Masonry Magazine May 1968 Page. 20
SMOOTH SELLING
by George N. Kahn, Marketing Consultant
"HOW TO SET UP AN INTERVIEW"
© 1967 George N. Kαλη
Fifty per cent of all interviews fail because the salesman assumes a passive role before the buyer. This is especially true when the buyer reacts negatively to the seller. Sometimes the prospect only has to frown and the salesman trembles in his shoes. Before long he is pleading and whining to be heard.
The interview is the payoff, the moment of truth in selling. All your training, preparation, and planning are aimed at the moment when you stand before a prospect. The idea of blowing such an opportunity seems incredible, yet many do every day.
The major reason for this is that the salesman automatically adopts a secondary position. He becomes the pupil instead of the teacher.
Buyer Reaction
First, it should come as no surprise to the salesman when he gets a cold shoulder from a prospect. The latter is reacting according to his experiences with hundreds of salesmen, most of whom were mere order takers or worse. They didn't know their story; they were phonies, etc.
So even though you may be a first rate man, you still must suffer for the sins of those who preceded you into that buyer's office. He doesn't know you and has no reason to expect that you'll be any different from the others. The prospect has all his defenses up. You're guilty before you even get a word in.
A rough game? Yes it is, but it gets easier if you start playing by your rules instead of his. If you have the guts and ability to survive those first few moments of hostility, you stand a better than even chance of not only walking out with an order, but of creating a permanent customer as well.
Show that buyer you are totally different than other salesmen he's confronted. Let him know right off that you don't want to be treated like the rest of the pack.
Be more than a seller. Be a bearer of important facts and information which will help the prospect in a very concrete way. Make him believe that your coming was the best thing that happened to him all day.
Related Sales
An interview can fail even if you get an order. If you sell $1,000 worth of merchandise when you could have sold $2,000 worth, the interview was not a success.
So many salesmen today pass up an easy opportunity because they don't think of related selling. Even a haberdasher clerk is alert to this possibility. When you buy a tie, he'll ask if you need sox or handkerchiefs. And in supermarkets tartar sauce and lemons will be displayed over the frozen fish case.
Don't isolate your line. If you have related items, push them. The customer can only say no and he is quite likely to say yes.
Ritchie Graves, a paper products salesman, said to me not long ago: "We've got a natural setup for related sales-napkins, paper towels, bathroom tissue, etc. Yet its amazing how many salesmen in my firm simply never try to sell similar items. Some of them could be making twice as much money as they are."
You're actually performing a service for the buyer when you mention related products. If you don't, he may very well buy them from your competitor the next day. He often needs a reminder.
Same Old Story
Interviews also fail because the salesman is dull, repetitious and a bore. He tells the same old story in the same old way.
The successful salesman is one who varies his approach, who is not wedded to a formula. He strives to be interesting as well as informative and, if need be, he can even be entertaining.
One way to lick this problem of dullness is to make a recording of your talk. Then put yourself in the position of a buyer as you play it back. How does it sound to you?
Then deliver another talk, eliminating all the cliches, overworked phrases, repetition, etc.
Phone Ahead
You can precondition the interview to your advantage if you phone ahead for an appointment. This implies to the buyer that you are courteous and considerate of his time.
If you can't make an appointment by phone, don't give up on the buyer, however.
I once telephoned a man who refused to see me. The next day I went to his office and was shown right in. An hour later I had a $20,000 order.
I told him frankly that I had never expected to land such an order in view of his attitude on the phone.
"Young man", he said, "I wanted to see how much persistence and drive you had. If a man is discouraged by a telephone call, then he shouldn't be in selling."
To sum up then: The interview should mark your supreme effort as a salesman. Yo You must be authoritative, knowledgeable, interesting and alert to parallel sales. You must be the teacher imparting valuable and vital information to the prospect. You must strive to be different, to steer away from time-worn statements.
Here is a 12-question quiz to determine if you are functioning at top capacity during the interview. If you score nine "yes" or better, you are.
How to Set Up an Interview
1. Do you feel you take charge in most in
terviews?
Yes No
2. Do you ever examine your sales talk for
weak spots?
Yes No
3. Do you seek knowledge which will enhance
your interview?
Yes No
4. Have you suggested tie-in sales in your last
five interviews?
Yes No
5. Can you forge ahead smoothly with your
sales talk after a frosty reception?
Yes No
6. Do you use the phone to make appoint-
ments?
Yes No
7. Do you try to catch the buyer's interest at
the start of the interview? Yes No
8. Have you ever sought the advice of older
salesmen in planning your interview?
Yes No
9.
Do you vary your tone in your talk?
Yes No
10. Do you regard the prospect as a pupil who
will appreciate worthwhile information?
Yes No
11. Do you feel confident before an interview?
Yes No
12. After an interview, do you feel you did
everything you could to get the MAXIMUM
order?
Yes No
REPRINTS FOR YOUR SALESMEN this is a condensed version. Each lesson is available in an expanded form, in a 4-page brochure, size 8x11, printed in 2 colors on white glossy paper and is 3-hole punched to fit any standard 3-ring binder. Each subject in this expanded version is fully and completely developed in comprehensive detail and Includes a self-examination quiz for Salesmen. Prices are as follows:
1 to 9 copies (of each article)
10 to 49 copies (of each article)
50 to 99 copies (of each article)
100 or more copies (of each article)
50 cents each
37% cents each
30 cents each
25 cents each
The entire series may be pre-ordered or individual articles may be ordered by number address orders to the George N. Kahn Co., Marketing 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.JP.
2. Are You & Salesman?
3. Get Arquainted With
Your Company
4. You're On Stage
5. You Can't Fire Without
Ammunition
6. You Are A Goodwill Salesman, Too
7. Closing The Sale
8. How To Set Up An Interview
9. Relaxing Between Rounds
10. The Competition
11. Taking A Risk
12. Playing The Short Game
When ordering, please mention the name of this publication.
20
masonry
May, 1968