Chapter 1

_The Universal Need For Sales Knowledge_

[Sidenote: Analysis of Secret of Certain Success]

The Secret of Certain Success has four principal elements. It comprises:

(1) Knowing how to sell

(2) The true idea

(3) Of one's best capabilities

(4) In the right market or field of service.

_Your_ success will be in direct proportion to your thorough knowledge and continual use of _all four parts_ of the whole secret. No matter how great your effort, an entire lack of one or more of these principal elements of Certain Success will cause partial or utter failure in your life ambition. You will be like a man who tries to open a safe with a four-combination lock, though he knows only two or three of the numbers.

No one, however well fitted for success elsewhere, can succeed in the _wrong field_, or in rendering services for which _he_ is not qualified. Nor is complete success attainable by a man unless he develops the _best_ that is in him. Even if he brings to the right market his utmost ability, he may fail miserably by making a _false impression_ that he is unfitted for the opportunity he wants. Or he may be overlooked because he does not make the _true_ impression of his fitness.

Evidently, in order to gain a _chance_ to succeed, anyone must first _sell_ to the fullest advantage the idea that he is _the_ man for the opportunity already waiting or for the new opening he makes for himself. Of course he cannot do this _surely_ unless he _knows how_. Therefore sales knowledge is _universally needed_ to complement the three other principal elements of the complete secret of certain success.

[Sidenote: Reasons for Failures]

When we try to explain the failure of any man who seems worthy to have succeeded, we nearly always say, in substance, one of three things about his case:

"He is a square peg in a round hole;" by which we usually mean he is a right man in the wrong place.

Or, "He is capable of filling a better position;" a more polite way of saying that a man has outgrown his present job but has not developed ability to get a bigger one.

Oftenest, probably, we declare, "He isn't appreciated."

Very rarely is a worthy man's failure in life ascribed to the commonest cause--_his personal inefficiency in selling_ to the world comprehension of his especial qualifications for success.

[Sidenote: What Failures Realize]

If a man is a square peg in a round hole, he should realize that his particular qualities must be fitted into the right field for them before he can succeed. A natural "organizer" cannot achieve his ambitions if he works alone at a routine task.

No sensible man would aspire to fill a better position than he holds, unless he had developed a capacity beyond the limitations of his present work. The shipping clerk who craves the higher salary of a correspondent knows he cannot hope for the desired promotion if he has not learned to write good business letters.

However deserving of advancement a man may be, he realizes he has but a slim chance to succeed if his worth is unrecognized. So he wants appreciation from his chief. He knows that unless his worth is perceived and truly valued, some one else, who may be less qualified, is apt to be selected for the "Manager's" job he desires. Such "injustices" have poisoned countless disappointed hopes with bitterest resentment.

The deserving man who fails because he is a misfit in his particular position, the worthy man who is limited to a small career because the work he does lacks scope for the use of all his ability; the third good man who has been kept down for the reason that his chief is blind to his qualifications for promotion--all three of these failures understand pretty clearly the reasons for their non-success.

[Sidenote: When Lack of Salesmanship Causes Failure]

It is very different in the case of the capable man who fails because he has been _inefficient in selling true impressions_ of his qualifications for success. A private secretary, for illustration, might be thoroughly competent for managerial duties; but by his self-effacement in his present job he might make the false impression that he was wanting in executive capacity. He would be given a chance as manager if he were effective in creating a true impression of his administrative ability. Such a capable man, if he has little or no scientific knowledge of the selling _process_ is apt also to lack comprehension of the value _to him_ of knowing _how to sell ideas_. He does not happen to call himself a salesman. Therefore he has never studied with personal interest the fine art of selling. He does not realize that _ignorance of salesmanship_, and _consequent non-use of the selling process, almost always are responsible for the merely partial success or the downright failure in life of the man who deserves to win, but who loses out_.

[Sidenote: Who Is To Blame for Failure]

One may feel able to "deliver the goods," were he given the chance. He may know where his best capability is greatly needed and would be highly appreciated if recognized. Yet the door of opportunity may not open to his deserving hand, however hard he tries to win his way in. His failure seems to him altogether unfair, the rankest injustice from Fortune.

If a man knows he is completely fitted to fill a higher position, he feels considerable self-confidence when he first applies for it. But his real ability may not be recognized by his chief. The ambitious man may be denied the coveted chance to take the step upward to the bigger opportunities for which he rightly believes himself qualified. If his deserts and his utmost efforts do not win the promotion he desires, he grows discouraged. He loses the taste of zest for his work. His earlier optimism oozes away. After awhile his ambition slumps. Then he resigns himself sullenly to the conviction that he is a failure _but is not to blame_.

