Certain Success Part 30

Therefore do not quail from the obstacles you meet. Recognize in each an opportunity to succeed in demonstrating your capability; a chance to increase the respect, confidence, and liking of your prospective employer. _Remember, if there were no difficult, steep mountains to scale, the supreme heights of success could not be gained._ So, with s.h.i.+ning face, climb on and up undaunted!

CHAPTER XI

_The Goal of Success_

[Sidenote: "Nearly Succeeded" Means "Failed"]

After an applicant for a position seems to have the coveted opportunity almost in his grasp, he is sometimes unable to _clinch_ the sale of his services. He does not get the job. His failure is none the less _complete_ because he _nearly_ succeeded. _No race was ever won by a man who could not finish._ However successful you may have been in the earlier stages of the selling process, if your services are finally declined by the prospective employer you have interviewed, your sales effort has ended in failure.

When one has made a fine presentation of his capability, and therefore feels confident of selling his services, it shocks and disheartens him to have his application rejected. "It takes the starch out of a man." He is apt to feel limp in courage when he turns his back on the lost chance to make good, and faces the necessity of starting the selling process all over again with another prospect. It is harder to lose a race in the shadow of the goal than to be disqualified before the start. The prospect who seems on the point of saying, "Yes," but finally shakes his head is the heart-breaker to the salesman.

[Sidenote: Making the Touch Down]

Of course, as you have been reminded, even the best salesman cannot get _all_ the orders he tries to secure. _But he seldom fails to "close" a real prospect whom he has conducted successfully through the preliminary steps of a sale._ Each advance he makes increases his confidence that he will get the order. The master salesman does not falter and fall down just before the finish. He is at the top of his strength as he nears the goal. All his training and practice have had but one ultimate object--a successfully _completed_ sale. He knows that _nothing else counts_. He does not lose the ball on the one-yard line. He pushes it over for a touchdown. He cannot be held back when he gets that close to the goal posts. You must be like him if you would make the "almost sure" victory a _certainty._

[Sidenote: Don't Fear To Take Success]

Perhaps the commonest cause of the failures that occur at the closing stage is the salesman's _fear of bringing the selling process to a head_. He is in doubt whether the prospect will say "Yes" or "No." His lack of courageous confidence makes him falter when he should bravely put his fortune to the test of decision. He does not "strike while the iron is hot," but hesitates until the prospect's desire cools. Many an applicant for a position has talked an employer into the idea of engaging his services, and then has gone right on talking until he changed the other man's mind. He is the worst of all failures. Though he has won the prize, he lets it slip through his fingers because he lacks the nerve to tighten his hold.

[Sidenote: Keep Control At the Close]

Doubt and timidity at the closing stage, after the earlier steps have been taken successfully, are paradoxes. Surely each _preliminary_ advance the salesman makes should add to his confidence that he can _complete_ the sale. His proved ability to handle objections and to overcome resistance should have developed all the courage he needs to _finish_ the selling process. Closing requires less bravery and staunch faith than one must have when making his approach. Now he knows his man, and that this prospect's mind and heart can be favorably influenced by salesmans.h.i.+p. Is it not a contradiction of good sense to weaken at the finish instead of pressing the advantages already gained and crowning the previous work with ultimate success? Yet there are salesmen who seem so afraid of hearing a possible "No" that they dare not prompt an almost certain "Yes."

When you have presented to your prospective employer a thoroughly good case for yourself, _do not slow down or stop the selling process_.

Especially avoid letting _him_ take the reins. Thus far _you_ have controlled the sale. _Keep final developments in your own hands._ Go ahead. Smile. Be and appear entirely at ease. Look the other man in the eye. Ask him, "When shall I start work?" _Suggest_ that you believe he is favorable to your application. _Even speak his decision for him_, as though it were a matter-of-course. If the previous trend of the interview justifies you in a.s.suming that he has almost made up his mind to employ you, p.r.o.nounce his probable thought as if he had announced it as his final conclusion. _He will not be likely to reverse the decision you have spoken for him._ His mental inclination will be to _follow your lead_, and to accept as his own judgment what you have a.s.sumed to be settled in his mind.

[Sidenote: Reversing a Negative Decision]

A stubborn merchant made a dozen objections to hiring a new clerk. The young man cleared them all away, one after another, as soon as each was raised. But the employer leaned back obstinately in his chair and declared, "Just the same, I don't need any more clerks." This was but a repet.i.tion of an objection already disposed of. The applicant concluded, therefore, that he had his man cornered. The salesman smiled broadly at the indication of his success. He stood up and took off his overcoat.

