William Walker Atkinson

“ Such things are repugnant to a gentleman—and you should assume that he is one. Never pound the desk or shake your finger at a prospect. Don't shout at him as if sound would take the place of sense. Don't advance at him and talk so excitedly under his nose that he will back away from you for fear of being [Pg 183] run over, as if you were a trolley-car. I have seen a sales agent back a prospect half way across a room in this way. Don't compel a man to listen to you by loud or fast talking. Don't make him feel that he can't get a word in edgewise and has to listen until you are out of breath. ”

“ All that is necessary is for him to 'take account of stock' just before he starts out—to enumerate to himself all the strong, convincing points in his proposition—to consider the good high qualities of the goods he is selling—run over in his mind the splendid characteristics of his house—think of the great number of customers who have bought his product—and of the supremely satisfying reasons why other customers should buy his goods. In other words, before a salesman starts to sell other men, he should sell himself. ”

“ It is the fear of anticipation rather than the fear of actual conditions. It is like the fear felt upon approaching a dentist's office—worse than the actual experience of the chair. Suspense and fearful expectation are two of the great sources of human weakness. Experience shows us that the majority of things we fear never happen; that those which do happen are never so bad as we had feared. ”

“ Every step in the process of a sale is a mental process. The mental attitude and mental expression of the salesman; the mental attitude and mental impression of the customer; the process of arousing the attention, awakening curiosity or interest, creating desire, satisfying the reason, and moving the will—all these are purely mental processes, and the study of them becomes a branch of the study of psychology. The display of goods on the counters, shelves, or windows of a store, or in the hands of the salesman on the road, must be based upon psychological principles. ”

“ It is entirely opposed to the crawling, cringing "worm of the dust," mental attitude of Uriah Heep, who was continually asserting how humble—how very humble—he was. Learn to look the world in the eyes without flinching. Throw off the fear of the crowd, and the impression that you are unworthy. Learn to believe in yourself, and to respect yourself. ”

“ The business man will use his imagination to picture the probable sale of the goods, their display, their adaptability to his trade, etc. Another will picture himself enjoying the gains from his purchase. Imagination plays an important part in the psychology of the sale. It is the direct inciter of desire and inclination. The successful salesman realizes this, and feeds the flame of the imagination with the oil of Suggestion. In fact, Suggestion receives its power through the Imagination. The Imagination is the channel through which Suggestion reaches the mind. ”

“ We regard the mental faculties, powers, organs, qualities, and modes of expression, as merely instruments, tools, or channels of expression of this wonderful Something—the Self, the pure Ego—the 'I.' And this is the message of The New Psychology—that You, the 'I,' have at your command a wonderful array of mental instruments, tools, machinery, which if properly used will create for you any kind of personality you may desire. You are the Master Workman who may make of yourself what you will. ”

“ It has been said: "People seek not reasons, but excuses for following their feelings." The real deliberation, in the majority of cases, is the weighing of probable advantages and disadvantages—of various likes and dislikes—of hopes and fears.
It is said that our minds are controlled by motives—and the strongest motive wins. We often find that when we think we desire a thing ardently, we then find that we also like something else better, or perhaps fear something else more than we desire the first thing. In such case, the strongest or most pressing feeling wins the day. ”

“ This faculty prevents one from being "sidetracked," and enables him to "put his hand to the plow and look not backward." It holds the chisel of the will up against the metal of circumstances until the work is accomplished. It enables one to be like the rock against which harmlessly beat the waves of opposition and competition. It enables one to see his object, and then to march straight to it. ”

“ The difference between Egoism and Egotism consists largely of the difference between Self-Respect and Approbativeness. Develop the first, and restrain the second—if you wish to become an Individual. And the successful Salesman is always an Individual—standing out from and above the crowd of the "mere persons" or "order-takers." Be a Man, and not a human looking glass reflecting the ideas, opinions, and wishes of all those around you. Be creative, not imitative. Flattery is the food for apes, not for men. ”

“ Without attempting to lead the reader into the maze of metaphysics, or the pitfalls of philosophy, we wish to impress upon him the fact that his mental being has for its innermost centre of consciousness this mysterious "I," the nature of which no one has ever been able to determine, but which when fully realized imparts to one a strength and force undreamed of before. ”

“ The fact that there exists an iron-clad rule, designed to protect the boss against intrusion, forbidding the admittance of an uninvited salesman—and the fact that the army of employees are bound by this rule to oppose the entrance of any such visitor—combine to make an untried salesman morally certain of his powerlessness; to make him feel that he has no justifiable reason for presenting himself at all. ”

“ But remember this always: the best "front" is the real one—the one which is the reflection of the right Mental Attitude and Character—the "front" of the Gentleman. If you lack this, the nearer you can act it out, the better for yourself. But no imitation is as good as the genuine article. The true Gentleman is the scientific mixture of strength and courtesy—the manifestation of "the iron hand in the velvet glove." So much for the First Impression.
The mental stages of Curiosity and Associated Interest on the part of the buyer are also to be induced by the Salesman in the Approach. ”

“ The Salesman has an advantage here which he often overlooks. We refer to the fact that the very objections of the prospect, and his questions give a key to his mental operations, which may be followed up by the Salesman. He knows now what is on the prospect's mind, and what are his general feelings, views, and inclinations regarding the matter. When he begins to talk he gives you a glimpse at his motives, prejudices, hopes and fears. It is quite an art to lead the prospect to ask the questions or to make the objections to which you have a strong answering argument. ”

“ Courtesy is a valuable asset to a Salesman. Not only this, but it is a trait characteristic of gentlemen in all walks of life, and is a duty toward oneself as well as toward others. By politeness and courtesy we do not mean the formal, artificial outward acts and remarks which are but the counterfeit of the real thing, but, instead, that respectful demeanor toward others which is the mark of innate refinement and good-breeding. ”

