Masonry Magazine March 1968 Page. 21
SMOOTH SELLING
by George N. Kahn, Marketing Consultant
SELLING GOODWILL
Goodwill is the most elusive element in salesmanship. You can't wrap it, carry it, order it, service it, ship it or store it. Yet, it is one of the salesman's most precious assets.
The goodwill of a business is a commonly accepted asset that may be worth millions of dollars when the company is sold.
A salesman's goodwill is just as important and also carries a dollars and cents value. The amount of goodwill you carry into your selling will often determine whether you are a $10,000 or $50,000 a year man.
Full Time Job
Building goodwill is a full-time job. It isn't something you turn off when the sale is closed. Goodwill continues throughout your entire connection with the customer.
If you're in doubt about the importance of goodwill, look around you. It manifests itself in all kinds of human endeavor. International diplomacy depends largely on goodwill among nations. Politicians run on the strength of the goodwill they have established with voters.
Your company and thousands of other firms spend millions of dollars to create goodwill among customers, the public and stockholders. Corporations buy uniforms for the school band, contribute to local charities, supply speakers for various events and offer their facilities for community use.
Customer's Interest First
For the salesman, goodwill can be spelled out in three ways:
1. Putting the customer's interests first.
2. Working with the customer.
3. Remembering to do the little things that make the customer remember you.
First off you must impress on the buyer that you have his interest uppermost in mind. You are in a service occupation. It's not the same as sitting behind a desk from nine to five or punching a time clock. The customer must be your constant pre-occupation to the point that you think of him during off hours as well as on calls.
Personal Touch
Goodwill is doing favors for customers, but it's also a lot of other things. It's sending the customer a card when he's sick, had a baby or on holidays. It's admiring that stuffed marlin on his wall. It's a congratulatory note when he's passed a business milestone. It's small talk about his golf game or bowling score.
Some salesmen hurry in and out of a buyer's office as if it were on fire. Even if you don't get an order, don't scamper for the door. Chat with the prospect for a while. The time you spend with him may one day net you a fat commission.
Sympathize with his special problems, comment on his new suit. Let him know that sale or no sales you stand ready to serve him at all times. Treat the non-buyer with the same respect and deference that you would a customer who dumps a $100,000 order into your lap.
Word of Goodwill Spreads
Goodwill is a quality that will precede the salesman who practices it.
Take the case of Andy Derren. He was transferred from an eastern to a southwestern territory in a complex company shuffle.
Andy has commanded a loyal band of customers in his old district and he was downhearted and bitter about leaving it. He almost quit. But he stayed on and was glad he did. During his first week in the new territory he was pleasantly surprised to find that several prospects and customers knew him by reputation and were ready to do business with him.
"One man," Andy recalled, "actually promised to line up other customers for me. That really gave me a good feeling."
This did not happen by accident. He had earned it through the goodwill he had created over the years.
REPRINTS FOR YOUR SALESMEN this is a condensed version. Each lesson is available in an expanded form, in a 4-page brochure, size 84x11, printed in 2 colors on white glossy paper and is 3-hole version is fully and completely developed in comprehensive detall and punched to fit any standard 3-ring binder. Each subject in this expanded Includes a self-examination quis for Salesmen. Prices are as follows:
1 to 9 coples (of each article) 50 cents each
10 to 49 copies (of each article) 37% cents each
50 to 99 copies (of each article) 30 cents each
100 or more copies (of each article) 25 cents each
The entire series may be pre-ordered or individual articles may be ordered by number address to the George N. Kahn Co., Marketing
Don't Hit and Run
The salesman who hits and runs is destroying any goodwill his company may have created. Selling the merchandise is only the first step. You must follow through to make sure the product was delivered on schedule, that the billing was correct and that the customer is entirely satisfied.
Customer Confidence
Keep a scrapbook of the stuff you gather. It makes a fine reference source to call on when you need it most. This can be studied before going on a call, at lunch, or while you're waiting in reception rooms. Time is precious to a salesman. Don't waste it.
You also cement goodwill by respecting a customer's confidence, being truthful with him, displaying tact and courtesy with recalcitrant buyers and conducting yourself at all times like a gentleman.
Another exercise in futility is to make bum excuses for a job not well done. If deliveries fail to arrive on schedule or goods are damaged, admit the fumble and take the blame-even if you are blameless. You may lose a customer; that's the risk you take. But there is a better than even chance you'll command his admiration and respect for evermore. Bad breaks and accidents can happen and a customer knows it. But, he won't forgive a salesman trying to weasel out of a bad situation with tired, unconvincing stories.
Have you ever wondered what kind of a goodwill purveyor you are. Here's a little exercise to help you find out. Answer nine or more "yes" and your goodwill capacity is pretty high.
Anybody For Goodwill?
1. Do I keep an anniversary and Christmas card list of my clients? Yes No
2. Do I listen as well as talk during an interview? Yes No
3. Do I spend time with a prospect even though he won't buy? Yes No
4. Do I think of ways to improve a customer's profits? Yes No
5. Do I agree with customers when they have a legitimate gripe? Yes No
6. Do I study references that may give me helpful hints for customers? Yes No
7. Do I try to see the customer's situation as he sees it? Yes No
8. If a customer's son graduated from college, would I write or wire him congratulations? Yes No
9. Do I use company sales aids to build good will? Yes, No
10. Do I refrain from knocking competition?
11. Do I avoid weak excuses for poor performance?
12. Do I make absolutely sure the prospect understands the proposition and product? Yes No
Consultants. Sales Training Division, Department TP. 212 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
Listed here are the tites of the first 12 lessons in the "Smooth Selling" Sales Training Course.
1. The Salesman is a V.J.P.
2. Are You A Salesman?
3. Get Acquainted With Your Company
4. You're On Stage
5. You Can't Fire Without Ammunition
6. You Are A Goodwill Salesman, Tos
7. Closing The Sale
8. How To Set Up An Interview
9. Relaxing Between Rounds
10. The Competition
11. Taking A Bisk
12. Playing The Short Came
When ordering, please mention the name of this publication.
masonry •March, 1968
21