The able salesperson is energetic, stout-hearted, and enthusiastic. He never permits himself even during periods of slow business to fall into the dangerous habit of assuming that every customer will be reluctant and exacting, and every sale difficult. He expects a fair percentage of quick and easy sales, and is prepared to seize every opportunity to make them.
Having confidence in himself, his store, and his merchandise, he works on the assumption that most of the people who enter a furniture store are definitely interested in an immediate or later purchase of merchandise to suit their particular needs and tastes. He further assumes that he will be able to learn those needs and tastes, find in his stock the right merchandise to satisfy them, and present the advantages of this merchandise in a clear and convincing way; and that when they are so presented, the customer will buy. This assumption may not always be valid; but it never fails to give him confidence and driving power, and is the necessary basis of consistently successful salesmanship.
The able salesperson never forgets that his customer will not buy until she is satisfied and convinced, however attractive his merchandise, low his prices, or logically complete his demonstration. He knows that she may have prejudices which are not easy to discover, or bits of information or misinformation which may cause her to question or distrust what he tells her, and thus to impede or wreck the sale.
ORDERLY PRESENTATION OF MERCHANDISE
One may never be certain which method and selling appeal will cause any particular individual to buy. Accordingly the salesperson will be prepared to follow an ordered procedure which will in theory exhaust all the possibilities. The important factors may be emphasized in the following order:
1. Pleasing appearance (design, coloring, materials, finish).
2. Personal and decorative suitability (size, convenience, emotional effect, prestige value).
3. Sentimental appeal (style, historical, or social associations, prestige value).
4. Quality (materials, construction, finish, established service record, manufacturer's reputation, store's reputation or guarantee).
5. Price (in relation both to the customer's means and spending habits, and to the sum total of values provided by all other factors).