MAKING A FAVORABLE IMPRESSION
Go boldly; go serenely, go augustly;
Who can withstand thee then!—BROWNING.
The personality of a salesman is his greatest asset.
A Washington government official called on me some time ago, and before
he had reached my desk I knew he was a man of importance, on an important
mission. He had that assured bearing which indicated that he was backed
by authority—in this instance the authority of the United States—and
the dignity of his bearing and manner commanded my instant respect and
attention.
The impression you make as you enter a prospect’s office will greatly
influence the manner of your reception. It is imperative to make a
favorable first impression, otherwise you will have to spend much
valuable time and energy and suffer a great deal of embarrassment in
trying to right yourself in your prospect’s estimation, because he will
not do business with you until you have made a favorable impression on
him.
Some salesmen approach their prospect with such an apologetic, cringing,
“excuse me for taking up your valuable time” air, that they give him the
idea they are not on a very important mission, and that they are not
sure of themselves, that they have not much confidence in the firm they
represent or the merchandise they are trying to sell.
Approach the one with whom you expect to do business like a man, without
any doubts, without any earmarks of a cringing, crawling or craven
disposition. Enter his office as the Washington official entered mine,
like a high-class man meeting a high-class man. You will compel attention
and respect instantly, as he did.
Your introduction is an entering wedge, your first chance to score a
point. If you present a pleasing picture as you enter you will score
a strong point. Here is where you must choose the golden mean between
cringing and over-boldness. If you approach a man with your hat on, and a
cigar or cigarette in your mouth, or still smoking in your fingers; if
your breath smells of liquor; if you show that you are not up to physical
standard; if there is any evidence of dissipation in your appearance;
if you swagger or show any lack of respect, all these things will count
against you. If you present an unpleasing picture, if there is anything
about you which your prospect does not like; if you bluster, or if you
lack dignity; if you do not look him straight in the eye; if there is any
evidence of doubt or fear or lack of confidence in yourself, you will
at once arouse a prejudice in his mind that will cause him to doubt the
story you tell and to look with suspicion at the goods you are trying to
sell.
A salesman once entered a business man’s office holding a tooth-pick in
his mouth. You may think it was a little thing, but it so prejudiced
the would-be customer against him at the start that it made it much
more difficult for him even to get a chance to show his samples. The
business man in question was very particular in regard to little points
of manners, and was himself a model of deportment.
I know of another salesman who makes a most unfortunate first impression
because he has no presence whatever, not a particle of dignity; he is
timid and morbidly self-conscious, and it takes him some minutes after
he has met a stranger to regain his self-possession. To those who know
him he is a kindly and genuinely lovable man, but he does not appear to
advantage at a first introduction. He is a college graduate, and was so
popular and stood so high in his class that he was proposed to represent
it at commencement. He was defeated, however, on the plea that he would
make such a bad impression on the public that he would not properly
represent the class.
Self-possession is an indispensable quality in a salesman. It is natural
to the man who has confidence in himself, and without self-confidence it
is hard to make a dignified appearance or to make others believe in you.
What you think of yourself will have a great deal to do with what a
prospect will think of you, because you will radiate your estimate of
yourself. If you have a little seven-by-nine model of a man in your mind
you will etch that picture on the mind of your prospect. In approaching
a prospect, walk, talk and act not only like a man who believes in
himself, but one who also believes in and thoroughly knows his business.
When a physician is called into a home in an emergency, no matter how
able a man may be at the head of the house, no matter how well educated
the mother and children may be, everybody stands aside when he enters.
They feel that the doctor is the master of the situation, that he alone
knows what to do, and they all defer to him. Everybody follows his
directions implicitly.
You should approach a possible customer with something of this
professional air, an air of supreme assurance, of confidence in your
ability, in your honesty and integrity, confidence in your knowledge
of your business. Your professional dignity alone will help to make a
good impression, and will win courtesy. It will insure you at least a
respectful hearing, and there is your chance to play your part in a
masterful manner.
A publisher who has a large number of book agents in the field, advises
his men to act, when the servant answers the door bell, as though they
were expected and welcome. He tells them, if it is raining to take off
their rubbers, if it is muddy or dusty to wipe off their shoes and act as
though they expected to go in.
The idea is to make a favorable impression upon the servant first of
all, for if they were to behave as though they were not sure they would
be admitted, apologizing for making so much trouble and assuming the
attitude of asking a favor, they would communicate their doubt to the
servant, and would not be likely to gain admittance, not to speak of
an audience with the mistress. In short, the carrying of a positive,
victorious mental attitude, the radiating of a vigorous expectation of
getting a hearing will get you one.
The agent who rings a door bell with a palpitating heart, with a great
big doubt in his mind as to whether he ought to do it, and who, when the
door is opened, acts as though he were stealing somebody’s valuable time,
and had no right to be there at all, will create a prejudice against him
before he opens his mouth. And before he gets a chance to plead his cause
he will probably find the door closed in his face.
You should seek admission to a house as though you were the bearer of
glad tidings, as though you had good news for the family, as though you
were conferring a real favor on them by calling their attention to what
you have to sell.
Whatever you are selling, whether books or pianos, hardware or drygoods,
your manner will largely determine the amount of your sales. There are
salesmen who approach prospective customers just as though they not only
did not expect an order, but rather expected, if not to get kicked out,
at least a polite invitation to get out.
I was in the office of a business man recently, when a man of this stamp
came in and crept up to him with a sort of a sheepish expression on his
face, as much as to say, “I know I haven’t any right here, but I have
come in to ask for a favor, which I feel sure you won’t grant.”
“I don’t suppose you have an order for me to-day, have you?” he said.
Of course, the man, without a moment’s hesitation, said, “No.” And the
salesman crept out as though he had almost committed a sin by entering at
all.
Now, there is something in every manly man which despises this
self-depreciating spirit, this false self-effacement, this creeping,
cringing, apologizing attitude, which robs one of all dignity and power.
If you approach people as though you expected a kick, you are pretty sure
to get it. It may come in the form of a gruff refusal, of a snub, or of a
polite invitation to get out, but you are likely to get what you invite—a
rebuff of some kind.
If you approach a man at all, do it in a brave, vigorous, manly way.
Do not ruin your cause by giving him a contemptible picture of you at
the very outset. At least let him see that you are self-respecting,
manly, that there is nothing of the coward in you. Even if he declines
to give you an order, compel him to respect you, to admire you for your
dignified, virile bearing. No one cares to do business with a person he
cannot help despising, while a man who creates a favorable impression
will at least get a hearing.
We recently asked a representative of a big concern how he managed to do
so much business with people whom very few salesmen can approach.
“Well,” he said, “I will tell you. One reason is that I never go to a man
as though I had no right to. I do not creep into his office and look as
though I expected a kick or a rebuff. I walk right straight up to him
in the most manly and commanding way possible, for I am bound to make a
good impression on him, so that he will remember me pleasantly, even if
I do not get an order. The result is that men who are very difficult to
approach often give me business they refuse to others because I am not
afraid to approach them and to say what I want to say pleasantly, without
mincing or cringing or apologizing.”
This man says he has little difficulty in getting into the private
offices of the most exclusive business men, presidents of banks, great
financiers, high officials of railroads and other representatives of “big
business,” and that they are his best customers.
To sum up, your attitude, the spirit you radiate, your personality, will
have everything to do with your salesmanship. The impression you make
will be a tremendous factor in your sales. For this reason you should
never approach a prospect until you feel that you are master of the
situation. Then you will carry the conviction and give the impression of
mastership, and that is half the battle.