Power Of Creative Selling

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Chapter 14 - The Magic Power Of Personality

Someone asked Leonardo Da Vinci what he was painting. He answered: "Souls." Other artists painted limbs and features. Leonardo captured and portrayed that inward something which we call being, and he used only painted limbs and features to express it. I like to think that he was painting the subject's personality. That's why people can stand before his famous painting, "Mona Lisa," and meditate for hours on the expression of her soul.

What is personality? Like every other attribute of the mind, it has many definitions. Some say it is the extent to which the individual has developed habits and skills which may be used to interest and serve people. Some say it is the "social stimulus" value of a person. Some say that it is everything the person is. I like to think that personality is an attribute which may be termed as a current that flows from, instead of into, the consciousness. It is an outward expression of the inward intensity of thinking, feeling, and being.

I like to compare personality to a powerhouse that generates electricity. This powerhouse is a dynamic organization of different mechanisms working together harmoniously to produce the invisible power known as electricity. This powerhouse creates the power to serve the needs of people everywhere. Your personality is a powerhouse and you employ its electricity to serve the prospect's needs and gain his interest.

You are also a dynamic organization made up of many different qualities and attributes, and the more harmoniously they work together, the more power you can demonstrate through your personality. Therefore, it is only wise and expedient that I undertake to uncover a few ideas and suggestions on how you can develop, improve, and strengthen your personality.

Dr. Charles W. Eliot, late President of Harvard University, once said: "Everyone now believes that there is in man an animating, ruling, characteristic essence of spirit, which is himself. This spirit, dull or bright, petty or grand, pure or foul, looks out of the eyes, sounds in the voice and appears in the manner of each individual. It is what we call personality." Thus it proves that the flesh profiteth nothing but it is the spirit that quickeneth.

In your case, as a salesman, we want to develop and enlarge the bright and grand spirit that reflects through your eyes, your voice, and your manner. This can be accomplished by improving the mechanism of the powerhouse.

Character and personality are closely allied. Character is really what you are, and personality is what people think you are. The word character is derived from a Greek word meaning to cut into furrows or to engrave, like figures cut or stamped upon stone. As applied to an individual, it is the aggregate of the mental and spiritual qualities gained from the impressions of nature, education, and habits. It distinguishes the attributes, qualities, and habits of one individual from another.

You Can Change Your Character

After all, to be more explicit, we might say that character is a combination of habits acquired over a long period of time. Some of these habits are good, and some can be improved upon or discontinued. In fact, some of these habits may retard you and keep you from fulfilling your true mission as a creative salesman. All of these habits are consciously acquired; therefore, they can be consciously improved or, if necessary, discontinued. You possess all the gumption needed, not only to improve or discontinue your present habits, but to form new ones that will advance you.

The development of your personality is an individual undertaking. As an individual you are a complete entity, a self contained unit, and a combination of many qualities and attributes. This entire complex is under your care and supervision. With your command you can discard any old habit or form any new one. It lies within your domain to develop the traits of character that will attract, receive more acclaim, and produce the best effects that you can use in dealing with the prospect. With your intelligence you can capitalize on your personality. Creative selling offers you an unparalleled opportunity to develop your personality and reap rewards.

The impression that you make on others is not illusive or mysterious. It is a product of many factors, many of which are very small. Therefore, strict attention and careful consideration must be given to the powerhouse that produces the impression. The current that flows from you to serve others must always reflect the quality and condition of the powerhouse. You can improve your powerhouse; here are five suggestions that might be helpful.

1. Analyze Your Present Habits

No one knows the real truth about your conduct, behavior, and habits better than you, and no one is better qualified than you to catalogue and correct them. Know your faults, and you can soon eradicate them. The best way to accomplish this is to analyze your present habits. The best way to do this is to submit yourself to a test.

How many every day habits do I practice that are useful and helpful? What is my master motive? Do I put my interest and welfare ahead of the prospect? To what extent can I judge the effect of my acts on other people? For what kind of sales plan am I best suited? Can I tell what others are thinking by their facial expressions, actions, and other signs? How good am I at getting along with others? How thoroughly do I prepare myself before calling on the prospect?

It may also assist to consider the following questions: What is my attitude toward myself as well as the prospect? Are my thoughts and actions positive? Am I tolerant and considerate of the prospect? Do I honestly respect his opinions? Do I interrupt him while he is speaking? Do I permit objections to deter my real mission? Do I monopolize the conversation with a big "I" and a little "you"? Am I arrogant and impudent? Am I honest with myself? Am I persistent and progressive without being offensive? Am I blown around from opinion to opinion, like a thistle in a windstorm? Do I cultivate habits that make me strong physically, mentally, and spiritually? Do I have confidence in my sales ability?
Do I dare to think for myself? Do I practice the little courtesies in my sales activities, like "Thank you," "Pardon me," "Forgive me," "I am sorry," "Excuse me, please," and others? Do I covet what others have? Am I envious? Am I jealous? Do I pray and work against selfishness? Can I make an objective study of myself with the same intensity that I study the prospect?

