Successful Salesmanship E-Book

Theron Q. Dumont

• Herausgeber: David De Angelis
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2021

Beschreibung

Containing sales wisdom not found in any other modern book, "Successful Salesmanship" will give you the necessary foundation and skills required in order to be world class. Theron Q. Dumont teaches you the little understood habits and attitudes of the "naturals" who themselves are unsure of the reason for their incredible success in sales. The salesperson who studies this book will have a leg up over everybody else.

"Successful Salesmanship" is an in-depth guide of creating the correct sales personality and skills. 

Leseprobe

Index

LESSON I. - THE EFFICIENT SALESMAN.

LESSON II. - THE DWELLER OF THE THRESHOLD.

LESSON III. - THE MOST POSITIVE QUALITY.

LESSON IV. - OTHER POSITIVE QUALITIES.

LESSON V. - OTHER POSITIVE QUALITIES (II).

LESSON VI. - PERSONAL TRAITS.

LESSON VII. - PERSONAL QUALITIES.

LESSON VIII. - ORGANIZING VICTORY.

LESSON IX. - VALUE OF REHEARSAL.

LESSON X. - THE PRE-APPROACH.

LESSON XI. - PASSING THE BARRIER.

LESSON XII. - THE APPROACH.

LESSON XIII. - BEGINNING THE INTERVIEW.

LESSON XIV. - CONTINUING THE INTERVIEW.

LESSON XV. - THE MOTIVES OF THE BUYER.

LESSON XVI. - MORE ABOUT MOTIVES.

LESSON XVII. - MOTIVES OF THE BUYER (III).

LESSON XVIII. - MOTIVES OF THE BUYER (IV).

LESSON XIX. - MOTIVES OF THE BUYER (V).

LESSON XX. - THE DEMONSTRATION.

LESSON XXI. - THE DEMONSTRATION (II).

LESSON XXII. - THE CLOSING.

LESSON XXIII. - INCREASING EFFICIENCY.

LESSON XXIV. - SALESMANSHIP BY MAIL.

LESSON XXV. - RETAIL SALESMANSHIP.

LESSON XXVI. - THE POWER OF WORDS.

LESSON XXVII. - THE LAWS OF ARGUMENT.

LESSON XXVIII. - THE LOGICAL APPEAL.

LESSON XXIX. - FALSE ARGUMENT.

Successful Salesmanship

Theron Q. Dumont

Edition 2021 by David De Angelis

All rights reserved

LESSON I. - THE EFFICIENT SALESMAN.

It has been the custom of writers and speakers on the subject of salesmanship and sales, to begin by describing the Psychology of the Sale— the several stages of mental process manifested in every sale. This is all very well, so far as it goes, but one should not overlook the fact that just as “the man behind the gun” is the first consideration in artillery practice, so “the man behind the sale” should be the first thing considered in the subject of salesmanship. So, it has always been my practice, in my class work, to begin at the real beginning—the Salesman himself.

The logical classification of the elements of a sale, is this:

The Salesman;

The Goods (or Proposition);

The Prospective Buyer (or “Prospect”) and the subject of this course of lessons—Salesmanship—should be approached and considered according to this natural and logical classification.

We have heard much of “the born salesman.” In fact, if we were to believe some of those engaged in this line of work, we would think that unless a man were born with a certain instinctive and intuitive knowledge of the science and art of selling goods, he might as well relinquish all hope of ever becoming an efficient salesman. But the experience of the best psychologists, as well as that of the best employers of salesmen, is that some of the best salesmen have been developed from apparently unpromising material, by careful training and with the co-operation of the man in the work of self-development of character.

It is true that there are certain qualities coming to some men by inheritance—or, I should say, certain tendencies—which give to these men the advantage of an “easy start.” But this advantage, unless followed up by scientific knowledge, and strict character building, may prove to be a disadvantage, rather than advantage. Many a man of this kind has had a skyrocket career, and after making a brilliant rise, has sputtered out and dropped like the stick of the rocket. The very ease of the start, in many of these cases, often creates an inordinate vanity and general peacock attitude of mind which soon reacts upon the man, and brings to him defeat.

Too often the inherited tendency evidences simply as an ease of approach, which degenerates into a cheap “cheekiness,” which disgusts and repels the prospective buyer. Or, likewise, it may be the tendency toward the “gift of gab,” which may deteriorate into an undesirable flow, or gush of words which tends to create the impression of “cheapness” in the mind of the prospective buyer, and thus defeats the object of the flow of words.