[Sidenote: Dynamic Quality Lacking]

Leaving out of consideration most exceptional, unpreventable bad luck, the worthy man who fails in life _is_ to blame. He is not, as he thinks, a victim of circumstances or ill-fate. His failure is due to his ignorance of the first of the four principal factors of the secret of certain success. _Potentially_ qualified to succeed, he does not have the absolutely necessary _dynamic_ element. He lacks an essential characteristic of the self-made successful man, a characteristic which any one of intelligence can learn how to develop--_a high degree of capability in gaining his own opportunities to succeed_.

He does not know _how to sell true ideas about himself_; though he may realize the importance of making the best impression possible. So, however, he tries, he cannot get his deserved chances to succeed. He could secure them _easily_ if he comprehended the selling process of the master salesman, and used it with skill. This process of masterly selling is the key to certain success for the fully qualified man in any vocation.

[Sidenote: Making and Governing One's Own Good Luck]

A capable applicant will invariably be given a chance to succeed, if he takes the best that is in him to a man who has need of such services as he could render, and then _sells the true idea of his ability_. He has mastered _all four principal elements of the complete secret of certain success_. Consequently he is able to create and to control his opportunities to succeed. He makes and governs his own good luck.

Everywhere the most desirable positions in the business world are in need of men who can fill them. Only the poorer jobs are crowded. But when Opportunity has to seek the man, the _right_ one is often overlooked. The golden chance is gained by another--less qualified and less worthy, perhaps; but _a better salesman of himself_. The fully competent man, however, can _assure_ his success by becoming proficient in selling true ideas of his best capability in the right market or field of service. The master salesman of himself makes his own chances to succeed, and therefore runs no risk of being overlooked by Opportunity.

[Sidenote: Success Way Is Charted]

Master salesmen of ideas about "goods" use _particular selling processes_ to get their ideas across _surely_ to the minds of prospective buyers. The professional salesman, therefore, has plainly charted the way to certain success in any vocation, for the man who has developed the best that is in him. If you are a candidate for a position, do not let a prospective employer _buy_ your services at _his_ valuation, for he is certain to under-estimate you. _Sell_ him true ideas of your merits. Set a fair price on your _worth_, and _get_ across to his mind the true idea that you would be worth that much _to him_. Such skillful salesmanship used by an applicant for a position can be depended on to make the best possible impression of his desirability; just as the practiced art of the professional salesman enables him to present the qualities and values of his goods in the most favorable light. The _masterly selling process_ is not very difficult to learn. Proficiency in its use can be gained gradually by any one who practices consciously every day the actual sale of ideas in the artistic way.

[Sidenote: Knowledge of Salesmanship Develops Confidence]

As was stated in the Introduction to this book, it has been proved conclusively in business that particular principles and methods of selling are certain to produce the highest average of closed orders. In other words, success for the professional salesman is _assured_ if he develops certain qualifications, and if he does certain things; all within the capacity of any normal, intelligent man. Scientific sales executives know positively, as the result of comparative tests, that the salesman who develops these personal qualifications, and who does these things, should get his quota of business and hold it. Hence, as has been said, specific training is given in the sales schools of the most successful businesses, along the lines of best selling practice.

[Sidenote: Practical Principles]

When the individual salesman who has been so trained commences work in his territory, he learns in his experiences with buyers that the principles and methods he has been taught are actually _most effective_. Assuming that he has developed his _best capabilities_ pretty fully, and that he has become fairly _skillful_ in using what he knows about how to sell his line, he works with continually growing confidence that he will succeed. Why should he doubt his complete selling power? He knows there is a _field for his goods_ in this territory. He knows clearly and vividly _what ideas_ he wants to get across to the minds of prospective buyers. He knows--most important of all--_just how_ to make convincing and attractive impressions of the desirability and true value of what he presents for purchase. He comprehends the _most effective ways_ to show prospects both their _need_ for his goods and that he has come, with a real purpose of service, to _satisfy_ that need.

You, the non-professional salesman of yourself, will sell _your_ "goods of sale" with similar complete confidence in your power to gain and to control your opportunities for success--if you, too, use the right selling process.

This set of books explains and demonstrates in detail the principles and methods of _the successful salesman of ideas_. The Introduction and twelve Chapters of the present series apply the selling process especially to _the sale of ideas about one's self_, with particular relation to _self-advancement_ in the world. "The Selling Process," companion book to "Certain Success," shows the master _professional_ salesman at work, getting orders with _assurance_.

