Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1909-01-14
TALKS TO SALESPEOPLE
BY Miss Diana HirschIer, IL. 3.
Expert Trainer in Salesmanship.)
CAT HOME" TO YOUR CUSTOMER.

| big box, the other talks to her
meanwhile. The lady hears Miss One
say: "You wait on her." whereat Miss
Other turns on her heel and walks
away. Miss One then takes plenty of
time putting away her box before she
begins to show her customer attention.
while the lady struggles between
desire to run off and desire to save
time by staying. She must have
gloves So she stays.
Here was a case where the or
dinary decencies of life werc violated.
The customer, person for whom the
store is run, was practically told that
she was not wanted.
| What is the difference between that
| case and the following? A caller was
met at the door with the message
from the maid that her mistress was
not at home. Are you sure?" said the
caller. "Oh, yes, mum; Missus said II
fat lady called with wart on her
| nose she was sure not at home"
There is only one difference between
| these two cases, and that Is that in
the latter the party had the privilege
| of deciding whether she was at home
| or not whereas in the former the
sales-person was paid to be at home.
| Plainly, these two sales-people were
mot at home to this customer-but.
| being unable to furnish a proxy, they
! told her so themselves.
Is it too much for customer to ex-
| pect that when she pays for service it
| shall be rendered her willingly and
with courtesy?
Why not be "at home" every mo-
ment that you are in your depart
ment? / mean, why not have on your
| company manners? Why not have
| your department glowing with hos
| pitality? Don't you know that the
| frostiest of customers will melt in the
| sunshine of smile? This idea that
| there Is sunshine in a smile is not all
| poetry, it is hard fact. Try it. No, no.
not like that, such a stingy ghost of
smile! But smile, smile from the in
side out. Aren't you glad, genuinely
glad to have a customer to handle?
Do you want your pay to be in the ma
ture of pension, or do you want to
work for it?
Now, courtesy sells goods; discount
esy is certainly the best sale-squelcher
that could be invented, and yet how
many seem to take patent out on 1t.
And why? Because sales-person does
not always realize to the brim, after
he comes into his department that he
belongs fully to the stranger who
enters his gates. Is must concen-
trate upon his customers whims and
needs That is what the sales-person
is paid for. Yes, he is paid to concen-
trate-and il there are whims to un-
derstand, he must accommodate him.
self to them.
If there is irritability to be met, he
must wind out and in so as not to set |
it buzzing
But the public is mostly good-na-
tured If you will give it a little |
chance l haven't seen that most peo-
pie are going about with chips on their |
shoulders unless they happen to see
one on yours, then they begin to chop |
wood and the chips do fly.
1t is so easy to forget the good-na-
tured 80 and to remember the irritable
one.
Courtesy is the spirit of helpfulness
as shown in manners. The kind that |
counts from within. / remember
smartly dressed fellow who once |
stepped on my toe in the street car
and said, with snowy accent, II beg |
your pahdon," and then proceeded to
step on the other Toe. Here was the
counterfeit for the real, but none the
less does the real count.
Manners do not always make the |
man. but the man does make his man.
ners, and good manners are the out
ward signs of courtesy. The public
must Judge by the signs. Had the
man stepped on my two and only feet |
in succession without the outward |
signs of courtesy l should have been
even more indignant.
Deeper than courtesy is patience.
Patience is courtesy continued under
trying conditions. Here the real test
of the seller comes in. The courtesy
that holds out when the other fellow
is riddling it with shot is the kind
that is based upon genuine desire to
be of service to him in spite Of his
particularisms. The salesman is there
for purpose. This purpose is vio-
lated if he allows himself to be swayed
from viceability-when he doesn't
adapt himself to the person for whom
he is placed there.
Mold your customer; do not let
him mold you. The way to do 1t is to
keep sweet Radiate goodwill and
you will thaw anybody If you find it
hard to do this continuously just think
it over and see that first, last and al.
wayE the customer is your support.
HIS can afford to balk a sale, but you
cannot. True, it is because he needs
you that you exist, but he pays for
this need in hard cash-five cents on
the dollar.
Nocd MILL bIo-ana tuino-hix,n that |