In this connection, I would say that some of the very best salesmen in the world, so far from manifesting the “cheeky” approach, are known for their quiet, dignified, gentlemanly manner in approaching the prospective buyer (or “prospect” to use the customary term). And, equally true, the real salesman of merit may be known for sparing use of words—a few well- chosen, positive expressions taking the place of the flow of words from the bubbling verbal fountain of the counterfeit salesman of the stage or work of fiction.

The gurgling, bubbling teller of stories, of the old days of salesmanship, is being supplanted by the earnest, thoroughly posted, and logical man of business, who is applying the rules of scientific salesman-ship, instead of the old “jollying,” cajoling, “cheap” methods of appeal. This does not mean that cheerfulness has lost its value to salesmanship—on the contrary, this element of human nature will live as long as the race, and will have its value until the end of time. I simply mean that the quality of cheerfulness and good nature has passed from the old slap-stick methods and farce comedy stage, to that of true humor and good nature. Moreover, much of the old “gurgle” and bubble is now perceived to be waste motion, and lacking the qualities of true appeal.

Modern psychology teaches most forcibly that each and every man may develop any set of mental faculties, or restrain any other set. In short, man is able to “make himself over,” according to any pattern or ideal which he holds before his mind as a model. Desirable qualities may be developed and strengthened; and undesirable qualities may be starved out or have their “stingers” extracted. This is not mere idle talk, based upon hope and desire; nor is it merely the prophecy of a coming time. It is a plain, clear, scientific statement of a present truth and fact, which may be, and is, possible of demonstration here and now.

Rule For Character Development.

The general psychological rule for the cultivation of desirable qualities and the restraint of undesirable ones, may be stated in a few words, for it is as simple in principle as it is universal in application and efficacious in result. It may be stated as follows:

Exercise and use the desirable qualities upon every possible opportunity. Keep them ever before you in thought, for “thought takes form in action.” And, cultivate the mental habit of visualizing, or seeing in a mental picture, yourself as manifesting the qualities which you wish to develop and habitually manifest.

To restrain and neutralize an undesirable quality, develop its opposite, along the lines just manifested. It is a law of the mind that two opposites cannot exist in consciousness at the same time—the stronger shuts out the weaker. Moreover, as the subconscious is built up from the impressions of the conscious mentality, and takes color therefrom, it follows that by observing this rule, one is able to fill his subconscious mind with the positive qualities, instead of the negative. Mental qualities come in pairs— opposites. If you strengthen one of the pair, the opposite is weakened—this is an invariable law of the mind. Therefore, in view of the above stated facts, it follows that if you develop the opposite of an undesirable quality, you really weaken and neutralize the undesirable one itself, without paying any other attention to it. In the same way, if you develop an undesirable quality, you at the same time, tend to weaken the desirable quality which is its opposite.

Positive and Negatives. In connection with the above rule for development of mental qualities, I wish to call your attention to a peculiar law of psychology which has to do with the relation between, and comparative power of Positive and Negative mental qualities, thoughts, ideas, and actions. The law is based upon some deep fundamental principle of Life or Mind, which is found to be operative on all planes of thought and will activity. This law may be stated, broadly and generally, in the following words: Positives always neutralize Negatives, if brought in contact with them.

A glance at the world around you will satisfy you that the positive phase of things is always the most active; and that all actions tends to move along positive lines; rather than those of negativity. You will notice that men generally compare things for the purpose of deciding which is the largest, strongest, most active, most lively, most efficient—even though they are not personally interested in the result. The result will nearly always be uttered in the terms of the positive—that is, the winning positive things will nearly always be mentioned. It is but seldom that we hear the result in the terms of negativity. For instance, compare two things and perceive how natural it is for you to say: “This one is the largest; or strongest.” You naturally express yourself in this way, and seldom find yourself announcing the result as: “This one is the smallest; or weakest.”

Everything has its place on a scale, one end of which is positive, and the other negative. Moreover, everything has its positive and negative aspects. The positive always means the most efficient, or “plus” side or end of the thing, while the negative always means the least efficient or “minus” side or end of the thing. We do not measure things in degrees of weakness, but in degrees of strength—in degrees of positivity, not in degrees of negativity. For instance, we do not think of “strength” as being “less weak,” but rather of “weakness” as being “less strong.” In short, the scale is one of Strength, which is positive; rather than of Weakness, which is negative, and which really means “absence of strength.” We naturally recognize this fact, when we prefix “un” or “in” to positive qualities, in order to express the negative “opposite” thereof. We never attach them prefixes to negative things when we wish to indicate a positive one. These prefixes always denote an absence, or lack of positive quality—never the lack or absence of negative quality. Finally, then, we may see that negativity actually means absence or lack of positivity, rather than an equal reality. Thus darkness is but an absence of light, not a thing in itself. Do you get the idea?

