Certain Success Part 12

But if your eyes repeatedly focus above the level of the other man's eyes, you make the impression that you are an _idealist_ rather than a practical person. What you say will not seem to him to apply directly to his case. He will not feel the personal, or man-to-man contact of your thoughts. Sometimes, however, it is important to lift your eyes when talking to a prospect, in order to suggest that he lift his thoughts from the level of mere selfishness. By your suggestive eye action on the upper plane you may stimulate in him a higher vision of possibilities or an insight into the future, if he seems inclined to take a strictly practical view of his present needs only.

When you look below the eye level of the other man, you indicate (1) modesty, if the movement is directly down; (2) shame, if the movement is a little to one side and downward; (3) disgust, if your eyes look far down and far to the side.

[Sidenote: Tensity and Laxness]

The _tensity_ or _laxness_ of your muscles when you are in the presence of a prospect will suggest to him very diverse ideas. Both tensity and laxity of muscles can be used to good effect in selling. Your muscles should appear somewhat tense when you are _presenting_ ideas, in order to make the impression that your mind is fully active. Conversely, by normal relaxation of your muscles when you are _listening_, you suggest the receptivity of your mind and your entire readiness to take in ideas from outside. When you show your muscles are relaxed, you also indicate that you are perfectly at ease and unafraid of objections or criticism.

If you were to sit tense under criticism, you would suggest that you felt the necessity of fighting back. But you disarm disparagement of your capabilities when you appear entirely at ease while you listen.

[Sidenote: Introduction To Study of Sales Art]

The brief outline in this chapter of fundamental principles of selling _skill_, and of the methods by which ideas may be conveyed through artistic suggestion, is just an introduction to your study and comprehension of the successive steps of salesmanship practice which are to be a.n.a.lyzed in the remaining chapters of this book. The limitations of our present s.p.a.ce have made it impossible to do more than summarize here the chief factors of art in selling ideas. You will need to master the remainder of the book in order to amplify and to apply most effectively in practice the general principles and methods that have been outlined.

Surely you now are convinced that skill in selling is not a vague mystery, not a natural gift, not something impossible for _you_ to attain. Every element of sales art can be a.n.a.lyzed in detail. You are learning _exactly how_ to sell the true ideas of your best capability.

Practice of what you learn will perfect your salesmanship.

[Sidenote: Success Certain]

There is absolutely no doubt that you can master the right principles and methods. By continual practice you surely can become skillful in their daily use. When you make yourself adept in the art, you _certainly_ will be able to sell your particular qualifications successfully.

CHAPTER IV

_Preparing to Make Your Success Certain_

[Sidenote: Be Ready When Your Chance Comes]

Thousands of men have failed in life because they were not ready when their best chances for success came. Some of these golden opportunities slipped away unrecognized. Others, though perceived, could not be grasped. The men to whom they were presented had not prepared to hold and use such chances whenever they might arrive.

_If you would make your success a certainty, you must get all ready for it in advance_. Then you will not be taken unawares when you find your big chance. If you are thoroughly prepared, you will sight it quickly, realize its full value, and seize it with complete confidence in your ability to make the most of it.

Before you seek it, be sure of your entire readiness for the opportunity you especially want. You can much better afford to wait a little while for _certain_ success than to rush, unready, into the field of your choice, risking the likelihood of failure that could be guarded against by intelligent preparation to succeed.

[Sidenote: Do Not Start Unprepared]

A young man was offered a position of fine opportunity with a great banking house. His ambition was to build his career in that particular organization. But when the duties of the proffered situation were explained to him, he declined to undertake them at once; though he risked the chance that he might not get another such opportunity for employment by the financial inst.i.tution of his choice.

"I am sorry," he said to the cashier, "but I do not know enough about accounting to fill that job now. It will take six months of hard work evenings to train myself to fit your needs. Please give me other employment in the bank meanwhile, so I'll be able to study the job at close range while getting ready for it."

This was excellent salesmanship. The candidate suggested in his words, tones, and actions that he recognized a real opportunity, that he comprehended all it involved, that he was willing to prepare himself adequately, and that he felt certain of his ability to fill the place after completing the necessary preparation.

The bank, however, was in immediate need of his services in the position offered to him. So the cashier, who had been very well impressed by the young man's att.i.tude, told him to take the place, and offered to supply him with an accountant aide for six months.

[Sidenote: Keeping the Opportunity Open]

"I would rather not," the applicant persisted in declining. "I mean to keep on climbing toward the top in this bank, once I get started; and I don't want to begin as a cripple. I couldn't give thorough satisfaction now, even with an a.s.sistant on the accounting. It is not good business for me to start by making a poor impression. I'd prefer that you do not think of me as a man for whom excuses need to be made. I wish to commence my work in that job, when I am ready, with your complete confidence that I can handle it--not as a weak sister." He smiled winningly.

The failure of so skillful a salesman of ideas was simply _impossible_.

There is no getting away from such a high quality of salesmanship. The cashier bought the present and prospective services of the young man who had demonstrated _at the outset_ his comprehension of the _first importance of preparation._ The opportunity was kept open six months for the applicant in training, while he fitted himself for his future job.

This successful salesman of true ideas of his best capabilities is now a vice-president of the great financial inst.i.tution.

"But," you say, "suppose the cashier had been unable to wait, would not the young man's over-emphasis of his att.i.tude on preparation have _prevented_ him from succeeding in his ambition?"

No! A single turn-down cannot cause the failure of a successful salesman. If that cashier had not appreciated the worth of the candidate, an officer of some other bank certainly would have had a clearer vision of his value. The applicant might have been balked temporarily in his ambition. The best salesman occasionally has to try and try again. But a successful career for that young man was a.s.sured in advance. From the very start he was "certain to get there."

