeding.
Every necessary characteristic of the successful man is _latent_ in your
nature and can be brought out by development. You have not yet done your
utmost with the best that is in you.

[Sidenote: Your Market Not Lacking]

First you should resolve to make yourself completely _worthy_ to
succeed. Meanwhile you should be learning how to sell your "goods." On
every hand there are markets in which qualities like yours are being
sold successfully by other men. Undoubtedly there will be a purchaser
for the best that is in you when you bring it out; provided you present
your "goods of sale" in the most skillful way. All about you are highly
prosperous people with no more innate merits than you have. Certainly
the market for your particular abilities is within reach. Golden
opportunities of which you have not taken the fullest advantage surround
you and touch your daily activities. If you have not grasped your
chance, it was because you did not _know how_ to reach out with all your
capabilities. In other words, possessing the fundamental qualifications
for success, you have stood in the midst of the world's need for such
capabilities as yours, _but you have not gone through the selling
process_.

You have failed thus far to achieve your ambition, simply because _you
have been an unsuccessful salesman of yourself_ to the world.

Perhaps you never have thought of yourself as a salesman. You may not
have realized the importance _to you_ of knowing and practicing the
principles of skillful selling. Only one per cent of the people in the
United States _call_ themselves salesmen or saleswomen. Yet in order to
succeed, each of us must sell his or her particular qualifications. Your
knowledge and use of the selling process are essential to assure your
success in life.

       *       *       *       *       *

[Sidenote: Master Salesmen Made, Not Born]

The best commercial executives agree that the most effective selling
representative of a house is not the "natural born" salesman, but the
salesman who is _made_ highly efficient by training. So every big,
successful business conducts a course in salesmanship. Thorough tests
have proved that particular principles and methods of selling are sure
to produce the highest average of orders. Therefore these principles and
methods are followed as _standard practice_ in the sales department.

That is, in order to _assure_ the success of an individual salesman, he
is required and aided to develop particular qualifications and to do
certain things that master executives have learned will get the orders
and hold the trade of buyers. The qualified professional salesman is
drilled thoroughly in tested principles and methods of selling. He is
trained to use this standard sales knowledge skillfully. As a result he
works in the field with complete confidence.

Why should he doubt that he will succeed? He knows his own limitations
and capabilities; knows the true worth of his line; knows there is a
market in his territory; knows how to sell in the ways that have been
proved most effective; and knows that practice of right salesmanship
will make him skillful in getting and holding business. Verily such
"knowledge is power."

       *       *       *       *       *

[Sidenote: Certain Success With the Selling Process]

_Your_ success in selling _yourself_ can be made as certain as is a
successful career to the first-class professional salesman. This book
and its companion volume will explain in detail salesmanship ways to
develop your best capabilities most effectively. You will be given the
principles and methods employed by the expert salesman in marketing any
kind of right goods. You will also be shown how to sell yourself by
adapting his practices to your "goods of sale."

When you comprehend, and employ as second nature, the usages of the
finest sales art, your success in life, like that of the master
professional salesman, will be _certain_.

[Sidenote: Ideas of Goods Not the Goods Themselves Are Sold]

If you have not _called_ yourself a salesman, perhaps you doubt the
value to you of skill in selling. All you have to market is the best
that is in yourself. Your ambition may be to succeed as a doctor, or
lawyer, or preacher, or clerk, or mechanic, or farmer, or banker. You do
not see how salesmanship could assure _your_ success, however much it
might help some one with commercial ambitions.

If you think it would not be worth while for you to master the selling
process, since you do not expect to engage in the _profession_ of
selling, you misconceive the functions and work of the salesman. You
have thought he sells "_goods_;" and that as you do not deal in
commodities, you would have no practical use for the selling process he
employs to assure his success. But even the shoe salesman, or grocery
salesman, or real estate salesman, or insurance salesman does not really
sell _goods_. He sells _ideas about_ goods. Similarly you sell ideas
about yourself in order to succeed.

[Sidenote: When the Goods and the Ideas Are Different]

A sale is often completed in business without any inspection of the
actual "goods" by the purchaser; as when a quantity of standard sheet
copper is specified, or when the salesman describes a piece of machinery
or shows a picture of it with a catalogue number. The "goods" are to be
delivered later. However, the _selling process is finished;_ though only
the mind's eye of the buyer has seen what he anticipates getting on his
order. The salesman has presented nothing except _certain ideas_ to the
mental vision of the prospect. But these ideas have been sold so
realistically to the imagination of the purchaser that he gives his
order for what he _expects_.

Suppose the goods delivered later do not correspond with the particular
ideas about them that have been sold. For example, the sheet copper
furnished is not as specified in the contract, or the machine shipped is
not the same as the salesman pictured when he got the order for it. Then
there has been _no sale_ of the different "goods." The intending
purchaser bought _particular ideas_. He will not accept the delivery of
_goods unlike the ideas sold_ to him.

[Sidenote: Know Your Prospect's Idea]

Another illustration. A real estate salesman describes a bungalow to a
prospect for a home. He shows plans and specifications, with accurate
dimensions; there is no misrepresentation of any detail. The salesman
especially emphasizes, what is his own belief, that the bungalow would
make a "cozy" home. The prospect decides to buy the property. He says,
"If it is as you describe it, I'll take that place." _The sale to his
mind has been completed._ All that remains is delivery of a bungalow
corresponding to the ideas sold. The delighted salesman escorts the
buyer to the "cozy home." But the empty rooms do not confirm the idea
emphasized to the prospect. The salesman cannot furnish them
convincingly with his imaginative "cozy" word pictures. He has made the
mistake of omitting to learn the other man's conception of a cozy home
before selling the expectation of coziness. He is shocked when the sale
is declared annulled with the prospect's contradiction of his
description, "There's nothing cozy about this place." The intending
buyer of a home feels there has been a misrepresentation; though the
bungalow is exactly like the plans and specifications shown to him. He
was sold an idea that "the goods" have not delivered; so he declares the
sale off. A sale is a success only when _true ideas_ are sold, and
afterward are delivered by _the goods_.

[Sidenote: Selling Ideas About Yourself]

If you "have the goods" and would succeed _certainly_ in your chosen
vocation, you must _sell_ to the world or to individual buyers _true
ideas_ about your particular qualifications for success--true ideas
regarding _your best capabilities_ and the _value_ of your services.
Your "goods of sale" may be your muscular power; your brain energy; your
talents, skill, integrity, and knowledge in this capacity or in that.
Whatever qualities you possess, it is necessary that some one be sold
the idea of their full worth, or you cannot succeed. No matter how
valuable your services _might_ be, they have only potential worth until
another man, or some business, or the world at large _perceives
desirable possibilities in you and buys the expectation that you will
"deliver the goods_."

Probably you have said to yourself, "If I had the chance, I know I could
deliver the goods." We will grant that you are able to make delivery.
However, _before you will be given a chance_ you must get across to the
mind of some prospective buyer of muscular power, or brain energy, or
other capabilities such as you could supply, the true idea that _you
have_ "the goods" he needs and that your qualifications would be a
satisfactory purchase _for him_.

In other words, it is necessary that you use _the selling process_
effectively, with thorough scientific knowledge and a high degree of
art, _in order to make certain of gaining your opportunity_ for success.
You have no doubt that you can succeed if you get the chance. But you
have not realized, perhaps, that _you can make yourself the master of
your own destiny by first learning and then practicing until it becomes
second nature to you the sure, salesmanship way to gain the
opportunities you deserve_. After you _comprehend_ the sure process, you
can soon develop _skill in actually selling_ to other men true ideas of
the best that is in you.

[Sidenote: The Secret of Certain Success]

The secret of _certain success_ in life for you, then, _whatever your
vocation or ambition_, lies in knowing HOW to sell true ideas of your
best capability in the right market or field of service. The chapters of
the present book, supplemented by the contents of the companion volume,
"The Selling Process," should reveal to you clearly every principal
detail of this secret.

[Sidenote: No 100% Salesmen]

Before you proceed further with the study of successful salesmanship as
analyzed in these pages, avoid a possible misconception of masterly
selling. Even the most efficient salesman does not get _all_ the orders
for which he tries. By his knowledge and skill his average of failures
is minimized; therefore everybody recognizes him as a great success.

So, however well you comprehend the selling process, and however
skillfully you use it in your career, you will not _always_ accomplish
the particular purpose to which you apply your salesmanship. But you
will markedly lessen the number and importance of your failures to do
the things you attempt. You will also increase to an extraordinary
degree the quantity, quality, and profitable results of your successful
efforts. You will make a grand average so high that you will feel you
are a real success. Others, too, will so regard you.

[Sidenote: The Master Key]

Therefore, whatever your life ambition, study the selling process until
you understand it thoroughly; then perfect your skill by daily practice
in selling your ideas, and ideas about yourself, to other people. When
you know HOW to sell true ideas of your best capability in your chosen
market or field of service, and have become expert in _applying_ what
you have learned, you can use salesmanship continually in your everyday
work. You should feel _absolute assurance_ that with its aid you can
open the treasure house of your desires.

_This universal master key that fits all locks now between you and
success can be made by your own hands and head. You have begun to shape
it for your future use._




_How to Study Certain Success with The Selling Process_


[Sidenote: Suggestion To Salesmen]

The professional salesman or saleswoman who undertakes the thorough
study of both this book and its companion volume, might better read
first "The Selling Process," the chapters of which apply especially to
his or her vocation.

If you are a "salesman," therefore, begin your study with the
introduction to that book. When you have read "The Selling Process"
once, start "Certain Success" and master it. Then re-read the other book
in the light of the new ideas that will have been shed upon its contents
by the present text.

The practical value of "Certain Success" and "The Selling Process" to
you as a salesman will be multiplied a hundredfold if both are kept
handy for _continual reference_. The marginal index should enable you to
find quickly any point regarding which you want to refresh your
recollection. This set of books was not written to collect dust on a
library shelf. No salesman can get the full worth out of the pages
unless he _uses_ "Certain Success" and "The Selling Process" _as working
tools_.

[Sidenote: If Your Vocation Is Not Selling]

If you are not engaged in selling as a vocation, and have not realized
before that you must be a good salesman or saleswoman in order to
achieve your life ambition, commence mastering the secret of certain
success with the selling process by reading thoroughly the book now in
your hands. This preliminary study will increase your ability to read
intelligently the more technical contents of "The Selling Process." Do
not skip or slight any portion of either book. You cannot afford to miss
a single bit of information regarding the sure way to succeed.

       *       *       *       *       *

[Sidenote: Purpose and Scope of the Two Books]

This is the first publication of "Certain Success," but five large
editions of "The Selling Process" were required in 1919 and 1920 to
supply the demand from all over the world. The two books, each complete
in itself, now are issued together under the double title, CERTAIN
SUCCESS WITH THE SELLING PROCESS; though either "Certain Success" or
"The Selling Process" may be ordered alone.

My chief purpose in preparing this set has been to stimulate each
reader's comprehension of the value of skillful salesmanship _to him_.
All of us who are ambitious to make the most of the best that is in us
need to be first-class salesmen, whether we market "goods" or our
personal capabilities. As has been emphasized repeatedly in this
preface, _every one who would succeed in life must know HOW to sell his
qualifications to the highest advantage_. Poor salesmanship is
responsible for most of the failures of people who really _deserve_ to
succeed. It is almost surely fatal to ambitious hopes in any trade,
profession, or business.

CERTAIN SUCCESS WITH THE SELLING PROCESS covers in outline the whole
subject of Salesmanship. But the scope of this set does not afford room
to give here a minutely detailed exposition of the special processes of
making sales in particular businesses. I have compiled for you, rather,
the _general principles_ of effective selling that may be _universally
applied_. "Certain Success" and "The Selling Process" are handbooks of
fundamental ideas which each reader, by his individual thinking, should
amplify and fit to his own work or ambition.

       *       *       *       *       *

[Sidenote: Real Study Required]

The fine art of successful salesmanship cannot be mastered in a few
hours of casual reading. You will not be able, immediately after
glancing through these books, to unlock every long-desired golden
opportunity with absolute assurance. CERTAIN SUCCESS WITH THE SELLING
PROCESS must be _studied out_. You should keep them always at hand like
your bank books, and draw on the contents for your salesmanship needs
from day to day.

You will get only a smattering of the secret of certain success if you
just skim over the chapters, and skip whatever requires you to think
hard in order to comprehend it all. But if you dig into the meaning of
each sentence for the full idea, you will enrich yourself with
constantly increasing power and skill in selling. _So you will surely
become a real success_.

       *       *       *       *       *

[Sidenote: Tested Working Tools]

The principles and methods of successful salesmanship summarized in
these companion books, though they will be new to most readers, are not
mere personal theories. They all have been demonstrated and tested in
actual practice during my twelve years experience as Commercial and
General Sales Manager of the Ford Motor Company. Under my direction in
the course of that period Ford sales were multiplied one hundred
thirty-two times--from 6,181 to 815,912 cars a year. The fundamental
principles and methods that I have tested and proved to be most
successful in selling automobiles and good will should work equally well
in any profession, or business, or trade; and for any normal,
intelligent man or woman who uses them continually.

[Sidenote: Dollars and Cents Value]

Since the first publication of "The Selling Process" thousands of
enthusiastic readers of the book have voluntarily borne witness to its
practical, dollars-and-cents value to them in their daily work.
Preachers, doctors, lawyers, bank officials, clerks, book-keepers,
mechanics, laborers; as well as business executives and sales managers
and salesmen--men and women in scores of widely different
vocations--unite in testifying to their increased earning power and
fuller satisfaction in living and working. They credit these results to
their study and continued use of "The Selling Process." The value of
that book will be at least doubled by the supplemental reading of
"Certain Success." Therefore the two are now published as a set of
working tools for any ambitious man or woman who is resolved to _earn_
success.

NORVAL A. HAWKINS

Majestic Building,
Detroit, Michigan.




CHAPTER I

_The Universal Need For Sales Knowledge_


[Sidenote: Analysis of Secret of Certain Success]

The Secret of Certain Success has four principal elements. It comprises:

(1) Knowing how to sell

(2) The true idea

(3) Of one's best capabilities

(4) In the right market or field of service.

_Your_ success will be in direct proportion to your thorough knowledge
and continual use of _all four parts_ of the whole secret. No matter how
great your effort, an entire lack of one or more of these principal
elements of Certain Success will cause partial or utter failure in your
life ambition. You will be like a man who tries to open a safe with a
four-combination lock, though he knows only two or three of the numbers.

No one, however well fitted for success elsewhere, can succeed in the
_wrong field_, or in rendering services for which _he_ is not qualified.
Nor is complete success attainable by a man unless he develops the
_best_ that is in him. Even if he brings to the right market his utmost
ability, he may fail miserably by making a _false impression_ that he
is unfitted for the opportunity he wants. Or he may be overlooked
because he does not make the _true_ impression of his fitness.

Evidently, in order to gain a _chance_ to succeed, anyone must first
_sell_ to the fullest advantage the idea that he is _the_ man for the
opportunity already waiting or for the new opening he makes for himself.
Of course he cannot do this _surely_ unless he _knows how_. Therefore
sales knowledge is _universally needed_ to complement the three other
principal elements of the complete secret of certain success.

[Sidenote: Reasons for Failures]

When we try to explain the failure of any man who seems worthy to have
succeeded, we nearly always say, in substance, one of three things about
his case:

"He is a square peg in a round hole;" by which we usually mean he is a
right man in the wrong place.

Or, "He is capable of filling a better position;" a more polite way of
saying that a man has outgrown his present job but has not developed
ability to get a bigger one.

Oftenest, probably, we declare, "He isn't appreciated."

Very rarely is a worthy man's failure in life ascribed to the commonest
cause--_his personal inefficiency in selling_ to the world comprehension
of his especial qualifications for success.

[Sidenote: What Failures Realize]

If a man is a square peg in a round hole, he should realize that his
particular qualities must be fitted into the right field for them before
he can succeed. A natural "organizer" cannot achieve his ambitions if he
works alone at a routine task.

No sensible man would aspire to fill a better position than he holds,
unless he had developed a capacity beyond the limitations of his present
work. The shipping clerk who craves the higher salary of a correspondent
knows he cannot hope for the desired promotion if he has not learned to
write good business letters.

However deserving of advancement a man may be, he realizes he has but a
slim chance to succeed if his worth is unrecognized. So he wants
appreciation from his chief. He knows that unless his worth is perceived
and truly valued, some one else, who may be less qualified, is apt to be
selected for the "Manager's" job he desires. Such "injustices" have
poisoned countless disappointed hopes with bitterest resentment.

The deserving man who fails because he is a misfit in his particular
position, the worthy man who is limited to a small career because the
work he does lacks scope for the use of all his ability; the third good
man who has been kept down for the reason that his chief is blind to his
qualifications for promotion--all three of these failures understand
pretty clearly the reasons for their non-success.

[Sidenote: When Lack of Salesmanship Causes Failure]

It is very different in the case of the capable man who fails because he
has been _inefficient in selling true impressions_ of his qualifications
for success. A private secretary, for illustration, might be thoroughly
competent for managerial duties; but by his self-effacement in his
present job he might make the false impression that he was wanting in
executive capacity. He would be given a chance as manager if he were
effective in creating a true impression of his administrative ability.
Such a capable man, if he has little or no scientific knowledge of the
selling _process_ is apt also to lack comprehension of the value _to
him_ of knowing _how to sell ideas_. He does not happen to call himself
a salesman. Therefore he has never studied with personal interest the
fine art of selling. He does not realize that _ignorance of
salesmanship_, and _consequent non-use of the selling process, almost
always are responsible for the merely partial success or the downright
failure in life of the man who deserves to win, but who loses out_.

[Sidenote: Who Is To Blame for Failure]

One may feel able to "deliver the goods," were he given the chance. He
may know where his best capability is greatly needed and would be highly
appreciated if recognized. Yet the door of opportunity may not open to
his deserving hand, however hard he tries to win his way in. His failure
seems to him altogether unfair, the rankest injustice from Fortune.

If a man knows he is completely fitted to fill a higher position, he
feels considerable self-confidence when he first applies for it. But his
real ability may not be recognized by his chief. The ambitious man may
be denied the coveted chance to take the step upward to the bigger
opportunities for which he rightly believes himself qualified. If his
deserts and his utmost efforts do not win the promotion he desires, he
grows discouraged. He loses the taste of zest for his work. His earlier
optimism oozes away. After awhile his ambition slumps. Then he resigns
himself sullenly to the conviction that he is a failure _but is not to
blame_.

[Sidenote: Dynamic Quality Lacking]

Leaving out of consideration most exceptional, unpreventable bad luck,
the worthy man who fails in life _is_ to blame. He is not, as he thinks,
a victim of circumstances or ill-fate. His failure is due to his
ignorance of the first of the four principal factors of the secret of
certain success. _Potentially_ qualified to succeed, he does not have
the absolutely necessary _dynamic_ element. He lacks an essential
characteristic of the self-made successful man, a characteristic which
any one of intelligence can learn how to develop--_a high degree of
capability in gaining his own opportunities to succeed_.

He does not know _how to sell true ideas about himself_; though he may
realize the importance of making the best impression possible. So,
however, he tries, he cannot get his deserved chances to succeed. He
could secure them _easily_ if he comprehended the selling process of the
master salesman, and used it with skill. This process of masterly
selling is the key to certain success for the fully qualified man in any
vocation.

[Sidenote: Making and Governing One's Own Good Luck]

A capable applicant will invariably be given a chance to succeed, if he
takes the best that is in him to a man who has need of such services as
he could render, and then _sells the true idea of his ability_. He has
mastered _all four principal elements of the complete secret of certain
success_. Consequently he is able to create and to control his
opportunities to succeed. He makes and governs his own good luck.

Everywhere the most desirable positions in the business world are in
need of men who can fill them. Only the poorer jobs are crowded. But
when Opportunity has to seek the man, the _right_ one is often
overlooked. The golden chance is gained by another--less qualified and
less worthy, perhaps; but _a better salesman of himself_. The fully
competent man, however, can _assure_ his success by becoming proficient
in selling true ideas of his best capability in the right market or
field of service. The master salesman of himself makes his own chances
to succeed, and therefore runs no risk of being overlooked by
Opportunity.

[Sidenote: Success Way Is Charted]

Master salesmen of ideas about "goods" use _particular selling
processes_ to get their ideas across _surely_ to the minds of
prospective buyers. The professional salesman, therefore, has plainly
charted the way to certain success in any vocation, for the man who has
developed the best that is in him. If you are a candidate for a
position, do not let a prospective employer _buy_ your services at _his_
valuation, for he is certain to under-estimate you. _Sell_ him true
ideas of your merits. Set a fair price on your _worth_, and _get_ across
to his mind the true idea that you would be worth that much _to him_.
Such skillful salesmanship used by an applicant for a position can be
depended on to make the best possible impression of his desirability;
just as the practiced art of the professional salesman enables him to
present the qualities and values of his goods in the most favorable
light. The _masterly selling process_ is not very difficult to learn.
Proficiency in its use can be gained gradually by any one who practices
consciously every day the actual sale of ideas in the artistic way.

[Sidenote: Knowledge of Salesmanship Develops Confidence]

As was stated in the Introduction to this book, it has been proved
conclusively in business that particular principles and methods of
selling are certain to produce the highest average of closed orders. In
other words, success for the professional salesman is _assured_ if he
develops certain qualifications, and if he does certain things; all
within the capacity of any normal, intelligent man. Scientific sales
executives know positively, as the result of comparative tests, that the
salesman who develops these personal qualifications, and who does these
things, should get his quota of business and hold it. Hence, as has been
said, specific training is given in the sales schools of the most
successful businesses, along the lines of best selling practice.

[Sidenote: Practical Principles]

When the individual salesman who has been so trained commences work in
his territory, he learns in his experiences with buyers that the
principles and methods he has been taught are actually _most effective_.
Assuming that he has developed his _best capabilities_ pretty fully, and
that he has become fairly _skillful_ in using what he knows about how to
sell his line, he works with continually growing confidence that he will
succeed. Why should he doubt his complete selling power? He knows there
is a _field for his goods_ in this territory. He knows clearly and
vividly _what ideas_ he wants to get across to the minds of prospective
buyers. He knows--most important of all--_just how_ to make convincing
and attractive impressions of the desirability and true value of what he
presents for purchase. He comprehends the _most effective ways_ to show
prospects both their _need_ for his goods and that he has come, with a
real purpose of service, to _satisfy_ that need.

You, the non-professional salesman of yourself, will sell _your_ "goods
of sale" with similar complete confidence in your power to gain and to
control your opportunities for success--if you, too, use the right
selling process.

This set of books explains and demonstrates in detail the principles and
methods of _the successful salesman of ideas_. The Introduction and
twelve Chapters of the present series apply the selling process
especially to _the sale of ideas about one's self_, with particular
relation to _self-advancement_ in the world. "The Selling Process,"
companion book to "Certain Success," shows the master _professional_
salesman at work, getting orders with _assurance_.

[Sidenote: Hard Study Necessary]

The fact that you have proceeded thus far in reading "Certain Success"
proves you have an earnest purpose to make the most of your present
opportunity to learn _how_ to succeed with certainty. We will assume
that you have developed your individual ability pretty fully, and that
you know where there is a field for such services as you are sure you
could render if afforded the chance. Surely, then, your ambition in
life, whatever it may be, is a sufficient incentive to the most thorough
study of the principles and methods of successful salesmanship. Do not
merely _read_ this set of books. MASTER "Certain Success" and "The
Selling Process" to make yourself the master of your own destiny.

Again and again, lest at any time while you study you might fall below
100% in _absolute assurance_, you will read in these chapters the
assertion that your success can be made _certain_. This statement is not
an exaggeration. It is necessary that you accept it literally throughout
your reading of this set of books. Do not take it "with a grain of
salt." The taste of the declaration that the selling process makes
success sure will become familiar after these many repetitions. Realize
when you come upon the repeated idea as you proceed with your study that
your continued reading should frequently be reenforced by a steadily
growing conviction that you _are_ mastering the sure way to succeed. You
believe in yourself more than you did when you began to read this book.
This increasing faith should develop to complete confidence when you
have dug _into_ the text of both "Certain Success" and "The Selling
Process," and have dug _out_ every idea in the twenty-four chapters.

[Sidenote: Salesmanship Not a Science But an Art]

At the outset of your present study comprehend that salesmanship is not
a _science_. Rather, it is an _art_. Like every other art, however, it
has a _related_ science. Selling is a _process. Knowledge about the
principles and methods_ that make the process most effective is the
related _science_. But such knowledge supplies only the best foundation
for building success by the _actual practice_ of most effective
salesmanship. The master salesman practices the scientific principles
and methods he has learned until the _skillful use_ of his knowledge in
every-day selling becomes _second nature_ to him. Thus, and thus only,
is his _art_ perfected.

You will gain _knowledge_ from these books about _how_ to sell with
assurance the true idea of your best capabilities--about _how_ to sell
any "goods of sale" unfailingly. But you can develop the _skill_
necessary to the _actual achievement_ of certain success only if you
_continually use_ what you learn about the selling process. You must
perfect your selling _art_ by the intelligent employment of every _word_
and _tone_ and _act_ of your life to attract other men to you, and to
impress on them convincingly true ideas of your particular ability.

[Sidenote: Be a Salesman Every Minute]

The master professional salesman is "always on the job" with his three
means of self-expression, to get across to prospects true ideas of the
desirability and value of his goods. He is a salesman _every minute_,
and in _everything_ he does or says. You can become as efficient as he,
in selling ideas about _your_ "goods of sale," if your proficiency
becomes as _easy and natural_ as his. Such ease is the _sure_ result of
sufficient right practice.

You have countless opportunities daily to make use of the selling
process. In each expression of yourself--in your every word, tone, and
act--you convey _some_ idea of your particular character and ability.
You should _know how_ to make _true, attractive_ impressions of your
_best_ self; and how to avoid making _untrue_ and _unfavorable_
impressions by what you do and say. Then, when you have _learned_ the
most effective _way_ to sell ideas about yourself that you want other
people to have, it is necessary that you _use_ the selling process
consciously all the time until you grow into the habit of using it
unconsciously, as your second nature. Once you are accustomed to _acting
the salesman continually_, it will be no more difficult for _you_ to be
"always on the job" selling right ideas of your qualifications for
success, than it is for the _professional_ user of the selling process
to be a salesman "every minute."

[Sidenote: Your "Goods of Sale"]

As already has been emphasized, "the goods of sale" in your case are
your _best_ capabilities. You need first of all to _know_ your true
self, before you can sell true ideas about your qualifications for
success. Your _true_ self is your _best_ self. You are untrue to
yourself, you balk your own ambition to succeed, unless you develop to
the _utmost of your capacity_ your particular salable qualities.

You do not need qualities _you_ now wholly lack. You should not attempt
to "salt" the gold mine in yourself with the characteristics of _other_
men who have succeeded by the development and use of capabilities that
were natural to _them_, but that would be unnatural to _you_. It is
worse than futile--it is foolish for you to imitate anybody else. Just
be _your_ best self. Make the most of what _you_ have that is salable.
You require no more to assure your success.

[Sidenote: Selling the Truth About Your Best Self]

Every individual has distinct characteristics, and is capable of doing
particular things, of which he may be genuinely proud if he fully
develops and uses his personal qualifications. _When all the truth about
his best possible self is skillfully made known to others_, chances for
success are certain to be opened to the ambitious man. If he lacks the
salesmanship key, the doors of opportunity may always remain closed,
however well he deserves to be welcomed.

_You_ possess "goods of sale" that have real _quality_, that are
_durable_, that will render _service_ and afford pleasurable
satisfaction to others. _Your_ goods can be sold as _surely_ as quality
phonographs, durable automobile tires, serviceable clothes, or pleasing
books.

Maybe you can "deliver the goods" with smiles, or hearty tones, or ready
acts of kindness. Any one can easily be friendly. But have you developed
_all your ability_ to smile genuinely? Have you cultivated the hearty
tone of real kindness so that now it is _unnatural_ for you ever to
speak in any other way? Do you perform friendly acts of consideration
for others on _every_ occasion, as second nature?

If your honest answers to such questions must be negative, you are not
a good salesman of your best self all the time.

[Sidenote: Your Salable Qualities]

Your most salable quality may be dependability, rather than quick
thinking. If this is the case, concentrate your salesmanship on making
impressions of the true idea of _your reliability_. Your greatest
success will be achieved in some field of service where dependableness
is a primary essential. You may be _naturally unfitted_ to make a star
reporter, but _peculiarly qualified_ to develop into the cashier of a
bank.

Should you happen to be unattractive in features, your job is to
transform your homeliness into a _likable_ quality--not to try to make
yourself appear handsome. If you are wholly inexperienced, that need not
be a detriment to your success in the field you want to enter. When you
have mastered the selling process, your very greenness can be presented
before the mind of a prospective employer as the best of reasons for
engaging you. You will be able to make yourself appear desirable because
you _are_ green in that field, and therefore have no wrong ideas to
"unlearn."

[Sidenote: Know All of Yourself]

You can greatly improve your chances to get the job for which you are
best adapted, if you use the reciprocal selling process employed by the
professional salesman when he sells his services to a house. He meets
the head of the concern as his man-equal, and does not just offer
himself "for hire." Such a consciousness of your man-equality when you
are face to face with a prospective employer can result only from
certain, analytical _knowledge of your best self_, complemented by
_knowing how to sell_ the true idea of your particular desirability and
worth.

Very likely you think you are seriously _handicapped_ in many ways.
Having made no detailed analysis of yourself from a salesman's
view-point, you do not appreciate fully the number and the market value
of the _advantages_ you might have. Probably some of your best, most
salable qualities are latent or but partly developed.

[Sidenote: Chart Necessary]

List _your_ particular "goods of sale." Put down on a chart, not only
the qualities you have now, but all the additional ones you feel
_capable of developing_. Then you will realize vividly that you possess
many abilities, some undeveloped yet, which are always needed in the
world. You know that such qualities _should_ be readily salable, to the
mutual benefit of yourself and of buyers. You are learning the selling
process in order to make certain that _you can_ sell the best that is in
_you_, as other men are selling themselves successfully.

Complete your chart by listing your various _defects_. Then study out
ways to use even _your particular faults_ differently than you have been
handling them; so that they will help you, instead of being hindrances
to your success. Think of some people you know, and of how they have
turned their physical "liabilities" into "assets" of popularity.

The very first sales knowledge you need is of exactly what _you_ have to
sell. You cannot see _all_ of yourself, your good and bad
points--yourself as you _are_, and as you _might be_--unless you make a
detailed chart of your "goods of sale." One of the most important
immediate effects of such a self-analysis will be increased
self-respect. Your handicaps will shrink, and the peculiar advantages
you have will grow before your eyes. You should feel new confidence in
your own ability.

[Sidenote: Man-Equality]

With this confidence will come a feeling that you are not the inferior
of another man who has achieved a larger measure of success than you
have gained. When you start the sale of true ideas of your best self to
an employer-buyer of such services as you are capable of rendering, you
will have an innate consciousness of your man-equality with him. You
should realize that this sale of yourself, like all other true sales, is
to be a transaction of reciprocal benefits, and should be conducted on
the basis of mutual respect.

It is your right to take pains that the prospective buyer of your
services shall sell himself to you as the boss you want to work with.
Expect him to sell himself to you as a desirable employer just as
thoroughly and satisfyingly as you intend to sell yourself to him as a
worthy applicant for an opportunity in his business. When you have
definite, sure knowledge of your capability and service value, you
certainly should not be willing to take "any old job."

There is no better way to make the impression of _your desirability_ as
an employee than to demonstrate that you are _choosing_ your employment
intelligently. In explaining your choice, give specific reasons for your
selection of this particular opening. Show that you comprehend _what is
to be done_. Give some indication of your ability to do it _efficiently_
and _satisfactorily_. Suggest the _worth_ of your services when you
shall have proved your fitness.

[Sidenote: Require Employer to Sell You the Job]

The ordinary man who applies for a job in the ordinary way is accepted
or turned down wholly at the discretion of the employer. If you use the
selling process skillfully, you will suggest that _you_ are out of the
ordinary class. Of course, you should demonstrate in your salesmanship
that you are not over-rating your ability. The other man must be made to
feel you have sound reasons for your bearing of equality and
self-confidence when you seek to make sure that in his business you will
have your best chance to succeed. By showing him that you are taking
intelligent precautions against making a mistake in your employment, you
indicate conclusively that you are not merely a "floater," but that you
have a purpose "to stick and make good."

In the same measure that you require proof of a desirable personality in
an employer, you should make sure that the work is exactly what you
expect. See that your prospective "new boss" sells you the job at the
same time you are selling him your services. If he perceives in you the
one man who best fits his needs, he will put forth every effort to buy
your services. Every employer will respect the man who states, with
salesmanship, a sound reason for selecting and seeking connection with a
business house; since such a man gives promise of making the sort of
dependable, loyal worker that every business values and appreciates.

[Sidenote: Sell to Satisfy Real Needs]

The true salesman sells to satisfy _a real need_ of the buyer.
Therefore, when you have charted your salable qualities, select the
field of service in which such capability as you possess is needed.
That, you may be sure, is _your_ right market--the field where you are
_certain_ to succeed. Enter it, and no other field. Apply there for a
place of opportunity to serve; with the absolute confidence of a good
salesman come to satisfy a want, and conscious of his individual fitness
"to deliver the goods."

You may not get just what you desire at the first attempt. The best
professional salesman often has to make _repeated_ efforts to close
orders. But in the end, if you "have the goods," that are needed where
you bring them, _and you know how to sell true ideas of your best self_
(as you _will_ know after mastering the selling process) you will be
sure of getting sufficient opportunities to succeed. You will be as
certain about getting enough chances as the first-class professional
salesman is certain of attaining his full quota of business despite some
turn-downs. _Success is a matter of making a good batting average_.

[Sidenote: Parts of Complete Process]

Remember as you read that you are studying _a completed process_. An
unfinished sales effort is not _a sale_ at all. You will not be a
_certainly successful_ salesman until you perfect your knowledge and
skill in _all the steps_ of salesmanship. You can learn only a single
part of sales efficiency at a time. The relative significance of each
point, its full importance in the entire selling process, will not be
comprehended until you have read at least once all there is in this set
of books. When you re-study the successive chapters, the details you may
at first understand but vaguely in a disconnected way will be clear. You
will comprehend them as various elements of salesmanship which must be
fitted together to complete the process of selling.

Thus far in the present chapter we have been considering principally the
"goods of sale." We have been looking at our subject from the
_material_ aspect. Now let us turn our attention to the mental view of
sales.

[Sidenote: Mental Nature of Selling Process]

In the effective selling process the skilled salesman is able to be the
_controlling_ party. _He makes the other man think as he thinks_. As has
been stated repeatedly, he sells _ideas_, not goods. So the _real
nature_ of any sale is mental, not material. You must "deliver the
goods" to the _mind_ of the man to whom you wish to sell your best
capabilities. You should use the same process as the professional
salesman, who works to control the _thoughts_ of his prospect regarding
the line of goods presented. Hence when you plan to make sure of getting
a desired position, it is necessary that you know _exactly how_ to put
true ideas about yourself into the head of the person whom you have
chosen as your prospective employer. Further, you need to know
_precisely what_ psychological effects you can secure with certainty by
using skillful salesmanship.

[Sidenote: Three Sales Mediums]

Ideas of your best capability may be sold through three
mediums--advertising, correspondence, and personal selling. Take
advantage of all three, wherever and whenever possible, to gain your
chance for success. Use these mediums with _real salesmanship_.

[Sidenote: Advertising]

If you advertise for a position, think out in detail the impression of
your true best self that you wish to make on the minds of readers. Put
_your personality_ into the advertising medium in such carefully
selected language as will reach _the needs of particular employers_, and
will not appear to be just a broadside of words shot into the air
without aim. Indicate clearly that _you_ are not seeking "any old job so
long as the salary is good." Analyze and know _just what_ you suggest
about yourself in print. Many a successful business man has sold himself
through the door of his initial big opportunity by real salesmanship in
his advertisement of his capabilities.

[Sidenote: Correspondence]

Each letter you write should be regarded as "a sales letter." It makes
an impression, true or false, of _you_. Take the greatest pains to have
that impression what you want it to be. Never be slovenly or careless in
writing to _anyone on any subject_. Put genuine salesmanship into all
your letters _consciously_; instead of conveying ideas unwittingly,
without realizing what the reader is likely to think of you and the
things you write. You can scatter impressions of your best self
broadcast over the earth by using your ordinary correspondence as a
medium of salesmanship. So you can open both nearby and far distant
opportunities for the future; even while you still are training yourself
to make the most of these chances you hope to gain.

Good sales letters are so rare that the ability to write them has
erroneously been called "a gift." It is not. Any one of educated
intelligence can write his ideas; _provided he has clear, definite
thought-images in his own mind_. But cloudy thinking reflects only a
blur on paper.

[Sidenote: Using Sales Letters]

A letter that plainly conveys true ideas is a sales letter; for it gets
across to the mind of the recipient a clear, definite mental impression
of the writer's real personality and thoughts.

In all your correspondence, throughout the period of preparation for
your chosen life career, send out true ideas of your best capability. If
you do, you doubtless will find the door of your desired opportunity
open by the time you are fully prepared to knock. Successful business is
always ready in advance to welcome "comers;" whenever and wherever they
are sighted. Therefore project your personality far and wide through
your letters. Employ the medium of correspondence, with salesmanship
knowledge and skill, even when you write the most ordinary messages to
your acquaintances or to strangers. That is, _think out certain ways to
sell particular ideas about yourself_; then incorporate these bits of
salesmanship in your letters.

A young man in his senior year at college selected a large corporation
as his prospective employer. He did not know any of the executives of
the company, but he worked out a plan to get acquainted through letters.
He was especially desirous of entering the field of foreign trade, and
had made a fairly comprehensive study of the export business. He wrote
to the president of the corporation, gave a brief outline of articles
and books he had read; then complimented the great company by declaring
that he realized the knowledge he had acquired was theoretical and
abstract, and that he wished to gain practical, concrete ideas by
studying the methods of the corporation. He enclosed with his letter ten
cents in postage stamps, and requested that he be sent any forms,
instruction sheets, sales bulletins, etc., the president was willing to
let him have for study.

[Sidenote: Getting A Future Chance]

His letter was referred to the vice-president in charge of sales, who in
turn passed it on to a department manager with instructions to supply
the matter requested. In the course of a week the college student
received a bulky package. Meanwhile a letter had been sent from the
department head which stated that the vice-president in charge of sales
had referred to him the request for forms, instruction sheets, etc., and
that they would be forwarded under separate cover.

The student took advantage of the three opportunities opened to conduct
correspondence with the executives of the corporation. He first wrote
courteous, carefully worded "thank-you" letters to the president,
vice-president, and department head. These were all in his own hand, so
that his good penmanship might make an individual impression. After
these letters were dispatched the student mastered the material that
had been sent to him. Then he wrote three supplemental letters of
appreciation, and made concise comments on some of the methods of the
corporation, with comparisons from his previous reading of books and
articles on foreign trade. He stated that he intended to make further
investigation along these particular lines and that if he learned
anything he thought might be interesting to the company he would write
what he found out. In the course of a month he sent a letter which
detailed his investigations. This he addressed to the department head
only. But he also penned brief letters to the president and
vice-president, in which he informed them that he had written in detail
to the department head.

[Sidenote: Effect of Follow-up Letters]

The correspondence continued throughout the remainder of the student's
senior year at college. The letters from the business men soon evidenced
more than formal courtesy. They grew personal and indicated real
interest. A month before his graduation the student was invited to call
at the company's office after Commencement. He went, made an excellent
impression in interviews with the vice-president in charge of sales and
the department head, and though the ink on his sheepskin was not yet
dry, he gained his object. He was engaged by the corporation and began
training as a prospective representative of the company in foreign
territory.

Thus through the correspondence medium of salesmanship a young man who
had no advantage of personal influence or acquaintance secured exactly
the chance he wanted. Similar opportunities are open to any one.

[Sidenote: Personal Selling]

_Every moment of your life when you are in the presence of other people,
you have chances to sell true ideas about the best that is in you._ You
will not need to seek such opportunities for personal salesmanship.
Chances come to you continually to make good impressions on the minds of
the men and women you meet from day to day.

Be a skillful salesman of true ideas about yourself always, even in the
most casual relations you have with other people. Sell the best possible
impressions of yourself to passers-by on the street, to your fellow
riders in cars, to clerks and customers of stores you visit, to your
home and business associates. Put selling skill, as second nature, into
each word, tone, and action of your social and business life.

Realize that in whatever you do or say, consciously or unconsciously,
you _are_ selling ideas about your capability or your incapacity. You
are making more or less definite impressions--you are affecting your
opportunities to succeed, and are forming good or bad habits--all the
time. _Control the effects of your words, tones, and acts by saying and
doing, consciously and intelligently, only what will aid in selling
true ideas of your best capabilities._.

[Sidenote: Practical Psychology]

Of course you already know that each word and tone and act of your life
makes _some_ impression on the people who hear or see you. But probably
you have not realized fully that _particular ways_ of saying and doing
things have _distinct and different effects_, each governed by an exact
law of psychology. You perhaps do not know now _just what_ impression is
made by a certain word, or tone, or act. To be a master salesman of
yourself you need to study the science of mind sufficiently to acquire
_working knowledge_ of common mental actions and reactions. Familiarity
with at least the general principles of psychology is of the utmost
importance in using the selling process effectively.

Do not shy from study of the science of mind because it is an "ology"
and therefore may seem hard. _You are a psychologist already_. You know
that certain things you do and say make agreeable or unfavorable
impressions on other people. In a _general_ way you know _why_. It is
necessary only that you analyze _specifically_ what you realize now
rather indefinitely. If you do not care to study a _book_ on psychology,
just use your own mind as your psychological laboratory for continual
self-analysis.

Answer for yourself such questions as, "Exactly what effect will this
particular word, or tone, or act have--and just why?" You can work out
pretty well the _practical knowledge of psychology_ you must have in
order to sell ideas about your capabilities most effectively. You simply
need to apply _purposeful intelligence_ in everything you do and say;
instead of making impressions without comprehending that by each word
and tone and act of daily living you are influencing, favorably or
adversely, your chances to succeed.

[Sidenote: Three Factors of Selling Process]

Think of yourself as one of the _three factors_ of the selling process.
The _goods of sale_ are your best capabilities, of course. The second
factor is the _prospective buyer_, the man who has need of such
qualities or services as you could supply. The _agent of sale_, or third
factor, is yourself. If you will keep in mind always the conception of
yourself as _the uniting link_ between your "goods of sale" and the
prospective buyer, you can be a salesman of yourself every minute. At
any moment except when you are alone you may encounter and influence a
possible buyer of your best capabilities. You are continually within
sight and hearing of people whose impressions of you might affect your
chances to succeed in life. Therefore always be alert to grasp every
sales opportunity within your reach.

[Sidenote: Twelve Steps]

It will be essential, also, that you have knowledge of the successive
_steps_ of the selling process, as well as knowledge of your goods of
sale and knowledge of practical mind science. Otherwise you might omit
inadvertently to use some round of the ladder to certain success, and
tumble to failure. These steps are so important to understand that the
last nine chapters of the companion book are devoted to them
exclusively. It will suffice here just to state what they are.

 1. Preparation For Selling;
 2. Prospecting;
 3. The Plan Of Approach;
 4. Securing An Audience;
 5. Sizing Up The Buyer;
 6. Gaining Attention;
 7. Awakening Interest;
 8. The Creation Of Desire;
 9. Handling Objections;
10. The Process Of Decision;
11. Obtaining Signature or Assent;
12. The Get-Away That Leads To Future Orders.

[Sidenote: Five Degrees of Effort]

Another element of necessary knowledge about the selling process is the
classification of sales according to the five degrees of effort required
to close them.

1. A sale completed by response to the mere demand of the buyer.

_Example_--While a street car strike is on you are driving, an
automobile down town. A man in a hurry to catch a train stops you and
says, "I'll give you two dollars to take me to the station." You
transport him in response to his call for your services.

[Sidenote: Distinguish Degrees of Effort]

2. A sale completed by the buyer's acceptance on presentation only.

_Example_--A man is walking along a country road in the summer time. He
sees a sign in the door-yard of a farmhouse; BERRY PICKERS WANTED. He
presents himself as a candidate and the farmer at once engages his
services.

3. A sale completed immediately after a desire of the buyer has been
created by a definite, intentional effort of the salesman.

_Example_--A man out of work wants a job that will employ his physical
strength. He encounters three men who are struggling to load a very
heavy box onto a truck. He takes off his coat and proves his strength by
the ease with which the box is lifted when he helps. He inquires which
of the three men is the truck boss; and asks for a job. He is hired
because he has made the boss want the aid of his strength in handling
heavy loads.

4. A sale completed only after persuasion of the buyer.

_Example_--Assume that the truck boss in the next preceding illustration
refuses at first to hire the applicant who has demonstrated his
strength. It is necessary then for the man out of a job to talk his
prospective boss into the idea that he needs a fourth man in his gang.

5. A sale completed only after a decision by the buyer as to the
comparative benefits of purchasing or of not buying.

_Example_--You and another candidate apply for the same position in an
office. You appear to be about equal in capability. The employer "weighs
you in the balance" against the other applicant. This is a sale
requiring the fifth degree of effort. Manifestly you will need to use a
very high quality of skill to get into the mind of the prospective buyer
of services the idea that you are likely to be of more value as an
employee than your competitor for the place. Then you must skillfully
prompt him to accept your application.

[Sidenote: Difficult Sales Most Worth Making]

When you appreciate exactly how sales differ in the degrees of effort
necessary to close them, you will realize the wisdom of preparing to
sell your particular qualities and services _with full comprehension of
all the difficulties commonly met_ by candidates for desirable
positions.

Countless men have died failures because they used throughout their
lives only the first or second degrees of effort. Consequently all their
attempts to get good jobs were futile. The non-success of millions of
other worthy men has been due to their use of no more than the third or
fourth degrees of selling effort.

[Sidenote: Sales of The Fifth Degree of Difficulty]

Sales of the fifth degree of difficulty sometimes demand knowledge and
skillful use of the entire selling process. _They are the sales most
worth making._ The applicant for a new position or for a promotion is
_certain to succeed_ in his purpose if he knows how to complete a sale
of the true idea of his best capabilities. In order to do this he must
control the _weighing process_ of the buyer; and be skillful in
_prompting acceptance_ of his "goods of sale."

When you _master_ and reduce to _every-day practice_ the fundamental
principles you can learn from this set of books, you will be assured of
making a successful average in handling sales of the fifth degree of
effort.

They are sales of the kind the _professional_ salesman makes with
complete confidence every day. _His_ methods, applied to the marketing
of _your_ goods of sale, will work such wonders for you that you soon
should build up self-confidence equal to the matter-of-fact assurance of
the master salesman of clothing, insurance, and other _materials_ of
sale. He _knows_ when he begins a season or starts on a trip that he
will make a good batting average.

[Sidenote: Desired Results In Selling]

Comprehend, further, exactly what _results_ are desired by the skilled
salesman whose work is based on scientific principles.

The _immediate_ results desired are:

First, _confidence_;

Second, _acceptance_ of the ideas brought by the salesman.

One who is unfamiliar with the scientific principles underlying the
skillful practice of the right selling process is unlikely to realize
that the _first_ sales effort should be concentrated on _winning the
prospective buyer's confidence in the salesman and in the goods of
sale_. Failures in selling are often due to the fault of the salesman
who works primarily for but the _second_ of the immediate results to be
desired; the acceptance of his proposition--the acceptance of his
personal capabilities and services, for instance. He neglects, as a
_preliminary_ to securing acceptance, to gain the _confidence_ of the
other man. When you undertake to sell your particular good qualities and
your services to a prospective employer, do not make the mistake in
salesmanship of omitting the process of first winning his _belief_ in
you.

[Sidenote: Repeat Sales]

Besides the two _immediate_ results desired by the skillful salesman,
there is a _permanent_ result to be worked for--an enduring consequence
desired from the present gains made. That permanent result wanted is
_the opening of other opportunities for future sales_.

_Complete success in life_ is not assured when the _original_ sale of
one's best capabilities is closed successfully. Gaining the _initial_
desired chance does not make it certain that one will succeed in his
_entire career_. The first sale is faulty if it does not include a lead
to future opportunities "to deliver the goods."

The right selling process is continuous. Where one sale ends, another
should be already started. A great many failures of capable men can be
ascribed to short-sighted concentration on immediate chances. _One who
would make certain of the success of his whole life must ever look ahead
to the next possible opportunity for the sale of the true idea of his
best capabilities, meanwhile making the most of his present chance._

[Sidenote: Service Purpose In Selling]

In order to get the right viewpoint for further study of the selling
process, you, _the salesman of yourself_, need to comprehend clearly the
fundamental _purpose_ of all true salesmanship. _It should be the
service of the buyer in satisfying his real needs._

Few salesmen _know_ what sales service _is_, and _how_ it should be
rendered. Service is the very soul of the certain success selling
process. Service must be studied _as a purpose_ until the principles
underlying the fullest satisfaction of the buyer's real needs are
mastered, and all false misconceptions of service are cleared away from
the salesman's idea of his obligation to the purchaser of his goods of
sale.

[Sidenote: Sales Knowledge Universally Needed]

This brief summary of the principal essentials of sales knowledge has
been outlined in order to impress on you the practically _universal need
for a better understanding of the selling process_. Certainly you are
convinced now that it will pay _you_ to know HOW to sell. Then let us
look next at _yourself_ in a different light--as a subject of study in
sales-_man_-ship.




CHAPTER II

_The Man-Stuff You Have For Sale_


[Sidenote: The Man Sales-Man Ship]

Your _knowledge_ of sales principles and methods, and your _skill_ in
selling ideas must be combined with right sales-_manhood_ if your
_complete_ success in sales-man-ship is to be made certain. Particular
_man_ qualities are necessary to make you a master _salesman_ in your
chosen field. "A good man obtaineth favor." So we will study now the
elements of character required for the most effective sales-_man_-ship,
and how to develop them.

