The Power of Spirit

The brilliant band of blood-red is at the top of the rainbow. This typifies the spiritual qualities of the salesman who wins-Courage, Conviction, Enthusiasm, and Persistence. Battles aren’t won by brains and cunning alone-it takes “blood, sweat, and tears,” to quote the immortal words of Winston Churchill. This applies to selling, too.

So in the first section of this book we will consider these emotional and spiritual attributes that a man must develop if he aspires to leadership.

Master Salesmen Are Men of Spirit

IF FIFTY LEADING ARTISTS WERE TO paint a picture of the Grand Canyon every one would be different. Some would be dark and grim. Others would depict the lighter hues. No doubt a few would be realistic and beautiful. Others would be impressionistic and hard to understand. But they would all reflect the personalities and ideas of their creators.

So it is with master salesmen. Each has his own way of persuading men to buy. One may be suave and adroit. Another will be direct to the point of being overbearing. Most successful salesmen are polite and courteous, and yet others are almost insulting. How can such different types all be successful? What’s the answer? It’s probably that each one gravitates to his own kind. His “wave length” synchronizes with the prospects he selects. At any sales convention it is interesting to observe the various personalities and characters of the leaders. No doubt if their customers were assembled, they would be of the same types as the men who sold them.

SOME CHARACTERISTICS ARE COMMON TO THE LEADERS

Although so different, yet supersalesmen have certain traits in common. The most apparent is this-they are all men of spirit. They intensely want to make sales. They can get hot -literally. They are alive. When they talk to a prospective buyer he feels their enthusiasm and responds to it. They never give up as long as there’s the ghost of a show to make a sale.

They aren’t afraid to ask for the order. They aren’t intimidated by the tough prospects who try to discourage them.

One of the best salesmen in the candy industry has raised his company from a little local enterprise to one of national standing. True, he has a good product to sell, and plenty of good help. But he is the spark-plug and mainspring. He is a perfect example of the supersalesman just described. He’s confident without being chesty. He’s poised and sure without being overbearing. He’s a lot of fun, but always is driving for the order. He isn’t afraid to call on new prospects-in fact that might well be the greatest single secret of his success. The lifeblood of a business is the NEW blood in the form of new customers.

CHRYSLER SAID SALESMEN MUST GET EXCITED

Many think of Walter Chrysler as the miracle man of the automobile business. His story reads like a novel and most of us are familiar with it. One of his greatest assets was his ability to fire up his dealers and salesmen. He often made the statement that being enthusiastic wasn’t enough-his men had to get excited.

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A salesman came into my office with a gadget to attach to a phone so that it could be rested on one’s shoulder while talking. He explained that in this way a man’s hands would be free so that he could figure and look up data. He pointed out that a salesman like myself might lose a sale because of the delay occasioned by laying the instrument down while looking up some figures or information. This all sounded reasonable enough but the clincher was this-he got so excited while he was telling his story. He was actually worried about my possibly losing orders.

THE REAL-SILK SALESMAN

One of the finest salesmen I ever met sold Real-Silk products. We became well acquainted and often talked about salesmanship. He taught me many things, but the main one was this – He said, “I really love the things I sell. I wear them myself. When I tell a man about them, I let myself go and enthuse about the marvelous quality, beauty, and economy of my Real-Silk sox, shirts, and other items. When I talk to a woman, I do the same thing and tell her how wonderful she’ll look if she wears Real-Silk brand clothes.”

I asked him how he could stand being turned down as often as he must be every day.



He replied, “That doesn’t worry me a bit. I know I’m just that much closer to my next sale. Part of my job is getting the turn-downs over with as soon as possible, since they are unavoidable. I’m almost glad when I have one, since that one’s out of the way. I do my best to make a sale every time I unpack my case, and so I have no fear. My percentage of sales to calls is practically constant, month in and month out. So why should I fret if I have a long string of turn-downs. I know that sooner or later I’ll have a long string of sales to make up for it.”

