The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1911-08-19
WITH THE TRAVELLERS

cision to get it at the salesman's
price.
By what means did the salesman
change the customers state of mind
There is only one way by which the
mind can be influenced or changed and
that Is by the power of persuasion, in
some OF It's many forms Did you never
before realize this 1.-THE only way the
mind can be changed or Influenced is
by persuasion Persuasion may take
many different forms
Methods of Persuasion.
Out on the great divide a sixshooter
was once the means wost favored, as Ii
was the most effective to persuasion.
And yet such methods, by force, are
really not persuasion. You can force a
man to do thing your way but unless
he Is really convinced in his own mind
you have not persuaded him. Persua-
sion, literally, is the power of influence
ing another persons mind, gaining
over by argument. advice, entreaty.
expostulation." To persuade is to
convince, prevail upon, induce, win
over"
The word persuasion is one of the
| greatest in the English language. A
man who Is gifted with the power of
persuasion can get nearly everything
he wants in this world. We all try
| to persuade others, and so far as we
are able to do so we are successful
| The politician persuades the voters
that they ought to vote for him: the
lawyer persuades the jury that his
cause is right; the preacher persuades
| his congregation that his beliefs are
correct; the man in search Of employ
ment persuades the employer to take
| him. A sale Is mental process. since
the mind can only be influenced by
| persuasion.
Our lives are made up Of a success
sion Of efforts to persuade. In the per-
Torrance of our duties we endeavor TO
| persuade those above us that we are
| competent and efficient, The most
| trivial acts Of our lives are prompted
/ by desire to please, to persuade some
| one that we are worth some attention
| and consideration. We do not per-
suade merely by language. There are
thousand other things beside words
which contribute to the power of per-
suasion. The great actor persuades
| his audience that he is a great orator.
but he does not do SO by words of
| his own. He speaks the thoughts OF
| other men. He persuades by his man
ner of speaking. his manner of act
ing and by some indescribable force
| Of his own personality which he Is able
| to embody forth as real.
| The salesman who sold the adding
machine to the man who thought he
did not want it. did not persuade
simply because he said certain words.
Many another adding machine sales
man could have said the same words
this man said and yet not have eff
fected the sale. 1t was the way he
said the words, almost as much as
the words themselves. 1t was his
bearing, his appearance. his enthusi-
asm, sincerity, his health, his mental
acuteness, his determination. his ap-
| parent reliability.
Buyer Influenced.
All these things, and many more,
contributed to the salesmans power
of persuasion, an enabled him to make
the sale because they each and all in
fluenced the mind of the prospective
buyer, From all the foregoing 1t ls
plain that a salesman deals with
minds. He deals with minds far more
than with goods, when you get right
down to facts. And the man who
can appeal to and influence minds is
the genuine salesman
/ You can take two men Of apparent
ly equal ability, teach them both the
same facts about any line, send them
out, and one man will sell twice as
much as the other. The one didn't
know the goods any better than the
other. but he knew how to appeal to
the minds of his customers. He could
persuade. Somehow or other for rea-
sons hidden and almost inexplicable,
he was the stronger man. Why could
he persuade where the other man
could not Why? Because he had
better personality. And what Ia per-
sonality? Whence does 1t spring?
How may it be acquired and strength
ened?
It may be acquired and strength
ened by systematic effort to educate
and develop those positive faculties
and qualities. In fact strong per-
!. sonality is the inevitable result of true
education. True education consists Of
two progresses: ID Filling In useful
knowledge; (2) drawing out, training
and developing the latent positive
faculties and qualities, such as rea-
son, memory, judgment. Imagination
tact, observation, courage, loyalty, en-
durance, initiative, energy. self control
economy, industry, determination, per-
severance. self confidence, bodily
power, honestly, personal attraction.
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