HANDLING THE GOODS
The customer’s interest in the goods and also his desire of ownership is influenced more than many salesmen realize by the way in which the goods are handled. A young clerk with more spirit than experience, in bringing a pair of satin slippers to the chair where his customer was seated, allowed them to swing arm’s length at his side as he approached her. This she noticed, and an impression of slip-shod handling was suggested. Although the slippers were fresh stock, taken from the box just a moment before, the customer insisted that they had the appearance of being handled and requested another pair. In her mind, ruffled appearance was associated with the manner in which she had seen the shoe handled by the clerk. The expert diamond salesman handles a stone with all the tenderness and care of a mother with her child; not because the diamond means more to that salesman than the shoe does to the shoe salesman, but because he understands human nature enough to realize that only in so far as he shows an interest in the stone can he hope to have the customer do so. If he slid the stone across the counter the sale would suffer. If he should drop it in taking it out of the case the sale would likely be lost.
The point to bear in mind in this connection is that the salesman is asking the customer to make the goods his own. A dainty silk or satin slipper should be handled daintily by the salesman; with just as much care as the owner would give it upon using it the first time. On the other hand, a strong, heavy outing shoe might be slapped firmly upon the palm of the salesman’s hand. The heavy sound in this instance might be expected to give the impression of strength and lasting qualities. All of these things, although small in themselves, play an important part in bringing up the customer’s attention and interest to the point of desire.