“ The key to the arousing of Curiosity is the idea of "something new;" a new idea; a new pattern, a new device, etc. The mind of the average man likes "something new"—even the old fogy likes something new in his old favorites, new bottles for his good old wine. The idea of newness and novelty tends to arouse a man's inquisitiveness and imagination. And if you can start these faculties working you have done well, for Associated Interest is closely allied thereto. When you get a prospect to the stage of asking questions, either verbally or mentally, you have the game well started. ”

“ Don't do this however as if you were trying to corner him, but with a simple desire to reach a reasonable basis of argument. Cast aside all attempts at being a clever talker, all idea that there is any trick of words or manner, any secret artfulness about selling registers, and put yourself in the plain, unaffected spirit of [Pg 206] a man who has simply a truth to tell, and is bent upon telling it in the plainest, homliest way. Avoid above all things the fatal mistake of demonstrating to your prospect with a sense of fear, haste, and uncertainty. ”

“ The argument of the salesman must not only be logical but must be so arranged and worded as to arouse certain feelings or faculties within the mind of the prospective buyer—this is psychology. And finally, the closing of the sale, in which the object is to arouse the will of the buyer into final favorable action—this also is psychology. From the entrance of the salesman to the final closing of the sale, each and every step is a psychological process. A sale is the action and reaction of mind upon mind, according to well established psychological principles and rules. ”

“ The Salesman in making the Approach should not act as if he were in a hurry, nor should he dawdle. He should go about it in a business-like manner showing his realization of the value of time, and yet acting as if he had the time necessary for the transaction of that particular piece of business, just as he would if the buyer had called on him instead of vice versa. Don't swagger or strut, or act as if you were the proprietor. Act the part of the real business man who is at ease and yet is attending to business. ”

“ It is not so much what a man says when he approaches the prospect, as the way he acts. It is his manner, rather than his speech. And back of his manner is his Mental Attitude. Without going into subtle psychological theorizing, we may say that it may be accepted as a working hypotheses that a man radiates his Mental State, and that those he approaches feel these radiations. It may be the suggestion of manner, or it may be something more subtle—no use discussing theories here, we haven't the time—the fact is that it acts as radiations would act. ”

“ Shake the crowd off your heels—mind your own business and let others do likewise. And look the world squarely in the eye while you are talking to it, too. It will understand you, if you do not truckle to it. ”

“ With some prospects this plan of placing the hand upon him in a brotherly spirit, and looking him earnestly in the eye, results in the final warming up of conviction and decision—probably from the associated suggestion of previous solemn exhortations and friendly counsel. But other men resent any such familiarity—one must know human nature in using this method.
Never attempt to close your sale in the presence of outsiders. Always defer it until the prospect is alone, and you have his undivided attention. It is impossible to get into the "heart to heart" rapport in the presence of other people. ”

“ No matter how highly developed the individual may be, he has this part of the mind. No matter how much he may be in control of it, it is always there as a background and basis of his other kind of mind. The difference in the self-control of individuals depends almost altogether upon the other part of the mind, which we shall now consider—the Voluntary Mind, in which the Intellect and Will are the predominant elements. The phase which we have just considered may be called the Involuntary Mind, in which Desire and Feeling are the predominant elements. ”

“ It is better to concentrate upon a few leading and striking points of demonstration, of material interest to the prospect, and to assume that he does not know anything about them except as he may show his knowledge by questions or objections—all this in a courteous manner, of course, avoiding the "know it all" air. The prospect must have time to allow the points to sink into his mind—some men are slower than others in this respect. Watch the prospect's face to see by his expression whether or not he really understands what you are saying. ”

“ This quality when highly developed is a weakness and gives to an adversary a powerful lever to work. The Salesman, while secretly detesting this quality in a buyer, nevertheless finds it a very easy channel of approach and weapon of success, when he once understands its characteristics. These people can be reached by an apparent "falling in" with their opinion of themselves, and a manifestation of the proper respect in manner and words. These are the people to whom the "soft soap" is applied liberally, and who are carried away by an apparent appreciation of their own excellence. ”

“ Carry in mind Holman's catechism, of which we have told you. Maintain your Self-Respect, and remember that you are a MAN. Pierce says of this: "One reason for this is that self-respect is necessary in your work. And self-respect cannot obtain where there is lack of confidence either in your own ability or in your line of goods. Assuming that you take only such a line as you yourself can enthusiastically endorse, it must be remembered that your goods place you absolutely on a par with the merchant. Hence, you talk to him shoulder to shoulder, as it were. You are not as a slave to a master! ”

“ Old salesmen hold that in the psychology of the sale there is no more important stage or phase than the introductory stage—the stage of the Approach. Pierce says: "Experienced salesmen will tell you that the first five minutes in front of a prospect is worth more than all the remainder in the matter of getting the check. Why? Because it is then that the prospect is forming his impressions of you. Usually he is obliged to form this quick size-up of the man he meets, in order to conserve his time for important duties. ”

“ Inasmuch as the essence of Salesmanship is the employment of the proper psychological principles, does it not seem imperative that the salesman should know something of the Mind of Man—the instrument upon which he must play in plying his vocation? ”

“ While it is true that the stage of Closing is a delicate one, and involving as it does some practical psychological strategy, nevertheless we are of the opinion that many salesmen are victims of their own adverse auto-suggestions in this matter—they make a boogaboo of the thing which is often found to be but lath and plaster instead of solid iron and granite. Many a salesman is defeated in his Closing by his own fears rather than by the prospect. ”