The Sale Begins When the Customer Says "No"

Elmer G. Leterman

• Publisher: Papamoa Press
• Year: 2017
• eBook ISBN: 9781787207752
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Advertising
• Index: Business

READ THIS BOOK TODAY—START EARNING MONEY TOMORROW!
THE FAMOUS BESTSELLER BY ELMER G. LETERMAN
INCREASE YOUR EARNINGS IMMEDIATELY—AND BRIGHTEN YOUR FUTURE PROSPECTS—WITH THE SURE-FIRE TECHNIQUES OF CREATIVE SELLING
IF YOU'RE IN THE SALES FIELD TO MAKE MONEY—AND WHO ISN'T:
Read about the unique methods of successful selling by one of America's twelve master salesmen, who reveals how he gets around a big, loud NO.
Read too, of exciting "sales" made by such famous people as Jinx Falkenburg, Groucho Marx and many others.
This book is for everyone who wants to sell himself, his product or his ideas. It may well prove to be the key that will enable you to increase your earnings and enrich your life.
"Done extremely well. I shall provide each of our senior executives with a copy."—David L. Yunich, R. H. Macy's
"Highly entertaining!"—New York Times
"Mr. Leterman's book is a veritable treasure trove of valuable information and advice on successful selling. One of his major rules is 'Never take no for an answer.'"—Tampa Tribune
"Leterman is widely known as a leading insurance man, but his experience was gained in selling a variety of things. He draws on his experiences, and those of his friends, to write a lively but informal textbook."—Milwaukee Journal
"You have succeeded in highlighting the art of salesmanship. This book will be required reading for all salesmen!"—The American Legion Magazine
"A real guide post to the young salesman starting out and an inspiration to the mature minds!"—Philip Morris & Co.
"An encyclopedia on salesmanship and some of the best business short stories that I have read!"—M. K. Katz, Gimbel Brothers

CHAPTER I—Warm Him Up

The man on the other side of the desk picked up the telephone. “Let me have Mr. Brown,” he said to the operator, and a moment later he was talking to the treasurer of his company. “Jim,” he said, “I have Elmer Leterman in my office, and he has some very interesting things he’s been talking to me about. I’d like you to hear what he has to say.” A moment of silence. “Yes, right away. I’ll have him shown to your office. Thanks.”

I entered the treasurer’s office with this brief word of introduction from the firm’s president. Yet little did the treasurer realize that I well knew that I could have called him directly. The referral to him from a higher executive was not only my assurance that I would gain an interview, but that it would be under favorable circumstances.

Millions of people have a product to sell, something they know is needed and wanted, but they’ll, never get to first base unless they’re ordered down there by the umpire after the pitcher throws four straight balls. These salesmen know their product, and they know that what they are selling is important, valuable, and wanted. They have been taught how to present a story and how to answer questions, and yet they are stymied. What’s wrong? Lots of things may be wrong, but I would venture to guess that, above everything else, they have never learned how to create a favorable atmosphere for a sale before the act of selling has begun.

I think everyone has had the experience of being in the office of an executive when the secretary comes in and says, “A Mr. Joe Doakes is calling you, sir.”

“Joe Doakes? Never heard of him. Find out what he wants. Tell him I’m busy and ask him to call later.”

On the other side of the telephone there is probably a salesman, seeking an interview, not knowing how to gain it, unaware of the methods to be used to lay the groundwork for selling before the first no is uttered.

When will people realize that selling is a relationship between two human beings who are in a position to help each other? These two people need one another, but they each have to discover the fact When the sale begins, the salesman usually knows of the mutual need, but the client has to be convinced of it So that there falls upon the shoulders of the salesman the serious responsibility of guiding the client so that the latter discovers, under conditions most favorable for business, that their needs are mutual and complementary.