In the same way, in advertising or selling goods by personal appeal, the positive is always stronger than the negative. A man always is more ready to listen to a statement of fact couched in terms of “It IS so and so;” rather than to be told that the same thing “is NOT so and so” (naming its opposite), though both statements really mean the same thing. A command of “Thou shalt,” is far more positive in its effect, that one of the “Thou shalt not.” It is far better psychology to point out to one the way a thing should be done, than how it should be done—for if one follows the right way of doing a thing, he will not fall in the wrong way. The same fact may be brought out more strongly in its positive form than in its negative. The positive always neutralizes and overcomes the negative if brought into contact with it. For this reason, I have advised you to cultivate your positive qualities, and not bother about the negative ones—for the latter will be neutralized if the former are encouraged and developed.

“But,” the student may reasonably inquire at this point, “how am I to distinguish between positive and negative qualities in salesmanship? Is there no general rule?” I hasten to answer that there is a general rule—so general, in fact, that it applies not only to salesmanship, but to everything else in the world of mental action. Here is the rule:

Rule of Positivity: A positive quality always tends toward efficiency; a negative quality always tends toward inefficiency. When in doubt about a given quality, ask yourself this question: Does this quality tend to make me stronger, more capable, more efficient? Let this be your touchstone, by which you will discover the positivity or negativity of any mental quality. For, it follows that whatever conforms to this rule will be POSITIVE!

Efficiency. You will notice that I have summed up the positive nature of a quality by the term EFFICIENCY. This term has sprung into sudden popular favor during the past decade, by reason of its employment by leading authorities who have specialized on certain forms of effective work, and the scientific management and direction thereof. To many, there has seemed to be some kind of special magic in the term, which is lacking in others. But, while the word has a dynamic meaning by reason of its practical application by the authorities mentioned, it but expresses an idea as old as thought— this, however, is not intended to lessen respect for and use of, the term, for it is an excellent one, and one which I, personally, am fond of using.

Efficiency really means: “The power of producing effects and results”— that is to say, that is the ordinary meaning of the term. But, in the science of Mechanics the term was used to express the idea of: “the ratio of useful work to energy expended.” The special use of the term, just referred to, includes both of the old meanings, and, accordingly may be said to express the idea of “producing the greatest degree of desirable effect or result, with the least expenditure of energy and time.” In short, Efficiency may be said to mean “the quality of producing effects, or attaining result, in the best way.

Efficiency experts hold that there is only one “best way” to do anything. Furthermore they hold that “the best way” of doing anything, must also be a combination of the easiest possible way, the quickest possible way, and the way of getting the highest return in desirable effects and results. The requisites, you will notice, call for the greatest possible degree of eliminating Waste Motion, Waste Effort, and Waste Time—and these three ways may be summed up generally, simply as WASTE! So, then,at the last, EFFICIENCY means “obtaining the greatest and best results, with the least waste.” Fasten this idea in your mind, for it is the keynote of effective, and efficient work in any line.

Efficiency is essentially Positive. It is built up by the Positive Qualities, and torn down, or hindered by the Negative Qualities. To be a Positive Salesman, means to be an Efficient Salesman. And, this idea, and ideal, of POSITIVE EFFICIENCY, should ever be kept before you as a pattern and guide!

LESSON II. - THE DWELLER OF THE THRESHOLD.

Before proceeding to the consideration of the positive qualities which should be developed by the salesman, I wish to ask the student to pause for a moment while I call his attention to a mental state, or emotional state if you prefer it, which has beset the path of many a good man, and which has turned back many a one who would otherwise have made a great success. I would not care to call exactly a “quality”—it is rather a state of feeling. Therefore, I think we had better dispose of it before we consider the subject of mental qualities. Let us meet this grim dragon, and learn how to destroy him.

Did you ever read Bulwer’s occult story, called “Zanoni?” If so, you will remember his description of that terrible supernatural creature which presents itself to all neophtyes who seek to penetrate the veil of the hidden knowledge. This nameless, shapeless thing, was called the “Dweller of the Threshold.” The sight of it paralyzed the eager student of the esoteric teachings, and frequently drove him in terror away from the place. It “froze his blood, made his eyes like stars start from their spheres; each knotted and combined lock to part, and each particular hair to stand on end like quills upon the fretful porcupine.” But, this monster was merely a figment of the imagination, lacking life and real being, ad could be driven away into nothingness by the courage and self control of the neophyte who learned to assert his mastery. A demon of this kind dwells upon the threshold of salesmanship. Like its occult counterpart, it is a creature of the imagination, lacking real being and life. And also like that counterpart, it may be driven away by a resolute will, and a determined mind, aided by a knowledge of its fictitious nature and counterfeit being.

