CHAPTER XVIIIMEETING AND FORESTALLING OBJECTIONS

A Golden Rule for every salesman: “Put yourself in your customer’s place.”

When you are in doubt as to how your acts will affect another, you must ask yourself this question, “Would I like to have some one else do this to me?”

Nathan Strauss, when asked what had contributed most to the success of his remarkable career, replied, “I always looked out for the man at the other end of the bargain.” He said that if he got a bad bargain himself he could stand it, even if his losses were heavy, but he could never afford to have the man who dealt with him get a bad bargain.

There is no one thing that has so much to do with a business man’s success as the absolute confidence of the public. Confidence has everything to do with patronage. We like to patronize the firm which has a good reputation, and many prefer to pay more for articles in areliable store that guarantees their quality than to buy similar articles at a much lower price in an unreliable store. People are afraid to go into unreliable places. They have a feeling that they will be swindled in some way; that the lower price only covers up poor quality.

You may bring customers to your store once by shrewd schemes and advertising, but you cannot hold them by this means alone. Unless you satisfy them, give them good value for their money, you cannot induce them to come again. But the satisfied customer is a perpetual advertisement. He not only comes again, but he sends his friends, and they furnish a perpetual lip-to-lip advertisement which gives stability and permanence to a business.

The man who thinks he is going to make a fortune without considering the man at the other end of the bargain is very short-sighted. In the long run, the customer’s best good is the seller’s best good also; and, other things equal, the man succeeds best who satisfies his customers best, who gains their confidence, so that they will not only come back, but always bring others with them. In the same way, the idealsalesman must impress his customers with his honesty, sincerity and frankness. He must be shrewd and sagacious without being deceptive. Trickiness, dishonest methods, may procure a man’s orders at the start, but before long he will find that in selling goods, as in everything else, honesty is the best policy.

A little while ago I heard a salesman say to a friend, “I don’t care whether a man sells my goods or not, I sell him every dollar’s worth I can, just the same. If he is overstocking the store, that is his business. I push my sales just as far as I can.”

Now, when this young salesman’s customers find that out, as, sooner or later, they will, they will distrust him. They will be on their guard against him, and ultimately he will lose their patronage.

Remember, Mr. Brilliant Salesman, that stuffed, forced orders are dangerous. They are boomerangs. When, by hypnotic over-persuasion, you work off goods upon a customer which he does not need, you are likely to hear from him again. The profits of a single such sale have often lost a salesman the profits of a life customer. There is nothing so disastrousas a disappointed or a deceived customer.

Many people are beguiled into buying what they do not need and cannot afford, because they do not know how to protect themselves from the expertness or hypnotism of unprincipled salesmen. Especially is this true of colored people in the South, whose simple, untrained minds are the easy victims of the smooth oily promoter or salesman.

I have known of negro families who did not have a whole plate, or a knife and fork in the house, to buy from unscrupulous agents plush autograph albums, books which they could not read or understand, pictures, picture frames, organs, pianos, etc., when they were so poor that every member of the family was ragged, and apparently only half nourished.

Many such agents and solicitors, who travel through the country, live upon the gullibility of people who are not mentally equipped to protect themselves against their dishonest wiles.

Every salesman is familiar with the “tricks of the trade” which the unscrupulous practice, but to which the conscientious man will not resort. His clean record, his straightforward methods, his reputation for reliability, mean infinitelymore to him than to get an order by driving a sharp bargain, deceiving, taking advantage of, or hypnotizing his customer. His honesty, his character, is dearer to him than any gain, temporary or permanent, however great.

Nor is there any great demand for the man whose sole aim is to “deliver the goods,” regardless of the methods employed. They may be hired by cheap-John concerns which have no reputation to sustain, but high-class houses will have nothing to do with them. They know very well that men who practice real dishonesty in their mental methods, who use unfair means in winning confidence, only to abuse it, who make a business of overcoming weak minds for the purpose of deceiving them—they know that such men would hurt their house, injure their reputation. They know very well that the tricky, dishonest man who deceives or who over-sells his customer, is not a good man for his house.

