b'sweetestsound toanyoneisthe soundofhisownname! asellingsecret By JACK BOND W HENAlPetersonappliedforsurehegave hisprospectsasincereg\'nen1l,tl haYeth!?\'ringof wy hisfirst salesposition,he decidedherompliment.flattery. wantedtoworkfortheroofingcon Here\'swhat Al\'sboss suggested he3.B\'comparative."ll\',tter"ismore tractorwhogavehimaninterview.dotosincerelycomplimenthiscus \'ffec-ti-vethan"Ix-st\'\'as aeompliToAI,thisroofingcontractorwasatomers:nwnt.Al\'sboss didn\'tsay Alwas finefellow - arealfriend.Alknew1.Callthembyname.Pt\'o}JlelikethP, "best" salesman - he used the he would enjoy working for thisman.toh\'.artheir ownname.CaJlingeomJarativeform,"oneofthe Atfirst,Alwasbusylearningallaprosp\'ctby nameseveraltimesbest." aboutthedifferenttypesofroofinginthPsalemakeshimfeelim Twothingshave happened since Al andsiding,methodsofapplication,poitant.It is a subtle, but sincere.disco,:ered this selling secret: He likes and ho,v to figurequotation~.He wasconwliment.hiscustomers better and his customenthusiastic about hisselling job and2.Selectsom e,thingspecific.Al\'sers likehim better.Proof isfound in hisenthusiasmhelped himoverthebosshadgive.nhimacomplimenttheincreasingnumber ofroofing and rough spots at the start.aboutsellingtheBrownaccount.siding contractsAliss.ellingand his Then, Al hit a low week.so lowPeoplebelievethecomplime.ntsnew-foundbeliefthatsellingisthe hewasworriedabouthissellingwh\'n tb(\'ly arc spe-cific- - when toogreatest business intheworld. ability. Afterthinkingabouthisselling$7BILLIONTOBESPENTONMODERNIZATION problem over aweek-end, Al went to talk tohis boss on Mondiaymorning.THE HOMEimprovement and re- tion.They express pride in ownership He explained his problemno sales.modeling market may reach avolumeby improving their homes. -"Now,Al,"beganhisboss,"youof S7 billion in1954, accordingto estiknow you can sell - you\'re one of ourmates based on market studiesmade best salesmen.For instance, you soldby the Insulating SidingAssociation. Brown\'s last week.\\Ve have been try "Inthepast estimatesonthe size ing to close that deal for alongtime.of the home remodeling market have All of the men have tried and all havevariedwidely,"saysR.G.Breeden, failed.Then you come along and but Jr., managerof the association."The tonituptight at agood price.YouCommerceDepartmentsaid$4.5bilknow you can sell."lion was spent in 1952, the U. S. ChamAfterthisconfer, Alfelt goodberofCommerceestimatedSfi.5bilence,lion.)\'lor4:\'J)\'isposableIncomr again.He didnt realize the technique his bosshad usedhe got the ~fleetHigherVolmn(\'"Another important influence is the -and didn\'t notice thecause.Hisboss"Regardlessofwhichfiguresyoufact that almost250billion dollarsof had used a selling secret to s-ell Al onaccept, studies made by the Insulatingdisposableincome areavailable after the ideahe wasagood salesman.SidingAssociationindicatethatvol taxes.Theexpectedcutinincome ThisinterviewgaveAlanidea.umewillbesubstantiallyhigherintaxes willadd evenmoretothedisWhy not give hisprospectsashot in195\'1.Sev~ralfactorsareresponsibleposableincome.Thelogicalplaceto thearmlikehisbossgav him?Itforthisforecast.spendit isinhomeimprovement or e would get them to feeling good about"Experienceshowsthatthehomeexpansion- addingaroom,building him and about his roofing and sidingownerismost likelyto make majoragarage,installinganewbathroom, propositions.improvementsbetween three and fiveputting on new siding, adding insulaBut,how years afterhebuyshishome.1950tion,."Breeden said. ? In thinkingabout it,Aldiscovered wasthebiggestyearinhistoryforTheassociationmanagersaidthat the selling secret his boss had usednew homes,withalmost one million,about20per cent of the estimated $7 sinctrt\'c-om1)liments.Al felt good be fourhundredthousandbeingbuilt.billion ,vould be spent on siding, roofcause his boss had said something niceOvmersofthose1950homeswillbeingandinsulation.Hestatedthat about him- something he wanted toin the modernization market togethermanufacturersofinsulatingsiding, hear.withthosewhoboughtin1948anllongafavoritematerialformodernThemoreAlthought aboutit the1949,alsobig home-buildingyears.izingoutsidewalls,expectedtosell moreherealizedthathecoulduse"Thefactthatalmost25millionenoughsiding in 1954to covermore complimentstomakemoresales.familiesowntheirhomesalsoin thanaquartermillionAmerican The Al\'sproblemwashowtobecreasestheprospectsformoderniza- homes. n FEBRUARY1954PAGE15'