We shall not consider "Man" in the abstract, nor exceptional ideals of
manhood. Our thought of the sales _man_ will be concentrated on
qualities _you_ have or can develop, that are necessary to make _you_
most efficient in selling ideas about _yourself_.

Some radical _changes_ in your present character may be required. But
you will need principally to _grow_ in order to attain the full stature
of sales manhood that is necessary to gain complete success. If your
manliness is dwarfed now, you cannot succeed largely in selling true
ideas of your best and biggest capabilities, until you rid yourself of
the character faults that are stunting your growth as a sales _man_.

[Sidenote: The Little Man Out-of-Date]

Realize at the outset that the time has passed forever when the _little_
man, with the narrowly selfish outlook for "Number One," might succeed.
The demand of the future will be, however, not so much for BIG men as
for big MEN. The world no longer looks up to Kaisers and Czars. Success
has ceased to be merely a towering figure. Hereafter the one sure way to
succeed will lead through the door of _brotherly understanding of the
other fellow_, into the _common heart of mankind_. Only sales_man_ship
can open that door with certainty.

We are entering a new business era, where the old individualistic
methods of attaining so-called "success" will be worse than useless.
Many of them even now are forbidden by law. All the practices of the
"profiteer" and his ilk are discountenanced by far-seeing people. Men of
vision perceive that the size of To-morrow's Success will be measured in
direct proportion to its quality of _human service_.

"SERVICE" is the motto of the highest salesmanship. Therefore, in
shaping your plans to succeed, start with the resolve to make yourself a
truly big sales MAN. Do not copy the little, selfish models of
Yesterday. Study the signs of the times. To be out-of-date is equivalent
to being a failure.

[Sidenote: Pint and Bushel Men]

You will need to be big in ability, in imagination, in energy, in your
ideals--but most of all you must be big in MANHOOD. If you are little
and selfish in your life purpose, you cannot be certain of success in
selling to a truly BIG man the idea that you are fully qualified for his
service. Before making any attempt to sell yourself into a desirable
position, take pains to develop as much _man quality_ as characterizes
your prospective employer. You cannot comprehend him if you fall short
of his standard of manhood. To-day the biggest buyers of brains and
brawn recognize their obligations of human brotherhood. If you are
little and self-centered, how can you reach into the mind and heart and
soul of another man who is genuinely BIG? How can you impel him to think
as you wish?

The little man even doubts the existence of big manhood. He cannot
comprehend such size. A pint measure, however much it is stretched, is
utterly unable to contain a bushel. But the larger measure easily holds
either a pint or a bushel. Similarly if you are big in _manhood_, you
can comprehend alike the little man and the big man. You will be able to
deal successfully with both.

[Sidenote: The Clothing Of Manhood]

It is not sufficient, however, that you grow to the full stature of your
biggest man possibilities. It is necessary also that you be _clothed in
the characteristics of manhood_ in order to be _recognized_ as a man.
When you were only an infant, you were safety-pinned into a square of
cloth once doubled triangularly. You graduated to rompers at a year and
a half or two. Then you put on knee-pants, and afterward youth's long
trousers. Now you wear the clothes of a full-grown man. You would not
think of dressing in knickerbockers, or rompers, or--something younger,
to present your qualities and services for sale. Yet your outer garb is
much less important to the success of your salesmanship than is your
_clothing of manhood._

[Sidenote: What is Your Man Power?]

If you hope to assure yourself of man's-size success in life, plan that
wherever you are you will make the instant impression that you are
"every inch a man," not just an overgrown baby or boy. Follow the
example of Paul, that incomparably great salesman of the new ideas of
Christianity. He wrote in his powerful first sales letter to the
Corinthian field, "When I became a man, I put away childish things."
_Compel respect_ by your sound virility. Have a well-founded
consciousness that in manhood you are the equal of any other man, and
you can make everybody you meet feel you are a man _all through_.

What is your size as a sales _man_ now?

Ask yourself this question, and answer it frankly. In order to make sure
of selling yourself into the opportunities you want, you must take your
own measure and fit your manhood to the selling process you have begun
to learn. Beyond a doubt you are now a sales man of _some_ size. You are
selling your physical or mental powers, your services of this kind or
that, with a degree of efficiency directly proportionate to your
man-power.

[Sidenote: The ¼ m.p. Man]

If you are only a ¼ m.p. salesman at present, you lack three-fourths of
the man capacity needed to handle with certain success all the
opportunities of full-size manhood. You were not limited by Nature to ¼
m.p. size. You were born with _full man capacity_. You are like a
gasoline motor developing but a quarter of the power it was designed to
produce--not because of any structural fault in the engine, but simply
for the reason that it does not function _now_ as it was intended to
operate, and as it can be made to work _in the future_ if it is
overhauled and put in perfect condition. The full power capacity
originally built _into_ the motor needs to be brought _out_. Likewise
_your_ man-power plant requires to be made as efficient as possible, in
order to assure you of full man-capability for achieving success.

Maybe your chief fault is poor fuel, and what you most need is good
"gas." You have not been filling up your mind with the right ideas. Or,
perhaps, your piston rings leak; and you lack the high compression of
determined persistence. Another fault might be in your carburetor--you
are not a good "mixer." Or your spark of enthusiasm may be weak. It is
possible, too, that your fine points are caked over by the carbon of
accumulated bad habits. Maybe you have a cracked cylinder--your health
is partly broken down. The fault is in your timer, perhaps. You are not
"on the job" when you should be.

[Sidenote: Your Manhood Can Be Re-built]

No matter what ails your particular engine, _it can be repaired or
rebuilt into a full one-manpower motor of efficiency_. If you limp and
pound along with but a quarter of your capability, it is your own fault
for not overhauling your power plant. Don't continue as a ¼ m.p. man and
blame anybody else, or curse your bad luck because you can't make speed
and carry the load necessary to succeed. _Stop trying to go on crippled
or clogged in manhood_. Run yourself into the repair shop right away and
"get fixed."

You can make your manhood over.

There is full-man capability in you. You can get it all out and put it
to work for your success.

You have the ability to re-make your _character_ entirely, without
changing _your individual nature_.

You must accomplish transformation into _your best self_ before you can
make the most of your opportunities to sell your abilities and services.
It will not suffice that you just are _willing_, or _desire,_ to become
a first-class salesman of your particular "goods of sale." Merely
acquiring information or _knowledge_ of the selling process is not
enough to assure your success in life. Even the most skillful _practice_
of all the sales principles and methods you learn will be insufficient
to guarantee your success--if you do not develop your full _man
capacity_ for sales-man-ship.

[Sidenote: Essentials of the Master Sales Man]

The result of the necessary changes and growth in _your_ manhood will be
an enlarged conception of _all_ men--your greater capacity to understand
and to handle _any one else_ successfully.

It is entirely possible for you to develop and cultivate every essential
quality of the master sales-_man_, and still to be just _yourself_.

[Sidenote: Good Appearance]

The high grade professional salesman makes the best _appearance_ of
which he is capable. Surely you can do that, too. You can train yourself
to grace and ease in your bearing. However unsatisfactory your features
may be, you certainly are capable of looking pleasant, and therefore of
being attractive. It is possible for you to have well-kept hands and
hair; to wear suitable, clean clothes; to be neat.

[Sidenote: Physical Capacity]

First-class salesmanship requires, too, a high degree of _physical
capacity_ for the most effective performance of the selling process. You
need health, virility, energy, liveliness, and endurance, in order to
sell effectively _the idea that you are physically able_ to fill the job
you want most. Physical incapacity is a handicap in almost any vocation.
It can be remedied. It _must_ be remedied as fully as possible in your
case. You may not be very robust naturally, _but you can make the most
of the constitution you have_, with certain success as the incentive
for your fullest possible physical development. Few of us are as well as
we _might_ be.

[Sidenote: Mental Equipment]

Whatever your physical shortcomings, there can be no doubt that you are
capable of developing all the essential _mental_ equipment of the
successful salesman. You only need to comprehend a few elemental laws of
mind science; and then to _train_ yourself to the utmost of your
particular ability--in perceptive power, alertness, accuracy,
punctuality, memory, imagination, concentration, adaptability to
circumstances, stability, self-control, determination, tact, diplomacy,
and good judgment.

Does this seem like a long list of difficult accomplishments? Examine
the items, and realize how easy it is to develop these mental qualities
of masterly sales_man_ship.

Perception is simply looking at things with your mind as well as with
your eyes.

Alertness is no more than mental sharp ears.

Accuracy results from taking pains to be right.

Punctuality is a habit of mind that anyone can develop.

Memory is acquired by practice in remembering things.

You use _some_ imagination every day--use _all_ your imaginative power.

Likewise you occasionally concentrate your thoughts. More exercise in
concentration will develop this mental characteristic.

You adapt yourself to circumstances when necessary, or when you choose.
You can train yourself so that you will be prepared to meet anything
that may happen.

You have a degree of stability of character, otherwise you never would
accomplish anything. Increase your steadfastness by sticking to more
purposes.

Similarly determination, self-control, tact, diplomacy, and good
judgment are merely the natural results of _continual practice_ to
develop these mental qualities.

[Sidenote: Emotional Qualities]

The principal _emotional_ or _heart_ qualities required in masterly
selling are ambition, hopefulness, optimism, enthusiasm, cheerfulness,
self-confidence, courage, persistence, patience, earnestness, sympathy,
frankness, expressiveness, humor, loyalty, and love of others. Think of
these one by one, and realize how many of them you already possess to a
considerable degree.

You may not be optimistic; perhaps you lack self-confidence, or maybe
you are wanting in courage. But with the possible exception of these
three "heart" qualities of the master salesman, you are not deficient
now in the emotional essentials of successful salesmanship. You need
only a _higher degree_ of each.

Develop all your capability in the other qualities, and you will find
you have become an optimist. Your self-confidence, too, will grow as
fast as you increase your ability. When you are full of optimism and
self-confidence, you will not find it difficult to create courage within
yourself. _Then you will have the complete emotional equipment of a
master salesman._ The exact way to develop courage with certainty is
explained in the second chapter of "The Selling Process," with especial
reference to the professional salesman, who _must_ meet his prospects
courageously in all circumstances if he would succeed.

[Sidenote: Ethical Essentials]

Nor is it hard for you to qualify yourself _ethically_ for mastery of
the selling process. Surely your intentions are right. You mean to be
honest and truthful. You can be of good moral character. You expect to
be reliable. It should be easy for you to love your chosen work.

[Sidenote: Spiritual Capacity]

There remains, finally, the essential of _spiritual capacity_ for
selling. It comprises idealism, vision, faith, desire to serve, ability
to understand other men. Perhaps you are deficient in some of these
spiritual qualities now. But with idealism all about you in the spirit
of the world cannot you, too, lift your eyes to higher purposes than the
satisfaction of merely selfish desires? Are you not able to look
broadly, instead of narrowly at life? You know you must have faith--that
you cannot make sure of success if you doubt. Your mission as a true
salesman of yourself should be to serve your prospects by satisfying
their real needs for the abilities you have. Love of others results from
serving them with what you can supply that they lack.

In no respect, then, from personal good appearance to spiritual
capacity, need you be other than _your best possible self_ to qualify
for certain success with the selling process.

[Sidenote: Change and Growth Necessary]

Reference has been made repeatedly in these pages to the necessity for
_change_ and _growth_ in your man character before you can become a
master salesman of your full capability for success. Of course you
cannot change your _nature_ into a different _nature_; any more than one
form of life can be transformed into an entirely distinct form of life.
It is impossible to develop a carrot into a calla, or to make a dog of a
pig. But the _elements_ of any particular form of life may be altered,
most radically.

[Sidenote: Develop Use, Activity and Quality Of Elements]

So you can develop: (1) the _use_; (2) the _degree of activity_; (3) the
_quality_, of any element in your present salesman equipment.

For example, it is generally recognized that suitable clothes help to
create a good impression. Therefore you should _use_ to the _highest
degree of activity_ and of _quality_ what you know about the effect of
dress in helping to create a good impression. But, to particularize, do
you (_use_ your knowledge) polish your shoes, even if it is no more than
flicking off the dust with your handkerchief, every chance (_highest
degree of activity_) you get when they need it? And when you polish your
shoes in the morning preparatory to starting your day's work, do you
just give them "a lick and a promise," or do you "make 'em shine?"
(Highest degree of _quality_.)

[Sidenote: Animal Training]

The "stupid" pig can be taught to do as phenomenal tricks as the
"intelligent" dog. It is possible to train a pig so that he will appear
to be able to discriminate among colors, to tell time, even to perform
simple operations in arithmetic. At the circus or vaudeville we sit in
wonder while the "educated" stupid pig, alertly afraid of the trainer's
whip, performs stunts of seeming _intelligence_. Under the stimulus of
fear he acts like a quick-thinking dog. In truth he _has_ been changed
by training, from the _pig characteristic_ of utter stupidity to the
_dog characteristic_ of rudimentary intelligence. But in _nature and
form_ he remains just a pig. If you should see him among other pigs in a
pen, you never would mistake the "educated" pig for a fat puppy.

In the trained pig the _use_ of his pig mind is developed to an unusual
degree of _activity_ and of _quality_ to save himself from punishment
and to gain the tidbits that reward his performance of tricks. The
purpose of the trainer is accomplished by changing and developing the
_mind functioning_ of the pig. No trainer would attempt to change the
_nature_ of a pig--to develop a pig into an elephant, a different
_creature_. Only _characteristics_ can be changed or developed.

[Sidenote: Plant Development]

Luther Burbank has accomplished with plants even more extraordinary
changes and developments in characteristics than have been achieved by
the most expert trainers of animals. He could not make a carrot into a
calla; but he did take the dwarf natural calla plant and develop it into
a splendid lily that bears flowers measuring a foot across the petal. He
also multiplied the characteristic colors of the natural calla and has
evolved great blossoms of a score of shades, from pure white to jet
black.

The noted plant wizard developed, too, the naturally small, hard, dry,
sour prune and transformed it into a juicy, sweet fruit that is bigger
and more delicious than our common plum.

He also succeeded in altering radically an element of the natural
walnut, which had a characteristic covering skin of bitter tannin over
the meat inside the nut shell. For countless centuries walnut trees had
been in the habit of covering the meat of their nuts with this tannin
skin. Luther Burbank trained selected walnut trees to give up this fixed
bad habit, and to produce nuts the meats of which were not enveloped in
bitter coverings.

[Sidenote: Man Making]

Since expert trainers have been able to accomplish such marvelous
changes and developments in the characteristics of lower animals and
plants--not changes in the form of life, but alterations so nearly
miraculous that they seem almost to be changes in nature--is there the
least doubt that you, a _man_, excelling every other animal, and every
plant in consciousness and intelligence, are capable of the most
radical, elemental changes in your present self?

Cannot _you_, then, certainly develop and _use_ to a much higher degree
of _activity_ and _quality_ the MAN characteristics you now possess? Of
course you can! You need but to learn the _science of yourself_--to get
full knowledge of what you are and of what you might be--by studying the
_big, best qualities in you_. After that you will need _to make the
most_ of what you learn about your true self. Intensive self-study will
reveal to you all the possibilities of your enlarged and bettered
personality. When you know you have developed your biggest, best
manhood, you certainly will feel increased power to sell your "goods."

Of all living creatures, Man is the most adaptable, is capable of the
greatest development, and responsive in the highest degree to desires
from within and to influences from outside himself. Only a stupidly
ignorant man would hold to the belief that the elements of his character
cannot be radically changed and developed. At present you may be
handicapped with what you have considered "natural disqualifications"
for success. Then _study_ yourself thoroughly, _one detail at a time_.
Follow this self-analysis by intelligent practice in the active use of
your best qualities, and determine to _change_ your "disqualifications"
into _salable characteristics_ that will help you to succeed.

[Sidenote: No Normal Man Lacks Qualifications For Success]

Certainly a slouch can straighten up, wash his dirty hands and face,
dress neatly, and suggest proper regard for his appearance. The physical
weakling is able to build considerable strength into himself. Dullards,
unless their brains are stunted, may develop surprising intellectual
keenness. Careless men can train themselves to painstaking accuracy.
Individuals who are habitually late may become models of punctuality.
The man of flighty thoughts can concentrate. It is possible to control a
quick, bad temper. Tact, diplomacy, and good judgment can be learned and
used efficiently by the countless thousands of people who now are
tactless, undiplomatic, and characterized by poor judgment.

So it is with the principal emotional, ethical, and spiritual qualities
of the master salesman. _You_ have them _all_, elementally. _Certainly
you can develop any selected element to higher activity and use it_ to
help you sell true ideas of your best capabilities.

Maybe you have fought long and vainly for self-confidence, for courage,
for will power. Perhaps you have realized for years that you are slow in
perception, and have struggled to make yourself take mental snap-shots
of details and conditions. You have wished and willed and worked to be
agreeable and courteous; yet perhaps you lose friends by your
characteristic disagreeableness and lack of courtesy. If, in spite of
all you so far have done to improve yourself, you have been unable to
get rid of your faults and defects, you are apt to question the
statement that you _certainly can_ develop such qualities as you most
desire.

[Sidenote: Decision Will Power Hard Work Insufficient]

No doubt you have _decided_, probably you have _willed_, very likely you
have made a _persistent struggle_ to change your characteristics. You
honestly have tried hard to grow, and to increase your man capacity.
Consequently your failure may have left you rather hopeless about ever
succeeding as you once expected to succeed. Perhaps you have given up
your case as "too tough a job." We will assume that you are not so young
as you wish you were, and that you have committed to memory the
fatalistic, hoary lie, "You can't teach an old dog new tricks." But
recall the fixed habit of bitterness the walnut had for centuries, the
color and size of the natural calla, the sour taste of the little wild
prune, which the plant wizard changed most radically without using any
"wizardry" at all. He just _applied scientific knowledge_ in his
training of walnut trees and callas and prunes and other forms of
vegetable life. Have you tried his method of development? Do you know
exactly what he did?

If Luther Burbank had merely _desired_ and _willed_ that the walnut
should give up its old bad habit, he never could have accomplished the
job of development. He might have _insisted persistently_ for a
life-time that the little, sour, dry prune should become more luscious
and larger than the plum; but it would have remained the same in size
and other characteristics as it always had been, despite his continued
determination. Desire, will, and persistence were but preliminary steps
toward the complete accomplishment of his purpose with the prune.

[Sidenote: Luther Burbank's Method]

Burbank worked out in his mind and by actual experiments _distinctive
methods_ of development--_development and changes along particular,
definite lines._ He selected for the prune he _wanted to produce,_ (an
imagined, ideal prune) certain desirable qualities of the plum--the best
plum characteristics. He studied _what produced these particular
qualities in plums_. Then with his exact, scientific knowledge of the
_similarity in nature_ of the plum and the prune, and his equally
definite knowledge of the _differences in their characteristics_,
supplemented by his knowledge of _exactly what produced_ the difference
in the two fruits, he started his experiments with natural prune trees.

He led specimens through a pre-determined scientific process of
training. He succeeded in getting his experimental prune trees to
develop discriminatively, almost as if they had the power of choice,
_particular plum qualities in preference to others._ But the result was
not a transformation of the prune trees into plum trees. The fruit of
the tree he evolved was just a _perfected_ prune. He simply developed
_all the capability_ the prune had originally to be _like_ a plum in
deliciousness.

[Sidenote: Natural Growth Without Struggle]

Note just here one very important feature of the Burbank method of plant
development and change. It did not involve any _struggle_ or _hard work_
on the part of his trees. He merely provided _natural_, but
scientifically _selected_ conditions and food; knowing that his prunes
then would grow naturally in the particular ways he wanted them to
develop, and in no other ways at variance with his plan.

Perhaps the primary fault in your ineffective effort to develop yourself
into the man you want to be, is that it has been a _struggle_. _Natural_
growth always is _easy_. Growth involves a struggle only when one or
more of the _means_ of natural growth are lacking. Luther Burbank wished
his prune trees to develop certain selected qualities of the plum.
Therefore he provided his wild prunes with the same means he had used
effectively _with plums_ to increase _their_ lusciousness. He knew these
means should have a _similar_ effect on _prunes_. When he had provided
the natural means of discriminative development, he left the rest to the
_natural growth_ of his prune trees. They began to develop the selected
plum qualities _easily_, and generation after generation became more and
more like plums.

[Sidenote: Two Bases Of Growth Mind and Body]

Now let us consider briefly: first, the _bases_ of natural, easy growth
of selected man qualities; second, the _processes_ that take place in
the development of desired man qualities, some of which may not have
seemed to exist previous to the evolutionary training; third, the
training _methods_ that should be employed to make these processes most
effective and to produce the particular results wanted and no others.

There are _two bases of development in every one_--the inner and the
outer man. The _real himself_ is the inner man, which psychologists call
the "Ego." But there is something else in the make-up of every man, his
_body_. Each of us recognizes his body--not as _himself_, not as his
ego--but as _belonging to_ the real, or inner himself. A man thinks and
says, "_my_ body" just as he considers and refers to anything else that
is his.

The discrimination between the two parts of "_You_" must be understood
at the very start of your self-development. All your plans for the
growth of the characteristics you need to assure your success should be
based on comprehension of your _duality_. The two "You's" in yourself
not only are distinctly _different_, but they are also very intimately
_related_ in all their functions. Neither your "ego" nor your body is
independent of the other part of your duality. So, of course, both must
co-operate fully in every _process_ of your self-development; and your
_training methods_ should be planned for the bettered growth of your
inner and outer man _as a team_.

[Sidenote: Team-work Processes]

You understand now that your growth should be on a dual basis; that you
have two different men to develop, not just one; and that they must be
handled _discriminatively_, but _together_.

Next it is necessary that you know in _exactly what ways_ the activities
of the mind man, or ego, are related to the activities of his body, or
the physical man. Otherwise you cannot comprehend the team-work
processes by which any desired qualities of manhood can be developed
from their rudiments. Perhaps the reason you have not yet succeeded
fully is that you have been a "one-horse" man and have not trained your
dual self to be an effective _mind-and-body_ team pulling together. It
takes both mind and body to bring to market successfully all the "best
capability" of a man.

[Sidenote: Training Methods]

Evidently, as a pre-requisite to self-development, one should have
knowledge of the particular processes that result _surely_ in natural,
easy, rapid growth. Otherwise he would be more than likely to employ a
wrong or only partly right _method of training_. So as a student of
yourself you need to start with comprehension of your two _bases_ of
development, mind and body. It is necessary next that you acquire
scientific knowledge of the distinct but related _processes_ of
developing your two selves severally to work together as a team. Then
you must learn the particular _methods_ of coöperative mental and
physical training that are most effective in accomplishing the man
growth you desire.

[Sidenote: Neither Mind Nor Body A Unit]

Not only have you two selves, but neither "You" is a _single unit_. Your
mind, as well as your body, is made up of distinctly different but very
intimately related and associated _parts_. Your "mind" cannot be
developed as a _whole_. Its parts must be severally bettered and
strengthened in coordination, just as the physical man is developed by
training his various muscles.

You know you have _distinct sets of muscles_ which all together make up
your _composite body_. Perhaps, however, you have not realized before
that your _mind_ is not a _unit_, but is made up of innumerable distinct
"mind centers," each of which functions as independently of the others
as your set of eye muscles operates independently of the set of muscles
governing the movements of one of your fingers. And possibly you do not
know that each _mind_ center has a distinct _brain_ center, which
functions for that _particular part alone_ of your whole mind. _Each
associated mind-and-brain center_ also has direct, distinct nerve
connections _with only one set of muscles_.

In fact, you are "a many-minded, many-bodied" man--a collection of
mental and physical _parts_, a composite man rather than a man unit.
These several parts are in large measure practically _independent_ of
one another. One set of body parts "belongs to" only its particular
associated set of mind parts, or mind center.

[Sidenote: Independent Mind and Body Centers]

If you were constituted otherwise, your life would be very precarious;
for the injury or destruction of even a minor part of your body would be
fatal to the whole unit. As it is, you can lose a finger without
affecting your eye-sight in the least. So you might suffer a localized
brain injury that would completely paralyze a finger, without impairing
your sight at all. Either the mind center that governs a finger, or the
set of muscles in that finger can be affected without necessarily
reacting upon any _other_ mind center or any _other_ set of muscles.

[Sidenote: Interrelation Of the Ego And Physical Man]

_But if the mind center that governs a certain set of muscles is
affected, that set of muscles also is directly affected and at once.
Likewise if anything happens to a particular set of muscles, the
reaction is instantly transmitted to its associated mind center through
the "direct wire" nerves and brain center which particularly serve that
part of the mind_.

Great scientists have studied mental and physical phenomena in
inter-relation and have learned certain facts. For example, it is known
that "the mind" not only affects the general functions of "the body,"
but also the rate of bodily activity and the chemistry of body tissues.
Long-continued hard thinking actually does "wear a man out." It consumes
blood and brain tissue. It "slows him up." It may impair his digestion
and appetite. We all know these things, but the scientists know just
_why_ we feel _physically_ tired after using only our _minds_.

They have learned also that every activity of the _mind_ has a direct
effect on the _brain substance._ That is, each mind operation _through_
the brain _changes_ its physical structure in some degree. Mental effort
or relaxation increases or decreases the amount of blood in the brain.
When you have been using your mind very hard, your head "feels heavy,"
and it _is_ unusually heavy then on account of the extra amount of blood
weight. Even the temperature of the brain, particularly of that portion
of the brain which is especially functioning at a given moment, is
changed with every mental effort.

[Sidenote: Slow Muscles Slow Mind]

There is abundant scientific proof that the quality and quantity of
muscle, brain, and nerve (_physical_) activity in a particular
individual are accompanied by corresponding qualities and quantities of
_mental_ activity. That is, when a person's muscle action, nerve
response, and brain action are sluggish, his _mind_ also develops a
characteristic of slow action. And vice versa.

We say of a certain acquaintance that he has an alert mind. But his
"ego," or mental self, could not act quickly and alertly if his _brain_,
the physical instrument of his _mind_, did not receive and transmit
impressions swiftly to his mentality. The _brain_ does not _think_. It
is as purely physical as any other part of the body. It just _handles_,
or transmits in and out, to and from the _mind_, the various impressions
sent _in_ by different sense muscles, and the mental reflexes or
impulses sent _out_ by the innumerable mind centers. Your mind works
_through_ your brain. Of course, therefore, the quality and quantity of
mental work _you_ are capable of doing are limited by the degree of
handling-or-transmitting _efficiency_ characteristic of _your_
particular brain structure.

[Sidenote: Value of Practical Psychology]

Any interference with the _brain_ quality or quantity of an individual
naturally interferes with his normal _mental_ functioning. If a
particular part of a man's brain is injured, the associated mind center
is harmed likewise and his mental _quality_ is affected in proportion.
Should a certain portion of his brain be cut out, the total _quantity_
of his mental powers would be correspondingly reduced. We all know these
things about the brain and the mind. But only a few scientists are
familiar with many _details_ of the _inter-relation of mind and brain
and muscles_, which should be known to all people who want to make the
most of themselves. The salesman of himself needs to understand his
"goods" thoroughly; so as we study the selling process that completes
the secret of certain success, we dig into _practical psychology_ a
little way now in order to stimulate in you a desire for further
exploration of that gold mine of opportunities.

[Sidenote: Physical Manifestations of Ideas]

The mind depends on the brain, in coordination with the nerves and
muscles, to _express_ thoughts. That is how your _inner_ or "ego"
sales-man gets his ideas _out_ of your physical salesman, and _shows
them_ to the minds of prospective buyers. You can make another person
conscious of your thoughts only by some _perceptible physical
manifestation_ of the idea you wish to convey to him. Evidently, then,
in order to succeed in developing your big sales manhood and in making
effective impressions of it on others, you must learn both _how to
think the ideas of big manhood into your own mind_ most effectively and
how to _show them outwardly_ with masterly skill. The first process is
man development; the second is sales-_man_-ship, or _manhood
self-expression for the purpose of controlling the ideas of other men_.

[Sidenote: Selling A Thought]

There is but one way to indicate or express what is going on in your
mind. Your thoughts can be physically shown only by _muscular action_ of
some kind. Brain and nerve action are hidden, but muscle action can be
perceived. If your _muscular action_ expresses exactly the _idea_ you
desire and will and use it to manifest, your mind is able to get its
_thought_ across to another mind--_to sell_ the idea.

Conversely, if your muscle action--your outer, perceptible
self--expresses something _different_ from your thought intention, your
mind has failed to make the true impression of your idea. It may be that
an impression directly contradictory to your thought has been made by
your muscles working at cross purposes. So the truth in your mind won't
get across to the other man's mind--not because your _idea_ was untrue,
but because it has not been _physically interpreted_ by your muscles as
you _intended_. For example, you might stand so much in awe of a man you
greatly admire that you would avoid speaking to him, and in consequence
would appear to him indifferent or cold. Your physical appearance would
belie your intentions.

Perhaps, if you have failed in life or have only partially succeeded,
despite the qualifications you possess for complete success, your
_muscles_ may be principally to blame. The parts of your idea-selling
equipment that _can be perceived in action_ probably have not "delivered
the goods" of sale correctly.

[Sidenote: How Knowledge is Accumulated]

Not only is your mind absolutely dependent on the muscular system of
your body for any true _expression_ of the real _you_ inside; it
likewise must depend on the activity of your various sets of muscles to
get all the _incoming_ sense impressions that make up whatever
_knowledge_ you have.

Have you realized how your present fund of information was accumulated?
Everything you know came into your conscious mind originally through
impressions first made on your various "sense" muscles, and then
transmitted by nerve telegraph to directly connected brain centers,
which in turn passed on to their associated mind centers these original
impressions of new ideas. Many repetitions of similar sense impressions
were needed to register permanently in your mind your first conceptions
of different colors, scents, etc. Thus you learned to think. The process
was _started_--not by your _mind_--but by your various "sense" muscles.
These received from your environment impressions of heat, cold,
softness, hardness, etc., and passed them in to associated brain-mind
centers, which thus commenced to collect knowledge about the world which
you entered with a mind _absolutely empty of_ ideas.

If a child might be born with a good brain, but with his general
muscular system completely paralyzed, _he could learn nothing at all_
regarding the world. He would have no conscious mind. No sense
impression of smell, light, taste, sound, or feeling could be received
by the brain of such a child; for no original perceptions of any kind
could be taken in. He would be like a complete telegraph system with
every branch office closed. No intelligence would be transmitted; since
no message could be even filed for sending. Because of the paralysis of
the sensory muscles, the child's conscious mind would remain blank.

[Sidenote: Each Mind-Center Must Be Developed Specifically]

Recall now that you have a _multiplex_, not a single brain. That is,
your so-called "brain" is made up of innumerable, distinct "brain
centers" which function quite independently of one another. No
particular unit requires help from any of the others in order to do its
especial work with full efficiency. _Each center attends only to its
specific business in your life_. It rests, or relaxes from activity,
when it has nothing to do; or when the particular muscles it governs are
not in use. And, of course, when a certain _brain_ center rests or is
inactive, its associated _mind_ center also rests or is inactive.

As already has been stated, the mind of a man is built up, _through_ the
brain instrument, by the _sense impressions_ transmitted to his
consciousness. In other words, _all he knows with his mind first came
into his mental capacity from outside impressions of things and ideas_.
The fewer the impressions that come into the mind through the brain, the
less does a man know. And only the impressions that come into a
_particular_ mind center develop _that_ center. (For example, the
development of keenest eyesight by many _optical_ impressions would not
affect at all a man's ability to discriminate among the tones of music,
would not give him "a good _ear_.")

[Sidenote: Weak or Undeveloped Centers]

It is evident, therefore, that if a _particular brain center_
temporarily or permanently is deprived of right and sufficient exercise
in transmitting sense impressions, _its coordinated mind center_ will be
stunted in its growth or starved for lack of mental food. This is why a
man is awkward in using his native tongue when he returns to the country
of his birth after a long residence among people of a different nation
where that language was not spoken. But a little exercise of his brain
in transmitting again the sound of his native tongue will quickly
stimulate his mind with the renewed supply of this particular mental
food to which it formerly was accustomed. In a few weeks he will use
the old language naturally; whereas another man, who never had spoken
it, would require years to build up such full knowledge from a start of
complete ignorance of the language.

Evidently, too, a _weak_, undeveloped brain center would be incapable of
receiving _strong_ mental impulses from its coordinated mind center, and
of transmitting them in full strength to the particular muscles governed
by that mind center. This is why, if a man's _brain center_ of courage
is undeveloped, even the most courageous _thoughts_ will not make his
body _act_ bravely. His legs may run away against his will to fight. The
physical instrument of his mind (his brain), and also certain associated
sets of muscles, must be sufficiently exercised in the _action_ of
courage to build up within him the _physical structure_ of fearlessness
that will be instantly responsive to a _mental attitude_ of bravery.

[Sidenote: Right Exercise for Development]

If for any reason the brain instrument is weak or undeveloped, it can
handle only weakly either in-coming messages to the ego from the senses,
or out-going impulses from the mind to the muscles. So, because of this
undeveloped brain instrument, the full capability of neither the inner
nor the outer man can be built up and put to use. Obviously, therefore,
if one is ambitious to succeed, he needs to know and to practice the
_coordinated mind-brain-muscle exercises_ that will increase the
quantity and better the quality of his man capacity. Since he is a
"many-minded, many-bodied" man, _general_ physical and mental exercise
will not develop the _particular_ qualities required to assure his
success. Each and every mind-brain-muscle set must be built up
individually by _specific_ exercises which strengthen _that particular
unit_ of the multiplex man. Then, of course, all his units should be
taught to work _together_ to make his success certain with his
all-around capability fully developed and coordinated.

[Sidenote: The Discriminative-Restrictive Method]

Luther Burbank worked out "discriminative-restrictive" methods of growth
that may be applied as successfully to men as to plants. He could not
have built up the ability of a prune tree to produce _delicious_ fruit
if he had not fed into the tree structure, or instrument of production,
a sufficient quantity and high quality of the _particular plant foods of
deliciousness_. He restricted his experimental prune trees to the
development of specific delicious qualities, by giving them no food
except that _discriminatively_ selected for his purpose. That is, he
made them develop in one way and in one way only, when he was making a
particular test.

Similarly, as has been stated before, you can develop the specific _man_
qualities you need to succeed. You must _feed_ to a particular mind
center, through the related brain center, _selected sense impressions_.
These can come only from the coordinated set of _muscles_ governed by
that mind-brain center. Then you should _exercise_ the specific brain
center and set of muscles in the production of mental reflexes, or the
mind fruit. Acts of courage, for example, are the fruit of brave
thoughts.

[Sidenote: Brain Development]

A particular brain center, of course, will be strengthened both by the
_food_ of sense impressions it is given, and by the _exercise_ of
handling messages to and from the mind. The brain, or physical
instrument of the mind, is like an intermediary or go-between of the ego
and the body. It is of the utmost importance that it should do its work
efficiently. Otherwise the full capability of neither the outer nor the
inner man can be utilized.

If Brown passes something to Jones, who passes it along to Smith; then
Smith passes it back to Jones to be re-passed to Brown--Jones, the
middle agent of transmission or handling instrument, whom we are
comparing to the brain, might be so awkward, slow, and inefficient as a
go-between that the possible ability of Brown and Smith in passing would
be nullified or greatly hampered. But if the inefficiency of Jones is
blamable to his inexperience, it evidently can be changed to efficiency
by _sufficient right exercise_ in passing. The more of that sort of work
he does, in either direction, the better passer will Jones become.

His exercise, however, must be _in passing_ things, if _passing_
capability is to be developed. He would not become a better and quicker
_passer_ by any amount of exercise in taking things apart, or in
inspecting things--wholly dissimilar functions.

[Sidenote: Training in Passing]

Moreover, Jones would not become an expert passer of _glassware_ as a
result of practice in passing _bricks_, for the two kinds of things are
not handled alike. Indeed, the man accustomed to passing bricks might be
more likely to break glassware than another man who previously had no
particular skill in passing anything. The expert brick-passer would be
apt to forget sometimes that he was passing glass. His muscles might
treat the fragile ware with the rough habit acquired in passing bricks.

Plainly, discriminative-restrictive methods of training are required to
perfect capability in any _particular_ kind of physical passing; however
much skill in _general_ passing may have been developed. If Jones should
become expert in passing pails of liquid, he would nevertheless need to
train himself anew in order to pass frozen liquid efficiently in the
form of cakes of ice. And, to particularize still more, it would be
necessary for him to learn how to pass different liquids. Water and
thick molasses in pails should not be handled alike.

Similarly the various brain centers, as passers of different sense
impressions and mental reflexes in and out, require, each of them--like
Jones--the _specific_ exercises that will develop _their several
particular_ abilities. The _individual brain unit_ (as of courage,
memory, judgment, etc.) is strengthened only by handling the in and out
business of _its_ coordinated muscles and mind center. Also, while a
particular set of muscles and coordinate mind center are strengthening
their brain center by the exercise they give _it_, they are both being
developed by the same exercise of passing along sense impressions and
thoughts to each other through the brain--like Smith and Brown.

[Sidenote: The Process Of Growth]

Returning to the comparison of Burbank's methods with man development,
we perceive again how the principle of discriminative-selective training
is applied to accomplish the growth of certain characteristics needed
to assure a man's success. The plant wizard in his initial tests gave
to his undeveloped prune trees particular food and conditions and
treatment selected for the purpose of imparting specific qualities of
deliciousness. A prune _somewhat improved_ in deliciousness was
the first result. Then from the product of that _improved_ prune
he started _another_ cycle of development. He fed the selected food
of deliciousness to the improved prune tree, and a fruit _more_
delicious resulted. His work was simply plant breeding by the
discriminative-restrictive method. Brain breeding is a similar process
of _particularized, cumulative_ development.

[Sidenote: Begin With Specific Training of The Outer Man]

All the foregoing rather complicated explanation of "psychological
processes" has seemed necessary to make a clear impression of the _right
training methods_ for building within you any quality you need to assure
your success. You must begin by training your _outer_ man.

You can develop a particular mind-brain center (such as the center of
courage) only by the discriminative-restrictive training of those
portions of your _body_ which are directly related in activity and
responsiveness to that mind-brain unit of the multiplex YOU. Training of
_any other_ set of muscles will not develop the particular mind-brain
center you want to build up, and would be a wrong procedure.

You should _begin_ with specific training of particular sets of _sensory
muscles_ because, as we have seen, that is the _natural_ order of the
process of growth. It is how you began to learn everything you know. You
can increase and improve your present limited, conscious knowledge most
effectively by taking into your mind from your _trained_ particular
senses _more and better_ impressions than you ever have taken in before.

[Sidenote: Developing Persistence]

Suppose your success has been hindered by your lack of persistence. You
need to develop _that quality_ in particular. Let us see how the
discriminative-restrictive principle should be applied specifically to
assure you of building _persistence_ within yourself.

First it is necessary that you discriminate between _this one_ quality
and _all others_; especially between it and the quality of
_determination_. Very _different_ training methods are required to
develop persistence and determination respectively. When you are just
"determined" to do a thing, your jaw muscles, your arm and back muscles,
perhaps all your commonly known muscles, will be hardened _as long as
you remain determined, but no longer_. They will relax when the occasion
for determination has passed. The habit of instantly tensing your
muscles temporarily whenever you need to be determined will very greatly
strengthen and improve the efficiency of your brain-mind center of
_determination._ But that _temporary_ hardening of your muscles will
only slightly affect the development in you of _characteristic
persistence_.

[Sidenote: Developing Determination]

Hence the training of your muscles for building the habit of
determination within you should be concentrated on exercise in _changing
swiftly_ from comparative laxity to _muscular tension_. That is, in
order to accustom your _mind_ to hardening with _determined thoughts_
whenever determination is needed, you should train your _muscles_ to
harden _in coordination_, and thus to support your mental determination
by the complementary _physical suggestion_ of the same quality.

You do not need to use determination _all the time_; so it will be
sufficient if your muscles are taught to be _quickly responsive_ to
determination of mind on any occasion. (You know it helps you to carry
out a resolution if you stiffen your body at the moment you make up your
mind to do a thing, but _continued_ stiffness of the body in
determination would be a strain likely to weaken your power of action
unless backed by a tremendous, stored-up reserve strength of muscles.)
Begin your practice for the development of determination, then, by
training your muscles to tauten the instant you think determinedly. Your
brain-mind center of determination will also be strengthened by the
exercise that builds up the supporting habit of muscle action in
coordination. Millions of men have failed in life because their
determined thoughts were not reenforced by stiffened backbones.

[Sidenote: Discrimination Between Determination and Persistence]

Now let us discriminate between muscle training to develop the
characteristic of _persistence_ and the training already described for
the building of determination. In order to strengthen your persistence,
you must transmit through the distinct brain center of persistence to
the corresponding mind center, the impression of muscles _permanently
developed in firmness_, not just capable of temporary hardening on
occasion.

The _characteristically persistent_ man has gradually developed his
lax-muscled, sagging, baby chin into a jaw that is habitually firm,
whether or not he happens to be determined to do anything at a given
moment. His muscles do not sag utterly, even when he is asleep. He
probably wakes up in the morning with his teeth clenched. So, whenever
his coordinated brain-mind center perceives that the quality of
persistence is required, and starts to apply it, the _mental impulse_ to
persist is backed by a _permanent firm muscle structure_ that can stand
up as long as the mind needs the physical support.

[Sidenote: A Slump in Determination]

In contrast, the man who is only characteristically _determined_, but
who lacks _persistence_ in his determination, has developed just the
habit of hardening his muscles _for the time_ he is determined on doing
a particular thing. That does not exercise his muscles sufficiently to
make them firm _all_ the time, whether under tension or not.
Consequently his determination is likely to slump if his resolution is
subjected to a long strain. He does not possess muscular structure
sufficiently strong to support persistence in his determination.

_Habitual lack_ of firmness in the jaw muscles, as you know, results in
a sagging chin; which detrimentally affects the brain-mind center of
persistence. A man whose jaw habitually hangs loose may be capable of
great _determination_ for a while, but he is not _persistent in
character_. He might clench his teeth, stiffen his body, and plunge into
the surf to rescue a drowning person; but his first resolution to
effect the rescue would be weakened by the cold water and by fear. He
lacks the quality of the bulldog that will die rather than loose its
teeth from another dog's throat.

[Sidenote: Muscles Express and Impress Ideas]

The coordinated muscles _express_ the mental attitude, as we have
perceived; and equally they _impress_ the mind with _their_ attitude. If
you have a sagging chin, you are incapable of the mental bulldog grip of
persistence. So _tighten up your jaw muscles, and never let them hang
utterly loose_, if you are resolved to develop the characteristic of
"stick-to-it-iveness." _Begin_ with _muscle_ training, for your muscles
must be utilized to start the process of building up your brain-mind
center of persistence.

[Sidenote: Developing Perception]

When you train the particular sense muscles that transmit external
_impressions_ to a particular brain-mind unit (the same muscles that
reflexively _express_ the ideas of that one part of your multiplex ego)
you may be absolutely _sure_ of developing a particular related
characteristic. For example, if you want to sharpen your _perceptive_
faculties so that you will see with the _eyes of your mind_ much more
than the _ordinary_ man perceives, exercise your _physical_ eyes in
taking snap-shots that you can see clearly in detail _with your
imagination_ when you look away from an object after a glance at it. Try
glancing at the furnishings of your room, then shut your eyes and
construct a mental picture. When this is definitely clear to you, open
your eyes. The reality will be very different from your imagined
picture. But _sharpen your perceptive faculties_, develop a "camera
eye;" then the reality will be exactly impressed on your mind. Witnesses
in court often contradict one another, in all honesty, simply because
their ability to perceive actualities is not highly developed. In
consequence, they get false mental impressions of happenings or things
they severally have seen.

[Sidenote: Three Processes Of Mental Development]

There are but three _processes_ of mental development:

The first process comprises _getting information_ from a _sense_ to its
associated _brain center_, which then makes the _mind_ center conscious
that particular information has been transmitted to it.

The second process is _organizing_ the information in the mind center,
with relation to _other_ information _previously_ brought to the mind.

In the third process the mind center directs its co-related brain center
to send out certain _impulses of action_ to the corresponding muscular
structure.

Let us analyze an illustration of these three processes of mental
development. Suppose first you _hear_ something that concerns a
particular prospect for your "goods of sale." Second, you comprehend the
_significance_ to you of what you have heard. Third, your mind directs
your muscles to make a particular _use_ of what you have comprehended.
The original mental impression has been _fully developed_ because you
employed all three processes. If you had not completed the cycle of
development, you would have given your mind only partial exercise with
what you heard.

In order to become a master salesman, you must _take in_ many
impressions, perceive their _significance to you_ and how you can make
use of them, then _act_ on your comprehension of what you have learned.
There are countless failures in the world who might have been successes
if they had not stopped their possible mental development at the first
or second stages.

A man might know an encyclopedia of facts, but be a failure.

He might comprehend how to use his knowledge, and still be a failure.

_Success comes only to the man who acts most effectively on what he
knows_.

[Sidenote: Right Practice Of the Three Processes]

In order to secure quick and effective results, the _practice_ of the
three necessary processes of development should be:

First, _definitely conscious_. You need to _know just what_ quality you
want to develop in yourself.

Second, _discriminative_. You must learn the _differences_ between what
you _want_, and what you _don't want_ to develop in particular.

Third, _restrictive_. It is necessary that in your training to develop a
certain quality, you _concentrate_ your practice on the respects in
which this particular quality differs from other qualities.

Most of us are pretty _definitely conscious_ of what we want. We know
just the qualities we would like to have. But very few people employ
most effectively the _discriminative-restrictive methods of training_ in
their processes of development.

[Sidenote: Importance of Differentiation]

It is impossible to develop a particular quality fully if you only
recognize its _likenesses_ to other qualities. _Real mental development
is accomplished only as a result of the recognition of differences_.
After studying twins for a year, you still might be unable to tell them
apart if you were impressed solely with their remarkable similarity to
each other. Another man, with a mind discriminatively and restrictively
trained to recognize differences, would learn in five minutes to
distinguish the individualities of the twins.

Almost phenomenal development can be attained by use of the
discriminative-restrictive training method. The minutest distinctions
can be perceived if one concentrates his practice for mental growth on
the recognition of _differences only_. Individuals who have lost one
or more senses become extraordinarily adept in detecting contrasts with
their other senses. A normal man, possessed of all his senses, is
capable of even greater development of his powers of differentiation.

You know how remarkably a blind man learns to "see" with his fingers
and ears. But need you lose the sense of sight before you can comprehend
the lesson of his example to you? You realize that you appear to lack
many essential qualities of success. Know now that these are all merely
_dormant_ in you. They can be awakened and developed to an
extraordinary degree if you train yourself consciously in the
discriminative-restrictive use of all your sense tools. You would do it
if you were blind. It certainly should be much easier to accomplish the
desired transformation with your eyes open to aid your other senses.

[Sidenote: Whatever You Lack Now You Can Develop]

The significance of all this is that you need not be permanently
handicapped in your sales-_man_-ship by any present lack of particular
qualifications for success. _It makes no difference what you happen to
be short of now_. By properly coordinating your brain-mind-muscle sets
or centers, and by using all three in the processes of your development,
_you can make yourself over almost miraculously_. Will power, courage,
exact and wise judgment, persistence, patience, rapid thinking,
constructive imagination--_any and all qualities you want_ CAN be
developed in you, even though they now seem not to exist.

Your development is limited only by the practically limitless number of
unawakened cells in your brain. Most of your potential mind centers are
asleep yet. _You can wake up the slumberers with your various sense
muscles, and vigorously exercise them into activity for your success_.
You have been handicapped because you have been carrying so many
"dead-heads" that ought to be working or paying their way.

_Remember that growth of any brain-mind center can be begun and
continued only by the exercise of the coordinated set of sense muscles
in transmitting impressions from outside yourself and in expressing your
thoughts_.

[Sidenote: Your Limitless Brain Capacity]

The number of cells in the human brain has been estimated at from six
hundred millions to two billions. The greatest genius who ever lived
doubtless had scores of millions of brain cells that remained more or
less idle, if not sound asleep, all his life. Nature has furnished you
with a plentiful surplus of grey matter in your head. Do not be afraid
that you will exhaust or tire out your brains by your self-development.
_Put into your work all the brains you can waken with your various
senses. And keep the alarm clocks wound up_.

William James, the great psychologist, wrote, "Compared with what we
ought to be, we are only half awake. Our fires are damped; our drafts
are checked. We are making use of only a small part of our physical and
mental resources. There are in every one potential forms of activity
that actually are shunted from use. Part of the imperfect vitality under
which we labor can thus be easily explained. One part of our mind dams
up--even damns up--the other part."

[Sidenote: Growth Can Be Assured And Success Made Certain]

Can you become a big sales MAN? Of course! You have all the necessary
tools to make yourself over in any way you will--your muscles, nerves,
brain, and mind. Use them cooperatively, as they were meant to be used,
_in their respective sets_--not as if you were a mental-physical unit.
_To develop your sales manhood you need only to apply real thinking in
the processes of your daily life_. Study out the reasons and effects of
all your acts and expressions. Your experimental psychological
laboratory should be yourself, undergoing at your hands the
transformation from what you are to what it is possible for you to
become. Begin making your man-stuff over. Each successive step will be
easier to take. _Your growth, when you employ the right processes and
methods, is certain_. Therefore your success in making yourself a big
sales man can be _assured_.




CHAPTER III

_Skill In Selling Your Best Self_


[Sidenote: Practice Of the Art]

If you have developed real capability and first-class manhood, you have
"the goods" that are always salable. But you realize now that the mere
_possession_ of these basic qualifications for success will not insure
you against failure in life. You cannot be _certain_ of succeeding
unless you _know how to sell_ true ideas of your best self in the right
market or field of service, and until you develop _sales skill_ by
continual correct practice.

