THE PSYCHOLOGY OF SALESMANSHIP/PART 6
CHAPTER VI
THE PRE-APPROACH
Nearly
all teachers of or writers upon Salesmanship lay much stress upon what is
called "The Pre-Approach," by which term is indicated the
preliminaries leading up to the Approach or Interview with the Buyer.
What
we have said under the head of "The Mind of the Salesman" is really a
part of the Pre-Approach, for it is in the nature of the preparation of the
mind of the salesman for the interview with the buyer. But there is more than
this to the Pre-Approach. The Pre-Approach is the mapping out of the
campaign—"organizing victory" it has been called. It is the
accumulation of ammunition for the fight, and the laying out of the strategy.
Macbain says: "The Pre-Approach is the groundwork upon which the salesman
builds. It comprises all the information obtainable by him that will be of
importance in making his approach in selling the customer. * * * A sale,
in fact, resembles chimney-building, in which it takes more time for
preliminary scaffold-making than it does to build the permanent structure once
the scaffold is made."
In
the first place, an important part of the Pre-Approach is a correct and
complete knowledge of your goods. Too many men rush to the Approach without
knowing what they have to sell. It is not enough to know brands and prices—one
should know his goods from top to bottom, inside and outside,
from the raw material to the finished article. He should feel perfectly at home
with his goods, so that he may have full information regarding them on tap, and
thus have his mind free for the strategy of the sale. A little close, earnest
intelligent study of one's line of goods will not only supply one with an
efficient weapon, but will also impart to him a sense of certainty and
confidence that he cannot have otherwise. What would be thought of a teacher of
natural history who did not understand animals? And yet many salesmen are
equally as ignorant about their subject.
The
salesman should understand his goods so thoroughly that he could write a
treatise on them, or demonstrate them before an audience of experts or of
persons entirely in ignorance of them—the latter being probably the hardest
task. He should be able to explain their particular virtues and characteristics
to a man old in the same line, or to explain them simply and plainly to one who
had never seen them or who was ignorant of their uses. We know of one salesman
who was asked by his little boy to explain a cash register to him, and who
complied with the request. He told us that he learned more about his cash
register in the process of that explanation than he had acquired in even the
process of the technical demonstration in the "salesman's school" at
the factory. It is not always policy for the salesman to air his knowledge of
his goods to his customer—such a course would generally bore the latter—but he
should know all about his goods, nevertheless. The man who knows his goods in
this way plants his feet on the solid rock and cannot be swept away, while the
man who builds on the shifting sand of "half-knowledge" is always in
danger.
But
the more popular branch of the Pre-Approach is the knowledge of the customer.
Get as many points regarding the characteristics, habits, likes and dislikes of
the customer as possible. Find out as much as you can about his trade, and
manner of conducting his business, as well as his business history. Macbain
says: "There is really no information about a prospective customer that
can be said to be valueless. On the other hand, a knowledge of one or two of
the characteristics of the man to be approached may be considered sufficient,
the ready intuition of the salesman being relied upon for the rest. It is
assumed, of course, that a salesman will be able to call his man by name,
pronouncing the name correctly upon the very first interview. This is the prime
requisite, and the remaining knowledge should be grouped about this in the
order of its importance."
The
data regarding your prospective customer is obtainable in many ways. Much of it
you may obtain from your house if they have had previous dealings with him.
Other salesmen will also add to the data, but one must be on the lookout here
and not allow himself to be prejudiced against the customer, or frightened by
adverse reports regarding his manner and characteristics coming from other
salesmen. Pierce says: "It would seem that the good characteristics of the
prospect are desirable to learn. But it is a conviction that by denying to one's
self the unfavorable things said about your prospect, you will not accentuate
the very qualities you hope to obviate. One attempt at a sale is recalled where
the prospect was said to be 'the meanest man on earth.' Almost terrified by the
description, the salesman went at the prospect the wrong way; displeased him;
lost the sale."
Hotel
clerks—or better still, hotel proprietors—are often very well informed
regarding merchants in their town, and often valuable information may be
obtained in this way, although the judgment and experience of the hotel people
must be appraised before basing one's own opinion regarding the customer. Other
customers may also be diplomatically pressed into service in obtaining
information regarding their competitors, although allowance must always be
made for the personal bias in such cases. It is a good idea for the salesman to
make a record of these advance reports, so as to have them on file where he may
refer to them when needed. Some salesmen have a card index devoted to this purpose,
which they have found very useful.
