Don’t forget that friendliness pays the world’s biggest dividends. Why not grow rich in your friendships?


Don’t forget that price is the least important of your selling points. To your customer, quality, convenience, novelty, satisfaction, and durability are all way ahead of price in order of importance. Don’t overlook the power of sug-


gestion. More mountains of sales resistance have been moved by sug- gestion than have ever been forced by pressure. Don’t lose track of your customer’s


interest – personal or otherwise. The more you think of your customer, the more the customer will think of you. Don’t forget that loyalty is one of


the greatest virtues in the business of selling. Give me someone who is loyal, and you can keep the other person’s cleverness.


√ Don’t forget that good sales talk is never


wasted. Some part of it may remain in prospects’ minds long after you have forgotten them and may result in an order you never thought you could get. Don’t be too aggressive – unless


you are looking for a fight. There is always a happy medium between high pressure and a flat tire.


√ Don’t overlook the law of averages, the most


inexorable law in selling. Just so many calls, so much effort, so much selling; they all inevitably aver- age up to a sale – sometimes when you least expect it. So why let down and break the chain? Don’t forget that enthusiasm breeds


enthusiasm. The sales rep who sells with a deadpan attitude might just as well work in the cemetery. Your cus- tomer wants vim, vigor, and vitality! Don’t argue with your customer, unless you are tired of taking orders. If you want the pleasure of arguing, let someone else have the pleasure of selling.


√ Don’t expect too much cooperation from prospects –


especially at first. They are naturally against you, anyway, and it’s up to you to travel at least three- fourths of the way to bring them the rest of the way. Don’t alibi to anyone; your custom-


ers are not interested, and your firm prefers orders, anyway. So why put yourself on the defensive? Don’t forget that the prospect you just left is going to be sold by some- one. Is there any real reason for leav- ing the order to someone else? Don’t cut yourself off from a return


call on your prospect – either next week or next year. This is a small world, and you never know when con- ditions will change in your favor. Don’t let yourself get too thin- skinned. It takes a tough hide to make a sales rep who can “take it” and bounce back smiling. Don’t be afraid to ask for the order! What do you think you’re doing, mak- ing a social call? If business interferes with your pleasure, who do you think is going to draw down your next


paycheck? Don’t forget to try persuasion instead of insistence; entice your prospect into your own back yard. Don’t be too sure your prospect is a dumbbell. They may turn the tables on you and prove to be as dumb as a fox.


√ Don’t leave prospects


with any unpleasantness in their memory if you ever hope to get an order from


them in the future; they may be willing to “cut their nose off to spite their face” rather than buy from you. Don’t forget that sales resistance is cut down by sales persistence, just as surely as dropping water wears away the stone. Don’t think only of the commission


you are going to get. Think mainly of the friendships you are going to make; the commissions will take care of themselves.


√ Don’t ever say or do anything to embar-


rass prospects. They may not say anything today – but you can depend upon them remembering it tomorrow. Don’t try to sell something you know


nothing about. If you don’t know, find out. If you don’t find out, you’ll know about it later – unpleasantly. Don’t be afraid to make more calls.


There is no substitute for calls and no alibi for lack of footwork. If you don’t believe it, study the law of averages, and watch your sales go up as your calls increase. Don’t be afraid of a fight, but don’t get into one! It is impossible to get out of a fight with your skin whole and your reputation sound – and both are precious possessions. Don’t lack confidence. If you haven’t got it, at least simulate it. One of you


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