22. the commodity sold is such as to make it possible, a demonstration of its con struction and use is made a part of the presentation. Here is a great opportunity for the salesman. An actual demonstration emphasizes the essential points as no mere statement can. It brings up a constant procession of items of interest that the customer can see for himself, and mak-es the retaining of interest and the ripening of it into desire much easier than would otherwise be the case.
So true is this that ingenious demonstration•metb ods are often devised for a commodity that does not lend itself readily to demonstration. Witness the lamp chimney demonstration described in this chap ter. The Thermos bottle salesman, in handing his sample to the dealer at one stage of the presentation, lets it slip from his grasp and fall heavily to the floor, as tho by accident. The dealer naturally expects to hear a loud report and to find the bottle wrecked. The fact that it is found to be uninjured impresses him with its sturdiness as nothing else would.
A young man selling a new line of cast-iron, porce lain-enameled bath tubs who called upon the plumbing trade, found it difficult to establish distribution be cause cast-iron bath tubs are likely to crack or craze. To overcome this difficulty, the salesman carried with him a small model bath tub and a heavy piece of lead. To impress the plumber with the fact that his was a good tub, he would throw the piece of lead vio lently into it. No more forceful method of antici pating the "crack and craze" objection could be de vised.
23. Principles of demonstration, and prospect's participation.—A great many articles lend themselves very- readily to demonstration. Discourse as one will upon the superiorities of a vacuum cleaner, it would be next to impossible to sell vacuum machines in satis factory volume without running the machine over the floor and dusting around the moldings and wood work of at least one room, if the demonstration is given in the home of the prospect ; or cleaning thoroly a rug, sprinkled with sand or powder if the demon stration is given in the sales room. In either case, the demonstrator will strew the carpet with cotton batting in order to show just how thoroly the machine will remove lint. l n either case, too, the prospect will bc induced to operate the machine just as much as possible.
The cash register is usually demonstrated by carry ing thru a number of imaginary commercial transac tions—the salesman acting as the customer and payiiig real money for his purchases, and the prospect act ing as the merchant, so that it will be he who actually rings up the cash, makes the change and closes the cash register drawer. Altho this necessitates the salesman's stepping out of' his role of purchaser and giving the prospect instructions for the operation of the machine, it is important to arrange the demon stration in this way so as to secure easily and naturally the prospect's participation in the demonstration.
.Much the same plan is carried out in selling the adding machine, the salesman calling off the figures and in structing the prospect just how to register the num bers on the keys and how to pull down the lever.
The demonstration of a loose-leaf device will con sist of unlocking and locking the binder and remov ing and inserting the leaves. A famous brand of overalls is demonstrated by the salesman having the prospect take firm hold of one leg of the teousers while he grasps the other and exerts considerable pull ing force to demonstrate the strength of the crotch.
Few automobiles are sold without a demonstration. The prospect is taken out in the machine for a trial run during which the car is "put thru its paces" and its good points are demonstrated, especially its hill climbing ability and its quickness in the "getaway." At some stage in the demonstration the prospect is invited to slide over into the driver's seat and run the car himself. If any desire at all has been aroused previously, the prospect's joy at actually handling the wheel is likely to be so keen as to clinch the sale on the spot. This demonstrating is so important a phase of the automobile business that special demonstrating drivers are often employed and a certain number of cars are each year used as demonstrators until their newness wears off ; these machines are then sold as second-hand cars.
'The exact nature of any demonstration must de pend entirely upon the nature of the commodity'to be sold; but, in general, it may be said that all facilities for demonstrating the article to best advantage should be provided, and the demonstration should be so planned as to allow the prospect to participate in it just as much as possible.
It may be laid down as a principle that an actual demonstration should be worked into the presentation wherever the nature of the commodity. permits.
24. Threefold true salesman will have struck a note of confidence at the very out set of the interview. As has been explained, confi dence must pervade the interview and grow as the sale develops. The prospect must be confident that the goods are the product of a house of unquestioned reputation, and that they will measure up to the sam ple ; he must have confidence, too, in the salesman's statements as to the yet unproved quality of his com modity. The salesman will have created and in creased this confidence by his personality, his knowl edge of his business, his conservative statements, and by his dignity, simplicity, frankness, sincerity and earnestness. In brief, then, before interest can be de veloped into desire, the buyer must have a three-fold confidence—in the salesman, in the goods and in the house behind them.