On the other hand, if he had risked making a disappointing impression in his new job, he might have taken the first step toward failure. Suppose he had begun the work for which he was unprepared, and then had made serious mistakes due to his unfitness. His record would have been blemished. His ability might have been questioned. He prevented such possibilities by _making sure his preparation was adequate_ before he accepted his big chance.

[Sidenote: Preparation Should Be Two-fold]

Your preparation for certain success must be two-fold. You need to prepare yourself in ability first _to perceive_; then _to appreciate the full value_ of what you see. Golden opportunities are all about you. If you do not recognize them, or if you perceive but slight value in the signs of rich chances to succeed, you will fail because of your unreadiness.

Many a farmer in Oklahoma cursed his "bad luck" after he sold a farm on which a gusher was later discovered. But the oil had been there all the time. The "luckless" farmer simply did not _perceive_ the indications of wealth under his plodding feet; or, if he saw signs of oil, he did not realize that they _denoted_ the possibility of millions.

[Sidenote: Developing Perception]

Perception can be broadened almost immeasurably. The physical eye, if normal and thoroughly trained, is fitted to be "all seeing." _So can your mind be made capable of widest vision over all the fields of possible opportunity_. Some are within your present mental view, others you can see only after going farther or climbing higher in knowledge.

The biggest possibilities of success cannot be comprehended in their entirety by narrowed mental sight.

The first essential of preparation to succeed is that you _open your eyes fully, and look all around you_ for the opportunities within range of your vision. There are so many _close at hand_ that your search would better begin right where you are. Even if eventually you seek far for the best chance to succeed, do so with thorough knowledge of what is near by. Before you leave your present environment, have an intelligent conviction that you are capable of a bigger or different success than is to be found within your immediate reach.

Also see and comprehend the especial _difficulties_ you will find close at hand. It does not always pay to remain in "the old home town." Often a young man needs to go to a community of strangers to gain appreciation of his ability. It is likely to be hard for him to win success among people who knew him as a boy and who still regard him as immature. He may find it much easier to succeed in a neighboring town.

It is possible to make the greatest success turn aside from beaten paths, leave the accustomed haunts of the successful, and go to a place where no such success ever before has been established. The Mayo brothers compelled their success as world renowned surgeons to come to them at the little city of Rochester, Minnesota. Elbert Hubbard brought fame to East Aurora, New York, by founding there his school of philosophy and the Roycrofters.

[Sidenote: Over-specialized Preparation]

Almost as common as the mistake of first looking far afield for success opportunities, is the error of _over-particularizing_ one's original preparation. If you think now that you want to be a lawyer, you should prepare yourself especially by studying law, of course. But you should not exclude preparation for other vocations. Judge Gary was thoroughly prepared for legal practice. Doubtless when he began his studies of law he expected to continue in his chosen profession. But he did not neglect to prepare himself in general business capability. So when his biggest chance came, he was ready to step out of his law practice and into a manufacturing industry. There he fitted himself for the position of chief executive in the immense United States Steel Corporation.

The ability of a _master_ salesman is not limited to getting orders for just one line of goods, or to selling only to certain buyers. He has _all-around_ sales knowledge and skill. Though he naturally sells to better advantage in some fields than in others, he can attain a high degree of efficiency in selling anything meritorious, because of his _broad and diversified preparation_.

[Sidenote: Varied and Adaptable Preparation]

Your preparation for all the possibilities of success you may be able to reach hereafter should be similarly _varied_ and _adaptable_; though you will be wise to specialize, in addition, by making more detailed preparation for the vocation of your choice. At twenty the average man cannot _know_ for what he is best fitted. He may not be sure even at thirty. The start toward eventual success has often been delayed until middle life. To cite my own case, I prepared myself especially for the career of a certified public accountant, but found my greatest success in the profession of selling. I was able to grasp my biggest opportunity in the sales field because, though I had been devoting my time and energies chiefly to accountancy, I had studied and practiced salesmanship for years in order to market my own services most effectively.

_While preparing yourself for success, keep your mental eyes wide open_.

Perceive any and all chances about you, however much you specialize in your preparation for a selected career.

[Sidenote: Preparation In Salesmanship]

Comprehend that preparation in _salesmanship_ is necessary, whatever vocation you choose. Mastery of the selling process is absolutely essential if you would a.s.sure your success in _any_ field of ambition.

Not only must you _perceive_ opportunities to succeed, but you also must know how to _sell yourself into the chances_ you see. No matter how much particularized knowledge you may acquire in preparation for a selected career, your success will not be _a.s.sured_ until you are able to sell your capabilities to the best advantage. You can neither perceive all your possible selling opportunities, nor make the most of them when seen, unless you learn the selling process and develop skill in the actual sale of the best that is in you.

Broad, varied knowledge is required as the foundation for certain success. It cannot be built on a narrow or limited base. Evidently, however, exactly the same amount of knowledge possessed by two men would not make them equally successful. As already has been emphasized, success is not a.s.sured by the mere possession of knowledge, _but by the effective ways in which elements of knowledge are fitted to opportunities_.

[Sidenote: Abstract And Applied Knowledge]

Your abstract knowledge may be valueless. In order to succeed certainly _you must connect the things you have learned with particular people in particular fields of activity_. When you have developed the power of relating your individual ability to every imaginable _use_, your mental eyes will be opened to many opportunities for success that you otherwise might never perceive. Such an a.s.sociation of _what you know and can do_ with the various ways your capabilities might be utilized will tremendously augment your self-confidence. When you realize in how many ways it is possible to use your especial talents, you will not be likely to doubt your own _worth_. You will offer your qualifications for sale with complete faith in their value to prospective buyers.