We will assume that you have had little or no selling experience. You
are conscious that you entirely lack sales art. Therefore, though in
other ways you feel qualified to succeed in life, you may be dubious
about your future. Perhaps you realize that _skill in selling_ true
ideas of your best capabilities is all you need to make your success
certain. But you question, "Can I be _sure_ of becoming a skillful
salesman of myself?" You have no doubt of your ability to _learn_ the
selling process, but very likely you do not believe you ever could
_practice_ it with the art of a master salesman. Consequently you are
not yet convinced of the certainty of your success.

[Sidenote: Success Proportionate To Sales Skill]

Of course success cannot be absolutely assured in advance unless _every
element_ of the secret we have analyzed can be mastered. Hence it is
necessary that you now be shown _certain ways_ to sell ideas--ways that
_cannot fail_, that are adaptable to the sale of _any_ right "goods,"
and that _you_ surely can master. You need to feel absolutely confident
that _if you follow specific principles and use particular methods, you
can impress on any other man true ideas of your best capabilities_. When
you become skillful in making good impressions, you certainly will be
able to sell yourself into such chances to succeed as fit your
individual qualifications.

_Your success with the best that is in you can be made directly
proportionate to your skill as a salesman of "your goods_." Mastery of
the art of selling will enable you to cut down to the minimum the
possibilities of failure in whatever you undertake. Remember that
_success does not demand perfection._ There never was a 100% salesman.
To be a success, you need only _make a good batting average in your
opportunities_ to sell. It is not necessary to hit 1000 to be a champion
batsman in the game of life. Ty Cobb led his league a dozen years with
an average under .400.

[Sidenote: Technique And Tools]

The _foundation_ of sales art is _knowledge of selling technique_. So
the first step in the process of developing your skill as a salesman of
yourself is the study of the _right tools_ for making impressions of
"true ideas of your best capabilities." You must know, also, the
scientific rules that govern the _most effective use_ of these right
tools. Technique, however, is only the _basic element_ of salesmanship.
On the foundation of your sales _knowledge_ it is necessary to build
sales _skill_ that will completely cover up your technique. Your
perfected sales art should seem, and really be _second nature_ to you.

Your salesmanship probably will be crude until you overcome the
awkwardness of handling unfamiliar tools, or familiar tools in ways that
are new to you. But "practice makes perfect." The use of the right
technique in selling true ideas about your best self will soon become
natural.

[Sidenote: Making Success Easy]

The _skillful_ sale of ideas is accomplished _without waste of time or
energy in the selling process_. The unskillful, would-be salesman not
only fritters away his own time and effort, he also wastes the patience
and power of the man to whom he wants to sell his "goods." The sales
artist, however, gets his ideas into the mind of a prospect _quickly_,
with the least possible _wear and tear_ on either party to the sale. No
one appreciates a fine salesman so thoroughly as the best buyer. Skill
in selling true ideas about your particular qualifications will not only
_assure_ your success, but will make it _easy_ for you to succeed.

[Sidenote: Docking Your Sales-man-ship]

The skillful salesman is the captain of his own sales-man-ship. But in
order to make certain of landing his cargo of right impressions he takes
aboard the pilot Science to begin with, and then concentrates on four
factors of the art of selling ideas:

First, _discovering and traversing_ the best channel into the prospect's
mind;

Second, _locating the particular point of interest_ upon which the
salesman's cargo can be most effectively unloaded;

Third, _maneuvering alongside_ this center of the buyer's interest;

Fourth, _securely tying to_ the interest pier so that the shipload of
ideas may be fully discharged.

The primary aim of the skillful salesman _when making port_ is to get
safely to the right landing place as soon as possible and with the least
danger of failure in his _ultimate purpose_ of completing the sale. At
this initial stage of the selling process, however, he concentrates his
thoughts on the _skillful docking_ of his sales-man-ship. The _nature of
the cargo_ a sailor ship captain brings to port has little or nothing to
do with the art of reaching and tying up to the pier. Similarly,
whatever his "goods of sale," the skillful _salesman_ uses the same
principles and methods to dock his salesman-shipload of ideas most
effectively in the harbor of the prospect's mind. So the _art_ you are
studying is _standardized_. When you master it, you can apply it
successfully to the sale of your best self or any other "goods of sale."

[Sidenote: Reasoning And Argument Are Wrong]

Before considering the methods of selling that are most effective, it
will be well to get rid of a mistaken idea that is all too common. A
great many people regard reasoning power, or the force of pure logic, as
an important selling tool. There are so-called salesmen who attempt to
"argue" prospects into buying. Unthinking sales executives sometimes
instruct their representatives to employ certain "selling arguments."
But the methods and language of the debater have no place in the
repertory of a _truly artistic_ salesman or sales manager.

One debater never _convinces_ the other. At best he only can _defeat_
his antagonist. In a skillfully finished sale, however, there should be
neither victor nor vanquished. The selling process is not a battle of
minds. There is no room in it for any spirit of antagonism on the part
of the salesman. So in your self-training to sell true ideas of your
best capabilities, do not emphasize especially the value of logic and
reasoning. If you use them at all in selling yourself, disguise their
character most skillfully. _Never suggest that you are debating or
arguing your qualifications_ with prospective buyers of your mental or
physical capacity for service. You cannot browbeat your way into
opportunities to succeed.

Most employers buy the expected services of men and women in order to
satisfy their own _desires_ for particular capabilities. Few will buy
against their wishes. In order to sell your qualifications with certain
success, you first must make the other man genuinely _want_ what you
offer. Almost always _mind vision_ and _heart hunger_ must be stimulated
to produce desire. Therefore the most skillful salesman of himself does
not use the words, tones, and actions of argument. In preference to cold
reason and logic he employs the arts of _mental suggestion_ and
_emotional persuasion_.

[Sidenote: The Force of Suggestion]

Suggestion is especially effective in producing desire; because an idea
that is merely _suggested_, and not stated, is unlikely to provoke
antagonism or resistance. A suggestion is given ready access to the mind
of the other man. Usually it gets in without his realizing that a
_strange_ thought has entered his head from outside. When he becomes
conscious of the presence in his mind of an idea that has been only
_suggested_ to him, he is apt to treat it _as one of his own family of
ideas_ and not as an intruder. Naturally he is little inclined to oppose
a desire that he thinks is _prompted by his own thoughts_. However, he
would be disposed to resist the same wish if he realized it had been
_injected_ into his consciousness.

All of us know the great force of suggestion; but there are very few
people who so use words, tones, and movements as to make the _most_ of
their power of _suggesting_ ideas in preference to _stating_ them.
Probably no tool of salesmanship will be of more help in _assuring_ your
success than fully developed ability in suggestion, which is the
skillful process of getting your ideas into the minds of others
_unawares_.

[Sidenote: Words Are Doubted]

The _words_ we use are intended to convey pretty definite meanings to
listeners. If we are entirely honest in our words, we expect whatever we
say to be taken at its face value as the truth. Yet each of us knows
that his own mind seldom accepts without question the statements of
other men, however well informed and honest they are reputed to be. You
and I mentally reserve the right to believe or to doubt the written or
spoken _words_ of someone else; because they always enter our minds
_consciously_. We know that the words we hear or read come from _outside
ourselves_.

The skillful salesman proceeds on the assumption that his words will be
stopped at the door of the prospect's mind and examined with more or
less suspicion of their sincerity and truth. Therefore the selling
artist employs words principally for one purpose--to communicate to the
other man information about such _facts_ as cannot be introduced to his
consciousness otherwise. Some facts can be told only in words. But a
master of the selling process uses as few words as possible to convey
his meaning. He depends on his _suggestive tones_ more than on what he
says. He reenforces his speech with accompanying _movements_ and
muscular _expressions_, to get into the mind of the other man by
_suggestive action_ the true _ideas behind the words_ used.

Similarly when you bring your full capability to the market of your
choice, you should not rely upon a mere _declaration_ of your
qualifications; and upon _word_ proof, written or spoken, that you are
_the_ man for the job. Your words are unlikely to be taken at their face
value. Any claims you have a right to make will be discounted heavily if
you _say_ very much about your own ability. You run the risk of being
judged a braggart and egotist when you _talk_ up your good points;
though you may be telling no more than the plain truth.

[Sidenote: Tones and Acts Are Believed]

However, if your _tones_ of sincerity and self-confidence denote really
big manhood; and if your every _act and expression_ indicate to a
prospective employer that you are entirely capable of filling the job
for which you apply, he probably will consider himself very shrewd in
sizing you up. Really _you_ have suggested to him every idea he has
about you, but he will think _he_ has _found_ in you the very
qualifications he desires in an employee. You can do more to sell
yourself by the way you walk into a man's office than you could
accomplish by bringing him the finest letters of introduction or by
"giving him the smoothest line of talk about yourself." He is able to
read the principal characteristics of the real You in your poise and
movements and in the manner of your speech. _He will believe absolutely
any characteristic he himself finds in you_. _What_ you say to him may
have little real influence on his judgment of you. But be sure that he
will note _how_ you speak; and will make up his mind about you from your
tones and actions, rather than from your words. He will think the ideas
you suggest to him are _his own original discoveries_.

[Sidenote: Suggestion By Tones And Acts]

Evidently, before you attempt to achieve success, it is very important
that you study the _art of suggestion_ by tones and actions. When you
know the principles, you should practice this art until you make
yourself a master of skillful suggestion.

You need to know precisely the _effects_ of tone _variations_, the exact
_significance_ of the _various_ tones you can use. It is necessary also
for you to comprehend not only that "Every little movement has a meaning
all its own," but _just what that meaning is_. When you are equipped
with thorough knowledge of _how_ to suggest particular ideas through
tones and motions, you should practice using the principles and methods
of suggestive expression you have learned, until it becomes second
nature _always to speak and act with selling art_. Then you will be a
skillful salesman, sure of your power to sell true ideas of your best
capability wherever you are. Your success will have been made certain
through your sales _art_ built on the foundation of your sales
_knowledge_ by your fully developed sales _manhood_.

[Sidenote: Discriminative Selective Method]

Your increased selling _skill_ will result _naturally_, just as we have
seen that you will _grow_ naturally in sales _manhood_, if you employ
the discriminative-selective method when training your human nature in
the art of suggesting your best self. You need first to recognize the
exact _differences_ of significance among the various tones and
movements at your command. Then your self-training in suggestive
expression should be concentrated on the _particular ways_ of speaking
and acting that will best demonstrate your qualifications for success.
Of course it is equally important to _eliminate all tones and movements
that might suggest unfavorable ideas_ about you. To make sure of your
success, be certain that everything you do and say tells "the truth, the
whole truth, and nothing but the truth" about your capabilities. It is
necessary to make sure no word, tone, or movement carries the least
suggestion that might possibly leave a false impression of the real You.

Let us make a brief analysis now of words, tones, and acts--_the three
means of suggestive expression which are the natural equipment of every
man for conveying his ideas to the minds of others_. You cannot employ
the discriminative-restrictive method to develop your selling skill
unless you know very definitely just _what_ your different tools of
expression are, and the almost infinite variety of _uses_ to which they
can be put.

[Sidenote: Four Rules About Words]

For the reasons already explained, words are of much less value than
tones and movements in suggesting ideas the other man will admit to his
mind unawares. But the sales efficiency of words can be very much
increased if they are chosen with intelligent _discrimination_, and if
the choice is _restricted_ to words that have four qualifications.

First, they should be _common_ words.

Second, _short_ words are more forceful than long words.

Third, words of _definite meanings_ are preferable to mere
generalizations.

Fourth, words that make _vivid_ impressions are most effective in
suggesting ideas.

[Sidenote: Common Words]

When you employ words to sell true ideas of your best capability, choose
words that everybody understands. Do not "air your knowledge" in
uncommon language. Unless you are seeking a position as a philologist in
a college, restrict yourself to every-day common speech when selling
your personal qualifications. An important element in the skillful sale
of ideas is making them as _easy_ as possible for the other man to
comprehend. If you use unfamiliar words, it sometimes will be hard for
him to understand what you mean. _The truly artistic salesman avoids
introducing any unnecessary element of difficulty into the selling
process_. So you should discriminate against all unusual expressions and
restrict yourself to the _common_ words that are easy for any man to
comprehend.

[Sidenote: Short Words]

A long word or phrase may convey your idea clearly, but _force_ is lost
in the drawn-out process. Remember that your _words_ will meet the
intuitive resistance of the other man's mind before they are admitted to
his full belief. You cannot afford to sacrifice the driving-in power of
the _short_ word. Therefore, when your opinion is asked, it will be
better salesmanship to say, "I think" so and so than "It is my
impression--"

[Sidenote: Definite Words]

The _definite_ word conveys a _particular meaning_ to the mind of the
other man, not merely a vague or general idea. Never say, when you apply
for a position, "I can do anything." That tells the prospective employer
simply _nothing_ about your ability. Particularize.

[Sidenote: Vivid Words]

It is of the utmost importance to make _vivid impressions_ with your
speech. You should employ words skillfully to produce in the mind of the
other man _distinct and lifelike_ mental images. He may not credit the
words themselves, taken literally and alone. But he will believe in _the
pictures the words paint in his mind_; because he will think he himself
is the mental artist. He will not be suspicious of his own work. If you
apply for a situation in a bank, and the cashier seeks to learn whether
or not you are safely conservative in your views, you can suggest in
vivid words that you have the qualification he requires. You will make
the desired impression if you say to him, "I always carry an umbrella
when it looks like rain."

[Sidenote: Tone Meanings]

Our analysis of the three means of self-expression turns now to _tones_.
Rightly selected words are tremendously augmented in selling power when
they are _rightly spoken_. Most men employ but a small part of their
complete tonal equipment, and are ignorant of the _full sales value_ of
the portion they use. The master salesman, however, practices the gamut
of his natural tones, and utilizes each to produce particular effects.
Thus he supplements his mere statements with _suggestive shades of
meaning_. The _way_ he says a thing has more effect than the words
themselves.

Conversely tone _faults_ may have a disastrous effect on one's chances
to succeed. For illustration, ideas of mind, of feeling, and of power
can be correctly expressed by the discriminative use of particular
_pitches_ of tone. But a wrong pitch, though the words employed might be
identical, would convey a directly opposite and false impression.

[Sidenote: Mental Pitch]

Suppose you are appealing only to the _mind_ of your prospective
employer--as when you quote figures to him--you should restrict your
tone temporarily to the mental pitch. You are just conveying facts now.
Therefore the "matter-of-fact" tone best suits the ideas expressed.
Since it fits what you are saying, the way you speak impresses the other
man with the suggestion that _your tone and words are consistent_.
Therefore his mind has no inclination to resist the mental pitch on this
occasion. He admits your figures to his conscious belief more readily
than he would credit them if spoken in an emotive or power tone. Such
tone pitches would strike him as out of place in a mere statement of
fact.

[Sidenote: Tone Faults]

If your prospective employer asks how old you are, and how many years of
experience you have had, and you reply in a tone vibrant with emotion or
in a deep tone of sternness, the wrong pitch certainly will make a bad
impression on him. By employing an inconsistent pitch when stating
facts, you might "queer" your chances for the position you most desire.
The tone fault in your salesmanship would lie about your real character.
The man addressed would think you were foolish to use such a pitch in
merely imparting a bit of _information_ to his mind. He would expect you
to employ for _that_ purpose simply a _head_ tone, not a chest tone nor
an abdominal tone. The head tone, when used to convey matters of _fact_,
aids in convincing the _mind_ of the other man because _it is the pitch
that fits bare facts_--the tone of pure mentality.

[Sidenote: When Mental Tone Should Be Used]

This mental, or head tone, is most effective in gaining _attention_, in
conveying _information_, in arousing the _perceptive faculties_ of
another mind. _Restrict its use to these purposes only._ The mental tone
is not pleasing to the ear. It is pitched high. It suggests arguments
and disputes. It is the provocative tone of quarrels. So it should be
employed most carefully, with every precaution against giving offense by
its _insistence_.

Avoid its use for long at a time. Its very monotony is apt to irritate.
The high pitch suggests a mental challenge to the mind of the other man,
and hence arouses his mental tendency to opposition. The unskillful
_over-use_ of head tones may ruin a salesman's best opportunity to gain
a coveted object.

There are times, however, when it is necessary that you should
insist--briefly. If you do so _artistically_, and do not persist in the
high, mental, rasping tone; but change to the lower, emotive, chest tone
very soon after your insistence on the other man's attention, you will
not hurt your chances. It is the _continued_ use of the head tone that
is to be avoided.

[Sidenote: Emotive Pitch]

The _emotive_ (chest or heart) pitch dissipates opposition as naturally
as the mind tone provokes a quarrel. Even a hot argument can be ended
without any lasting ill-feeling if the disputants conclude with hearty
expressions of good will for one another. The same words spoken in head
tones would increase the antagonism by suggesting sarcasm or
insincerity. The resonant chest tone suggests that it comes from the
speaker's heart. The _hearer's_ heart makes _his_ mind believe the heart
message conveyed by the emotional pitch of the other man's voice.

Therefore if you want your ideas to penetrate a man's _heart_, don't aim
your tone _high_ at his head. _Lower_ it to the pitch of true
friendliness, of comradeship, of human brotherhood. Aim at _his_ breast
with _your_ breast tone. Do not fawn or plead, however, when selling
ideas of yourself. You can persuade best by suggesting that you have
brought all your manhood to render the other man a real service. This
suggestion will induce a feeling of _respect_ for you, which will
certainly be followed by willingness of the prospect to let you show him
you are able "to deliver the goods."

[Sidenote: Danger of Over-using Head Tone]

Some people suggest by the over-use of head tones that they depend
altogether on what they _know_ to achieve success. They make the
impression that they expect their high degree of _mentality_ to open
chances for them to succeed. "They know they know" their business; so
when they secure opportunities to demonstrate their capabilities, they
emphasize too much what they _know_. They are apt to use the mental tone
continually. Perhaps the prospective employer needs a man of exactly
such knowledge as is possessed by the candidate he is interviewing. But
if when presenting his qualifications the applicant rasps the ears of
his hearer for a long time with high-pitched head tones, the listener
intuitively becomes prejudiced. He is impressed with the suggestion that
the speaker is a "know-it-all" fellow. The employer is likely to turn
down his application because of the unskilled tone pitch in which it is
made.

[Sidenote: Sing-Song Parrot Talk]

When a man has talked glibly and fast about superior qualifications he
knows he possesses, it dazes him if his exceptional capabilities fail to
win him the job for which he is particularly fitted. He cannot
comprehend why another applicant who plainly is not so well qualified
should be chosen. But his voice has suggested to the employer that
everything he said was just "parrot talk." Thousands of bright "parrots"
remain failures all their lives for no other reason than their utter
inability to get inside the _hearts_ of other men. The ordinary
canvasser who trudges from house to house with his "sing-song" patter
has grown into the bad habit of using head tones almost exclusively. As
a natural reflex of the unpleasant impression he makes with his voice,
it is a common experience to have a door slammed in his face.

[Sidenote: Getting Around Mental Barrier]

The master salesman comprehends that the _mentality_ of a prospect is a
barrier to his _emotional_ expression. That is, the mind is an alert
sentinel on guard to protect the _heart_ from its own impulses to
unthinking action. So the skillful salesman when making his "approach"
_goes around_ the mind side of the prospect to the emotional side, where
there is no hostile guard. He knows that "the hearts of all men are
akin," and that "the hardest heart has soft spots." He realizes it is
bad salesmanship to challenge the sentinel mind of the prospect in a
mental tone. So the salesman artist makes _his_ tone resonant with chest
vibrations that stimulate the direct response of the _other_ man's
heart. _He works at first to draw out fellow feeling, not to drive his
ideas into the head of the prospect._

[Sidenote: Talking Like a Brother]

The mere presentation of _thoughts_, or _mental pictures_ of goods, is
not enough to induce a prospect to buy. The master salesman comprehends
that he has to deal with the _dual personality_ of the individual he
plans to sell. Therefore from the very beginning of his interview he
works to open the mind of the other man by first establishing a unity of
human feeling between his own heart and the heart of his prospect. He
uses the _emotive_ tone. He "talks like a brother." Of course he is
careful not to exaggerate this show of fellow feeling. He uses a
"hearty" tone without appearing in the least degree hypocritical. When
their _hearts_ are in accord, the other man is prepared to agree
_mentally_ with the salesman.

[Sidenote: Power Pitch]

The third pitch of your voice as a salesman is the _power_ tone. It can
be used skillfully to suggest that you have the force required to
succeed. It is the pitch that comes from deep down and that calls into
play the powerful abdominal muscles. It is not necessarily a loud tone,
however. Often it is low, with a suggestion of immense reserve strength
behind it. With the power pitch you can _command_ in a simple request
which, spoken in a higher tone, might be refused because it would lack
the suggestion of force. In order to succeed, you sometimes must employ
power. When a situation requires a demonstration of your strong
personality, augment the force of your words and acts by using the tone
pitch that suggests the power of the big muscles of your waist.

[Sidenote: When to Use Power Tone]

Employ the emotive tone to convey ideas of your truthfulness and honor.
Show your courtesy and kindness with the heart pitch; use it to manifest
your real desire to be of service to your prospect. But suggest your
solidity and capacity for good judgment by employing the pitch of power.
With its aid you can convince your prospect of the enduring quality of
your best characteristics; you can deny disparagement or doubt of your
ability; you will be able to brush aside unfounded objections; you can
compel respect.

[Sidenote: Tone Units]

The discriminative use of various _units_ of tone is as helpful in
making suggestive impressions as is the employment of character pitches.
The one-tone voice does not augment the force of words. "Yes" said with
but one tonal unit is not nearly so powerful as "Y-es" in two tones, the
second pitched low. A two-tone "Y-es" with the second unit high-pitched
suggests the very opposite of plain "Yes." It implies "No," or a
question instead of an affirmation. Sometimes it is advisable to suggest
"No" when the word itself if spoken bluntly would give offense. You can
convey the idea of skepticism or denial by using two tone units
skillfully pitched in saying "Y-es."

While you ordinarily can double the effectiveness of your tone by using
two units, and you may treble the effect if you employ three (as in the
exclamation A-ha-a!), if you attempted to use more than three units of
tone in any ordinary circumstances you would be likely to appear odd or
fantastic, if not foolish. So be careful not to over-do the employment
of multiple tone units to stress your meaning.

[Sidenote: Placing Tones]

There is selling value, too, in the _placing_ of tones in your mouth. A
tone placed far forward indicates lack of thought and instability. It is
the tone we associate with "lip judgments." On the contrary, hidden
thoughts, unwillingness to tell all you know, are suggested by tones
placed far back in your mouth. The middle-of-the-mouth tone makes the
impression that the voice is properly balanced, and suggests the
associated idea of mind balance. Avoid the extremes in placing your
tones, if you would make certain of the most effective use of your voice
in selling ideas. Convince and persuade by employing the secure,
trustworthy tone of the "happy medium."

[Sidenote: Bad Habits]

_Undoubtedly you have little bad habits that tell lies about
you_--habits in the use of words, habits of tone, and especially habits
of action. When you fully understand the significance of _what_ you say,
and of _how_ you say it, and of the things you _do_--the effects
produced on other men--you will _start changing your bad characteristics
into good factors_ that will certainly help you to succeed. So study
yourself most carefully, in order to learn what your habits are, and
their meanings.

[Sidenote: Significance Of Movements]

Ordinarily a man is conscious of his words and tones, but he often
_does_ things unconsciously. Probably you realize only vaguely or not at
all just what your various _actions_ suggest to people who observe you.
Therefore it is of the greatest importance that you study the
significance of _discriminated movements, gestures, and facial
expressions_ as aids or hindrances to the making of true impressions of
your best capabilities. You should _restrict yourself to acts that make
the best impressions._

Movements, and their results, may be analyzed under three heads: _Poise,
Pose_, and _Action_.

[Sidenote: Poise]

It is a phenomenon of psychology that the balancing of the body suggests
mental balance. Conversely, if the body is out of balance, there is the
suggestion that the mind is no better poised. That is, if a man cannot
keep his balance physically, we have an intuition that he is mentally
off his equilibrium. Correct poise of course involves correct body
support, and suggests a rightly supported mind. _Hence you can make the
impression, merely by the way you stand and walk, that you are a person
of well-poised judgment_. You may hurt your chances very much if it
seems necessary for you to prop your body with your legs. The man who
stands with his feet wide apart is out of balance, and is easily tipped
over. The impression made by the incorrect poise is that such a man must
be unable to stand by himself like normal men. The law of the
association of ideas then immediately suggests that his thoughts are
similarly unable to stand unless propped.

Incorrect poise of the body has another bad effect in the sale of ideas.
It makes the impression of _abnormality_. Being unusual, it distracts
attention from the salesman and his capabilities, and turns it to his
lack of balance. You realize that in order to sell your ideas
effectively you need the _concentrated attention_ of your prospect. It
will help you to succeed in life if you perfect yourself in the
skillful poising of your body and its members so that you will be able
to appear perfectly balanced in any normal position.

If you teeter from side to side, or rock back and forth on your heels
when you are talking to a man whom you want to impress with your
stability of character, you will undermine everything you _say_ by what
you _do_. Of course you should not stand stiffly. Your leg posts are
designed to serve as a flexible pedestal for your body. Your ability to
shift your weight from one foot to the other easily without losing your
balance suggests associated capability of your mind to keep your
judgment in balance. If you have a correctly poised mind, it _can_
balance your body.

[Sidenote: Pose]

The _poses_ of your body, too, are suggestive of ideas about your mental
make-up. The quiet pose aids in making impressions of the qualities of
solidity of purpose, of calmness, of confidence, etc. The active pose is
suggestive of enthusiasm, force, hustling, and the like. Your pose
should be suited to the vocation you have chosen. In a bank, for
instance, the quiet pose of assured efficiency perfectly suits the
atmosphere of safety and security. In a factory, on the other hand, you
are likely to make a better impression with a much more active pose that
matches the energy and speed of manufacturing operations.

You should not, however, take any pose as a _pretense_. Whatever poses
you employ to augment the things you say should be used as _means for
the better communication of truth, not to falsify_ in any degree. And
you will need to be extremely careful lest you over-do a particular pose
and suggest affectation. Doubtless you have characteristic poses.
Analyze yourself. _Determine what your habits of pose mean to other
people_. Then make such changes in your characteristic poses as will
signify only the best traits you have.

[Sidenote: Action]

Next we will make a brief study of _actions_ from four viewpoints.

First, the _lines_ of action;

Second, the _directions_ of action;

Third, the _planes_ of action;

Fourth, the _tension_ or the _laxity_ of action.

[Sidenote: Lines of Action]

All movements are in straight, single curved, or multiple curved _lines
of action_. Each of these classes of movements creates a _particular
impression_ when it is perceived--an impression very different from that
produced by movements of either of the other classes. It will help you
greatly in your ambition to succeed if you understand the _exact
significance_ of your every action along the various lines, and if you
employ intelligently the right movements to suggest the particular ideas
you wish to convey.

The straight gesture always indicates an appeal to mentality. Use it to
aim ideas at the other man's _mind_.

The single curve, or wave movement, invariably denotes feeling. Employ
it to reach into the breast of the other man and influence his _heart_.

The gesture of double curves signifies power. It should be employed to
_dominate_ both the mind and actions of the prospect--to _make_ him
_think_ and _do_ the things you will.

[Sidenote: Directions Of Actions]

The different _directions_ of actions also suggest various ideas. Your
selling purpose is to get ideas over from your mind to the mind of the
other man. It is especially important that the direction of your
gestures should conform to your sales intention. Every movement you make
to aid your purpose should suggest your mental action _toward_ the
prospect, or _away from_ yourself. It should signify that you are taking
something out of your mind and offering it to his. Of course you don't
_break into_ his head with your idea and force him to receive it. You
just bring it to the front porch of his mind. Then, if you have been
skillful in your salesmanship, _he_ will open the door of interest after
_you_ ring the bell of attention, and will permit your idea to enter his
thoughts. But he is unlikely to admit it unless by some indication
_from_ you _to_ him he knows what is expected of him.

If you gesture toward yourself when expressing your thoughts, you do not
suggest to the other man that he take in your ideas. Instead you
concentrate his attention on your selfishness and your individual
opinion. The characteristic gestures of the typical old peddler are
displeasing because they are made in the wrong _direction_. He holds his
arms close to his body and gesticulates toward himself. He makes the
impression that he does not have your interest at heart in the least,
but only his own.

[Sidenote: Affirmation And Denial]

An up-and-down movement suggests something standing. It has the
associated significance of vitality or life. Conversely, a side-to-side
gesture suggests similarity to things lying down, lack of vitality, or
the death of ideas. By holding yourself erect you make a very different
impression of your energy than would be made were you to lean to one
side. You can affirm a statement by an up-and-down movement of your hand
or by a nod of your head. You deny suggestively with a horizontal
gesture or by shaking your head from side to side.

[Sidenote: Levels of Action]

The significance of action on different _planes_ or _levels_ is seldom
appreciated. The level of eye action is of especial importance in
suggesting particular ideas.

When you look another person in the eye, you convey to him the idea of
direct mental energy. You suggest the straight action of your mind in
team-work with his. Your eye action on the same level indicates to him
that you are thinking on the _practical_ plane.

[Sidenote: Lifting Prospect's Thoughts]

But if your eyes repeatedly focus above the level of the other man's
eyes, you make the impression that you are an _idealist_ rather than a
practical person. What you say will not seem to him to apply directly to
his case. He will not feel the personal, or man-to-man contact of your
thoughts. Sometimes, however, it is important to lift your eyes when
talking to a prospect, in order to suggest that he lift his thoughts
from the level of mere selfishness. By your suggestive eye action on the
upper plane you may stimulate in him a higher vision of possibilities or
an insight into the future, if he seems inclined to take a strictly
practical view of his present needs only.

When you look below the eye level of the other man, you indicate (1)
modesty, if the movement is directly down; (2) shame, if the movement is
a little to one side and downward; (3) disgust, if your eyes look far
down and far to the side.

[Sidenote: Tensity and Laxness]

The _tensity_ or _laxness_ of your muscles when you are in the presence
of a prospect will suggest to him very diverse ideas. Both tensity and
laxity of muscles can be used to good effect in selling. Your muscles
should appear somewhat tense when you are _presenting_ ideas, in order
to make the impression that your mind is fully active. Conversely, by
normal relaxation of your muscles when you are _listening_, you suggest
the receptivity of your mind and your entire readiness to take in ideas
from outside. When you show your muscles are relaxed, you also indicate
that you are perfectly at ease and unafraid of objections or criticism.
If you were to sit tense under criticism, you would suggest that you
felt the necessity of fighting back. But you disarm disparagement of
your capabilities when you appear entirely at ease while you listen.

[Sidenote: Introduction To Study of Sales Art]

The brief outline in this chapter of fundamental principles of selling
_skill_, and of the methods by which ideas may be conveyed through
artistic suggestion, is just an introduction to your study and
comprehension of the successive steps of salesmanship practice which are
to be analyzed in the remaining chapters of this book. The limitations
of our present space have made it impossible to do more than summarize
here the chief factors of art in selling ideas. You will need to master
the remainder of the book in order to amplify and to apply most
effectively in practice the general principles and methods that have
been outlined.

Surely you now are convinced that skill in selling is not a vague
mystery, not a natural gift, not something impossible for _you_ to
attain. Every element of sales art can be analyzed in detail. You are
learning _exactly how_ to sell the true ideas of your best capability.
Practice of what you learn will perfect your salesmanship.

[Sidenote: Success Certain]

There is absolutely no doubt that you can master the right principles
and methods. By continual practice you surely can become skillful in
their daily use. When you make yourself adept in the art, you
_certainly_ will be able to sell your particular qualifications
successfully.




CHAPTER IV

_Preparing to Make Your Success Certain_


[Sidenote: Be Ready When Your Chance Comes]

Thousands of men have failed in life because they were not ready when
their best chances for success came. Some of these golden opportunities
slipped away unrecognized. Others, though perceived, could not be
grasped. The men to whom they were presented had not prepared to hold
and use such chances whenever they might arrive.

_If you would make your success a certainty, you must get all ready for
it in advance_. Then you will not be taken unawares when you find your
big chance. If you are thoroughly prepared, you will sight it quickly,
realize its full value, and seize it with complete confidence in your
ability to make the most of it.

Before you seek it, be sure of your entire readiness for the opportunity
you especially want. You can much better afford to wait a little while
for _certain_ success than to rush, unready, into the field of your
choice, risking the likelihood of failure that could be guarded against
by intelligent preparation to succeed.

[Sidenote: Do Not Start Unprepared]

A young man was offered a position of fine opportunity with a great
banking house. His ambition was to build his career in that particular
organization. But when the duties of the proffered situation were
explained to him, he declined to undertake them at once; though he
risked the chance that he might not get another such opportunity for
employment by the financial institution of his choice.

"I am sorry," he said to the cashier, "but I do not know enough about
accounting to fill that job now. It will take six months of hard work
evenings to train myself to fit your needs. Please give me other
employment in the bank meanwhile, so I'll be able to study the job at
close range while getting ready for it."

This was excellent salesmanship. The candidate suggested in his words,
tones, and actions that he recognized a real opportunity, that he
comprehended all it involved, that he was willing to prepare himself
adequately, and that he felt certain of his ability to fill the place
after completing the necessary preparation.

The bank, however, was in immediate need of his services in the position
offered to him. So the cashier, who had been very well impressed by the
young man's attitude, told him to take the place, and offered to supply
him with an accountant aide for six months.

[Sidenote: Keeping the Opportunity Open]

"I would rather not," the applicant persisted in declining. "I mean to
keep on climbing toward the top in this bank, once I get started; and I
don't want to begin as a cripple. I couldn't give thorough satisfaction
now, even with an assistant on the accounting. It is not good business
for me to start by making a poor impression. I'd prefer that you do not
think of me as a man for whom excuses need to be made. I wish to
commence my work in that job, when I am ready, with your complete
confidence that I can handle it--not as a weak sister." He smiled
winningly.

The failure of so skillful a salesman of ideas was simply _impossible_.
There is no getting away from such a high quality of salesmanship. The
cashier bought the present and prospective services of the young man who
had demonstrated _at the outset_ his comprehension of the _first
importance of preparation._ The opportunity was kept open six months for
the applicant in training, while he fitted himself for his future job.
This successful salesman of true ideas of his best capabilities is now a
vice-president of the great financial institution.

"But," you say, "suppose the cashier had been unable to wait, would not
the young man's over-emphasis of his attitude on preparation have
_prevented_ him from succeeding in his ambition?"

No! A single turn-down cannot cause the failure of a successful
salesman. If that cashier had not appreciated the worth of the
candidate, an officer of some other bank certainly would have had a
clearer vision of his value. The applicant might have been balked
temporarily in his ambition. The best salesman occasionally has to try
and try again. But a successful career for that young man was assured in
advance. From the very start he was "certain to get there."

On the other hand, if he had risked making a disappointing impression in
his new job, he might have taken the first step toward failure. Suppose
he had begun the work for which he was unprepared, and then had made
serious mistakes due to his unfitness. His record would have been
blemished. His ability might have been questioned. He prevented such
possibilities by _making sure his preparation was adequate_ before he
accepted his big chance.

[Sidenote: Preparation Should Be Two-fold]

Your preparation for certain success must be two-fold. You need to
prepare yourself in ability first _to perceive_; then _to appreciate the
full value_ of what you see. Golden opportunities are all about you. If
you do not recognize them, or if you perceive but slight value in the
signs of rich chances to succeed, you will fail because of your
unreadiness.

Many a farmer in Oklahoma cursed his "bad luck" after he sold a farm on
which a gusher was later discovered. But the oil had been there all the
time. The "luckless" farmer simply did not _perceive_ the indications of
wealth under his plodding feet; or, if he saw signs of oil, he did not
realize that they _denoted_ the possibility of millions.

[Sidenote: Developing Perception]

Perception can be broadened almost immeasurably. The physical eye, if
normal and thoroughly trained, is fitted to be "all seeing." _So can
your mind be made capable of widest vision over all the fields of
possible opportunity_. Some are within your present mental view, others
you can see only after going farther or climbing higher in knowledge.
The biggest possibilities of success cannot be comprehended in their
entirety by narrowed mental sight.

The first essential of preparation to succeed is that you _open your
eyes fully, and look all around you_ for the opportunities within range
of your vision. There are so many _close at hand_ that your search would
better begin right where you are. Even if eventually you seek far for
the best chance to succeed, do so with thorough knowledge of what is
near by. Before you leave your present environment, have an intelligent
conviction that you are capable of a bigger or different success than is
to be found within your immediate reach.

Also see and comprehend the especial _difficulties_ you will find close
at hand. It does not always pay to remain in "the old home town." Often
a young man needs to go to a community of strangers to gain
appreciation of his ability. It is likely to be hard for him to win
success among people who knew him as a boy and who still regard him as
immature. He may find it much easier to succeed in a neighboring town.

It is possible to make the greatest success turn aside from beaten
paths, leave the accustomed haunts of the successful, and go to a place
where no such success ever before has been established. The Mayo
brothers compelled their success as world renowned surgeons to come to
them at the little city of Rochester, Minnesota. Elbert Hubbard brought
fame to East Aurora, New York, by founding there his school of
philosophy and the Roycrofters.

[Sidenote: Over-specialized Preparation]

Almost as common as the mistake of first looking far afield for success
opportunities, is the error of _over-particularizing_ one's original
preparation. If you think now that you want to be a lawyer, you should
prepare yourself especially by studying law, of course. But you should
not exclude preparation for other vocations. Judge Gary was thoroughly
prepared for legal practice. Doubtless when he began his studies of law
he expected to continue in his chosen profession. But he did not neglect
to prepare himself in general business capability. So when his biggest
chance came, he was ready to step out of his law practice and into a
manufacturing industry. There he fitted himself for the position of
chief executive in the immense United States Steel Corporation.

The ability of a _master_ salesman is not limited to getting orders for
just one line of goods, or to selling only to certain buyers. He has
_all-around_ sales knowledge and skill. Though he naturally sells to
better advantage in some fields than in others, he can attain a high
degree of efficiency in selling anything meritorious, because of his
_broad and diversified preparation_.

[Sidenote: Varied and Adaptable Preparation]

Your preparation for all the possibilities of success you may be able to
reach hereafter should be similarly _varied_ and _adaptable_; though you
will be wise to specialize, in addition, by making more detailed
preparation for the vocation of your choice. At twenty the average man
cannot _know_ for what he is best fitted. He may not be sure even at
thirty. The start toward eventual success has often been delayed until
middle life. To cite my own case, I prepared myself especially for the
career of a certified public accountant, but found my greatest success
in the profession of selling. I was able to grasp my biggest opportunity
in the sales field because, though I had been devoting my time and
energies chiefly to accountancy, I had studied and practiced
salesmanship for years in order to market my own services most
effectively.

_While preparing yourself for success, keep your mental eyes wide open_.
Perceive any and all chances about you, however much you specialize in
your preparation for a selected career.

[Sidenote: Preparation In Salesmanship]

Comprehend that preparation in _salesmanship_ is necessary, whatever
vocation you choose. Mastery of the selling process is absolutely
essential if you would assure your success in _any_ field of ambition.
Not only must you _perceive_ opportunities to succeed, but you also must
know how to _sell yourself into the chances_ you see. No matter how much
particularized knowledge you may acquire in preparation for a selected
career, your success will not be _assured_ until you are able to sell
your capabilities to the best advantage. You can neither perceive all
your possible selling opportunities, nor make the most of them when
seen, unless you learn the selling process and develop skill in the
actual sale of the best that is in you.

Broad, varied knowledge is required as the foundation for certain
success. It cannot be built on a narrow or limited base. Evidently,
however, exactly the same amount of knowledge possessed by two men would
not make them equally successful. As already has been emphasized,
success is not assured by the mere possession of knowledge, _but by the
effective ways in which elements of knowledge are fitted to
opportunities_.

[Sidenote: Abstract And Applied Knowledge]

Your abstract knowledge may be valueless. In order to succeed certainly
_you must connect the things you have learned with particular people in
particular fields of activity_. When you have developed the power of
relating your individual ability to every imaginable _use_, your mental
eyes will be opened to many opportunities for success that you otherwise
might never perceive. Such an association of _what you know and can do_
with the various ways your capabilities might be utilized will
tremendously augment your self-confidence. When you realize in how many
ways it is possible to use your especial talents, you will not be likely
to doubt your own _worth_. You will offer your qualifications for sale
with complete faith in their value to prospective buyers.

[Sidenote: Insurance Against Undervaluation]

Thorough preparation in _comprehension of values_ is the salesman's best
protection against a personal inclination, or an outside temptation, to
cut prices. If your preparation for your chosen career has been limited
to _gaining knowledge_, and you have not studied its true _worth_ to
every imaginable prospective buyer, you will be apt often to offer your
services for far less than their full value. Conversely sometimes you
will be likely to think your services are worth more than they really
are. You may fail to close sales because your price is too high. A
pre-requisite of good salesmanship is the _right_ price. _If your
preparation for selling your services has been thorough, you will
realize the exact worth of your knowledge and skill_. You will neither
suggest inferior value by quoting a cut price on your capabilities, nor
demand so much as to indicate the characteristics of displeasing egotism
or greed. _If you know what you are truly worth, you will make the right
price on your real value._ Then your self-confidence in your worth will
lend you power to convince the other man that your services would be a
good "buy" for him.

[Sidenote: Seeing Into Opportunities]

If you can imagine _all the various uses to which your ability might be
put_, you will appreciate the full value of every opportunity you
perceive. Not only will you see the chances for success that are all
about you, but you will _see into_ them. When your mind _catches sight_
of success chances, they will look _familiar_ to you because of their
similarity to opportunities you _previously had thought about_ and
connected with your own qualifications. If you are prepared to perceive
and to appreciate fully each indication of a success opportunity that
comes within the range of your mental vision, you will promptly begin
working a chance "for all it is worth," as if it were a newly discovered
gold mine.

[Sidenote: Service Purpose In Preparation]

Possibly what you have read has unduly impressed you with the idea that
the salesman's motive in his preparation is selfish. So perhaps it is
well to pause here for the reminder that your primary salesmanship
purpose should be true _service_. You are preparing yourself thoroughly
in knowledge of your full sales value, _as a measure of success
insurance and self-protection._ It is not true sales service to give a
buyer value greatly in excess of the price quoted. It is right for you
to make sure in advance about your full worth. However, the obligation
to render service is the principal element of right salesmanship, and
should come before the objective of a good price. _Prepare then
primarily to serve your prospect._ Demonstrate your true service
purpose, and he will give secondary consideration to the cost of
engaging your qualifications for his business.

[Sidenote: Pleasing Character]

You can serve best if you _please_ in rendering service. Therefore
prepare your _self_, your _knowledge_, and all your _methods_ so that
from the moment you make your first impression on a prospective
employer, you will please him. Do not prepare for the interview with the
purpose of pleasing yourself. What _you_ like may be distasteful to the
man you want to impress.

Since you cannot tell in advance when or where you may encounter a
prospective buyer of your services, you will not be safeguarding every
possible chance to succeed unless you wear your "company manners" all
the time. You always should dress carefully, act with painstaking
courtesy, and conduct yourself as if you might meet a rich relation at
any moment. You certainly can expect more wealth from "making yourself
solid" with Opportunity than you ever are likely to be willed by a
millionaire uncle. It will pay you much better to please Opportunity in
general than to ingratiate yourself with any person in particular.

[Sidenote: Please Everybody Everywhere Always]

"Company manners" that are just "put on" temporarily may be left off on
the very occasion when you would want to appear at your best if you only
knew that "The Golden Chance" was to be met. Therefore prepare to be
_characteristically_ pleasing to _everybody, everywhere, and all the
time._ Then, no matter where or when or in what guise you come upon
Opportunity, you will be sure to please with your _genuineness_.

Innumerable great successes have begun with the making of a pleasing
impression on some one whose presence and notice were unknown. You
realize that your success is practically impossible if you displease.
Preparation to please is of first importance in getting ready to
succeed. Your success in the field of your especial ambition will be
assured if you win your first chance there by making an _initial_
pleasing impression and then _keep right on pleasing_.

Cultivate grace in your movements--for grace is pleasing to everyone.
Carry your body naturally, especially your head; with such a bearing
that total strangers will feel pleasure when they look at you. _Be a
person who pleases at sight._ It is not difficult. No matter what sort
of face you have, if it expresses habitually your pleasure in living, it
will look pleasant. A look of pleasure is pleasing to others. You like
to see some one else enjoying himself thoroughly. Everybody feels the
same way. Our own faces brighten when we come upon radiant happiness
anywhere.

[Sidenote: Details That Please]

Please others with your smile. It should not be just an affected smirk,
but a smile of _genuine friendliness for all the world_. Please by
wearing inconspicuous clothes that are faultless in taste, fit, and
cleanliness; and of a quality suited to your vocation. Show also that
you take good care of what you wear, for that makes a pleasing
impression. _You can please in your dress without arraying yourself in
expensive clothes._ Indeed, an over-dressed man is more displeasing to
Opportunity than is one poorly dressed. There can be no excuse for
foppishness, but a shabby neat appearance may be due to a good reason.
Please with the suggestion in your manner that you are getting along
well. Do not pretend false prosperity, of course; but _indicate that you
feel successful_. Any one finds it unpleasant to be in the company of a
failure. _If you would succeed hereafter, avoid making the impression
that you have not already succeeded._ "Success breeds success."

[Sidenote: Courtesy And Politeness]

Be courteous invariably. Learn and observe the rules of politeness.
Please by acting the gentleman always. Practice courtesy and politeness
in your own home to perfect yourself in these pleasing characteristics.
Then you will show them everywhere. Remember that the rest of the world
is made up of "somebody else's folks." Courtesy and politeness are not
natural attributes. In order to make yourself a master salesman you need
to _develop_ them to an unusually high degree. You may _intend_ to be
courteous and polite always, but only the development of the _fixed
habit_ will fully support your intention.

You cannot be polite, however courteous you mean to be, unless you take
pains to prepare yourself with knowledge of the usages of polite people.
In order to be polite, it is necessary that you do not only the
courteous thing, but the _correct thing_. Your courtesy might displease
if it were unsuited to the circumstances. It would not be polite, for
example, to invite an orthodox Jew to dinner and then to serve him with
a pork tenderloin. Your intention to be a courteous host would not
lessen your offense against good manners. Your guest would be incensed
by your impoliteness, not pleased by your courteous intention.

[Sidenote: Virility Pleases]

No quality you have is more generally pleasing than virility--_your man
stuff_. Therefore on all occasions show yourself "every inch a man."
Moreover, act like a _he_-man. Never appear "sissyfied" in even the
slightest degree. Swing your legs from the hips when you walk; don't
mince along. The stride of a he-man is strong and free. If yours lacks
the qualities of virility, change your habit of walking.

When you make gestures, move your whole arm. A wrist movement suggests
effeminacy. It is important, too, that you _train your voice to ring
with manliness_. Even a squeaky, weak tone can be made to suggest man
stuff if the words are spoken crisply, and the sentences are cleanly
cut. Do things with the _ease_ that indicates a man's strength, not with
evident effort. Perhaps you have not realized that by cultivating grace
in your movements you can make impressions of your man power. _Grace
means the least possible expenditure of energy in efficient action._ A
man can accomplish things with ease and grace that a child or a woman
would make hard work of and do awkwardly.

[Sidenote: Pleasing Tones]

A pleasing tone helps to assure one's success. You may think your voice
is a heavy handicap. Perhaps it is high pitched and squeaky; or, on the
other hand, a "growly" bass suggestive of ill-nature. Again it may be
faltering or hoarse. Such faults are not serious to a master salesman.
_If your vocal equipment is physically normal, your voice can be made
pleasing._ In order to make your tones agreeable, learn to vibrate them
naturally through your _nose_. A mouth tone is displeasing. The
so-called "nasal twang" that sounds so unpleasant is a mouth tone
_prevented_ from free vibration through the nose. Humming, as you know,
both _indicates_ pleasure and is a pleasant _sound_. It is produced with
the mouth closed, by a vibration of the bone structure of the face and
of the nasal cavities. Certainly, even if you have a disagreeable voice,
you can make your tones _hum_, and thereby render them more pleasing.
Adenoids that could be removed--even failure to keep the nose clean--may
prevent a man from succeeding. _Whatever hinders the free vibration of
tones makes displeasing impressions of the speaker_. When a man has a
bad cold in his head that blocks the nasal passages, his voice rasps the
ears of a hearer.

[Sidenote: Avoid Giving Displeasure]

Not only please by _doing_ things that give _pleasure_; also _avoid_
doing _displeasing_ things. For example, when you say or suggest
anything to another person you want to influence, remember to be a
_salesman_ of your ideas. Do not make the impression that you are
_teaching_. No adult human being really enjoys being _taught_. Any grown
person likes to be treated as an equal, and to have new thoughts
conveyed to him without that suggestion of superior intelligence which
is characteristic of many teachers when dealing with pupils. Perhaps you
have heard Burton Holmes lecture. His enunciation is a delight in its
perfection, but he talks "according to the dictionary" so naturally
that his correctness does not sound a bit affected. You feel at home
with him. His diction is attractive to you. Another speaker practicing
the same exactness of pronunciation, but less artistic in selling his
ideas with words, might displease you by his scholarly accents.

[Sidenote: Tact]

Sometimes it is tactful to speak incorrectly, as a courtesy to the other
man. If in the course of your interview with a prospective employer he
should mispronounce a word, you would be undiplomatic to emphasize the
correct pronunciation in speaking that word yourself. It is not
dishonest, but truly polite to reply "My ad'dress is"--instead of
pronouncing the word correctly. Do not suggest by over-emphasis of right
speech that you wish to pose as one who is _conscious_ of his
superiority, however well you may realize that you are on a higher plane
of intellectuality. We all like a genuinely great man who does not hold
himself aloof.

