CHAPTER III
Skill In Selling Your Best Self
Practice Of the Art
If you have developed real capability and first-class manhood, you have "the goods" that are always salable. But you realize now that the mere possession of these basic qualifications for success will not insure you against failure in life. You cannot be certain of succeeding unless you know how to sell true ideas of your best self in the right market or field of service, and until you develop sales skill by continual correct practice.
We will assume that you have had little or no selling experience. You are conscious that you entirely lack sales art. Therefore, though in other ways you feel qualified to succeed in life, you may be dubious about your future. Perhaps you realize that skill in selling true ideas of your best capabilities is all you need to make your success certain. But you question, "Can I be sure of becoming a skillful salesman of myself?" You have no doubt of your ability to learn the selling process, but very likely you do not believe you ever could practice it with the art of a master salesman. Consequently you are not yet convinced of the certainty of your success.
Success Proportionate To Sales Skill
Of course success cannot be absolutely assured in advance unless every element of the secret we have analyzed can be mastered. Hence it is necessary that you now be shown certain ways to sell ideas—ways that cannot fail, that are adaptable to the sale of any right "goods," and that you surely can master. You need to feel absolutely confident that if you follow specific principles and use particular methods, you can impress on any other man true ideas of your best capabilities. When you become skillful in making good impressions, you certainly will be able to sell yourself into such chances to succeed as fit your individual qualifications.
Your success with the best that is in you can be made directly proportionate to your skill as a salesman of "your goods." Mastery of the art of selling will enable you to cut down to the minimum the possibilities of failure in whatever you undertake. Remember that success does not demand perfection. There never was a 100% salesman. To be a success, you need only make a good batting average in your opportunities to sell. It is not necessary to hit 1000 to be a champion batsman in the game of life. Ty Cobb led his league a dozen years with an average under .400.
Technique And Tools
The foundation of sales art is knowledge of selling technique. So the first step in the process of developing your skill as a salesman of yourself is the study of the right tools for making impressions of "true ideas of your best capabilities." You must know, also, the scientific rules that govern the most effective use of these right tools. Technique, however, is only the basic element of salesmanship. On the foundation of your sales knowledge it is necessary to build sales skill that will completely cover up your technique. Your perfected sales art should seem, and really be second nature to you.