[Sidenote: Hard Study Necessary]

The fact that you have proceeded thus far in reading "Certain Success" proves you have an earnest purpose to make the most of your present opportunity to learn _how_ to succeed with certainty. We will assume that you have developed your individual ability pretty fully, and that you know where there is a field for such services as you are sure you could render if afforded the chance. Surely, then, your ambition in life, whatever it may be, is a sufficient incentive to the most thorough study of the principles and methods of successful salesmanship. Do not merely _read_ this set of books. MASTER "Certain Success" and "The Selling Process" to make yourself the master of your own destiny.

Again and again, lest at any time while you study you might fall below 100% in _absolute assurance_, you will read in these chapters the assertion that your success can be made _certain_. This statement is not an exaggeration. It is necessary that you accept it literally throughout your reading of this set of books. Do not take it "with a grain of salt." The taste of the declaration that the selling process makes success sure will become familiar after these many repetitions. Realize when you come upon the repeated idea as you proceed with your study that your continued reading should frequently be reenforced by a steadily growing conviction that you _are_ mastering the sure way to succeed. You believe in yourself more than you did when you began to read this book. This increasing faith should develop to complete confidence when you have dug _into_ the text of both "Certain Success" and "The Selling Process," and have dug _out_ every idea in the twenty-four chapters.

[Sidenote: Salesmanship Not a Science But an Art]

At the outset of your present study comprehend that salesmanship is not a _science_. Rather, it is an _art_. Like every other art, however, it has a _related_ science. Selling is a _process. Knowledge about the principles and methods_ that make the process most effective is the related _science_. But such knowledge supplies only the best foundation for building success by the _actual practice_ of most effective salesmanship. The master salesman practices the scientific principles and methods he has learned until the _skillful use_ of his knowledge in every-day selling becomes _second nature_ to him. Thus, and thus only, is his _art_ perfected.

You will gain _knowledge_ from these books about _how_ to sell with assurance the true idea of your best capabilities--about _how_ to sell any "goods of sale" unfailingly. But you can develop the _skill_ necessary to the _actual achievement_ of certain success only if you _continually use_ what you learn about the selling process. You must perfect your selling _art_ by the intelligent employment of every _word_ and _tone_ and _act_ of your life to attract other men to you, and to impress on them convincingly true ideas of your particular ability.

[Sidenote: Be a Salesman Every Minute]

The master professional salesman is "always on the job" with his three means of self-expression, to get across to prospects true ideas of the desirability and value of his goods. He is a salesman _every minute_, and in _everything_ he does or says. You can become as efficient as he, in selling ideas about _your_ "goods of sale," if your proficiency becomes as _easy and natural_ as his. Such ease is the _sure_ result of sufficient right practice.

You have countless opportunities daily to make use of the selling process. In each expression of yourself--in your every word, tone, and act--you convey _some_ idea of your particular character and ability. You should _know how_ to make _true, attractive_ impressions of your _best_ self; and how to avoid making _untrue_ and _unfavorable_ impressions by what you do and say. Then, when you have _learned_ the most effective _way_ to sell ideas about yourself that you want other people to have, it is necessary that you _use_ the selling process consciously all the time until you grow into the habit of using it unconsciously, as your second nature. Once you are accustomed to _acting the salesman continually_, it will be no more difficult for _you_ to be "always on the job" selling right ideas of your qualifications for success, than it is for the _professional_ user of the selling process to be a salesman "every minute."

[Sidenote: Your "Goods of Sale"]

As already has been emphasized, "the goods of sale" in your case are your _best_ capabilities. You need first of all to _know_ your true self, before you can sell true ideas about your qualifications for success. Your _true_ self is your _best_ self. You are untrue to yourself, you balk your own ambition to succeed, unless you develop to the _utmost of your capacity_ your particular salable qualities.

You do not need qualities _you_ now wholly lack. You should not attempt to "salt" the gold mine in yourself with the characteristics of _other_ men who have succeeded by the development and use of capabilities that were natural to _them_, but that would be unnatural to _you_. It is worse than futile--it is foolish for you to imitate anybody else. Just be _your_ best self. Make the most of what _you_ have that is salable. You require no more to assure your success.

