Automatic Age

THE SELLING
A
DIGEST
OF
By
SUCCESSFUL
CHARLES
B.
PARADE
SELLING
IDEAS
ROTH
©Chas. B. Roth
“Dime and J Can W i n ”
“ I don’t even know who wrote
it,” the salesman told me, “ but
whoever he is, I owe him a debt
of gratitude. The idea he gave
me saved my job, earned me
$50,000.”
“ What are you driving at?” I
asked.
“ The idea that sa ved my
neck,” said he.
“ What idea’s that?”
“ Shall I tell you about it?”
“ I wish you would.”
“ I was on my first selling job,
and doing a very bad job of it,”
he began. “ In fact, the boss
came out intending to give me
the gate. I wasn’t sending in
any orders, and he couldn’t un­
derstand why. He said we’d
work together for a few days
until he saw what was wrong,
and he’ d give me one more
chance to make good.
“ The first day we were to­
gether, he asked me if I was
going to call upon such and such
a prospect. ‘Nope,’ I replied.
‘I can’t do anything with the
auk. We had a quarrel, and he
said he’d never buy from us
again as long as he lived. I don’t
go near the place.’ The boss
said, ‘Today we’ll go near it
again.’ So we went. The old
buyer with whom I had quar­
reled had left the company, and
the new one gave us an order.
“ When we were outside the
boss handed me a paper, said to
me: ‘Here’s something to read
when you get ready for bed to­
night. Not before. I think it
might say. “ You sa id .. . , ” and
then repeat his own w ords.
There never was a man alive
who didn’t like to have his words
said back at him.
AU d / r
ANYOA/r C^
&
/J3e (Extraordinary
will make a salesman and a man
of you.’
“ Well,” the salesman con­
tinued, “ he was right. I read it.
I pondered it. I believed it. And
now I follow it.”
“ What on earth did the paper
say?” I asked.
“ Here it is. Take a look for
yourself.”
He handed me the paper
which read: “ TIM E AND I
CAN WHIP ANYONE.” “ The
idea being,” I suggested, “that
time works with a salesman and
brings about changes in his
favor, if he works with time. Is
that it?”
“ Right.”
&
launch oCine
If you ever have difficulty in
regaining or holding the atten­
tion of a customer, try this plan,
known to the elect of salesman­
ship : Quote something the pros­
pect himself has said. “ You said
something a minute ago that I
like very much, Mr. Kelly,” you
64
AUTOMATIC AGE
© International Arcade Museum
Around Detroit a few years
ago there was a wonderful man
in the motor industry. Sales
was his field, and he was sales
executive for two or three of the
leading autom obile manufac­
turers.
The salesmen he trained out
were earmarked by his system
just as definitely as the football
players of the late Knute Rockne
were earmarked by his football
training ideas. They were good
salesmen every one, alert, alive,
well-informed, in tellig en t and
capable. But the thing about
them that was most interesting
was the fact that they were dif­
ferent from other salesm en.
They looked on their job s
through different eyes, said dif­
ferent things, carried on in a
different manner from any other
salesmen in their field.
In a word, they were extra­
ordinary salesmen.
Just before he died, which
was only a few months ago, I
heard this fine sales executive
explain that. Said he: “ I want
every man who works with me
to be not an ordinary salesman,
but an extraordinary salesman.
I want him to do extraordinary
things in selling, since these
things appeal most to buyers,
create more sales. I want him
to avoid commonplace expres-
July, I 941
http://www.arcade-museum.com/