The high-class salesman, like the high-class house, thinks too much of his good name, too much of his customers’ good opinion of him, to attempt to practice the slightest deceptionin his dealings with them. Their implicit faith in him, their belief that they can absolutely depend upon what he tells them, that it will not be the near-truth, but the exact truth, his real desire to serve them, these things mean infinitely more to him than the taking of an order. His reputation for straightforwardness, for reliability, his reputation as a man, is his chief capital. He is doing business without money; his only assets are his ability and his character, and he cannot afford to throw these away or vitiate them by dishonest mental practices.

Aside from the vital question of character, he is a very poor salesman who does not study the interest of the man at the other end of the bargain.

Opposition is the physical culture of determination.

You must have the courage of your convictions, and if you have theories you should be able to put them to a practical test.

Don’t canvass too much with your legs—use your brains.

There are two kinds of objections which are met by all salesmen—valid and invalid. Naturally, it is impossible to overcome valid objections. It would be a mistake on the part of the salesman to try to overcome them. The important thing is for him to recognize that they are valid, and to abide by the decision of the prospective customer.

Very frequently, however, what appear on the surface to be valid objections, are merely excuses. Never accept an excuse as a real objection. Do not come out bluntly and tell the customer that he is merely making an excuse, or that he is hedging, but, rather, switchthe selling talk on to a little different track, so that he will see there is no real, good reason for the stand he is taking.

It is not so easy to meet such objections as—“The goods are not suitable for our needs,”—“The price is exorbitant,” or “We cannot afford to buy now.” But in some cases, objections of this sort may not be really valid; often they are merely excuses to put off buying. Here is where the salesman must show his power of reasoning and persuasion. He should make clear to the customer that, at first thought, these may seem to be valid objections, but that, in reality, if he will only think of such and such points and reasons, he will see, after all, he should buy.

No doubt there is far more trouble constantly arising on this score than there should, because the salesman cannot gently guide the mind of the customer to where all objections are forgotten. It is human nature to object, find fault, and pick flaws, and the salesman must be prepared both for the real or valid, and for the unreal, or invalid objections. Above all he must be prepared beforehand to answer, and to answer clearly and logically,the many very common objections which are brought up in connection with his line of goods.

The older, more experienced salesmen and the sales managers, usually, have thought out the most effective answers to the objections that are ordinarily made. The young inexperienced salesman must go to them for advice. He must be posted, if possible at the start, on the right answers to, let us say, the ten most ordinary objections that are heard in his line of business.

One of the most successful life insurance managers in the United States has given to his men a standard answer to this very common objection, met by salesmen when trying to sell life insurance,—“I would like to take the matter up with my wife.”

The salesman is taught to use the law of non-resistance, and to say: “That’s a very good idea, Mr. Blank. This is such an important matter you certainly ought to have your wife’s opinion about it; but, allow me to suggest that before you take the matter up with her, it would be best to have our doctor examine you, to make sure that you can pass the physical examination, because, if you told your wifethat you were going to take life insurance, and you then failed to pass the examination, she would be very much worried about you as long as she lives.” The prospect will, almost invariably, say—“Yes, you’re right about that—I think I ought to take that precaution.” It is needless to say that nine times out of ten, after the doctor has made the examination, it is quite easy to close the sale, whereas it would have been impossible, or very difficult, had the matter first been taken up at home, and a lot of objections brought up in the absence of the salesman.

Some say that you should never risk antagonizing a customer by departing from the law of non-resistance. Ordinarily, this is sound logic; but just as there are exceptions to every rule, so there are certain types of men, with whom at leastseeming oppositionor an attitude of “take it or leave it” will be most effective.

There are men and moods and times when only a good knowledge of human nature and a thorough sizing up of a customer will enable the salesman to get what he goes after. Also there are occasions when the most expert salesman will meet at least temporary defeat.

By the time you have exchanged a few sentences with your prospect, you can size him up fairly well and can get a pretty good idea of what you are up against, and how difficult a task is before you in order to interest him, to change his thought, to neutralize his natural prejudice against every one who has anything to sell, and against you in particular. There is a natural barrier, at first, between two people who meet under such conditions, and it depends largely upon you as a man, upon your talk, your ability to open up your nature, to show the best side of yourself, the attractive, the popular, magnanimous side, whether you gradually change the prospect’s opposition to indifference, his indifference to interest and his interest to desire to possess what you have to sell.

