16. Securing favorable conditions for interview.— In the sale of most commodities, the salesman should realize that he has not accomplished his task of getting at the buyer if the latter merely comes out and talks to him as both stand in the reception room. A man standing up feels uncomfortable and is scarcely in a position to give his best attention. Furthermore, under such circumstances the handling of any equip ment that the salesman may carry is likely to be awkward. After a few terse remarks calculated to arouse the prospect's interest, the direct positive sug gestion should be made : "Now, let us step in, sit down at your desk and go over this briefly." It is to the salesman's advantage to discover whether or not there is any best time to see his prospect and, if there is, to call at that time. Some concerns have regular bours for seeing salesmen in certain lines. It is politic to call during those hours, unless there is some good reason for calling at another time.
17. Cooperation in reaching the prospect.—There is nothing more valuable to the salesman than coopera tion—cooperation of customers, friends and even of other salesmen. It is especially valuable in the matter of getting interviews. It makes the securing of an interview under favorable auspices a simple matter even in the case of those who are the most difficult to see. The prospect is prepared to give an interested hearing to the salesman's whole story out of courtesy to the friend who sent him. Then, too, the fact that he has come recommended, has created confidence in him.
The live salesman, particularly in specialty lines, is continually on the lookout for helps of this sort, for they represent to him the lines of least resistance. As he goes from town to town, he picks up here and there a card of introduction from some brother salesinan to one of that salesman's particularly intimate cus tomers. He secures letters of introduction and of commendation of his proposition as he goes from one town _to another and from one man to another. Ile secures from every man to whom he sells, the names of some friends who are likely to be interested pros pects. The best possible source of prospects for an automobile salesman is the man who has bought a car, is enthusiastic about it, has been boosting it to the people he knows, and is sufficiently friendly with the salesman to tell him who among his friends are con sidering purchasing cars or who could afford to do so. The salesman then secures definite permission to use this customer's name with these new prospects. An introduction like the following gives him a strong en tering wedge: "I interested your friend, Mr. Brown, in my proposition yesterday and he suggested that I should see you before I left town." He approaches from another angle by getting the man he has just sold to telephone any friends who are possible pros pects and tell them that he is coming. He is careful, in using this latter method, to make sure that his cus tomer who is thus cooperating does not endeavor to give the friend a selling talk over the phone, but that he merely announces that the salesman is going to drop in. Cooperation of this kind enables the salesman to occupy his time in seeing prospects and not in seeking them.
18. Individuality in announcing oneself—The large department stores of New York and Chicago have very rigid rules as to how salesmen who call at their stores shall announce themselves and at what time they shall be seen. As practically every house in
every line has one of its men call on these stores, the number of salesmen calling during the day is enor mous. A rather arbitrary- selection is made of those who shall be seen; comparatively few reach the buyers of their lines. The question of how to proceed to secure an audience under these circumstances was fre quently brought up in the author's lecture courses by salesmen who were meeting these conditions every day. In consequence, the merchandising man of one of the largest New York department stores was inter viewed in collecting the material for this Text.
In the department store referred to, the salesman is obliged to give his name and his line, and this informa tion a girl writes on a regular form. There seems to be little chance for individuality under such a system. When questioned as to that, however, the merchandis ing man said: "Oh, yes, a few of the salesmen who come in show considerable ingenuity. For example, I received a slip one day which the salesman had evi dently taken away from the girl and upon which he had written 'the first day it was on the floor, Marshall Field sold twenty-five of the models I want to show you now.' You may be sure he got in," he concluded. It is quite natural that the busiest buyer imaginable would have time for a proposition like that.
The same merchandising man brought out another point. A friend of his was selling cloaks and suits, and had the usual trouble reaching buyers of the large department stores. So the merchant advised his friend as follows: "Your house sells mourning cloak and suit specialties. The cloak and suit salesmen who call on us are legion. There are very few calling on us with a line of mourning goods. Instead of the 'cloaks and suits' on your card 110W, place 'mourning specialties'. So few men sell cloaks and suits for mourning that you are almost sure to see the buyer. After you have secured an audience on your specialty, there is nothing to prevent your talking cloaks and suits, also." It would seem, then, that the obstacles to seeing a large department store buyer are not insur mountable to the salesman of some ingenuity and originality.
19. Proper approach.—Let us suppose, now, that the salesman is in. He is crossing the space between the office door and the prospect's desk. The prospect, at this point, is sizing up the salesman, just as the salesman is sizing up the prospect. This is the time of first impressions. The salesman decides in those few seconds whether he has made a good first impres sion which he can take advantage of, or whether he has made a bad impression, which he will have to over come. He is deciding whether the prospect will de vote the first few moments of the interview to an en deavor to shunt him off or to make him feel at home. To a certain extent, he is deciding whether he will dominate or be dominated, There must be no atti tude of servility, no idea that he is trespassing upon the prospect's time. There must be a sincere feeling of equality and dignity and a realization of the impor tance of his mission. The confident man with a mis sion is known the minute he steps into a room.