"Well," he said, "you certainly need one less than you did, now that I'm ready to begin work. I understand why you have been putting me off. You wanted to test my stick-to-it-ive-ness. I'm sure I have convinced you on that point. You needn't worry about my staying on the job. Shall I report to the superintendent, or will you start me yourself?"

The merchant drew a deep breath; then emptied his lungs with a burst of astonishment mixed with relief. He could not help laughing.

"I meant to turn you down, but you say I've made up my mind to hire you.

I didn't know it myself, but you're right. I believe you are the sort of clerk I always want."

[Sidenote: Expect the Prospect to Say "Yes"]

Remember, when you face your prospect at the closing stage, the _motive_ that brought you to him. You came with the intention of rendering him _services from which he will profit_. You want your capability to be a "good buy" for him. Your consciousness that your motive is _right_ should give you strengthened _faith_ in yourself and in the successful outcome of your salesmans.h.i.+p. It should fill you with the courage necessary to close the sale.

_Neither hesitate nor flinch. Confidently prompt the decision_ in your favor. Believe that you _have_ won and you will not be intimidated by fears of failure. Your prospect is unlikely to say "No" _if you really expect to hear "Yes."_ Even if he speaks the negative, still _believe in your own faith_. I know a man who, a minute after his application was flatly rejected, won the position he wanted. Unrebuffed, he came back with, "Eventually, why not now?" His evident conviction that he was _needed_ gained the victory when his chance seemed lost.

[Sidenote: Don't Be Afraid to Pop The Question]

We all laugh at the young swain who courts a girl devotedly for months and uses every art he knows to sell her the idea that he would make her happy as his wife; but who turns pale, then red, and chokes whenever he has a chance to pop the question. Often the girl must go half way with prompting. When, thus encouraged, he finally stammers out his appeal for her decision, she accepts him so quickly that he feels foolish. Women are reputed to be better "closers" of such sales than men.

You smile at the comparison of courting with salesmans.h.i.+p. Yet the selling process is as effective in making good impressions of the sort of husband one might be as in impressing an employer with the idea that one's services in business would prove desirable.

[Sidenote: Selling a Future Husband]

The young man bent on marriage needs to prospect for the right girl, to secure an audience, to compel her attention, to regain it when diverted to other admirers, and to develop her curiosity about him into interest.

He must size up her likes and dislikes; then adapt his salesmans.h.i.+p to her tastes, tactfully subordinating his own preferences to hers. If she is athletic, he will play tennis or go on tramps with her, however tired he feels after his work. If she is sentimental, he will take her canoeing and read poetry to her, though he may prefer detective yarns.

Throughout his courts.h.i.+p he will do his utmost to stimulate in her a desire to have him as a life partner. Whatever objections she makes to him, he will get rid of or overcome.

Suppose he has taken all these preliminary selling steps successfully, and at last the time comes for pinning the girl down to a definite answer to the all-important question, is there any likelihood that it will be a refusal? Of course not! If his earlier salesmans.h.i.+p has been masterly, the reasons why she will be inclined to accept him in the end are of much greater weight and number than any causes for rejection that she may have thought of previously.

[Sidenote: Never Weaken At the Finish]

He should not fear to close the sale. He has been "going strong" until now; why should he weaken at the finish? The master salesman does not quaver then, or doubt his success. He asks his prospect's decision bravely and with confidence, or he a.s.sumes it as a matter of course and kisses the girl. His heart beats faster than usual, but he is not afraid of hearing "No."

_You should feel the same way_ after leading your prospective employer successfully through the preliminary stages of the process of selling your services to him. Do not falter now. _Promptly emphasize the idea that the weight, amount, and quality of your merits are fully worth the compensation previously discussed._ If you are _sure_ of that, if you have valued your services from _his_ standpoint, and not just from _your own_, you will feel no doubts about the acceptance of your application. You will put your prospective employer through the process of decision as courageously and confidently as you first entered his presence.

[Sidenote: Getting the Decision p.r.o.nounced]

Sometimes a prospect will be convinced, but will not express what is in his thoughts. Therefore _it is not enough to bring about a favorable conclusion of mind_. Until this has been _p.r.o.nounced or signified_, it may easily be changed. Hence the _effective process of decision includes both the mental action of judgment and its perceptible indication_.

Often a prospect who is _thinking_ "Yes" will not _say_ it until he is prompted by the salesman.