[Sidenote: Selling the Truth About Your Best Self]

Every individual has distinct characteristics, and is capable of doing particular things, of which he may be genuinely proud if he fully develops and uses his personal qualifications. _When all the truth about his best possible self is skillfully made known to others_, chances for success are certain to be opened to the ambitious man. If he lacks the salesmanship key, the doors of opportunity may always remain closed, however well he deserves to be welcomed.

_You_ possess "goods of sale" that have real _quality_, that are _durable_, that will render _service_ and afford pleasurable satisfaction to others. _Your_ goods can be sold as _surely_ as quality phonographs, durable automobile tires, serviceable clothes, or pleasing books.

Maybe you can "deliver the goods" with smiles, or hearty tones, or ready acts of kindness. Any one can easily be friendly. But have you developed _all your ability_ to smile genuinely? Have you cultivated the hearty tone of real kindness so that now it is _unnatural_ for you ever to speak in any other way? Do you perform friendly acts of consideration for others on _every_ occasion, as second nature?

If your honest answers to such questions must be negative, you are not a good salesman of your best self all the time.

[Sidenote: Your Salable Qualities]

Your most salable quality may be dependability, rather than quick thinking. If this is the case, concentrate your salesmanship on making impressions of the true idea of _your reliability_. Your greatest success will be achieved in some field of service where dependableness is a primary essential. You may be _naturally unfitted_ to make a star reporter, but _peculiarly qualified_ to develop into the cashier of a bank.

Should you happen to be unattractive in features, your job is to transform your homeliness into a _likable_ quality--not to try to make yourself appear handsome. If you are wholly inexperienced, that need not be a detriment to your success in the field you want to enter. When you have mastered the selling process, your very greenness can be presented before the mind of a prospective employer as the best of reasons for engaging you. You will be able to make yourself appear desirable because you _are_ green in that field, and therefore have no wrong ideas to "unlearn."

[Sidenote: Know All of Yourself]

You can greatly improve your chances to get the job for which you are best adapted, if you use the reciprocal selling process employed by the professional salesman when he sells his services to a house. He meets the head of the concern as his man-equal, and does not just offer himself "for hire." Such a consciousness of your man-equality when you are face to face with a prospective employer can result only from certain, analytical _knowledge of your best self_, complemented by _knowing how to sell_ the true idea of your particular desirability and worth.

Very likely you think you are seriously _handicapped_ in many ways. Having made no detailed analysis of yourself from a salesman's view-point, you do not appreciate fully the number and the market value of the _advantages_ you might have. Probably some of your best, most salable qualities are latent or but partly developed.

[Sidenote: Chart Necessary]

List _your_ particular "goods of sale." Put down on a chart, not only the qualities you have now, but all the additional ones you feel _capable of developing_. Then you will realize vividly that you possess many abilities, some undeveloped yet, which are always needed in the world. You know that such qualities _should_ be readily salable, to the mutual benefit of yourself and of buyers. You are learning the selling process in order to make certain that _you can_ sell the best that is in _you_, as other men are selling themselves successfully.

Complete your chart by listing your various _defects_. Then study out ways to use even _your particular faults_ differently than you have been handling them; so that they will help you, instead of being hindrances to your success. Think of some people you know, and of how they have turned their physical "liabilities" into "assets" of popularity.

The very first sales knowledge you need is of exactly what _you_ have to sell. You cannot see _all_ of yourself, your good and bad points--yourself as you _are_, and as you _might be_--unless you make a detailed chart of your "goods of sale." One of the most important immediate effects of such a self-analysis will be increased self-respect. Your handicaps will shrink, and the peculiar advantages you have will grow before your eyes. You should feel new confidence in your own ability.

[Sidenote: Man-Equality]

With this confidence will come a feeling that you are not the inferior of another man who has achieved a larger measure of success than you have gained. When you start the sale of true ideas of your best self to an employer-buyer of such services as you are capable of rendering, you will have an innate consciousness of your man-equality with him. You should realize that this sale of yourself, like all other true sales, is to be a transaction of reciprocal benefits, and should be conducted on the basis of mutual respect.

It is your right to take pains that the prospective buyer of your services shall sell himself to you as the boss you want to work with. Expect him to sell himself to you as a desirable employer just as thoroughly and satisfyingly as you intend to sell yourself to him as a worthy applicant for an opportunity in his business. When you have definite, sure knowledge of your capability and service value, you certainly should not be willing to take "any old job."

There is no better way to make the impression of _your desirability_ as an employee than to demonstrate that you are _choosing_ your employment intelligently. In explaining your choice, give specific reasons for your selection of this particular opening. Show that you comprehend _what is to be done_. Give some indication of your ability to do it _efficiently_ and _satisfactorily_. Suggest the _worth_ of your services when you shall have proved your fitness.