The “Dweller of the Threshold” of Salesmanship, is known by the name of “PANIC.” Actors know it by the name of “stage-fright.” Hunters know it by the name of “buck-fever.” Actors, hunters, and old salesmen realize it fictitious nature, and its counterfeit being—but they also know how dreadfully real it appears to the beginner. Even after its real nature is recognized, it may continue to exert power over one, until finally killed and thrown off. Like the rope of the Hindu, so long as it is imagined to be a cobra, it may as well really be one so far as is concerned the fear of the observer. A dream is true so long as it lasts. It is only when the sleeper awakes, that the hideous nightmare vanishes. Let us wake up, students!

By many writers and teachers this mental state—Panic—has been regarded as Fear, and treated as such. But it is something far deeper than Fear. Fear is a mental state arising from the belief, or half-belief, in the existence of some impending evil, or threatening danger. When the mind is assured that no such evil impends, or that no such danger threatens, the feeling of Fear disappears—there is nothing to be afraid of. But this deeper thing—this Panic—is something far deeper, and more elemental. It belongs to the phenomena of the subconscious mind. It is akin to that unreasoning, causeless fright which overcomes many persons in a dark room, lonely place, or vicinity of a graveyard. It savors of the fear of the supernatural, and manifests in the same way. There is many a man who doesn’t believe in “spooks” in daylight, but who feels a very vivid terror of them in the middle of the night, or in the vicinity of a graveyard after dark.

The actor manifesting “stage fright” really is not afraid of the audience. His feeling is a deeper, unreasoning something, which is causeless, so far as any recognized cause is concerned. The hunter experiencing “buck fever” is not afraid of the deer so many yards away. He is not afraid in any sense of the word, but he acts just as if he were in a state of acute terror, and is unable to pull the trigger. The man who is afraid of nothing supernatural, because he does not believe in supernatural things, nevertheless experiences that creepy feeling, and that manifestation of “goose-flesh” all over his body, notwithstanding his knowledge that there is no cause for alarm. The cause is not to be found in the region of the conscious mind—it rests in the depths of the subconscious.

Psychologists tell us that these subconscious states are the result of the fear of our ancestors, away back in the chain of life—perhaps, before the dawn of human life. The dark has terrors, because it was the symbol of dangerous beasts to our stone-age ancestors. The fear of crowds—one form of which is “stage-fright”—is an echo of the old fear of a strange body of men suddenly controlling one, a natural fear to the savage to the whom a strange man was almost always an enemy. The “buck fever” of the hunter, probably has some similar explanation. I have never heard it positively identified, but it belongs to the same class of emotions, however, and must have a similar cause from its very nature. The Panic of the salesman, is a form of extreme bashfulness and timidity which has a direct line of descent from the fear of facing persons in authority—the king, prince, priest, etc. It is a form of “race thought,” dwelling in the subconscious mind, and being without visible or known present cause. It is as unreasonable as the inherited feelings, impressed upon the child by the pre-natal emotions of its mother— such as the fear of spiders, cats, etc., which have been felt by some of the bravest of men, as history informs us. But it may be killed out and neutralized much easier than can these prenatal impressions, because its cause is much further back in the history of the ancestral line.

I have said that the best way to kill out an undesirable, negative quality is to develop its opposite positive quality. Thus Fear may be killed out, and neutralized by developing its positive opposite, Courage. By this Panic is not Fear. It is something far deeper, as we have seen. It must be reached by asserting and developing its positive opposite, Self-Control, and by impressing upon the subconscious mind that there is no real basis or grounds for this feeling. The subconscious may be educated by impressing upon it, forcibly, the fact that its feelings have no basis in fact, and that the occasion for the manifestation of the feeling has passed long ages ago. This feeling is a vestigial remnant of the days when such feeling was a useful instinct warning one away from danger. To constantly assert the error of such feeling, and to deny the validity of its promptings, is to gradually eradicate it from the subconscious mind. This may be aided by demonstrating to the subconscious mind that there is no basis for the feeling, by actual experiment in the direction of going counter to its promptings—by refusing to run away in a panic, and, instead, by boldly approaching the presence of the prospect. There is no use in arguing away this state of Panic, for it does not manifest on the plane of the intellect, the home of argument and reasoning. It manifests on another plane of mentality, and is not concerned with present causes or reasons. In fact, it is causeless and contrary to reason. Its causes and reasons have long since passed into oblivion—what is left is merely the echo, or shadow, of something that has long since passed away. If the cause or reason of a thing has disappeared, then its shadow or echo must be a double-counterfeit, fraud, lie, error, illusion. And the only logical way of combatting such a thing is to literally deny it out of existence. This may seem strange to you, but it has excellent psychological reasoning and experience back of it. Confront the Thing, call it a Lie, a Phantom, an Illusion, lacking all reality, truth, and being. It is an intruder in your mental realm—a bat in your belfry. Therefore, drive it out without mercy—and show it no quarter.