“Think in terms of the approach that will appeal to the customer,” advises Harry Riemer, editor of the Daily News Record and one of our great modern salesmen. “Warm him up so that he becomes a better prospect” Half of the challenge of making a sale is to discover a method of reaching the client that will predispose him most favorably to listening to a story. There are innumerable ways in which this can be done, and they all add up to what can be called the art of indirect selling. No matter what the product may be, there is and must be some method with which it can be presented so that the customer is in a receptive mood.

My friend Walter C. Hill, chairman of the board of the Retail Credit Company in Atlanta, Georgia, tells a story of his being invited by the secretary of an association of insurance companies to a meeting in Atlantic City to present a paper on the services offered by his company. That was, of course, a brilliant spot and he went into the preparation with care and enthusiasm.

On arriving, Walter found that he was the last item on the first afternoon’s agenda. The program moved rapidly—a few committee reports and one very brief talk. Following that, the chairman commented on the beautiful day, on the sun flooding the windows while many homes in other parts of the country were blanketed with snow. He was saying how nice it was to be finished so soon, and was extolling the pleasures of the Boardwalk when the secretary stood up and whispered something in his ear. The chairman looked a little confused, put on his glasses, and stared long at the program. “Well, I’m sorry,” he said, “I have to apologize to you. Mr. Hill is here and wants to tell you about his company.”

The guest didn’t bother to go to the podium, but bounced up from his front row seat, where he had held himself in eager readiness, and said: “Your chairman was right the first time. It is a beautiful day and we in this room may not have many chances on such a day to do Atlantic City’s famous Boardwalk, but there will be plenty of days for me to tell about our company. If the chairman will permit me to do so, I would like to move that this session be adjourned.”

“I became distinguished in that meeting,” Walter recounts. “I was known as the fellow who wasn’t allowed to make his speech. As a result, I met everyone individually, and under most agreeable circumstances. For years afterward, as I would meet these people in their offices, the event would be recalled with levity and amusement.”

Now let’s see how an interview should not be handled. One day I received a call from a voice that identified itself with a name and said that he wanted to show me a certain product. I replied that I was not in the market to purchase it at the time. Therefore I preferred that both of us not spend an afternoon or evening on a matter that would not result in a sale. From the other end of the telephone the invisible caller insisted, “I’m not selling you anything, Mr. Leterman. Our company has a plan by which this will be placed in your home where we think that, because of your standing in the community, it will do us the most good and make it worthwhile for both of us.”

Frankly I did not believe that this was an honest presentation, but I invited the man to come to see me. Had his plan been successful in that he did obtain an interview? Not at all. I had not invited him because of the flattery, through which anyone could see. He was not asked to pay a visit because I expected him to offer me a magnificent present. I offered the man an appointment because I was anxious to see what sort of a sales offer would follow the telephone pitch.

I was not at all surprised to learn that his telephone offer had been completely misleading. I don’t believe that I could have bought from him even had I wanted his product desperately, for my mind was sternly set against a salesman who had made his first approach to me in a deceitful manner.

Anything to get a story told, you may say. You can’t tell your story where it won’t get heard, and neither can I. But there is something worse than not telling the story, and that is to have an audience prejudiced and antagonistic before you start.

Anything to get talked about, to get known, to place a name before the public? No, not at all! There is bad publicity that is worse than none at all. There are ways of attracting attention, only to disappoint the client Have you ever walked toward your car and, from a distance of thirty or forty feet, noticed a ticket seemingly attached to the windshield wiper? Your heart sinks, for nobody likes to be the recipient of a ticket for parking or for some other traffic violation. And then, as you come closer, you find that it is not a ticket but a little advertisement from a nearby garage or parking lot placed on the windshield wiper just as if it were a notice of some minor violation.

This is clever salesmanship—in reverse! Nothing could create a more unfavorable atmosphere for a sale than such a procedure. But, the garage man insists, the notice gets picked up and read. Yes, the name of the garage does become known, does impress itself upon the memory of the driver—as a nuisance garage that annoys people and frightens them. Better not to be noticed at all, I say.