[Sidenote: Prepare For All Kinds Of Men]

Prepare to meet not only strong men, but weak men; cautious men; very
proud men; greedy men. Be ready for reckless men, humble men, men who
live to serve others. Be aware in advance of the differences in their
_buying motives_. They will not all have the same reasons for giving or
for refusing you a chance. _Hence be prepared to adapt your salesmanship
to the characteristics of the various kinds of men you are likely to
meet_. Though you never should pander to an unworthy motive, study
different types of character and _learn how to fit your ability to the
peculiar or distinctive traits of possible buyers_ of such services as
you have for sale. Perhaps an easy-going employer will appreciate your
"pep" as much as would a hustler, but he won't like it if you seem to
prod _him_ with your energy. On the other hand, the employer who is a
hustler himself might be keenly pleased should you keep him on the jump
to stay even with you.

[Sidenote: Success Insurance]

Be thorough in _preparing_ to sell your capabilities; so that your
success may be _insured_. You ride on a first-class railroad with
confidence, feeling that every precaution for your safety has been
taken. You are at ease when you begin your trip; for you know that
track, train, and men in charge all are dependable. Because of the
complete readiness of the railroad for your journey, you count on
arriving safely at your destination. You have no fears that you may be
wrecked en route.

Similarly you should make the most thorough preparation before starting
out as a salesman of the best that is in you. You have to grade your own
roadbed, and must yourself lay the rails over which your ideas in trains
of thought will be carried to the minds of other men. You are fireman,
engineer, brakeman, and conductor of this Twentieth Century Limited.
_Your destiny as a salesman of yourself is in the hands of no one
else_. Before you travel any farther, take all practicable measures to
assure your safe arrival, without delay, at the station of Success.

[Sidenote: Start Confidently]

When you are thoroughly prepared to sell true ideas of your best
capabilities, you should start with confidence that you will reach the
end of the line safely and on time. Don't attempt to "get there" before
making adequate preparation for success. Remember that a railroad does
not commence operating through trains until the track is finished.

If you are prepared now for the actual start in salesmanship--if you are
packed up and ready to leave for your field of opportunity--ALL ABOARD!




CHAPTER V

_Your Prospects_


[Sidenote: Meaning of "Prospects"]

If you were to be asked, "What are your prospects for success?" you
probably would answer by stating the things you _expect_ or _hope may
happen_. We commonly say that a certain man isn't rich, but he has
"prospects;" because he has a wealthy aunt who is very fond of him, or
he is employed by a business that is growing fast, or he owns property
which seems sure to increase in value, or some other good fortune is
likely to befall him. The literal meaning of "prospect" is "looking
forward." So most of us have come to think of our prospects as just
possible occurrences in the future, to the happening of which we may
look ahead with considerable hopefulness.

"Prospects," in salesmanship has a very different meaning. The master
salesman does not regard himself as merely a "prospect_ee_," but as a
prospect_or_. He thinks of "prospecting" as the gold miner uses the word
to describe his activities when he searches for valuable mineral
deposits. "Prospects" do not just "happen" in the selling process of
achieving success. They do not result from circumstances merely, but
_must be accumulated by the activity of the salesman_.

[Sidenote: Making Good Luck]

"Your Prospects," as the subject of this chapter, does not mean your
fondest _hopes_, or confident _expectations_. We are studying the _ways
to assure_ your success. If your prospects depended on mere happenings,
they would be highly uncertain; because what you hope and expect may
occur, may never take place in fact. The master salesman does not depend
on such prospects. _He makes his own luck_ to a very large extent by
skillful prospecting; as the trained prospector for gold tremendously
increases his chances of discovering a rich lode by thoroughly and
intelligently investigating a mining region. We are to consider now the
prospects you are capable of _controlling_, the opportunities you can
bring within reach by your own exploration of possible fields of
success.

We will study _particular things you can do, and exactly how to do
them_, to increase the number and quality of your chances to succeed. A
trained prospector for gold has more chances to strike it rich than a
greenhorn because he knows the indications of valuable minerals, and is
skilled in the use of that knowledge. So your opportunities for success
will certainly be increased if you know how to search for, to discern,
and to make the right use of your prospects.

[Sidenote: Prospecting Not Gambling]

Do not think, because we have compared prospecting in mining and in
selling, that the success of the salesman prospector, _your_ success,
must be largely a "gamble" anyway, as is the case with the explorer for
gold. However experienced and skillful in prospecting the miner may be,
he is very uncertain of discovering a bonanza. He cannot be absolutely
sure there _is_ gold in the region he explores, in paying quantities and
practicable for mining. Though he has every reason to feel confident of
the richness of a particular field, he may nevertheless be so
unfortunate as not to discover the gold lode or profitable placer
deposit. He is helpless to control the _existence_ of the indications of
success. They are predetermined by nature. By no effort of his own is he
able to increase or decrease the fixed quantity and quality of the
golden chances about him. He can only increase his _likelihood of
discovering_ gold. Even the most intelligent, skillful prospecting will
not make a miner's success certain.

You, the salesman prospector for opportunities to succeed, are not so
limited. There are particular things you can do, and particular ways of
doing them, that will _assure your finding chances_ to make sales of the
best that is in you. If you learn the scientific principles of
prospecting for opportunities, if you make yourself highly skillful in
looking for and digging into the success chances that surround you
always, there will be nothing uncertain about your prospects to succeed.
You will know _surely_ that you _have_ prospects, just _what_ and
_where_ they are, and their _full worth_ to you.

Of course, prospecting is only _part_ of the selling process; so your
knowledge and skill as a prospector will not suffice to guarantee your
_complete_ success. However, at this preliminary stage you can be
certain that your search for rich chances to succeed will not be a
barren quest.

The present chapter will help you to make sure of gaining for yourself
such opportunities as lead to complete success in the field of your
choice. We will observe and understand how the skillful salesman
prospects for the purpose of increasing his sales efficiency. We will
study the principles and methods of prospecting he uses successfully;
for his practices, applied to your job of selling yourself, will
certainly improve your chances to succeed. We will see also how your
very best prospects can be _created_ by masterly salesmanship.

[Sidenote: Hard Work Necessary]

At the outset comprehend that no other step in the selling process
involves so much _hard work_ as you will need to do in order to find all
your possible chances of success and to make the most of them. It is
necessary that you look _intelligently_, most _earnestly_, and
_constantly_. You must expect to spend a great deal of time and energy
in your quest for prospects. So it is essential to your success as a
prospector that the investigation of your field of opportunity be
carefully _planned_ in order to make the most effective use of the time
you spend prospecting. It is vitally important, too, that you develop
sufficient physical stamina to do a tremendous amount of hard work. The
gold miner has little chance to discover the bonanza he seeks if he
searches only a few days or weeks, or if he lacks the strength and
endurance required for making a thorough exploration of the mineral
region. Similarly it may take a master salesman months of unremitting
toil to prospect a sale that he then is able to close in an hour or two.

[Sidenote: The Food of Salesmanship]

_Prospecting supplies the food of salesmanship._ The salesman thrives if
his prospecting is sufficient and good. He grows thin and weak to the
point of failure if it is bad, or inadequate in quantity. Every salesman
should realize that prospecting furnishes the nourishment for
salesmanship, but some so-called salesmen do practically nothing to
ensure themselves an abundant food supply. They merely absorb the tips
that come their way. Like sponges they sop up the limited quantity of
selling chances they happen to get. That is not the way to feed one's
ambition with opportunities.

Comprehend that you must _seek actively_ for your best prospects. You
should not stop searching until you find what you are looking for.
Myriads of men have failed because they did not make _an earnest, hard
effort to discover chances_ to succeed, or because they _did not persist
in the exploration_ of their fields of opportunity. You know that other
men no more capable than you are succeeding all about you. Certainly,
then, _your_ chance _exists_. Seek it in your own thoughts and in the
circumstances of your every-day living. Put a great deal of time and
toil into your search. You cannot afford to loaf on this preliminary
job.

[Sidenote: Prospect Continually Act Quickly]

_Every moment you are awake should be used in prospecting_; unless it is
required for some other part of the process of assuring your success.
There is no keener pleasure than the eager, continual search of a miner
for gold and of a master salesman for possible big buyers. It is
necessary that you feel their thrilling zest for discovery; that you
develop their unflagging energy; that you be fired by their ardor for
the quest. In order to be a highly successful prospector you will need
especially a quality they have in common--"pep."

How eagerly the miner prospector drinks in every bit of news he hears
about a new strike! How alertly the master salesman listens to casual
gossip that holds a clue which may lead to a sale! But the miner and the
salesman prospectors would not benefit in any degree by what they learn
through their perception of prospects if they did not then _act_
intelligently upon the clues secured. Not only should you keep your
eyes and ears open for indications of opportunities to succeed, but you
should be ready in advance _to take instant advantage_ of any you may
discover. What a fool a miner would be if, after finding rich prospects
of gold, he were to lose his chance to someone else because he did not
know how to file a mining claim! Could there be a greater failure in
salesmanship than learning about a big contract to be let, and being
unprepared to bid on it? Before doing any _outside_ prospecting, be sure
you know what you have _in you_. Make certain of your ability to take
full advantage of your chances to succeed when you come upon them.

[Sidenote: Little Doors To Big Success]

Prospects that seem at first glance to be hardly worth following may
lead to other prospects. Merely because your ambitions are _big_, do not
neglect a chance to make a _little_ success. Investigate completely
every minor prospect you find. Until you look into it thoroughly, you
cannot be sure of all that a clue holds. The indication of an
opportunity that seems of slight importance may possibly lead straight
to the bonanza lode.

An elevator boy in an office building made up his mind to rise
permanently in the world; to get out of the vocation in which he was
just going up and down all the time without arriving anywhere in
particular. He prospected the tenants of the building, learned all he
could about them, and determined who were the biggest men. He studied
the directory, asked questions, and finally selected the one big
business man to whom he was resolved to sell his capabilities.

[Sidenote: Persistent Effort After Prospecting]

This man was known to be unapproachable. So, instead of attempting to
interview him, the elevator boy prospected to discover his
characteristics. He found out exactly what qualities were most likely to
please his intended employer. Then he cultivated the tone, manner, and
habits of action that he felt certain would impress the difficult
prospect most favorably. It took the resolute elevator boy nearly a year
of continual, skillful work to make the big business man notice him and
distinguish him from the other elevator boys. Six months more were
required to develop the big man's attention into thorough interest. But
at the end of a year and a half of faithful prospecting, the ambitious
youth gained his selected, self-created opportunity to succeed. There
was no stopping him after he got his start. In less than a decade he had
sold his qualifications so successfully to a group of powerful
financiers that he, too, had become a multi-millionaire.

This illustration of persistent effort to gain a desired chance should
help to keep you from becoming discouraged about your prospects for
success. Bear in mind the old, familiar motto, "If at first you don't
succeed, try, try again." Stick to your prospecting when you know you
are on the right lead. It has been estimated that the busy bee inserts
its proboscis into flowers 3,600,000 times to obtain a single pound of
honey. But the bee is the only insect, remember, that _lives on honey_.

[Sidenote: No Poor Territory For Success]

The poor salesman is apt to complain that his territory is poor. _The
good salesman makes any territory good._ So in prospecting your field of
immediate opportunities, make the best, not the worst, of your present
circumstances. The star base-ball player does not refuse to play on the
small-town team because it isn't good enough for him. The great Ty Cobb
first made them "sit up and take notice" in a bush league. Undoubtedly
he felt then that he was fit for better company, but he put in his best
licks and played big-city ball on the small-town team. That was
excellent prospecting for the chance he wanted with the best clubs. From
the very beginning of his career, Ty Cobb has used masterly salesmanship
to get across to the world true ideas of his best capabilities in his
chosen field.

_To-day there is no poor territory for success._ Telegraph and telephone
and wireless methods of communication, electric light and power,
railroads and inter-urban car service, farm tractors, passenger
automobiles, motor trucks, and the airplane have so revolutionized the
inter-relations of men that all the former great distances of different
locations and view-points have been shortened almost to nothingness.
The whole world lives now in a single community of interest. The great
war has taught us that each individual is close to everyone else. In
your prospecting for success you are not limited by any narrow boundary
of opportunities. Wherever you are, newspapers and magazines bring to
your door chances for big success. If you search for prospects in
everything you read you should be able to reach out all over the earth
with your capability. An ambitious man I never had heard of before wrote
to me at one time from South Africa to secure a selected territory for
the sale of automobiles in a western city of the United States. From a
distance of nearly half the circumference of the earth he got his chance
to succeed.

[Sidenote: The Fields of Opportunity Are Broad]

A clerk in a Los Angeles real estate office received a letter from an
acquaintance in Chicago who had spent his summer vacation in Michigan.
The Chicago man wrote that the farmers of the Traverse Bay region were
made rich by a bumper crop of potatoes just harvested. The Californian
saw a chance for success in this bit of information. He worked out his
idea and talked it over with his employers. He sold them on it. They
sent him East loaded with facts about "the glorious West" and brim-full
of Los Angeles peptimism. Aided by cold weather in Michigan that winter,
the western real estate man eventually sold California irrigated
ranches to a score of Michigan farmers who suddenly had made sufficient
money to retire from potato raising, and who were old enough to be
strongly attracted by the idea of owning and cultivating land in a more
genial climate. Thus a sentence in a letter led straight to the success
of the clerk who perceived his prospects and knew how to make the most
of them.

[Sidenote: Know Local Conditions]

While distances have been bridged by modern swift means of communication
and transportation, every locality has opportunities for success that
are peculiar to it alone. Conversely every locality is handicapped in
certain ways. Therefore in your prospecting for success _study the
conditions in your especial field_. As a salesman of yourself, you
should know your "territory," its advantages and disadvantages in
particular respects. Men are doing business in your town. There is no
better way to gain a prospect to succeed with a house in your home
community than to demonstrate to the head of the concern that you
comprehend just what he is "up against" on the one hand, and on the
other what "edge" he has on businesses in the same line located
elsewhere. You could make no worse mistake, you could injure your own
prospects no more, than by showing ignorance of local conditions, or
inappreciation of the circumstances in which your prospect's business is
being conducted.

[Sidenote: Turn to Account What You Learn]

Not only should you know as many facts as possible regarding
opportunities in your chosen field; it is even more important that, by
the use of your _imagination_ you relate these facts to _practical ways
of turning them to account_ for your benefit. In order to derive the
maximum of benefit from your prospecting, you must make the _best use_
of every item of knowledge you gain. Sometimes the mere _possession_ of
particular knowledge will increase your chances to succeed. But almost
invariably you can multiply the value of what you learn if you _prospect
in your own mind for ideas_ about putting the facts to the most
profitable use.

Do not forget that the primary object of true salesmanship is service to
the other fellow. Therefore _prospect your own thoughts with the purpose
of making what you know especially valuable to some one else_, your
intended employer for instance. In every step of the selling process you
should think first of how you can serve your prospect with something
that he lacks and needs.

[Sidenote: Prospect Needs]

Surprisingly few young men who go into business prospect their fields of
opportunity to learn what is most wanted there. The great majority take
up special professions or enter selected industries just because _they_
wish to do chosen things. The master salesman, however, _adapts himself
to the circumstances and requirements of his customers_, even at the
sacrifice of his personal inclinations. He could not succeed if he sold
only what he wanted to sell, or if he confined his salesmanship efforts
to a limited number of buyers because he liked them and disliked others.
In order to assure your success, _you must learn to like to do what is
most needed to be done, and learn to like to serve whoever lacks what
you can supply_. Therefore prospect your fields of opportunity to learn
what capabilities are principally needed. If you would make your success
as easy as possible, look about you first to determine the demand for
such services as you are able to render.

[Sidenote: Sometimes Go The Round-About Way]

Perhaps your prospecting will indicate that it is advisable for you to
go a round-about way to your goal of ambition; because the direct route
is beset with great difficulties. A young doctor wished to specialize in
bacteriology. He realized that it would take the savings of a great many
years of general medical practice to equip a complete laboratory of his
own. Accordingly he discontinued the practice of his profession; though
he went on with his studies. He engaged in business for five years. Thus
in a comparatively short time he earned the money he needed to enable
him to devote the rest of his life to bacteriological research.

[Sidenote: Racial Characteristics]

Different territories or fields of opportunity have _various
characters_, like different people. It is important to study especially
the racial types you are likely to encounter. Many a man has attained
success by accumulating discriminative knowledge regarding the national
peculiarities of the Latin peoples, Slavs, Teutons, Anglo-Saxons,
Magyars, etc.

The Italian has strong likes and dislikes in colors and patterns of
goods. To be a good salesman in dealing with him, you should know his
preferences and prejudices. If you learn what colors and patterns are
most favored in the "Little Italy" of your city, you may be able to
employ this bit of knowledge to help you very much in influencing your
fellow-residents of Italian descent.

You are aware of the effect produced on the majority of Irishmen by the
color green. But take care to learn whether the Irishmen whose political
help you would like to win are from the South or the North of the
Emerald Isle. They may be Orangemen, and you might "queer" your
prospects by going among them wearing a green necktie.

_Learn your facts with discrimination; then use them restrictively in
the circumstances where they will be most effective in promoting your
success._

[Sidenote: Temporary Conditions]

Prospect to learn not only permanent conditions in your field of
opportunity, but also any _temporary_ conditions that might affect your
chances to succeed. Mental and emotional "waves" sweep over the country
and over local communities at times. Billy Sunday's revivals in various
great cities brought success opportunities to particular businesses,
but had injurious effects on others. You should take such factors into
account when studying your prospects.

The manufacturers of that successful innovation, the "Service Flag,"
took advantage of the sudden demand for such an emblem. When war came,
they saw into the future and perceived a new lack. But the need for
Service Flags was temporary. Before the war ended they were displayed
everywhere. To-day none are seen.

Now there has come into existence The American Legion, which seems
certain to be a great political and social power in the United States
for generations, as was the G.A.R. after the civil war. Any man who
hopes for political success in the course of the next thirty or forty
years must prospect the thoughts and feelings of the veterans of
1917-18.

[Sidenote: Analyze Individuals]

You will have _specific_ as well as general prospects. Hence it is
essential that you supplement your study of conditions with the
_analysis of individuals_. Study men with the greatest care, especially
the one man or group of men upon whom you want to impress ideas of your
capabilities. Learn all you can regarding the personal characteristics
of the individual to whom you hope to sell your services or "goods."
Your knowledge of his traits and peculiarities, your familiarity with
his life purposes and hobbies, may assure you a chance to succeed with
him that otherwise you could not get. A friend of mine is the president
of a big ice company, but he is not so much interested in cooling
people's food as in warming their hearts with his genuine brotherhood
for all men. There isn't much prospect for anybody to sell him "a cold
business proposition," even though he is a dealer in ice.

[Sidenote: Hobbies]

Do not, however, make a "hobby of hobbies." Only the _big_ hobbies of
your man are worth especial study. Never harp on any of his little
idiosyncracies. He may be sensitive about being eccentric. It is bad
salesmanship to _pretend_ an interest in another person's whims. You
cannot use his hobbies to help your prospects _unless you share his
feelings_ to a considerable degree. My friend who believes and practices
the doctrine that all men are brothers would be sure to detect quickly a
false humanitarian bent on a selfish purpose to exploit his hobby.

As already has been emphasized, the object of the good salesman when
prospecting is to discover the lacks of men who might benefit from the
things he has to sell. If you are looking for your prospects with that
_service_ purpose, you have taken a long preparatory step in the process
of selling your qualifications. Find the employer who _needs_ your best
ability, and your success will be assured the moment you get into his
mind the true idea that you are the man he has been looking for.

[Sidenote: Prospect Lacks]

Undoubtedly you know men to whom success has come because they made
other men realize they fitted into particular needs. A young
acquaintance of mine foresaw that a manufacturer would want an assistant
within a year or two; though the executive himself was unaware that he
was developing such a need. My acquaintance got a minor job under him in
order to make a good impression in advance. Long before the head of the
business realized that he was breaking in a confidential assistant, the
young man had qualified for the position he had perceived in prospect.

Your chosen employer may not know of the lack that you have prospected
in his business. He may not have the least idea that he wants you.
Prospecting his needs is part of _your_ job as a salesman of yourself.

An expert accountant sold himself into a fine position as the auditor of
a great corporation by anticipating that the Company would need to have
its system of book-keeping revolutionized in order to prepare for the
Federal income tax. He prospected what was coming to that business; then
sold the president comprehension that he lacked an expert accountant he
was going to need badly before long.

One of my own experiences as an accountant illustrates the value of
specific prospecting. When I was studying accountancy, I bought every
authoritative publication on the subject. For one set of forty books I
had to send to London. Each volume related to the peculiar accounts,
terms, etc. of one business. There was a book on brewery accounting,
another on commission house accounting, and so on through the list of
forty businesses. To each volume I afterward owed at least one client.
For instance, I got a commission to make a cost survey for a tobacco
company, largely because I was able to convince the president that I
knew a good deal about the tobacco business. I talked intelligently to
him regarding the processes of his industry.

[Sidenote: Reasons Behind Habits]

When you prospect an individual's personal qualities, traits, or
hobbies, do not stop after learning the facts. Study out the _reasons
behind_ habits and opinions. It may help you only a little to know that
your intended employer is a Republican or a Democrat; that he is
conservative or radical in his social opinions. But your chances of
success in dealing with him will be greatly increased if you know
exactly _why_ he belongs to one or the other political party, and the
_reason_ he is a "stand-patter" or a "progressive." Use knowledge of
why's and wherefore's with the skill of a salesman bent on securing an
order from a prospective buyer. But be sure you get the _fundamental
facts_, for often "appearances are deceiving."

[Sidenote: Your Personal Responsibility]

When you look for prospects in your selected field of
service-opportunities recognize your _personal responsibility_ for the
successful development of the chances you find. Before you begin
prospecting, realize that _what you make of your opportunities is solely
up to you_. Assume all the responsibility for your own success; then you
will have no excuse to blame any one else if you fail. Should things not
go as you wish, say "It's my own fault," and feel that way. _The true
salesman never apologizes to himself._ So if you have not found your
prospects, or if you have not made the best use of the chances you have
discovered, kick at the man who is responsible. Don't get sore on the
world at large.

[Sidenote: Follow-ups]

Perhaps what has been said thus far has over-emphasized the process of
prospecting for the _first_ chance to succeed. Maybe it suggests to you
that if one can get an opening, the hardest part of the effort to assure
success will have been accomplished. But a successful career in
salesmanship is not built on single orders closed. The master salesman
keeps on selling the same buyer and develops him into a steady customer.
He continues all the while to prospect the needs of that buyer, just as
thoroughly as if he were planning his first approach.

_Your initial success should be completed by after-service._ In order to
continue progressing toward your goal, you must "deliver the goods"
right along. You cannot keep your success growing unless you prospect
unremittingly for more and better opportunities to render service. Give
satisfaction in larger amount and improved quality from month to month,
and year after year. If you would continue to succeed, look ahead always
for more prospects and _seek in each of them new chances to broaden your
usefulness_.

[Sidenote: The Art of Prospecting]

If you prospect _skillfully_ (with art), your chances to find what you
seek will be remarkably increased. So look for your prospects
_cheerily_. Be _frank_ and _expressive_ in your quest. Show your
_sympathetic_ side, and thus appeal to the _kinder_ tendencies of other
people. The best way to avoid the world's coldness is by _warming_
everybody you meet with your own cordiality. Be _courteous_. Especially
cultivate the art of talking _with_ people instead of _at_ them. Use
_tact_ and _judgment_ in dealing with your prospects.

Thousands of men are shut away from the open minds and hearts of others
by doors of concealment and reserve. You need to open such doors. You
can do it only by frankness on your own part, which will induce people
to feel like telling you their secrets. Frank expression of your
opinion, provided it has a sound foundation, will often draw out the
hidden opinions of others and reveal to you prospects that you might
never discover unaided. Do not, however, be dogmatic or arbitrary in
saying what you think. Speak your beliefs casually. Then you will not
discourage those honest differences of opinion that enlighten one's own
ideas.

Rid your face of sharpness if you would be a good prospector for your
best chances to succeed. Avoid "the cutting edge" in your voice and
manner when you make inquiries about opportunities you seek. You are
likely to be most effective in prospecting if you _cultivate an easy
attitude of friendliness_. The master salesman does not set his jaw when
prospecting. He uses curved, instead of straight line gestures to
supplement his words. He suggests a "ball-bearing" disposition, not
"corners."

[Sidenote: Sympathetic Attitude]

Be a good mixer when looking for your prospects. Learn the art of
_companionship_. The first essential is fellow feeling. Therefore do not
go about with a chip on your shoulder, but with your face a-smile and
your palms open to offer and to receive hand-clasps. Sympathize with the
ambitions of other men, with their hopes and dreams. Remember that each
part of every work of man, however substantial and enduring it now may
be, was once no more than a figment of the imagination of some one's
mind. So do not be altogether "practical" when prospecting. It is a
mistake to neglect to prospect visions.

[Sidenote: Have a Leader]

When the master salesman prospects, he uses very effectively a "leader"
idea. You know how aggressive stores advertise leaders that draw trade
in other things. Your prospecting of your various capabilities should
enable you to decide which of your qualifications will make the most
effective leader in the case of a certain employer. Do not expect him to
perceive _all_ your merits immediately. Concentrate his attention and
interest on _one or two elements_ of your fitness to fill his especial
needs. Prospect to make sure which of your possible leaders would be
most likely to influence him in your favor. Then _use these selected
elements of your character very prominently_ to open the door of your
initial chance. Countless successes have been founded on well chosen
leaders.

A little bake shop in Chicago competes successfully to-day with a great
chain-store company that has an immense establishment directly across
the street. The shop sells as its leaders home-made English tarts that
no chain-store could supply. These draw buyers for groceries and other
goods the chain-store sells much cheaper, but which the purchasers of
tarts order with their pastry rather than cross the street and divide
their marketing.

[Sidenote: Summary]

Now let us summarize "Your Prospects." They are not far away nor far
ahead in time. They are in your own hands right now. You _cannot fail_
in life if you recognize and use most effectively all the opportunities
available to you at present. You suffer from no lack of chances to
succeed. You only need to open your physical eyes and the eyes of your
mind to _see_ fine prospects every day. Then if you _imaginatively
relate your abilities to what you perceive, and plan how you can fit
yourself into a chosen place of real service_, you will have begun the
selling process successfully. At the outset of your career it is
possible for you to reduce difficult obstacles to temporary set-backs
that you can get around or overcome.

[Sidenote: Success A Matter Of Fractions]

There is only a narrow margin of difference between success and failure.
_Success is a matter of fractions and decimals, not of big units_. A few
thousand American soldiers and marines turned the tide of German victory
at Chateau Thierry. "It is the last straw that breaks the camel's back."

If you _begin_ the selling process by the finest prospecting, and _keep
on_ with equal effectiveness throughout all the following steps of
salesmanship, you will gain so many more chances than you otherwise
could get that _your success in the end will be assured_. The master
salesman works with _certainty_ that he will secure his quota of orders.
He knows in advance that he will succeed; _because he knows sure ways to
sell_.

Good prospecting is just a natural process, intelligently comprehended.
It is neither mysterious nor hard. It is one of the preliminary,
understandable ways to make success not only _sure_, but _easy_ to
attain.




CHAPTER VI

_Gaining Your Chance_


[Sidenote: Getting Inside The Door]

We will assume that you have qualified yourself to succeed; that you
have developed your best capabilities in knowledge, in manhood, and in
sales skill; that you have completed the general preparation necessary
to assure your success in marketing your particular qualifications; and
that you also have learned how to find and to make the most of your
prospects. After these preliminaries you are ready to take the next step
in the selling process, and to begin putting your capabilities, and what
you have learned from preparation and prospecting, to _specific use in
actual selling_.

In order to succeed, you must not only be _qualified_ for some
_particular_ service work, but you also need _chances to demonstrate_
your capabilities and preparedness for effective service. If you stand
all your life in complete readiness for success but outside the door of
opportunity, you will be a failure despite your exceptional
qualifications and preparations for handling chances to succeed. _It is
necessary that you get inside the door._ We will study now the _sure_
ways and means of entrance.

[Sidenote: The Salesman's Advantage Over the Buyer]

One great advantage the skillful salesman has over even the best buyer
is that he can _plan_ completely _what_ he will do and _how_ he will do
it to accomplish his selling purpose. The prospect is unable to
anticipate who will call upon him next; so it is impossible for him to
avoid being taken _unawares_ by each salesman. He can make only general
and hasty preparations at the moment to deal with the particular
individual who comes intent on securing his order.

The good salesman, however, works out in advance the most effective ways
and means to present his proposition. Each move in the process of
selling his ideas to a prospect is carefully studied and practiced
beforehand. The effects of different words and tones and acts are
exactly weighed. When the thoroughly prepared salesman calls on a
possible buyer, he has in mind a flexible program of procedure with
which he is perfectly familiar and which he can adapt skillfully to
various conditions that his imagination has enabled him to anticipate.
Hence the master salesman usually is able to _control the situation_, no
matter how shrewd the prospect may be; because the salesman's chance to
plan assures him a great advantage over the unprepared or incompletely
prepared other party to the sale.

[Sidenote: Dominate The Interview with Confidence]

If you would likewise "dominate" the man to whom you want to sell your
capabilities, prepare "plans of approach" to his interest before calling
on him; in order to make sure of presenting your qualifications most
strongly. He can oppose your salesmanship with but comparatively weak
resistance; because _he has had no such opportunity as you to get all
ready for this interview_. The skillful salesman is confident that he
can control the selling process he begins. When you seek a selected
chance for the success you desire, you should feel similar assurance of
ability to sell your services. You will possess this feeling if you
prepare your "plan of approach" as the master salesman gets ready for
his interview with a prospective buyer.

[Sidenote: The Two Entrances]

You have to make two distinct "entrances" in order to gain your desired
chance to succeed. You need to get _yourself_ into the _presence_ of the
employer you have selected. Then it is essential that you get the _true
idea_ of your capabilities and preparedness into his _mind_. Your
"approach" to his attention and interest, therefore, involves a _double_
process. It is important that you plan intelligently the most skillful
ways and means of making the _two_ entrances; through the _physical_ and
the _mental_ closed doors that now shut you out from the opportunities
you have prospected and desire to gain.

No master salesman would call on an important prospect before planning
in his own mind how to take the successive steps of the interview
expected. Nor would a master salesman neglect to think out in advance
several specific methods of getting past any physical barriers he might
encounter between the outer door of the general office and the inner
sanctum of the man he must meet face to face in order to close a sale.

[Sidenote: Ordinary Way Of Getting Job]

But when the _unskilled_ salesman of his own capabilities seeks a
situation, he usually neglects to make careful, detailed plans to reach
his prospect in the most effective way. He does not prepare to create
the particular impressions that would be most apt to assure him the
attention and interest of the employer upon whom he calls. Nearly always
when a man out of a job answers an advertisement or follows up a clue to
a possible opening for his services, he thinks the most important thing
is to "get there first." The only advantage he hopes to gain over other
applicants is a position at the head of the line.

Have you ever stopped to analyze the mental attitude of an employer
toward the half dozen, dozen, or score of men who answer his
advertisement for the services of one man? He thinks, "Here are a lot of
fellows out of jobs. Probably most of them are no good, or they wouldn't
be out of jobs. They are competing for this place. Each sees there are
plenty of others who will be glad to have it. Therefore it is likely
that I can get a man without paying him much to start with, and he
probably won't be very independent for a while after I hire him. I'll
take my pick of the lot, and keep the names and addresses of two or
three others in case he doesn't make good."

[Sidenote: Shearing The Sheep]

Then the employer calls in the applicants as if they were so many sheep
to be sheared by sharp cross-examination. Practically every candidate
enters the private office with a considerable degree of sheepishness in
his feelings, whether he tries to appear at ease or not. The employer
first eyes him in keen appraisal. He then proceeds briskly to clip off
facts about him. The man sitting behind the desk absolutely dominates
the situation. He finishes his questioning, and disposes of the
applicant as he pleases.

What chance to gain the desired opportunity for service does each
candidate have in such an uncontrolled process of getting a job? He has
one-sixth, or one-twelfth, or one-twentieth of a chance for success;
according to whether there are six or a dozen or a score of applicants.
Also, practically without exception, men who come seeking a position and
find that it has been filled make no further efforts to secure the
opportunity for which they have applied; though the successful candidate
may not make good and the position may soon be vacant again. Your own
experience and observation have made familiar to you this common way of
looking for jobs. You know that in such cases the employer has all the
advantage. Certainly the applicants who try to gain a chance to work by
this method use no _salesmanship_ at all.

[Sidenote: The Salesman's Method]

How would a "salesman" candidate for such a situation proceed? First, he
would avoid the mistake of presenting himself as _merely one of a crowd_
of competing applicants. He would _make his particular personality stand
out_. Before calling, he would do some prospecting to discover just what
capabilities were needed to fill the position advertised. Then he would
plan different ways of tackling the prospective employer. When all
ready, but not before, he would go to the address.

If he should find a crowd there, he would not merge with it. He would
avoid stating his business immediately in the outer office, rather than
identify himself with the other candidates waiting. He would have a plan
to get an interview later, after the dispersal of the crowd. If he
should be told then that the position had been filled, he would go right
ahead with his selling program regardless of the rebuff. He would
proceed to sell the boss the idea that _he_ was an especially well
fitted man for the job. He would assume that no one else could give such
satisfaction.

Nevertheless the employer might feel that he had no place open for the
latest candidate. In this event the applicant would demonstrate with
salesmanship that he was the sort of person it is worth while for any
business man to keep track of. Such a real "salesman" of his own
capabilities, if put off for the time being, would be reasonably sure to
get his desired chance the next time that employer might require such
services as he could supply.

[Sidenote: A Salesman Cost Clerk]

A young acquaintance of mine wanted to secure a chance in the office of
a prominent manufacturing corporation, under a certain executive whom he
regarded as the most capable business man in the city. The company had
advertised for a minor clerk in the cost department, which was managed
by the particular executive. My acquaintance called, and found seven
other applicants waiting in the general office. He did not join them,
but sent in his card to the busy head of the cost department with the
penciled request, "May I see you for twenty seconds in order to make a
personal inquiry?" He was promptly admitted to the private office, and
then stated his purpose in calling. He was careful to be extremely
brief.

"My name is James A. Ward. I believe, Mr. Blank, I am the man you want
for the clerkship in your cost section. In order to save your time, may
I have permission to make some inquiries of the chief clerk in that
department, to learn just what qualifications are required and what the
work is? Then when you talk with me, it will be unnecessary for you to
explain details."

[Sidenote: Securing A Stand-in]

Taken unawares, the executive was not prepared to refuse the courteous
request. Moreover, he was impressed with the distinctive attitude of the
young man. He instructed that the candidate be taken to the cost
department. There my acquaintance made an excellent impression on the
cost accountant and several clerks. Thus in advance of any other
applicant he secured a "stand-in" with a number of persons who might
influence the judgment of their chief in selecting a new man. When he
had learned the nature of the work to be done, Ward did not make the
mistake of thrusting himself again into the sanctum. Instead, he wrote a
note to the executive on whom he had called first.

     "Dear Mr. Blank:

     I know now exactly what the job in the cost department is, and that
     I can fill it. But I should like to think over the best ways to
     give you complete satisfaction, before talking with you about it.
     Please telephone to me at Main 4683 when it will be convenient for
     you to see me.

               Respectfully,

                           James A. Ward."

The young man sent his note into the private office and left at once.
There now were nine applicants on the anxious seat in the reception
room. Ward did not wish to be asked to wait his turn. He felt sure the
executive would inquire of the costs manager about him, and he got away
from the office quickly so that there would be an opportunity for his
chosen prospective employer to receive the full effect of the good
impression made in the cost department.

[Sidenote: Giving Opportunity A Chance to Catch Up]

My acquaintance was not at all worried lest some other candidate be
chosen in his absence. The measures of salesmanship he had taken made it
practically certain that the executive would not employ any one else
before talking to him. Ward went to his room and waited for the
telephone call he was sure would come. While he sat expecting it, he
used the time to think out the best ways to approach the big man with
whom he wanted to work.

The salesman candidate was summoned in about an hour. None of the
applicants ahead of him had come prepared with any definite plans.
Therefore my acquaintance, who knew in advance just what the conditions
were and who had decided exactly how he would present his particular
capabilities, found it easy to secure the chance he desired. He is
earning a salary of four thousand dollars a year now, and is on his way
up to a five-or-six-figure job. He will get there, "as sure as
shooting." A salesman like that cannot be kept down.

[Sidenote: Turning Failure Into Success]

I asked Ward one day what he would have done if the telephone call he
expected had not come. He replied that he would have gone to see the
executive next morning anyhow, and that he had planned carefully how he
would approach him.

"I'd have sent in a note that I was ready to report some ideas I had
worked out regarding his cost-keeping as a result of the thinking I had
done since learning his system. He wouldn't have refused to see me, even
if he had hired some one else meanwhile. Then I'd have told him the very
things that got me the job. They would have assured me a chance in his
office, whether he had a place for me right then or not," Ward asserted
positively. "If that plan of mine hadn't succeeded," he amended, "I'd
have known he wasn't the kind of man I wanted to work for, after all.
But it turned out exactly as I knew it would," my friend ended with a
grin.

Can you imagine a man of such sales ability failing to get a chance
almost anywhere? Yet Ward did only what any one, with a little
forethought, might have done in the circumstances. Analyze the selling
process he used, and you will perceive that there was nothing marvelous
about it--it was all perfectly natural. Is there any good reason why
_you_ cannot employ similar methods to gain the chance you want?

[Sidenote: Service Purpose is Essence of Salesmanship]

Let us dig into what Ward did, and find the "essence" of his
salesmanship in the ways and means he employed to assure his two
"entrances," to the presence and into the mind of the executive. _He was
successful principally because he made the impression that he had come
with a purpose of rendering real service to the other man._ His plan of
approach assured him the opportunity he wanted because it was designed
to serve the head of the department in his need for particular
capabilities. _Very rarely will any one refuse a needed service._ So,
coming with a purpose of service, Ward made certain in advance that he
would be welcomed to his opportunity. The essence of a successful plan
of approach to the mind of any prospect is _a carefully thought-out idea
of how to supply him with exactly what he lacks_.

Just as the service purpose well planned is the key to the door of a
man's _mind_; so is it the "Open Sesame" to his _presence_. Plan how to
bring to the attention of a prospect your real service motive in coming
to him, and how at the same time you can indicate to him your
capabilities; then you will be as sure as was my ingenious acquaintance
that no office door will long remain closed to you. _You only need to
use the processes of the master salesman to gain any chance you want._
You will succeed almost always in your immediate object; and if you are
unsuccessful in your first or second sales attempt you will be
absolutely certain to get some other good opportunity very soon.

[Sidenote: Make a "Vacancy" For Yourself]

It is not necessary to wait until the employer for whom you have chosen
to work advertises a job. You should plan ways and means of gaining an
entrance into his business organization, regardless of any "vacancy" he
may have in mind. Plan exactly how you can serve him. Prospect for a
need that he may not realize himself. Afterward work out a particular
method of showing him clearly _what he lacks_, and that _you are the
man_ to fill the vacancy you yourself have discovered and revealed to
him.

An elderly man who was down on his luck and who, on account of his grey
hair, had been unable to get various kinds of work he had sought,
devised a novel plan of approach that gained him a coveted chance in a
big department store. He came to the main office and reached the sales
manager without difficulty by appearing to be just a customer of the
store. Then he whisked from under his coat a pasteboard sign on which he
had printed, PORTER WANTED--TO KEEP SIDEWALK CLEAN.

"I'm after that job, sir," he explained his presence.

The sales manager waved the old man away.

"You're in the wrong place," he said curtly. "Employment office is on
the top floor."

"I made the sign myself," the applicant declared, standing his ground.
"The employment manager--you--no one in this store has realized, I
think, how filthy your sidewalk is. If you will come down with me and
look at it, I'm sure you will want to have it cleaned and will instruct
that I be given the chance. It is hurting your sales, as it is now. Kept
clean, as I would keep it, it would be a fine advertisement of the
store's policies, and would help sales."

The old man's plan of entrance gained him his initial opportunity. He
swept the sidewalk only two weeks. Then the sales manager made a place
for him behind a counter, where he is serving customers with
satisfaction to-day.

[Sidenote: Distinguishing Characteristic Of Masterly Salesmanship]

You will recall that in a previous chapter the _ability to discriminate_
was stated as the _distinguishing characteristic_ of masterly
salesmanship. The ability to perceive differences, and skill in
emphasizing them, will _assure_ success in selling either ideas or
goods.

The discriminative-restrictive study of anything is certain to give one
a much clearer and more definite understanding of it than could be
secured by a study of its likeness to something else. If, when
describing two people, you _compare_ their points of _resemblance_, you
do not paint a clear picture of either. But if you _restrict_ your
comments to the _differences_ in their features, you will portray a
pretty definite mental image of each.

[Sidenote: "Different" Ways Win]

You have been given several examples of ways and means to gain an
entrance into the presence and into the mind of an employer. You will
note that each applicant _restricted_ his plans of approach to
methods that were entirely _different_ from those ordinarily used
in getting a job. The purpose of the salesman in every case was to
bring out the difference between him and competing candidates for the
situation. The selling processes described were successful because
_discriminative-restrictive principles of skill were employed to bring
to the attention and interest of the prospect the service capabilities
of the one applicant, in distinction from all others_.

When you plan to gain the chance you most want, you can assure yourself
of success if you will work out in your own mind how to do _something
effective that is different_ from the methods commonly used in attempts
to gain opportunities, and that will impress your _real service purpose_
in applying for your chance.

First think out clearly _what the other man needs_. Distinguish exactly
in your thoughts between what is _lacking_ in his organization, and what
he _already has_. Then when planning to gain an entrance to the presence
and the mind of your prospect, restrict your thoughts to ways and means
of indicating and suggesting that _you know precisely what service is
wanted_. Prepare to show him that you don't have merely a vague,
indefinite idea of a job _like_ other jobs. Plan to indicate that you
are not just about the _same_ as ordinary men who apply for positions.
Be ready to make the first impression that you are _a particular man
with individual ideas and distinctive capability_. If you can prove
that, you will be certain to gain your chance through good salesmanship
of the true idea of your qualifications.

[Sidenote: Plan Approach To Fit the Particular Man]

When planning his approach, the master salesman combines his earlier
work of preparation and his prospecting. He re-organizes in his mind all
the information he previously has gained for his own benefit. Now he
reviews his knowledge _from the standpoint of the prospect_. He plans to
use what he has learned in the ways that seem to him most likely to fit
the mentality, impulses, feelings, conditions, and real needs of the man
he wants to influence to accept his proposition.

Having thus planned to _fit his knowledge to an individual prospect_,
the skillful salesman arranges constructively in his own mind
_particular, definite points of contact_ with the mind of this one other
man. He plans restrictively. That is, he works out only the approach
ideas that are likely to fit the characteristics of the certain man on
whom he intends to call. He also discards ways and means that are not
_especially adapted_ to this prospect.

[Sidenote: Different Effects on Different People]

Of course the master salesman purposes to make the best possible
impression always; but he recognizes that words, tones, and actions
which would create a favorable impression on one prospect might make an
opposite impression on another. For instance, a jolly manner and
expression help in gaining an entrance to the friendly consideration of
a good-natured man, but would be likely to affect a cynical dyspeptic
disagreeably.

The intelligence and skill used by the master professional salesman of
goods in planning ways and means to gain his sales chances, can be used
in the same way just as effectively by _you_ when planning _your_
approach to the presence and mind of any one related to your
opportunities for success. Before you apply for the job you want, or
before you present your qualifications for promotion or an increased
salary, _make in advance a discriminative selection of ideas that will
be likely to prove most effective in accomplishing your purpose_ with
your employer prospect. Then, when you interview him, _restrict_ your
presentation of your case to these discriminatively selected strong
points of your particular capability.

[Sidenote: Contrast Selfish and Service Purposes]

You should suggest contrasts between yourself and ordinary job seekers
or employees. When you present your qualifications for a promotion or
for a raise, you will be _sure_ of succeeding if you are able to get
across to your employer's mind the true idea that your services in the
future may be _different and deserving of more reward_ than the services
for which you have previously been paid.

When an employee asks for more money because other men are being paid
higher wages in the same office, or because he has prospects of better
pay elsewhere, or even because of increased costs of living, he makes an
_unfavorable_ impression on the man from whom he requests a raise. His
purpose in presenting his claims is evidently selfish. He appears to be
looking out only for Number One, and the employer naturally looks out
for _his_ Number One when responding. By using methods that suggest a
wholly selfish purpose, the applicant decreases his chances of gaining
what he desires. Yet most employees ask for raises in just this way.

[Sidenote: The Quid Pro Quo]

Contrast the impression made when an employee approaches the boss with a
carefully planned demonstration of his _capability for increased
service_, as the basis of a proposal that he be promoted or given a
higher salary. He comes into "the old man's" office with an attitude
that produces a _favorable_ impression. When he explains exactly what he
is doing, or can do if permitted, that is deserving of more reward than
he has been receiving, he presents the idea of a "quid pro quo" to his
"prospect," just as the salesman of goods presents the idea of _value_
in fair exchange for _price_.

If the service now being rendered by the employee, or the new service he
wishes permission to render, is really worth more money to the employer,
the applicant for a raise is practically certain to get it, provided he
has chosen a fair boss. And, of course, a good salesman of himself does
not go to work in the first place until he has prospected the squareness
and fair-mindedness of the employer.

[Sidenote: The Saleswoman Secretary]

A young woman was employed in a secretarial capacity shortly before the
world war began. In the course of the next two years her salary was
voluntarily doubled by her employer. But her necessary expenses
increased in proportion; so she was able to save no more money (in
purchasing power) than it would have been possible for her to put in the
bank if there had been no increase either in her earnings or in the cost
of living. That is, if the war had not happened, and she had continued
at work for two years without any raise at all, she would have been
practically as well off at the end of that time as she actually found
herself with her doubled pay.

As the months of her employment passed, she had made herself
progressively much more valuable to her employer. She was rendering
him now a very large amount of high-grade service. But in effect she
was being paid no more money than when she was engaged. The young
woman knew her employer intended to be fair with her. Undoubtedly he
felt he had treated her well by voluntarily doubling her salary in two
years. If she had gone to him and had asked for more pay in the manner
of the ordinary applicant for a raise; if she had stated her request
without skillfully showing the difference between actual conditions and
his misconception of the facts; she likely would have made an unfavorable
impression. But she was a good saleswoman of her ideas. She made a
discriminative-restrictive plan of approach to gain her object, and used
first-class selling skill to get into her employer's mind a true
conception of her worth to him.

[Sidenote: Opening the Boss's Eyes]

She compiled from her budget the exact amount of increased living costs.
The comparative figures of two years showed that her necessary expenses
were approximately double what they had been before the war. Then she
used the percentage ratio to demonstrate in neat typewriting that
approximately all of her salary increases had gone to some one else, and
had not remained in her hands. On another sheet she typed a summary of
the most important business responsibilities she carried for her
employer at present, but which she had not been qualified nor trusted to
bear when she was first engaged. The secretary brought the two exhibits
to the desk of the business man, laid them before him with brief
explanations of what they represented, and concluded with a simple
personal statement which she worded most carefully.

[Sidenote: The Approach That Commands Respect]

"Mr. Blank, I know you mean to be perfectly square with me. So I want
you to realize what has been the actual purchasing power of the salary I
have received, and what I have done with it. This percentage slip shows
that my additional pay was all used for additional expenses. I have been
unable to increase my savings. I really have been paid only for the same
kind of services I was able to render when you employed me. Now I know
how to do all these additional things." She pointed to the list typed on
the second sheet of paper. "In effect, I haven't been paid anything for
them, you see. I am sure you have not appreciated the difference between
the increased service I have rendered, and the buying power of the
raises you have meant to give me but which have all gone to some one
else. Please study these lists. I believe you will feel that I am
earning a larger salary and really am worth more to you than two years
ago."

Her "different" approach gained the secretary not only an immediate
increase of fifty per cent in her salary; but five hundred dollars back
pay that her fair-minded employer was convinced she should have
received.

Such an approach commands the respect of the prospect. It is the
approach of an equal, not of an inferior. _So greatly does it reduce the
chances of failure that the salesman is practically certain to succeed
in his purpose._

[Sidenote: Initiative Is Yours]

Recognize that the _initiative_ in gaining your chance should be in your
own hands. Do not wait for any opportunity to come to you. "Go to it."
Go prepared to control the situation you have planned to create, but be
ready also to meet _unexpected possibilities_. The object of the master
salesman in his preparation is not only to make the selling process
_easy_, but also to meet any _difficulties_ he can foresee that may
arise to block him. He is ready to take full advantage of favorable
conditions he has planned to meet, and is equally ready for turn-downs.
If you use the discriminative-restrictive method to gain admission to
the presence and into the mind of your prospect, it is altogether
unlikely that you will be denied the chance you seek. Nevertheless _go
loaded for refusals_. Be ready with the quick come-back to every
turn-down you can imagine.

A clerk in a real estate office wanted an opportunity to prove that he
was capable of selling. Times were very hard, and the firm had flatly
announced that it would not promote anybody or grant any raises. But
this clerk, who had made up his mind to secure a salesman's job,
carefully prepared a plan of approach before he went to the president's
office. His ostensible purpose was to get a raise; so he had worked out
an ingenious reply to every objection he could imagine his employer
might make to paying him more money. But he really wanted a different
job, not just a larger salary.

[Sidenote: Come-backs To Turn Downs]

He tackled the "old man" at a selected time when he knew the president
would not be busy. One after another, in quick succession, he came back
at every reason given for turning him down on his application for
additional pay. Finally the cornered employer stated frankly that the
clerk was entitled to a raise, but as frankly said it could not be
granted because of general business conditions. The applicant, having
gained his immediate object by proving his worth, then switched to the
second part of his plan of approach.