Another,
and a very important point about the Pre-Approach is that of developing the
proper Mental Attitude in yourself. You must get yourself right
first, before you can get anything else right. Pierce says regarding this:
"Someone has said that the greatest bane to selling goods is fear. As a
matter of fact, the only thing you are afraid of is that you won't make the
sale,—get the check. But, if you waive this point, and say, 'Now, I don't care
whether I get this sale or not. I do know this: I am honest, my goods are
honest, and if this man does not want them there are plenty of men who do,' you
will find the fear melting like the mist before sunshine. Fear cannot live in
the presence of your smile, your confidence, your knowledge of the business and
your industry."
In
this connection, re-read what we have said to you regarding the "I"
and "Self-Respect" in the chapter entitled "The Mind of the
Salesman." This chapter was written to cover just such cases as the one in
question. If you can realize the "I" within you, your fear will
disappear quickly. Remember, "there's nothing to fear but Fear."
Many
successful salesmen state that they overcame their early fear and timidity by
filling themselves with auto-suggestions that they were calling on the customer
for the purpose of doing him a good turn—that it was a good thing for the
customer that the salesman was calling on him, although he did not know it—and
that he, the salesman must let nothing stand in the way of doing that good turn
to the customer, etc. As ridiculous as this may appear to some, it will be
found to work well in many cases. And it is based upon truth, too, for if the
goods are right, and the prices are likewise, the salesman is doing the
customer a good turn.
And
right here, let us impress upon you the necessity of working yourself up to the
point of believing thoroughly in your own proposition. You must get
yourself into the state of mind in which, if you were in the customer's place,
you would surely want to take advantage of it. You must convert yourself before
you can expect to convert the customer. We know an ad. man who tells us that he
never feels satisfied with an ad. that he is writing until he can make himself
believe that he wants to buy the article himself. And he is right. And the
salesman will do well to take a leaf from his book. Enthusiasm and belief are
contagious. If you believe thoroughly in a thing, you run a much better chance
of making others believe in it also, than if you feel otherwise. You must learn
to sell to yourself first, then you may sell to the customer.
W.C.
Holman, in "Salesmanship," says: "One cannot make others believe
what he himself believes, unless he himself is an earnest believer. Dwight L.
Moody swayed enormous audiences by the simple power of his own wonderful
earnestness. No one could listen to Moody without saying: 'This man believes
absolutely every word he is speaking. If he feels what he says so
tremendously, there must be something in it.' If every salesman realized
how largely the attitude of the 'prospect' depended upon the salesman's own
mental attitude, he would be as careful to get into the right frame of mind
when he started out to approach a prospect as he would be to carry a sample
case. It is a simple matter for him to do this. 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. He should make this sale to himself at the
beginning of every day's work."
The
student should acquaint himself thoroughly with the creative force of
Suggestion and Auto-Suggestion in Character Building, and in producing and
maintaining the proper Mental Attitude. The volume of this series entitled
"Suggestion and Auto-Suggestion" gives both the theory,
principles and methods of applying Auto-Suggestion in the directions named. One
need no longer be a slave of his Mental Attitude. On the contrary he may create
and preserve the Mental Attitude he deems advisable and necessary at any time.
Mr.
W.C. Holman, one of the best of the inspirational writers on Salesmanship,
gives the following interesting instance of the use of Auto-Suggestion by a
salesman. He says: "One of the best salesmen the writer ever knew got up
what he called his catechism. He used to put himself through it every morning
before starting out. Oftentimes he repeated it aloud if he had the opportunity.
The questions he would repeat in a quiet tone, but the answers he would
pronounce with all the earnestness of which he was capable. His catechism ran
somewhat as follows:
"Am
I working for a good house? YES!
"Has
my house the reputation and prestige of being one of the best in its line? YES!
"Have
we made hundreds of thousands of sales like the sales I am going to make
to-day? YES!
"Have
we an enormous body of satisfied users? YES!
"Am
I selling the best goods of the kind made anywhere in the world? YES!
"Is
the price I am asking a fair one? YES!
"Do
the men I am going to call on need the article I am selling? YES!
"Do
they realize that now? NO!
"Is
that the very reason I am going to call on them—because at present they don't
want my goods, and haven't yet bought them? YES!
"Am
I justified in asking a prospect's time and attention to present my
proposition? BY ALL THE POWERS, YES!
"Am
I going to get into the office of every man that I call on, if there is any
earthly way to do it? YES!
"Am
I going to sell every man I call on to-day? YOU BET I AM!"
Referring
to the above "catechism" of Mr. Holman, we would say that if a man
would work himself up to the point of asking and answering these questions in
earnest, and would carry the spirit thereof through the day, he would
render himself almost invincible. A spirit like that is the spirit of the Light
Brigade, of Napoleon, of the Berserker Norseman who made a way for himself.
