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by Georse N. Kohn, Morketing co:::::::,,,r, N Kahn

A Customer Hos A Nom+Know lt

Ted Short, an industrial liquid petroleum gas salesman, was introduced at a distribu. tor's rnesting to one of his firm's biggest customers.

Three weeks later, Ted was assigned to the territory in which that customer's company was located.

At his first call on the man Ted sufiered the horrible embarrassment of forgetting ' the buyer's name. He had never dreamed it could happen to him. But it did and very naturally. Ted stuck out his hand and said, o'Glad to Eee you again, Mr. uh, uh -"

IThat made it even worse was that the customer had no trouble recalling Ted's name.

Ted got the order but the buyer was plainly unhappy about his mental lapse.

Later, Ted talked the incident over with his sales manager, Bill Murray.

"You were lucky," said Bill. 'oThere are some buyers who would have been so angry they wouldn't have bought a dime's worth of merchandise from you. A bad memory can really hurt a salesman,"

That was enough for Ted. That was not the first time he had forgotten an important name and he resolved it would not happen again.

Ted began training himself to remember names and associate them with faces. He succeeded so well that in six months he developed a most phenomenal memory.

r{0 ExcusE

If you can't remember names it means that you haven't tried hard enough to overcome the problem. You must teach yourself to improve this vital faculty.

Remember that a name is the only link between you and a prospect until you establish a closer relationship. How easy it is to break that link by the simple act of forgetting his name.

Y(lU DO]IIT IIKE IT EITHER

Nobody likes to have his name forgotten. You're no exception. Can you remember a time when somebody forgot your name or got it wrbng?

Chances are that you didn't like it at AEPRINTS FOR SALESMEN thls ls a coodenEed ve.don. Each lesson is available in an cxpanded form, in a +Dagc brochurc, Eiza 8r7rll, printed itr 2 colors on white dossy paper and is 3-hole punched to fit any standard 3slng bindcr. Each subjcct in this cxpandcd vcrsio! is fully rnd complctely develop€d in comprehensivc dehil and includca a eelf+xamination quiz for SalesmeD. Pric.s are ag followsl

1 to 9 copies (of each Mlcle)........-..-......50 ccnts cach l0 to 49 copicE (of cach articlc)...-....-...37h cents each 50 to 99 coplcr (of each articlc)........--.-.J0 ccnts each !00 or morc copica (of cach article)...-...-...5 ccnts cach lto ontire scrlcs may bc pro-ordercd or lndividurl articlcs tlrlt bc ordcrcd by number sddrcs ordcE to thc Ooorso N. Klhn Co., Martalnr Crnsultaots, Salcs Trai!g,Pxlr.il:,r8ffaftEcnt rP, 212 Fifth Avcnuc, New all. On the other hand. do you recall how pleased you've been when ao*"on" remembered your name, even though he was only a slight acquaintance you hadn't seen for sometime?

In other words, it's only human nature to feel good when somebody speaks your name and to be annoyed when he draws a blank. And if it happens consistently you really begin to dislike the individual.

If you feel that way, just imagine how a buyer or customer feels when you goof on his name.

Memory Home Work

Improving your memory is not a difficult task. It's quite a common practice and the material to help you is easily available. There are a number of books and pamphlets on this subject. You can also devise methods of your own to cure yourself of a bad memory. Practicing can take place at home or on the job. Here are some proven techniques to aid you in remembering names: l. When you first meet a person concentrate immediately on getting his name imprinted on your mind. Make sure you hear it clearly. If noq ask him to repeat it. He'll have no objection to that.

2. Associate the man's name with some personal characteristic or aspect of his appearance. For example, Mr. Morrison has shaggy eyebrows or Mr. Long wears a white carnation in his lapel.

3. After you hear a name, keep repeating it to yourself until you know it as well as your own. At home, write it out forty or fifty times.

4. Make a point of bringing up the man's name shortly after you hear it. You might, for instance, say to your supervisor that you had just met Mr. Blank. This is like adding a new word to your vocabulary. The more you use the word the quicker it will become familiar.

5. Carry around a little notebook with the names of persons you have met recently. Vhenever you have an extra moment, run over them, each time asso-

Wertern Lumber & Bulldlng Motcrlolr ,I^€RCHANT ciating them with some feature of the individual.

M0TryATrot{ A]{D }lEliloRY

Selling is your bread and butter. When you remember a buyer's name it's not just a game. You should regard memory practice as important to your welfare as the development of a good presentation.

Jim Rarick, sales manager for a shipping container company, told me:

"Unless a salesman remembers a prospect's name the best presentation in the world will do him rio good. There is a crucial rapport that must be established between salesman and buyer; if it's not there, the interview is usually a failure."

GET IHE RIGHI I{AME

Make sure that you get tlre name right. This means knowing how to spell it as well as pronounce it. Many names are tricky and can lead to embarrassment for a salesmanjust as bad an embarrassment as forgetting the name altogether.

Suppose you hear the name Bixbee. You file it in your brain or write it down as Bixby. So a few weeks later you write him a letter or send in your card referring to him as Mr. Bixby. He's annoYed because most of us like to have our own name spelled right.

This is an easy mistake to make. For example, there are 15 spellings of the name Riley. Even Smith isn't always spelled this way' l. Do you take pains to remember a ndne at an i-ntroduction? Yes,tr No tr

Here's a chance for you to test whether or not you are taking steps to improve your memory. If you can answer "yes" to seven or more of the questions you probably have no problem in remembering names of procpects and customers.

2. Do you have a method for.. remembering namei? Yes E No tr

3. Do vou make sure vou know how to spell and oron'ounce the name,? Yes D No tr

4. Do you associate the man's name with some characteristic or aspect " n't tYBSffintt*to I

5. Do you make a point of bringing up a man's name after you've heard it? Yes n No,n

6. Do ytiu take care to remember d prospect's name even thougtt he was rude or un- pleasant? Yes fl No,n

7. Do you believe that even a poor memory can be iinproved? Yes n No n

8. Do you study a man's face on being introduce-d to hiir so you can associate it with his name? Yes fl No.n

9, Do you remernber the names of.all your-.cus- tomdrs? Yes n No,n

10. Could you write them down now without referring to notils? Yes n No n

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