You should never argue with a customer in the sense of quarreling or disputing with him, but there are times when you must reason with him, to show him he is wrong. Do not, however, make a customer feel “cheap,” or humiliated, or anger him by opposition, especially in matters outside of your business.

I have in mind a salesman who had practicallyclosed a big order with a prospect when some allusion was made to the political situation. The salesman reflected upon the administration, and the prospect jumped on him with both feet and became so angered that he positively refused to give him the order.

Now, this salesman was not there to discuss politics or to convince his prospect that he was on the wrong side of any public question. He was there to sell his goods and not to talk politics.

No matter what happens never lose your head and never, under any circumstances, show resentment or disappointment or allow yourself to be drawn into an argument. There is always a temptation to have the last word, and it is of the utmost importance that you should leave a pleasing picture of your call. Otherwise when you return the association of a disagreeable experience may bar you out.

Some sales managers do not believe in paying any attention to objections. They say it is best to make the salesman so familiar with his goods, and so enthusiastic about them, that he will forestall all objections, or overcome them by ignoring them, in the sense that he willnot try to answer objections if they are made, and he will not talk or act as if he expected any to be made. There is a certain amount of sound philosophy in this attitude, but it is my opinion that a salesman will have more confidence in himself, and will be better equipped for many emergencies, if he has been thoroughly coached in the most commonly met objections, by having good, sound answers right at the tip of his tongue.

Never meet objections by cutting prices.

It is the easiest thing in the world to prejudice a prospect’s mind by offering to cut prices. He will think you are doing it to get his first order, and that you will make it up the next time. He is watching you with “all his eyes.” His perceptive faculties are on the alert, ready to catch any unguarded word, the slightest contradiction, measuring up the improbabilities in your argument. In other words, he is trying to find holes in your proposition. It is human nature to brace up against a new salesman and to try to down him with objections. Don’t destroy confidence at the start by price cutting.

Remember, objections are, generally, mere excuses. More than half the time they are notsound reasons for not buying. Therefore, do not take objections too much to heart. Know how to answer them satisfactorily, but be careful not to magnify their importance.

Integrity is the ground of mutual confidence.

Never misrepresent your goods; when it becomes necessary to do so it is time to quit the business.

A.J. Lauver, General Manager Burroughs’ Adding Machine, says, “The ideal salesman is one who is making an honest and determined effort to render a real service to his customers. He believes thoroughly in the value of his goods and has faith in the honesty and ability of the house he represents.”

An unqualified confidence in the value of what you are selling will multiply your selling ability tremendously, just as a lack of confidence in its merit will greatly diminish your power to make a sale. All of your mental operations follow confidence. Your faculties will not give out their best unless they are led by the honest faith in your house and in your goods which generates enthusiasm.

The salesman communicates his faith, or lack of it, to the experienced buyer. Whatever passes through your mind will be telegraphed with lightning rapidity to your prospect’s mind. He will feel what you feel. He will sense mentally what you are picturing secretly, as you imagine, in your own mind. If doubt is there, if unbelief is there, he will feel them no matter what you may say to the contrary. He can tell very quickly whether you really believe what you are saying or whether you are just talking for a sale. He can tell whether you honestly believe that what you are trying to sell would be good for him to buy or not.

The consciousness that you are representing an absolutely reliable firm, and that you are selling a superb thing, something which you really believe it would be as advantageous for your prospect to buy as it would be for you to sell, will not only increase your self-confidence, but will also lend wonderful dignity and power to your bearing and your manner, and greater force to your presentation and persuasion.

On the other hand, if you are conscious that you are selling shams, that you are merely tryingto get a person to buy that which you know will not be of much value to him, you are immediately shorn of power. The conviction that you are not doing your fellow-man a good turn, that, on the contrary, you are trying to deceive him, trying to palm off on him an article which you would not buy yourself, will make you contemptible in your own eyes and also in the eyes of the man who is shrewd enough to see through you.

Nothing can take the place of confidence in the quality of what you are selling. Quality is really the best salesman in the world. The article that is a little better than others of the same kind—that is the best, even if the price is higher—“carries in its first sale the possibilities of many sales, because it makes a satisfied customer, and only a satisfied customer will come again.”

The salesman thinks more of himself when he is conscious that he is giving his customer the best that can be had. The assurance that it is not possible for another to beat what he offers is a wonderful tonic and encourager to the seller. He does not need to resort to “tricks of the trade”; nor does he have to hanghis head or apologize when he approaches his prospect, for he knows that he is backed by quality and that there will be no disappointment or “come backs.”

