Nor does he point to the gray color of the New Hoover and say, “Isn’t that a nice color – it’s barnyard gray.” Instead he uses the expression, “It is stratosphere gray,” because the word “stratosphere” stands for speed and lightness. Every good salesman, whether he is selling behind a counter, on a front porch, in a showroom, or over a telephone, has many three-minute sales presentations to use in bringing the brass ring around – and this prevents saturation of his prospect. When this seasoned salesman described anything on his sales package, he uses bright, interesting, cheerful, dramatic sales words. Then when the brass ring comes around, he has a word or two to GRAB it out of the air. Watch Your Closing Words The Hoover man closes with: “If the Hoover goes, dirt stays; if the Hoover STAYS, dirt goes – which do you prefer?” A fine example of “Don’t ask if – ask which.” This Hoover close is one of many, of course, and is a hard one for a prospect to answer other than by saying she wants the cleaner to stay. Furthermore, if the prospect offers any of the standardized objections, she will find the Hoover man well aware of the “Why” system, and she will be confronted with a series of polite “whys” that she will find difficult to answer in words. For instance, the salesman will say, “WHY do you want to wait until spring?” – “WHY do you feel you can’t afford it?” – “WHY are you hesitating?” – “WHY do you feel you should consult your husband?” The salesman knows this one word “why” is the HARDEST SINGLE WORD in the English language for a person to answer, without hemming and hawing in an effort (often unsuccessful) to express himself clearly. Try using this word “why” on people, and note the interesting and almost amusing results. And remember this secret: If somebody uses a “why” on you, come back at him with, “Wh y do you ask me why ?” A Tailor-Made Insurance Story Convincing people with simple selling language that has been tested to remove the guess and the gamble is too easy selling for any salesman to resort to high-pressure sales tricks, stunts, or sentences. Sure, you can put the prospect “on the spot” with words. You can crash front doors with subterfuge – you can tell the woman you are the gas man, or a “repair man from the vacuum company,” or an “inspector for the company,”
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