Success
He would have to go out of
business, with a fixed charge of $500.00 a month for rent, if it were
not for his knowledge of human nature which enables him to make a
very high percentage of sales to all who come into his store.
I have often observed women when they were trying on hats, and
have wondered why salespeople did not read the prospective buyer's
mind by watching her manner of handling the hats.
A woman goes into a store and asks to be shown some hats.
The salesperson starts bringing out hats and the prospective buyer starts 48 trying them on. If a hat suits her, even in the slightest sort of way, she will keep it on a few seconds, or a few minutes, but if she does not like it she will pull it right off her head the moment the salesperson takes her hands off the hat.
Finally, when the customer is shown a hat that she likes she will begin to announce that fact, in terms which no well informed salesperson will fail to understand, by arranging her hair under the hat, or pulling it down on her head to just the angle which she likes best, and by looking at the hat from the rear, with the aid of a hand mirror.
The signs of admiration are unmistakable. Finally, the customer will remove the hat from her head, and begin to look at it closely; then she may lay it aside and permit another hat to be tried on her, in which event the clever salesperson will lay aside the hat just removed, and at the opportune time she will bring it back and ask the customer to try it on again.
By careful observation of the customer's likes and dislikes a clever saleswoman may often sell as many as three or four hats to the same customer, at one sitting, by merely watching what appeals to the customer and then concentrating upon the sale of that.
The same rule applies in the sale of other merchandise. The
customer will, if closely observed, clearly indicate what is wanted,
and, if the clue is followed, very rarely will a customer walk out
without buying.
I believe it a conservative estimate when I say that fully seventy-five
per cent of the "walk-outs," as the non-purchasing customers are
called, are due to lack of tactful showing of merchandise.
Last Fall I went into a hat store to purchase a felt hat. It was a busy Saturday afternoon and I was approached by a young "extra" rush-hour salesman who had not yet learned how to size people up at a glance.