When women asked for “something in bloomers,” the clerks would show two types at two different prices, and say of the better one , “It has the double-lock seams that won‟t split!” Most Penney stores are in small towns, and sell to women who know something about the value of two locks on a barn door, and when they were told the seams had “double locks,” those two words told them more than a thousand fancy words.
Picking the right words makes people respond and cash registers dance in musical glee!
Selling Pie A La Mode
It is the desire of every restaurant owner to sell his pie with a scoop of ice cream on top, for the pie tastes better, the eater is happier, and the restaurant has increased the average check by 10c.
“Like a dab of ice cream?” will never induce people, for they carry that depression “no” on their tongues, and will say “no” first and think afterwards.
We were given this assignment by the Schulte-United stores for their restaurants. There were thirty-six possible methods of asking a customer is he would care for some ice cream on his pie. Finally, we reverted to the old principle and had the waitresses ask, “Would you care for an order of vanilla or chocolate ice cream on your pie?” The mind of the customer would fluctuate between vanilla and chocolate, not between ice cream and no ice cream. Whichever he decided upon meant a happier customer – and a richer restaurant proprietor. “Which” is a stronger word than “if.” It is better to use a question mark to “hook” your proposition securely on to a prospect than an exclamation mark to “club” him into responding.
The hook is more potent than the crow bar!
The Exclamation Salesman is Gone
Back in the days when the farmer‟s daughter lived on the farm, it was the custom to bewilder the prospect with a flow of “big-time talk” punctuated with exclamation marks. With one hand hooked in his vest, and his derby tilted back on his head, the drummer would dazzle the farmer‟s daughter with stories of the Gay White Way. But the farmer‟s daughter has moved to town, mentally. There is no mystery anymore about the big city. She sees movies of the White Way. She reads magazines. She has a car that takes her to town. She knows more about New York and Hollywood than the travelling salesman does today.
P. 49
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