Every Woman Is a Hosiery Prospect

 Every Woman Is a Hosiery Prospect 

    LUCILE ANTHONY , forced to shift for herself and her six-month-old baby when her husband had deserted her, turned to selling silk hosiery. The fascination beautiful silk hose held for her was, she admitted, almost an obsession. She points out that her chief reason for selling connection with a hosiery manufacturer was to enable her to go from home to home and meet people. “Besides a genuine love for sheer silken hose, I had practically no other enthusiasm,” Lucile explained. “I received samples of six different colored hose in a light folding case from the company, and was so eager to tell my friends about the hose that my first calls didn’t seem like selling at all. I visited friends first. Most of them gave me orders in units of three or more pairs. But I soon ran out of friends, for you know no matter how many people you’re acquainted with, sooner or later you’ve told the story to everyone. So when I had seen every friend I had, I started selling to strangers. This proved more difficult than I expected. When the women came to the door, they didn’t expect to see a saleswoman and were not in the mood for buying. Many scowled. None asked me in, as my friends had done, and I thought while making my initial call on strangers that the world was hard and cruel. In three days I made only two sales. Something was decidedly wrong. “I realized that I was not using a scientific approach when calling on these women—I was saying the first thing that came to my mind. Since I wasn’t getting anywhere, I thought something was wrong with my product. Then, like many others, I blamed my inability to make sales on the kind of work I was doing. Indeed, I was so sure it was because I was doing house-to-house selling that housewives wouldn’t give consideration, I was annoyed and upset. Yet the idea of selling hose, of handling them, of talking about them to everybody was strong enough to overcome the impulse to quit. Out of my first impressions about selling, there emerged a few clear ideas on salesmanship. I began to realize that my trouble was the way I went about making sales; that it wasn’t exactly what I said at the door that mattered, so much as the way I said it. There are no magic words that admit one to homes. “Presently I was aware of being more successful getting in when I kept on talking. Women who opened the door to tell me they wouldn’t buy anything, usually waited until I made a move to leave before closing the door. So I began to use strategy. Standing several feet from the door, at the edge of the porch, I would talk loudly. I would tell the woman about the beautiful hosiery I carried. “ ‘No. Nothing today,’ was the usual answer. ‘But if you would only give me a minute—.’ “ ‘I’m busy. Not today.’ “ ‘It won’t take any time at all. Won’t you let me come in?’ “ ‘I have no money. Not today.’ “ ‘But if you once saw them, Mrs. Smith, I know—’ “ ‘Call back again next week. I won’t buy a thing today.’ “ ‘But I’m not asking you to buy, won’t you even take a moment to look?’ “ ‘Not today. I’m sorry. I’m very busy.’ “ ‘I understand you’re very busy, Mrs. Smith. I really won’t take up any time at all. Won’t you let me in?’ “After some moments of this type of conversation, the housewife would invite me inside. That gave me a chance to do some real selling. My enthusiasm for silk hosiery usually proved infectious and the woman would let me have an order.” Mrs. Anthony’s method of getting past the door is used by many successful salespeople with good results. She makes an average of forty-five calls daily, and during her second six-month period of selling for this company earned commissions which totaled eleven hundred and seven dollars. Her biggest day’s income came just before commencement exercises at the University of Chicago, when she called on two sorority houses and sold fifty-six pairs of hosiery in two group demonstrations. Her commission is fifty cents a pair, collected as a deposit from the prospect at the time the order is given. The balance due the company is collected C.O.D. when shipment is made. This type of work is ideal for women who are anxious to turn their spare time into money. Working hours may be suited to your own convenience and no investment is needed to start in this remunerative business. 

Overcoming Price Objections 

    IT IS typical of merchants and others engaged in smaller businesses to feel they cannot afford most of the things they would like to have. It seems to be a sort of complex with them. But as Henry Ford once said: “Every man feels much poorer than he really is.” This is a good point to remember when selling to storekeepers. You have to anticipate this objection, by presenting what you may be selling in a way that will turn the price into a reason for buying. Very often this “can’t afford it” feeling can be made the key point in a sales presentation and capitalized to advantage. This is especially true if you are fortunate enough to be selling a product which looks “expensive” but which actually costs much less than the prospect imagines he will have to pay for it. Take the case of George Conrad, for example. He has developed a surefire plan of selling slicing machines around this very idea. When he enters a store he doesn’t say a word, but lays a big broadside on the merchant’s counter showing a colorful illustration of the slicing machine he is selling. He leaves the machine outside in his car. “What do you think of that?” he asks his prospect, who in this case is the proprietor of a small meat market. “It looks good,” the butcher replies after looking at the colored advertisement for several minutes. “But I can’t afford an expensive slicing machine such as that. It costs too much.” “But you need one, don’t you?” “Yes, but I’m not doing very much business and can’t afford to lay out a lot of money for a slicing machine.” Conrad smiles, goes out to his car, brings in a sample machine, hooks it up behind the counter, and requests the butcher (who is still protesting that he can’t afford it) to try the machine. “Like it?” Conrad asks after a few minutes. “Certainly, but I simply can’t pay . . .” “I understand. This machine is a low-priced slicer, however, and looks and works just like the expensive ones. Guaranteed too. How much could you afford to pay in cash for a slicer?” The butcher shakes his head. “The way business is, I couldn’t go over $10.” “Well, if you can pay that much get out your money,” is Conrad’s standard reply. “This slicer will cost you only $7.50.” This is typical of the interviews Conrad has with grocers, butchers, and proprietors of lunchrooms, restaurants, delicatessens and taverns when he calls with his hand-slicing machine. It is this approach which is responsible for his averaging $75 a week for the past two years. “This slicer looks like an expensive machine that costs a lot of money,” declares Conrad. “It is a sturdy, rotary type slicer with a stainless steel blade adjustable to any thickness, so that it will slice ham as thin as tissue paper, or bread any thickness you desire. Before this came out, though, the average grocer and delicatessen proprietor had to pay around $150 for a slicing machine. Naturally, when they see this one, which looks every bit as good as the expensive machine and is quite as satisfactory, it is hard for them to believe it’s not an expensive outfit. I let them think that. I let them build up as much resistance as they want toward paying a big price. Then, when I’ve finally got them to make a demonstration and admit the machine is good, I crash this opposition with the low-price offer. And I seldom lose a sale.” To those who like to sell to stores, a good slicing machine offers a real money-making opportunity. Conrad’s commission on each sale is two dollars, and he has sold as high as eighty machines in one week. His average week, however, is about thirty-seven slicers.