Chapter 14

TESTED SENTENCES THAT MAKE THE OTHER PERSON SAY “YES” 

Make it easy for the buyer to agree and say yes.   How a porter does.   How to do it on “callbacks.”

I WAS RUNNING down to Philadelphia the other day with my grip in my hand.   When I was halfway across a large foyer of Pennsylvania Station, a smiling porter pointed to my bag.   At the same time he said, “which train are you catching?”

Thinking schedules might have been changed, I quickly informed him I was catching the ten o’clock express.   Reaching for my bag, the porter said, “I’ll get you direct to the right platform quickly.”

“Fine!”   Was my reply.

While sitting in the train I suddenly realized the porter had used the sure fire sales sentence on me.   He got a tip.   I got to the train quickly.   We both profited.

But suppose that the porter had approached me with the usual, “carry your bag?”   I would’ve said, “no”, because it is light, and there is no need for a man to run after me with such a small bag.   He was more subtle, however.   Years of using words and techniques on people had taught this porter the best language used to make it easy for people to say yes.

Down at our corner grocery store in Forest Hills, Long Island, the other day, a woman entered the store and asked for Lux soap, which comes in two sizes, large and small.   The grocer knows that if he asked the woman, “large or small size?”   She would usually say, “oh, small is all right.   I can always come back for more.” 

“TESTED SELLING" IN GROCERIES 

Unfortunately, after she runs out of soap the next time, she may be going to some other store, and then that store gets the sale.   It is always good to get the business while it is in your hand.   Therefore, the grocery clerk made it easy for the woman to say yes, by the simple sentence, “the family economical size, madam?”

The woman said, “oh, yes, the economical size.   I always buy economically.”

The woman asked for a pound and a half of steak.   Now as skillful as grocery and meat men are, at times they overcut.   When this occurs, I have found there are two ways to handle the situation to make it easy for the woman to buy the overcut.

In this instance, the meat men overcut the steak so that it weighed 2 pounds instead of a pound and a half.   If he had said to the woman, in an apologetic manner, “is that too much?”   The woman would probably have said it was.   The butcher must then slice off a half a pound of the meat.   This is hard to do, and it is wasteful, because to sell a thin half pound slice of steak is not easy.

But the experienced butcher, when he overcuts, or overweighs, or over judges, will always say, “$.46 -- will that be enough?”

He seldom mentions the weight -- but the price, and adds that potent “selling sentence question” “will that be enough?”   And in this case the woman replied, as most will, “oh, yes, that's quite enough.”

SELLING OFFICE SPACE

While I was looking for a new office the other day, I went into 521 5th Ave.   I approached the rental man and told him my wants.   He showed me several offices, and all the time he was making it easy for me to say yes.   For instance, he asked me, “do you like this view of the Hudson River?”

“Who wouldn't?”   I told him I did.   He then took me to the other side of the building to another office and again asked me if I like the view, this time of the East River and Long Island.   I did.   Suddenly he said, “which view do you like better?”

I thought for a moment.   I weighed both views, and then told him that I preferred the view of Long Island.   My home was there, and besides, the sun came into the office in the morning when it was least hot.

“Suppose you place your application for this office, then”, said he, tactfully, upon which I suddenly realized that I was headed for a dotted line. (I rented the office facing Long Island).

You can always twist your questions and sales language or social conversations around in such a manner as to make it easy for the other person to say “YES”. 

WINNING SOCIAL ARGUMENTS 

Even in friendly arguments you can get positive responses from the other person.   You repeat his objections, and asking, “is that you're only reason for not joining our golf club?”

He tells you it is.   He agrees with you.   You have made it easy for him to say yes.   If you'd said to him, “that's a foolish reason for not joining,” he would perhaps come back with, “no, sir -- it is a good reason -- at least to me.”

Twist your words in such a manner that they bring out yes answers.

 “I'd like to help you build your butter and egg business, and you want to do that, don't you?”   Says our Bickley salesman to his tough prospect, who must say yes to this approach.

