_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._