SELLING PROCESS-THE AGREEMENT 1. Meeting objections.—During the progress of the selling talk, occasional doubts, questions or con ditions, either reasoned or unreasoned, are almost certain to arise, and these must be removed before in terest can be ripened into desire. The cause of sales manship received a severe setback when these mental conditions on the part of the prospect were termed objections; and it received an even greater setback when the salesman's methods of meeting them were called arguments. The term used by psychologists to designate any mental condition that opposes a mental impulse to action is "inhibition" or "inhibiting thought." Either of these is probably a better term to use than objection, to denote a mental condition that prevents a prospect from buying, for while the so-called objections of the prospect are sometimes decided objections to the proposition presented, they are more often honest questions and slight doubts, which the prospect himself is confident that the sales man will clear up. Argument suggests fight, but re moving inhibitions is merely another case of swinging the prospect from his point of view to the salesman's —a small sale within the big one.
2. Antagonism or a friendly get-together.—.J. Fraser, vice-president, Blackman-Ross Company, says in Printer's Ink: The new salesman expects the buyer to oppose him. llis attitude shows it. Consciously or unconsciously he puts a. chip on his shoulder. The prospective purchaser sees it. Our new salesman's talk then has a double burden—it must properly present the goods he is selling; it must overcome the antagonism created by his own fighting attitude. If the prospective buyer will talk at all in self-defense his talk is antagonistic. In the face of this our new salesman comes ahead with facts, figures and logic. They tell the story, but they don't change the attitude. Few men will buy until that attitude is changed. Almost invariably sales result from a friendly get-together. Arguments are necessary, but they are effective only so far as they- harmonize with a friendly interview. If they are used to create a stand-off attitude they defeat thernselves.
3. Anticipating the objection.—The best way to overcome an inhibition, objection or excuse—call it what you will—is to anticipate it, and in this way, if possible, to make sure that it never obtrudes into the sales talk at all. A thought that is expressed is
harder to change than one which is unexpressed be cause the prospect puts himself on record and dislikes to recede from his position. This difficulty may read ily be prevented. Thru continually presenting a par ticular proposition, the salesman, together with his colleagues in the same organization, will discover that certain points arise in almost ever2,- canvass. These are stock objections, so to speak. The sales man builds his presentation so as to anticipate them.
Others, less common, are found to be peculiar to cer tain types of prospects. The salesman prepares ef fective answers to these and weaves them into his talk where he expects them to come up. By adroit ques tioning and by close analysis of the prospect's remarks during the interview, the salesman tries to discover any inhibiting thoughts in the prospect's mind as he proceeds with his presentation. It will be found that, with rare exceptions, objections to any specific propo sition are not peculiar to the individual prospect. Usually they are old opponents that the salesman looks for and is prepared to anticipate.
4. When, to mention price.—The inhibition of price, the most common and the most formidable in almost every line, is anticipated by avoiding all mention of price until the quality and worth of the article, or possible profits from its resale, are firmly established and very clear in the mind of the pros pect. This point is so important that price, except in rare instances, should not be mentioned early in the presentation even in response to the definite question of the prospect. The specialty salesman's reply to that question, if it came up before he was ready for it, might be: "Let us decide whether you want this first. Then we will talk price. I think I can put it within your reach." Then he will slip quickly back into his presentation. A salesman who presented a proposition for the handling of cigars in drug stores, which involved the buying of expensive fixtures, was often asked: "Well, what is the expense of all this?" I I is reply was: "This is not an expense at all, Mr. Prospect. You may expect a big increase in your profits from it." This would forestall the price ques tion until he was ready for it. The ideal time to men tion price is when, after the presentation, the pros pect's desire is so strong that he asks the price.