"I didn't expect more money for my clerical work, but haven't I proved
to you by the way I handle turn-downs that I possess the qualifications
of a salesman? It would be just as hard for a prospect to say 'No' to me
as it has been for you. I don't want a raise. I want a chance at selling
real estate. Give me a drawing account equal to my present salary, and
I'll earn it in commissions. I'm going to make it hard for anybody to
get away from me after I tackle him to buy a lot or a house."

Of course the clerk got his chance.

[Sidenote: Touch Tender Spots]

Another important detail of good salesmanship in planning to approach
opportunities to succeed, is _touching the tender spots of the
subordinates_ in the office of the big man you want to reach. Also plan
to touch tender spots in _him_. You can do it with a courteous bow, or
with the tone of respect. Employ the _personal appeal_--that is, make
_contact_ between _your personality_ and the personality of the _other
party_ you desire to influence. There is no better way than by
manifesting your _real friendliness_. One who comes as a friend is able
to feel and to appear _at ease_. The bearing of perfect ease makes the
excellent impression of _true equality in manhood_, and helps very
greatly in gaining for one a chance to succeed.

[Sidenote: Strength and Resourcefulness]

Sometimes self-respect will require you to use very forceful methods to
secure the opportunity you desire. A snippy clerk may refuse you
admittance to the private office. The big man himself may send out word
that he will not receive you, or perhaps he will attempt to dismiss you
brusquely after you are granted an audience. So be prepared to manifest
your _strength_, as well as your _resourcefulness_, should such _force_
of personality be needed in any imaginable situation. If you have
planned exactly how you will show your strength, you will make the
impression when you manifest it actually that you are strong in fact,
and not just a bluffer. Often you can prove your strength by looking
another person fearlessly in the eye.

[Sidenote: Four Essentials of Good Approach]

It is evident from what has already been outlined that to make a
successful approach one needs particular qualifications. There are four
essentials: First, _mental alertness in perceiving_; Second, _good
memory for retaining the impressions received_; Third, _constructive
imagination_ in planning the approach; Fourth, _friendly courage_ in
securing an audience and in making the actual approach to the mind of
the other man.

All your senses must be _wide awake_ if you are to _perceive every point
of difference_ that can be used effectively to sell your particular
ideas in contrast with ordinary ideas.

It is necessary not only that you _see_ distinctions clearly, but that
you be able to _remember them instantly_, when you need to use them in
selling your ideas.

You cannot make any certainly successful plan to deal with a future
possible chance unless you _cultivate your power of imagination by
working out in advance every conceivable situation that may be
anticipated_.

And all your other capabilities in gaining your chance will be of no
avail if your purpose meets resistance; unless you are equipped
beforehand with friendly courage, the _kind of real bravery that is
likable_.

[Sidenote: Genius]

It is highly important to your success that you be able to make the
impression that you are a person of _genius_. Genius, analyzed, is no
more than the exceptional application of natural ability to doing work.
Application demands complete attention. Attention leads to
discrimination. Discrimination concentrates, of course, upon the
recognition of differences. And differentiation depends principally upon
sense training in alertness. Unless a sense is very keen, it cannot make
distinctions sharply. _So we get back to the primary necessity of
developing all your senses and of keeping them wide awake to perceive
and act upon chances for success_.

[Sidenote: Memory]

Your discriminative power of perception will be well-nigh valueless to
you, however, if you are unable to recall whenever needed, all the
points of difference possible to utilize in your salesmanship. Therefore
you should _train your memory_. We will not enlarge just now upon this
factor of the process of making success certain; because in previous
chapters and also in the companion book, "The Selling Process," the
right methods of developing a good memory are indicated.

[Sidenote: Constructive Imagination]

The value of _constructive imagination_, not only in planning your
entrance to the physical presence and into the mind of the prospect, but
all through your salesmanship, cannot be over emphasized. If you are to
gain your chance with another man, _you must be able to see imaginary
future situations, through his eyes_. In advance of your interview it is
necessary that you imagine yourself in his place when a caller like
yourself is received.

Some so-called "realists" condemn imagination. They say it is apt to
make men visionary and unable to recognize and meet successfully the
every-day problems of life. But the _big_ men of finance, industry, and
politics have become pre-eminent because of the fertility and
productiveness of their imaginations. What the "hard-headed" man
condemns is not imagination, but _inability to use it constructively_.
He deprecates imagination not carried into _action_. Constructive
imagination, however, has always been man's greatest aid in making
progress.

[Sidenote: Four Ways to Re-construct Ideas]

In order to develop your constructive imagination most effectively you
must follow certain laws with regard to the re-adjustment of parts,
qualities, or attributes of things you know. You can re-construct an
idea; (1) by merely _enlarging_ an old mental image; or (2) by
_diminishing_ the size of the previous image; or (3) by _separating_ a
composite image into its parts; or (4) by imaging _each part as a
whole_.

Let us illustrate how these laws of constructive imagination might be
applied effectively in planning the approach to a prospective employer.

[Sidenote: Using Constructive Imagination]

He perhaps has an idea that the possibilities of the job you want are
limited. You should plan to _enlarge_ the picture of your possible
service and to show that you could do more things than he is likely to
expect of you.

So you can _diminish_ his idea of the salary you want, by planning to
show him that in proportion to the enlarged service you purpose to
render, the pay you ask is not really big.

In order to make him appreciate better just what your contemplated job
means, you can _separate_ it into the different functions you will
perform. The mere fact that the job has a great many parts will be
effective in impressing him with the idea that it is worth more pay.

Then you can take each part or function of your job and show it as a
_whole_ opportunity. For instance, if you are a correspondent, you might
demonstrate just how letters of different length could be spaced on the
stationery to develop a uniformly artistic impression that would help to
get more business by mail.

All your imaginative powers can be made to work _together_ to accomplish
the one certain result you desire. "Constructive imagination is always
characterized by a definite purpose, which never is lost sight of until
the image is complete."

[Sidenote: Friendly Courage]

Thousands of men have failed, after getting right up to the door of
opportunity, because they had to turn away in order to screw up their
_courage_. No one can hope to succeed if he lacks _the quality of
bravery necessary to gain chances_.

True bravery is not cockiness or swaggering. It is simply a _kindly
self-confidence_ that makes no impression of a threat to others, and
gives no suggestion that the man who has it feels there is the slightest
reason for being afraid of anybody else.

[Sidenote: No One To Fear]

Really, if you have planned just how to approach each prospect with a
true service purpose, there is no one in the world you need to fear.
Lack of courage is usually due to lack of preparation for what might be
anticipated. Sometimes a man is fearful of another because of his own
consciousness that he has come to that other man principally for the
purpose of _taking something away from him_. This consciousness causes a
guilty feeling, which undermines courage. If through imaginative
planning you know in advance about what to expect, and if you feel your
intentions toward your prospect are absolutely square, you will not be
afraid to seek your chance anywhere. Your courage will not ooze.

[Sidenote: "Right is Might"]

True courage is based on a _permanent consciousness of right feeling and
thinking, coupled with the sense of power_ that is expressed in the
maxim, "Right is might." Such courage can be developed by the
discriminative-restrictive process with absolute certainty, as is
explained in the companion book, "The Selling Process."

[Sidenote: Big Mental Outlook]

Our study of plans of approach would be incomplete without emphasizing
the prime necessity for a _big mental outlook_. To assure your success
in gaining the chances you want it is necessary that you vision
imaginary situations of the future and fit into them the facts you know
now or may be able to learn.

However, you cannot develop maximum skill in gaining your chances if you
are unable to learn anything except through personal experience.
Personal experience is valuable, no doubt. But you must develop the
ability to _think out the significance of other men's experiences_, and
must be capable of _applying what you learn to your own imaginary use_.

The big view-point, the ability to learn from observation as well as
from experience, will develop in you broad and varied conceptions of
other men. It will make you tolerant of characteristics that differ
widely from your own. You will respect the view-point of the other
fellow, and will recognize that he may be perfectly fair in his attitude
and opinions, however widely he may differ from your ideas. Your big
mental outlook should make you feel friendly toward him as your
prospect, and you can make the approach of _courage that is friendly_.

[Sidenote: The Sentry And the Password]

Perhaps you will meet opposition to your entrance when you come to gain
your chance. It is likely that some sentry in the outer office of your
prospect, or the sentry of his own mind when you reach his presence, may
halt you at the portal of opportunity with the challenge, "Who goes
there?"

Your answer should be spoken confidently, "A friend."

The test will then be made by the sentry, "Advance, friend, and give the
countersign."

_The secret pass-word to Opportunity is, "Service."_

Prove you know the countersign, speak it with courage, and you will find
yourself no longer an object of suspicion, no longer regarded as a
possible enemy.

_You have nothing to fear if you plan to approach your prospect as a
true friend who has come with a carefully thought out, intelligent offer
of service that he lacks._




CHAPTER VII

_Knowledge of Other Men_


[Sidenote: Unlocking The Other Man's Heart And Mind]

We have seen how you can make certain of _gaining_ your introductory
chance. Now we are to consider the first step in the _most effective
use_ of this opportunity to begin building your own success.

Let us say that you have chosen a particular man as the sort of employer
with whom you want to work. Your prospecting has convinced you that in
his business you have found the right market for your present services
and a promising field for the future big success you are ambitious to
achieve. Therefore you wish to sell him a true idea of your best
capabilities. We will assume that you have passed the threshold of his
private office, but your object in calling upon him has not yet entered
_his thoughts and feelings_.

Before you state the ideas and service intention you have brought, make
certain of the best possible reception from him. You need to take every
practicable precaution against being rebuffed. You want to assure
yourself of a welcome. Having gained this chance to start the sale of
your capabilities, it is of vital importance not to take the next step
in the selling process _blindly_, lest you stumble. Hence you should
_size up_ the other man before you announce your purpose in calling.
What you may learn from reading his character correctly will help you to
gain admittance into his mind for your ideas. It should assure a welcome
from his heart for your sincere desire to serve him.

[Sidenote: Skeleton Key Unavailing]

Golden opportunities to succeed in a particular business cannot be
unlocked with a skeleton key of knowledge about human nature. Knowledge
of _all_ men supplies merely the shaft and general shape of the key
blank, which must then be notched and filed to fit the characteristics
of the individual whose mind and heart you wish to open for the
admission of your ideas and feelings. Unless you can get into that _one_
mind and that _one_ heart with your service purpose, you will be shut
out from the opportunity you want. It is important that you know the
traits of men in general, of course. Such knowledge, however, should be
supplemented by a _specific_ and true conception of the particular man
through whom you hope to reach your chance to succeed.

Do not confuse in your present thoughts the process of _prospecting_ the
characteristics of a man _before_ meeting him, with the later process of
_sizing him up at the time of the interview_. It is highly important to
accumulate in advance as much knowledge as possible of your prospect's
individual traits. But what you learned about your chosen future
employer before you gained the chance to present your ideas to him in
his office should be used _merely as a guide_ in sizing him up on the
spot.

[Sidenote: Stop, Look, Listen]

Take nothing for granted now. Through your personal, specific
observation either confirm or disprove every item of information that
has come to you from other people previous to meeting this man face to
face. Your informants may or may not have had correct conceptions of his
characteristics. It would be unwise, even unsafe, for you to rely
implicitly on _their_ judgment of him. You need to _be certain you know
him as he really is_; so that you can present your purpose with the
confidence a skilled salesman feels when he is sure he understands the
principal traits of the prospect he is addressing. In reaching this man
you have gained your first chance. You cannot afford to risk losing it
by haste. _Do not advance farther in the selling process until you have
made certain of the ground you are to tread._ It is very bad
salesmanship to begin introducing ideas and feelings to a mind and heart
that are unknown to you except from hearsay.

"But," you say, "I'm not a mind reader. And I can't look into another
man's heart."

True. Yet you should be able to read the _signs_ of his thoughts; which
he manifests in his words, tones, and acts. And you need not see into
_his_ heart to know what it contains; since fundamentally _all_ men are
much alike at heart. Just look clearly into your own heart at its best.
You will find there the basic emotions and feelings that civilized men
have in common everywhere.

[Sidenote: Character Analysis by Types Not Reliable]

Character analysis by "types" is unreliable. I believe as little in
phrenology as in palm-reading. I have directed thousands of men in
business. Personal experience has proved to me that the _permanent_
structure of a particular human body is not an invariably true index to
the characteristics of the inner, or ego man who owns that body.

He has had no control over the color of his hair or eyes. He cannot
reshape the bones of his face, nor alter the bumps on his head. To
believe that such permanent structural details of the "natural" _outer_
man determine or denote the peculiar aptitudes of the _inner_ man is to
credit the exploded doctrine of fore-ordination.

Therefore, when you have gained the chance to present your capabilities
for sale to a chosen prospect with whom you believe you will have the
best opportunities to succeed, and when you are swiftly shaping your
presentation plans to fit his personality, don't size up merely the
factors of his make-up with which he was born. You will be apt to
mistake his true character if you have come to his office with the
delusion that the blonde type of man is fundamentally different _in
nature_ from the brunette type. Get out of your head any misconception
that a man is foredoomed to practically certain failure in a particular
career because he has a big nose, sloping brow, and receding chin; and
that another man with a snub nose, bulging forehead, and protruding jaw
is destined almost surely to succeed if he selects a certain vocation.
No "mind man" with a normal, healthy body is limited in his
possibilities of success by being born with red, or black, or tow hair;
or because the bones of his head happen to be shaped in a particular
way. The ego is the master, not the slave, of the body.

[Sidenote: True Signs of Character]

_The true signs of character are to be read only in the words, tones,
and movements_ of a man--and in his muscle structure _as he has
developed it_ or has left it _undeveloped_. We already have seen in a
previous chapter how a mind center and its co-ordinated set of muscles
develop each other. So the positive characteristics of the inner man are
revealed clearly by the muscle structure built up by his habits of
thinking and feeling and action. On the other hand, his deficiency in
certain mental and emotional development is indicated negatively by his
lack of the muscle structure that naturally would be co-ordinate with
such development.

The relation of muscular development to mental development, as explained
in an earlier chapter, suggests the one _sure_ way to judge a man's
habits of thinking. _Observe discriminatingly his various muscle
structures, and his muscle activities in detail._ The development of
certain sets of _muscles_ proves a co-ordinate development of the _mind
centers_ most directly connected with these muscle structures.
Similarly the _mental action_ of a man is indicated by his _physical
manifestations_ with his muscles in movements.

Hence if you learn to read the _mental significance of particular muscle
structures and of particular muscle actions_, you will be able to size
up both the _habits_ of thought (individual characteristics) of a man,
and what he happens to be thinking _at the time_ you come to present
your services or ideas for sale.

[Sidenote: Recapitulation]

Before going on with our study of the subject of this chapter, let us
summarize the preceding pages to make sure that we know thoroughly the
somewhat difficult but very important ground we have gone over thus far.

You chose a certain man as your prospective employer because you believe
that if you succeed in associating yourself with him you will have the
best opportunities to achieve your ambition. You are now standing in his
presence. You need to size up his true character quickly in order that
you may be sure of presenting your capabilities in the particular way
that is likely to be most effective with him. You wish to impress this
one man with right ideas of your qualities and their value. You want him
to perceive that he lacks and requires just such services as you purpose
to offer for sale. You realize it is unsafe for you to jump at
conclusions about his characteristics. You pause briefly to size him up
before presenting your proposition, rather than to proceed blindly in
ignorance of his habits of thought, and with no clue to what he happens
to be thinking at the time you call. You must know all it is possible to
find out on the spot regarding him.

[Sidenote: What Has He Done with His Birthright?]

You cannot be certain of his characteristics if you judge him solely by
what Nature forced on him. But you can be absolutely sure if you size
him up by observing _what he has done with his birthright_, and if you
are then able to _interpret_ correctly what you _perceive_. Your
prospect has had nothing to do with the shape and size of his head. His
fair or dark complexion is inherited. He is utterly unable to control
the color of his hair or eyes. His _muscle structure_, however, is a
_development_ that he has accomplished himself. If he has a firm jaw,
the jaw _muscles_, not the jaw _bone_, signify the characteristics of a
firm mentality. _Judge the physical man he has made by his habits of
living under the government of his mind._ Disregard such physical
details of his appearance as he cannot help. The _made_ man is the true
image of the ego. It is this _ego_ of your prospective employer you need
to know, for your chance to succeed in your purpose with him depends on
the _inner_ man you must convince and persuade. Therefore restrict your
size-up to the discriminative observation of the _muscle signs of his
mind habits and mind actions_.

[Sidenote: Recall Burbank Method]

Recall now, or re-read the second chapter of this book. There you
studied the principles of restrictive-discriminative growth--the Burbank
method of developing selected qualities of manhood. That chapter related
to your cultivation of particular characteristics within _yourself_. The
same principles will guide you with equal certainty in acquiring
knowledge of _other men_.

Every _mental_ characteristic of your prospect about which you need to
know has _physical indications that can be perceived, and translated
into certain knowledge of details of his character_. You have studied
the co-relation of _your_ mind and body in mutual development. You may
be sure that similar processes of development have produced like effects
in the case of the man you have come to see. You know exactly how to
grow particular qualities within yourself, by using your muscles to
develop corresponding mind centers and vice versa. You can read another
man's mind by observing _his_ muscle structure and muscle action, and by
then interpreting the mental significance of what you perceive.

[Sidenote: Men are Alike At Heart, But Differ in Mind]

To repeat and emphasize again what already has been said about knowing
the _heart_ of another man--you need but look into your own breast to
find there the finest basic characteristics of the human heart in
general. As Kipling wrote, "The Colonel's lady and Judy O'Grady are
sisters under their skins." All men are fundamentally alike at the
bottoms of their hearts, however much they may differ in the individual
traits they have grafted upon their common root of human nature.

So when you are sizing up your prospect, you should comprehend that _the
most effective way to get to his heart is through such an appeal as
would reach the heart of every man_. Know your own heart surely, then,
in order to be certain of knowing his. All human hearts respond
similarly to manifestations of courage, nobility, love, faith, honor,
and the like. We laugh and cry at the same humor and pathos. Our
_feelings_ are closely akin. We differ from one another only in our
_minds_. Our individual, acquired habits of thought affect but the
_degrees_ of our several heart responses to the gamut of fundamental
emotional appeals.

[Sidenote: Exhaustive Prolonged Analysis Unnecessary]

Knowledge of another man, then, involves first, comprehension that he is
_like_ every other man in his _emotions_, and _unlike_ all other men in
the way he _thinks_. To a trained observer his habits of thought are
clearly indicated by his muscle structure and muscle action. Exhaustive
prolonged analysis is unnecessary. You can learn to read quickly the
mental significance of the comparatively small number of details of
muscle structure and action that constitute a fairly complete index to
his character. Then you will be able to judge with certainty practically
all the traits of which you need to be sure in order to make the most
effective presentation of your services for sale to this particular
man.

[Sidenote: Value of Size-up]

The value of such a dependable size-up can scarcely be over-estimated.
It is not easy to gain the _initial_ chance to present your capabilities
to the one man with whom you have chosen to be associated. But it would
be tremendously harder to win a _second_ opportunity to sell your
services after _failing_ the first time. By sizing him up aright while
you are presenting your qualifications for his consideration, you will
be able to _avoid making unfavorable impressions_. You can also adapt
your salesmanship to _creating the best possible impression_ of your
capabilities and their fitness to his *especial needs*.

[Sidenote: The Gruff Reception]

Sometimes a man seeking to gain the big chance that he believes would
open the door to success fails to secure his opportunity because he is
disconcerted by a gruff reception that he misconstrues as personal to
him. He wrongly interprets _natural_ self-defense as a sign of habitual
crabbedness.

A big man often thinks he is "hunted" by people who want to make him the
prey of their own purposes. The employer you have chosen as the means of
reaching the goal of your ambition may feel suspicious of your object in
approaching him. He is likely to assume an attitude of extreme reserve,
or even of icy indifference. Possibly his manner will be curt and sharp.
Size up such a reception as just his way of protecting himself against
impositions. His treatment of you is merely a superficial manifestation
of the instinct for self-preservation. It indicates nothing more than
that he is wary of any one who calls on him with an unknown purpose.

His object in being cold or brusque is to get rid of people who might
annoy him or waste his time. He would not assume his repelling pose if
he knew _you_ had come with a purpose of _true service_, after full
preparation of yourself and your selling plans to interest him. Though
he does not realize it yet, you will neither pester him nor fritter away
his precious minutes.

[Sidenote: Melting Ice And Smoothing Roughness]

Therefore if your size-up convinces you that the cold, brusque manner
is only _assumed_, you need not deal with it as if it were
_characteristic_. It indicates no more than the habit of wariness. You
should proceed confidently with your selling process, undeterred by the
bearing of your prospect. Do not attempt to mollify his assumed
harshness. It will take but a few moments for you to _sell him the idea
that you have brought him something he really needs_. When he first
glimpses your service purpose, his icy pose will begin to melt and his
rough tones will be smoothed.

A great public-utility corporation with thousands of branch offices
throughout the United States had as its purchasing agent for many years
an old gorgon. He was "a holy terror" to new salesmen, but became a
staunch customer when once his confidence was deservedly gained. And
every employee in the office of this tartar loved him for his true
kindness of heart.

[Sidenote: Don't Flinch Or Retreat]

You may have occasion to call on such an eccentric big man. If you are
rebuffed fiercely, don't let it "get your goat." He can have no possible
reason for disliking you personally, especially before he comprehends
your purpose in coming to him. So disregard his ferocious pose. Though
he may treat you as an unwelcome intruder, proceed calmly to the
statement of your business. You know that your intention to render him a
true service justifies you in taking his time. Therefore his assumed
fierce manner should be powerless to disconcert you.

_Do not retreat_ from a chosen prospective employer; _do not even
flinch_ from him, however ill-tempered and repellant he may appear. You
cannot possibly lose so much by standing your ground as you would
forfeit by running away from this chance to demonstrate your
salesmanship. Countless thousands of men have failed because at the
first sign of antagonism they surrendered even more than they might have
lost if they had been utterly beaten after the hardest kind of a fight
for victory. _They gave up without a struggle, not only all their
chances for success, but their self-respect as well._

Suppose the man you have selected as your future employer does snap at
you viciously when you call on him; his ferocity signifies no more than
that you must approach and handle him carefully. Your prospecting and
your size-up should have convinced you that he is not in fact the crab
he tries to appear. Real, thorough cranks are so rare they can be
considered as non-existent. It is safe to conclude that any man who acts
as if he were sore all the way through all the time is just _acting_.
Ignore the irrascibility of the "Everett Trues" you meet. _Superficial_,
_assumed_ indications will not help you to comprehend the _inner_ man
you want to influence. _Restrict your size-up to the signs of that inner
man._ While the old gorgon you face is brow-beating you, he may be
planning in the back of his head an act of gentle kindness to some one.
If he is _habitually_ kind, there will be physical indications of that
characteristic; in his _tones_ and _acts_ if not in his _words_. Look
for these signs beneath his harsh manner, which is merely a disguise he
has put on. "Everett True" behaves like a domineering tyrant, but he
really is characterized by an acute sensitiveness to what is right and
just.

[Sidenote: Judge By Unconscious Appearance And Actions]

When sizing up a man, depend principally upon details of his
_appearance_ and _actions_. Translate whatever you see or hear into
definite discriminative judgments regarding him. His muscle structure
and movements indicate certain traits. Of course you should also observe
and size up the significance of the words and tones he uses. But a man
employs his speech with the conscious intention of making impressions.
Therefore it is not safe to rely on a size-up based on what he says.
Your prospect may be using his words and tones to hide, rather than to
reveal, his inner self.

However, if you know how to separate and classify _details of muscle
structure and action_, you can depend safely on specific conclusions
based on these indications. The muscle structure of a man is the result
of his habits of living, or of his predominant characteristics. He
builds it up unconsciously and is unable to disguise it. It can be
interpreted as certain proof that he has particular traits. Most of his
movements, too, are made without his realizing exactly what they denote
of his character and present thoughts. He just "acts natural." Therefore
if you read indications of the inner man by analytically observing his
_physique_ and _actions_, you will gain reliable information about him.
He will not know that he is revealing his traits and what he is
thinking.

[Sidenote: Your Opinions About People]

From your earliest childhood to this moment you have been forming
first-hand opinions of other people by observing and interpreting their
words, tones, and movements. Sizing up men is not a new process to you.
But in order to be a certainly successful salesman of yourself you
should _observe more intelligently and discriminatively_ hereafter.
Instead of making up your mind about people without knowing just how or
why you arrive at your judgments, classify your intuitions
scientifically. Know the reasons for your opinions. You can be sure
about the conclusions you reach as a result of your _specific, exact
observation of details_. The study and analysis of words, tones, and
acts, coupled with a little painstaking practice, will make you an
expert judge of other men.

[Sidenote: Study Character Unobserved]

Do not seem to make an effort to observe the person you are sizing up,
for that would impress him disagreeably. Without indicating that you are
watching him, mentally note and interpret his muscle structure, his
manner of speaking, his gestures, the rate of his physical activity, the
way his actions respond to his ideas, the type and tensity of his
movements. _Each item you analyze and translate should indicate to you
clearly some fact about the inner man._

Of course you will not be able to read your prospect thoroughly in the
first few moments after you meet him. It is possible to make only a
partial size-up then. No one would reveal _all_ his characteristics in
such a brief time. _But each indication you perceive and interpret
correctly will aid you to attribute to him certain other, related
traits._ For instance, if the actions of a man indicate the
characteristic of evasion, you may judge safely that he lacks courage,
the highest sense of honor, some of the elements of perfect squareness
and trustworthiness. If he has a habit of under-estimating or
"knocking," and manifests this characteristic in something he says or
does, you may feel certain he is not an idealist. He is likely to be
pretty "practical" in his views, and cannot be won by appeals to rosy
visions.

[Sidenote: Elements of Character are Consistent]

Analysis of a man's true character usually shows that its elements are
thoroughly consistent. A human being is not a bundle of contradictions,
but an aggregation of likenesses. Every man differs from every _other_
man; yet, generally speaking, one element of his character is not apt to
differ radically from another detail of _himself_. There are exceptions,
but in most cases the seeming contradictions in an individual are only
apparent opposites. Supposed inconsistencies cause surprise because the
true fundamental traits of the person observed are not discerned. The
_outer_ man often seems to contradict himself. But nearly always the
_inner_ man is consistent in his various characteristics. This is the
reason why your size-up should be _restricted to discriminative
observation of indications of the ego_.

[Sidenote: Application of Theory]

Perhaps you have been thinking, "The _theory_ seems to be all right, but
exactly how is it _applied?_" So we shall turn our attention next to
specific details of sizing up the characteristics of the inner man. We
shall see just how his thoughts and feelings may be discerned at a
particular time.

We assumed previously that you have called upon the man to whom you want
to sell your services. You believe the way to your success lies through
association with him. _Your faculties of observation should be trained
to size up at a glance whatever traits are suggested by his bearing,
his clothes, his manner, his actions, his surroundings_. Whether he is
standing or sitting, it is possible for you to perceive and interpret
his pose and poise. You can learn much from his walk if he steps forward
to greet you. His handshake may tell volumes about his true character.
The different ways that men clasp palms are especially significant of
their individual traits. You should have a scientific knowledge of
handshakes.

[Sidenote: Traits Suggested By Nods]

Should your prospect merely nod on your entrance, note discriminatively
the movement he makes. There are many kinds of nods. The quick, sharp
tipping of the head indicates unhesitating, clean-cut decisions. Such
judgments on the spur of the moment are not always right, but they are
apt to be pretty conclusive. Irregular, jerky nods are signs of
irritability, of rash or very impulsive decisions, and often of
unreasoning prejudice. The nod made directly forward signifies
frankness, dignity, and straight thinking. The tilting of the head a
little to one side suggests a habit of indirectness and a tendency to
"stall."

[Sidenote: Learn to Analyze Smiles]

How much of a man's character is illumined by his smile! Ability to
analyze smiles _correctly_ will enable you to size up the dissembled
traits of character behind the _false_ smile. Such analytical ability
will also show you how to turn to your best advantage the smile of
_true_ friendliness.

It is possible to judge from the physical aspect, from the facial
expressions, from the movements, and from the voice of a man whether he
is nervous or phlegmatic, active or passive, healthy or lacking in vigor
and strength. A skillful size-up will determine that he is either
eccentric or well balanced mentally, that he is thrifty or extravagant,
that he is disposed to take comprehensive views or is inclined to give
undue attention to trifles and details. He will indicate to a keen
observer real intellect or mere intelligence. His emotions also may be
read. He reveals himself as generous or selfish; as an optimist or as a
skeptic. He shows that he is responsive to heart appeals or is hard
hearted, moral or immoral, artistic or lacking in appreciation of art,
cultured or boorish.

[Sidenote: Discriminative Restrictive Process]

To know the significance of your prospect's different _words, tones, and
movements--the only means he has for the expression of his ideas and
feelings_, just apply to _his_ case whatever you have learned in
studying _yourself_. Adapt your previous discriminative knowledge to the
prospect you are sizing up. Restrict your conclusions about him to the
significance of details you observe in his appearance, actions, and
speech.

After considerable practice in sizing up you will become familiar with
the indications of many different traits. _But in most cases it will be
sufficient if you can observe swiftly and interpret in a flash only a
few of the commonest character signs_. We will touch briefly upon some
of these.

[Sidenote: Facial Muscles]

Tense jaw muscles, whether large or small, denote the characteristic of
persistence. But loose, flabby cheek muscles do not necessarily prove
the habit of over-eating, or of sensuality. They may mean that the man
who has them does not habitually allow his feelings to show in his face.
When the muscles of facial expression are flabby they prove only that
they are slightly used. Therefore when you encounter a man with loose
cheeks read his characteristics from other muscle-structure signs, and
from his actions. Do not misjudge the heavy face as a sign of grossness.

[Sidenote: Courage And Bluff]

If a man holds his head up easily, and moves it in this upright position
without stiffness or effort, you may be sure his back neck and shoulder
muscles are strongly developed. Such strong development suggests that he
is courageous, for these muscles are directly co-ordinated with the mind
center of bravery. Therefore the head and shoulders easily held back and
up; not a high chest, signify courage. The bulging chest often indicates
no more than pouter-pigeon bluff temporarily put on.

[Sidenote: Indications Of Intellect And Power]

A man's high chest, however, is a sign that his predominant
characteristics are intellectual; because his chest has been developed
by the student's habit of upper-lung breathing. The nerves running from
the upper part of the lungs are directly connected with the brain
centers of _intellect_. On the contrary the nerves that lead from the
lower portions of the lungs center first in the plexus through which are
manifested the _vital emotions_ and the emotions of _sex_. Hence the man
who breathes deeply by habit indicates a great deal of vitality and has
marked "he-man" traits. He is not of the intellectual type so markedly
as he is a man of _power_. The man who breathes only from the upper part
of his lungs is not a man of power, but may have a fine intellect.

[Sidenote: Significance Of Postures]

The postures of the body are significant of characteristics. If your
prospect stands with his feet wide apart and his arms folded
conspicuously across his high-held chest, he probably has a habit of
bluffing. His widely spread feet indicate that he has to prop himself in
that physical posture; so it is unnatural to him. Similarly he has had
to prop himself in his mental posture. _Push your ideas hard and he will
lose his mental balance;_ just as he would lose his physical balance if
you were to jolt him. He is obliged to prop himself. He is bluffing. You
can make him quit. The folded arms and expanded chest of the bluffer
mean no more than the high-arched back of a cat. Stroke "Tom"
soothingly, and he stops bristling. Stroke the human bluffer tactfully
with persuasion, and he will not act pugnacious for long.

[Sidenote: The Balanced Body]

But if, when making a statement, your prospect stands or walks about
easily with his feet close together; if he balances his body without
difficulty or artificial postures--it is certain that he has a good
deal of determination in his make-up. You cannot influence him to change
his mind by making emotional appeals to him. In order to secure the
favorable decision of such a man, you will need to use the most
conclusive, solid evidence of your capabilities.

[Sidenote: Wavering Minds]

Suppose your prospect shifts his feet continually and rather jerkily.
While you are talking with him, he frequently changes his weight from
one foot to the other. He is suggesting that he has little confidence in
his own judgment, that he is not sure of his own thoughts. _Take the
lead strongly with such a man._ Do his thinking for him. It is up to you
to bring his vacillating mind to definite conclusions, following your
lead. First make it clear to him that your proposal is really to his
interest. Then proceed with a manner of absolute assurance, as if you
did not question his doing what you wish. With your skillful
salesmanship you can stop his wavering and induce him to act as you
indicate.

[Sidenote: Quick Thinkers]

The _rate_ of one's _muscular_ activity is directly associated with the
rate of one's _mental_ activity. The man who _moves_ slowly by habit is
also a plodder in his _thoughts_. On the contrary, quick actions
indicate quick thinking; which, however, may be mistaken. Only the quick
motion that is _under perfect control_ suggests an _unerring_ conclusion
reached swiftly. The man who snatches up a pencil with sure fingers,
and without fumbling it begins to write at once, demonstrates that he
has an electrically fast mind perfectly harnessed to his purpose. When
another man reaches swiftly for a pencil but misses his sure grasp at
the first attempt; or when the dash of his hand to the paper is followed
by a momentary delay for adjustment of the pencil in his fingers or by
hesitation before he begins to write, he denotes mere impulsiveness.

[Sidenote: Self-Control]

Sometimes a quick thinker will purposely develop the habit of making
very deliberate motions. This trait is the result of his determined
repression of a recognized inclination to act on impulse. He has
accomplished perfect self-control in order to guard against the danger
of making up his mind too quickly on his first thoughts. But his
slowed-down movements will be so _precise_ and _certain_ as to indicate
his characteristic of self-control and that his mind has moved in
advance of his acts.

If you have occasion to size up such a man, you should perceive that the
movements of his muscles do not correspond with the rate of his mental
activity, as a superficial observer might mistakenly conclude. If your
prospect sits or stands immobile; or if his actions give no indication
of what he is thinking, watch his eyes and his facial muscles of
expression. Eyes that fairly dart from one object to another,
expressions that flash on and off the face; prove swift mental activity,
no matter how quietly the body may be held. For instance, a strong,
quick thinker may have his muscles under such perfect control that he
will pick up a pencil very deliberately because he has trained himself
to repress his impulses. But when he has finished using the pencil, he
will drop it cleanly and not let it slip slowly from his fingers. His
self-training in precaution applies only to what he does _before_ acting
on a purpose. The moment he is done writing, he also is done with the
pencil. His hand does not linger with it over the paper. Unconsciously
his characteristic quickness manifests itself in his inclination to get
rid at once of the tool he has finished using.

[Sidenote: Tightened Thoughts]

Any indication of _muscular tensity_ suggests a _tightening of the mind_
on thoughts. It is often a sign of mental resistance or of persistency.
If, when talking to a man you observe that his muscles seem taut, avoid
forcing the idea you want him to accept, for his mind is opposing it
strongly just then. Perhaps he has a persistent thought of his own, at
variance with yours. Either give him a chance to express his idea in
words, so you can dispose of it, or switch him away from it by changing
the trend of the conversation. When you perceive that his muscles are
normally relaxed, you may safely return to the postponed point. You will
encounter lessened mental resistance. Very likely he will then have no
impulse to persist in the thought he previously had fixed in his mind.

[Sidenote: What a Man's Walk Shows]

Note how your prospect walks forward to meet you, or how he moves about
his office. If his stride is long and free and easy, it proves that the
back muscles of his thighs are strong. Those muscles function in direct
co-ordination with the mental action of _willing_. Therefore when a man
walks easily with a long, free stride he indicates that he has a strong
will. He may be sized up confidently as a fighter for his rights, as a
man with a great deal of resolution once he makes up his mind.

[Sidenote: Determine Mental Speed]

It is very important when sizing up a man to determine the _degree of
his mental speed_. If you have brought your best capabilities for sale
to a prospective employer, you need to know whether or not he is getting
clearly all the ideas you present. It is necessary for you to make sure
on the one hand that you are not presenting ideas too fast for his mind
to comprehend each point fully. On the other hand, you wish to avoid
harping on details after he understands them. It will aid you very much
in your salesmanship if you know _just how quickly_ the mind of your
prospect acts. There is no better way to find out than by noting the
speed of his _muscle_ response to test ideas. Since the rate of _muscle_
activity is directly indicative of the rate of _mental_ activity, you
can often learn from observing the _movements_ of your prospect _how
quickly his mind takes in_ points you state or suggest.

You might test him by asking that he write a name or set down some
figures you give him. If without hesitation he reaches for a pencil, you
may be sure his mind responds quickly to your ideas. But should there be
a moment or two of delay before he picks up the pencil, his _slower
physical response_ to your request is to be read as an _indication that
his mind does not grasp ideas at once_.

[Sidenote: Keep Mental Pace]

After making your size-up of the degree of his mental speed, you can
govern your presentation by what you have learned. If you are dealing
with a mind that acts slowly, give your prospect plenty of time to get
each idea you want to impress upon him. But proceed briskly from point
to point with the man whose mind grasps ideas instantly. You would make
a poor impression on him were you to go at a lagging pace.

It is not necessary, however, to make special or artificial tests to
learn how quickly your ideas are being grasped. Observe the facial
expressions of your prospect, which will indicate how soon your thought
is appreciated after it is presented. Should you say something with a
touch of humor, the time it takes him to smile or twinkle his eyes will
measure the speed of his mind in catching ideas.

[Sidenote: Head and Eye Movements]

The movements of the head and of the eyes, according to which are
predominant in the case of an individual, tell much of his character.
The villain on the stage habitually looks out of the corners of his
eyes. So does the mischievous ingenue. But the hero turns his whole head
when he looks about. And the look of innocence in the eyes of the
heroine is straightforward; her head is pointed directly in line with
her gaze. _Apply the principle in your salesmanship._ When you observe a
man who turns his head freely and easily for a square look at a person
who comes into his presence, size him up as one who is not afraid to
face either facts or people. If you note that another prospect glances
obliquely at persons or objects, or that he habitually turns his eyes to
one side or the other while keeping his head still, judge him to lack
the characteristic of frankness. He is likely to be evasive and shifty
in his dealings. Perhaps the sign you have perceived indicates no more
than that your prospect is "stalling." It is evidence, nevertheless,
that his mind is not meeting your ideas squarely. You will need to
compel his attention to come back to your point, time and again perhaps.

[Sidenote: Strength Of Mind]

The full-arm movement denotes strength, and bigness of conceptions. A
mere wrist gesture suggests littleness, flippancy, weak traits.
Similarly if a man walks from his hips, he suggests the characteristic
of strong personal opinion. If he walks principally from the knees, or
over-uses his ankles and minces along, he indicates that his mind is not
certain and that he holds his opinions weakly.

A straight gesture denotes pure _mentality_. A single-curved movement
indicates some _emotion_, rather than only a thought. Action in a double
curve suggests _power_ behind the expression.

[Sidenote: Honor and Straightforwardness]

A gesture outward from the chest and on the _same level_ denotes the
qualities of honor and straightforwardness. If your prospect makes such
a motion in response to some idea you present, he is thinking on the
same man-level as yourself--he is treating you as his equal.

A characteristic movement of the arm _above_ the shoulders signifies
vivid imagination, or impracticability. It may be read as an indication
of lightness of character or of a tendency to go off on a tangent.
Conversely, gestures outward from the _lower_ part of the body denote
power, or an inclination to depreciate values.

[Sidenote: Selfishness]

If a man gestures _toward_ himself, he indicates limited conceptions, or
selfishness, with a tendency to materialize everything. Movements in any
direction _away from_ the trunk of the body and on its level denote
assertiveness, sincerity, creative ability, or willingness to cooperate
in thought.

[Sidenote: Affirmation And Denial]

_Vertical_ movements suggest the _life_ of ideas, and symbolize
_affirmation_. _Horizontal_ gestures accompany the _denial_ of ideas and
the _death_ of interest. The _diagonal upward_ curve indicates
_idealism_. A similar curve _downward_ is a sign that an idea presented
to the imagination is _concretely realized_.

[Sidenote: Frankness and Dodging]

The person who gestures _directly in front_ of himself proves he is
_willing to meet you face to face_ regarding the idea presented. But
when a man gestures _slightly_ to one side or the other, he is not
dodging. His movement denotes only that he is _thinking seriously_.
However, if you present ideas to a man who gestures _far_ to the right
or left, you may feel certain that he is not giving his thoughts in
harmony with yours, but probably is trying to get your ideas out of his
mind.

[Sidenote: Study Tones]

While we have emphasized that "muscular indications" are of principal
importance in making a certain size-up, the tones and words of the
prospect should not be altogether neglected. Often a man will
unintentionally reveal in his tones the very things he means his words
to conceal. You would not depend on the words of a person if they were
contradicted by his acts and tones.

Mental, emotive, and power characteristics are signified by various tone
pitches. _The degree of a man's determination_ and his _persistence in
thought_ are denoted by the _number of tone units_ he habitually employs
when speaking. The _genuineness_ of a statement is suggested or
disproved by the tone _intervals_ in the statement. "Yes" spoken in one
unit without inflection means unqualified assent. "Y-es" in two tones
may mean doubtful assent, or false agreement, or even a contradiction.
The _middle-of-the-mouth_ tone proves a _well balanced_ mind, in
contrast with the _unreliable_ mind that is denoted by the _lip_ tone,
and the _secretive_ mind which is suggested by the tone that comes from
_far back_ in the mouth.

In a five minute conversation an alert observer who has studied a few of
the elemental principles of tone analysis can size up a great many of
the most pronounced characteristics of a prospect.

[Sidenote: Don't Offend By Scrutiny]

It is better to make no size-up at all than to _strain_ in observing the
other man and make him aware of your close scrutiny. Such an inartistic
size-up impresses a prospect disagreeably. He feels that you are prying
into his personal characteristics. Therefore _teach yourself to observe
without seeming to look closely at the object of your size-up_. Learn to
observe unobserved; especially to perceive details without looking
_sharply_. Your eyes and ears can take in specific points about your
prospect without making their keen activity apparent.

[Sidenote: Two Parts of Sizing-up Process]

When you have learned how to see and hear many details clearly at the
same time, _unsuspected by your prospect_, you will be a master of the
first essential of skillful character reading. The second necessary
element of proficiency in sizing up men is the _relation or association
of each detail observed, with the particular characteristic it denotes_.
To begin with, _perceive points_ about your prospect. Then ask yourself
about each, "_What does this mean?_"

[Sidenote: Practice Makes Perfect]

Of course you will not become an expert judge of other men at once. But
get the habit of seeing and hearing _specific indications of
characteristics_ wherever you go. You will soon find that your mind has
been opened to new, clear ideas of people.

It is possible for anyone to become a mind reader. It is necessary only
to _note_ and _think out_ the meaning of character signs and thoughts.
Trained specific observation will read and interpret these signs. When
you become skillful in sizing up other men, this art will help you very
much in gaining the best possible receptions everywhere you go. Also, if
you are able to read your prospect's thoughts and character, you can
avoid antagonizing his ideas.

[Sidenote: Remove Unnecessary Difficulties]

Gain knowledge of other men in order to make it easy to sell them true
ideas of your best capabilities. It is not _hard_ to succeed if you take
the _unnecessary_ difficulties out of the process of gaining your
chances.




CHAPTER VIII

_The Knock At The Door Of Opportunity and The Invitation To Come In_


[Sidenote: Selling is Not a Mechanical Process]

The process of selling ideas comprises several steps, part or all of
which the salesman may need to take in order to close a particular sale
successfully. In our study we are considering step after step in regular
order, but the actual selling process cannot be reduced to such
exactitude and routine. Before we begin our analysis of this
"presentation" step, it should be clearly understood that success in
selling ideas is not achieved by going through a _machine-like_ process.
We follow a regular sequence in these chapters, but it is unlikely that
you will ever complete a sale of your services by taking the various
steps of the selling process in the precise order of our study.

[Sidenote: Be a Fully Equipped Salesman]

You may need to use them all in order to succeed in a specific instance.
Again, without taking many of the steps here analyzed, you might be able
to gain the success opportunity you most desire. _The object of this
book is to fit you for any and every condition you are likely to meet_
in your efforts to gain opportunities for your ambition. It is
improbable that in order to get your desired chance and to make the
most of it you will have to _use_ all you learn of the secret of certain
success. You cannot afford, however, to run an _avoidable risk_ of being
at a loss regarding what to do at any stage of the process of selling to
a selected prospect true ideas of your best capability. You need to know
the most effective ways to deal with situations that may never happen,
but which, on the contrary, _might_ be encountered. You cannot start
_confidently_ on your quest for success unless you are _fully_ equipped.

[Sidenote: Reducing the Odds Against You]

If you believed it would be necessary for you to do everything contained
in this book in order to gain the opportunities you desire, you likely
would feel very skeptical about succeeding. You might think, "A single
little slip and I'd lose out. It's a thousand to one against me." The
fact is that the odds on the side of failure are very heavy in the case
of an _ordinary_ man. If you can _reduce_ them only a little _in your
own case_, you will get a start towards success because of the slight
lessening of your handicap.

[Sidenote: Value of Knowing a Single Step]

I recall a man who mastered but three principles of _prospecting needs_.
With this limited knowledge of salesmanship he was able to induce a
great financier to open the door of opportunity and take him into a
field of rich chances to earn a fortune. Another friend of mine got his
start solely from knowledge of a manufacturer's principal hobby. What
he knew about the "single tax" enabled him to plan a sure approach to
the mind of the factory owner. A young lawyer in Chicago seized upon a
chance for fame and wealth in his first meeting with a poor, seemingly
unsuccessful inventor. In each of these instances a single step of the
selling process, taken correctly, carried the salesman through the door
of opportunity and brought him within reach of the beginnings of
success.

[Sidenote: Get Ready for Imaginable Happenings]

_You_ may not need to knock at that door, nor wait for an invitation to
come in. In _your_ case, perhaps, the door stands open, with a "Welcome"
mat just outside. Yet if you _do need_ to knock with your ideas for
admittance to another man's mind, and if it ever becomes _necessary_ for
you to win a welcome, this chapter will prove valuable reading. You will
be helped to gain your desired chance, and the danger of your failure
will be minimized, if you _know how_ to knock and exactly _what to do_
to assure your welcome.

Even the master salesman can never be absolutely certain of the
reception he will have from any prospect. Therefore he "goes loaded" for
all imaginable contingencies. You, the salesman of yourself, should be
likewise prepared with knowledge of how each and every step in the
selling process may be taken most effectively. Whatever emergency
arises, you must be ready to take the fullest advantage of a favorable
turn, and equally ready to reduce as much as possible any disadvantage
you encounter.

[Sidenote: Knocking and Getting In]

Of course it will avail you nothing if you succeed only in _reaching_
the particular man through whom you have planned to gain success. And
after you meet him it will do you no material good to _size him up_
correctly; if you are then unable to hold his _attention_ to your
presentation of ideas. Your preliminary skillful salesmanship would all
be wasted. Evidently, in order that you may continue the process of
gaining your chance, it is necessary that you should know how to knock
on the door of his mind in such an _agreeable but compelling_ way that
he will be _forced_ to let his attention come out _pleasantly_ to you
and your purpose. Hence right knocking at the door of opportunity
immediately follows the size-up as an essential part of the process of
making success certain.

It is necessary next for you to know how to prevent a turn-down on the
front porch of your prospect's mind, and how to insure _the admission of
your ideas to his thoughts_. You can compel your prospect to open the
door of his attention, but in order to get _inside_ his mind and secure
his _interest_ in your purpose, you must win his _willing invitation_
for your ideas to enter his thoughts and make themselves at home there.

[Sidenote: Certain Success Methods]

We have seen how you can make certain of gaining your chance to reach
the door of opportunity. You can size up surely your prospect's dominant
characteristics and what he is thinking. Likewise you can guarantee to
yourself, first the attention, and second the interest of the man you
have come to see. It is necessary only that you use the methods of the
master salesman to _compel_ the opening of the door and to _induce_ the
extension of welcome to your ideas.

[Sidenote: Our Old Acquaintance Again]

Here again we meet our old acquaintance, the discriminative-restrictive
method. You must _discriminate_ between the process of knocking at the
door of opportunity and the process of securing the invitation to come
in. Then, in _practicing_ these related but different steps of the
selling process, it is necessary that when you knock you _restrict_
yourself to the use of the methods that are most effective in gaining
_attention_. Similarly you should restrict yourself to using the very
_different_ methods of securing _interest_, when you work to get an
invitation for your ideas to come inside the other man's mind and make
themselves at home there.

[Sidenote: Process of Compelling Attention]

Psychologists define "Attention" as "that act of the mind which holds to
a given object perceived by one or more senses, to the _exclusion_ of
all other objects that might be perceived at that time by the same or
other senses." A knock at a door attracts attention because it
temporarily diverts the previous attentiveness of the mind to other
things, and concentrates it on a new object of attention. The sense of
hearing is _struck_. Whether or not the mind is _willing_ to hear, it
_cannot help perceiving_ the sudden new sound. Its attention is
_forced_. The instant the knock is heard, the mind is compelled to drop
or suspend what it has been thinking about; though this _exclusive_ new
attention to the knock may last but a fraction of a second.

Our _senses_ function under the control of the sub-conscious mind. It is
futile for us to _will_ that we _won't_ hear, or see, or taste, etc. We
_have_ to take in sense impressions, whether we want to do so or not.
Therefore, if you employ restrictively the _sense-hitting_ method, you
can force the man upon whom you call to give his _attention_ to you or
to the presentation of your ideas.

[Sidenote: Inducing Interest]

It is necessary to discriminate, however, between the use of the avenues
to reach the mind center of _attention_, and the use of very _different_
ways into the mind center of _interest_. If you start wrong, there is
very little chance that you will arrive at the right destination. The
center of interest is wholly under the control of the _conscious_ mind.
Your prospect can refuse to be interested, if he chooses, despite your
determination to interest him. _His interest must be induced_. Any
attempt to _compel_ it is apt to have a fatal result. Nearly always
such an effort to force interest develops antagonism, instead.

