“JUST KEEP ON, KEEPIN’ ON.”
If the day looks kinder gloomy
And your chances kinder slim;
If the situation’s puzzlin’,
And the prospects awful grim;
And the prospects keep pressin’
Till all hope is nearly gone,
Just bristle up and grit your teeth,
And keep on, keepin’ on.
Fumin’ never wins a fight,
And frettin’ never pays;
There ain’t no use in broodin’
In these pessimistic ways.
Smile just kinder cheerfully,
When hope is nearly gone,
And bristle up and grit your teeth,
And keep on, keepin’ on.
There ain’t no use of growlin’,
And grumblin’ all the time,
When music’s ringing everywhere,
And everything’s a rhyme.
Just keep on smiling cheerfully,
If hope is nearly gone,
And bristle up and grit your teeth,
And keep on, keepin’ on.—Selected.
All salesmen may take to themselves the following advice on promises, printed by Gimbel Brothers, for the benefit of all employees of their New York store.—
“Make no promises which you cannot fulfill.”
“Every individual connected with this establishment is hereby instructed not to make promises which cannot be absolutely satisfied.
“You must fulfill at all costs those promises you do make; in behalf of this business.”
“He who is content to rest upon his laurels, will soon have laurels resting upon him.”
“A sour clerk will turn the sweetest customer.”
“A real salesman is one part talk and nine parts judgment; and he uses the nine parts of judgment to tell when to use the one part of talk.”
Whenever you say “Good morning,” “Good afternoon,” or “Good evening,” let your words be not only cheerful, but sincere. The only was to be genuinely sincere is through cultivating a genuinely friendly disposition. It is hard to fake sincerity. Many salesmen think they can, but they only fool themselves. Learn to love mankind as a whole, and you will then be able to be genuinely sincere with each unit in humanity.
“Never explain the nature of your business on the door-step—that is, before you are advantageously placed in the presence of your prospect.—Expect to get in, and you will.” These are the words of an expert in salesmanship. Every expert realizes how full of truth they are.
A salesman must be self-possessed, which means that he should have no fears. Keep before your mind constantly these facts: You are all right; your goods are all right, and your house is all right; therefore you have no cause for fear; you have every reason to be serene.
Keep your samples out of sight as much as possible, even for your regular trade. Many salesmen leave their samples at the hotel, and call first on prospective customers, making an appointment for a certain hour. This is very effective, where possible. The display of goods is, unquestionably, very helpful in selling, but it is a decided advantage to have part of the stock out of sight. The element of curiosity comes in, and, as we have explained, this helps to get the right kind of attention.
Carrying a cigar or a cigarette, even though freshly lighted, usually detracts from a man’s appearance. A tooth-pick in evidence is always very bad taste, and often it has been fatal to sales. Newspapers stuck into pockets, or carried in one’s hand, suggest that a man is not all there, that he is thinking more of the topics of the day than of his business. They are evidence of lack of concentration, and more often than the salesman may think he handicaps himself by having these in sight.
Jake Daubert, the well known authority in baseball, has concluded an article on his specialty with these strong words of advice: “Always know ahead of time what you must do with the ball after you get it.” To a salesman I would say—think out all possible difficulties that may arise during the progress of a prospective sale. Be prepared for every emergency. Cultivate patience, calmness, and celerity, for they give a powerful advantage to their possessor.
Seizing the psychological moment is of great importance. Admiral Dewey seized it very effectively when he gave the command, “You may fire when you are ready, Gridley.” A salesman can win by “firing” at the right moment. He can, likewise, and should, stop “firing” and close the deal at the right moment. It is all psychological—a matter of mind meeting mind.
Avoid as much as possible technical terms, unless you are talking to customers who, you are sure, understand them. For instance, a Life Insurance salesman makes a great mistake ordinarily, to talk about “legal reserve,” “accrued dividends,” “extended insurance,” “paid-up values,” “accelerative endowments,” “expense ratios,” “percentages of increase,” etc. As a matter of fact, it is quite probable that a large number of those to whom he talks will not understand even the words “liabilities” and “assets.”
Many a salesman has been ruined or seriously injured by carrying a side line. All of the great things of the world have been accomplished by concentration upon a specialty.
A good tip to both young and old salesmen is, to study the business producers both in your firm and out of your firm. Examine their methods; learn to do what they have found effective; benefit by their strong points; but beware of their weaknesses, for even the most successful salesman will be found to have certain weak points, at times. You can quickly and conclusively recognize these. Guard against them. While you can learn much from older and more experienced salesmen, never be a slavish copy of any one. Whatever you do be yourself.
Every time a man who is trying to hold an audience turns his eye from it he cuts the magnetic current which is flowing between them and if he does this often the people will get uneasy; they will begin to move in their seats and he will lose his power over them.—His magnetic connection with those he addresses is made through the eye. The trained speaker knows this, and unlike the amateur who, from sheer nervousness, often looks down to the floor, or refers to his notes when it is not absolutely necessary to do so, he avoids everything that would tend to break the magnetic current between himself and his audience.
Just here is a hint for the salesman. It is imperative that you should keep this current between yourself and your prospect flowing freely. An attractive personality added to the constant flow of magnetism through your eye will rivet his attention and add immensely to your selling power.