GREETING THE CUSTOMER
The kind of respect and consideration a gentleman gives to a guest in his own home is the standard by which the successful salesman measures his service to the customer. There is nothing false or artificial in it; simply a genuine effort to please. When reduced to this basis the art of good salesmanship is not a series of cut-and-dry rules to tell the beginner how many steps to take forward when greeting a customer, when to reach up to remove a box from the stock, case, or when and how to accept the customer’s money. Those are simply mechanical operations and should not constitute a more important part of the sale than the arm motion of a speaker in delivering an address. To the man who has his heart in his work the mechanical motions called for in conducting a sale will come as naturally as breathing.
In line with the thought of natural selling, it is evident that a salesman should not rush at the customer. To pass someone else who is approaching a customer with the idea of serving him means to cause resentment both in the customer’s mind and in that of the fellow-worker.
Of course, the customer will be treated with politeness, but this again is more of a forced expression of consideration. The trick monkey that accompanies the Italian organ grinder has been trained to take off his little red cap whenever anyone put a cent in the tin can. This is a mechanical movement that might be considered politeness, but surely it does not express any part of the salesman’s responsibility in serving his customer. The salesman is courteous, which implies that there is in him a genuine regard and an honest effort to show every respect to which his customer is entitled. Courtesy is the habit of being polite—that means it is a natural expression and not artificial.
The impression made upon the customer at the time he first enters the store or department depends upon the manner in which he is received—whether his host is glad to see him or whether he seems bored by the fact that another visitor has come. When he realizes that he is welcome there comes at once a warmth of friendship that removes his natural tendency to restraint. The salesman’s responsibility is to remove every obstacle that stands between the meeting and the final sale. A cold reception will prejudice a customer against the house and the salesman. Therefore, greet him cordially, so that the sale may commence on even ground. This will save both time and selling effort.
H. T. Conner, vice-president of the George E. Keith Stores Company, believes that a natural smile on the face of the salesman as he greets the customer governs the success of the meeting. He says: “The first duty of the salesman is to smile. A great big smile always wins. Be good natured. No matter how grouchy your customer may be you can rest assured that a pleasant word or two will set him right. Look your customer straight in the eye and convince him that you are at his service. Do this and the sale is yours. Never permit the grouch to get the better of your patience, for it means lost time and ten to one you will not be any good to serve the next customer.”