Masonry Magazine October 1972 Page. 10
SMOOTH SELLING
by George N. Kahn, Marketing Consultant
SELLING BY INSTINCT
If you were crossing a street and a car suddenly bore down on you, you would instinctively jump away. You would not stand and ponder the problem, consider alternatives, etc.
Top producing salesmen act instinctively many times during interviews. They are so well disciplined and so knowledgeable about their product that they can handle any objection or question on a second's notice. That's what makes them great salesmen.
No Time for Thinking
When you are in a prospect's office you're on the "firing line." Often there is literally no time to think, to muse over possibilities. Thinking is a luxury that may cost you an order.
You must make an instantaneous response and exude confidence and assurance while doing it. This means that you must know your sales story so well that it is second nature with you.
Sign Reading
Having full knowledge of your product and the buyer's needs and problems are, of course, essential to a quick reaction in the interview. But there is something else.
The salesman must be keenly attuned to any sign which may give him a tip or clue to the prospect's attitude, prejudice, fears, dislikes or misgivings. He must watch the buyer carefully to detect which way he is going to jump. And you then have to jump the same way.
Much of this ability comes with experience but you can start training yourself now. Turn on your powers of observation to their highest degree.
Is the buyer taking furtive glances at his watch during the interview? He may have another appointment coming up shortly so you'd better wind up your talk in a hurry. Is he getting a glazed look in his eyes? You might be boring him instead of convincing him. It's time then to get dramatic, to snap him out of his torpor.
Is he injecting objections that are really dismissal devices? He must be challenged immediately.
Applying Learning
A quick reaction in the buyer's office is the result of education and training. When a new airplane tests out successfully it is the culmination of weeks and months of work and trial. When a batter hits a home run it is the result of years of perfecting his swing.
Likewise, when the salesman performs well before a buyer it is no accident. He has prepared for years. His technique, is polished to a fine tone and he has enough knowledge of his product and company to fend off any attack.
Nothing that a buyer says should surprise you or catch you off guard. And if you are surprised, you should not betray it. Always be the professional, the man who can roll with the punch.
Marine Training
George Linden, an ex-marine, became a chemical laboratory apparatus salesman right after World War II. He picked up the business so quickly that his company was delighted. He rose rapidly, becoming a major earner within a few years.
George was perfection itself in an interview. He acted coolly, surely and productively. He was like an actor who never forgot a line or a cue. Buyers often gave him orders out of sheer admiration for his performance.
I met George one day at a sales meeting I addressed. He told me he had found a parallel between selling and his service as a Marine.
"How so?" I asked.
"As a marine you have to be ready for anything in battle. Salesmanship is the same, except, of course there is not the danger. But in selling you have to be equal to any challenge thrown at you.
George also compared marine training with sales preparation, pointing out the advantages of each. In this connection he told me a story.
For a year after the war George had been a paraplegic as the result of a war wound.
"When we were training at Parris Island we all complained about how tough it was. Some of the obstacles courses, especially, were brutal.
"But in combat we soon learned that our stateside training wasn't hard enough. I got hit because our squad leader made the wrong decision. He didn't think fast enough and we got plastered."
When he got out of the hospital fully recovered George carried his belief in preparedness over into civilian life. That's one of the things that made him a brilliant salesman.
Thinking Constructively
Hal Mercer, a gypsum products salesman, was so well oriented to his job that he regarded every customer as a man with a problem. His frequent comment to a buyer was: "Any problems today?"
If the man defined a problem Hal's reaction was instantaneous. He recognized it immediately, not because he was clairvoyant, but because he had oriented himself so completely into the customer's business that he thought like the customer himself.
No matter how good your narration is there will be days when a particular prospect will not buy. He is in a bad mood, depressed or his stomach is bothering him. There are warning signs of these conditions if you'll watch for them. When a buyer is out of sorts there is no point in pressing forward. Such effort will do you more harm than good.
Take your leave, but, figuratively speaking, don't lock the door behind you. Leave the door open for a return visit. Don't depart angrily or pettishly. Thank the man for his time and suggest another day for a call.
Are your selling instincts well developed? Here is an exercise to assist you in finding out. If you can answer "yes" to at least eight questions, your reflexes are in good shape.
1. Do you respond quickly most of the time to objections or questions? Yes ☐ No ☐
2. Do you know your sales story backwards and forwards so to speak? Yes ☐ No ☐
3. Are you alert in a prospect's office for signs which may tell you what he is thinking? Yes ☐ No ☐
4. Do you act on these signs? Yes ☐ No ☐
5. Do you spend time polishing your techniques? Yes ☐ No ☐
6. Do you have constructive thoughts before the interview? Yes ☐ No ☐
7. Can put these thoughts into words to help the buyer? Yes ☐ No ☐
8. Are you fully oriented to the customer's problems? Yes ☐ No ☐
9. Do you feel you apply your sales learning and training during your calls? Yes ☐ No ☐
10. Do you know when to back out of an interview? Yes ☐ No ☐
11. Are you invited in this case to a return visit? Yes ☐ No ☐
Listed here are the titles of the first 24 lessons in the "Smooth Selling" Sales Training Course
1. The Salesman is a V.I.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, 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 Game
13. Selling An Iden
14. Buying Committees Are Here To Stay
15. The Automated Salesman
16. Samples Can't Talk
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 Get More
24. Running Into The Rude Buyer
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