Page 28 - One Thousand Ways to Make $1000

real estate salesman hadn’t “pushed them over.” Think of the thousands of
mothers whose lives have been made easier by some salesman who sold them
a washing machine, a vacuum cleaner, or an ironing machine. There’s a
president of a big advertising agency in New York who traces his upward rise
back to the time when a salesman sold him a correspondence course in
advertising. Numberless cases could be pointed out where salesmen, through
their ability to educate, to persuade, and to induce people to act, have brought
new prosperity, happiness and satisfaction into the lives of millions of people.
That’s why it is so much fun to sell things.

Qualifications of a Good Salesman

One of the best salesmen in his field was a big, blonde fellow who was a
great handshaker and backslapper. He never missed an opportunity to make a
friend or to push himself forward to meet the right people. He joined all kinds
of lodges and clubs. He wore pink shirts, too. He was a typical salesman—the
kind we read about. And he was a big success. Another topnotch salesman
was a fellow who was totally unlike the first man. He never slapped any
backs; he was quiet, reserved and almost diffident in his relations with
people. But he could sell. When he sold an order he made a customer, and
often a lifelong friend.

These two men are mentioned to emphasize the idea that you don’t have to be
an expert storyteller, a gin-hound or a great handshaker to be a good
salesman. There are thousands of good salesmen who never take a drink of
hard liquor. There are other thousands who are quiet, unassuming, modest
fellows who do not feel the necessity of joining a lot of clubs or lodges, or
painting the town red. It isn’t even necessary for a man to have the “gift of
gab” to be a successful salesman. Experience has proved that more salesmen
have become failures from talking too much, than from too little.

Because a man doesn’t have to be a good “mixer,” in the usual sense of the
word, don’t jump to the conclusion that a miser can be a good salesman. But
there is a whole world of middle ground between being a “mixer” and a
miser. If you enjoy meeting people, if you are not scared in the event a man
becomes a little gruff and grouchy with you, if you are not afraid of hard