“Have you changed your mind about carrying our butter and eggs?”   It's a ready no.   No man changes his mind -- or wants you to feel he does.

TIMES WHEN YOU WANT A “NO”

Few hotel proprietors want to hear no from their guests, yet often they realize that the only way they can improve their services is to find out the things that upset a guest.   While developing selling language for Hotels Statler to help improve their service and further refine their contacts with guests, we hit upon this question to get a yes response: “I am sure everything is satisfactory with your stay?”

This positive attitude caused many guests to say yes, because it was a leading question; and it was much better, we thought, than, “is everything satisfactory?”   Which would open the way for some people to complain.   But we quickly learned that the sentence high pressured many guests into saying that everything was satisfactory; they would carry their grievances in their minds and on another trip would stay in a competitor's hotel.

It was important to find the annoyances that creep into any hotel, no matter how carefully it is run.   A dripping water faucet, a noisy electric clock, a rattling window -- all can be corrected so that they stop annoying the guest and preserve his patronage.

Therefore we constructed the following sentence and tested it.   The sentence permitted the guest to offer a complaint if there was one or to say that everything was fine.   The sentence was:

“Do you like this room, sir?”   (Do you like the dinner, sir?   And so on.)

It is a simple sentence.   Perhaps that is why it is working so successfully.

We tried the sentence, “is the room satisfactory, sir?”   But the word satisfactory proved difficult for the Bellman to say, believe it or not!

This incident, of course, indicates there are exceptions to the rule of getting people to say yes, for often you really appreciate a sincere no.

On the whole, however, if you want to get along better with people, especially those you are selling or those you have friendly social arguments with, always bear in mind:

Make it easy for the other person to say “yes.” 

WAYS TO PREVENT “NO” 

Whenever the other person says no, you have a mountain to overcome.   You have his pride as a hidden objection.   You have to unfold his “crossed arms.”

In making a call-back on a prospect, it is often easy to begin by saying, "have you changed your mind about my proposition?”

No man wants to have anybody, especially a salesman, change his mind.   He likes to stick by his guns.   Oh, yes, some men will change their minds, but they like to think they change them of their own free will.

If you start an interview with a question the prospect can say no to, you are unnecessarily handicapping yourself.   It is better to say, “last time I talked with you, your problem was one of price, isn't that so, Mr. Jones?”

He must say yes, because you put his own major objection to him.   You reworded his objection and fed it back to him.

Then you can say, “I've been thinking about the price, and I wonder if we shouldn't look at it from this angle...” You tell them your new sales story.   His interest is up.   You haven't a no to surmount.

MEN LIKE TO SAY “NO”

The well-trained Bickley butter and egg salesman, as you have read, never greets a Philadelphia grocery prospect with a question like this:

“Need any butter or eggs today?”

He does not give the prospect a chance to say no.   He keeps his man in a “yessing” mood by such statements as this one:

“How'd you like to sell more butter and eggs this week, Jim?”

Of course Jim must say yes.

Men like to say no.   It is easier to say no than yes -- because the word yes, according to many people, seems to weaken their will, and they like to pride themselves on having a strong will. 

BUT DON’T LET HIM SAY “NO” 

Marshall Field would always start his trading with salesmen by asking questions, and they were usually questions that got a“Yes”, not “No” answers.   He thus learned what was on the other man's mind first, and soon had plenty of knowledge on which to trade afterwards.

Emil Ludwig says of Napoleon: half of what he achieved was achieved by the power of words.

While at the pyramids, Napoleon said to his army, "Soldiers, 40 centuries are looking down on you!”   (He was selling the “sizzle.”)

He would say, “I will lead you into the most fertile plains of the world.   There you'll find flourishing cities, teeming provinces.”

Another of Napoleon’s sayings is, “you will return your homes, and your neighbors will point you out to one another saying, he was with the Army in Italy.”

Napoleon knew the simple Art of saying the right thing.   He talked about the other person, and would never give his men a chance to say no by asking them, “Do you soldiers get enough to eat?   Are you satisfied with war?”

