Some men are more brilliant than others. Some, by reason of temperament and past environment, are better fitted for one occupation than for another. But the native ability of any man can be developed along selling lines as well as along others, and any individual who possesses a fair amount of native abil ity can be trained to sell.
4. Health.—In many walks of life some men, thru an indomitable will, have succeeded in spite of bodily illness. They are the exceptions that prove the rule, however, and we can only speculate as -to how much greater they might have been had bodily vigor been added to their mental attainments. It is more com mon to hear of men like Theodore Roosevelt, who, by following a strict system of right living, right breath ing, right eating and right exercise have built for themselves a strong body.
A salesman, probably more than anyone else, should have a strong, healthy body and mind. He will find it difficult to influence and dominate strong and healthy people unless he himself is in the best of condition both physically and mentally—and one's physical condition has much to do with one's mental attitude, especially as regards optimism and cheerful ness. The salesman's arduous duties require a large daily supply of strength and vitality, and it is just as much a part of his duty to himself and to his house to see that this vitality is constantly renewed as it is to know his goods.
A salesm. an should not be satisfied merely because he is not actually sick in bed. Many a sallow cheek could have color in it. Many a blurred eye could be clear and bright. A little more fitness for the fray would put spring into many a dragging step. The salesman should be satisfied with nothing less than an attitude, an appearance and a carriage that will indi cate the top notch of bodily vigor.
Emerson says: "Physical exuberance, surcharge of arterial blood, a strong heart and a bounding pulse —these are the bases of the powers that make men and nations great. In the last analysis, great human achievements rest on perfect physical health." 5. Preparedness.—Two salesmen were talking to gether in the lobby of a large hotel. One of them, who had been selling paint successfully for one con cern for fifteen years, confided to the other that he bad not done a stroke of business on the trip he was then making, and announced his intention of going back to his headquarters in Cleveland and resigning. The
other, who was a salesman of the new school, having ascertained that this man's paint concern was an old establishment, but little known, began to ply the older man with questions as to what points of superiority his paints had over others, how they compared in price with better known paints, and what reasons there were, in his opinion, for a person to buy his paint in preference to the more widely advertised brands. The paint salesman was unable to answer anv one of these questions ! He did not know ! He had just been dropping around on the dealers in that section for the last fifteen years, selling them paint, and now be suddenly found himself unable to sell them any more. That was all he knew. Before the conversa tion ended be had made a note of the questions that the younger man had asked, and had decided to go back to his concern, not to resign, but to get the an swers to those questions; then, he resolved, he would take another swing around the circuit. That man was unprepared.
Senator Beveridge, who was once a salesman, says that being prepared is the secret of most successes in this world; that fate seldom sides with the unequipped. To succeed in selling. anything, the salesman must prepare himself by first acquiring a knowledge of the principles of his craft, and then mastering the details of his proposition. Ile must have his selling points marshalled and under full control. He must be pre pared to answer any questions that may arise. The fact that a salesman has had a good preparation does not mean that his study should cease when he begins to work, any more than one would expect a good lawyer to stop reading law after starting practice. Knowl edge of goods and of selling points does not come by intuition or inspiration, but by study and application.
Nor should the salesman's study stop when he knows the selling points. When a salesman is not traveling, he should take time to study the goods he is selling. If he has not come up thru the manufac turing department and is not familiar with the plant, he would do well to spend some of his time there.