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Power Of Creative Selling
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Chapter 1 - I Stubbed
My Toe
One morning in 1920, I
left my office in the Commercial Trust Building in Philadelphia and walked
down Chestnut Street, on my way to see a prospect. Suddenly I felt someone
tapping me on the shoulder. I turned around and faced a gentleman whom I
had never seen before. "Is your name Earl Prevette?" he inquired. "Yes," I
replied. "Are you originally from North Carolina?" "That's right!" I said.
Atthis juncture he extended his hand very graciously and introduced himself as George Peabody, Jr., an attorney-at-law from Boston,
Massachusetts. Still this did not mean much to me. Then he told me that my
uncle, Henry Slater of Providence, Rhode Island, and more recently of
Boston, Massachusetts, had passed away and that his law firm Peabody,
Peabody, and Peabody had been appointed the administrators of his estate.
He also informed me that, in going over the will of the late Henry Slater,
his firm had discovered
that I had been named as one of the beneficiaries. He said that a sizable
sum of money was waiting for me in Boston and that his firm was prepared
to make a settlement with me.
Without further ado, he suggested
that I should journey to Boston with him in order to claim my inheritance.
Soon we were on the train, and, upon our arrival in Boston, I made an
appointment to call on his law firm the following morning.
I arose early the next morning. It was one of those beautiful spring
mornings in Boston. The sky was clear and flooded with bright sunshine.
The air was crisp, fresh, and fragrant. It was a most invigorating day,
and I was thrilled and exhilarated. I was walking on air, all aglow with
the hope and expectation of what was soon to be realization.
Exactly at 9 o'clock I was in the
Old Colony Bank and Trust Building, on my way to keep my appointment with
the law firm of Peabody, Peabody, and Peabody and claim my legacy. The
receptionist at the office of the law firm was
very gracious and most accommodating. In a moment Mr. George Peabody, Jr.,
came forward and greeted me with a most cordial and pleasant, "Good
morning."
Immediately he escorted me into
the office of Mr. George Peabody, Sr., who was the titular head of the law
firm. Of course he was very delighted to see me and to realize that I was
the nephew of his old friend and colleague, the late
Henry Slater. After a few remarks that established my identity securely in
his mind, he said that my uncle, Henry Slater, had willed me quite a
sizable sum of money, and that his firm was now ready to give it to me,
after I had signed
a few routine papers. Indeed, I was most happy to sign those papers as a
token of my sincere gratitude. After I had signed all the necessary
papers, Mr. Peabody called his secretary and asked her to draw a check to
my order. This she did.
Then he asked me if I would like to cash the check in Boston before
returning to Philadelphia. This I thought a splendid idea. He called his
son, George Jr., to take me down to the first floor, where the Old Colony
Bank and Trust Company was located. There, George, Jr. introduced me to
Mr. Jerome Knickerbocker, the cashier, who said he would be glad to give
me the cash when I had endorsed the check.
I endorsed the check, and Mr.
Knickerbocker asked me how I would like to have the money. I told him that
I would like to have it in thousand-dollar bills. He walked over to the
vault and casually brought back 100 thousand-dollar
bills. He counted them out one by one, deliberately and carefully. I put
these 100 thousand-dollar bills into an envelope and thanked Mr. Peabody
and Mr. Knickerbocker very graciously for their splendid courtsey and
co-operation. I picked up the envelope containing the one hundred thousand
dollars and placed it very carefully and securely in my inside
coat pocket. Just as I turned to leave the bank, lo and behold, I stubbed
my toe and woke up!
How My Hundred-Thousand-Dollar Dream
Came True
As I
pondered over this dream in 1920, the thought came to me that I did
not need to inherit one hundred thousand
dollars. All I needed was to stub my toe, wake up, shake
off the state of lethargy, get
out of the rut, and come to a
conscious, vital realization of the power of creative selling
that was hidden within me. I
firmly believed that the development of this positive and creative power of thinking, applied to selling, would enable
me to make many hundred thousands of dollars. However, in order to claim my heritage, to realize the full impetus
of my latent power and
ability,
and to derive the full benefit from that creative selling, it was
necessary for me to develop a definite and concrete plan of action.
At that
time I was attempting to sell life insurance. In
those days there was no scientific plan of action for
selling
life insurance. It was a hit-or- miss proposition mostly
miss.
Creative selling was only a dream, like my inheritance. The
general agent of a life insurance company was usually a
pompous gentleman. He would put his hands on your shoulders, rear back
with an air of great authority, and hand you
a rate book and some application blanks
with the remark,
"Now, go
out into the world and sell!" That was the extent
of your training as a life insurance salesman.
It was
sink or swim, so out into the world I went—and I
floundered. I walked the streets, stood on the street
corners, and watched the people go by. Prospects! prospects everywhere! But I had no definite plan of action to contact any
of them. Now and then someone would grant me an interview for the sake of courtesy, but the inevitable answer
was
"not interested." Thus, with sore feet, a tired back, a
sour disposition, a
weary body, and with both hands empty, I
would slowly trudge back to the office.
This
procedure lagged on for many days. I began to question—what's the trouble? Is it me or the life insurance business? I decided to do something about it.
How an Idea Gave Me Faith
First, I
analyzed the principle of life insurance thoroughly to determine its
value and to appreciate its worth. I concluded that it was a very excellent
idea. I liked the idea of
the protection it could provide. I
liked the idea of the estate
it could create. I liked the idea
of the savings account it
could establish. I liked the
idea of the income it could guarantee for old age. In fact, I
liked the idea of all the benefits
that life insurance could provide for the individual and his
family.
