Why is it that one man will so easily change our whole mental attitude and make us do voluntarily the very thing that we had no idea of doing an hour before, and thought we never could do, when another might have talked to us until doomsday about the same thing, and never changed our mind a particle regarding it? Why is it that one man will convince us that we ought to buy an article which we were sure a few minutes before that we not only did not need or desire, but under no circumstances would buy?
Because he is a past master of the gentle art of persuasion.
How little we realize what a large part persuasion plays in our life. The clergyman, the teacher, the lawyer, the business man, the salesman, the parent, each is trying to persuade, to influence, to win over others to his way of thinking, to his principles, to accept his ideas.
Some characters are so tactful, so sunny, so bright, cheerful, and attractive that they never have to force or even to request an entrance anywhere. The door is flung wide open and they are invited to enter, just as we invite beauty, loveliness and sunshine to enter our mind. Their very presence has a subtle influence in soothing and pleasing. They know how to persuade almost without uttering a word.
Of the many elements which enter into scientific salesmanship, none is more essential than that of persuasion.
A salesman often finds a would-be customer’s mind absolutely opposed to his. He does not want the merchandise, or at least he thinks he does not, and is determined not to buy it. He braces himself against all possibility of persuasion, of being influenced to do what he has decided not to do. A little later, however, he cheerfully buys the article, pays for it, and feels sure he really wants it. His entire attitude has been changed by the art of persuasion, of winning over, which was all done by successive logical steps, each of which had to be taken in order, or failure would have resulted.
The first step was to get the man’s attention,—otherwise the salesman could have done nothing with him. This of itself is often a difficult matter—to get the attention of a man who is determined not to look at your goods, who had made up his mind not to buy, and is braced against you. But a good salesman does not try to persuade a man to buy until he has not only secured his attention, but also thoroughly interested him in his proposition. Then he arouses his desire to possess the thing he has for sale, and when this is done, the sale is practically over.
I was talking recently with some friends about the rapid rise of a young salesman which surprised everybody who knew him. One of my friends said that the whole secret was his marvelous power to persuade people, to change their mind, to make a prospect see things from his point of view. He said he had never before met another man who had such remarkable success in changing another’s mind to his way of thinking. “And this,” he added, “is the essence, the quintessence, if you will, of salesmanship—the power to make another see things as we see them.”
Persuasive power, the ability to win others over to our way of thinking, our way of looking at things, is not a simple quality. It is in reality made up of many admirable qualities which have more to do with the heart than the head. It is one of the lovable traits of human nature, which enables one to win out in many instances where head qualities would be of no avail.
The best and most successful teachers are not always the most learned, but those who get hold of the hearts of their pupils, whose kindness, personal interest, and sympathy inspire them to do their best. The same qualities which, apart from scholarship, make the best teachers, also make the best salesmen. While education and intelligence are indispensable, it is not so much smartness, long-headedness, cunning, as the warm human heart qualities which make a salesman popular and successful.