[Sidenote: A Lawyer Sums Up the Case]

When a lawyer is trying a case, he endeavors to bring out the evidence in favor of his client and to make the jury see every point clearly. He shows also the fallacies and falsities of opposing testimony. But after all the evidence has been given, the case is not turned over _immediately_ to the jury for decision. If that were done the lawyer would miss his best chance to influence the jurors to make up their minds in his favor. They are not so familiar as he with the facts and their significance. They would be apt to attach more importance to some details of testimony, and less to others, than the circ.u.mstances warrant. So, to a.s.sist the jurors in arriving at their verdict on the evidence, the lawyer _sums up the case_. He lays before their minds his views, and tries with all his power and art to convince them that his word pictures are true reproductions of the facts in their relation and proportion to all the circ.u.mstances surrounding the issue.

[Sidenote: Preponderance Of Evidence]

The _object_ of the lawyer when he addresses the jury is to make the convincing impression that _the testimony in favor of his client far outweighs the evidence on the other side_. He adjures the twelve men before him to "weigh the evidence carefully." He declares the judge will instruct them that in a lawsuit the verdict should be given to the party who has a "preponderance" or greater weight of proof on his side. _At this closing stage of the case the lawyer acts as a weighmaster._ He wants to make the jurors feel that he has handled the scales _fairly_, that he has taken into consideration the evidence _against_ him as well as the facts _in his favor_; and that the preponderance of weight _is as he has shown it_--so that they will accept _his_ view and gave him the verdict. If he feels a sincere conviction that he is right in asking for a decision on his side, he makes his closing address with the ring of confidence. He looks the jurors in the eye and asks for the verdict in his favor as a matter of _right_. He does not beg, but claims what the weight of the evidence _ent.i.tles_ him to receive.

[Sidenote: Treat Your Prospects As Jurors]

The jury that will decide on your application when you apply for a position will usually consist of but one man, or will be composed of a committee or board of directors. Treat him or them _as a jury_.

Remember that your capabilities and your deficiencies are _on trial_.

Close your case with the same process the skillful lawyer uses when he sums up the evidence and weighs it before the minds of the jurors. Do what he does _as a weighmaster_. Avoid making any impression that you are not weighing your _demerits_ fairly, though you _minimize their importance_; also miss no chance to impress the _full weight_ of your _qualifications_. The essence of good salesmans.h.i.+p at this stage of the process is _skillful, but honest weighing_. That means using _both sides_ of the scale, to convince the prospect that _the balance tips in your favor_. He will not believe in the correctness of the "Yes" weight unless you show the lesser weight of "No" _in contrast_. Then he cannot help _seeing_ which is the heavier. _Decision on the respective weights is only a process of perception._

[Sidenote: The Process Of Perception]

Let us suppose the employer has a.s.serted the objections that you are not sufficiently experienced to earn the salary you want, and that you don't know enough yet to fill the job. It would be poor salesmans.h.i.+p to try to convince him that you have had a good deal of experience. If you exaggerate the importance of the things you have learned, he almost surely will judge you to be an unfair weighman of yourself. So you should tacitly admit your inexperience and treat the value of experience lightly by reminding him that his business is unlike any other. Then bear down hard on your eagerness to learn his ways and to work for him.

Thus you can make him perceive the two sides of the scale _as you view them_.

[Sidenote: Tipping the Balances Your Way]

It is possible for you so to tip the balances in your favor, though previously the mind's eye of your prospective employer may have been seeing the greater weight on the unfavorable side. _It is legitimate salesmans.h.i.+p to influence the decision of the other man in this way._ Your weighing is entirely honest; though you sharply reverse the balances. Certainly you have the right to estimate the full worth of your services, to depreciate the significance of points against you, and to picture your desirability to the prospect as you see it, however that view may differ from his previous conception. _If your picture of the respective weights is attractive and convincing, the other man will adopt it as his own and discard his former opinions about you._ Not only will he accept the idea of your capabilities that you make him perceive; he also will see that your deficiencies are much less important than he had before considered them.

[Sidenote: Serving Hash For Dessert]

Beware of a mistake commonly made by applicants for positions who do not understand the art of successfully closing the sale of one's services.

When they try to clinch the final decision, _they just repeat strongly all their best points. They make no mention of their shortcomings._ For dessert, in other words, they serve a hash of the best dishes of previous courses. Is it any wonder that such a close takes away any appet.i.te the prospect may have had?