But there are methods of _inducing_ interest that are just as sure to
succeed as are the sense-hitting methods by which attention may be
compelled. This _double step_ in the process of selling the true idea of
your best capabilities in the right market can be taken with absolute
_certainty_ of success if you know and practice the principles in
accordance with which the master salesman sells his ideas of goods to
prospects. We are to study these principles now, as applied to the sale
of your qualifications for success in the field you have selected.

[Sidenote: Exclusive Agreeable Attention]

When you enter the office of your prospect--your chosen future employer,
for example--he will be giving his attention to _something_. No one,
while he is awake, can be wholly _non_-attentive. Your function, at this
stage of the selling process, is to compel him to stop paying attention
to something or somebody _else_, and to give _you and your ideas_ his
exclusive attention.

[Sidenote: Avoid Making Unfavorable Impressions]

Of course good salesmanship makes it advisable also to avoid creating a
_disagreeable_ impression while forcing yourself and your ideas upon the
attention of your prospect. The _conscious_ mind governs a man's likes
and dislikes. So if you knock compellingly at the door of _that_ mind to
gain attention, you may arouse very _unfavorable_ attention. For
illustration, a boisterous greeting of your prospect, or a very noisy
entrance into his office, would doubtless compel his attention by the
direct hammering on his senses. But the attraction of his attention to
you would affect the operations of both his conscious and sub-conscious
minds, and his conscious mind would be disagreeably impressed. His
compelled attention, therefore, might result in your being thrown out.

[Sidenote: Gaining Both Attention And Interest]

However, you can knock at the _sense_ doors of the _sub-conscious_ mind
with such unobjectionable sense-hitting methods that while agreeable
_attention_ will be _compelled_ thereby, you can also be sure that a
favorable impression on the conscious mind of the prospect will be
_induced_. For illustration, if your prospect is evidently busy at his
desk when you are admitted to his office, you might compel his attention
by entering very quietly and by standing in silence without interrupting
him until he has had an opportunity to finish what he is doing. His
sound sense would be struck, paradoxically, by your exceptional
quietness. His sense of equilibrium would also be affected by your
perfect poise while waiting. Your whole attitude would impress him so
favorably that his especial interest in you would be induced. His
greeting would be pleasant.

Suppose your prospect looks up from his work when you enter his
presence, and you approach close to his desk; if you are immaculate in
dress and body, you will appeal agreeably to his olfactory sense. The
law of the association of ideas will then begin to work in your favor.
Your prospect will get subconsciously a conscious impression of your
clean character.

You might wear a fresh flower in your buttonhole and so strike several
of his senses pleasantly. But unless the flower is inconspicuous and in
good taste it would make an unfavorable impression.

[Sidenote: Good Impressions]

Let us assume now that when you enter the office of your prospect, he is
disgruntled about something. You can take some of the heat out of his
ill temper by your appearance of cool self-confidence and good nature.

There are many more such _favorable sense impressions_ which you could
make by simply standing in manly erectness while waiting to receive the
exclusive attention of your prospect. You might employ all the
sense-hitting features of bearing and manner referred to above. The
effect of the sum of these would be the _forced agreeable attention_ of
your prospect. He simply could not help noticing the various items that
would strike his different senses; nor could he help being agreeably
impressed; though he might not give you any indication of the effect you
had compelled.

[Sidenote: Continual Attention Necessary]

It is highly important that you should be able first to _gain_ the
favorable attention of your prospect, and second to _hold_ it until his
interest is aroused. It may also be necessary for you to _regain_ his
attention if it is temporarily lost and diverted to some other object.
The master salesman realizes it is essential to have the attention of
his prospect _continually centered_ upon the ideas presented,
_throughout the selling process_. Only a poor salesman of ideas would go
right on talking, even though it might be clearly evident that he did
not have the exclusive attention of the man addressed.

[Sidenote: Regaining Attention]

When you proffer your capabilities for purchase by a prospective
employer, do not make the mistake of continuing to present your best
selling points if you have any doubt that his attention is exclusively
yours. _Stop your selling process if his attention wanders or is
diverted_. Use the sense-hitting method to compel it to _come back_ to
you and your ideas. If some one should enter his office while you are
talking to him, or if his telephone should ring, stop short in your
presentation. (Your sudden silence, in itself, will be attention
compelling.) Do not go on with your sales presentation until the
interruption is over. Then use some sense-hitting method of making sure
that his attention is again concentrated on you and your ideas.

[Sidenote: Sense Hitting]

An acquaintance of mine who had especially fitted himself for business
correspondence, typed striking paragraphs taken from form letters he had
devised and pasted the slips of paper on stiff filing cards. He carried
with him to his interview with the president of a large corporation
about thirty-five or forty of these cards. His prospecting had indicated
that in the course of the half hour he had planned to take up with a
presentation of his capabilities this executive would be interrupted
often by telephone calls and the entrance of subordinates. The
salesman's size-up also revealed that his prospect's attention was
likely to wander to the things on his desk. From time to time when the
correspondent was presenting his ideas the president reached out his
hand and picked up a paper. Evidently he was inclined to give but
flighty attention to his caller.

[Sidenote: Striking More Than One Sense]

The salesman, however, had "come loaded" for exactly this situation. He
had worked out his selling plan in detail. As he developed idea after
idea, he used a device for regaining attention by hitting at the
prospect's senses of _sight_ and _hearing_. Just as soon as the
president's hand wandered to a paper, the salesman ruffled the cards he
held, quickly selected one, and clicked it down on the desk top before
his prospect. He had to do this perhaps a dozen times before he felt
confident he had clinched the interest of the executive. If the
salesman had used words merely, what, he said in presenting his ideas to
the prospect might have gone in one ear and out the other. But his
action of ruffling the cards struck the president's senses of sight and
hearing compellingly; as did the clicking of the card on the desk top
when it was presented for reading. Repeatedly the return of the
prospect's wandering attention was forced subconsciously; yet no
disagreeable impression was made on his conscious mind. In the course of
half an hour the correspondent succeeded in selling his services at a
very satisfactory salary.

[Sidenote: "Come Loaded"]

If you similarly "come loaded" for sense-hitting, you will be able to
get your prospect's attention originally, and to regain it whenever it
is temporarily lost. In advance of your call on the man to whom you want
to sell your services, think out things you can do that will strike one
or more of his senses forcibly, without making disagreeable impressions.
You can take with you to the interview specimens of your work, or
testimonials; and hold them in your hand where they will attract notice.
Or you might plan to use attention-compelling gestures.

[Sidenote: Tone Variations]

Changes of tone will make the other man "perk up his ears" if his
attention wanders; so plan to introduce variety into your manner of
speaking. Don't just open the spigot of your mind and let your ideas
run out in a monotone. Variety of voice is pleasing, as well as
attention-compelling.

I know a salesman who is in the habit of using a spotlessly clean big
handkerchief to help him keep the prospect's mind concentrated on the
proposition being presented. Whenever the other man's attention is
diverted, this salesman whisks his handkerchief from his pocket and
touches his lips with it. The flash of white hits the sight-sense of the
prospect and brings back his wandering attention to the salesman.

[Sidenote: Sense Hitting Should Help The Sale]

But such devices are superficial. _The best sense-hitting means of
compelling attention, directly relates some sense effect to the
salesman's purpose._

The correspondent who ruffled his cards and clicked them down on the
prospect's desk would not have been so successful if on each card he had
not pasted a specimen of his work as an efficient letter writer. If he
had brought a pack of blank cards, for example, the repeated use of his
device for getting attention might have irritated the other man. To
analyze the illustration further; if the correspondent had brought the
specimens of his work on letter paper, not pasted on stiff cards, they
would have been much less effective. He could not have ruffled them, and
would have been unable to make the clicking sound he used to hit the
other man's ears.

[Sidenote: Suggesting Capability]

Suppose you apply for a situation as a bookkeeper or an accountant. One
of the best sense-hitting devices you could use to compel attention to
your ability would be a collection of complicated tabulations in your
handwriting, made neatly without a correction or an erasure. Such an
exhibit of painstaking workmanship, if complemented by a neat,
attractive personal appearance, would _force_ the employer to _notice_
you and the proofs of your qualifications. You certainly would make a
most favorable impression. Your prospect would imagine his books and
records as you would keep them. When presenting the evidences of your
capability as an accountant, you could suggest other qualities than
those mentioned--such as the proper pride of a good workman, serious
earnestness, dignity, keen intelligence, etc. Such _suggestions made
with the aid of sense-hitting devices_ would help you to complete the
sale of your services.

[Sidenote: Make Your Qualities Stand Out]

Perhaps you wish particularly to impress your qualities of alertness,
energy, love of work, and physical stamina. Then sit or stand easily
erect when you call on your prospect. If you should slump or loll in
your chair, you would suggest that you lacked the very characteristics
on which you are depending to get the job.

_Make your best qualities stand out noticeably_ in your bearing. Should
you apply for a position of great trust, requiring the exercise of the
finest discretion, be sure to look the other man frankly in the face and
let him see into your eyes. Also modulate your tones to the pitch of
discretion and confidence. Your manner, your expressions, your voice
will all draw attention to your fitness for the chance you want.

[Sidenote: Original Methods]

Such illustrations as have been given above should be understood as
merely suggestive of ways to use the sense-hitting method of compelling
attention. _Do not copy_ the suggestions offered. _Think out for your
individual use a collection of sense-hitting devices of your own._ Then
you will be able to select various ways to gain and to re-gain attention
when you are in the presence of a prospect. No matter what may be your
ability and ambition, _there are features of your character and your
service capacity that you can utilize to make direct sense appeals_.
Find out for yourself what they are, and plan how to use them most
effectively. If you cannot gain attention to your qualifications, or if
you are unable to recall wandering attention, you may lose the chance
you have succeeded in getting. _Insure yourself_ against the possibility
of such a disaster; so that your previous good salesmanship in securing
an interview will not all go for naught.

[Sidenote: Out-of-the-Ordinary Things]

If you do something _out of the ordinary_, the force of your
sense-hitting will be much greater than if you employ only common
devices for gaining attention. It is better to _do_ something that
compels attention to your recommendations than to _say_ "I want to call
your attention to these letters."

[Sidenote: Danger of Distracting Attention]

However, there is always the danger that in gaining attention by
_unusual_ means you may attract too much attention to the _device_ you
use, and so distract notice from the _proposition_ you are presenting
for sale. Therefore be sure that whatever extraordinary thing you do to
compel attention _contributes directly to your main purpose_ and does
not lead your prospect off on a _side track_ of thought.

A business house once got out an advertising novelty and had samples
distributed by the salesmen as gifts to their principal customers.
The novelty was an ingenious mechanical device. It attracted so much
attention to itself that when a salesman put it on the desk of a
prospect before beginning his sales talk, the attention of the other
man was drawn from what the salesman was saying and was given to the
novelty. The prospect would pick up and examine the advertising device
while the salesman was presenting ideas regarding his standard line
of goods. As a result, many of the best points of the sales talks
were unnoticed. The advertising novelty was a detriment. The sales
volume fell off while it was being distributed. The slump was traced
directly to the mistake of having the _salesmen_ pass out the
attention-compelling device _which was not related to the staples of
the house line_.

[Sidenote: The Remedy]

The distribution was made by mail thereafter, in advance of the
salesman's call. It was effective then as an introduction for the
traveler; because by the time he came to see the prospect, the novelty
of the advertising device had worn off. It was no longer an
attention-distracter.

[Sidenote: Three Ways To Compel Attention]

Remember that the attention of your prospect is always given to
_something_. If another object of attention is more compelling than
_your_ means of forcing his notice, your attempt will fail. Therefore be
sure that your attention-getting device has at least one of three points
of superiority.

(1) It can be _stronger_ than the other appeal to the same sense. If
your prospect's attention to what you are saying wanders because a
phonograph starts to play in the next room, you can recall it to your
presentation by slapping your hands together to emphasize a point, or
you can change your tone suddenly. His sense of hearing will be struck
compellingly by your device.

(2) Your appeal for attention can be made to _more_ senses than are
being reached by the distraction. The phonograph music hits only the
ears of your prospect. Besides slapping your hands together or changing
your tone, you can supplement such appeals to his tone sense by an
appeal to his sense of sight. You can make a gesture, or display a
letter for him to read just at that moment.

(3) Your appeal can hit the senses of your prospect more _insistently_
than the other. If the phonograph music proves very attractive to him,
you will need to _keep hammering_ at him with forceful changes of voice,
with gestures, by touching him, or by doing something else to make his
attention to the music "let go."

[Sidenote: Summary]

To summarize the most effective method of gaining attention--_hit each
sense to which you appeal as strongly as you can, without making a
disagreeable impression, strike as many senses as possible, and keep on
using your sense-hitting device as long as necessary to get or to
recover exclusive favorable attention_.

Many a man has gained success because he first gained attention. He
stood out from the crowd, or was able to make his qualities noticeable.
When one is fully qualified for success, he may need only to attract
attention to his capabilities; then he is likely to be given the chance
he wants.

[Sidenote: "I'm Not Interested"]

Often, however, the salesman is discomfited after he gains attention.
The prospect halts the selling process by declaring, "I'm not
interested." Suppose you are able to compel your prospective employer to
notice you favorably, but he balks there and shows no inclination to
buy your services. He has listened attentively to all you have said. He
has concentrated his mind upon you, and has not wandered in thought to
other subjects. Yet you perceive that he is inclined to put you off or
to turn you down. Evidently, in order to prevent such a contretemps, you
need to resort now to a _different selling step_, which you have not
taken previously.

It is necessary that you have at your command a way to induce interest.
This interest-inducing means must be as _sure_ in its effects as the
sense-hitting method of compelling attention. Otherwise you could not be
certain of success with the selling process. If the effectiveness of
every step cannot be assured in advance, you will not rely confidently
on salesmanship to achieve your ambition.

[Sidenote: Discriminate Between Attention And Interest]

Probably you have never worked out in your mind exactly _the reasons why
you are interested_ in particular things and in certain people. Let us
make an analysis. Your _attention_ might be attracted so strongly to a
vicious criminal that for the time being you could think of no one else.
Yet his fate might be a matter of such indifference to you that you
would have absolutely no _interest_ in the man. But suppose you should
see in his face, or in an expression of his eyes, something that haunted
your memory appealingly. It would induce you to read the newspaper
accounts of his trial. You would feel a little sorry for him, on
learning that he had been sentenced to a long term in prison. Very
likely you would say to yourself, "I suppose he is a mighty tough
character, but I believe there is something in him that isn't altogether
bad." Your intuition would tell you he possessed undefined traits that
you like. In _your own liking_ for these characteristics that you
vaguely discerned in him when you saw him, _is the key to the interest
he induced_.

[Sidenote: What and Whom We Like]

What do we like? Whom do we like?

Things that are _like_ our own ideas. People who are _like_ the ideas we
have about likable people. Interest is all a matter of recognizing
points of likeness.

In order to draw your prospect beyond the attention stage of the selling
process, and to induce his interest in your "goods," you must impress on
him suggestions of the similarity of your ideas to ideas already in his
own mind. _He will like your ideas in proportion to their resemblance to
his own way of thinking_ on the same subjects. So you should express
yourself as nearly as possible in his terms, and attract his interest by
making him feel that your mind and his are much alike.

[Sidenote: Non-Interest]

One day I was sitting in the private office of a very wealthy
philanthropist. A salesman presented a letter of introduction to the
millionaire, who in turn introduced me to his caller. The newcomer
thereupon proceeded to present most attractively a business proposal. He
offered my friend an excellent opportunity to make a good deal of money
by joining an underwriting syndicate. The millionaire at once declared
he was not interested. "I have all the money I want," he said, and bowed
the salesman out. The ideas that had been presented to him were
altogether _different_ from his own financial motives.

[Sidenote: Interest]

That same afternoon another promoter called upon my friend with a
project for investment in a house-building corporation. This second
salesman evidently had prospected the philanthropist and had planned
just how to interest him. He did not stress the profits to be made from
investment in the stock of his corporation, but referred to them in a
minor key. He emphasized the need of the city for more homes, and cited
instances of distress due to the housing shortage.

My friend was thoroughly interested. He took home the salesman's
prospectus for further study. Since he was a good business man, he
satisfied himself that the investment would be profitable. But he
subscribed for fifty thousand dollars worth of securities principally
because they represented a project _like his own ideas_ of the way money
should be put to work for human happiness.

[Sidenote: Know Prospect's Likes and Dislikes]

When you call on the man you have selected as your future employer, go
equipped with all the prospecting knowledge regarding him that you have
been able to get. Be sure you know his strongest likes and dislikes.
Size him up on the spot, for the purpose of supplementing what you have
previously learned about him. Hit his attention with sense-appeals
related to his peculiarities. Then, in order to make sure of his
interest, present some idea that is of the kind _he_ especially likes.
He will open his mind and welcome your idea at once.

[Sidenote: The Man of Quick Decisions]

Suppose he has a reputation for brusqueness and quick decisions, and is
impatient about any waste of time. You probably would help your cause by
looking him straight in the eye and saying bluntly something like this:

"I want to work for you because you are my kind of a man. Ask me any
questions you want, now. You won't have to call me on the carpet for
information about my work after you hire me. Pay me two hundred dollars
a month, and I won't be back in this office to get a raise until you
send for me."

I know a young man who secured a good job from an "old crab" in just
that way, within three minutes after they first met.

Two men sought the position of office manager of an automobile company.
The owners of the business were thorough mechanics who had designed
their own car, but who were comparatively unfamiliar with office
operations. They were not at home outside their factory.

[Sidenote: Mistake of Speaking Different Language]

The first candidate for the vacant position brought the finest
recommendations of his qualifications for office management. The other
applicant had had much less experience, and was not nearly so well
qualified. But the first man was a poor salesman of his capabilities. He
failed to recognize, when he explained his ideas to the partners, that
he was talking to a pair of mechanics. They did not understand the
language he used. His presentation of his qualifications as an office
manager would have impressed an employer accustomed to sitting at a
desk. But the partners were intuitively prejudiced against the capable
candidate who was so very _unlike themselves_ in all respects.

[Sidenote: Speaking the Same Language]

The other applicant was shrewd. He used salesmanship in presenting his
lesser qualifications for the position. He talked in terms borrowed from
the language of shop practice. He compared the plans he suggested for
the office supplies stock room, with the "tool crib" in the factory. He
explained his idea of office organization by using as a model a chart of
the plant departments. He compared office expenses with factory
overhead.

The owners of the business understood very little about the subjects he
discussed, but he used words and expressions that were familiar to them.
So his ideas, as he presented them, impressed the partners as _like
their own way of looking at things_. The better salesman, who knew how
to interest his prospects, got the five-figure job; though he was a less
capable office executive than the disappointed applicant.

[Sidenote: Fitting Ideas To Prospect's Mind]

Do not try to sell another man particular ideas because _you_ like them.
You are not the buyer. Sell him ideas that _he_ likes. Fit the ideas you
bring him to the characteristics of his mind.

If you judge him to be a quick thinker, do not hesitate in indecision a
moment longer than is necessary for you to make up your mind
confidently. On the other hand, should he be a deliberate thinker, be
careful not to make an impression that you are rash or impulsive in your
decisions.

[Sidenote: Clothes and Interest]

If he is inclined to be finical about his dress, or over-particular
regarding orderliness, he will be interested if your garb is
punctiliously correct and if you suggest to him the habits of precision.
I read a little while ago the story of a young man who lost the chance
to become the confidential assistant of a noted financier. The young man
missed his opportunity because he made the mistake of wearing a soft
collar when he called for the final interview with the financier.

[Sidenote: Avoid False Pretense of Interest]

_Do not, of course, put on false pretenses_, to make your prospect like
you and your ideas. Remember that you must _live up_ to a first good
impression. So appear nothing, say nothing, do nothing that is untrue
to your best self. But without any dishonesty you can indicate that your
way of thinking has points of similarity to the slant of the other man's
mind. If he is a Republican, while you are a Democrat, and the subject
of politics comes up, do not pretend to be an elephant worshiper. Admit
your party allegiance casually, and remark that you are not hide-bound
in your political faith, but open-minded. Maybe he will employ you with
the hope of converting you to Republicanism.

[Sidenote: Few Direct Opposites]

There are few ideas regarding which honest men are diametrically opposed
on principle. You can suggest to your prospective employer the idea that
you are in accord with his way of thinking; though you may differ widely
in many respects. You need not emphasize the _degree_ of your likeness
in mind. Certainly it would be very poor policy to stress your
differences of opinion.

[Sidenote: Like Breeds Like]

_Any likeness of your suggestions to the ideas of the other man will
impress him agreeably._ He will be pleased to find the points of
resemblance, and they will help to gloss over a possible prejudice in
his mind against you. The association of your similar ideas on a subject
will suggest to him imaginative pictures of your association with him in
his business. "Like breeds like." He will place you mentally in a
situation where the likable qualities he has found in you might be
employed to his satisfaction.

[Sidenote: Inside the Door]

Then you will be safely _inside the door_ of his interest. Without
realizing it, your prospect would like to bring about the condition he
has imagined. He is beginning to want you in his employ; though as yet
he has no deep-seated desire for your services. Objections to you may
spring up in his mind, but you certainly have been successful throughout
the processes of getting his response to your knock, and of securing for
your ideas his invitation to come into his thoughts for a better
acquaintance with your purpose.

[Sidenote: Unwelcome Guests]

After admitting your ideas to his mind, he may wish he had not welcomed
them. He may find objectionable things in you or in your proposal.
Sometimes a man responds to a knock on his door, and becomes
sufficiently interested in the caller to invite him to enter the house;
but regrets afterward that he extended the welcome. This change of heart
and mind is usually due to something done by the visitor after his
admittance. However, we are not considering just now any step of the
selling process beyond winning a welcome. In later chapters we will
study how to make the most effective use of hospitality and the things
to avoid that might impress the host as abuses of the privileges of a
guest.

[Sidenote: Furniture of The Mind]

Ideas have been called "the furniture of the mind." We have already seen
that they are the developments of _repeated sense impressions_. A
particular mind center is partly or wholly furnished with ideas in
proportion to the man's use of his sense avenues to bring in ideas from
outside himself. The doors of the mind swing inward most readily when
the new mental furniture brought along a sense avenue matches the ideas
already in the mind center. Doubtless the young man who lost the
interest of a great financier by wearing a soft collar would have been
able to hold it if he had dressed according to his prospect's ideas.

[Sidenote: One Likable Thing Helps]

_If there is one thing about you that another man dislikes, it
disproportionately tinges his entire attitude of mind toward you. On the
other hand, if you have one especially likable feature, it tends to
lessen the disagreeable impression of things about you that the other
man does not like._

So, when you come to a prospect as a salesman of your best self and have
gained his attention, avoid making disagreeable suggestions to his mind,
and have at your command a number of sense appeals you are sure he will
like. You certainly will secure his interest if you follow this selling
process.

To win his interest you need not induce your prospect to like you _all
through_ or in _every respect_. If he likes but one thing about you at
first, he will be interested enough to give you the chance to develop
more interest. _The interest that produces the fruit of acceptance is
often a growth from only one seed sown by the salesman of ideas_.

[Sidenote: Avoid Over-Emphasis]

At this stage of the selling process it is not wise to plunge ahead
fast. Do not go to the _extreme_ on any subject that you find is
interesting to your prospect. His interest may be mild, and he might be
prejudiced if you seem to display excessive concern about something that
he considers of minor importance. I recall the experience of a man who
was complimented on keeping an appointment to the minute. He
_over-emphasized_ the virtue of punctuality and irritated his prospect,
who was not always on time himself. The job went to another applicant.

[Sidenote: Moderate Attitude]

_Be moderate_ in your attitude when you work to secure the beginning of
interest, lest you raise an obstacle in your path. Until you are sure
you have won a considerable degree of interest, you cannot lead strongly
in any direction without running the risk of losing some of the
advantages you have gained. Therefore at the interest stage proceed
warily. "Watch your step."

[Sidenote: Hobbies]

Be especially careful not to gush over a hobby of your prospect, in
which his interest may not be so great as you suppose. _Hobbies are
dangerous_. Don't harp on one. It requires consummate art to show
enthusiasm about another man's hobby without arousing his suspicions
regarding your sincerity.

[Sidenote: Art of Knocking and Winning a Welcome]

Throughout the various steps of the selling process, salesmanship is an
_art_. The art of knocking at the door of opportunity and of winning the
invitation to come in lies in _making favorable out-of-the-ordinary
impressions in unusual ways_. The salesman himself, his methods of
presenting his services for sale, and his qualifications--all should
stand out distinctly, and make impressions of his individuality. He
should not seem like a common applicant for a position, but should
suggest to the prospective employer that he is a man of uncommon
characteristics and especial capability.

[Sidenote: The Process And Effects]

That is the way to make a good impression. Such an impression of an
extraordinary personality first affords pleasure, then excites a degree
of admiration, and next arouses a certain amount of curiosity that is
nearly akin to interest. If you please your prospect in your initial
impression on him, he will like you and begin to feel _personal concern_
about your application.

[Sidenote: Analyze, Discriminate, Restrict]

In order to qualify yourself for taking this step of the selling process
effectively hereafter, analyze the impressions you make now.
Discriminatively select the good and bad details. Then restrict your
future practice in perfecting the art of inducing interest, to the
development and use of your pleasing qualities only.

[Sidenote: The Interesting Opening]

Most men begin an interview with a prospective employer indefinitely or
in merely general terms. Naturally they confront a wall of non-interest.
You have come, remember, on a mission of service. Please at once by
presenting the idea that you know a particular service which is lacking
and which you can supply. Break the ice of strangeness between you and
your prospect by an appeal first to his human side through a smile of
_genuine friendliness_ and by looking straight into his eyes so that he
can see into your heart.

Then in a business-like way get right down to business without
hesitation. Show enthusiasm, which is contagious if not overdone. Base
your enthusiasm on real optimism. Indicate temperamental youthfulness in
vigor and courage. Say something original--something strong, maybe a
little startling; but it must be self-evidently true. By all means avoid
anything that suggests parrot talk or indefinite thought. Do not expect
the other man to listen with interest to a statement proceeding from
premise to conclusion.

[Sidenote: Headlines]

_Use headlines prominently and often_ to summarize the body of your
proposal. Headlines attract your attention and induce your interest in
particular newspaper items. Employ headline statements for the same
purpose in selling the idea of your capabilities; just as surely you
will get attention and interest.

A noted sales manager who had been earning a large salary made up his
mind that satisfying success for him was to be gained only through a
business in which he would be partly an owner instead of just an
employee. He called together a group of financiers and introduced his
purpose by saying to them, "Gentlemen, I have an idea in which I have so
much confidence that I will resign my $75,000 a year job to develop it.
I want to explain it to you and to have your co-operation in financing a
project I have worked out." His headline statement secured instant
interest, of course.

_There is something about yourself or your capabilities that you can put
into headlines._ In forcible, vivid language you can strike some senses
of your prospects. Think of headline statements about your services.
Write them out in advance. You may be certain they will produce the same
psychological effect as headlines in the newspapers.

[Sidenote: Sense Doors Always Open]

_Use the sense avenues_ to introduce agreeable suggestions into your
prospect's mind centers of attention and interest. Then you will be
employing the _unusual_ methods of a master salesman, who devises ways
of using every possible sense appeal.

_The sense doors are always open. They are held open by the subconscious
mind. If you understand your way through them there will be no doubt
about the effectiveness of your knock at the door of opportunity, or
about getting an invitation for your ideas to enter the mind of the
other man._




CHAPTER IX

_Getting Yourself Wanted_


[Sidenote: Show a Need For Your Services]

A great many salesmen mistakenly believe that if they can interest a
prospect thoroughly in their goods, he is almost sure to buy. When this
stage is reached, they think they only need to keep his interest growing
to close the sale. If, instead, it drags on interminably, they are
utterly at a loss regarding what _more_ they should do to secure the
order.

Do not fall into a similar error when selling true ideas of your best
capabilities. Not only is it necessary that you induce your prospective
employer's _interest_ in your personal qualifications, but you need to
make him realize there is a _present lack_ in his business which you can
fill to his satisfaction. _You must get yourself wanted._

You might make an excellent first impression on the man you have chosen
as your future chief. He might listen attentively to your presentation
of ideas, and question you so interestedly that you would expect him to
say at any moment, "All right. The job is yours." Then, instead of
engaging your services, he might remark, "I'll keep your name on file."
Or he might say, "I know a man who probably could use you. I'll give
you a note to him." You would win a cordial farewell handshake from your
prospect, but not an acceptance of your proposal to work with him. You
would leave without the job. _Your failure would be due to your
inability to get yourself sufficiently wanted_.

[Sidenote: See Yourself Through Your Prospect's Eyes]

Now imagine yourself in the place of this employer. See your application
through his eyes. Unless you can look at yourself from the prospect's
viewpoint, you may not comprehend your deficiency in salesmanship.

The employer upon whom you called said to himself while you were trying
to sell your services, "Here is a very attractive man. He presents an
interesting proposition. But I have no real need for such an employee;
therefore it would be poor business for me to engage him, much as I
should like to do so. I am sorry that at present I have no place for him
in my organization. He's a man I'd like to keep track of, so I'll file
his name and address for possible future reference. Meanwhile I'll give
him a note to my friend Smith. I hate to turn him down cold; he's such a
fine man."

Evidently the employer did not feel a _lack_ in his own business. You
failed to make him realize any _need_ for your services.

[Sidenote: Proving A Need]

Contrast with this illustration the case of an efficiency engineer who
secured his chance to overhaul a factory by demonstrating to a
manufacturer that he needed a new order-checking system. The engineer
"beat" the old system and brought to the manufacturer's office a lot of
goods he had secured that could not be checked. His salesmanship
compelled attention, induced thorough interest, and proved there was a
hole that should be filled. When the lack was shown convincingly, the
manufacturer wanted it satisfied. The sale of the engineer's services
was quickly closed.

[Sidenote: Getting Yourself Wanted Is Only One Step Ahead]

Do not jump to the conclusion that you are sure of the job you desire,
just as soon as you get yourself wanted. You are not yet at the end of
the selling process. The prospect has only been conducted successfully
another step forward toward your goal. _The moment after he realizes the
lack in his business, he is apt to question most critically your
qualifications for filling it._

[Sidenote: Analysis Naturally Follows Desire]

_As soon as a man begins to feel a real tug of desire for anything, he
examines it with new, increased interest to make sure there isn't
something the matter with it._ The suit of clothes that only induces his
interest in a shop window is passed by after a look. However, if he says
to himself, "That's the kind of suit I want," he goes in and examines
the workmanship and the cloth, in search of faults. The salesman may
need to overcome certain objections of his prospect before the order can
be secured.

But we have not reached the objections stage of the uncompleted sale.
That is the subject of the next chapter. Let us retrace our steps to
study the essence of the art of getting yourself wanted.

[Sidenote: Two-part Process of Getting Yourself Wanted]

There are two parts to the process. First, you must show the prospect
what he lacks; that in his business there is _an unoccupied opportunity
for such services as you believe you are capable of rendering to his
benefit and satisfaction_. Second, you need to _picture yourself filling
the place and giving the service_; to show him imaginatively _your
qualifications at work in his business_.

[Sidenote: Sincerity Of Service Purpose]

Of course it is primarily necessary that you believe in your own
capability, and in the value to the other man of the qualities you have
brought to him for sale. Unless you have this feeling yourself, you will
not be likely to draw out his reciprocating desire for your services.
You are not dealing now with his mind. _Desire proceeds from the heart.
It is emotional, not mental_. The least suspicion of your insincerity
would check your prospect's feeling that he wants you as an employee.
You must feel that you have come with a purpose of genuine service, and
you must draw out his similar feeling.

[Sidenote: Desire Comes Out of the Heart]

When you knocked at the door of your prospect's mind, and when you
sought to induce his welcome for your ideas, your object was to get him
to take your thoughts _into_ his head. The line of action is _reversed_
at the desire stage of the selling process. Until now _you_ have been
the moving party. You have been getting yourself and your ideas into his
consciousness. But while attention and interest are _receptive_
processes, the emotion of genuine desire starts with an _outward moving
impulse from the prospect_. It isn't enough that he open his heart and
let you enter, as he has admitted your ideas to his mind. _If he really
wants you, his feeling of desire will come out after you_.

[Sidenote: Service Value is Appreciated]

You have revealed to your prospect a lack in his business, and have
pictured yourself filling it to his satisfaction. You have done him a
double service. It is human nature to _appreciate_ such a genuine
service, and to _want more_ like it. The first service is accepted with
appreciation, but when the square man wants more _he makes a move to get
it, and expects to pay for it_. As soon as you have shown the lack and
your ability to fill it, and have pictured yourself "on the job," it
will be natural for your prospect to want you there in fact.

The colored porter who washed the windows and scrubbed floors in the
general offices of a manufacturing corporation was ambitious to rise in
the social scale and to earn a larger salary. One evening he went to
the private office of the president, and presented for sale an idea of
his capability for a different job.

[Sidenote: Official Welcomer Wanted]

"Boss," he began, "You-all ain't got nobody dere to de front doah to
make folks feel welcome-like when dey comes in heah. Down in Virginny my
ol' gran-pap useter weah a dress suit ever' day an' jist Stan' in de
front hall of his ol' massa's house, a-waitin' to bow an' smile to
comp'ny whad'd come in. If you'll jist rent me one o' dem dar suits,
Boss, I could stan' out in the front office an' make folks feel we wuz
glad to see 'um, lak' mah gran'pap did. When ennybody comes heah now,
dey ain't nobody pays much 'tention to 'um. You'd orter git somebody on
dat job, Boss; an' I reckon I'm jist 'bout cut out foh it, suh."

The colored man compelled attention by presenting himself at the door of
the sanctum. He induced interest in his proposal. Then, in addition, _he
pointed out a lack and that he could fill it_. Immediately the president
_visioned_ the old darkey as an official welcomer, and _wanted_ him. _He
reached right out for the service offered_. The sale was closed at once,
and the colored man shone in his new glories within a week.

[Sidenote: Conflict of Heart and Mind]

Often a man desires with his heart things that his mind does not
approve. Therefore when you work to get yourself wanted, _appeal to the
heart of your prospect, rather than to his mind_. Then if _his_ mind
raises objections to his desire for your services, _your_ mind at a
later stage of the selling process will overcome or get around his
mental opposition. When the time for that step arrives, _his heart_ will
already have been won as _your ally_, and will help you dispose of the
objections _his mind_ has raised.

[Sidenote: Get Yourself Liked]

As a preliminary to getting yourself wanted, get yourself _liked_. Make
such an impression, do and say such things, as will draw out of the
heart of your prospect _a friendly feeling_ for you. You know of people
who have been boosted to notable successes because influential men took
personal interest in their advancement.

I recall an office boy who was always ready to perform little extra
services. He held his employer's overcoat one day, and the boss rather
absent-mindedly handed him a tip. The boy shook his head and declined
the dime.

"I didn't do that for a tip. You always treat me fine, and I just like
to show you I appreciate it."

The boy's _heart had spoken_, and the employer's _heart responded at
once with an especial liking_ for the lad. The seed of personal interest
having been planted in the heart of the president, his liking grew. The
boy was advanced to better and better positions. He made good on his
merits, but he was helped very much because his employer _wanted_ him to
succeed.

[Sidenote: The Common Heart of Man]

Reference has previously been made to the fundamental likeness of all
men at heart and to their differences in mind. Send out with your voice
an appeal to only the _minds_ of your audience--read a table of
statistics, for example--and it will affect all your hearers
_differently, depending on the mental characteristics of each
individual_. But tell a story of great courage, of self-sacrifice, of
love--_the same fundamental effect_ will be produced on all the _hearts_
in the audience; though, of course, the various individuals will respond
with _different degrees of emotional intensity_.

As has been said before, in order to look into the heart of another man
you need but see clearly into your own. There you will find all the
emotions of human nature, no matter how you may differ from other men in
mentality. Hence if you would prompt the heart of another man to want
your services, just _do the things he would need to do to win your
liking for him_. Imagine the cases reversed, and be guided in your
selling process by what you see.

[Sidenote: Popular Men]

To look at this step from another angle--_if you would be likable, you
must find other men likable_. If you like people only within a limited
range, you will similarly narrow your own likableness. If, however, you
genuinely like all men--like them for their faults and frailties as well
as for their merits--you will appeal to the intuitive heart of any other
man. You will draw out his liking for you because _the magnetic power
of your own heart will not be restricted_ to pulling your way the
friendly feelings of only a few people. Instead, you will be a "popular"
man, a man who is _generally_ well liked.

You meet certain men whom you like at sight. You desire further
acquaintance, or friendship with them. But these men have not prepared
themselves to suit _you_ in particular. Most _other_ people who meet
them have the _same feeling_ toward them that you experience. The men
you like at sight, and who make friends wherever they go have developed
in themselves _feelings of friendliness for all men_. As like breeds
like, liking draws liking.

[Sidenote: Artificial Methods Never Deceive The Heart]

If you try to develop particular traits, only because you believe they
will attract other men to you, you will not make your nature likable.
Such _artificial methods_ of making yourself attractive _never deceive
heart intuitions_. You will not become popular by proceeding
_selfishly_. But if you develop within yourself a heartfelt interest in
your fellow men, if you are full of genuine desire to serve them with
your friendship, _you will attract the liking of nearly all the people
you meet_. They will want to know you better and to be your friends.

[Sidenote: No Insulation Against Human Magnetism]

There is "no sich critter" as a natural grouch. A man who has that
reputation is _repressing his natural emotions_--that is all. He does
not express his true feelings. He attempts to deny that he has them.
_But they are inside him, and you can pull them toward you_ if you bring
your likableness to bear upon his heart. He will feel the tug, and will
be drawn to you by your magnetic power. _There is no insulation that can
prevent the pull of human magnetism_. So treat the crab with a feeling
of real liking for the human nature inside, and don't be discouraged by
his shell. Be more than ordinarily likable when you have to deal with a
surly prospect. Exert all the magnetism you have. He will feel drawn to
you. You will get yourself wanted.

J. Pierpont Morgan, Senior, was noted for being unapproachable. But it
is said that he took a great liking to a certain newsboy who never acted
afraid of him and who treated him as an ordinary mortal. This gamin
always had a cheery word for everybody. That he made no exception in Mr.
Morgan's case won the heart of the austere financier, who helped the boy
to get an education and to start in business.

[Sidenote: Do Not Over-sell Likability]

The emphasis placed on the importance of likableness as the _principal_
factor in getting yourself wanted may have made you forget the _primary_
necessity of showing your prospect _a real lack in his business, and
that you are capable of filling it_. It is possible to attract an
employer's liking for you, whether he has a place for you or not. But
his liking will do you no good unless you can also make him see he has a
need for you.

_Success is not to be won by getting in where you are not wanted,
however likable you may be_. You must sell the idea of your service
_value_ as well as the ideas that your services would be _liked_. You
_cannot over-develop_ the quality of likableness, but you _can
over-sell_ it, to the detriment of your own best interest.

[Sidenote: A Winning Personality Sometimes Fails]

One of the most conspicuous failures I know is a man who has "a winning
personality." Times without number his genuine agreeableness has won him
fine chances to succeed, but in the positions he has held he has never
studied the needs of his employers for other qualities than likability.
Consequently he has fallen down on all his big chances. Today he is just
a popular door man for a big department store. His intelligence and his
physical ability are so evident that he is an object of pity and wonder
as he smiles and bows to customers of the store. Undoubtedly if he had
studied the different opportunities he has had, and had fitted himself
into all the requirements of a particular situation, his winning
personality would have helped him higher and higher toward the mountain
peaks of success instead of leaving him on an ant hill.

[Sidenote: Three Impressions Necessary]

Of course the mind of your prospective employer acts in co-ordination
with his heart when you attract him so much that he really wants the
service you proffer. He imagines you rendering that service. He thinks
what "might be" if you were associated with his business. He paints
mental pictures that please him, and he wishes his vision to come true.
But when he begins to imagine you rendering service, the picture of your
agreeable personality will not be pleasant to him if he sees that he
doesn't really need you. _In order to get yourself wanted it is
necessary that you show him the lack, and that you can fill it, and that
you would be likable when filling it_. If you make these three
impressions on the mind and heart of your prospect, your success in your
purpose will be assured. You will not fail to get yourself wanted.

[Sidenote: Desire is Turning Point Of the Sale]

In salesmanship "desire is the determinant of the sale." By this is
meant that _when the salesman sufficiently stimulates a real desire in
his prospect, he has climbed the highest grade of difficulty_. If he is
skillful, the selling process from then on should be comparatively easy
sledding. You realize that if you can get yourself wanted by an
employer, the matter of landing a job in his business should not be
hard. We therefore are considering now _the turning point in the process
of selling the true idea of your best capabilities in the right field_.
After you get yourself wanted, the odds are no longer against you, but
grow increasingly in your favor. If, having succeeded in getting
yourself wanted, you then fail in your ultimate purpose, you should
blame no one but yourself.

[Sidenote: The Use of Tactful Suggestion]

A very skillful use of _tact and diplomacy_ is necessary to success in
pointing out to a prospect something that he lacks, and your capability
for filling that lack. A man is apt to resent your "picking flaws" in
his business. He is likely to regard you as an egotist if you _assert_
that he needs you. You will not get yourself wanted if you make the
impression that you are a critical fault-finder with "the big-head."
Rather, you should pattern after the example of the professional
salesman of goods. In the processes of persuasion and creating desire he
employs the arts of _suggestion in preference to making direct
statements_. He is a tactful diplomat. Learn from his methods, as
explained in "The Selling Process."

You have come to a chosen employer, with a real service purpose; but be
careful not to _offend_ in your presentation. Do not bring him your idea
for improving his business as if it were a great discovery you have
made. He won't like it if you open his eyes to his lacks in that
fashion. You might better suggest that while you have perceived what he
needs, you have no doubt he either has seen it already or would have
perceived it if his time and attention had not been engrossed by other
things. You will be liked if you so present a picture of the lack and of
yourself satisfying it.

[Sidenote: Rubbing the Prospect the Wrong Way]

_You are apt to get yourself cordially disliked if you rub your
prospect's pride in his business the wrong way_.

An accountant sought an opportunity to become the auditor for a
manufacturing corporation. He had gained considerable "inside knowledge"
of the company's lax business methods. But when talking to the president
he exaggerated the relative importance of these defects. In his
eagerness to impress the executive with the need for an auditor, he
over-drew the danger from leaks in the company's accounting system. The
president was exasperated. His pride was stung. What had been said
reflected on his capability as an executive. So he turned savagely on
the accountant.

"If we're so rotten as all that," he snarled, "how could we make money
and pay dividends? No doubt you are right in your criticisms of our
methods. But if I had a man like you around here, continually finding
fault and picking everybody and everything to pieces, the whole business
would be demoralized. The ideas you have brought to me are worth a
thousand dollars, and I'll give you my check for that, but no crepe
hanger can work for me."

[Sidenote: Avoid Teaching]

When you present your capabilities for sale, don't suggest that you
think your prospect's business will go to the "demnition bow-wows" if
your services are not engaged. _Understate the lack and your fitness to
fill it_. You may be sure the employer will appreciate fully the value
of the new ideas you bring, and the worth of your services.

[Sidenote: Pope's Rule]

None of us really like "teachers." Nowadays the most successful
educational methods follow the rule laid down by Alexander Pope, "Men
must be taught as if you taught them not; and things unknown proposed as
things forgot." Do not suggest that you are a "know it all." Much less
make the impression that the other man does not know. Communicate to him
the idea that you believe he has overlooked the lack to which you call
his attention. With modest confidence present your capabilities. You
need not assert in words that you will fill the bill. Your prospect can
see that. In everything you suggest and say, show that you genuinely
like him and his business. Manifest sincere admiration. _Make him feel
that you have come to his office because you especially want to work
there. That will make him want you in his service_. Use suggestion to
increase his desire for you.

[Sidenote: Reduce Resistance By Suggestion]

_Direct_ presentation of ideas indicates an intention to inform, to
teach, to direct the mind of the other man. Every human individual,
whether a child or a centenarian, _re-acts in opposition_ to such an
effort at instruction. There is something in all of us alike which makes
us wish to think and decide for ourselves. Hence the value of the art of
suggestion in getting yourself wanted.

Ideas you _suggest_ enter the mind of the other man so unobtrusively
that _he does not realize you originated them_. He has no feeling that
you intend to influence his mind. Consequently he makes no resistance to
the suggested ideas. _It never pays to reason when selling an idea;
because reasoning invariably brings out a reaction of opposition_. You
will not create a desire for your services by presenting them
_logically_, or by making an _argument_ regarding your capabilities. One
of the greatest students of the human mind assures us that "most persons
never perform an act of pure reasoning; but all their acts are the
results of imitation, habit, suggestion, or some related form of
thinking."

[Sidenote: Three Reasons For Using Suggestion]

Suggestion is remarkably effective in persuading and in arousing desire
because:

First, _every "suggested" idea is accepted as absolutely true unless it
is contradicted by other ideas already in the mind of the prospect_.
This is because the prospect thinks a _suggested_ idea is his. He adopts
it and makes it his own. That is, his mind takes the suggestion and
interprets it in terms of his own thoughts. Of course he believes what
he himself thinks. _Say_ to a prospective employer that you would
particularly like to work in association with him, and he may believe
you are "shooting hot air." He will have no such feeling if you tell him
details about his business that have especially interested you. _Show_
him that you have been studying and observing his methods. Give him to
understand that you have also investigated other businesses. Thus
without _saying_ it, you _suggest_ to his mind that you have come to his
office because you really would prefer to be employed there. He will
believe the suggested idea; though he might have scoffed at the
statement.

[Sidenote: Suggestion Avoids Contradiction]

Second, _suggestion is effective in persuasion and in arousing desire
because suggested ideas which include no comparisons or criticisms very
seldom arouse contradictory attitudes of mind_. The suggested idea
enters the mind of the other man quietly, unaccompanied by a blare of
the trumpet "I Tell You." Opposing ideas are not aware of its presence
until it has supplanted them. _Suggest_ to a chosen employer that he
_means_ to be up-to-date, and he agrees. If you _say_ his methods are
behind the times, he will be apt to defend them instead of following
your lead along the line of suggested improvements.

[Sidenote: Suggested Ideas Tend to Action]

Third, _every suggested idea of action tends to result in the action
itself; whereas a direct attempt to secure action is almost sure to
result in opposition_. Human nature works that way. Your prospect, being
unconscious that a particular idea of action is suggested to him, does
not have his will stimulated to prevent that action. If you come to your
prospective employer and _ask_ for the job you want, he will be on the
_defensive_. But if you _suggest_ to him that he wants you--that he
lacks and needs such services as you present--_he will be impelled to
the affirmative action of offering you the job_.

[Sidenote: Selling Henry Ford]

When I was originally engaged by Henry Ford, it was in the capacity of a
public accountant, for an audit of the business of the Ford Motor
Company, and later for the installation of an accounting system that
would tell accurately every month "where they were at." Back in
1904-1905 the Ford Motor Company was not showing any more profits than
many other motor car manufacturers organized on similar lines. After I
completed my work as an accountant, Mr. Ford talked with me about taking
a permanent position with the Company in the capacity of "Commercial
Manager." That title covered responsibility for the distribution of
products, advertising, collections, selection of branch managers and
their corps of assistants, operation of branch houses, appointment and
direction of agents, employment and control of the entire sales force,
etc., etc. The position was much broader than that of Sales Manager, as
it included also the accounting and organizing of nearly every
department of the business.

For several years prior to that time I had sold my services as a public
accountant and organizer to many large concerns throughout the country,
including twenty-eight different automobile companies. I believed in my
ability, not only to organize a selling and distributing force for
successfully marketing a standard product, but also to extend that force
over a world field and to control it in all the details of its
operations, from opening the mail to the declaration and payment of
dividends, more efficiently than the average sales or commercial
manager. So I had no hesitancy in undertaking the Ford job, which, even
at that early date, I visualized as culminating in a big one.

When I finally engaged my services with the Ford Motor Company on a
permanent basis, the business was represented by only a few hundred
scattered, unorganized, uncontrolled, and non-directed dealers. My work
during the following twelve years was concentrated on developing and
enlarging yearly this small hit-or-miss distributing aggregation into a
compact force of thousands of well-trained, highly efficient sales and
service representatives of the Ford Motor Company. They were all Ford
"boosters," and by their loyalty and intensive co-operation they "put
across the Ford" in the big way that today makes the little car so
conspicuous everywhere throughout the world.

[Sidenote: Statement Avoided Suggestion Used]

Note that while my experience with the Ford Motor Company as a public
accountant convinced me that what the business needed then was a
commercial manager and sales organizer, and I believed myself fitted
for the position, I did not make that statement to Mr. Ford; because it
would have been poor salesmanship. He might have thought me entirely
qualified to deal with figures, but not so capable of handling sales
agents and dealers.

So I never _said_ to him that I was the man he needed. But I _suggested_
it by presenting my ideas of how the job should be done. He accepted my
ideas as good, and was influenced by the natural suggestion that
resulted from them. He told me that he wanted me to become Commercial
and Sales Manager. It was the opportunity for success that I most
desired. I got myself _wanted_ without having to overcome any
_resistance_ in the mind of the man with whom I had chosen to work.

[Sidenote: Negative Suggestions]

You recognize how true to human nature are incidents of this sort. You
know how powerful is the force of _affirmative_ suggestion. But have you
appreciated how surely desire is killed by _negative_ suggestions? If
you make _displeasing_ impressions, you will get yourself _not_ wanted.
Therefore you must _be careful to avoid certain things your prospect
would not like, just as you should be careful in doing things that are
likable_.

[Sidenote: Speak the Prospect's Language]

If your prospecting and sizing up of an employer indicate that he is
very painstaking, suggest to him how particular you have been to prepare
yourself in knowledge of his needs. If he is a man who weighs ideas
carefully, suggest to him your qualities of judgment and decision.
Perhaps he is characterized by a marked constructive imagination.
Suggest that you, too, have imaginative power. Bring out conspicuously
the particular elements of your qualifications that are most likely to
_suggest ideas akin to his own_. Speak those phrases of the language of
suggestion which he best understands, and that are most likely to
impress him with _the idea that you and he think alike_.

