In my experience I have sold many different things. I have
sold advertising, paint, cement roofing, oil, varnish, direc-
tories, patent churns, electrical appliances, washing ma-
chines, books, entertainment, billboard advertising, tooth
paste, shoes, tailor-made suits, and all kinds of insurance,
including life insurance.

Strange as it may seem, it has always been necessary for
me to create a market, or a demand, for everything that I
sold. It entailed the power of creative selling. It was either
create a sale or starve.

In selling, it was never a question of prospects—I always
had more prospects than I possibly could see. My problem
was to cover the available prospects effectively and effi-
ciently. To do this, it was necessary to have a good sale
approach. Therefore, I spent many hours in preparing and
creating a good, concrete Sales Plan, around the product or
service that I was endeavoring to sell. This Sales Plan needed
the qualities and attributes to attract the attention of the
prospect, to arouse his interest, and to stimulate his desire.
It also had to have the dynamic power to convince, and to
motivate and impel the prospect to act. This Sales Plan had
to center the prospect’s thought on my proposition to the
exclusion of all others.