Such a man would make opportunities, instead of begging for them. Such a man
would be inspired. This is Auto-Suggestion raised to the Nth Power. Try it—you
need it in your business!
The
second phase of the Pre-Approach is that of obtaining an interview with the
prospective customer, generally known as "the prospect." In many
instances the salesman is able to secure the interview by simply walking into
the presence of the prospect, the latter being in full view in his store or
office and no intermediary being present to intercept the approach. In such
cases the second phase of the Pre-Approach is passed over, and the actual
Approach is entered into at once. But in other cases, particularly in the large
office buildings of the principal cities, the prospect is found to be in his
private office, and the salesman's advance is halted by a clerk, or even an
office boy, and there are certain preliminaries to be gone through with before
an interview may be obtained. In many cases, "big" men (or those who
wish to be considered "big") surround themselves with so much
formality and red-tape that it is quite a feat to run the gauntlet of the
guardians of the inner temple, and much tact, diplomacy, presence of mind, and
often strategy is required of the Salesman in order that he may "get at
his man."
Macbain,
in his work entitled "Selling," says of this stage: "Between the
pre-approach and the actual approach sometimes lies a trying time for the salesman.
It is no uncommon thing for a prospective customer to keep a salesman waiting,
either outside the office door and out of sight, or inside and in the presence
of the prospective buyer. This is known as 'breaking the salesman's nerve.' It
is often done with the idea of deliberately making the salesman nervous and
consequently unable to make such an approach as otherwise would be possible.
Perhaps one of the most common forms of this is seen when the prospective
customer appears to be very busily interested in something at his desk
and allows the salesman to stand an indefinite length of time and then
turns suddenly upon him. This is especially disconcerting to the young man, but
the experienced salesman recognizes it as an indication that either the man is
very busy and actually hates to take his mind off his work, or that he is
afraid of being talked into something that he will later regret. The salesman
consequently shapes his introduction accordingly and will in no wise be
disconcerted by this attempt as it will enable him to study carefully the
outward characteristics of the man whom he is about to approach."
In
many cases this waiting is forced on the salesman by a prospect who also knows
something of the laws of psychology—for such knowledge is not confined to the
salesman by any means, the buyer having posted himself in many cases. In the
game of checkers or draughts quite an important advantage accrues to the player
securing what is technically known as "the move," which, however, is
a very different thing from the "first play." There is in the
psychology of the sale, or of the interview between two people of
equal strength, a something which corresponds very closely with "the
move" in checkers. This something gives a decided advantage to the person
securing it, and it is worth striving for. This something is subtle and almost
indescribable, although apparent to every one who has dealings with his fellow
men. It seems to be a matter of mental balance and poise. The salesman, if he
be well balanced and poised, is "positive" to the buyer, the latter
being in a listening, and therefore passive, attitude. So far the salesman has
"the move," which however he may later lose if the prospect plays
scientifically. Well, to get back to the "waiting" stage, the prospect
by disturbing the salesman's poise, and "breaking his nerve" by
keeping him waiting on the anxious bench in a state of suspense, often manages
to get "the move" on him, unless he understands the psychology of the
process and accordingly avoids it. Suspense is the most nerve-breaking mental
state on the psychological list, as all realize who have experienced it. Beware
of losing "the move."
An
important factor in getting past the stockade of the outer office is the
consciousness of Self Respect and the realization of the "I" of which
we have spoken. This mental attitude impresses itself upon those who guard the
outer works, and serves to clear the way. As Pierce says: "Remember, you
are asking no favors; that you have nothing to apologize for, and that you have
every reason in the world for holding your head high. And it is wonderful what
this holding up of the head will do in the way of increasing sales. We have
seen salesmen get entrance to the offices of Broadway buyers simply through the
holding of the head straight up from the shoulders." But it is the Mental
Attitude back of the physical expression that is the spirit of the thing—don't
forget this.
The
Mental Attitude and the physical expression thereof instinctively influence the
conduct of other people toward one. We may see the same thing illustrated in
the attitude and action of the street boy toward dogs. Let some poor cur trot
along with drooping ears, timid expression, meek eyes, and tail between his
legs, and the urchin will be apt to kick him or throw a rock at his retreating
form. Note the difference when the self-respecting dog, with spirit in
him, trots past, looking the boy fearlessly in the eye and showing his sense of
self-respect and power to back it up in every movement. That dog is treated
accordingly. There are certain people whose manner is such that they do not
need to ask respect and consideration—it is given them as a matter of right and
privilege. People stand aside to give them room, and move up in street cars
that they may have a seat. And it does not necessarily follow that the person
to whom this respect is shown is a worthy individual or a person of fine
qualities—he may be a confidence man or a swindler. But whatever he is, or may
be, he has certain outward mannerisms and characteristics which enable him to
"put up a good front" and which carry him through. At the back of it
all will be found certain mental states which produce the genuine outward
characteristics and manner in the case of genuine instances of persons possessing
authority and high position, the confidence man merely presenting a passable
counterfeit, being a good actor.