If the man who planned this garage promotion knew anything about salesmanship, he would do his utmost to prevent his notice being mistaken for a ticket. He would sacrifice readers in favor of a more favorable reception. I readily admit that in no other form and place could his advertisement receive as much attention, but it is far better to have a favorable reaction among fewer people than to be condemned as a nuisance by many.

No matter how persuasive a story, it must be told under the best of conditions, and this means conditions in which the prospect is not only willing but is actually anxious to hear what is going to be said. Sometimes the salesman meets a closed mind. The prospect wants to get rid of him and shows it by giving him little time, and that grudgingly. Such an interview represents wasted effort and a lost sale.

There are many ways of ensuring a welcome sign on a mat when the salesman approaches. The groundwork for any sale can be laid before the call begins, just as the real selling starts when the customer says no. Preliminary work is nothing but the paving of the road up to the customer’s first response which, even though it may be negative, need not leave the salesman pessimistic about the outlook if the call has been initiated under the proper set of conditions.

Only a few of the numerous preliminary methods need be recounted here. Everything the company has advertised, all its good will, the entire aura of public relations surrounding its name and its product, add up to the favorable reception. A druggist who has tried to sell a private brand instead, of a well-known product knows the resistance that he meets. Let the same druggist show the lady on the other side of the counter something of which she has long heard, carrying one of the magic names in drugs or cosmetics, like Coty or Houbigant, Richard Hudnut or Max Factor, and the sale has almost made itself. The brand name and all it implies is only one form of this pre-selling that makes the selling itself a far simpler job.

When I first went into the group insurance business, few people had heard of it and hardly anyone realized how beneficial it could be. It was not a product that could easily sell itself, particularly in the days of poor business conditions. However, as each new group policy was written, we utilized it in every possible way to create a more favorable setting in which other plans could be presented. We let the newspapers know about plans when they went into effect, and when the companies were known to the public or were advertisers in the newspapers, the policies received interesting publicity notices. All of this helped group insurance, and it helped the people who wrote the policies—meaning my colleagues and myself. Other companies read the publicity or heard the story, and when they were eventually approached, they had already been psychologically prepared to receive the caller. In fact, they were sometimes annoyed because they had not been approached earlier.

It has always been my practice to follow a client after the sale as closely as before. Consequently I watched each development in the companies coming under our group leadership, for I was seeking an opportunity to utilize the experience with one firm in order to sell to another. Such an opportunity finally presented itself.

A sale had been closed with one of the largest banks in the United States, and the policy had been in effect exactly four days when one of the employees unfortunately passed away. The great virtue of insurance is that it offers aid in the moments of disaster and grief, and without delay a check for one thousand dollars was dispatched to the widow, who was without another penny of insurance.

No doubt every insurance man has had an experience like this, in which there was a death only a few days after coverage. I wanted to put this story to work on behalf of all those who I knew could be aided by similar coverage. Immediately I suggested to the bank president that he write me a letter recounting this experience, and when he did, I showed the letter far and wide, sent copies of it to other banks, impressing upon everyone the importance and benefits of group insurance.

More than that. I was reciting this incident to a client who had been with us under a group plan for only a few weeks, when he interrupted me.

“Elmer, the same thing happened in our company, except that the policy had been in effect for five days, not four.”

Astonished to hear this, I told my customer that I did not know that any payments had been applied for under our contract.

“They haven’t,” he said. “This employee who passed away wasn’t covered. He hadn’t been interested.”

Again I asked for a letter, outlining this situation, and when the story arrived in writing, I showed it, together with the other, far and wide. People to whom I had no means of entrance, who knew nothing about group, who were even antagonistic to the idea, awaited my call. “Where’s Elmer?” many of them were asking, and they were people I had never heard of before.