Panic is not a normal mental state—it is a diseased condition. It is a negative shadow, opposing a reality. To drive it out, kill it out, one has but to admit the sunlight of Truth, and the miserable shadow will disappear. This must not be construed as mere “words”—something said merely because it has an inspiring sound and vibration. It is a fact—a truth. The best proof of the truth is this statement is found in the analysis of the emotion itself. A little analysis will show that Panic is not based upon reason or experience, necessarily, but, on the contrary, is an emotional fog which rises from the subconscious region in which it has been grown. It overcomes one like a noxious vapor, paralyzing the will and energy. It is not a conviction, or judgment, based on reason. Instead, it is a “feeling” of the emotional nature, having no basis in the facts of the case, and being entirely devoid of reason.

It is this miserable feeling which paralyzes the will of so many salesmen, particularly at the beginning of their career, before they learn its fallacious nature, and before they have learned to neutralize it. Remember, you feel this thing not because you are filled with the conviction that you cannot sell the prospect, or that you have not the ability to carry the sale through. Not because of any calm judgment of this kind on your part—but solely because of its irrational, panicky, negativity. This Panic is not a rational thing—it is irrational, illogical, untrue, unreal. At the last, it is what the Orientals call “Maya, or Illusion,” or the Christian Scientists call “Error of Mortal Mind.” It is a Shadow—not a Reality. It is a Dream—not a Waking Fact. But as in the old Hindu fable, the rope which is mistaken for a snake, causes just as much terror as does the snake, until it is found out—just as “dreams are true, while they last”—so is this Shadow powerful enough to paralyze your efforts and abilities, until you discover that it is but a shadow, having no reality; until you discover the cheat and illusion of its nature. So to merely tell you that Panic is not real, does not help you any, so long as you really feel its effect. Fortunately, there is an antidote for its poison.

The old Oriental teachers who discovered the illusory nature of Panic; the modern metaphysicians who teach the “error” of its essential nature; and the modern psychologist who recognizes it as the product of the subconscious energies wrongly set into operation—all of these have practically the same remedy and cure for it. This cure or remedy, so accepted and taught, is universal in its effect—it is infallible. It will cure any case to which it is applied, providing the person applying it will do so in earnest, and with

sufficient persistency and perseverance. And then, what is this great remedy?

Simply this: The assertion of your natural right in the possession of the a Self-Controlled Soul,and your denial of the validity, truth and reality of the Panic. This is the realization of the lack of reality in the shadow, and the letting in of the sunlight of truth. You may possibly object to this as being “occult mysticism,” or else “only Christian Science”—but I tell you, earnestly, that is is a scientific truth and fact, and it is the only thing that will do the work. You know very well that there is no reasoning or arguing yourself out of this Panic condition. You have tried those remedies, and found that they did not work. It is true that many men have overcome this obstacle by being forced to do things in spite of it, and thus overcoming the “habit,” for that is what it is. But these same men could have saved themselves much time and trouble had they put into operation the plan of denying the thing out of existence. I do not mean denying that they felt the thing that would be foolish. I mean, instead, the denial of any real, valid, abiding nature in the thing. We do not deny that we see a mirage, but we do deny the real substantial nature thereof.

The mirage of Panic may dissipated by the habit of denying its validity. The power of Faith to one's own natural inherent Self-Control will act as the power of the sun to melt away this fog of Panic. It is the neutralizing of a negative by a great Positive. Though you may feel the influence of the false Panic, try so far as possible to act as if it did not exist. Pour into it the rapid- fire volleys of denial, followed by the solid shot of the affirmation of your own natural Self-Control.

Now, my dear students, do not think that I am heading you into mystic by- paths, or along metaphysical lanes. There is a sound, practical, scientific explanation behind all of this—behind the phenomenon of Panic, and the cure thereof by the remedy prescribed for you. The whole thing belongs in the category of the phenomena of the subconscious planes of the mind. The subconsciousness has been filled with suggestions and auto-suggestions, which have acted as seed thoughts, and which have grown, blossomed and borne fruit. Negative seed produced negative fruit. These things are mental and spiritual weeds, which may be killed out by planting strong, vigorous, positive plants in their place.

