Masonry Magazine May 1970 Page. 10
SMOOTH SELLING
by George N. Kahn, Marketing Consultant
SELLING SINCERITY
"Gladhand" Charlie is the retailer's friend. In fact, he is the dealer's only friend. At least that's the way Charlie sounds when he's calling on a customer. There's just one thing wrong with this pitch nobody believes it.
Charlie is the type of salesman who tries to give every retailer what is termed a "snow job." His approach is something like this: "Even though I get a salary and work for a big company, my destiny lies with you, Mr. Jones. I'm really working for you because you're more important to me than my firm."
When Charlie really gets wound up he'll swear that he would sell his company down the river anytime to protect and help his customers. He hints that he may be working for another outfit next year so why should he owe any allegiance to his present organization.
There are three major things wrong with this line, touching as it is. First, such tactics are the sign of a weak salesman. The man who tries to get orders by sabotaging his own company is short on ability and loyalty and long on deception. If he possessed selling power he would have no need for con artist methods.
Second, there is little likelihood the customer will buy such a package, however gaudily wrapped. Customers are not fools; they can recognize insincerity when they hear it.
Charlie's assurances of undying fidelity are, in fact, apt to rile the buyer more than charm him. Remember, that he has salesmen of his own. He definitely does not want them to be selling him under in the same way that Charlie is undermining his own firm. Who likes to think that he can't trust his employees?
The third reason that Charlie is doomed to failure is that he doesn't believe his nonsense himself. No salesman can do an effective job unless his heart is in his work. There is nothing more important to a salesman than true sincerity not the phony approach of Charlie's.
# Customer's Respect
The customer will respect the salesman who is loyal to his firm. The customer does not want nor does he expect you to pledge undying devotion. He simply wants a good product, fair treatment and dependability. He is apt to become a bit suspicious of the salesman who gives the impression that he's ready to lay down his life for him.
An Iowa hardware dealer once told me of a salesman who made himself persona non grata by employing too much hokum in his sales talk. "This man," the dealer recalled, "put out a line that was unbelievable. He would say that everything he was in the world he owed to me and that his company had never done a thing for him. I personally knew that his outfit had done a great deal for him. Eventually I could not stand that bull and stopped giving him orders. And it wasn't long before his company got wise to him and fired him."
# The Price of Friendship
Salesmen who call on buyers should, of course, be friendly and cooperative. In selling, an easy and informal relationship with the buyer is an important factor. It's not uncommon for salesmen to be invited to the homes of customers and to be on a first name basis with them.
But this relationship can be maintained while permitting you to retain your self respect and independence. It isn't necessary to grovel before the buyer to get an order. He realizes that you have obligations to your company and to your other customers. Most buyers will ask for only their fair share of your time and knowledge.
# Don't Be Too Familiar
Some salesmen feel that an informal relationship with a customer gives them a license to practically take over the place. Nothing will bring quicker resentment from the buyer.
A few years ago I was in Cleveland and needed an extra shirt. I stepped into a small haberdashery near my hotel. The owner was ordering from a salesman but he turned away and gave me his attention immediately. I was looking over his selection when the salesman butted in and suggested a certain style. The owner's face went crimson. He tried to control himself for a moment, but could not. He wheeled on the salesman and said witheringly: "You're here to sell me merchandise, not to run my business."
I didn't stay for the outcome, but I'll bet that salesman had some trouble getting back into that dealer's good graces, if ever he did.
Also don't make a habit of dropping around at inconvenient times or demanding too much of the buyer's time. Nothing is more annoying than the salesman who, after finishing his business, hangs around for the rest of the day.
Avoid throwing your samples all over the customer's establishment making it difficult to sell merchandise. Sample cases should be kept out of sight if possible.
The best rule is to conduct yourself as a guest. If your relationship with the buyer enters a more personal phase, let him make the first move in that direction.
There are many pitfalls in selling. Most lie in the seller-buyer relationship. Here is a quiz to help you know if you are selling sincerely. You should be able to answer "yes" to at least eight.
1. Do your customers seem genuinely glad to see you?
Yes No
2. Do you refrain from making exaggerated statements of your customer's importance when you call on them? Yes No
3. Do you credit the buyer with enough intelligence to want to hear sincere statements from you?
Yes No
4. Do you guard against taking his friendship for granted?
Yes No
5. Do you try to learn and understand the customer's goals?
Yes No
6. Do you try to time your calls so you won't wear out your welcome? Yes No
7. Do you make sure your advice is sought before you give it?
Yes No
8. Can you honestly say that you are on nobody's black list?
Yes No
9. Do you know how salesmen get on black-lists?
Yes No
10. Do you avoid making a mess when you show your samples? Yes No
11. Are you aware of your customers' problems?
Yes No
12. Do you always speak well of your company?
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 84x11, printed in 2 colors on white glossy paper and is 3-hole punched to fit any standard 3-ring version is fully and completely developed in comprehensive detail and Ing binder. Each in this expanded includes a self-examination quiz for Salesmen. Prices are as follows:
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10 to 49 copies (of each article)
50 to 99 copies (of each article)
100 or more copies (of each article)
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. Resting Between Rounds
10. The Competition
11. Taking A Risk
12. Playing The Short Came
17. The Unexpected Letter
18. Prospect or Perish
19. How To Dislodge A Prospect From An Existing Supplier
20. Making Salesmen of Customers
21. Repeat Orders Are Not Accidental
22. Room At The Top
23. You Must Give More To
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13. Selling An Ides
Consultants. Sales Training Division, Department TP, 212 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Υ. 10010.
14. Buying Committees Are Here To Stay
Listed here are the tites of the first 24 lessons in the "Smooth Selling"
24. Running Into The Rude Sales Training Course,
15. The Automated Salesman
1. The Salesman is a V.I.P.
3. Get Acquainted With Your Company
16. Samples Can't Talk
2. Are You A Salesman?
4. You're On Stage
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