A superb quality, like good things to eat, always leaves a good taste in the mouth, and the salesman who deals in the best knows that he will be welcome when he goes back for another order to a buyer who has once had a taste of the quality of his goods.

The reputation of a house noted for its square dealing is of itself a powerful salesman, and representatives of such a house have a tremendous advantage over those who represent tricky, sharp-dealing, shoddy houses, where the buyer knows that he has got to look out for himself, to drive a sharp bargain or get taken in—and he knows that he is liable to be taken in anyway.

Quality is the best possible advertisement. The salesmen of a house thoroughly established in the confidence of the public have a comparatively easy time of it, because they do not have to do nearly as much talking and convincing as those who represent unreliable concerns. The high reputation of a house is a great businessasset, and a salesman’s best argument. It is not so difficult a matter to persuade men to buy what they know from experience to be all that it is represented to be.

When a customer has been in the habit of buying the best, dealing with a quality house, and has acquired a taste for the best, he does not like the second-best—only the best is good enough for him.

International sales experts tell us that is where American salesmen fall down, especially in seeking foreign trade—in South America for instance. They dwell at too great length on price, and skim over quality. They dilate on cheapness, and the inference is that the goods must be low grade to be marketed at such a low price.

No matter how hard pushed you may be, never undertake to sell questionable goods; never taint your reputation, or smirch your character by becoming the representative of a shifty, dishonest concern. Resolve that whatever comes you will not cheapen yourself by stooping to low-down methods, that you will not sell shabby goods, or deal in cheap-John commodities. Resolve that you will be a high-classman or nothing, that you are not going to do another’s lying for him, that you are not going to deceive for a salary, that you are not going to do anything which will make you think less of yourself, which will make you less of a man.

The apparel oft proclaims the man.—Shakespeare.

The consciousness of being well and fittingly dressed has a magic power in unlocking the tongue and increasing the power of expression.

In differentiating the essentials of success in selling, a specialty expert said: “I find that when I am in prime condition physically, and am well dressed, so that I do not have to think about myself or my clothing, I can put up a much better canvass, because I can concentrate my mind with greater force.”

In a letter to his home office, a rising young salesman wrote: “To me there is a great mystery in the influence of good clothes. Somehow I think more of myself when I am conscious that I am well groomed, well dressed, and I can approach people with much more confidence.

“When I first started canvassing I tried toeconomize too much on my clothing. Some stormy mornings I would start out wearing shabby old clothes and without fixing up as I should, and somehow I felt cheap all day. I could not approach a prospect with the same air of victory; I did not feel quite right; I could not put up as good a canvass, and of course did not make as many sales as when I was up to the mark in clothes and general appearance.

“I thought at the start I could not afford to dress well, but I soon found that this was a very great mistake, and that a good appearance is a big asset in canvassing. I was going through college then, and, as I had to pay all of my expenses, a dollar meant a good deal to me; but I actually borrowed money to buy a good suit of clothes, and I found it paid. I felt better when I had that suit on. I could take more orders, and in a short time returned the amount I had borrowed. This influence of good clothes is a curious thing, but it is certainly a power.”

Whatever one’s business, it is worth while to try to ascertain as nearly as possible the paying point of your clothes. You cannot afford to go much below or above this point. In somecases it pays to dress superbly, right up to the mark in every detail, because people judge our business standing by our appearance, and we cannot afford to give the impression of poverty, especially if we are representing a prosperous line of business. If a man’s appearance indicates lack of prosperity, people naturally get a poor impression not only of his own success, but also of the quality and success of the firm he represents.

A. T. Stewart was one of the first great merchants to appreciate the tremendous influence upon customers, especially women customers, of good-looking, well-dressed young men clerks. He would not have a clerk in his employ who did not present an attractive appearance. He knew and appreciated the importance of putting up a good front as an asset. He did not care much for human diamonds in the rough. He preferred a cheaper stone, polished, to a pure gem, unpolished.

Every progressive merchant knows that a first unfavorable impression on a customer is a costly thing. He knows that soiled collar or cuffs, a frayed tie, unpolished shoes, uncared-for finger nails, grease spots on a suit, will notonly make a bad impression, but will drive away trade.