This
analysis of life insurance gave me a comprehensive
interpretation of its function and a clear picture of the
benefits that it could provide for the prospect. I was
thoroughly
convinced that it was a good idea; a sound and practical
proposition. I firmly believed that I could sell it. I had
faith
in it.
Faith is
believing in something, and so it remains until you demonstrate
your ability to fashion faith into reality.
Now arose the question of how I could
convert my faith
into results by selling life
insurance. How could I get the
idea of
life insurance and its many benefits over to the prospect? How
could I convince the prospect that it was a safe
place for him to invest his capital? How could I make the
prospect feel as I felt about life insurance?
How I Converted Faith into Results
I decided
that the only scientific way for me to demonstrate my faith in selling life insurance was to create a sales
plan that would carry the message of its benefits and values
to the prospect and convince him that he would enjoy satisfaction and peace of mind by owning it. It was up to me to use my ability and
draw on the hidden power within and create a sale
that did not exist before.
In
applying your ability to think and create a sale, it is
wise to get the right attitude toward yourself as well as
your
product. You must realize that you are not merely a rag, a
bone, and a hank of hair—you are greater than your body.
Your power to think does not confine you to your own skin.
You can project thought. You can organize and visualize the
ideas and thoughts about the thing you sell with such power
that it creates a sale. To do this scientifically and effectively, it is essential to
build these thoughts and ideas into a plan.
What is
a plan? A plan is a method of action, procedure,
or arrangement. It is a program to be done. It is a design
to carry into effect an idea, a thought, a project, or a
development.
Therefore, a plan is a concrete means to help you fulfill
your desires. In the field of selling, your desire is to create
sales and render a useful service. To do this effectively,
it
is wise to have two plans:
First, a
plan of operation to govern, guide, and control
your general activities. To organize and arrange your activities each day is to save time, conserve energy, and eliminate chaos. The orderly arrangement of time will guide and direct you through
the labyrinth of the most busy day.
Second, a
Sales Plan to govern, guide, and direct your
sales procedure.
Prospects are influenced and motivated to action by ideas,
and the more quickly they receive ideas about the value of the product, the
sooner they will react. I decided that life
insurance was an idea guaranteeing many
valuable benefits to the prospect and his family. I also decided that the
quickest, the most practical, the
most efficient, the most feasible,
and the most scientific method
of carrying that idea to the
greatest number of prospects in
the shortest period of time
was by
means of a Sales Plan.
The Essentials of a Good Sales Plan
I had
plenty of prospects. What next? I needed a sales approach. It was only good sense on my part to create a Sales
Plan that would set forth, in plain, understandable language,
the many benefits and values of life insurance, and what
they
really meant to the prospect. The Sales Plan to present
these important ideas
had to be good, compelling, and concrete.
It had to contain the power to attract
the attention of the
prospect. It had to possess the power to arouse the interest
of the prospect. It had to create the power to stimulate the
desire of the prospect. It had to
generate the power to persuade and
convince the prospect to act.
I spent
many many hours of study and meditation in creating
this Sales Plan. I checked, I double checked, I analyzed, I visualized. Was it interesting? Was it
comprehensive?
Was it stimulating? Was it concise? Was it persuasive? Was
it convincing?
Every
idea, every sentence, and every detail was attended
with the strictest attention. Every word was studied for
the
correct pronunciation, for the proper enunciation, and for
the right sound and inflection. Every thought in each sentence was studied for proper emphasis. Every particular was
weighed
and balanced. Nothing was taken for granted, and
no detail was overlooked. When I had this Sales Plan in
good form, I memorized it. I read it out loud many times. I
dramatized it. I felt it. I lived it. I perfected it.
Then I used it
The Sales Plan presented a good proposition and a sound
idea. What about
the prospect? Was he attracted? Was he
interested? Was he stimulated? Was he
convinced? The results
were beyond my fondest expectations. That Sales Plan
sold millions of dollars worth of life insurance.
A
Lesson from the Actor
In
presenting a Sales Plan, I think that it would pay you
to take a lesson from the actor. On
the stage, on television,
on the screen, and on radio,
you must have been thoroughly
impressed by the correct and precise way in which actors
and performers present their lines.
They seem to give every
sentence, every word, and every
gesture its proper place andtime. They feel and live their
parts right before your eyes,
and the strange part is that you
live the parts right along
with them. Suppose they came on
the stage without knowing
their lines. Suppose they did
not know what they were going to say or how they were going to say it. What do you
think their sponsors would do?
They would discontinue their
services, and, of course, they would be justified. Performers
know their lines because they
want to please you. By pleasing you, they please their
sponsors, and their sponsors are the
ones who
pay them—and pay them well.
If it
pays these actors and performers to know their lines,it will certainly pay you and me as salesmen. This is the
way
I felt when I composed the Sales Plan.
A
Sales Plan Gets Results
I felt
that a Sales Plan was the means by which I could
concentrate all my power and focus all my ability to arrest
the attention of the prospect, kindle his interest, stimulate
his
desire, and convince him to act. It would enable me to
get results quickly. I also felt that
it would mean money to
me and, believe me, it has!
When I stubbed my toe, I woke
up to the power of creative
selling. It has been worth to me
many times the inheritance in the
dream. It can be worth
the same to you, provided you
stub your toe because what
am I that you are not?
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Power Of Creative Selling
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