Or, if you prefer the explanation given by some of the old occultists (and repeated in modern guise by later teachers), think of a great water-jug, filled with muddy water. It stands by a rock from which flows a stream of clear pure water, the stream pouring into the jug. As the fresh stream flows in, the muddy water runs out over the sides of the mouth of the jug. Gradually, the water in the jug becomes clearer and clear, until at last, it is as clear as is the water flowing into it from the rock. Do you see the application and the principle involved?

Then face boldly this Panic and call it a Lie and a Cheat to its very face. Deny reality to it, and tell it what a Vain Illusion it really is. By doing so, you pour into the jug the stream of pure water, which will drive out the muddy water which has filled it. Do not bother about plunging deep into metaphysics or psychology to find out the technical explanation of all this. Rather, get to work and put the thing into practice, with Faith and Self- Control. By so doing, your mirage of Panic will be melted away—the fog will be lifted by the rays of the rising sun.

I have spoken strongly on this subject, for it is vital to the beginner in Salesmanship. It is the “Dweller of the Threshold,” which serves to affright the beginner, and which often sends him back discouraged and dismayed. Confront boldly this phantom creature of the darkness, and proclaim to its face its essential falsity and illusion. Deny it out of existence. Walk through it and prove that it is but a shadowy shape. Like many other phantoms, confront it in this way, and ignore its existence, and it will disappear. When you conquer this monster, you will have grasped a great secret of mental dominion and power.

LESSON III. - THE MOST POSITIVE QUALITY.

I consider the quality of earnestness to be not only one of the most desirable in the list of qualities necessary to the efficient salesman, but also one of the most positive qualities that man manifests. There is a dynamic force in earnestness, which is sure to impress itself upon the prospect. Moreover, when a man filled with earnest thought regarding his goods, his work, his success, there is no room in his mind for morbid self- consciousness or Panic.

Many have spoken of the value of enthusiasm, but to me there is an implication of fleeting feeling in this term, whereas, earnestness seems to imply a firm, well-grounded, steady, permanent, mental state. I have heard enthusiasm compared to the flash, smoke and noise of a cannon, while earnestness was likened to the cannon-ball. I think the comparison justified. I have known men to be very enthusiastic and full of flash, noise and smoke, like the firing of a blank cartridge—no force, nor projectile, nothing hit. On the other hand, I have known men charged to the limit with a steady, dynamic earnestness, which swept everything before it. The flash of enthusiasm sometimes works well in quick, short effort, and in such cases often sets on fire the prospect by its very contagiousness. But the steady flame of earnestness will often melt the hardest steel which the quick fierce flame would scarcely effect.

The spirit of Earnestness is contagious. Its vibrations tend to awaken similar vibrations in the mind of those with whom the earnest man comes in contact. Earnestness is radio-active, and its field of force is a wide one. Careful observers have noticed that earnestness is always strongly present in the mental make-up of men endowed with personal magnetism. In fact, some

have wondered whether earnestness was not at the very foundation of personal magnetism. At any rate, it must be regarded as the dynamic power which gives force and energy to personal influence. A writer on the subject has said: “It will be found that all men possessed of personal magnetism are very much in earnest. Their very earnestness is magnetic.”

There is more than mere mentality about the quality of earnestness. It seems to have a peculiar quality which we may as well call “soul,” or “life,” as any other name. It is difficult to define this elusive quality, but everyone recognizes it when he comes in contact with it. It is connected not only with the “head,” but also with the “Heart.” It really embodies the qualities which may be stated as “kindling fervor of the soul; ardent interest and zeal; lively manifestation of faith, interest and zeal.”

Regarding the magnetic nature of earnestness and similar soul-states, a writer of the last century has forcibly said: “All of us emit a sphere, aura or halo, impregnated with the very essence of ourselves. Sensitives know this, and so do our dogs and other pets. Some of us are magnetic—others not. Some of us are warm, attractive, love-inspiring and friendship making, while others are cold, intellectual, thoughtful, reasoning, but not magnetic. Let a learned man of the latter type address an audience, and it will soon tire of his intellectual discourse, and will manifest symptoms of drowsiness. Such a man talks at his hearers, not into them. He makes them think, not feel. This is most tiresome to the majority of persons, and few speakers succeed who attempt to merely make persons think—they want to be made to feel. People will pay liberally to be made to feel or laugh, while they will begrudge a dime for instruction or talk that will make them think. Pitted against a learned man of the type mentioned above, let there be a half-educated, but very loving, ripe and mellow man, with but nine-tenths of the logic and erudition of the first man, yet such a man carries along his crowd with perfect ease, and everybody is wide-awake, treasuring up every good thing that falls from his lips. The reasons are palpable and plain. It is heart against head; soul against logic—and soul is bound to win every time.”

