Chapter 18

FIVE LITTLE WORDS THAT SOLD A MILLION GALLONS OF GASOLINE

The selling word is mightier than the price tag.  With words we govern people.  A million people every week buy gasoline and oil because of certain tested words they hear from the Man at that Pump.

MY DAD owned a gasoline station near Highland Park in Rochester, New York. On Saturdays and Sundays I would help them sell oil. One day a gasoline salesman from Standard Oil approached me. He asked me, “What do you say to sell gasoline to motorists?”

I had no particular statement, so I told him: “Sometimes I ask people if they want five or ten, other times I just say how many today?”

The salesman said, “The next motorist who comes in, say this to him: Shall I fill it up?”

I used the sentence, and the motorist told me to fill his tank.  I sold 15 gallons instead of the usual 5 or 10.

What a surefire method of getting tanks filled up!  The sentence worked, and has been working successfully now for 20 years.

RECENT EXPERIMENTS FOR TEXAS OIL

Recently I had the pleasure of making a survey for the Pocahontas Oil Corp. of Ohio and the Texas Oil Company to find the best modern words and techniques to use in influencing motorists to purchase more petroleum products.

People have a bad habit of letting things go that need attention.  Cars that need greasing never get the grease until some alert station attendant tactfully reminds the motorist.

Our research at the point-of-sale brought out many interesting things.  First, my old favorite, “Shall I fill it up?”  doesn't work anymore.  You see, there are too many old cars with 20 gallon tanks on the market today.  Years ago the rich man owned the big car and the poor man owned the little car.  Nowadays a poor man can buy a good used car once owned by a wealthy person and get good use out of it.

Picture, therefore, the hundreds of cases such as this: Tony Pasquale buys an old car for $50.  He wants the big “hack” just to drive to and from his girls house.  He drives into a gasoline station.  He has two dollars, his best girl, and a 20 gallon tank.  The attendant says, “Shall I fill it up?”

Tony is embarrassed he tells the attendant to go ahead, but he slyly puts three fingers over the side of the car to indicate that is all he wants.

“Shall I fill it up?” needs revision.  In fact, our recent changes of the expression indicate that the new “gasoline approach” we are developing will prove even more effective than the famous old one that has sold 1,000,000 gallons of gasoline.

“HOW ABOUT SOME OIL?”

The “how about some oil” salesman sells little oil.  He annoys you with his, “Shall I check your oil?”  He is one of the High-Pressure Salesmen we are trying to convert.

Mr. H. W. Dodge, vice president of the Texas Company, called me to his offices in the Chrysler Building one day.  He explained that the New Texas Oil would be put on the market soon, and that his 45,000 dealers needed something definite to say the motorist to introduce this new oil.  Mr. Dodge realized that his best product will pass unnoticed before the eyes of the public and less certain words are used to describe it effectively and dramatically.  Therefore a study was made of the habits of American motorists.

It was found that they had a habit, born during the Depression, of saying “No” before thinking.  Ask them if they needed any oil, and they'd say no.  Ask them if they had seen the New Texaco Oil, and they'd say, “No -- not interested -- just 5 gallons of gasoline, please.”

Out of a hundred methods of approaching motorists at the pumps while they were getting gasoline, to sell them the New Texaco Oil, this statement proved best (perhaps it was used on you):

“Is your oil at proper driving level?”

These seven little words were used by 45,000 Texaco dealers in one week on a total of nearly 485,000 motorists.  It helped the dealers get under a quarter of a million hoods.  It exposed these Texaco dealers to a potential quarter of a million sales of the new oil in one week.

It was a 10 second attention getter that succeeded 58% of the time, because it capitalized on the word “NO”!  It invited a “NO” -- for in this case “NO” meant “YES”!  The fear appeal again. 

“YOUR RIGHT FRONT TIRE, SIR”

It is a proved fact that, if you are like most people, you will drive your car until the tires literally fall off, unless some alert station attendant reminds you of the dangers that confront you.

He will step up to your car, wipe off the windshield, and as he is doing so will remark about the weather or a topic of current interest.  Then he will walk in front of the car and inspect your tires as he checks your water supply.  Should one of your tires be worn, he will say:

“You're right front tire, sir, is badly worn.  Just look at the spot.”

He gets you out of the seat where you can “look at the spot” and where he can talk with you better.  The sale is on the way.  His chance of increasing his business is very promising.  He watches your tires -- and he watches his words.

YOUR WORN-OUT WINDSHIELD WIPER

Windshield wipers are like shoe laces.  They stay broken a long time before we replace them; that is, unless you are approached by an efficient salesman with the desire to influence you.  He will have a windshield wiper handy in his pocket.  He realizes that any sale is made 21 times faster if he can get his goods into the customer's hands for inspection.  Not being a “how about it” salesman, he says:

“Feel the TRIPLE EDGE on this wiper, sir.”

You do.  The wiper is in your hands.  He then tells you the benefits and advantages (A) you will get from a triple bladed windshield wiper.  That simple sentence is tested to sell blades to three out of every 15 motorists -- more on rainy days!

It’s all in how you say it.  The selling word is always mightier than the price tag!

“TESTED SELLING” IN LETTERS

Here is perhaps one of the cleverest one line statements that has ever appeared in a direct-mail letter and, though it appears facetious on the surface, I'm told by Henry Hoke, Secretary of the Direct-Mail Association, they got results:

JONES INSURANCE COMPANY

Mr. Tom Smith

Flushing, LI

New York.

Dear Mr. Smith:

If you can save the small amount of $2.50 per week, you can be insured for life -- if you can't, you are a big sissy!

                                                                                    Yours very truly,

                                                                                    Jonathan Jones.

In all events, this proves one thing: it is important, even in direct-mail, to pick out surefire “sizzles” and to make certain they sell the benefits, or the results to be obtained.

A sardine is a sardine, but a sardine that is turned upside down once a month takes on an interesting aspect to women shoppers.

H. GORDON SELFRIDGE SPEAKS

H. Gordon Selfridge, according to B.C. Forbes, once wrote the following statement, which I like very much.  It again shows the importance of choosing your words and sentences if you would get along with people -- your employers, your employees, your family, or your prospects.  Here is Selfridge’s interesting statement:

The boss drives his men; the leader coaches them.

The boss depends upon authority; the leader on goodwill.

The boss inspires fear; the leader inspires enthusiasm.

The boss says “I”; the leader says “we”.

The boss says “get here on time”; the leader gets there ahead of time.

The boss fixes the blame for the breakdown; the leader fixes the breakdown.

The boss knows how it is done; the leader shows how.

The boss makes work the drudgery; the leader makes work a game.

The boss says “Go”; the leader says “Let’s go”.

Bloomingdale's Department Store of New York sold furniture polish twice as fast one spring by having the clerk use this opening statement as he held a bottle of their favorite polish toward the customer:

            “It cleans and polishs is in ONE EASY operation.”

            The salespeople sold the “operation” -- not the polish.

Two follow up “Tested Selling Sentences” were:

            “It will save many a spring backache.”

            “It will cut your spring housecleaning in HALF!”

On the counter was a “talking sign” that said:

SPRING HOUSECLEANING TIME IS HERE

Get a Bottle of Polish Today!

There is an art in making words sell -- and it is an art that you can easily acquire by just a little study of how to sell the “sizzle” -- not the cow!

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