[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.