According to Elbert Gary, “the average man talks too much, especially if he has a good command of language.”

Do your share of the talking only.   Let the other fellow talk once in awhile.   Use questions on him -- leading questions that get them talking.   Not questions that invite a negative response.

Remember the rule: don't let the other person say “No”.

“BRINGING UP THE SUBJECT”

Very often in the course of persuading the other person you're forced to close the matter for the time being, leaving the situation open for further discussion, or a callback, as it is known in salesmanship circles.

The careful interviewer is alert not to close the incident for all times.   To avoid this possibility usually he ends his initial call on his prospect voluntarily with some such statement is this:

“Is not necessary for you to make up your mind today.   I don't want to rush you.   Suppose we drop the matter now, and take it up at another meeting?”

This is often good technique.   Few people like to be rushed into a deal, regardless of how small it is.   They want time to think it over, and if you are the first to suggest they think it over, you won a point in your favor.   Therefore, be the first to suggest postponement of an interview, if postponement is inevitable. 

DON’T HANG ON 

Don't hang on and on, until the other person is forced to manufacture schemes and methods to get rid of you.   If he does, you will never be able to get into his presence again for a callback.

I know a man with an office on Fifth Avenue, who, through his political connections, is forced to meet many people every day.   He allows each just about five minutes, and then his secretary appears at his door and says, “don't forget your appointment, sir!”

This usually causes the visitor to make a quick exit.

Remember the old adage of the theater: Stop while they still want more!

IN DEMONSTRATING AUTOMOBILES

If you are trying to convince someone to buy a car take him for a nice ride.   Sell him the ride -- not the car.   But be the first to say, if you see he must take time to think it over, “now think it over, Mr. Smith.   I don't want you to buy my car if you are really not convinced it is the type you want.   Suppose you and your wife discuss the matter, and I'll call you up tomorrow?”

This attitude will work magic for you.   It will not only win the other person's confidence in you, but will often cause him to make up his mind at once.

How effective these three simple phrases are:

“There's no hurry.   Take your time.   Think it over.”

You may be squeezing for the sale very hard, but once you show anxiety, the other person puts you on the defensive -- which is a difficult side to be on. 

THE SCIENCE OF “CALL-BACKS” 

The real science of making the callback is quite simple.   You must open your callback at the exact place you left off, which is usually at the one key objection offered by the other person.

If price is the thing that is holding them back, you start right off with the objection by saying, “last time we talked this matter over, you stated that price was the only thing holding you back.   Is that right?”

He starts “yessing” you right away but you'll always get a negative reply by starting out with, “have you changed your mind?”   Or “have you been thinking about my proposition since the last time we met?”

Experience analyzing 105,000 selling phrases and having them tested on close to 19 million people to date has indicated to me that successful callbacks are those made when you begin with the key issue.

For instance, say, “the last time we discussed that home on Beaver St. you told me you didn't like people who lived in the neighborhood, and that was your ONLY REASON for not moving.   Is that right?”

They’re his own words.   He starts by agreeing with you.   Now, you have been making some investigation since he saw fit to stand behind this argument, and you begin knocking the props from under his objection by these new facts:

“Did you know that the Vandersplices, the people who own the gold mines in Mexico, are moving into the neighborhood?   Did you know that the Browns, who own the department store, have a daughter who lives directly across the street from the house we looked at?   And did you know that your golf partner Jim, was out looking at this development himself last week?”

Gracious -- he didn't realize all this.   He is forced to admit that this changes the complexion of things.   You use the famous key issue close, and close on the main objection with this simple formula that applies to the close of any sale or debate or business argument or social discussion you may be in:

“You told me your ONLY REASON for not moving was the fact you felt the people in the neighborhood were not your type.   Isn't that true?   And now, you agree the people are just the ones you like.   That's true isn't it?   So inasmuch as this was your only reason for hesitating, and since this reason is no more, when will you move, the first or the 15th of next month?”

Always use words to get the answers you want -- and you will always retain command of the situation!

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