[Sidenote: Require Employer to Sell You the Job]

The ordinary man who applies for a job in the ordinary way is accepted or turned down wholly at the discretion of the employer. If you use the selling process skillfully, you will suggest that _you_ are out of the ordinary class. Of course, you should demonstrate in your salesmanship that you are not over-rating your ability. The other man must be made to feel you have sound reasons for your bearing of equality and self-confidence when you seek to make sure that in his business you will have your best chance to succeed. By showing him that you are taking intelligent precautions against making a mistake in your employment, you indicate conclusively that you are not merely a "floater," but that you have a purpose "to stick and make good."

In the same measure that you require proof of a desirable personality in an employer, you should make sure that the work is exactly what you expect. See that your prospective "new boss" sells you the job at the same time you are selling him your services. If he perceives in you the one man who best fits his needs, he will put forth every effort to buy your services. Every employer will respect the man who states, with salesmanship, a sound reason for selecting and seeking connection with a business house; since such a man gives promise of making the sort of dependable, loyal worker that every business values and appreciates.

[Sidenote: Sell to Satisfy Real Needs]

The true salesman sells to satisfy _a real need_ of the buyer. Therefore, when you have charted your salable qualities, select the field of service in which such capability as you possess is needed. That, you may be sure, is _your_ right market--the field where you are _certain_ to succeed. Enter it, and no other field. Apply there for a place of opportunity to serve; with the absolute confidence of a good salesman come to satisfy a want, and conscious of his individual fitness "to deliver the goods."

You may not get just what you desire at the first attempt. The best professional salesman often has to make _repeated_ efforts to close orders. But in the end, if you "have the goods," that are needed where you bring them, _and you know how to sell true ideas of your best self_ (as you _will_ know after mastering the selling process) you will be sure of getting sufficient opportunities to succeed. You will be as certain about getting enough chances as the first-class professional salesman is certain of attaining his full quota of business despite some turn-downs. _Success is a matter of making a good batting average_.

[Sidenote: Parts of Complete Process]

Remember as you read that you are studying _a completed process_. An unfinished sales effort is not _a sale_ at all. You will not be a _certainly successful_ salesman until you perfect your knowledge and skill in _all the steps_ of salesmanship. You can learn only a single part of sales efficiency at a time. The relative significance of each point, its full importance in the entire selling process, will not be comprehended until you have read at least once all there is in this set of books. When you re-study the successive chapters, the details you may at first understand but vaguely in a disconnected way will be clear. You will comprehend them as various elements of salesmanship which must be fitted together to complete the process of selling.

Thus far in the present chapter we have been considering principally the "goods of sale." We have been looking at our subject from the _material_ aspect. Now let us turn our attention to the mental view of sales.

[Sidenote: Mental Nature of Selling Process]

In the effective selling process the skilled salesman is able to be the _controlling_ party. _He makes the other man think as he thinks_. As has been stated repeatedly, he sells _ideas_, not goods. So the _real nature_ of any sale is mental, not material. You must "deliver the goods" to the _mind_ of the man to whom you wish to sell your best capabilities. You should use the same process as the professional salesman, who works to control the _thoughts_ of his prospect regarding the line of goods presented. Hence when you plan to make sure of getting a desired position, it is necessary that you know _exactly how_ to put true ideas about yourself into the head of the person whom you have chosen as your prospective employer. Further, you need to know _precisely what_ psychological effects you can secure with certainty by using skillful salesmanship.

[Sidenote: Three Sales Mediums]

Ideas of your best capability may be sold through three mediums--advertising, correspondence, and personal selling. Take advantage of all three, wherever and whenever possible, to gain your chance for success. Use these mediums with _real salesmanship_.

[Sidenote: Advertising]

If you advertise for a position, think out in detail the impression of your true best self that you wish to make on the minds of readers. Put _your personality_ into the advertising medium in such carefully selected language as will reach _the needs of particular employers_, and will not appear to be just a broadside of words shot into the air without aim. Indicate clearly that _you_ are not seeking "any old job so long as the salary is good." Analyze and know _just what_ you suggest about yourself in print. Many a successful business man has sold himself through the door of his initial big opportunity by real salesmanship in his advertisement of his capabilities.

