THE HUMAN HEART THROB
So far we have been considering those important matters that have to do with the salesman’s relationship to himself—the responsibility he has to build for himself a healthy mind, and business spirit. We are now interested to consider his relationship to the person who supplies the power to operate the whole machinery of commerce, who foots all the store’s expenses, and who regulates the size of the salesman’s pay—the customer.
A man whose career as a salesman had extended over many years, and who had been unusually successful in his work, was once asked before a large gathering of business men to tell them what great power he considered responsible for his success in selling goods. His reply was the simple and beautiful fact that he learned to love his customers. What he meant, of course, was that he had trained himself to regard each customer and to show him the same consideration and interest as though the customer were his warmest friend. Mention love, and we immediately think of Romeo and Juliet. Romeo, with his fiery devotion, would have made a wonderful salesman if he had applied the same enthusiasm to the commercial field.
The man who said he loved his customers was not some soft, wishy-washy dreamer who gazed soulfully into his customer’s eyes. He was a strong, vigorous, man’s man, who understood enough about human nature to know that it is sympathetic interest coming from the heart that the customer wants and for which he is happy to pay. He wants to feel that his request to be served will be considered by the salesman not simply as another series of mechanical motions, but rather as an opportunity to be of genuine help.