One day not long after, while rushing down Broadway, I met a friend whom I had not seen for several months. He looked up at me, a sort of friendly anger in his eyes, and said, “What’s the matter, Elmer? Aren’t we good enough for you to bother insuring?” That is when I knew that a favorable atmosphere for starting the sale had been created.

Salesmanship can function like a chain reaction. Every closed sale can lead to an open door. Start with the sales that have ended, and there’s no end to the sales that can start.

There are three known methods of applying this principle, and I believe in using all three, each under conditions best suited for the purpose. There is endless chain prospecting: have A send you to B, then B to C, and C to D. There is center-of-influence prospecting, in which one influential individual with many contacts is developed. In this case, A is chosen because he can influence the purchasing of B, C, and D. Whereas the endless chain goes from one buyer to the next, the center of influence continually returns to one individual time and again. Finally, there is nest prospecting, which takes place within a closely associated group, such as all the doctors in a hospital, all the teachers in a school, all the buyers in a store.

In all these cases, one good sale leads to another. Once a man has purchased something from you, he very much wants to believe he had made a good buy. There is pride in ownership—now that this client has purchased something, it is his, and therefore it must be first-class.

That man should now be recruited—sometimes subtly, sometimes by open appeal—to join your sales force. He is your best salesman and can do work for you that you could never do for yourself. When he extols the virtues of your product or service, his word has double or treble force, because it does not appear to others to be rooted in the prejudice of someone speaking about his own product or having a vested interest in its sale.

To turn such a customer from satisfied silence to effective. salesmanship on your behalf is not a simple matter. That, too, involves selling, of a nature quite different from the salesmanship you have already displayed when you persuaded him to cease being a prospect and become a client. The man who has bought something from another does not lie awake at night planning how he can be of further help to the salesman from whom he has just made a purchase.

But a word to such a client—suggesting that it would be helpful to give other prospects whom he knows the benefits of his experience with the product, showing him how he can help his friends by passing the word along, how he can bring about introductions under pleasant circumstances that will enable others in his industry to hear your presentation—this is often sufficient to make him pick up a telephone or write a letter. And remember how much more effective is a call from such a person to his friends than the mere statement: “You can call John Jones of the ABC Company and use my name.”

Many a sale could close with the usual thank you and goodbye. “You’ve been very helpful, Elmer,” the customer will say, and we would shake hands at that point and I would hurry on my way.

This would indeed be a poor closing. It would be only half the sales job. The customer should have been prepared for referring us to his friends and colleagues. Every closed sale is a mine of referred leads! It is almost unnecessary, if the preliminary work has been properly handled, to ask, “Could you help us to approach some of the other concerns in your industry?” Instead, the entire development of the contact during the negotiations and discussions should lead the customer t...

Table of contents

• Title page
• TABLE OF CONTENTS
• DEDICATION
• FOREWORD
• CHAPTER I-Warm Him Up
• CHAPTER II-Put on a Good Show
• CHAPTER III-Make a Friend
• CHAPTER IV-Plant a Little Acorn
• CHAPTER V-Make the Customer’s Business Your Business
• CHAPTER VI-Don’t Take Orders
• CHAPTER VII-Watch for Trends
• CHAPTER VIII-Don’t Mistake an Excuse for an Objection
• CHAPTER IX-Turn the Cold Canvass into the Hot Sale
• CHAPTER X-Meet Your Competitors
• CHAPTER XI-Stick a Pin in Him
• CHAPTER XII-Time Your Shots
• CHAPTER XIII-Don’t Listen to the No’s
• CHAPTER XIV-Close It but Don’t End It
• CHAPTER XV-Keep Him Happy
• CHAPTER XVI-You Need More Than Guts
• CHAPTER XVII-Keep It Honest
• CHAPTER XVIII-Try These on for Size
• CHAPTER XIX-Don’t Be “Just a Salesman”
• CHAPTER XX-Accept the Challenge
• REQUEST FROM THE PUBLISHER