Most large business houses make it a rule not to employ any one who looks shabby or careless, who does not at least try to make a good appearance, the best his means will permit, when he applies for a position.

Neatness of dress, cleanliness of person and the manner of the applicant are the first things an employer notices in a would-be employee. If his clothes are unbrushed, his trousers baggy, his shoes unblacked, his tie shabby, his hands soiled or his hair unkempt, the employer is prejudiced at once, and he does not look beneath this repellent exterior to see whether it conceals merit or not. He is a busy man and takes it for granted that if the youth has anything in him, if he is made of the material business men want in their employ, he will keep himself in a presentable condition. At all events, he does not want to have such an unattractive looking person about his premises.

You may say that an employer ought to be a reader of real merit, real character, and that it is not fair to estimate an applicant for a position by such superficial things as the clotheshe wears. You may also say that a customer should not allow himself to be prejudiced against a man, or the house he represents, because he is not a fine dresser. But that doesn’t help matters or alter facts. We go through life tagged all over, labeled with other people’s estimate of us, and it is pretty difficult to get away from that, even if it is unjust.

Say what we will, our position in life, our success, our place in the business or professional world, or in society, depends very much upon what other people think of us, and our clothes, at first especially, while we are making our way in the world, play an important part in their judgment of us. They have a great deal to do with locating us.

In a way our lives are largely influenced by other people’s opinion of us, and we should not be indifferent to it. This does not mean that we cannot be independent and exercise our own will, but that we cannot afford to create a bad impression. Suppose, for example, you are a young business man and that every bank official in your town is so prejudiced against you that they will not give you credit. You need it very much, but while the fact that youknow you are absolutely honest and absolutely reliable gives you great inward satisfaction, it does not give you the needed money. The prejudice of the bank officials may be unfounded, but it acts powerfully against you.

You may know perfectly well that you would make a better mayor for your town than anybody else in it, but if the majority of the voters are prejudiced against you, no matter how worthy of their confidence, you will not be elected. Whatever your business or profession the impression you create will make a tremendous difference in the degree of your success.

“Every man has a letter of credit written on his face.” We are our own best advertisements, and if we appear to disadvantage in any particular we are rated accordingly.

You cannot estimate the influence of your personal appearance upon your future. Other things equal, it is the young man who dresses well, puts up a good front, who gets the order or position, though often he may have less ability than the one who is careless in his personal appearance. Most business men regard a neat, attractive appearance as evidence ofgood mental qualities. We express ourselves first of all in our bodies. A young man who is slovenly in appearance and who neglects his bath will, as a rule, neglect his mind.

To save money at the cost of cleanliness and self-respect is the worst sort of extravagance. It is the point at which economy ceases to be a virtue and becomes a vice. In this age of competition, when the law of the survival of the fittest acts with seemingly merciless rigor, no one can afford to be indifferent to the smallest detail of dress, or manner, or appearance, that will add to his chances of making a success in life.

Remember that the world takes you largely at your own valuation; your prospective customer will be repelled or attracted by your appearance, and your clothes are as important as your bearing and manners. In fact they will to a great extent determine your bearing and manner. It has been well said that “the consciousness of clean linen is in and of itself a source of moral strength, second only to that of a clean conscience. A well ironed collar or a fresh glove has carried many a man through an emergency in which a wrinkle or a rip wouldhave defeated him.” Our clothes have a subtle mental influence from which there is no escape.

The consciousness of shabbiness, incompleteness, or slipshodness tends to destroy self-respect, to lessen energy and to detract from one’s general ability.

In order to dress properly, you must study the colors and the styles that are most becoming to you, that add most to your appearance. Don’t wear a profusion of rings or flashy jewelry; don’t indulge in “loud” neckties or anything that would make you conspicuous. All these things make a bad impression.

An excellent rule for dress is found in the advice of Polonius to his son Laertes, when he is about to start for the royal court of France.

“Costly thy habit as thy purse can buyBut not express’d in fancy; rich not gaudy;For the apparel oft proclaims the man.”

“Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy

But not express’d in fancy; rich not gaudy;

For the apparel oft proclaims the man.”

Polonius did not mean that Laertes should be extravagant in the matter of clothes. Far from it; he simply meant that he should dress in a manner befitting his rank as a representative of the court of Denmark.

