Napoleon Hill
He needed the commission he would have made on my
subscription had I purchased; no doubt about that - but he suggested nothing
that appealed to my self-interest motive, therefore he lost a sale. But the
loss of this one sale was not the sad part of his misfortune; the sad part
was that this same attitude was causing him to lose all other sales, which
he might have made had he changed his approach.
A few weeks later another subscription agent approached me. She was selling a combination of six magazines, one of which was the Saturday Evening Post, but how different was her approach. She glanced at my library table, on which she saw several magazines, then at my bookshelves, and exclaimed with enthusiasm: "Oh! I see you are a lover of books and magazines."
I proudly pleaded guilty to the charge. Observe the word "proudly," for it has an important bearing on this incident. I laid down the manuscript that I was reading when this saleswoman came in, for I could see that she was a woman of intelligence. Just how I came to see this I will leave to your imagination.
The important point is that I laid down the manuscript and actually felt myself wanting to hear what she had to say. With the aid of eleven words, plus a pleasant smile, plus a tone of genuine enthusiasm, she had neutralized my mind sufficiently to make me want to hear her.
She had performed her most difficult task, with those
few words, because I had made up my mind when she was announced that I would
keep my manuscript in my hands and thereby convey to her mind, as politely
as I could, the fact that I was busy and did not wish to be detained. Being
a student of salesmanship and of suggestion, I carefully watched to see what
her next move would be.
She had a bundle of magazines under her arm and I expected she would unroll it and begin to urge me to purchase, but she didn't. You will recall that I said she was selling a combination of six magazines; not merely trying to sell them.
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FIRST IMPRESSIONS REALLY DO COUNT. DRESS TO LOOK THE PART YOU INTEND TO PLAY IN LIFE, BUT TAKE CARE NOT TO OVERDO IT. |