[Sidenote: Deceptive Suggestions]

A caution is necessary here. In any suggestion that you make, _convey
neither more nor less than the actual truth_ regarding your
capabilities. _Avoid any possibility of deception_.

I recall the case of a young man who quite won the heart of a dignified
bank president whose tastes were very quiet. The young man studiously
avoided the slightest appearance of flashiness in his dress and manner.
He spoke in modulated tones. His movements were subdued. He had exactly
the quiet pose that suited his prospective employer. The banker stressed
his appreciation of the characteristics manifested by the applicant, and
the young man "overdid it" by suggesting that he was _always_ decorous
in his manner.

The bank president had occasion to entertain a visiting financier who
wanted to go to the ball game. A few seats away the young man whose
application was being considered rooted boisterously for the home team,
unconscious of the contradiction he presented to the suggestions he had
made in the banker's private office. The new impression was made more
disagreeable because the boisterous behavior suggested to the banker
that the young man had not conveyed a true idea of himself previously.
When he came next morning for the answer to his application, he received
a cold "No."

The young man really was not boisterous except on the rare occasions
when he let off steam, as at a ball game. If he had conveyed the
_truthful_ impression that he was _nearly always_ quiet, and had taken
pains to admit that _occasionally_ he "let loose," but only in proper
surroundings, he would not have killed his chances by the negative
suggestion of untruthfulness.

[Sidenote: Motive of Suggestion]

After all it is your _motive_ that determines the right or wrong use of
suggestion in getting yourself wanted. If you keep carefully in mind a
purpose to _suggest less instead of more than the truth_ about your
capabilities, you need not fear that you will offend by over-drawing the
picture of your real self.

If _your_ motive is wrong, it will lower the quality of _your_ manhood.
If you suggest a wrong motive to the _other_ man, the effect is to lower
_his_ manhood qualities in considering you. _It is particularly
important not to stimulate a motive that may afterward operate to your
detriment_.

[Sidenote: Over-Suggestion of Ability]

I know a young man who was so eager to show his willingness to work that
he suggested absolute tirelessness. His employer, though he appreciated
what this young man did, kept overloading him. Finally the employee
broke down and made a serious mistake. He was unjustly dismissed from
service because _he had encouraged his employer to depend on him
altogether too much, and disappointment resulted_.

Do not pretend a higher degree of ability than you possess. Attempt no
more than you can do well. You will succeed in getting yourself wanted
if you _manifest promise of growth_ in capability. If you are a sapling,
do not pose as a full grown tree of knowledge.

[Sidenote: Selling Out To Competitor]

Sometimes it happens that a man can present his capabilities for sale
and appear especially desirable to another man because he possesses
certain knowledge the employer would like to have. Maybe you have sought
to gain your chance by carrying to a competitor of your former employer
the latter's secrets. If you come with the suggestion that you will sell
out, you are offering a service that does not command full respect, and
you are appealing only to the _lower motives_ of your prospect. You do
not thereby get _yourself_ wanted. He wants _what you know_. What you
have learned fairly by working for one man, you have a right to sell
fairly to another man, of course. But do not suggest that this special
knowledge is the _principal element_ of your desirability. Suggest,
rather, that it is _only incidental to your all-around fitness_ for the
job you want.

[Sidenote: Self-Respect]

Use what you know without pandering to the lower motives of your new
employer. Impel him to like you for what you _are_, and not merely for
what you _bring_. Open his eyes to your _better_ nature, not to the
_worst_ side of you. _He will see in you the better qualities of himself
and appreciate them_. Have your own motives right; then there will be no
danger that you will appeal to the wrong motives of the other man.

Of course you must have the highest respect for your own motives. This
necessitates high character. _You must be honest in the very structure
of your being_. You need, too, _absolute faith in yourself and in your
proposition_, and faith in the _desirability_ of your service to the
other man. Finally, you must be _consecrated_ to the motive of rendering
him _service_.

[Sidenote: Postpone Criticism Until Desire Is Stimulated]

It is poor salesmanship to let your prospect begin to analyze your
faults _until you have made yourself thoroughly pleasing_ to him. Before
you complete the selling process you should admit your own faults,
rather than let him discover them. _But skillfully postpone this step
until you get yourself wanted._ Then your prospect will be inclined to
_co-operate_ in disposing of objections to you; whereas _if criticisms
arise too soon in the selling process they may prevent him from liking
you thoroughly, and may check your purpose before you get yourself
wanted_.

[Sidenote: Right Time to "Face The Music"]

A merchant received an application for employment in his private office
from a young man who created so pleasing an impression that the employer
decided to make him his secretary. He outlined his ideas to the
applicant, who entered into them most enthusiastically; thereby
increasing the liking of his prospective employer for him. Then the
young man sat up straight in his chair, looked the merchant squarely in
the eye, and said, "No one in this city knows it, but when I was
eighteen years old I stole ten dollars and was sentenced to the reform
school. That was seven years ago. I never have done anything dishonest
since, and I never will again. But you have a right to know my whole
record before you employ me in a position of such trust." If the
candidate had confessed his blemished record _before_ making himself
thoroughly desirable, it is practically certain that he would not have
won the place. He got it because _he handled the objection after instead
of before creating the desire_ for his services.

[Sidenote: Concentrate On Suggesting Qualifications]

We shall consider in the next chapter how to meet and handle objections,
how to deal with your faults. But as we postpone our study of that step
in the selling process; so should you postpone consideration of your
faults and shortcomings, until you get yourself wanted. Do not dodge
direct questions, but courteously request that you be permitted to
answer them a little later. _At this stage_ of selling the true idea of
your best capabilities _concentrate upon the moderate, truthful
suggestion of your qualifications_.

[Sidenote: Gaining Prospect's Confidence]

The first result to be desired in selling is the _confidence of the
buyer_. Use all your manly qualities to win this confidence
_deservedly_. Then when you honestly admit your faults and shortcomings,
you will be aided to win out in the end by the confidence you have
already inspired in the other man.

Very often the applicant for a position fails to get it because he
merely presents the _abstract_ idea that his services are for sale. _He
does not picture himself in actual service_. The presentation of
abstract ideas is an appeal only to the _interest_ or mind side of the
other man. The presentation to his imagination must go _beyond_ his
interest, if his _heart desire_ for the services is to be secured.
Therefore it is highly important to your success in getting yourself
wanted that you plan how you actually would serve on the job, and when
you are talking with your prospective employer, _speak as if you were at
work_.

[Sidenote: Picture Yourself At Work]

If you imagine yourself fitted into a particular job, and _show yourself
there to the mind's eye_ of your prospect, he will have to go through
the mental process of _getting you out_ of the imaginary job. That will
be much harder for him than it would have been to _keep you out_ in the
first place. If you merely present the services you _could_ render, and
don't picture yourself as _actually rendering_ them, you haven't won
even the imaginary job. _But if you do paint yourself into a chosen
place, and can make your prospect see you in that position, the
suggestion will impel him to copy imagination with actuality. He will
consider you as if you were on the job._ Evidently when you have won
this advantage, he will be inclined to want to keep you at work, unless
you do something or manifest some quality that makes you undesirable.

[Sidenote: No Doubt About Success]

_Getting yourself wanted is a process that can be brought to a
successful conclusion with absolute certainty._ It is not difficult to
understand human nature if you are willing to see clearly into yourself.
It is only necessary, then, that you subordinate your personality to the
personality of the other man. _Learn what he wants, and avoid showing
him that you want something from him. Show him instead that you can
supply what he lacks_. Complete and round out the process by suggesting
the particular qualities in yourself that your prospecting and size-up
have indicated to be the qualities _he especially likes_. He will want
you then. He can't help it.




CHAPTER X

_Obstacles In Your Way_


[Sidenote: Mountain Climbing]

There is no great mountain in the world that has a natural, smooth road
with an easy grade all the way to the top. Mountain climbing requires
some hard work. It involves getting around, or going over, or removing
many obstacles that block the path upward.

You will encounter similar difficulties, obstacles, and resistance on
your way to success. _If you cannot pass them, your ambition will be
defeated._ You will quit the climb, discouraged; or will be driven back,
a failure. In order to _assure_ your success you must now ascertain
dependable ways to conquer obstacles. This advance knowledge will make
them seem less formidable. Since you will have definite plans for
dealing with the difficulties that may obstruct your path, you will not
feel hopelessly blocked when you face them.

[Sidenote: Knowing How]

No great mountain has ever been scaled by a novice ignorant of the
science, and unskilled in the art of climbing to supreme heights. But an
expert mountaineer learns from mastering one peak something about how to
climb others. He develops ability to conquer any and all obstacles he
may meet. He proves repeatedly that what would be impossible to a
novice is a _certainty_ to him. He starts the most difficult ascent with
absolute confidence that he will gain the top.

[Sidenote: Obstacles and Resistance]

_You likewise can feel sure of your ability to reach the highest peaks
of success_. In preceding chapters you have been shown how to take
advantage of the _easiest_ way up by following the guide marks of
salesmanship at every step. Now we are to study the obstacles you will
encounter, in particular the objections the prospect may raise to
frustrate your purpose. At this stage of the selling process you will be
like a mountaineer fighting in the Alps. It will probably be necessary
that you overcome or evade considerable human resistance while you are
climbing toward your goal.

Let us assume that you have already gained a chance to sell your
capabilities to the particular man through whom you expect to succeed.
He has heeded your knock and welcomed you into his interest. You have
made such a presentation of your desirability and service value that he
wants you to be associated with him. But now it will be natural for him
to begin a critical analysis, seeking whatever faults he can discover or
imagine in you or your proposition. _Your success or failure in your
ultimate purpose is likely to depend on how you handle the criticisms he
raises._ Therefore it is of vital importance that you learn in advance
_sure ways to gain your goal despite normal opposition._

[Sidenote: Objections Are Natural]

Recognize first that it is _natural_ for your prospect to raise
objections, whether he is favorably impressed or not. His resistance to
your purpose may be only a _precaution_. Perhaps it does not indicate
_opposition_ at all. He may want you to convince him you are all right;
so that he will feel entire confidence in his own judgment when he
finally does as you wish. Or he may object for no other purpose than to
test you thoroughly. If this is the case, his sympathies will all be
with you while you are dealing with the obstacles he puts in your way.

_Evidently objections of this sort should not be handled the same as the
objections of opposition._ It is necessary that you distinguish between
the two kinds and that _when dealing with each specific objection you
determine in your own mind what is its source_. There should be nothing
in your method of handling the obstacle that might _antagonize_ your
prospect. You should take fullest advantage of his every inclination to
_cooperate_ with you in his thoughts and feelings. He may be "pulling
for" you strongly when he seems to be "bucking" the hardest.

[Sidenote: Objection is Favorable Sign]

_An objection really is a favorable sign._ If you call upon a
prospective employer who, after hearing your presentation, begins to
find fault with it and with you, or tries to evade your proposal, you
may be sure that you have carried him along a considerable distance
toward the accomplishment of your purpose. _He objects or evades because
he is on the defensive._ "You have him going." He is wary, and so takes
measures for self-protection. _The moment your prospect begins to raise
objections in your way, he indicates that he is not entirely comfortable
in his own mind about escaping from your salesmanship._ He has felt the
tug of desire; but he does not feel sure yet that you deserve his
confidence, or else he has a pretty positive idea that in this matter of
your possible employment his interests and yours are different. He is
looking out for himself.

[Sidenote: Welcome Opportunity To Strengthen Yourself]

However, you have come with a _true service_ purpose. You believe he
_needs_ you; that you can _satisfy a lack_ in his business. You feel
your interests and his are alike, not different. You know that you have
no intention "to put anything over on him." You want your prospect to be
absolutely satisfied with what you propose. Therefore you should welcome
every chance to convince his mind and win his confidence. _An objection
affords you an opportunity to overcome it, and so both to strengthen
your proposition and to weaken his resistance._

[Sidenote: Don't Set Up Straw Men to Knock Down]

_You_ should not, however, bring up objections that the _prospect_ has
not raised in his own mind. That would be putting up a straw man and
knocking him down, which is profitless and unconvincing. Of course you
must clear the path when there is no other way to proceed, but do not
block it yourself. Sometimes it will not be advisable to clear the path.
If you can get around a difficulty you see, without attracting your
prospect's attention to it, you will be wise to go some indirect way to
your goal.

Suppose, for example, that you know the salary you want is higher than
your prospect has been accustomed to pay. It will be good salesmanship
for you not to refer to the amount you have in mind, until after you
have carried him along with you to consider the profits he will make
from engaging your services. Since you plan to show him that these
profits will pay your salary, you will be wise to avoid the matter of
your compensation until you have approached nearer to the successful
conclusion of your selling process.

[Sidenote: Avoid Troubles by Forethought]

_Almost every difficulty and opposition you are likely to encounter can
be anticipated._ Don't wait until you come face to face with an
obstruction in the way of success. Let forethought carry you
imaginatively into just such a situation. _Think yourself out of a
possible difficulty before you actually get into it._ Then you can win
the respect of your prospect by proving on the spot that you are not a
man who can be dodged or blocked, or cornered. _Every time you pass an
obstacle, you will be a long step nearer to success_ in selling your
services.

Suppose an employer says to you, "You are too young. You have had no
experience in this line of work." You cannot _deny_ your youth and you
should not _defend_ it as if it were a fault. Nor can you claim
experience you have not had. But it is unnecessary for you to indicate
any feeling that inexperience is a demerit. An ordinary applicant might
be discomfited by such resistance to his purpose. If you are a skillful
salesman, you will be prepared to deal with this very obstacle and will
turn it to good account. You can say at once:

[Sidenote: Value of Adaptability]

"Because I am young, I am adaptable to your methods, instead of being
set in ways that might differ from yours. True, I am not experienced.
Therefore, I haven't any wrong ideas to unlearn. Think of me as raw
material that won't have to be re-made, and that can be easily shaped as
you want to form it. I realize it will take some work on your part, _but
the product will be satisfactory to you when it is done_. It seems to me
that the only question involved is whether or not I would make it worth
your while to do the work on me. The fact that I have come to you of my
own choice proves I really want to be employed here. I assure you now
that I will make my services worth any pains you take to teach me your
methods, and I will be just as eager to remain as I am to start."

[Sidenote: Use Objection As a Sales Help]

Analyze this method of dealing with any particular obstacle. _Plan to
get rid of the obstruction completely, leaving the way ahead smoothed._
When the objection of the prospect is so skillfully disposed of, his
_desire_ for your services is stimulated. He _wants you more, because he
likes you better_ now that you have cleared away the obstacle. Thus you
have utilized the objection as a _help_ in selling yourself
successfully. Just so a mountain climber uses the rocks he encounters as
holding places to help him climb higher.

Your prospect may say that he has no need for such services as you
offer. He may state reasons why you are not needed in his Business. _But
if you have prepared yourself thoroughly, each disclaimer of his lack,
every suggestion of an objection, will give you an opportunity to prove
in some specific way your service value to him._

The president of a manufacturing company had an ironclad rule that all
positions in his business were to be filled by promotion. He never hired
a new employee except to start at the bottom. A competent young office
man applied for a situation. He was turned down flatly. The company's
policy was quoted as the reason. He met this obstacle in a new way.

[Sidenote: Making an Exception]

"One of the principal reasons I came to you, Mr. Blank, is that I hope
to benefit from your rule myself. I want to get into a company where I
will know that the way to advancement is sure without going outside for
my chance. But by my experience in other employment I have developed
certain capabilities that would warrant you in making an exception to
your rule, in my case.

"You do not audit your own books. Yet you have been self-auditing your
methods of office operation. Another thought I want to suggest. You know
that in the royal families of Europe the stock runs down because they
don't get in fresh blood. I would not advocate a change in your general
policy. But you have already made an exception to your rule in having
your books checked by a public accountant whom you engage by the year
for that purpose.

"I propose to bring in the outside viewpoint for the study of your
office system, with the expectation of suggesting possible improvements.
I want to introduce fresh blood, and yet to become part of your
organization family. It is sound business for you to engage me because I
am from the outside. You need an auditor of your operations as much as
an auditor of your accounts."

This view of the matter had never been presented before to the employer.
It won him over to the proposal. The new man broke in where every
preceding applicant had failed.

[Sidenote: Apparent Objections]

Thus far we have considered _actual_ obstructions, _real_ blocks in the
salesman's way. Now let us turn our attention briefly to obstacles that
are only _apparent_, to resistance that is but a _feint_.

Your prospect may try to put you off. Or perhaps he will attempt to
evade uttering a downright refusal, and instead will make some sort of
an excuse for not doing what you wish. If you dignify these _artificial_
or merely _apparent_ obstacles by treating them as _real obstructions_,
you will hinder your own progress toward success.

[Sidenote: Danger of Losing Ground Gained]

You have secured your chance to present your services for purchase. You
have made real progress toward the successful accomplishment of your
ultimate purpose. _Nearly always if you let yourself be put off for any
reason, without making a definite advance toward your final goal, you
will lose some of the ground already gained._ When your prospect
attempts to evade the issue by making an excuse or by postponing further
consideration of the subject, _he tacitly admits that your position is
strong_. But if you have to start the selling process all over again at
another time, if you let him put you off when your position is strong,
_you will be weaker when you attempt to resume your sale_.

[Sidenote: Do One of Two Things]

Should you be put off, do one of two things. _Either disregard the
evasion entirely and go straight ahead with your selling process_; or,
if you consent to the postponement or evasion, _take advantage of your
strategical position of strength to make a definite advance toward the
accomplishment of your purpose_. For examples of the two methods let us
consider suppositious cases.

[Sidenote: Driving Ahead]

Your prospective employer might say, "I'll think over your application.
Come in next week and I'll let you know my decision." You can handle
this evasion effectively by going directly ahead and proposing, "I am
perfectly willing that you should think over my usefulness to you, but
during the week you are considering me for future employment, let me
actually work on the job. If you decide that you don't want to keep me,
tell me so at the end of the week and there will be no charge for my
time." _You will be driving straight toward your goal, not even pausing
when he attempts to put you off._

[Sidenote: Strengthening Position]

This effort at evasion or postponement might be handled in a different
way. You could say to the prospective employer, "Very well. I will
return in a week for your decision. Meanwhile I will submit some
additional references as to my character and energy. I ask also that you
permit me to save a week instead of wasting it. I should like your
permission to spend this next week in your office, studying the job.
Then if you decide to employ me, as I believe you will, I will be
already broken in." Such a proposal is hard to refuse. While you would
consent to the postponement or evasion of decision, _you would be
strengthening your own position_.

[Sidenote: Make Progress]

_In one way or the other you can make progress._ Either you can brush
the evasion aside and carry your prospect through to the closing stage
of the sale of your services, or you can close an intermediate sale on
the spot, as in the second illustration.

[Sidenote: Forcing Real Objection]

_Do not, therefore, treat evasions and postponements as real obstacles._
Even in case you cannot induce your prospect to go ahead with you, or
close an intermediate sale, _you can avoid being blocked_ by his attempt
to put you off. When he sees that he cannot get rid of you by his
subterfuge, he will be forced to make a _real_ objection. He will not
give you another weak excuse after you have disposed of his first
attempt to evade. When he tries to block you by making a real objection,
after the failure of his excuse or postponement, he will fall right into
your plan of the sale. _You will be all ready for the objection he
states._ You will know exactly how to handle it and turn it to good
account so that his opposition will be weakened and you will add to your
strength.

Let us suppose your prospect comes out with the flat statement, after
you prevent him from putting you off, "No, I have made up my mind not to
add any new employees for the present." He thinks that settles the
question. In reality it affords you a sales opening. You retort, "Your
attitude is perfectly right. You do not want to add to expense. I should
feel the same way myself, were I in your position. However, I am not
going to be an _expense_. I shall be a _money-maker._ I know you have no
objections to increasing your profits." His opposition would have given
you your lead.

[Sidenote: Unsound Objection]

A man applied for a position in a bank. Business in general was dull; so
the president tried to put him off. The position sought offered any one
filling it opportunities to develop increased business for the bank
along certain lines. Thus the objection of dull times was plainly
_unsound_. The applicant felt, however, that it would be a mistake to
urge very strongly his ideas about increasing the business. He believed
the president would not accept them if fully stated. So the young man
met the attempted evasion by drawing the banker on to a step that
committed him only to the _beginning_ of the program outlined.

"I appreciate that business is not rushing at present," he said.
"Therefore you will have time to study how I propose to develop some
new business. If you were very busy, you would not be able to
investigate my plan thoroughly. You may not care to put it into effect
just now, but while you have comparative leisure let me give you an
illustration of ways in which my idea can be worked out.

"It is unnecessary to discuss salary or a definite engagement at
present, if you prefer to wait awhile. But with your permission I should
like to come in here for a month and demonstrate a few of my ideas in
actual practice. At the end of that time I will show you a chart of the
results."

[Sidenote: Evasion Turned to Selling Aid]

_The evasion was turned into a selling aid_. The banker, naturally
desirous of making additional profits, could not very well turn down
such a proposal. He would have felt a little ashamed to accept services
without paying for them. Therefore he gave the applicant a chance and
agreed to pay him a moderate salary from the beginning. The new man went
to work immediately, and very soon demonstrated such value that his
compensation was increased to an entirely satisfactory amount.

[Sidenote: Don't Fight Back]

Already in this chapter you have been warned against handling an
objection in such a way that the natural antagonism of the man who makes
it will be increased by your method of dealing with his opposition. When
he resists you, or puts obstructions in your way, you of course must
take the measures that are necessary to enable you to proceed with your
purpose, notwithstanding the obstacles he raises. _But if he acts
antagonistic, be careful not to appear to fight back._ Avoid making the
impression that you regard him as an _opponent_. Your difficulty in
closing the sale will be lessened if you keep him from feeling at any
time that he needs to adopt measures of _self-protection_ against you.

[Sidenote: Diplomacy And Tact]

_When your progress is obstructed, it is necessary that you use a very
high degree of diplomacy and tact._ This will carry you much farther
toward your purpose than any manifestation of naked force. Of course you
must meet many objections squarely. You will encounter obstructions that
cannot be avoided, opposition that will not step aside. There will be
occasions when it will be necessary for you to employ force. But you can
always conceal "the iron hand in the velvet glove" if you exert your
force in _tones_ and with _gestures_ or _movements_, rather than by
making _word_ statements. _The art of suggestion can be employed as
effectively at the objection stage as at any other step of the selling
process._

Let us assume that you are a greenhorn. But you believe yourself capable
of filling a certain position. You apply for it. Your prospective
employer questions your capability because you lack experience. He
refuses your application, and declares he is unwilling to run the risk
of having you make mistakes that might be expensive to him.

[Sidenote: Using Suggestion Instead of Statement]

You know that you are very careful, and that you would not take any
important action on your own responsibility if you were in doubt whether
or not you were right. You feel that his objection is unsound; that he
is exaggerating caution. But it would certainly be a mistake for you to
say, "Nonsense!" That would make him bristle.

Of course you want to show him that you do not take his objections
seriously. You can make the right impression by smiling at his
statement. You can reinforce the effect of your smile by making a
horizontal gesture with your hand. If you shake your head slightly,
force will be added to your denial of incapacity or rashness. It may not
be necessary for you to _say_ anything. Possibly your suggestion will be
stronger if you simply ignore the point he has raised against you.
Usually, however, in such a case it is best to employ a few quiet words
in disposing of the objection; _though chief reliance should be placed
on the suggested meaning behind the statement_.

[Sidenote: Your Stake In Your Opportunities]

I recall the case of a man who handled an objection of that sort by
first smiling while shaking his head and making a gesture of negation,
and then said, "I could not lose much for _you_, but if I were reckless
or irresponsible I certainly would lose for _myself_ this opportunity
that you see I want very much. I have a great deal more at stake than
you. You may be sure I shall not risk losing my chance to succeed, by
causing you any losses." The tone used was the heart pitch of sincerity,
with the final assurance in the deeper tones of power. The tone and the
manner of the applicant for the position indicated such strength that
the prospect felt the weakness of his objection and did not persist in
it.

[Sidenote: Direct and Qualified Admissions]

When you make a _direct admission_ of the point the prospect raises
against you, _have a strong answer ready and give it to him at once_.
Otherwise you will not rid his mind entirely of the objection. In most
cases it is preferable to make only an _indirect_ or _qualified_
admission of the point raised. Then the objection, not having been
strengthened by your full confirmation, can be overcome without the use
of much force or power.

[Sidenote: Straight-out Agreement With the Objection]

If your prospective employer says to you, "We are not making any money.
I do not intend to put on a new man," diplomacy requires you to admit
unequivocally the truth of his assertion that his business is not
profitable. He may be exaggerating a temporary condition, but he would
take offense if you should question his blunt statement. Therefore agree
with him, and having prepared the opening with your tact, _introduce to
his mind agreeable ideas of satisfying his want for profits_. You might
say, "I realize business is poor. That is one of the reasons I come to
you just now. If you were making plenty of money, you would not
appreciate the value of my ideas for increasing your profits. The
results of the work I propose to do might not be sufficiently
conspicuous among other large earnings to attract your especial notice.
This period of depression gives me the very opportunity I need to prove
to you that I would be a money-maker, and not an expense to you. Surely
you would like to have me demonstrate that. All I ask is a chance to
convince you. Judge me by the results."

Analyze this unequivocal admission of the validity of the objection.
Such cases can often be handled most effectively by granting the point
raised, directly and without any reservations, and then answering the
objection in such a way that it is completely removed as an obstruction.
This is good salesmanship.

[Sidenote: Indirect Admission]

Suppose, however, you feel the objection of poor business is unsound.
Let us assume that this prospective employer you are interviewing has a
dull season every year. Therefore the condition of which he complains is
simply normal, and his objection is put forward as an excuse for
rejecting your application. _In such a case you do not want to make the
obstruction more formidable by fully admitting its validity. Yet tact
forbids you to deny its soundness._ It will be better salesmanship to
recognize indirectly the point raised than it would be to give your full
agreement with the objection, as in the above example of an unequivocal
admission. You might use such an answer as this:

[Sidenote: "That is True, But"]

"I notice, Mr. Blank, that you are making some extensive repairs on your
factory. Though this involves additional expense in your dullest season,
you are having the work done now because this is your slackest time.
True, your profit showing at present will not be so good as it would be
if you did not make the repairs. But the earnings of your business will
be improved during your busiest season and you will avoid the extra
expense of interrupting your production when it is at the maximum. This,
of course, is the time to have your repair work done. It would not be
good business to put it off.

"My proposal that you engage me now is directly along the line of your
own policies. What I would do in your office might be called repair
work. Your dull season is the time to have it done. I can introduce my
efficiency ideas now without disorganizing your operations. Then, when
you are busiest, the new system will be in perfect working order, for
your service."

[Sidenote: Adapt Solutions To Your Own Problems]

When you study illustrations of the application of basic principles, do
not give them merely superficial consideration. _Examples are of slight
value unless they suggest to you how you should use your imagination to
make illustrations of your own in actual practice of the principles._
Whatever your need for help in selling your services, and whatever
difficulties you may have to overcome or get around, you will find in
the pages of these books _cues_ to the methods of certain success.
Evidently, however, the scope of the series of chapters must be somewhat
limited. None of the answers to the major problems of salesmanship are
omitted from the contents, _but you must apply and fit the given
solutions to your individual necessities_.

[Sidenote: Two Bases of Objections]

Turn your thought now to the different bases of objections. It is of the
utmost importance that you know whether the obstruction is raised by the
_mind_ or by the _heart_ of your prospect. _Mental_ resistance can be
met and overcome by _ideas_, by points introduced by _your_ mind into
the _mind_ of the _other_ man. His _heart_ may not be involved. But if
there is "feeling" in his opposition, it is necessary that you displace
it with a different _feeling_ toward you and your proposal. The heart of
your prospect must be turned from antagonism to friendliness, if it is
involved in an objection. Therefore when a point is made against you,
_decide from the evidence whether the obstacle raised has an emotional
or a mental basis_. Treat it accordingly. Use your own _mind_
principally in dealing with the purely _mental_ objection of the
prospect. But depend on drawing out _his heart with yours if his
emotions are involved_ in his opposition.

[Sidenote: Mental Basis]

Suppose you have a plan about engaging in a certain business. You have
worked it out carefully and are confident that it is "a winner." But you
need financial backing. So you go to a man who has money, and apply to
him for a loan. He listens to your plan. When you finish explaining, he
refuses your request. He uses the mental tone of cold business when he
states his reason. "You offer me no security. I am not in the habit of
lending money without it." His words and manner indicate that he has
listened to your plan without the slightest feeling of sympathy for your
purpose. His _emotions_ have not been stirred. He is turning you down
simply because his _mind_ is opposed to the form of investment you
propose for his money. It would be futile for you to make an _emotional_
appeal to this man, in the hope of getting rid of his _mental_
objection. He would be disagreeably impressed were you to attempt to
stir his heart. You cannot offer him the security he has in mind, but
you need not be balked for that reason. It is possible for you to make
an appeal to his mind only, and to suggest to him ideas of security that
he has not considered.

"Mr. J.P. Morgan," you might remind him, "when asked the basis upon
which he loaned money, replied, 'Character, principally.' I offer you
the security that Mr. Morgan considered most important. You know my
reputation is good. You perceive that my plan is sound, and that I have
thought it out thoroughly. You do not expect me to lose money. I have
proposed to protect you as fully as possible by agreeing in advance that
I will take no step until after your approval has been given. Therefore,
in addition to my character, I am offering you the security of your own
mature, sound judgment on all operations.

[Sidenote: A New Idea Of Security]

"Don't you believe that my squareness, guided by your advice, would
secure you? I have applied for a loan of only ten thousand dollars. You
will absolutely control the expenditure of the money. You know,
therefore, that at the worst I could not have a large loss. I have
offered you life insurance to protect you against the possibility of my
death within the next five years. It is altogether improbable that I
should have a loss of as much as a thousand dollars in the new business.
Certainly you have sufficient confidence in my ability and integrity to
believe that I could and would repay you a thousand dollars with
interest before the expiration of five years. I expect, and you expect,
that my venture will prove successful. I have planned a sound business
enterprise, free from the dangers of speculation. With the cooperation
of your judgment, your loan would be a secure investment. I believe you
are now convinced of that."

[Sidenote: Reaching Heart Through Mind]

Notice that the objection is dealt with powerfully; yet there is no
appeal that is aimed away from the prospect's _mind_. For this very
reason his sympathy with the proposal is likely to be stimulated. _Such
salesmanship often has the effect of enlisting the heart of the other
man after removing the objection of his mind._

[Sidenote: Objection on Emotional Basis]

Let us assume now that the prospect refuses to make the loan to you
because he has been imposed upon before by some one he has backed. He
may really want to lend you the money, but his heart has been so
embittered by his previous experience that he turns a deaf ear to your
proposition. His opposition is based chiefly on feeling. His heart, not
his mind, is at the bottom of his refusal of your request for a loan. He
would not be reached by the appeal that would be effective with the man
in the first example. This second prospect should be addressed something
like this:

"The experiences you have had hurt you, principally because they have
made you lose faith in men. This, not the money involved, was your
greatest loss. So long as you have only those experiences to think
about, you will be unable to get back your former belief in human
nature. You would like to recover it. You would be happy to feel that
the men who abused your confidence were exceptions, and not the rule.

[Sidenote: Selling a New Feeling]

"If you will lend me ten thousand dollars, and I make good my promises
to you, your new experience with me will go a long way toward restoring
your lost faith in men. It is natural that you should feel embittered,
but the taste in your mouth is unpleasant. Back me up. I will help you
get rid of your bitterness, and will replace it with a glow of
satisfaction. You cannot doubt that I will make good. You should not let
your old prejudice stand in the way of the gratified feeling you will
have when I prove to you that all men are not unworthy of trust. After I
justify your confidence you will be happier for the rest of your life."

In the illustration the objection is dealt with _emotionally; because
its basis is feeling_. No _mental_ appeal is made. The salesmanship in
this example is the direct converse of that in the previous
illustration.

[Sidenote: The Best Rule]

Usually, however, it is best to counteract objections by making appeals
to _both the heart and the mind_ of the objector. In most cases it is
safe to assume that his mental opposition involves his feelings to some
degree, and it rarely happens that an objection is so purely emotional
that the mind of the prospect does not take part in it at all. So the
rule of masterly salesmanship is to use neither the appeal to mentality
nor the appeal to feeling _exclusively_, but rather to _stress one or
the other, while using both_. If the objection appears to be based
_principally_ on opposition of _mind_, it is more important to reach
into the prospect's _mind_ with the answer than it is to draw out his
_heart_; and vice versa.

[Sidenote: Emotional and Mental Tones]

If the thought behind the objection arises principally from _feeling_,
it will nearly always be expressed in an _emotive tone_. By this pitch
of the prospect's voice you can determine whether he is speaking chiefly
from his heart or from his mind. Conversely, of course, the _mental_
objection will be pitched in the high "head" tone. One of the most
difficult features of dealing with opposition from the other man is
uncertainty as to _how much he means_ of what he says and does. It would
be a mistake to take his resistance too seriously or too lightly.
Therefore it will aid your salesmanship a great deal if you are able to
discriminate between the mental and the emotional tones in which
opposition is expressed. You can reply accordingly.

[Sidenote: The Power Pitch]

It is almost as important that you recognize _the pitch of power_ when
it reenforces the words of objection, and that on the other hand you
note when the power tone is _lacking_. In the first case you will need
to reply with considerable force, whether you appeal to the mind or the
heart of the prospect. But when his objection is stated in a powerless
tone, even though it may be accompanied by curtness or bluster, you need
not waste much force on your answering appeal to his mentality or his
emotions.

[Sidenote: Keep Ears Alert]

The mental tone, as we recall from previous study, is pitched higher
than either the tone of feeling or the tone of power. The medium, heart
tone is vibrant. It rings with sincerity. The power tone is deep, and
most sonorous of the three. _Keep your ears alert for these indications_
your prospect will give you unconsciously when he opposes your purpose.
The discriminative reading of the tones of objections will greatly
reduce the danger of "getting your wires crossed" when you reply.

[Sidenote: Suggest Strength Without Antagonism]

If you have to deal with opposition expressed in the tone of power or
with gestures of force, you will be safe in concluding that considerable
_feeling_ is behind the objection. Therefore it will be necessary for
you to put _both feeling and power_ into your answer. You should be
careful, however, when you meet such resistance, not to make the
impression that you are engaged in a contest of power with your
prospect. _Throughout the selling process avoid any suggestion that you
are fighting back._ Use the tone of force, not to indicate that your
strength of purpose is greater than the strength of the resistance, but
just to _emphasize the basic soundness_ of your proposition. Thus you
can suggest that you are sure of your ground, while you do not dispute
the force and sincerity of the other man in making his objection.

Suppose, for example, you apply for a situation in a wealthy firm, and
one of the partners turns you down most emphatically by saying that they
can't afford to engage any new men at present. You realize the firm may
be losing money temporarily, but you believe that your services in the
capacity you have outlined will be valuable to the partners. You can
come back firmly and not retreat an inch from your position. You need
not _antagonize_ by manifesting your determination to have the merits of
your proposal given due consideration. You know your prospect feels
pretty strongly on the matter of increasing his payroll while business
is unprofitable, but you should make him recognize that you believe so
thoroughly in your earning capacity that you feel you would justify him
in disregarding the temporary depression, while he considers your
service worth.

[Sidenote: Units of Tone]

As we have noted previously, it is important to know, at the time an
objection is put in your way, _whether or not it is really meant_. When
deciding in your mind on the right answer to this problem, you will be
helped very much if you size up not only the tone pitch of the
objection, but also the _units_ of tone employed by the prospect in his
expression of opposition. If he refuses your application, but uses just
_one_ tone, you may be sure his negative is not strong. If you do not
strengthen it to stubbornness by antagonizing him, but use tact to get
rid of his resistance, you will not find it difficult to melt away the
obstruction.

However, should the "No" be spoken in two or more tones, with increased
stress at the end, your prospect certainly means his rejection to be
final. His mind is fully made up for the time being. It would be poor
salesmanship to butt your head against his fixed idea, just as it would
be foolish to tackle a strong opponent when he stands most formidably
braced to resist attack. But the two or three toned negative does not
mean that the idea behind it is fixed in the prospect's mind _forever_.
Any one is prone to change his mind, _unless he is kept so busy
supporting a position taken that he has no chance to alter his opinion_.

[Sidenote: Preventing Stubborness]

Therefore leave alone at first the rock you encounter. Get behind the
boulder by taking a roundabout path. Then quietly dig the support from
under the negative idea. If you make no fuss while you are undermining
the obstacle, it will be likely to topple over and roll from your path
without your prospect's noticing that it has disappeared. If his
interest is diverted from it, there is no reason why he should turn his
mind back to a stubborn insistence on his objection. Should he be
conscious that the rock of his earlier opposition has rolled away, he
will probably think it lost its balance. He will not realize that you
subtly undermined it and got rid of it by your skillful salesmanship.

A salesman of an encyclopedia met a prospect who refused to give
favorable attention to him and his proposition.

"No sir-e-e!" declared this objector, shaking his head emphatically. "No
more book agents can work me. The last slick one that tried to swindle
me is in ja-a-il now, and I put him the-ere!"

He gloated in two or three tones.

[Sidenote: Turning Back A Turn-down]

"Good for you!" praised the undaunted salesman, who had come prepared
for adamantine obstacles in his path. "If more book buyers would see
that such rascals get what's coming to them, the rest of us salesmen,
who represent square publishers squarely, would not have to prove so
often that we are not crooks like some fellows who have happened to
precede us in a territory. Please tell me the name of the man who
swindled you. He might hit my publishers for a job after he gets out of
jail, and I want to warn the boss against him. Sometimes those slick
rascals pull the wool over our eyes, too. We are always on the lookout
to avoid getting tangled up with them."

The salesman pulled out his note book and pencil. When the name was
given, he wrote it down painstakingly. He asked the prospect to spell it
for him; so that he would be sure to get it right. Then he thanked the
man who had said he would have nothing more to do with book agents.
Having "got around" the objector, the salesman proceeded with his
selling talk on the encyclopedia, as if he had not been turned down
flatly to begin with. In less than half an hour he had secured the
signature of the prospect to a contract for the finest edition.

[Sidenote: Be Ready for Opposition]

If this salesman had not been thoroughly prepared to meet the strongest
kind of mental and emotional opposition, he could not have come back so
quickly with the appropriate answer that undermined the obstacle. You
should be likewise ready for the "tough customers" one hears about.
_Practice in anticipation various ways of handling every imaginable
objection._ Then, when you face an actual difficulty, you will either
have on the tip of your tongue a solution of the problem, or your
forethought will assist you to devise on the spur of the moment the way
to work out the right answer. Again we observe the importance of full
preparation, in assuring successful salesmanship.

[Sidenote: Two Essentials Of Resourcefulness]

No quality is more important to the salesman than _resourcefulness_. Its
first requisite is _knowledge_, particularly advance knowledge of the
points that are likely to come up in the course of the selling process.
The second is a _mind trained to act quickly and effectively in using_
its knowledge. If you have these two essentials of resourcefulness, no
objection will ever catch you napping. It will do you no good to look
up the right answer _after you leave the prospect_. Nothing can be more
exasperatingly worthless than an idea of something you "might have said"
but could not think of until _too late_. Have all your facts on tap. And
be practiced in making use of them in every imaginable way. Rare indeed
will be cases that you are not prepared to handle successfully.

[Sidenote: Practicing "Come-backs"]

I know a salesman who trained himself in resourcefulness by typing on
about fifty cards all the objections to his goods or proposition that he
could imagine. For ten or fifteen minutes every evening he played
solitaire with these cards. He would shuffle them, held face down, and
then deal off, face up, objection after objection. He never could tell
which was coming next. In a few weeks he had trained himself to give an
answer instantly to each objection, and to utilize it as a help instead
of a hindrance in his selling. Thereafter opposition and criticism from
prospects had no terrors for this salesman. He was able to get rid of
objections so swiftly, surely, and completely that they never had time
to grow formidable in the mind of the other man.

[Sidenote: Adaptive Originality]

Only a little less important than resourcefulness in meeting objections,
is _adaptive originality in answering them_. The "pat, new" reply is
always very effective. But do not unduly stress the value of the factor
of _originality_ alone. It must be coupled with _adaptation to the
particular viewpoint of the other man_. You must speak his language, if
you would be sure of making him understand you perfectly.

[Sidenote: Use Prospect's Language]

For example, suppose you apply to a watch manufacturer for a position in
his office. He seems inclined to question your dependability. You will
make a hit with him if you quote a detail from one of his own ads and
say, "I have a seventeen jewel movement," and then particularize that
number of good points about yourself. Such a reference preceding a
specification of your qualities would be adaptive originality. _It would
be an expression exactly fitted to the way this prospect thinks._ So it
would be more effective than an ordinary answer to the objection.
Adaptive originality in disposing of objections is a manifestation of
tact and diplomacy--the fine art of letting the other man down with a
shock absorber instead of jolting him to your way of thinking.

[Sidenote: Keep Train of Thought on Main Track]

When your prospect starts objecting, it is up to you to prevent him from
wandering far afield. At the objections stage, as at every other step in
the selling process, _you should dominate the other man_. Tactfully keep
him concentrated on the subject and on your application. If he starts to
grumble that some man he has engaged previously was "no good," you can
smile and reply, "You would not give _me credit_ for _anybody else's_
fine work, and of course you do not _blame me_ for what _that_ fellow
did."

You know what points are relevant to the subject you have come to
discuss, and what are not. _Discriminate, and make the prospect follow
you._ Restrict your treatment of his objections to points, means, and
methods that will keep his ideas from switching onto side-tracks of
thought. _When he wanders away from the subject, do not ramble with
him._ Promptly and diplomatically run his mind back on the main line of
your purpose. _You are operating a through train to success. You must
not be diverted into picking either daisies or thistles by the right of
way while your salesmanship engine stands idle._

[Sidenote: Patience and Calmness]

Tact and diplomacy include the qualities of _patience_ and _calmness_.
You cannot deal successfully with opposition if you are impatient or
flustered. Patience understands the other man and avoids giving him
offense; because it comprehends his way of thinking and is considerate
of his right to his opinions. _Calmness denotes a consciousness of
strength. Hence it inspires admiration._ Keep your patience open-eyed.
See ahead. Do not chafe restlessly because the present moment is not
propitious. A better chance for you is coming. Because of your vision
have faith in your power to _make_ it come. Whatever may happen, be
self-possessed when you meet it. You can give no more impressive proof
of your bigness. Your calmness will win the confidence of the other man.
It will help in making the impression of courageous truth. Only an
honest purpose can meet attack with quiet fearlessness.

[Sidenote: Win Admiration by Keeping Upper Hand]

_The chief danger to the salesman at the objections stage is that he may
lose control of the selling process._ Be on your guard to prevent the
other man from dominating you by his opposition. You have the advantage
at the start. He cannot be so well prepared to make objections as you
should be to dispose of them effectively. _Keep the upper hand._ If you
have not antagonized his feelings, your prospect will admire you when he
sees that he cannot dominate you and realizes that you will not let him
have his own way. You will build up in him a favorable opinion of your
manhood, intelligence, and power. _He cannot help appreciating your art
in handling him._

[Sidenote: Make Desire Grow]

Dispose of each objection in such a way that you will get yourself
wanted more and more as you remove or get around the obstacles
encountered. _The prospect's desire for your services should grow in
proportion as you overcome his opposition._ It is possible to use
objections, or rather their answers, to strengthen your salesmanship so
greatly that it will be easy to gain your object--the job or the
promotion you seek.

[Sidenote: Hard Climb Leads to Supreme Heights]

Therefore do not quail from the obstacles you meet. Recognize in each an
opportunity to succeed in demonstrating your capability; a chance to
increase the respect, confidence, and liking of your prospective
employer. _Remember, if there were no difficult, steep mountains to
scale, the supreme heights of success could not be gained._ So, with
shining face, climb on and up undaunted!




CHAPTER XI

_The Goal of Success_


[Sidenote: "Nearly Succeeded" Means "Failed"]

After an applicant for a position seems to have the coveted opportunity
almost in his grasp, he is sometimes unable to _clinch_ the sale of his
services. He does not get the job. His failure is none the less
_complete_ because he _nearly_ succeeded. _No race was ever won by a man
who could not finish._ However successful you may have been in the
earlier stages of the selling process, if your services are finally
declined by the prospective employer you have interviewed, your sales
effort has ended in failure.

When one has made a fine presentation of his capability, and therefore
feels confident of selling his services, it shocks and disheartens him
to have his application rejected. "It takes the starch out of a man." He
is apt to feel limp in courage when he turns his back on the lost chance
to make good, and faces the necessity of starting the selling process
all over again with another prospect. It is harder to lose a race in the
shadow of the goal than to be disqualified before the start. The
prospect who seems on the point of saying, "Yes," but finally shakes
his head is the heart-breaker to the salesman.

[Sidenote: Making the Touch Down]

Of course, as you have been reminded, even the best salesman cannot get
_all_ the orders he tries to secure. _But he seldom fails to "close" a
real prospect whom he has conducted successfully through the preliminary
steps of a sale._ Each advance he makes increases his confidence that he
will get the order. The master salesman does not falter and fall down
just before the finish. He is at the top of his strength as he nears the
goal. All his training and practice have had but one ultimate object--a
successfully _completed_ sale. He knows that _nothing else counts_. He
does not lose the ball on the one-yard line. He pushes it over for a
touchdown. He cannot be held back when he gets that close to the goal
posts. You must be like him if you would make the "almost sure" victory
a _certainty._

[Sidenote: Don't Fear To Take Success]

Perhaps the commonest cause of the failures that occur at the closing
stage is the salesman's _fear of bringing the selling process to a
head_. He is in doubt whether the prospect will say "Yes" or "No." His
lack of courageous confidence makes him falter when he should bravely
put his fortune to the test of decision. He does not "strike while the
iron is hot," but hesitates until the prospect's desire cools. Many an
applicant for a position has talked an employer into the idea of
engaging his services, and then has gone right on talking until he
changed the other man's mind. He is the worst of all failures. Though he
has won the prize, he lets it slip through his fingers because he lacks
the nerve to tighten his hold.

[Sidenote: Keep Control At the Close]

Doubt and timidity at the closing stage, after the earlier steps have
been taken successfully, are paradoxes. Surely each _preliminary_
advance the salesman makes should add to his confidence that he can
_complete_ the sale. His proved ability to handle objections and to
overcome resistance should have developed all the courage he needs to
_finish_ the selling process. Closing requires less bravery and staunch
faith than one must have when making his approach. Now he knows his man,
and that this prospect's mind and heart can be favorably influenced by
salesmanship. Is it not a contradiction of good sense to weaken at the
finish instead of pressing the advantages already gained and crowning
the previous work with ultimate success? Yet there are salesmen who seem
so afraid of hearing a possible "No" that they dare not prompt an almost
certain "Yes."

When you have presented to your prospective employer a thoroughly good
case for yourself, _do not slow down or stop the selling process_.
Especially avoid letting _him_ take the reins. Thus far _you_ have
controlled the sale. _Keep final developments in your own hands._ Go
ahead. Smile. Be and appear entirely at ease. Look the other man in the
eye. Ask him, "When shall I start work?" _Suggest_ that you believe he
is favorable to your application. _Even speak his decision for him_, as
though it were a matter-of-course. If the previous trend of the
interview justifies you in assuming that he has almost made up his mind
to employ you, pronounce his probable thought as if he had announced it
as his final conclusion. _He will not be likely to reverse the decision
you have spoken for him._ His mental inclination will be to _follow your
lead_, and to accept as his own judgment what you have assumed to be
settled in his mind.

[Sidenote: Reversing a Negative Decision]

A stubborn merchant made a dozen objections to hiring a new clerk. The
young man cleared them all away, one after another, as soon as each was
raised. But the employer leaned back obstinately in his chair and
declared, "Just the same, I don't need any more clerks." This was but a
repetition of an objection already disposed of. The applicant concluded,
therefore, that he had his man cornered. The salesman smiled broadly at
the indication of his success. He stood up and took off his overcoat.

"Well," he said, "you certainly need one less than you did, now that I'm
ready to begin work. I understand why you have been putting me off. You
wanted to test my stick-to-it-ive-ness. I'm sure I have convinced you on
that point. You needn't worry about my staying on the job. Shall I
report to the superintendent, or will you start me yourself?"

The merchant drew a deep breath; then emptied his lungs with a burst of
astonishment mixed with relief. He could not help laughing.

"I meant to turn you down, but you say I've made up my mind to hire you.
I didn't know it myself, but you're right. I believe you are the sort of
clerk I always want."

[Sidenote: Expect the Prospect to Say "Yes"]

Remember, when you face your prospect at the closing stage, the _motive_
that brought you to him. You came with the intention of rendering him
_services from which he will profit_. You want your capability to be a
"good buy" for him. Your consciousness that your motive is _right_
should give you strengthened _faith_ in yourself and in the successful
outcome of your salesmanship. It should fill you with the courage
necessary to close the sale.

_Neither hesitate nor flinch. Confidently prompt the decision_ in your
favor. Believe that you _have_ won and you will not be intimidated by
fears of failure. Your prospect is unlikely to say "No" _if you really
expect to hear "Yes."_ Even if he speaks the negative, still _believe in
your own faith_. I know a man who, a minute after his application was
flatly rejected, won the position he wanted. Unrebuffed, he came back
with, "Eventually, why not now?" His evident conviction that he was
_needed_ gained the victory when his chance seemed lost.

[Sidenote: Don't Be Afraid to Pop The Question]

We all laugh at the young swain who courts a girl devotedly for months
and uses every art he knows to sell her the idea that he would make her
happy as his wife; but who turns pale, then red, and chokes whenever he
has a chance to pop the question. Often the girl must go half way with
prompting. When, thus encouraged, he finally stammers out his appeal for
her decision, she accepts him so quickly that he feels foolish. Women
are reputed to be better "closers" of such sales than men.