The salesman is the representative of hisfirm, and to a great extent both he and his firm will be judged by his general appearance, including his clothes,

“For the apparel oft proclaims the man.”

“Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”

The King is the man who can.—Carlyle.

The hardest problem with any business man is to find customers, that is to say, desirable and profitable customers. Identical with the problem of finding customers, is the more difficult one of finding the men who can find the right kind of customers.

There’s the rub—“To findthe man who can swim.” The right kind of salesman will solve for himself this problem of getting customers as he will most others connected with selling. How, you ask? This is how the question was answered recently by a little, short, unprepossessing salesman who is said to have written the largest amount of life insurance in one of the largest insurance companies in the world.

Some time ago this salesman went to Canadaand at an influential gathering saw a man whom he sized up as a good prospect. He got his name and address, found out all about him, his habits and hobbies, one of which was the success of a big hospital in which he was especially interested. Next day the salesman went to this hospital, and asked to be shown through it, after which he called on his prospective customer, told him he had heard of his interest in —— Hospital, and said, “I have been studying this hospital, also; it is doing splendid work, and I would like to make a little contribution to its funds.” He thereupon wrote out a check for $250.00 and handed it to this man.This check was the entering wedge for a $250,000.00 life insurance policy, which this resourceful salesman soon after wrote for the man whose pet hobby was the big hospital in question.

The main trouble with most salesmen is that they put the problem of finding customers up to the sales manager or heads of the company. They want them to do all the thinking in the matter of where to go, and how to proceed in this difficult business. Let me say right at the start; there is no iron-clad rule for finding customers. Some say it is just a matter of “planand push,” as illustrated in the above instance.

The Sheldon Course in Salesmanship gives five ways for finding a customer, namely; Advertising, Window Display, General or Door to Door Canvass, Selected List Canvass, and Following Up “Leads” or Inquiries.

Many books have been written on the various forms and values of advertising. It is a well-known fact that much money is wasted through injudicious advertising, but no successful business man can dispense with the right kind of publicity. Whether he uses the newspapers, or the magazines, bill-boards, or cards in street-cars, or novelties, will all depend on the goods and the various conditions which have to be met in the marketing of his particular product. Different kinds of advertising should be adapted to each particular territory.

A salesman quickly becomes familiar with such conditions as affect different places and different seasons, so that he plans his campaigns accordingly. Where a man has a fixed territory and is handling goods which are used by a restricted class of people, then the matter becomes relatively simple, although it is important to be always alert, so as not to miss anypossible customers, and so as to learn well in advance about new firms who may want your goods.

A specialty salesman will have to use more originality in finding customers than would have to be used, ordinarily, in the wholesale or retail business, where the home office, or the head of the firm, can map out pretty well just what people should be reached, and how to reach them. Many salesmen lose a lot of valuable time, and waste much money chasing from one town to another, or from one part of a city to another, following up so-called “leads.” Unfortunately, the majority of these “leads” are answers to advertisements which were so alluring, and seemed to promise so much for nothing, that a large number of curiosity seekers have written to the home office, with little thought of buying, and more often with little ability to buy, what was advertised.

The salesman who has the courage “to go to it,” without any “lead” or point of contact, is the one who will ultimately make the biggest success.

If you have something to sell, do not be afraid to walk into a man’s place of businessand introduce yourself, telling just what service you are prepared to render. The only good reason for being in business is because you can render service. You should feel that you are the benefactor of the man whom you approach. He may be your superior financially, but in the matter of your particular article or articles for sale, you should feel that you are his superior, and therefore you should approach him with the utmost ease and confidence. The big winners in salesmanship are those who possess the initiative, the originality, and the poise, which enable them to go out and find customers quickly and intelligently, covering the biggest amount of territory in the shortest time, and concentrating their energies.

The use of the telephone in finding customers and making appointments is a method that requires considerable skill. There are those who believe that it is too easy for a man to “turn you down” on the telephone. There are others who believe that it is foolish to waste carfare and time, when you can quickly arrange matters over the telephone. Experience and native ability must guide the salesman in the use of the telephone.

So, in the matter of letter-writing,—often where a letter would be thrown in the waste-basket, or receive a negative reply, a personal call from the salesman might get a big order. Yet, in many cases the right kind of letters would get the business and save the salesman much useless expenditure of time, money and energy.