[Sidenote: Correspondence]

Each letter you write should be regarded as "a sales letter." It makes an impression, true or false, of _you_. Take the greatest pains to have that impression what you want it to be. Never be slovenly or careless in writing to _anyone on any subject_. Put genuine salesmanship into all your letters _consciously_; instead of conveying ideas unwittingly, without realizing what the reader is likely to think of you and the things you write. You can scatter impressions of your best self broadcast over the earth by using your ordinary correspondence as a medium of salesmanship. So you can open both nearby and far distant opportunities for the future; even while you still are training yourself to make the most of these chances you hope to gain.

Good sales letters are so rare that the ability to write them has erroneously been called "a gift." It is not. Any one of educated intelligence can write his ideas; _provided he has clear, definite thought-images in his own mind_. But cloudy thinking reflects only a blur on paper.

[Sidenote: Using Sales Letters]

A letter that plainly conveys true ideas is a sales letter; for it gets across to the mind of the recipient a clear, definite mental impression of the writer's real personality and thoughts.

In all your correspondence, throughout the period of preparation for your chosen life career, send out true ideas of your best capability. If you do, you doubtless will find the door of your desired opportunity open by the time you are fully prepared to knock. Successful business is always ready in advance to welcome "comers;" whenever and wherever they are sighted. Therefore project your personality far and wide through your letters. Employ the medium of correspondence, with salesmanship knowledge and skill, even when you write the most ordinary messages to your acquaintances or to strangers. That is, _think out certain ways to sell particular ideas about yourself_; then incorporate these bits of salesmanship in your letters.

A young man in his senior year at college selected a large corporation as his prospective employer. He did not know any of the executives of the company, but he worked out a plan to get acquainted through letters. He was especially desirous of entering the field of foreign trade, and had made a fairly comprehensive study of the export business. He wrote to the president of the corporation, gave a brief outline of articles and books he had read; then complimented the great company by declaring that he realized the knowledge he had acquired was theoretical and abstract, and that he wished to gain practical, concrete ideas by studying the methods of the corporation. He enclosed with his letter ten cents in postage stamps, and requested that he be sent any forms, instruction sheets, sales bulletins, etc., the president was willing to let him have for study.

[Sidenote: Getting A Future Chance]

His letter was referred to the vice-president in charge of sales, who in turn passed it on to a department manager with instructions to supply the matter requested. In the course of a week the college student received a bulky package. Meanwhile a letter had been sent from the department head which stated that the vice-president in charge of sales had referred to him the request for forms, instruction sheets, etc., and that they would be forwarded under separate cover.

The student took advantage of the three opportunities opened to conduct correspondence with the executives of the corporation. He first wrote courteous, carefully worded "thank-you" letters to the president, vice-president, and department head. These were all in his own hand, so that his good penmanship might make an individual impression. After these letters were dispatched the student mastered the material that had been sent to him. Then he wrote three supplemental letters of appreciation, and made concise comments on some of the methods of the corporation, with comparisons from his previous reading of books and articles on foreign trade. He stated that he intended to make further investigation along these particular lines and that if he learned anything he thought might be interesting to the company he would write what he found out. In the course of a month he sent a letter which detailed his investigations. This he addressed to the department head only. But he also penned brief letters to the president and vice-president, in which he informed them that he had written in detail to the department head.

[Sidenote: Effect of Follow-up Letters]

The correspondence continued throughout the remainder of the student's senior year at college. The letters from the business men soon evidenced more than formal courtesy. They grew personal and indicated real interest. A month before his graduation the student was invited to call at the company's office after Commencement. He went, made an excellent impression in interviews with the vice-president in charge of sales and the department head, and though the ink on his sheepskin was not yet dry, he gained his object. He was engaged by the corporation and began training as a prospective representative of the company in foreign territory.

Thus through the correspondence medium of salesmanship a young man who had no advantage of personal influence or acquaintance secured exactly the chance he wanted. Similar opportunities are open to any one.

[Sidenote: Personal Selling]

_Every moment of your life when you are in the presence of other people, you have chances to sell true ideas about the best that is in you._ You will not need to seek such opportunities for personal salesmanship. Chances come to you continually to make good impressions on the minds of the men and women you meet from day to day.

Be a skillful salesman of true ideas about yourself always, even in the most casual relations you have with other people. Sell the best possible impressions of yourself to passers-by on the street, to your fellow riders in cars, to clerks and customers of stores you visit, to your home and business associates. Put selling skill, as second nature, into each word, tone, and action of your social and business life.

