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SELLING is not a new art. It is as old as man himself. When
man first began to exchange ideas he began to sell. Sell-
ing has always been employed as a means of influencing
someone to do something. It has been demonstrated in the
form of exchanging ideas, products, plans, or services. How-
ever, it was soon discovered that, in order to influence a man,
it was necessary to please him. If the man was pleased, he
would listen and pay attention to your story; otherwise, he
paid no attention. Therefore, in order to sell him, it was
necessary to know how to please him.

Thus opened up an entirely new field for selling. To be
successful at this art it was necessary to know the charac-
teristics of the prospect. A study had to be made of his
wants, his needs, his hopes, his aspirations, and the many
other hidden attributes that controlled his desire to buy. In
order for the salesman to understand his prospect, he was
compelled to turn the searchlight on himself. This was not
all. It was necessary for the salesman to know everything
possible about his product, its history, its background, and
the part it played in the life of the prospect. It was essential
to analyze the markets to comprehend the possibilities of
the product, and the various uses in which it might be ap-
plied. The salesman had to uncover the unknown needs, and
to supply those needs, and to create markets that did not
exist before. He had to be able to sense trends and to evalu-
ate them in the light of reason and common sense.

The salesman is no longer an order taker with a worn-out
valise, a bag of tricks, a bundle of sales cliches, and a stock
of stale stories. The salesman of today is a psychologist, a
scientist, an analyst, and an artist, all rolled up in one. He is
dealing with the greatest thing in life: the mind and its ideas,
as applied to the continued development of our economy
and the distribution of its products.

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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 and
time. 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 go-
ing 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 pleas-
ing 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.

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I decided that the only scientific way for me to demon-
strate 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 satis-
faction 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 devel-
opment.

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 activ-
ities each day is to save time, conserve energy, and elim-
inate 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 quick-
est, 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.

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