The day may come when, if our goods are exactly as represented, customers will make a beaten track to our door, but this will not happen until human nature has changed very much. The human element enters so much into sales that it is still quite an important part of salesmanship for the salesman to make personal visits, so as to get the orders. To be sure, we have the department stores and specialty houses which have built up a well-known reputation for merchandise of high quality and reasonable price. These will continue to draw customers, with the help of wise advertising, but they must employ the right kind of sales-force to handle properly the customers who visit their places of business.

Finding a customer does not mean simply inducing him to look over what you have tosell. It means actually inducing him to make a purchase, and satisfying him so thoroughly that he will continue to do business with you. It is because finding the customer is so vitally important that the selling end of a business continues to be, by long odds, the most important department.

No better advice can be given, to sum up, than this: If you would find customers, study all the means and ways in your power; keep thinking, thinking, thinking, and the right thoughts will come, then act, act, act. Never wait for to-morrow. “To-morrow” is a loser. It will never find customers.

The man who has acquired the power of keeping his mind filled with the thoughts which uplift and encourage, the optimistic thought, the cheerful, hopeful thought, has solved one of the great riddles of life.

“Don’t hunt after trouble, but look for success,You’ll find what you look for, don’t look for distress;If you see but your shadow, remember, I pray,That the sun is still shining, but you’re in the way;“Don’t grumble, don’t bluster, don’t dream and don’t shirk,Don’t think of your worries, but think of your work.The worries will vanish, the work will be done,No man sees his shadow who faces the sun.”

“Don’t hunt after trouble, but look for success,

You’ll find what you look for, don’t look for distress;

If you see but your shadow, remember, I pray,

That the sun is still shining, but you’re in the way;

“Don’t grumble, don’t bluster, don’t dream and don’t shirk,Don’t think of your worries, but think of your work.The worries will vanish, the work will be done,No man sees his shadow who faces the sun.”

“Don’t grumble, don’t bluster, don’t dream and don’t shirk,

Don’t think of your worries, but think of your work.

The worries will vanish, the work will be done,

No man sees his shadow who faces the sun.”

A young salesman who has mastered himself and also the secret of success recently wrote from the field:

“Yesterday it seemed as though everything was going against me. There appeared to be something the matter everywhere I called, and although I put up a most determined fight failure after failure met me, until very late in the evening. I had not then taken a singleorder, but I made up my mind that I could not go back to my boarding place until I had done a decent day’s work. It was this resolution that saved the day, for I took fifteen orders before I got home at nine o’clock. If I had given up to my discouragement I should simply have said to myself, ‘What’s the use? This day is gone and I might as well go home, take it easy, and make the best of it.’ But I said, ‘No, young man, you are not going to bed to-night until you have done a good day’s work.’

“Many a time such a resolution has saved me when, otherwise, I would have made a miserable showing. I just make up my mind that no matter what attractions come in my way, no matter what discouragements I meet, I will conquer before the night or I will stay up all night. I find that victory usually follows such a resolution.”

The prospect feels the influence of such a determination on the part of the salesman. We radiate our moods, our discouragement, or our courage. The man we approach feels what we feel, and when we approach him with the spirit of a conqueror, when we go to him with victory in our face, we generally win out.

A notably successful salesman says that he made his first great hit after overcoming a fit of deep discouragement, consequent on the loss of his position. When he got another place he said he started out the first morning with one word ringing in his mind, “Determination.” He resolved not to return without an order. He was determined to make that day a red letter day in his life, to show his new employer what was in him, to convince his prospects. He approached every one that day with the determination of victory uppermost in his mind.

“One man afterwards told me,” he said, “that I overwhelmed him with my dead-in-earnestness, won him by my determination.”

The power of the mind, whether favorable or unfavorable, is tremendous. When a man gives way to discouragement he loses his grip and begins to go down. The bottom seems to drop out of things, and everything helps him the way he is going. His thought connects him with all the thought currents of misfortune, poverty and failure. He attracts those things, for it is a psychological law that failure attracts failure, discouragement more discouragement,poverty more poverty. To a salesman discouragement is fatal, for when a man assumes the discouraged, failure attitude, he loses power and magnetism, there is nothing inspiring in him, and he not only loses confidence in himself but his fellow men also lose confidence in him. You will find it next to impossible to make a sale with a mind filled with discouragement, pessimistic, failure thoughts.