A prominent American business man is quoted as having expressed himself as follows, regarding the quality of Earnestness in a salesman: “The minds of this type of men are filled with one great, superlative idea—success in whatever undertaking they may have in hand. Their earnestness cannot fail to have its effect on every prospective customer with whom they come in contact. Besides its direct effect upon the man addressed, the quality of earnestness is in the salesman has also an immediate effect upon himself in increasing his powers of reasoning and self-expression. By stimulating these powers, and through their agency, it has also an indirect effect upon the customer. We are all familiar with cases where an ignorant, stolid fellow, ordinarily in-capable of expressing himself in speech very well, has suddenly found himself gifted with eloquence at some emotional crisis in life—eloquence not the less splendid and powerful because of grammatical inaccuracies. When this happens, the mind of the speaker has swept aside by the very force of earnestness, the limitations which hampered it in ordinary intercourse. The same principle accounts for a man’s ability to improvise means of escape from great and sudden danger, which would have been entirely beyond his ingenuity at other times.”

The majority of writers on the subject of salesmanship, who are in business life, while they are quite correct as to their observed and recorded facts, are, naturally, lacking in the technical knowledge which is necessary to grasp and explain the principle underlying these facts. For instance, these persons have noted the paramount importance of earnestness in salesmanship, and have also observed how powerfully earnestness sets in bringing into play in-creased activity and power on the part of other faculties of the mind. They have identified earnestness with soul-power, and they are right—but they do not know the psychology of the phenomenon.

The explanation of this powerful effect of earnestness is found in the fact of the operations of the subconscious mind. When a man is filled with burning earnestness, he is actually swept off his feet of ordinary conscious processes—he enters into the stage of “feeling” rather than that of ordinary thinking. That is to say, his thinking is done for him subconsciously . His intense concentration gives great force and sharpness to his mental faculties, and his ardor kindles the fires of his subconscious mentality, so that it rushes to his aid, as is its custom under such conditions. The fire of his earnestness kindles his mental faculties—all of them—and he is capable of feats of brilliant reasoning, illustration and persuasion, which are far beyond his power under ordinary circumstances. The same phenomenon, though in a different degree is observed in cases of dreams, hypnotic states, etc. The man, however, is not asleep, nor hypnotized in any sense of the word. The only resemblance to these states is found in the fact that his ordinary careful plodding faculties are stilled and quiet, while his subconscious mentality takes up the work eagerly.

When we say that a man “forgets himself” in the eagerness and zeal of his presentation of a subject: or that he “is carried off his feet” by the flow of his own ideas and expression, we mean that he loses his every day ordinary “self” in a greater and fuller Self which has burst its barriers and thrown off its ordinary chains, and is asserting itself freely. A man is always much greater than he realizes himself to be. There are depths of soul in him of which he is not aware. In the deeper regions of the self there are powers seldom called into play—information not realized—knowledge not suspected. It is only when some sudden, unusual demand is made upon the individual, some time in which his ordinary powers fail him—that he is swept off his feet with this great flood of reserve force. It is this force that flows into a man and manifests itself, when he is filled with great earnestness. It is this thing that is called “soul power,” in distinction to ordinary mental activity.

This subject of the reserve force and hidden springs of mental power in the mind of man has attracted much attention from psychologists of late years. It is found to explain many heretofore puzzling facts of mental life and action. It serves as a recovered missing link in the great chain of human psychology. Professor William James, the great American psychologist, devoted much attention to this wonderful phase of mind action. He spoke of it as “the second wind” of the mind. He compared it to the action of the lungs in the case of a man running, or doing unusual work. Such a man soon reaches the limit of his “wind,” and finds breathing difficult. If, however, he is forced to persist, he discovers that he is beginning to tap on to a second stratum of “wind,” and before long is able to use the newly discovered lung power without distress. All athletes know the truth of this statement.

Well, James went on to say that in his investigation along these lines, he had discovered that it was possible for a man who had exhausted his ordinary mental powers to persist until he tapped on to this mental “second wind.” When he reached this point, the man would find himself with increased quantity and quality of thought, ideas, and expression. History is filled with many cases of sudden and hitherto unsuspected mental power being manifested by individuals, under the power of sudden demand or unexpected responsibility. Men and women have performed almost miraculous feats under the influence of strong feeling, and unusual demand upon them. They found the "second wind" of the self!