Realize that in whatever you do or say, consciously or unconsciously, you _are_ selling ideas about your capability or your incapacity. You are making more or less definite impressions--you are affecting your opportunities to succeed, and are forming good or bad habits--all the time. _Control the effects of your words, tones, and acts by saying and doing, consciously and intelligently, only what will aid in selling true ideas of your best capabilities._.

[Sidenote: Practical Psychology]

Of course you already know that each word and tone and act of your life makes _some_ impression on the people who hear or see you. But probably you have not realized fully that _particular ways_ of saying and doing things have _distinct and different effects_, each governed by an exact law of psychology. You perhaps do not know now _just what_ impression is made by a certain word, or tone, or act. To be a master salesman of yourself you need to study the science of mind sufficiently to acquire _working knowledge_ of common mental actions and reactions. Familiarity with at least the general principles of psychology is of the utmost importance in using the selling process effectively.

Do not shy from study of the science of mind because it is an "ology" and therefore may seem hard. _You are a psychologist already_. You know that certain things you do and say make agreeable or unfavorable impressions on other people. In a _general_ way you know _why_. It is necessary only that you analyze _specifically_ what you realize now rather indefinitely. If you do not care to study a _book_ on psychology, just use your own mind as your psychological laboratory for continual self-analysis.

Answer for yourself such questions as, "Exactly what effect will this particular word, or tone, or act have--and just why?" You can work out pretty well the _practical knowledge of psychology_ you must have in order to sell ideas about your capabilities most effectively. You simply need to apply _purposeful intelligence_ in everything you do and say; instead of making impressions without comprehending that by each word and tone and act of daily living you are influencing, favorably or adversely, your chances to succeed.

[Sidenote: Three Factors of Selling Process]

Think of yourself as one of the _three factors_ of the selling process. The _goods of sale_ are your best capabilities, of course. The second factor is the _prospective buyer_, the man who has need of such qualities or services as you could supply. The _agent of sale_, or third factor, is yourself. If you will keep in mind always the conception of yourself as _the uniting link_ between your "goods of sale" and the prospective buyer, you can be a salesman of yourself every minute. At any moment except when you are alone you may encounter and influence a possible buyer of your best capabilities. You are continually within sight and hearing of people whose impressions of you might affect your chances to succeed in life. Therefore always be alert to grasp every sales opportunity within your reach.

[Sidenote: Twelve Steps]

It will be essential, also, that you have knowledge of the successive _steps_ of the selling process, as well as knowledge of your goods of sale and knowledge of practical mind science. Otherwise you might omit inadvertently to use some round of the ladder to certain success, and tumble to failure. These steps are so important to understand that the last nine chapters of the companion book are devoted to them exclusively. It will suffice here just to state what they are.

1. Preparation For Selling; 2. Prospecting; 3. The Plan Of Approach; 4. Securing An Audience; 5. Sizing Up The Buyer; 6. Gaining Attention; 7. Awakening Interest; 8. The Creation Of Desire; 9. Handling Objections; 10. The Process Of Decision; 11. Obtaining Signature or Assent; 12. The Get-Away That Leads To Future Orders.

[Sidenote: Five Degrees of Effort]

Another element of necessary knowledge about the selling process is the classification of sales according to the five degrees of effort required to close them.

1. A sale completed by response to the mere demand of the buyer.

_Example_--While a street car strike is on you are driving, an automobile down town. A man in a hurry to catch a train stops you and says, "I'll give you two dollars to take me to the station." You transport him in response to his call for your services.

[Sidenote: Distinguish Degrees of Effort]

2. A sale completed by the buyer's acceptance on presentation only.

_Example_--A man is walking along a country road in the summer time. He sees a sign in the door-yard of a farmhouse; BERRY PICKERS WANTED. He presents himself as a candidate and the farmer at once engages his services.

3. A sale completed immediately after a desire of the buyer has been created by a definite, intentional effort of the salesman.

_Example_--A man out of work wants a job that will employ his physical strength. He encounters three men who are struggling to load a very heavy box onto a truck. He takes off his coat and proves his strength by the ease with which the box is lifted when he helps. He inquires which of the three men is the truck boss; and asks for a job. He is hired because he has made the boss want the aid of his strength in handling heavy loads.

4. A sale completed only after persuasion of the buyer.

_Example_--Assume that the truck boss in the next preceding illustration refuses at first to hire the applicant who has demonstrated his strength. It is necessary then for the man out of a job to talk his prospective boss into the idea that he needs a fourth man in his gang.