The exercise of a little will power is all that is necessary for the control of our moods, to change discouragement and depression into courage and hope.

We all know how quickly a child will work itself into a fearful spasm simply by beginning to pity itself. The more he indulges in self-pity, the louder and louder will he cry, until he completely upsets his mind and becomes hysterical.

When inclined to be blue and discouraged, men and women are like children. The temptation is to begin to pity ourselves, then we go on hanging up more dark pictures on the walls of the mind, until we have our whole mentality dressed in mourning. It is not very difficult at the beginning of a discouraged mood to shutit off by resolutely turning our minds in the opposite direction. Instead of adding to our depression by pitying ourselves the thing to do is to tear down the black flags, the hideous pictures, the gloomy visions of our imagination, to clear them all out of the mind, and let in sunlight and joy, peace and happiness. These will very quickly drive away the gloom and discouragement, and they are just as ready to enter our minds and to stay with us as their opposites, if we will only make room for them.

When you feel downhearted and mentally depressed; when, perhaps, business is dull and you begin to fear you won’t make any sales this trip, go somewhere where you can be alone and give yourself an audible self-treatment. If this is not possible, then give yourself a silent or mental one, the form in both cases may be the same. But the audible treatment is apt to be more effective, since the spoken word makes a deeper impression than that which is merely thought or passed through the mind.

Say to yourself something like this: “I am a child of God, I have a living, vital connection with the great Source and Sustainer of allthings which nothing can sever. Therefore I have nothing to fear. I have strength and ability to do whatever it is necessary for me to do. I was made to be successful, to be happy. This is my birthright and nothing can rob me of it. I will succeed in everything I undertake to-day. I will be cheerful and happy.I am happy, because I was made for joy and gladness, not for gloom and sadness. They are foreign to my nature, and I will have nothing more to do with them.”

Just fill your mind with good, cheerful, uplifting thoughts and you will find that your feeling will quickly correspond with your mental attitude. After a few minutes of this auto-suggestive treatment you will be surprised at the complete transformation of your outlook. It is astonishing how we can brace ourselves up by auto-suggestion, replacing the distressing, blue, discouraging thoughts with cheerful, hopeful, optimistic thoughts.

There are men who are usually quite level-headed but who do the most foolish things when discouraged or suffering from the “blues,” acting under the influence of their moods, when the brain is clouded, inexact,uncertain in its processes, instead of clear, active, and well balanced.

Discouragement colors the judgment.

Whenever you see a person who has been unusually successful in any field, remember that he has usually thought himself into his position; his mental attitude and energy have created it; what he stands for in his community has come from his attitude toward life, toward his fellowmen, toward his vocation, toward himself. Above all else, it is the outcome of his self-faith, of his inward vision of himself; the result of his estimate of his powers and possibilities.

Self-depreciation is one of the characteristics of those suffering from the “blues.” Most of us do not encourage ourselves enough by optimistic thinking, by auto-suggestion.

If you are a victim of your moods, push right into the swim of things, and take an active part, as well as a real interest, in what is going on around you. Associate with people. Be glad and happy, and interest yourself in others. Keep your mind off yourself. Get away from yourself by entering with zest into the family plans, or the plans and pleasures of others about you.

The expelling power of a contrary emotion has a wonderful effect upon the mind. The cure for bad moods is to summon good ones to take their places in the thought and thus force them out.

I know of a woman who was prone to fits of the “blues,” who conquered them by forcing herself to sing bright, joyous songs, and to play lively, inspiring airs on the piano whenever she felt an “attack” coming on.

Do not let anybody or anything shake your faith that you can conquer all these enemies of your peace and happiness, and that you inherit an abundance of all that is good.

If we were properly trained in the psychology of mental chemistry, we could change the state of our mind as quickly as we can change our clothing. The simple fact, however, thattwo opposite thoughts or emotions cannot live together an instantgives us the key to the whole matter. Every sane person can control and guide his mind. He can choose his thoughts, and the good encouraging thought will neutralize the evil, depressing one. It is just a question of holding in the mind the antidote of the thought that is torturing us, robbing us of our birthright, of success and happiness.

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