There is, however, in salesmanship much that is extraneous to the actual act of selling. In certain forms of selling, for example, success or failure will in the main be governed by what the sales man does prior to "making contact" with the prospective buyer. In the higher realms of selling, pre-interview investigation plays a highly important part; and when at last the salesman comes face to face with his "prospect," it is with a most carefully pre pared plan of action, known as a canvass. The preparation of a strong canvass, based on data gleaned from many sources, is part of the technique of salesmanship which is being successfully taught today. If the salesman is selling a speciality, such as a noiseless portable typewriter, the vital part of his canvass will be the demonstration. The four parts of the demonstration are (I) the production of the demonstration machine, (2) the explanation of its principal features, (3) the operation of the machine by the salesman, and (4) the operation of the machine by the prospect or his nominee. The complete interview may be divided into five parts. The first part is the courtesy opening; the second part begins the canvass proper, and consists of pre demonstration sales arguments; the third part is the demonstra tion itself (which, as stated above, has its own four integral parts) ; the fourth part consists of post-demonstration sales argu ments or "selling points," and ends with the salesman obtaining the order or desired action on the part of the prospect, or ad mitting temporary failure to do so ; the fifth part is the courtesy close.
Of the various attributes and qualities essential to full success as a salesman, two may be cited as being of exceptional importance —adaptability and knowledge of merchandise. To some consider able extent, the measure of the salesman's success in getting orders will be the measure of his success in establishing the right rela tionships of mutual trust and regard between himself and his cus tomers. The keenness of competition to-day has resulted in mer chandise attaining a consistently high level of quality, and in cer tain circumstances whether or not a particular salesman obtains the business will be determined by whether or not he is liked by the buyer. The factor of sentiment weighs when other things are equal. It is the need for adaptability which leads the experienced salesman to become a shrewd judge of character. No one practi cally experienced pretends that character judgment, as the exigencies of selling permit it to be practised, is infallible. Never theless, a knowledge of physiognomy can be of the utmost value to the salesman who has learned to recognise the three ruling types—the phlegmatic or motive, the sanguinary or vital, and the nervous or mental. The salesman learns the physical character istics of the various types, appreciates their corresponding mental attributes and qualities, and is thus able to obtain some valuable clues as to their probable behaviour. The wise salesman, how
ever, regards his reading of the prospect's character as purely provisional, as providing a useful starting point merely. Of the other outstanding attribute, knowledge of merchandise, little need be said beyond a most emphatic insistence upon its indispensa bility to full success. No amount of verbal plausibility or dialectic brilliance can compensate for lack of precise and complete knowl edge of whatever one is selling. Other qualities and attributes de sirable in a salesman are physical and mental fitness, a high standard of conduct ethically, a certain charm of manner, unfail ing courtesy, persistence amounting to doggedness, a command of language above the average, some personal culture, an impressive bearing, marked powers of observation, a good memory, tact in large measure, and so on.