5. A sale completed only after a decision by the buyer as to the comparative benefits of purchasing or of not buying.

_Example_--You and another candidate apply for the same position in an office. You appear to be about equal in capability. The employer "weighs you in the balance" against the other applicant. This is a sale requiring the fifth degree of effort. Manifestly you will need to use a very high quality of skill to get into the mind of the prospective buyer of services the idea that you are likely to be of more value as an employee than your competitor for the place. Then you must skillfully prompt him to accept your application.

[Sidenote: Difficult Sales Most Worth Making]

When you appreciate exactly how sales differ in the degrees of effort necessary to close them, you will realize the wisdom of preparing to sell your particular qualities and services _with full comprehension of all the difficulties commonly met_ by candidates for desirable positions.

Countless men have died failures because they used throughout their lives only the first or second degrees of effort. Consequently all their attempts to get good jobs were futile. The non-success of millions of other worthy men has been due to their use of no more than the third or fourth degrees of selling effort.

[Sidenote: Sales of The Fifth Degree of Difficulty]

Sales of the fifth degree of difficulty sometimes demand knowledge and skillful use of the entire selling process. _They are the sales most worth making._ The applicant for a new position or for a promotion is _certain to succeed_ in his purpose if he knows how to complete a sale of the true idea of his best capabilities. In order to do this he must control the _weighing process_ of the buyer; and be skillful in _prompting acceptance_ of his "goods of sale."

When you _master_ and reduce to _every-day practice_ the fundamental principles you can learn from this set of books, you will be assured of making a successful average in handling sales of the fifth degree of effort.

They are sales of the kind the _professional_ salesman makes with complete confidence every day. _His_ methods, applied to the marketing of _your_ goods of sale, will work such wonders for you that you soon should build up self-confidence equal to the matter-of-fact assurance of the master salesman of clothing, insurance, and other _materials_ of sale. He _knows_ when he begins a season or starts on a trip that he will make a good batting average.

[Sidenote: Desired Results In Selling]

Comprehend, further, exactly what _results_ are desired by the skilled salesman whose work is based on scientific principles.

The _immediate_ results desired are:

First, _confidence_;

Second, _acceptance_ of the ideas brought by the salesman.

One who is unfamiliar with the scientific principles underlying the skillful practice of the right selling process is unlikely to realize that the _first_ sales effort should be concentrated on _winning the prospective buyer's confidence in the salesman and in the goods of sale_. Failures in selling are often due to the fault of the salesman who works primarily for but the _second_ of the immediate results to be desired; the acceptance of his proposition--the acceptance of his personal capabilities and services, for instance. He neglects, as a _preliminary_ to securing acceptance, to gain the _confidence_ of the other man. When you undertake to sell your particular good qualities and your services to a prospective employer, do not make the mistake in salesmanship of omitting the process of first winning his _belief_ in you.

[Sidenote: Repeat Sales]

Besides the two _immediate_ results desired by the skillful salesman, there is a _permanent_ result to be worked for--an enduring consequence desired from the present gains made. That permanent result wanted is _the opening of other opportunities for future sales_.

_Complete success in life_ is not assured when the _original_ sale of one's best capabilities is closed successfully. Gaining the _initial_ desired chance does not make it certain that one will succeed in his _entire career_. The first sale is faulty if it does not include a lead to future opportunities "to deliver the goods."

The right selling process is continuous. Where one sale ends, another should be already started. A great many failures of capable men can be ascribed to short-sighted concentration on immediate chances. _One who would make certain of the success of his whole life must ever look ahead to the next possible opportunity for the sale of the true idea of his best capabilities, meanwhile making the most of his present chance._

[Sidenote: Service Purpose In Selling]

In order to get the right viewpoint for further study of the selling process, you, _the salesman of yourself_, need to comprehend clearly the fundamental _purpose_ of all true salesmanship. _It should be the service of the buyer in satisfying his real needs._

Few salesmen _know_ what sales service _is_, and _how_ it should be rendered. Service is the very soul of the certain success selling process. Service must be studied _as a purpose_ until the principles underlying the fullest satisfaction of the buyer's real needs are mastered, and all false misconceptions of service are cleared away from the salesman's idea of his obligation to the purchaser of his goods of sale.

[Sidenote: Sales Knowledge Universally Needed]

This brief summary of the principal essentials of sales knowledge has been outlined in order to impress on you the practically _universal need for a better understanding of the selling process_. Certainly you are convinced now that it will pay _you_ to know HOW to sell. Then let us look next at _yourself_ in a different light--as a subject of study in sales-_man_-ship.