14. Creative salesinamhip.— The propositions handled by many salesmen are, by nature, indefinite and intangible ; the actual details of the proposition must be different for each individual prospect. The advertising agency, for example, has nothing more tangible to sell than the services of a skilled organiza tion. Naturally, the representative of the agency will include in his talk the qualifications of the members of this organization; but to stop there would accom plish little. Having instilled in the prospect a confi dence in the ability of the organization to handle his advertising problem, the agency representative must switch to a definite advertising proposition especially planned to suit the needs of the individual prospect.
We have seen that the insurance man and very often the machinery salesman or the man presenting office filing devices, must select from the various propositions that his house could offer, one which is especially suited to that individual prospect.
Many representatives of printing houses merely travel from one large printing buyer to another and give a general talk on their firm's equipment and their ability to handle large orders, to do quality work and to make rapid delivery. They find a, fair average of such buyers "in the market" and get an opportunity to submit prices on work to be given out. This pro cedure creates little new business and keeps the sales man competing almost entirely on a price basis. The printing salesman worthy of the name will visit not only houses that regularly place large printing orders, but also those Nvhich could benefit by issuing a booklet or a catalog, or by entering upon a direct-by-mail advertising campaign. After talking equipment, re liability, quality and service, and having secured by one or more calls, an insight into the concern's needs, the salesman will focus his selling talk on a definite printing program for that individual house. His talk will be illustrated by booklet dummies and designs prepared especially for the purpose.
This is the sort of salesmanship which makes two orders grow where but one grew before, and which creates and develops customers for the house. There are few lines where it cannot be applied to advantage. It should be constantly borne in mind by the salesman selling anything more or less intangible, that not until a definite program has been presented for the pros pect's approval, can any real desire be aroused, or any definite attempt be made to close a sale. This ,work ing from the general to the specific is one form of creative salesmanship.
At times it is quite possible to divert a prospect's thought from the proposition be has in mind to one that is more advantageous both to him and to the sales man. A short time ago a new addition to a plant in Rhode Island was being erected. The installation of machinery was to be heavy and, as a consequence, every machinery concern in the East had a salesman on the ground. Blue-prints showing the installation
had been distributed, and each salesman had the esti mate of his house ready to present on a certain date. One of the salesmen, when he carried the blue-print away, thought he saw a chance for changes, both in lay-out and in type of machines, which would materi ally increase the output and cut costs. He took the matter up with the engineers at his company's home office and got out an entirely new set of drawings showing the new installation that he proposed. On the day set for the submission of bids every machinery salesman but this one submitted a bid on the installa tion as originally planned. This salesman, when his turn came, spread his new plans before the board of directors, explained the changes and improvements proposed, showed how costs would be cut and output increased, and won them over to the new arrangement. Both because there was not time to get out new blue prints and secure new bids, and because the directors sincerely felt that the concern that discovered the op portunity should have the business, the contract to make the new installation was closed immediately.
Let us look at an example of this same sort of ability in a different field of selling. The mail-order man in a big Chicago house had telephoned an office equipment concern for a new section of filing cabinets to take care of his expanding lists. "Never mind coming in," he said, "just send it along and mail me your bill." "Oh, that's all right," replied the sales man, "I shall be passing your place and I shall just drop in anyhow." He called later, secured the order for the new section, and was apparently just prepar ing to leave when he said: "By the way, have you seen these new filing desks?" and without waiting for an answer, he drew out a special catalog and began pointing out casually just how filing desks could be used to better advantage than filing cabinets under the very conditions existing in the mail-order man's de partment. Before he got thru, the mail-order man had canceled the order for the section of filing cabinets and had ordered two filing desks to replace cabinets in taking care of his lists. Then he introduced his friend, the filing-desk man, to the head of the collec tion department and strongly recommended that the desks be tried there, too. Result: another order for a filing desk. The salesman came in ostensibly to get an order for 11 dollars' worth of filing equipment —and left with $120 worth of business. There can be little doubt that this achievement was the result of a carefully studied and well-worked-out plan which the salesman was probably using with little variation in all similar situations.
These are instances of creative salesmanship at its best. Opportunities for it are numerous in prac tically every line.