The earnest man forgets himself—loses himself in the interest of the proposition—and in this way taps, to a greater or less degree, the great subconscious region of mentality—the second wind of his self. This is the secret upon which is based the advice of certain good authorities, who hold that the less the salesman thinks about himself, the better will he be able to conduct his selling talk. The very power of earnestness shuts out the petty personal selfness of the man, and opens the door to his greater, more impersonal self. And this greater self pours out its power under the proper conditions, in a surprising manner. You may call this state of mind by the name of “enthusiasm,” if you prefer it—but to me, the term Earnestness is all that is needed. Think over the matter, and try to recall cases of the power of concentrated earnestness, and you will see what I mean.

Here is another important bit of psychological information, in connection with this phenomenon. It is a fact that when a person is manifesting strongly along subconscious lines—is speaking strongly under the influence of his “second wind” of self—he tends to awaken responsive mental vibrations in the mind of the person, or persons, to whom he is talking. This is the secret of the great orator, or actor. The “feeling” side of the audience responds to the higher vibrations of the deeper faculties. Soul awakens soul! And, as all modern psychologists know, it is these hidden depths of the mind that are influenced by the suggestive ideas of the speaker. The outer armor of the person may be very tough and thick—it usually is in the case of men who have had experience in meeting the pubic in the capacity of buyers. But, even these persons generally have a tender “inner self,” if you can but reach it. Carried away by the earnestness of the salesman, they throw off the outer armor, and present the softer nature. This is the principle, so often observed in action, and so little understood. I do not wish to be understood by my students as meaning, in any sense, that the salesman should place upon the subconscious mind the entire work of preparing the selling talk, argument, etc. On the contrary, the best way to take advantage of the offices and power of the subconscious in this way, is to first supply it with as much information as possible about your proposition. Study your proposition carefully. Classify your information regarding it. Get your main points well fixed in mind. Go over the possible objections of prospects and familiarize yourself with your answer thereto. Do all this, and let the information sink well into your mind. Your subconscious mind will then “chew the cud,” and digest the nourishment in what you have fed to it. It will then be prepared to do the work for you, as I have said, when you fill yourself with earnestness, and throw aside morbid self-consciousness, and vain-glory—and neutralize all Panic—and, when filled with the spirit of your undertaking you plunge into the task of the sale. Under such conditions, it will pour into your mind, ideas, resourceful expedients, answers, arguments, and closing force. EARNESTNESS is the First Requisite of Successful Salesmanship! Remember this!

LESSON IV. - OTHER POSITIVE QUALITIES.

Close following upon the heels of Earnestness, in the procession of the positive qualities, we find the quality of Cheerfulness. There are many reasons why one should endeavor to cultivate and hold a cheerful mental state, but it is not my purpose to dwell upon the majority of them. It is sufficient for me to tell you, most emphatically, that in my experience I have found that Cheerfulness is one of the most positive qualities that a salesman can possess. Laying aside from this consideration, the question whether it is not the duty of every individual to bring as much sunshine and cheer as possible into the world—coming right down to a cold-blooded question of policy, I say to you that the cultivation, development, and maintenance of Cheerfulness will be one of the best investments of time and work that you ever have made. I say this advisedly, and with a full sense of the importance of the statement. Next to Earnestness, I place Cheerfulness, in my list of the positive qualities of a salesman.

By Cheerfulness I do not mean a giddy, “funny” personality. Nor do I mean that forced state of cheerfulness which really is depressing. I mean that natural, bright mental state which radiates good cheer around the person manifesting it. This form of cheerfulness is not assumed, nor does it alone consist of outward appearance or actions. True cheerfulness comes from within. It is often manifested by those who have had, apparently, more of their share of the worlds sorrow to bear, but who still persist in looking at the bright side of things, rather than the reverse. I once knew a man who rightfully described himself as “a cheerful pessimist”—that is, his philosophy of earthly life, as a whole, was pessimistic, but, nevertheless he

had a sunny soul, and radiated sunshine wherever he went. Can you understand this?

True Cheerfulness comes from within. It is a quality of the soul, and it may be cultivated and developed. There is a part of us which we call “soul” which takes color from the kind of thoughts we feed to it. It reflects the color we put into it. If we prefer to dwell on the unhappy, gloomy side of things, it will reflect those colors. If we decide to dwell upon the bright side of things, it will reflect the bright tints and hues. There are two sides to everything. Life is full of both pain and pleasure—sorrow and joy. Every positive has its

negative. And we may dwell at either pole of things, the positive or the negative, just as we may prefer. Life says: “Take your choice, and pay the price.” And we do just that thing. The same object or subject will be seen as bright by one person, and as gloomy by another—each sees that for which he looks, each gets that which he seeks, each perceives the one side of the shield which faces toward his viewpoint.