THE MOST IMPORTANT SUBJECTS OF STUDY
“Salesmanship is knowing yourself, your company, your prospect
and your product, and applying your knowledge.”
The qualities which make a great business man also enter into
the making of a great salesman.
Salesmanship is fast becoming a profession, and only the
salesman who is superbly equipped can hope to win out in any
large way.
Different authorities agree pretty much on the subjects which must be
studied or understood in the making of good salesmen, although they
classify in somewhat different ways the headings under which salesmanship
should be studied.
Mr. Arthur F. Sheldon, for instance, in his able Course, has divided the
knowledge pertaining to scientific salesmanship under four heads: 1,
The Salesman; 2, The Goods; 3, The Customer; 4, The Sale. The “Drygoods
Economist” has some excellent courses on salesmanship, in which they
use almost this identical classification, treating the subject under
the four general divisions: 1, The Salesman; 2, The Goods; 3, The
Customer; 4, Service. Mr. Charles L. Huff has added to the valuable data
on salesmanship a book in which he gives the following five factors as
the headings under which the subject of salesmanship should be covered,
namely: 1, Price; 2, Quality; 3, Service; 4, Friendship; 5, Presentation.
Every salesman is really teaching the customer something about the goods.
He is, so to speak, a teacher of values, or if you prefer, “a business
missionary.” In order to teach well he should have these most valuable
assets: first, right methods of meeting customer; second, thorough
knowledge of self, of goods, of customer and conditions; third, ability
to meet competition, both real and imaginary; fourth, helpful habits;
fifth, good powers of originating and planning; sixth, a selling talk, or
something worth while saying; seventh, properly developed feelings, which
will add force to what he says.
In a brief and helpful course on salesmanship “System,” a business
magazine, gives great emphasis to the value of dwelling on five buying
motives—1, Money; 2, Utility; 3, Caution; 4, Pride; 5, Self-indulgence,
or Yielding to Weakness.
If a salesman will keep before his mind these five points, and if he
appeals to the human traits they indicate he will become a master in
closing deals.
A great many methods are used to-day for rating employees, just as Dun
and Bradstreet rate firms. According to Roger W. Babson, there is a Mr.
Horner, of Minneapolis, who rates his salesmen and trains them along
these lines:
HABITS OF WORK
1. Idealism
{ a. Understanding of business
2. Intelligence { b. Selecting Policy to suit age and
condition of applicant
{ c. Self-culture.
3. Hopefulness
4. Optimism
{ a. To clients
5. Uniform courtesy { b. To office force
{ c. To fellow agents
6. Number of daily interviews
7. Concentration or effectiveness of work, as to waste of
time or energy.
{ a. To company
8. Loyalty { b. To organization
{ c. To fellow agents
9. Attention to old policy holders
10. Enthusiasm.
A final and very vital point to consider is this: Why do salesmen meet
opposition?
Mr. Huff, in his very practical and interesting book on salesmanship, has
classified under six general heads the causes of opposition. These are:
First, Prior Dissatisfaction; Second, General Prejudice; Third, Buyer’s
Mood; Fourth, Conservatism; Fifth, Bad Business; Sixth, Personal Dislike
for Salesman.
It is up to the salesman to analyze the customer and decide just which of
these six points of opposition is causing him to lose business.
Just in the degree that he can locate the exact trouble, and then
overcome it in the proper way, will he be able to get the business which
may seem at first absolutely beyond him.
Any or all of these six causes of opposition will not overwhelm the
master salesman, but the mediocre or indifferent salesman is bound to
collapse when confronted with any one of them. And if he does not train
himself to meet and overcome opposition he is doomed to failure, or at
least to a very poor grade of success—not worthy the name.
Remember, Mr. Salesman, it is always up to you. Develop your brain power,
and then use that power for all it is worth.