ADVERTISING TO FOCUS THE CUSTOMER’S ENTHUSIASM
There are many articles that can be well sold through advertising alone. Occasionally we find an advertising man who has such faith in advertising that he considers it to be the cure for all business ills. It is a tremendous force, but there are a great many articles, especially those that call for spending a fair sum of money, that must finally be sold by salesmanship—and, of course, shoes are included in this class. Certain things there are, on the other hand, that the customer is willing to buy simply by calling for so many of this, that or some other article. But with shoes it is different. No automatic vending machine, where the customer puts in the price, turns the handle and receives a pair of shoes of a certain size and color, will ever serve the purpose. Advertising helps the salesman but by no means does it draw from his importance. If there were any doubt on this point we would have but to consider, if it should be necessary to discontinue either personal selling or advertising, which of the two it would be.
Window and show case displays are very effective means of advertising that serve to focus or centralize the thought of the customer on some few styles of shoes. The customer’s first idea is that he wants to buy a pair of shoes. Whatever enthusiasm he has is spread over the whole line of shoe styles. If he can see in the window or display case one style that appeals to him, his enthusiasm and desire is centralized. It is for the salesman then simply to complete the sale from that point, provided, of course, that the shoe selected proves to be what is wanted. Newspaper advertising has the same effect. It centralizes the customer’s desire on the one or two styles advertised and brings the man into the store with a definite idea in mind rather than simply a vague notion.
The importance of the inside display case to suggest a second pair of shoes, hosiery, shoe dressings and the like, should always be borne in mind. The salesman does not need to rely alone on describing the article, but he may actually show it to the customer, thus making a positive suggestion to his mind. This is mentioned here briefly in its relation to advertising but it will later be treated more fully.
WHAT IS ENTHUSIASM?
With one of the large concerns selling goods direct to the user there is a man of peculiar ability who has succeeded, although in deciding his business problems he purposely sets aside every suggestion of enthusiasm so that his decision may not be influenced by it. His whole basis of calculation is fixed on facts and figures. If it is a purchase he is making the whole consideration is that of price compared with other like qualities. If it is a matter of making enlargements or improvements to the factory, the question is, “What will be the cost and the advantages to the business?” All along the line it is simply facts he accepts.
The personality of this man calls for comment because it is the exceptional case. Most normal people are governed in what they say and do by enthusiasm. It is a spirit or emotion that draws men away from the humdrum of things, shows them something better and fires them with a determination to go after it. The late Theodore Roosevelt was one of the fine examples of men who have been fired with enthusiasm. So great was his enthusiasm that when he got an idea his whole personality became ablaze until he carried out his purpose and changed the idea into a reality.
Successful salesmen must have enthusiasm. It does not necessarily need to be of a kind we see at the ball game when a player on the home team makes a home-run, but it must be a spirit that gives the man an incentive to improve continually the quality of his service to the customer, that aims to furnish the goods best suited to the customer’s needs and means, that builds his confidence and adds to the salesman’s success.
KEEPING UP STEAM
The manager in one of the big stores in the West recently made the statement that the way he and his men keep themselves up to snuff in their enthusiasm and selling effort is to begin each morning as though it were the first morning on the job, with as many new things to learn and to do that day as there were on the first day. To keep up steam means that the man should take an inventory of himself to see what progress he has made or how much better a salesman he is today than he was a week ago or a month or a year ago. If he had a good book last week he should use that as a mark to shoot at this week, rather than as a reason why he can afford to let up on his effort for a few days. Yesterday’s record is past and so he should forget it except in so far as it may serve as a stimulus to fresh effort.