When in 1917 the annual convention of the National Shoe Retailers Association was held in Chicago an incident occurred which, although small in itself, emphasized one of the very important principles of selling. Owing to some confusion in the cloak room of the auditorium in which the convention was being held, two of the members of the association, both retail dealers, were unable to secure their hats and were thus under the necessity of making an immediate purchase. They entered one of the nearby stores, naturally somewhat embarrassed at being without hats, mentioned the conditions briefly to the clerk and asked to be fitted. It should be borne in mind, of course, that these two gentlemen, although experienced shoe dealers, did not know any more about the subject of hats than the average customer knows about the subject of shoes.
The sales clerk, without showing any interest or consideration at the embarrassment of his customers, responded with the question, “What kind of a hat do you want?” After a minute’s thought they both decided that it had better be a soft felt hat. This was followed with the second question, “What size do you wear?” Neither of the unfortunate customers could recall the size of the hat he had been wearing and was unable to fall back upon the usual custom of referring to the size mark in the old hat. This meant another slight annoyance and delay in trying on several hats before the clerk was able to learn the sizes. After hunting the stock awhile, the clerk at last produced one or two styles of narrow brimmed felt hats which proved entirely unsuited to the customers, who were both rather tall and heavy. Evidently here was a man who did not know his job. Finally taking the matter into their own hands, the two men decided they would content themselves with caps until they could find a salesman who could give them help in deciding what they should wear.
The purchase was made and the price paid, but it is evident that the clerk could not be considered to have sold his customers. From start to finish these men were buying, and the clerk proved to be more of a hindrance than a help.
In retail shoe selling it would be rare indeed to find in one sale so many features of poor salesmanship, but it is clear, of course, that the presence of any one of them would operate to reduce the customer’s confidence and satisfaction. From the shoe salesman’s own experience he would have realized at once the desirability of greeting the customers cheerfully and of showing an interest in an unusual experience that brought the men in from the street bareheaded. He would not have asked a blunt question concerning the kind of hat desired but would, at a moment’s glance, have recognized his customers as business men, would have taken notice of the quality and color of their suits, and then would have made some such positive suggestion as, “I have here a nice felt hat that will look well on you.” He would have known immediately that a large man would require a hat with either a medium or wide brim. And although he had not been told the hat size he would have known enough about his business to know that men of this size would not wear less than a size seven. He would have brought that size, or perhaps one larger, and would have handed it to the customer with the remark, “I believe this will serve you for size.”
All these things would have been genuine selling effort. In the case mentioned the men were well able to buy the best hat in the house, and two hats at eight or ten dollars apiece would have been more easily sold than the caps at two-fifty were bought. Between the two there is as much difference as there is between day and night. One is bright, cheerful, intelligent; the other nothing more than a vague, half-hearted burlesque of selling.
GETTING HIS INTEREST
For the purpose of analyzing a sale and in order to show just what are the points to be considered, the selling process may be represented by four steps leading upward to the final sale, as follows:
Action—The Sale
Creating Desire
Building Interest