Conscious attention to improvement along these lines will improve the impression you make on the prospect. It will help you to take yourself in hand and rid yourself of any bad habits. Remember you are a living, thinking, acting being and an improvement in any of your traits reflects on your personality.

2. Rely on Yourself

Thomas Jefferson once said: "I never ask anyone to do for me what I can do for myself." As a result of relying on his own talents, he developed into one of the most versatile men of history. He was an astronomer, musician, philosopher, humanitarian, statesmen, architect, litterateur, and horticulturist. You will be astounded at the improvement self reliance makes in every department of your life. As you indulge in this personal sport, you develop many hidden traits of character and find natural bents. You increase your power to evaluate any situation and to meet any sales resistance you encounter. All things in nature rely on their own instinct, and in this respect they are well provided. As an individual you should rely on your own ability. Your fingerprints indicate this. Of all the millions of fingerprints on record, no two are alike. Your fingerprints distinguish you. You are a complete entity possessed of all the qualities and attributes that unfold to form a perfect individual. You cannot imitate another's fingerprints; neither can you assume someone else's ability. You must rely on your own.

Train yourself to rely on your mental resources, judgment, and ability. Have faith in your integrity; it is the soul of your individuality and helps you to realize that no part of you can be separated from the whole of you. You have what it takes, at any time or place. You have only to rely on it. Think, speak, and act your convictions, and they shall be the means to influence the prospect. You have the power to believe in your own thoughts and to act as if it were impossible to fail.

You are faced with many situations from time to time where it is absolutely necessary to rely on yourself. Conditions must be met on the spot. You must either sink or swim. You must know what to do and what not to do. You must know when to smile and when to frown, when to talk and when to keep silent, when to laugh and when to be grim, when to move and when to keep quiet. All these traits affect the prospect. It is now or never, so train yourself to rely on your own qualities.

Self-reliance develops character and helps you to perfect yourself, and to perfect yourself is to perfect selling. Much of the wisdom of civilization has been developed by those who had the courage to rely on themselves. Make use of your own resources. They are a capital investment to make you a bigger and better salesman.

3. Develop the Spirit of Optimism

Infuse the spirit of optimism in your selling. It not only lights your way, but it reflects on the prospect. A little light makes a big difference. No matter where you are or what you are selling, the minute you light up your consciousness you light the spot around you. Look for the best, expect nothing but the best, and you will always share the best.

Optimism is thinking straight. It is an excellent vaccine to prevent failure. It is maintaining a sense of equilibrium, regardless of what happens. It puts in practice an adage of Marcus Aurelius: "Whatever happens at all happens as it
should happen."

There is an old saying: "When you walk toward the light, the shadows are back of you. When you walk away from the light, the shadows are before you." Practice and demonstrate optimism in your selling, and you will always be walking toward the light. The prospect has troubles of his own and the spirit of optimism often dispels them and places you in the limelight. Therefore, let your light shine.

4. Keep Active

Sales follow action. When intelligently directed, each sale is one step closer to the next one. Keep active, and you will soon get there. Everything in nature is always active. Movement teaches a great natural law. It tells you to keep on the move. You will find that it is more fun to wear out than to rust out. Keep on keeping on. As the old proverb says: "He who tills the soil shall eat." Keep active. It is the real way of life. The bees are active, the ants are active, the cells in your body are active, and everything around you is active. Why should you not be active?

When you keep on the move, you advance. Do not let grass grow under your feet. Keep on the go and form good habits. Turn pessimism and defeat into action and achievement. Turn negative thinking and discouragement into positive thoughts of confidence and power. Wring success from failure. All things come to him who waits.

5. Take It Easy

One of the best habits to acquire in selling is patience. It denotes self-composure, self-confidence and self-assurance. It is the capacity to realize that all conditions and situations are only temporary; if you exercise forbearance and remain cool, calm, and collected, the most trying situations will right themselves. Patience teaches us to grin and bear it. Trials, tribulations, troubles, obstacles, delays, disappointments, and failures are only stalking shadows that instantly disappear in the light of patience. They will all soon disappear. "In your patience possess ye your souls."

Many hours are spent in waiting to see the prospect; this spare time may best be spent in reading a good book. Slip a good book in your brief case, and spend your spare time reading. It will enable you to enjoy the time, and you will be better qualified to interview the prospect.

There are many details in selling and the one way to master detail is to exercise patience. Learn to love it. With the proper attitude, chores are a pleasant pastime, especially when you realize that everyone else is doing them. Every task begins in detail, and ends in detail. A kindly feeling toward detail relieves tension and strain, develops the power to concentrate, and the task is soon completed. Relish detail and detail loses its sting. Do not heed detail, and detail will heed you. With all your manifold details, exercise patience.
It will reward you.

When you put these five suggestions into action, each department of the powerhouse will work harmoniously and produce more power to be transmitted over the wires that carry the current of your personality.

The wires of the powerhouse carry your personality to the prospect give him a jolt, and he will buy. These wires are your manner, your tone of voice, and your mode of expression.