WHAT ABOUT APTITUDE?

Many a salesman has read books like this, heard speeches about selling, and wondered if he was really cut out for salesmanship in the first place. That’s a sensible question to ask, too. Selling takes natural aptitudes just the same as any other great art, because selling is really an art. Nevertheless many of the greatest salesmen we know weren’t so promising at first.

THE YOUNG PREACHER’S VISION

One day a famous minister was driving through the country on a Sunday morning. At church time he was in a little country town and decided to stop and attend church services. The young preacher was so obviously unfitted for the ministry that the older man was embarrassed for him. At the conclusion of the services he tried to slip away without meeting the young man. But he had recognized the eminent minister and rushed out to greet him.

He asked the older man what he thought of the sermon.

The famous church leader asked, “Just why did you decide to go into the ministry?” The young man replied, “I was working on my father’s farm one day in the field and suddenly in the sky I saw two great letters, “P” and “C,” in bright light appear in the sky. I knew what they meant too. They meant ‘Preach Christ.’ “

The old man thought a minute and then said, “No son, you didn’t interpret your vision correctly. They meant ‘Plow Corn.’” So the moral to this story is obvious. It’s important that we work in a field for which we are fitted.

ADVICE FOR ANOTHER YOUNG PREACHER

A young minister went to see an eminent clergyman who had a national reputation for filling his church every Sunday and for being one of the most inspiring speakers in the country.

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He asked the older man, “What can I do when I notice some of my congregation getting drowsy and sleepy? Every Sunday I see many people about to go to sleep.”

The famous churchman laughed and said, “That reminds me of my early days when I was just getting started in the ministry. I had the same trouble you’re having, my boy. But I found a wonderful solution.

“I instructed my head usher to keep a sharp eye on the members of my audience to watch for anyone getting sleepy or inattentive. If he saw someone in that condition, he was to slip up the aisle and give the preacher a good poke and wake him up!” Here again the moral is obvious. If we fail to put life and enthusiasm in our sales stories, we might as well quit. But it is quite possible to energize ourselves and “keep our audience awake.”

WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT

Enthusiasm, persistence, imagination, drive, and ambition can be cultivated-we’ve seen it done many times. All of us are born with cert
ain strengths and weaknesses. An old adage says we should capitalize on our strengths and not worry too much about our weaknesses. This doesn’t mean that a man shouldn’t protect himself from his vulnerable points, but it does mean that he should make the most of his assets. So here are some suggestions that may help-

1. By self-analysis and with the help of friends determine just what your best points are. If they include the spiritual qualities we have listed as so important to success in selling, take heart and don’t worry too much about the weaknesses.

2. Now decide just what your serious weaknesses are, too. If you know in your heart that you can’t hold yourself to a course of action and overcome discouragement, don’t let this demoralize you. But you’d better not enter the career of a salesman.

3. If you conclude you are about average, then set your jaw and determine to raise yourself from mediocrity to success. Many a man has done just that, and you can too.

4. Don’t try to make yourself over all at once. Do as Benjamin Franklin advised-tackle just one little thing at a time and get it under control before going on to the next step. It’s fun if you do it that way. 5. Keep your promises to yourself. Don’t resolve to do any thing at all unless you are determined to stick to your resolutions. This is the most important decision of all.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THIS CHAPTER

1. Artists and salesmen are alike in that each has his own particular techniques and methods. Yet they have some qualities in common too.

2. The leaders are all men of spirit. They are alive and radiate heat and enthusiasm. They are eager to do business.

3. The best salesmen look on their job as a business. They are not demoralized by set-backs because they know that their winning days will be back, if they keep moving.

4. A man should analyze his strong and weak qualities to determine if he’s cut out to be a salesman. It’s no disgrace if a man can’t sell-it’s a disgrace though if he wastes too much time finding it out.

5. The way for a man to improve himself in his “spirit department” is to determine to do it, and make promises to himself that he will keep. He must also realize that he must proceed step by step in order to make any permanent progress.

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