Summer Close Out

Another key to selling was hammered in to us. That was to close the sale. So many salesmen do a terrific job of demonstrating, convincing the customer to buy et cetera, but fail to ask for the sale.

One older salesman I was with one evening did not follow that advice, but he did it intentionally. This guy was truly a high pressure style salesman. His standard practice was to take the customer into the bedroom to demonstrate the cleaner. He would show that the filter was brand new (we used a cleanable cloth filter), pull the bedcovers off the bed and vacuum the mattress. He would then shake out the dirt on the mattress and say, “See what you’ve been sleeping on!” After the demo, he would then clean up the dirt and re-make the bed.

Many times this tactic would sell the unit. However, this night he encountered a bachelor and did his normal routine. When he got to the dirty mattress bit, the response from the man was, “I don’t give a ‘blankity bank’ what’s on my bed as long as I can sleep.”

It made our man so mad he pulled the sheets over the dirt, made the bed, packed up his cleaner and left the house.

Because of my youthful look I was able to get into many homes the older men couldn’t, but my sales ratio was not great. I spent many Sunday afternoons working because I had not sold my quota during the week. Even if we had done well, the crew leader would send us out again. The great salesmen, he said, keep pushing when they are on a roll.

We headed home through Yellowstone National Park and headed for Red Lodge, Montana. We stopped at a gas station for directions and the attendant said it was about 60 miles, “30 up and 30 down.” He was so right!

The fellow driving our car was experienced in mountain driving and he knew his passengers were scared to death. To this day, I dread traveling mountain roads, even wide interstates.

I ended the summer just making my keep, plus the “great gift” to my mother that only cost her $64.50! The experience of the summer was invaluable to me and my folks didn’t have to feed me for three months. I got to see six western states and learned many selling tools that I used later in life.