Many transmissions from the powerhouse of personality rely on the art of expression. What is expression? The word comes from the Latin word "exprimere," which means to express. It is the act of pressing out. It is the stuff you employ to make your message felt. As Alexander Pope wrote:

Expression is an art for the individual to master; anyone can improve on it. Improvement may be accomplished through interest, concentration, application, a little patience, and a few minutes practice each day.

How to Develop Your Powers of Expression

A large percentage of your time as a salesman is used in expressing ideas. It will pay you large dividends to improve the machines of expression, which are your speech, your voice, and your manner.

Speech is the faculty to utter sounds or words. It is the power of expressing thoughts in words. It is the power to speak. Good speech is speaking clearly, unhurriedly, and distinctly. It is your quickest and most efficient means to get
your ideas over to the prospect. By taking a little patience and care, you can do this more effectively. It is the little things in speech that count, and these are the things you want to correct.

In order for the prospect to understand you, it is necessary to speak plainly. The prospect judges you by what you say, and if you can do this well, it will influence him to have confidence in you. Train yourself to speak with care and dignity. The prospect only understands what you tell him, so try to do it clearly. Pronounce each word carefully and distinctly. Speech, voice, and manner are all fundamental parts of your expression. Your use of them reflects your ability as a salesman. The development of these three attributes gives you power and a pleasing personality.

Speech is produced by the voice. You can improve your voice by deep breathing. This regulates and controls the pitch, tone, and inflection of the voice. Therefore, take a few deep breaths before entering the office of the prospect, and now and again during the day.

Train yourself to read a few pages aloud each day. Take the dictionary and pick out a few words. Pronounce the words aloud, trying to enunciate each syllable clearly and distinctly. Do this exercise several times each week. It only takes a few minutes, and you will show marked improvement.

To improve the sound, volume, and resonance of the voice,
say the multiplication table aloud. It only takes about four
minutes. Do this several times each week.

All words are formed from letters. Practice aloud the alphabet, giving each letter the full use of the lungs and diaphragm. Note the different formations of the mouth as you say each letter aloud. Do this several times each week.

How to Achieve Clarity in Your Speech

Stand before the mirror and see whether you open your mouth widely enough when you speak. By observing yourself talking aloud, you will learn not to slur over your words and not to drawl them. Drawling can be corrected by enunciating each syllable in each word. All words are made up of syllables and big words are only a combination of syllables, or of little words. Take the word inexhaustible, for example. Take it apart in this fashion: inexhaustible. Take it easily and slowly, and the word will pronounce itself. Each word will do the same.

Make it easy for the prospect to understand what you are talking about. Express your ideas clearly and you turn them into a sale. Clarity of speech is very important. Cultivate the habit of perfecting it.

It will pay you also to cultivate the habit of not hurrying in your speech. You have plenty of time. It is most essential to clear, distinct diction to speak unhurriedly. Speak distinctly and deliberately. Know the lines of your speech thoroughly and speak them in a relaxed mood and you will discover that what you say is more persuasive, more effective, and more convincing. When you speak calmly and distinctly, it is not necessary to repeat, and this saves the prospect's time and possibly your embarrassment.

It will pay you also to train yourself to speak in a conversational tone. Breathe regularly and observe proper pause at intervals. Don't try to carry on a complete conversation in one breath.

Manner is your mode of procedure; your way of doing things. It is that intangible quality of personality that makes you interesting to other people. It is the way you conduct your relationship with others. It is an inward feeling of being happy. You know what pleases you when someone talks to you. It is those little things: courtesy, appreciation, kindness, and thoughtfulness. It is those little things that please the prospect and put him in a receptive mood to listen to what you have to say. It is these little things that make a whale of a difference—and help you to make more sales.

Another great asset to enrich and purify your manner of speech is to learn to smile while you talk. Your speech, interspersed with real smiles, tells the prospect a lot. It tells him that you like him, that you want to please him, that you want to co-operate, and that you are willing to serve and do your best at all times. He can feel your smile; it encourages him to believe in you. The smile in your voice unlocks the door and lets you in. It creates friendships and opens wide the door of the prospect. He will respond to a friendly smile, so practice it in your speech.

Try also to be natural in your manner of speech. The prospect is human and likes to be treated accordingly. Therefore, relax, feel kindly toward the prospect, and be yourself, and in all probability you will leave his office with a sale.

Make the Power of Personality Work for You

Courtesy, graciousness, and appreciation are valuable assets in dealing with the prospect. Use them. Remember that your speech, your voice, and your manner are you. They are the vital qualities of your personality. They are you in action. You can make them mechanical and ineffectual, with no show of personal interest. On the other hand you can make them human, brimful of personal interest and charm. You can express thoughts and ideas that will persuade and motivate. Dramatize your speech, voice, and manner with imagination, enthusiasm, and color.

The Magic Power of Personality is the intensity of thinking, feeling, and being. It is the harmonious action of all the different mechanisms in the powerhouse. It reflects the spirit creating a charm that fascinates, animates, magnetizes, and attracts irresistibly. It overcomes all objection and subdues all arguments. It produces an effect on the prospect that impels action. It is the magnet that draws the prospect to you. Develop and use it. It is like finding a gold mine.

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Power Of Creative Selling
 

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