It
is often necessary for the salesman to send in a card to the inner office. It
is well for him to have some cards, well engraved in the most approved
manner, bearing simply his name: "Mr. John Jay Jones," with his
business appearing thereon. If he is travelling from a large city, and is
selling in smaller towns, he may have "New York,"
"Chicago," "Philadelphia," "Boston," etc., as the
case may be in the corner of his card. If the name of his business appears on
the card the prospect often goes over the matter of a possible sale, mentally,
without the salesman being present to present his case, and then may decline to
grant an interview. The name, without the business, often arouses interest or
curiosity and thus, instead of hindering, really aids in securing the
interview.
Regarding
the discussion of the business with anyone other than the prospect himself, the
authorities differ. As a matter of fact it would seem to depend largely upon
the particular circumstances of each case, the nature of the articles to be
sold, and the character and position of the subordinate in question.
One
set of authorities hold that it is very poor policy to tell your business to a
subordinate, and that it is far better to tell him courteously but firmly
that your business is of such a nature that you can discuss it only with the
prospect in person. Otherwise, it is held that the subordinate will tell you
that the matter in question has already been considered by his principal, and
that he is fully informed regarding the proposition, and has given orders that
he is not to be disturbed further regarding it.
The
other set of authorities hold that in many cases the subordinate may be pressed
into service, by treating him with great respect, and an apparent belief in his
judgment and authority, winning his good-will and getting him interested in
your proposition, and endeavoring to have him "speak about it" to his
superior during the day. It is claimed that a subsequent call, the day
following, will often prove successful, as the subordinate will have paved the
way for an interview and have actually done some work for you in the way of
influence and selling talk. It is held that some salesmen have made permanent
"friends in camp" of these subordinates who have been approached in
this way.
It
would seem, however, as we have said, to depend much upon the particular
circumstances of the case. In some cases the subordinate is merely a
"hold-off," or "breakwater;" while in others he is a
confidential employee whose opinion has weight with the prospect, and whose
good-will and aid are well worth securing. In any event, however, it is well to
gain the respect and good-will of those in the "outer court," for
they can often do much in the way of helping or injuring your chances. We have
known cases in which subordinates "queered" a salesman who had
offended them; and we have known other cases in which the subordinate being
pleased by the salesman "put him next." It is always better to make a
friend rather than an enemy—from the office-boy upward—on general principles.
Many a fine warrior has been tripped up by a small pebble. Strong men have died
from the bite of a mosquito.
The
following advice from J.F. Gillen, the Chicago manager of the Burroughs Adding
Machine Company, is very much to the point. Mr. Gillen, in the magazine
"Salesmanship," says: "A salesman who has not proved
his mettle—and who, unfortunately, is not sure of himself—is likely to be
overcome by a sense of his own insignificance on entering the private domain of
the great man, rich man, or influential man, from whom he hopes to get an
order. The very hum and rush of business in this boss's office are very
awe-inspiring. 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. Indeed he has none, if the
awe which he feels for red-tape, rules, dignitaries, has made him lose sight of
the attractions of his own proposition; has swallowed up his confidence in what
he has to offer and his ability to enthuse the prospect in regard to it. * * *
If you believe that your proposition will prove interesting to the prospect and
that he will profit by doing business with you, you have a right to feel
that the rule barring salesmen from his presence was not intended to
bar you. Convince yourself of this and the stern negative of the
information clerk will not abash you. You will find yourself endowed with a
courage and resourcefulness to cope with a slick secretary who gives glibly
evasive replies when you try to find out whether Mr. Prospect is now in his
office, whether he cannot see you at once, and what reason exists for supposing
you could possibly tell your business to any subordinate in place of him. Once
you are thus morally sure of your ground, the hardest part of the battle is
won. * * * You can see the prospect and get speech with him, no matter
what obstacles intervene, if your nerve holds out and you use your brains."
Remember
this, always: The Psychology of Salesmanship applies not only to work with the
prospect, but also to work with those who bar the way to him. Subordinates have
minds, faculties, feelings and strong and weak points of mentality—they have
their psychology just as their employer has his. It will pay you to make a
careful study of their psychology—it has its rules, laws and principles.
This is a point often overlooked by little salesmen, but fully recognized by the
"big" ones. The short cut to the mind of many a prospect is directly
through the mind of the man in the outer office.
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