You smile at the comparison of courting with salesmanship. Yet the
selling process is as effective in making good impressions of the sort
of husband one might be as in impressing an employer with the idea that
one's services in business would prove desirable.

[Sidenote: Selling a Future Husband]

The young man bent on marriage needs to prospect for the right girl, to
secure an audience, to compel her attention, to regain it when diverted
to other admirers, and to develop her curiosity about him into interest.
He must size up her likes and dislikes; then adapt his salesmanship to
her tastes, tactfully subordinating his own preferences to hers. If she
is athletic, he will play tennis or go on tramps with her, however tired
he feels after his work. If she is sentimental, he will take her
canoeing and read poetry to her, though he may prefer detective yarns.
Throughout his courtship he will do his utmost to stimulate in her a
desire to have him as a life partner. Whatever objections she makes to
him, he will get rid of or overcome.

Suppose he has taken all these preliminary selling steps successfully,
and at last the time comes for pinning the girl down to a definite
answer to the all-important question, is there any likelihood that it
will be a refusal? Of course not! If his earlier salesmanship has been
masterly, the reasons why she will be inclined to accept him in the end
are of much greater weight and number than any causes for rejection that
she may have thought of previously.

[Sidenote: Never Weaken At the Finish]

He should not fear to close the sale. He has been "going strong" until
now; why should he weaken at the finish? The master salesman does not
quaver then, or doubt his success. He asks his prospect's decision
bravely and with confidence, or he assumes it as a matter of course and
kisses the girl. His heart beats faster than usual, but he is not afraid
of hearing "No."

_You should feel the same way_ after leading your prospective employer
successfully through the preliminary stages of the process of selling
your services to him. Do not falter now. _Promptly emphasize the idea
that the weight, amount, and quality of your merits are fully worth the
compensation previously discussed._ If you are _sure_ of that, if you
have valued your services from _his_ standpoint, and not just from
_your own_, you will feel no doubts about the acceptance of your
application. You will put your prospective employer through the process
of decision as courageously and confidently as you first entered his
presence.

[Sidenote: Getting the Decision Pronounced]

Sometimes a prospect will be convinced, but will not express what is in
his thoughts. Therefore _it is not enough to bring about a favorable
conclusion of mind_. Until this has been _pronounced or signified_, it
may easily be changed. Hence the _effective process of decision includes
both the mental action of judgment and its perceptible indication_.
Often a prospect who is _thinking_ "Yes" will not _say_ it until he is
prompted by the salesman.

[Sidenote: A Lawyer Sums Up the Case]

When a lawyer is trying a case, he endeavors to bring out the evidence
in favor of his client and to make the jury see every point clearly. He
shows also the fallacies and falsities of opposing testimony. But after
all the evidence has been given, the case is not turned over
_immediately_ to the jury for decision. If that were done the lawyer
would miss his best chance to influence the jurors to make up their
minds in his favor. They are not so familiar as he with the facts and
their significance. They would be apt to attach more importance to some
details of testimony, and less to others, than the circumstances
warrant. So, to assist the jurors in arriving at their verdict on the
evidence, the lawyer _sums up the case_. He lays before their minds his
views, and tries with all his power and art to convince them that his
word pictures are true reproductions of the facts in their relation and
proportion to all the circumstances surrounding the issue.

[Sidenote: Preponderance Of Evidence]

The _object_ of the lawyer when he addresses the jury is to make the
convincing impression that _the testimony in favor of his client far
outweighs the evidence on the other side_. He adjures the twelve men
before him to "weigh the evidence carefully." He declares the judge will
instruct them that in a lawsuit the verdict should be given to the party
who has a "preponderance" or greater weight of proof on his side. _At
this closing stage of the case the lawyer acts as a weighmaster._ He
wants to make the jurors feel that he has handled the scales _fairly_,
that he has taken into consideration the evidence _against_ him as well
as the facts _in his favor_; and that the preponderance of weight _is as
he has shown it_--so that they will accept _his_ view and gave him the
verdict. If he feels a sincere conviction that he is right in asking for
a decision on his side, he makes his closing address with the ring of
confidence. He looks the jurors in the eye and asks for the verdict in
his favor as a matter of _right_. He does not beg, but claims what the
weight of the evidence _entitles_ him to receive.

[Sidenote: Treat Your Prospects As Jurors]

The jury that will decide on your application when you apply for a
position will usually consist of but one man, or will be composed of a
committee or board of directors. Treat him or them _as a jury_.
Remember that your capabilities and your deficiencies are _on trial_.
Close your case with the same process the skillful lawyer uses when he sums
up the evidence and weighs it before the minds of the jurors. Do what
he does _as a weighmaster_. Avoid making any impression that you
are not weighing your _demerits_ fairly, though you _minimize their
importance_; also miss no chance to impress the _full weight_ of your
_qualifications_. The essence of good salesmanship at this stage of the
process is _skillful, but honest weighing_. That means using _both
sides_ of the scale, to convince the prospect that _the balance tips in
your favor_. He will not believe in the correctness of the "Yes" weight
unless you show the lesser weight of "No" _in contrast_. Then he cannot
help _seeing_ which is the heavier. _Decision on the respective weights
is only a process of perception._

[Sidenote: The Process Of Perception]

Let us suppose the employer has asserted the objections that you are not
sufficiently experienced to earn the salary you want, and that you don't
know enough yet to fill the job. It would be poor salesmanship to try to
convince him that you have had a good deal of experience. If you
exaggerate the importance of the things you have learned, he almost
surely will judge you to be an unfair weighman of yourself. So you
should tacitly admit your inexperience and treat the value of experience
lightly by reminding him that his business is unlike any other. Then
bear down hard on your eagerness to learn his ways and to work for him.
Thus you can make him perceive the two sides of the scale _as you view
them_.

[Sidenote: Tipping the Balances Your Way]

It is possible for you so to tip the balances in your favor, though
previously the mind's eye of your prospective employer may have been
seeing the greater weight on the unfavorable side. _It is legitimate
salesmanship to influence the decision of the other man in this way._
Your weighing is entirely honest; though you sharply reverse the
balances. Certainly you have the right to estimate the full worth of
your services, to depreciate the significance of points against you, and
to picture your desirability to the prospect as you see it, however that
view may differ from his previous conception. _If your picture of the
respective weights is attractive and convincing, the other man will
adopt it as his own and discard his former opinions about you._ Not only
will he accept the idea of your capabilities that you make him perceive;
he also will see that your deficiencies are much less important than he
had before considered them.

[Sidenote: Serving Hash For Dessert]

Beware of a mistake commonly made by applicants for positions who do not
understand the art of successfully closing the sale of one's services.
When they try to clinch the final decision, _they just repeat strongly
all their best points. They make no mention of their shortcomings._ For
dessert, in other words, they serve a hash of the best dishes of
previous courses. Is it any wonder that such a close takes away any
appetite the prospect may have had?

What would you think of a lawyer who had closed his case by simply
reading to the jury all the testimony that had been given on his side,
but who had made no reference to the opposing evidence? If you were a
juror, would you vote for a verdict in favor of the side so summed up?
Of course you would have heard the testimony of both parties to the
case, but _you would not feel that the lawyer who ignored the evidence
against his client had helped you to arrive at the conclusion that he
had the preponderance of proof on his side_. On the contrary, you
probably would be inclined to attach to the opposing evidence _greater
weight than the facts justified_, and would discount whatever the lawyer
claimed for his client. You, yourself, would act as weighmaster; and
would give the other party to the suit the benefit of any doubt in your
mind as to the contrasting weights of the testimony pro and con. _The
lawyer's failure to weigh all the evidence before your eyes would make
the impression on you that his view of the case was unfair to his
opponent._ If you felt at all doubtful, you would be likely to vote
against him in order to make sure that the other side received a square
deal.

[Sidenote: Weigh Both Pros and Cons Before Jury]

_The jury that is to decide favorably or unfavorably on your application
for a position will feel similarly inclined to reach a negative
conclusion if in closing you omit the process of weighing the pros and
cons, and emphasize only your strong points._ It is good salesmanship to
stress these at the finishing stage, but they should be pictured _in
contrast with lighter objections_ to your employment. In order to
_convince_ the prospect that the reasons for employing you outweigh the
reasons for turning you down, you must show his mind _both sides of the
scale_. If you fail to do this, his own imagination will do the weighing
and is certain to bear down with prejudice on every point against you.
It will also depreciate your view of the points in your favor. The other
man will make sure that _he_ is getting a square deal on the weights,
since he will believe _you_, too, are looking out only for Number One.

[Sidenote: To Make Certain Do The Weighing Yourself]

The _certain_ way to make your prospect perceive that the reasons for
accepting your proposal are of greater weight than any causes for
turning down your application is to _do the weighing yourself_. First
be sure the heavier weight _is_ on your side. When you fully believe
that, use all the arts of salesmanship to _make the other man see the
balances as you view them_. Then he can come to but one conclusion, that
the "preponderance" is on your side. _Just as soon as you make the
respective weights clear to his perception, he will be convinced._ He
cannot deny what his own mind's eye has been made to see.

[Sidenote: Get Prospect Committed]

Therefore bringing about a favorable _mental conclusion_ is not at all
difficult. The judgment that your services would be desirable is no
harder to gain than a decision that the weight of one side of a scale is
greater than the other. Any one who looks at the balances sees at once
which way they tip. The rub is not in getting the decision _made_ but in
getting it _pronounced_. The sale is not completed until the prospect
has _committed_ himself.

[Sidenote: Now is the Acceptance Time]

He feels that his mental processes are his own secret, which you cannot
read; so he will not guard against the conclusion of his _mind_ that you
would be a desirable employee. But for some reason he may be unwilling
to _express_ his thoughts to you just then, however thoroughly he is
convinced. He naturally prefers not to say "Yes" at once; so that he may
change his mind if he wishes. _You will endanger your chances of success
if you let him put off action on his decision._ To-morrow he is likely
to see the weights in a different light and to imagine less on your
side and more against you. _Now_ is the time to close the sale, when he
cannot help seeing things _your way_.

[Sidenote: Two Stages Of Closing]

You know that sometimes a juror will be convinced in his own mind,
yet cannot bring himself actually to vote according to his mental
conclusion. Perhaps he is a "wobbler" by nature. So a girl may decide
in her thoughts that a certain suitor would make a good husband, yet
she may hesitate to accept him just because that step is _final_.
These illustrations impress the importance of _discriminating between
the two stages of closing a sale_. The success of the salesman is
made certain only by his knowledge and skillful use, first of the art of
_vivid weighing_, and second of the art of _prompting the prospect
to action on his perception of the difference in the balances_. At the
closing stage we have encountered again our old acquaintance, "the
discriminative-restrictive process."

[Sidenote: Closing a Procrastinator]

A friend of mine who has an advertising agency wanted to secure the
business of a prominent manufacturer who was inclined to vacillation.
The prospect was always timid about acting and had the reputation of a
chronic procrastinator. My friend went ahead with the selling process in
ordinary course until he had proved the desirability of his service and
had shown that there was no really weighty reason why the contract
should not be given to him. He knew he was entitled to the decision
then, but he did not wait for the timid man to pronounce it. The
advertising agent knew the characteristics of the prospect and had
planned just how he would handle the finishing stage of the selling
process so as to get the order promptly.

[Sidenote: The Clincher Held in Reserve]

He held in reserve a closing method that a less skillful salesman
probably would have used earlier in the sale instead of reserving it
especially for the end. As soon as he had completed the weighing process
my friend took from his pocket a sheet of copy he had prepared for a
first advertisement along the line he had proposed. This had been worked
out carefully in advance, just as if the order had already been given
for the advertising service. My friend laid the sheet of copy before the
prospect, who was taken completely by surprise.

"I knew you would want this service as soon as I explained it to you,"
said the salesman. "Therefore I prepared this ad for the first
publication under the plan I have submitted, and which I am sure you
approve. There is no question that you will get much better results from
this copy than you have been receiving from the advertising you are
doing now. Naturally you want to begin benefiting from my service as
soon as possible. I'm all ready to deliver the goods. Just pencil your
O.K. on the corner of this copy. I'll do the rest."

[Sidenote: From Pencil To Pen]

With a smile of confidence the salesman held out a soft lead pencil.
_The moment the other man involuntarily obeyed the suggestion by
accepting the tendered pencil, he was started on the purely muscular
process of pronouncing his approval of the proposition likewise tendered
for his acceptance._ The informality of the off-hand request that he
"pencil his O.K." kept him from being scared off. He did not feel that
he had yet committed himself fully. Probably, with characteristic
timidity, he would have shied from signing a formal contract at that
moment. But he hesitated only slightly before he scribbled his initials
on the corner of the proposed ad. Then he handed the pencil back to the
salesman. The advertising agent picked up the approved copy, and at once
laid before the prospect a formal contract. Simultaneously he tendered
his fountain pen. _He had started the advertiser to writing his name,
and did not let the process stop._

"Now just O.K. this, too," he directed, "and the whole matter will be
settled to your complete satisfaction." Then, to prevent the
procrastinator from backing up, the salesman reached for the telephone
on the advertiser's desk. "With your permission, I'll call up
the----magazine and reserve choice space for this ad. It won't cost any
more and by getting in early we'll make the ad most effective."

[Sidenote: Decide For, Then Commit The Prospect]

My friend manifested complete confidence that the sale was _closed_. By
continuing the process of affirming the decision, he prevented the
prospect from backing up after making his pencilled O.K. Being thus
committed informally, the usually vacillating advertiser could not well
avoid using the pen put into his hand to sign the formal contract laid
before him. Without speaking to him, the salesman pointed to the dotted
line while he called the telephone number he wanted. _The prospect wrote
his name before he had time to stop the impulse that the advertising
agent had started._ The salesman had both _induced_ the mental
_decision_ in his favor, and _impelled_ its _pronouncement_. Really he
first _made up the prospect's mind for him_, and then _committed him to
the decision so made_ without the other man's volition.

[Sidenote: Both Processes In Right Sequence]

_Only by performing both processes in right sequence at the closing
stage can a sale be finished under the control of the salesman._ If the
_favorable conclusion_ as to the respective weights of negative and
affirmative is not first worked out before the mind's eye of the
prospect, anything done to _commit_ him to a decision will likely kill
the salesman's chances for success. The prospect whose mind is not yet
made up favorably, who does not clearly perceive that the preponderance
is on the "Yes" side of the scale, will almost surely say "No" if his
decision is _prematurely_ impelled.

[Sidenote: Discriminate And Restrict]

Hence it is important that the salesman discriminate between the two
closing stages, and that he restrict his selling methods at each stage
to the selling processes that are effective then. He must not get "the
cart before the horse," as the ignorant or unskillful closer is apt to
do. The poor closer does not understand the "discriminative-restrictive"
process. He lacks comprehension of the distinction that should be drawn
between the methods he _previously_ has used and what is now required to
_finish_ the sale. Let us be sure we know how to discriminate; so that
our work at the closing stage may be restricted to the processes that
are required to assure success in taking the particular step necessary.

[Sidenote: New Process Necessary To Close]

Throughout the series of selling steps that precede the closing stage,
the continuing purpose of the salesman is to make the prospect _see_ the
proposal in the true light, as the salesman himself views it. When the
selling process draws to a conclusion, the purpose of the salesman
changes. Now he wants the prospect to _decide_ and then _act upon_ what
has been shown to his mind's eye. If the salesman is to control the
close, he must do something _new_ to prompt decision and to actuate its
pronouncement.

The unskillful closer, instead of changing his previous sales tactics,
nearly always devotes his final efforts to making the prospect _see
more clearly_ the pictures already laid before his mind. He tries to
impress the prospect with a _re-hash of perception_, by emphasizing more
strongly than before the favorable points brought out clearly at earlier
stages. Of course it is important that at the close of the sale the
prospect have all these points in view, but it is not good salesmanship
to emphasize only the appeal to his _perceptive_ faculties. The guest
who has had a good dinner does not need to be told just afterward what
he has eaten, or reminded of the courses by having them brought in
again.

[Sidenote: Logic and Reason Won't Win]

As it is a mistake to serve at the close of a sale only a re-hash of
favorable points; so is it bad salesmanship to rely on a dessert of
"logic and reason" for the finishing touch. _Logic and reason provoke
antagonism. They are ineffective in bringing about either a favorable
conclusion of mind or action on such a decision._

If you have presented your capabilities fully to a prospective employer,
do not wind up by marshalling reasons why he should engage you. Avoid
the use of the "major premise, minor premise, argument, and logical
conclusion." _You cannot debate yourself into a job_, for the judge is
made antagonistic by your method, which puts him on the defensive. It is
human nature to resist a decision that logic tries to force. No man
arrives at his conclusions of mind by putting himself through a
reasoning process. A normal person does not need to reason about things
he knows. _He knows without reasoning._ He attempts to use logic only
when he is _uncertain_ what to think. If logic is used by the salesman
to convince the other man, it will be ineffective because it is an
unnatural means that the prospect almost never employs to convince
himself, and of which he is suspicious.

[Sidenote: Why Reasoning is Futile]

A major premise is but an assumption unless it is already known. If it
is known, why should it be proved? Since the correctness of the
conclusion depends entirely upon the validity of the premise, it is
evidently absurd to attempt to prove a truth from the basis of an
admitted assumption. The reasoning process that starts from a truth
already known, and arrives at a truth that must similarly have been
known, is utterly useless and a waste of time. Hence, _if you use the
reasoning process you will either fail to convince your prospect by
starting from a premise that he does not know, or you will irritate and
unfavorably impress him by seeming to reflect on his intelligence when
you prove to him something he already knows_. That is the wrong way to
bring your man to a "Yes" decision.

If the whole process of the sale could be summed up in just one logical
statement at closing, it might occasionally be practical for the
salesman to apply reasoning with good effect to help him secure the
decision. But the four steps, first and second premise, argument, and
conclusion, must be applied to every point that is made with reasoning.
Since the force of the conclusion is largely lost unless the major
premise is an absolute truth recognized by everybody, there is danger of
confusion, and no possibility of convincing the prospect by such
methods. Besides, a multitude of reasoning processes would be necessary
to cover all the points presented by the salesman and all the objections
raised by the prospect. Moreover, as we have seen, the whole procedure
of "a logical close" falls back upon itself unless everything the
salesman hopes to prove was known and admitted to be true before he
began to reason it out.

[Sidenote: Favorable Decision Defined]

_Favorable decision is the prospect's mental conclusion that it is
better to buy than not to buy; better to accept than to refuse._ The
process of securing decision is not complex; it is very simple. As has
been said, the salesman needs only to weigh before the mind's eye of the
prospect the favorable and unfavorable ideas of the proposal. _Any
weighing of two mental images always results in a judgment as to which
is preferable, or that one course of action would be better than the
other._ The mind is never so exactly balanced between contrasting ideas
that it does not tip at all either way.

[Sidenote: Weighing Ideas of A Steak]

The skill of the salesman weighmaster, used legitimately before the
mind's eye of the prospect to tip the scales of decision to the
favorable side, is illustrated in the story of a butcher who had been
asked by a woman customer to weigh a steak for her. He knew that the
weighing process _in her mind_ included more than the balancing of a
certain number of pounds and ounces on the scale. Against the reasons
for her evident inclination to take the selected steak, she would weigh
its cost, her personal ideas of its value, and other factors of the high
cost of living.

[Sidenote: Skillful Close of The Sale]

The butcher wished to bring her quickly to a favorable decision. He
wanted to make up the customer's mind for her in such a conclusive way
that she would be prevented from hesitating over the purchase. As a
weighman of pounds and ounces he only wanted to show the prospect that
he was honest. But in order to tip _the buying scales in her mind_ he
put into the balances, on the side opposite the cost of the steak, the
heavier weight of buying inducements. First he did the actual weighing
of the steak; then he added on the "Yes" side of the scales of decision
_ideas of the excellence and desirability of the meat_. He followed
immediately with a _suggestion of action that would commit the prospect
to buying_.

"Two pounds and five ounces, ma'am! Only a dollar and forty-three cents.
It's the very choicest part of the loin. You couldn't get a cut any
tenderer than that, or with less bone. Would you like to have a little
extra suet wrapped up with it?"

[Sidenote: Three Effects Produced]

The butcher thus combined in his close _three effects_. He brought about
_judgment of the prospect's intellect_, plus _increased desire_ for the
goods, plus the _impulse to carry the desire into action_.

First, by emphasizing, "Two pounds and five ounces!" in a _heavy_ tone,
and by depreciating the cost, "Only a dollar and forty-three cents,"
spoken _lightly_, he implied that the _value_ of the steak far
outweighed the _price_. Thus judgment of the prospect's intellect was
effected.

Second, to stimulate increased desire for the steak, the butcher
skillfully put on the favorable side of the scales of decision the
weight of _a suggestion of excellence_. He said temptingly, "It's the
very choicest part of the loin." At this point he also employed
_contrast_, to make the prospect's desire stronger still. "You couldn't
get a cut any tenderer than this, or with less bone."

Third, this skillful salesman prompted _the immediate committal of his
customer to a favorable decision_. He impelled her to this affirmative
action by suggesting, "Would you like to have a little extra suet
wrapped up with it?" He put a question that was _easy_ for the prospect
to answer with "Yes." Once she accepted the suet offered free, she
tacitly accepted the steak at the price stated. _It is skillful
salesmanship to make it easy for the buyer to say "Yes" or to imply the
favorable decision indirectly_. The butcher might have been answered
with "No" if he had asked, "Will you take this steak?" But he himself
nodded when he made the proposal that he wrap up the extra suet. The
woman was thus impelled to nod with him. The sale was closed,
artistically, in a few seconds.

When you plan how you will close a sale of true ideas of your best
capability, _work out in advance a similar weighing process, followed at
once by an indirect prompting of acceptance of the decision you
suggest_. Shape and re-shape your intended "close" in your mind until it
includes the three effects the butcher produced.

[Sidenote: Put a "Kick" Into the Close]

Put a "kick" into your stimulation of desire at the closing stage.
_Paint the points in your favor brightly and glowingly, though in true
colors. Conversely paint all objections to your employment
unattractively._

Suppose you are applying for a secretarial position. It would be good
"painting" to close something like this:

"I am going to learn to do things _your_ way. You would not want a man
in the position who was _experienced_; because he would do things some
one else's way, not yours. My inexperience really means I am adaptable
to your methods. I'd become exactly the sort of secretary _you_ want.
For instance, how do you prefer to have your mail brought to you--just
as it is opened, or with previous correspondence and notations
attached?"

Such an alternative question, _answered either way_, leads the prospect
through the stage of favorable decision and implies his committal to
acceptance of the services offered. It can be followed by the direct
proposal, "All, right, I'll bring your mail that way." _Such a close is
practically sure to succeed_.

[Sidenote: Using the Negative Positively]

A man who was not at all prepossessing applied to me one day for a job.
He conducted the sale of himself very skillfully, but I meant to put him
off. It was our dull season, and his looks didn't make a hit with me
anyway. However, he realized there was a good deal on the negative side
of the scale, and he weighed his disqualifications honestly; though he
depreciated the importance of his unprepossessing appearance. Then, in
contrast to the negative side, he showed me very weighty and attractive
reasons for employing him. He started by grinning good-humoredly.

"I'm not a prize beauty," he remarked. "But the other day I was reading
about Abraham Lincoln, and the book made me feel encouraged about
myself. I don't believe I'm any homelier or any more awkward than he
was. I don't expect to be a parlor salesman, anyhow, or to rely on my
good looks to get orders. I plan to succeed by work. I'm going to be on
the job early and late and every minute between. I'll believe in what
I'm selling--down to the very bottom of my heart. I'll make anybody see
I'm in dead earnest. I look honest, and I am. I'll be square with
customers and with you. I guess that out in the field a reputation for
always being willing to help, and for telling the truth straight, will
count more than anything else. I know I'm inexperienced, but that's a
fault I can cure mighty soon." He grinned again. "I'll start right away
to get the greenness off, if you'll tell me where to hang up my hat."

His good nature warmed me into smiling with him. I could not help
feeling inclined to try this man. I decided to give him his chance at
once. He started my impulse to accept his services, and I pronounced the
decision in his favor that he prompted. Of course he made good. That was
a foregone conclusion. He had mastered the selling process, and was an
especially fine closer. He succeeded in getting more than his quota of
orders the first year. Selling never seemed to be hard work for him.

[Sidenote: Two Ways To Prompt Pronouncement]

The pronouncement of the prospect's decision can be prompted, his
favorable action can be brought about, in _two ways_. First, as we have
seen, _the salesman can suggest, directly or indirectly, the action he
wants the other man to take_. Second, _the salesman himself can do
something_ that the prospect will be impelled to _imitate_.

[Sidenote: Impelling Imitation Of Action]

For example, when you apply for a position, and have completed the
process of weighing the points in your favor in contrast with the less
weighty reasons for not employing you, lean forward slightly in an
attitude of easy expectancy. _The prospect's mind will be inclined to
imitate your physical act_. He will lean toward acceptance of your
services. Your act will tend to bring you together. Your magnetism will
draw his.

Or you might extend your hand. He will have an impulse to reach out his
in turn. It is natural for a man to take a hand that is courteously
offered. The moment after you reach toward the prospect say, "Let's
shake hands on it." Once his fingers start moving toward yours in
imitation of your action, it will be easy for him to commit himself.

[Sidenote: Five Essentials Of Good Close]

Now let us review the essentials of good salesmanship in closing, which
we have been analyzing. We can summarize under five divisions the entire
process of completing a sale most effectively and with the practical
assurance of success.

First, _the salesman must have definite, certain knowledge that the mind
of the prospect has reached the closing stage_; that it is time to _end_
the "testimony" and to _begin_ weighing the evidence. If the salesman
has kept control of the selling process throughout all the preceding
stages, he will know when the selling point is reached, _for he will be
there himself_, with the prospect he has "safely conducted" thus far.

Second, at this "right time" it is necessary to _change former sales
tactics promptly_, and to _start contrasting_ the affirmative and
negative ideas that have previously been brought out.

Third, the salesman should weigh these contrasting ideas so _vividly_
that the mind's eye of the prospect will _see_ the scales and _perceive_
the greater weight on the "Yes" side, _as the salesman pictures it_.

Fourth, it is important that the salesman _color_ the affirmative
ideas very _alluringly_, and increase the contrast by painting
_unattractively_ everything on the negative side of the scale; so
that "No," besides appearing much _lighter_ than "Yes," will seem
_uninviting_.

Fifth, the selling process should be brought to a climax by the
salesman's _suggestion_ or _imitation_ of some _act_ designed to
_commit_ the prospect to _acceptance_ in an _easy_ way.

[Sidenote: Unbalancing The Process]

Nothing so _unbalances_ the process of securing a favorable decision and
its pronouncement as any indication of fear, doubt, or hesitancy in the
attitude of the salesman. Therefore, even though you may be uncertain as
to the outcome of your selling efforts, _do not show it_. Long before
you came to the decision point, you passed the worst dangers on the
road to the end of the sale. Surely your courage should be _strongest_
at the closing stage.

[Sidenote: Light Dissipates Fear and Doubt]

Fear usually arises from something _unknown_; it is due only to
_darkness_. Since you _know_ now just what closing involves, and _light_
has been shed on the problems of getting the prospect's "Yes," your
fears and doubts should be dissipated. _You should not hesitate to end
the sale you have controlled successfully throughout previous stages_.
Our analysis has revealed that closing is no more difficult than winning
attention to your proposition in the first place. As a result, your
present attitude toward closing is _positive_. Your courage and
self-confidence have been built up. You realize just _how_ success in
finishing a well-conducted sale can be made practically _sure_.

[Sidenote: Negatives Must be Avoided]

Certain _negative_ attitudes at the closing stage should be avoided.
Especially do not throw into the scales of decision any little pleas for
_personal favor_, with the hope that in so doing you will increase the
weight on the "Yes" side. Such tactics almost invariably tend to tip the
balance _un_favorably. A plea of this sort is equivalent to an admission
that the ideas you have presented _for_ buying do not _themselves_
outweigh the prospect's images _against_ buying. You suggest to him that
you are trying to push the balance down on your side by putting your
finger on it, by "weighing in your hand," as unfair butchers sometimes
do with a chicken they hold on the scales by the legs.

[Sidenote: "As a Personal Favor to Me"]

The prospect will instantly perceive your action. _His mind, acting on
the principle of the gyroscope, will resist by greater opposition any
push of the personal plea_. If you ask a decision as a personal favor,
your prospect will lose confidence in the true weight of the ideas on
your side that you have already registered in his mind. You are much
more likely to hurt than to help your chances for success by making a
personal plea. Even if it should prove effective, what you get that way
would be alms given to a beggar, and not the earned prize of good
salesmanship. _Never buy success at the cost of self-respect_. To be a
successful _beggar_ is nothing to feel proud of.

[Sidenote: "Treating" At Close]

Do not attempt to "_treat"_ your prospect by flattering him at the
closing stage. Such "treating" is a tacit admission that your goods of
sale, your best qualifications, have not sufficient merit to sell at
their intrinsic value. Or you practically confess that you are not good
enough salesman to win out with just your goods and your ability to sell
yourself for what you claim to be worth. _Flattery is a call for help_.
It is like the bad salesmanship of trying to buy an order with cigars or
a dinner. Never "treat" at the closing stage, for to do so is to admit
_weakness_ when you should be your _strongest_.

[Sidenote: "No" Seldom Is Final]

Of course you should not take a first or second "No" as a _final_
answer. Even if the prospect indicates that he is inclined to decide
against you, _continue confidently to heap images in favor of buying on
the "Yes" side of the scale until you have used all the honest weight
you have to put in the balance_. He will not respect you as a salesman
if you quit at his first "No." _It is up to you to tip the scales of
decision your way_. Remember that you should not bring the other man to
the judgment point _until after you have aroused and intensified his
desire to a very great degree_. If you have made him want you at all,
you will disappoint him if you then fail to put enough weight on the
"Yes" side of the scale to win his decision to employ you.

When you receive a "No," understand it to mean, "No, that is not yet
enough ideas for buying your services." Keep right on putting weight
into the "Yes" side of the balance until it tips your way. _Do not
consider any "No" final until you have run out of both contrasting
weight and attractive colors; so that you cannot change the scales_.

[Sidenote: Stick it Out Here and Now]

If it is possible for you to "stick," don't be put off when you come to
the closing stage. _All the weighing you do at the present time will be
valueless lost effort unless you complete the selling process here and
now_. When your prospect tries to put you off, he tacitly admits your
weights are right. Otherwise he would say "No" and be done with you.
You really have won his mental decision. A continuance of skillful
salesmanship will enable you to get him to act favorably without delay
or further evasion.

[Sidenote: Entertainment In Court Room Out of Place]

Some salesmen make the mistake of mixing _entertainment_ with the
closing process. Earlier in the sale you may be able to secure excellent
results by entertaining the prospect with clean jokes and good stories.
But the close is the stage at which he arrives at his mental conclusion
as to the "preponderance" of the evidence. _Jests and light conversation
are out of place when the judge is performing his functions in the
courtroom of the mind._ An amusing remark or a witty quip at this
juncture would suggest that the scales of decision in the salesman's own
mind were somewhat unbalanced. Your attitude when you are weighing "Yes"
and "No" before the prospect should be _pleasant_, but _quiet_ and
_serious, as is becoming to a convincing weighman_.

When you work to secure a favorable decision, you are weighing evidence
with the purpose of impelling the prospect to take your judgment or to
weigh the evidence just as you do. It is necessary all through the
process that he be made to feel you realize you are aiding in the
performance of a _judicial_ function. He must have complete confidence
in your intention and ability to handle the scales honestly and with
serious pains to determine what is the right judgment about your
proposition. Your levity at the closing stage would lessen the effect of
honest, serious, painstaking weighing of the images for buying in
contrast with the images against buying. So get the funny stories out of
your system before you come to the decision step of the sale, or else
keep them bottled up inside you and don't pull the cork until you are
safely at the celebration stage.

[Sidenote: Tones and Acts When Weighing]

Do not forget when closing to add _force_ to your words by _tones and
gestures that emphasize ideas of the contrast in weights_ between the
two sides of the scale. By your light tone you can indicate the
triviality of objections to your proposition. With the heavier tone of
power you can suggest the great weight of the favorable ideas. If you
use _broad gestures of your whole hand and full arm_, you can seem to
pile a large heap of points on your side of the scale. Conversely you
can indicate the smallness of objections by moving _your fingers only_,
as if you were picking up a tiny object. Demolish unfavorable points
with a strong gesture of negation, as by sweeping your arm horizontally.
Give life to the ideas on the favorable side of the scale by
accompanying your words with up and down gestures that signify
vitality.

[Sidenote: Do Not Show That Closing Is Hard Work]

Your physical condition or outward appearance will help or harm your
chances for success at the closing stage. You should not manifest the
least indication that you are under a strain of anxiety as to the
outcome, or that you lack the strength to control the completion of the
selling process. Why should you not have a feeling of ease when you
reach the close? _If your bearing suggests your self-confidence, it will
give the other man confidence in your capabilities._ When a salesman has
to "sweat blood" to finish a sale, he indicates that it is usually
mighty hard work for him to get what he wants. This impression suggests
to the other man that there must be something wrong with the proposition
or it wouldn't take so much effort of the salesman to put it across.
_Any element of doubt at the final stage will almost surely delay or
kill the salesman's chances to close successfully._

[Sidenote: Make Sure of A Good Batting Average]

Recall once more that the measure of success in selling is not 100% of
closed sales; every possible order secured and none lost. _Success is
made certain when failures are reduced to the minimum and successes are
increased to the maximum of practicability._ There can be no question
that if you use the _right processes_ in closing, your chances for
success will be so greatly increased that your batting average of actual
sales should take you far above the failure line. Your career as a
salesman involves _continual_ selling. You must make sale after sale.
However skillfully you employ the right process at the closing stage,
you may not accomplish your purpose the first time you try. _But if you
keep on selling your services in the right way, you will be as
absolutely certain to succeed as the master salesman of "goods" is sure
of closing his quota every year he works._




CHAPTER XII

_The Celebration Stage_


[Sidenote: What Are You Going to Do With Success?]

You know now the _certain_ way to get your chance to succeed in the
vocation of your choice. You are convinced that a _good salesman_ can
create and control his opportunities in any field, can bring himself to
good luck in the right market for his services. You are resolved to
master the art of selling, and so to insure your future against any
possibility of failure. You feel confident of success; because you are
willing to earn it by the diligent study and practice of salesmanship.
There is no doubt in your mind that when you become a skillful salesman
of your best capabilities, you can get a chance to succeed. _Now what
are you going to do with success after you gain it?_

Suppose you had sold yourself into the very opportunity you want,
suppose you had won the coveted job or promotion, _how would you
celebrate_? It has been said that a man shows his real self either in
the moment of his failure or in the moment of his success. Let us assume
that you have reached your present objective. You stand at the goal, a
winner. Does your victory _intoxicate_, or does it _sober_ you with the
realization that you have but opened the way to limitless fields of
bigger service ahead? Has success gone to your _hands_ and made them
tingle with eagerness to grasp more chances to succeed, or has it gone
to your _head_?

[Sidenote: The Stepping-Stone to More Sales]

_The celebration stage of the selling process should be the first
stepping-stone leading to another successful sale._ Often it proves to
be a stumbling block that marks the beginning of a downfall to failure.
Rare is the man who is not spoiled a little by achievement. _Success is
the severest test of salesmanship._

[Sidenote: Spoiled by Success]

I recall a chief clerk who worked more than a year for promotion to the
position of assistant manager. He earned the better job, and was
assigned to the desk toward which he had been looking longingly for
sixteen months. Then he "celebrated" by starting to take life easy. He
developed a manner of superiority. He acted as if the little foothill he
had climbed was a big mountain. He sunned himself on the top, basking in
complacency because he had risen above his former clerkship.

One day he was called into the manager's office. He came out chop-fallen
and took his personal belongings from the assistant's desk. Another man
was promoted to the place he had failed to fill. He went back to his
clerk's stool and is roosting there today.

[Sidenote: Egotism's Downfall]

I know a salesman who closed so many orders the first time he covered
his territory that he came back to headquarters with an inflated idea of
his importance. He strutted into the president's room and boasted of
what he had done. The delighted head of the business gave him a cigar
and invited him to tell the story. The salesman betrayed such egotism
that his employer was disgusted. The president was plain-spoken. He
warned the successful salesman against getting a "swelled head."

The egotist felt insulted. He resigned his position, arrogantly
declaring that he would not work for a house where results were so
little appreciated. He was cocksure of himself. However, when he offered
his services to a competing firm, his application was turned down. The
rebuff stunned him. He did not realize that his egotism disgusted the
second executive as much as the first. The salesman's spirit was broken.
He has never since been more than a fair peddler.

[Sidenote: Giant and Pigmy Successes]

Think of "successful" men you know. _Compare them as they are now with
the men they used to be before they succeeded._ As they rose did they
loom bigger and bigger in your respect, or grow smaller and smaller in
admirable qualities? There are so-called successful men whose characters
seem to be dwarfed by the mountain tops they attain. Other men grow to
be giants and overshadow any eminences they climb. The littleness of the
last Kaiser and Crown Prince of Germany was only emphasized by their
elevation above the common people. On the other hand the bigness of
Lincoln and Roosevelt was so tremendous that their personalities towered
above even the highest honor in the world.

[Sidenote: Breaking Training]

_When football players are fighting_ for the championship of the season,
they are governed by rigid rules of living. _They keep themselves fit_
by strict diet, by the avoidance of all dissipations, by hardening
exercise, and by recuperative rest. But after the "big game" is won,
they break training. They stuff themselves with rich food until their
bodies and minds are sluggish. Then they celebrate their victory by some
sort of jollification that lasts half the night. _The next day a
second-rate team could beat the champions._

A man who has kept himself lean, hard-muscled, and healthy all the way
to the achievement of his ambition is apt to take on flabby flesh and
gout when he succeeds. The celebration of Thanksgiving is an ordeal from
which one does not recover for weeks. Turkey and mince pie immoderately
eaten are poisons. Our annual Feast Day is more deadly than the Fourth
of July.

[Sidenote: Rusting in Self-Satisfaction]

A great many people "break training" mentally as well as physically at
the celebration stage. _Their minds and muscles turn flabby after they
succeed. They are so proud of their accomplishments that they rust in
self-satisfaction._ Then, usually too late for remedy, they find
themselves afflicted by the rheumatic twinges of deep-seated discontent
with what they have done.

We are all familiar with the tragedies of the farmer who sells his acres
and moves into town "so that he can take life easy," and of the business
man who retires from his "daily grind" to enjoy the fortune of success.
So long as they remained at work they were vigorous in mind and body.
But nearly always men who give up their accustomed activities begin to
develop mental and physical ailments soon afterward. They age and break
down in a few years. _In order to stay well, one must keep going. It is
far less wearying to walk than to stand still. Normal fatigue of mind
and body are not so exhaustive of mental and physical energy as torpid
idleness._

[Sidenote: Advance or You Will Slip Back]

Probably you do not think of quitting work for a long time. You look at
your future retirement as a remote possibility. Very likely you feel it
is premature to consider "your declining years" now, when you are in the
full vigor of ambition. _But if you stop advancing, in order to
celebrate your progress thus far, you have quit working your way ahead.
If you stay contented with what you have done, even for a little while,
you have temporarily retired from the game of success and are in danger
of rusting into a partial failure. If you do not continue moving ever
upward, you will slip into a decline without realizing that you are
going back and down._

[Sidenote: The Zest for Work]

The successful salesman thrives on his work, and pines for it when he
"lays off." He welcomes the end of his annual vacation with more zest
than its beginning. He celebrates each order gained by planning at once
how he will get another. He is like Alexander, who sighed only when
there were no more worlds to conquer. He is as perennially tireless as
Edison, the wizard who is never weary. _To the true salesman there is no
enjoyment equal to selling._ He often declares that he "would rather
sell than eat."

[Sidenote: Pattern after Master Salesmen]

You know the importance of being a _good salesman_. You have studied the
methods he uses throughout the selling process. Now at the celebration
stage pattern after the _masters_ of the profession. Do not get into the
bad habits of the _mediocre fellows who slacken their efforts after each
success_, and who need the spur of necessity to make them do their
utmost.

When a good salesman has booked an order, and has taken pains to make a
fine last impression on his customer, he does not go to his hotel and
play Kelly pool, or otherwise spend the rest of the day just loafing
around. Only the poor salesman celebrates in such a way; _thereby
showing that his successes are so rare he is not used to them_.

[Sidenote: Starting After The Next Chance]

The good salesman looks at his watch the moment he is out of his
customer's sight. He makes a swift calculation of the time it will take
him to reach and sell the next man on his list. If he has no other
prospect nearby, he starts looking for one that minute. His keen eyes
catch every name on the business signs he passes. _His imaginative mind
is planning how he can use the order he just has closed, to influence
some other buyer to make a contract._ If there are no additional
customers for his line in the town, he sprints to the station to catch
the first train up the road. _He does not waste a minute getting to his
next selling opportunity_.

[Sidenote: Pepper and Poppies]

Some pretty good salesmen never win the grand quota prize in a sales
contest _because they take so much time out for celebrating the big
orders they close_. If they land a fine contract in the morning, they
don't try to do much selling that afternoon. The prize-winning salesman,
too, is delighted to secure a big order. But he doesn't say to himself,
"That will put me 'way ahead on the sales record for today." Instead he
grins and thinks, "This is _my day_. I'm going to fatten up my batting
average while I'm going good." _Success is pepper to him, not the poppy
drug that slackens energy._

[Sidenote: Continual Accumulation]

You have worked hard to get the chance you now have. You have paid for
it with your best efforts. _It represents an accumulation of your
salesmanship._ The good job or the promotion you have gained is like a
savings account. Let us compare it with the first hundred dollars a
thrifty man puts into the bank for a rainy day. Would he celebrate the
accumulation of that moderate amount of money, the first evidence of his
ability to save, by quitting the practice of spending less than his
earnings? Would he then say to himself, "I am now successful as a
saver"? Would he stop putting a few dollars in the bank every Saturday,
just because he already had a hundred?

[Sidenote: The Building Process is Gradual]

No. He would _continue_ to save until he had enough "units of thrift,"
enough hundreds of dollars, to take a _longer_ step toward success. He
would invest his accumulated savings in a lot, or house. Perhaps he
would start a business of his own. After his investment he still would
continue to save. So he would _build_ his success.

_All building is a gradual, continual process_. The bricks are laid _one
after another_. It takes many to complete the structure. _Likewise a
series of minor successes must be built into a major accomplishment._ It
does not rise all at once.

If you are tempted to pause where you are in order to celebrate, ask
yourself, "_Is this really the celebration stage_?" Probably you will
find you have only laid the corner-stone, or made an excavation for the
foundation of your success. You would not think of having a housewarming
because you had finished the basement walls. Nor would you consider it
an occasion for especial jollification the day you erected the
scantlings around the first floor joists. Not until the walls are up and
the roof is on, not until the house is plastered and papered and
painted, not until it is finished would you think of standing on the
sidewalk to look it over pride fully and exult, "I did that. It's a good
job."

[Sidenote: Repeated Building]

But if you complete _one_ house, you will not only feel the satisfaction
of accomplishment, you will also want to build _another_ that would be a
great improvement on the one just finished. You will be _healthily
dissatisfied with what you have already done_. Very likely you will sell
the first house at a profit, and straightway start to put up a better
building on another lot. In time you will sell that, too. You will
continue the procedure until you become a master builder of houses, and
continually achieve more and more success.

We have assumed that you now are successfully in possession of an
opportunity. You have sold yourself into the very job you want, or into
a better position that you believe will afford you fine chances to
advance. _Do not slump or relax in salesmanship. Do not think back, or
spend much time contemplating your present success. Look ahead to your
next sale_ of true ideas of your best capabilities. _The successful
salesman is a quick repeater._ He counts his accomplishments in
_totals_, not by units. He has successful "_years_," each made up of
about three hundred successful working days. He plans in _campaigns_; so
he is not inclined to over-celebrate the winning of a battle.

[Sidenote: Make Each Goal a New Starting Point]

Samuel McRoberts, vice-president of the great National City Bank of New
York, started working for Armour & Company at a small salary in the
early nineties. He was a young man who was always _healthily ambitious
to keep moving ahead_. He "ate up" the minor work assigned to him, and
celebrated the completion of each task by asking at once, "What next?"

In a few years he had risen by successive promotions to the position of
treasurer of Armour & Company. But that wasn't a _goal_ to McRoberts. It
seemed to him only a _good starting point_ to bigger successes in the
financial world. He became a director of several banks, an officer in
important railroad and other corporations. _He continually enlarged his
service value_ until he was called to New York's greatest bank, and took
his place among the masters of American finance.

He did not loll back in his chair then and start taking it easy. _He
packed more and more accomplishments into every day._ When the war
began, he went to Washington to take executive charge of the job of
procuring ordnance for the fighters. He held a post analogous to that of
Lloyd-George when he was Minister of Munitions for Great Britain.
McRoberts made good as a brigadier general, and after the war resumed
his success in business. Whatever he did, wherever he worked, Samuel
McRoberts _smiled welcomes to more opportunities for service, and
reached out his ready hands to grasp them_.

[Sidenote: Celebrate by Tackling the Job Ahead]

_That is the way to celebrate--by tackling the job ahead. There is no
end to the selling process. One sale should lead directly to another_.
The good salesman celebrates only the opportunity to get the next order
in prospect. He may chuckle to himself over the sale just closed, but he
does his rejoicing on his way to a new selling chance.

[Sidenote: Dynamic Confidence Static Complacency]

You haven't "arrived" yet. You are just well started. _Keep moving, and
you will never "see your finish."_ Your successes thus far should have
developed a considerable degree of _self-confidence._ Be careful not to
let that _dynamic_ quality change into the _static_ element of
_self-complacency._ Never be satisfied with what you have done. _Always
have the zest of appetite for more to do_. Add every day to your success
chances.

Do not lose either your self-respect, or the respect of the men with
whom you are associated, by _ceasing to grow. Do more than you are paid
for, and pretty soon your job will be unable to hold all your earning
capacity_. You will be promoted to bigger opportunities. _If you shrink
in the place you occupy now, your future chances will shrivel to fit
your smaller size_. The way to get a better-paying job, to win a bigger,
more profitable field for your salesmanship, is to _crowd your present
position with your capabilities_. Burst out of your limited territory
and spread over more ground.

[Sidenote: Serving Friends]

Render your utmost possible service to other people. Celebrate each
opportunity to form a friendship. _Make some one like you for what you
are willing to do for him_. Hold your friends, once they are made. As
Emerson advised, "Be concerned for other people and their welfare. Put
their interests sometimes ahead of your own. You can love your fellow
men so much that you will never trample on their rights; and while you
yourself keep climbing, raise as many of them as you can along with you.
That is the way to make friends."

Celebrate the good fortune of your business associates, rather than your
own. When a big contract is closed by your employer, be as tickled over
it as he feels. Genuinely rejoice in his success. _Have no envy of the
man above you, then when you rise to a higher level the men below you
will not be likely to feel jealous_.

[Sidenote: Ford and Schwab]

Why has Henry Ford won so unique a place in the personal regard of the
everyday man? Ford is one of the richest men in the world; yet he is not
hated. What is the reason for his general popularity? He is not an
idler. He has celebrated each success by taking on another job. And he
always has given a hand-up to the other fellow instead of kicking him
down so that he might climb higher because of his failure. He has
understood and sympathized with the hopes and viewpoint of people who
work. As a result countless men and women, most of whom never have seen
him, think of Henry Ford as their friend. His finest success is not
signified by the millions of money he has accumulated, but by the
millions of friendships he enjoys.

Charles M. Schwab, too, is popular. He is a man whom people like.
Because he was so successful in winning friends, rather than for his
generally recognized business ability, he was made the head of the
Government's ship-building program in the war. Other men were eager to
work with and for Charles M. Schwab. The co-operation of thousands of
friendships, new and old, more than anything else enabled him to succeed
in his big, patriotic job. How much more he has to celebrate in his
wealth of good will than in his great fortune of dollars! Schwab has
been called the most successful salesman in the world, which is another
way of saying that he has no equal in ability to make other people both
trust and like him.

[Sidenote: The Truest Wealth]

You may never accumulate millions of dollars. _That in itself is not
success. Many wealthy men are failures in life. But with the aid of
masterly salesmanship you can so enrich yourself with friendships and
the opportunities they bring that making all the money you want will be
merely incidental to your real success_. Let every accomplishment be a
stimulus to better selling of your service. Celebrate successful sales
of your ideas by undertaking to sell more true ideas about your best
capabilities in a larger field of usefulness.

[Sidenote: The Revolving Door]

The good salesman goes from opportunity to opportunity through a
revolving door. As it closes on one selling chance, it opens on another.
He steps directly from a finished sale into the prospect of getting an
order elsewhere. So he never stops selling.

You have sold yourself some knowledge of salesmanship. Do not rest
contented with what you have already learned. These chapters should but
whet your appetite for more opportunities to master the principles and
methods of selling true ideas of your best capabilities. So as you close
this book, reach out your hand to open another. You cannot over-study
the subject of salesmanship. _Never be satisfied with what you know_.
Continue to search for more golden knowledge, and make it yours by
practicing everything you learn.

[Sidenote: Failure Impossible to The Good Salesman]

It is impossible to fail in life if you become a master salesman of the
best that is in you. You will be sure to succeed. So here is Good Luck
to you! Keep on making it for yourself, and you never will run out.
CERTAIN SUCCESS WILL BE YOURS.

       *       *       *       *       *

    It is you that you offer for sale,
      With your traits ranged like goods on a shelf,
    And the first thing to do, without fail,
      Is to make a success of yourself.

EDGAR A. GUEST.