The fraternal salesman's tool-kit,"

Front matter

Copyright l>i (

COFCRIGHT DEPOSIT.

"The Fraternal Salesman's Tool -Kit"

Preface

X"¥" TE are told that commerce is the great VV/ civilizer. History apparently establishes " the truth of this statement. When the first hunk of raw meat was exchanged for a rude war club, commerce was born. In the same transaction salesmanship had its birth. The salesman is the advance agent of commerce. He is, therefore, the pioneer and the apostle of civilization.

Salesmanship is both a science and an art. Successful salesmanship is the happy combination of the theoretical and the practical in effecting the useful exchange or sale of property or service, or both. The word property is here used in a restricted sense and is intended to apply to all material objects or things that are capable of being sold or exchanged. In like manner the word service is designed to apply to immaterial rights, relations or values that are subject to sale or exchange. Life insurance, or protection, is a service.

We are all salesman. All of us have something to sell or to exchange. Merchants, bankers, manufacturers, real estate dealers, doctors, lawyers, priests, preachers, executives, clerks, wageearners, agents — everybody has to sell something in order to live. Whether we sell property or service makes little difference. Every one of us has the same general end in view.

Among all the salesmen in the world none has been less honored and none has more highly deserved to be honored than the fraternal insurance salesman. During the heat of the day, through the lonely watches of the night, in season and out of season, he has carried to a none too willing public the message of co-operative fraternity. By sheer force of personality men and women have put our fraternal beneficiary system on the map. They have been variously designated as deputies, representatives, field-workers, salesmen, etc. It was all one to them. In times of peace they have been our bold crusaders and in periods of stress and storm they have been our valiant defenders. To this great army of men and women, this volume — the first of its kind — is most respectfully dedicated. We modestly indulge the hope that it may help them to be even more effective in the future than they have been in the past.

E. J. DUNN.

August 24, 1921.

Contents

Parti.

The Tool- Kit. Pages 11-42.

Tool No.

Part II. Plying the Tools of Sales-Craft. Pages 45-98. Job No

General Specifications.

Job No.

Make the Right Connection.

Job No.

Start Right.

Job No.

System Is Necessary.

Job No.

Salesmanship Engineering.

Job No.

Standardize Your Work.

Job No.

The Mystic Triangle.

Job No.

Avoid Moodiness.

Job No.

Keep a Record.

Job No.

The Theory of Averages.

Job No.

Time Is Money.

Job No.

Evening Work.

Job No.

A Parable in Salesmanship.

Job No.

Don't be a Lemon Picker.

Job No.

Sources of Prospects.

Job No.

The Interview.

Job No.

Personalize Your Proposition.

Job No.

Proper Time for Your "Big Push."

Job No.

Favorable Conditions for Interview.

Job No.

Number of Daily Interviews.

Job No.

Your "Lay-Out."

Job No.

Avoid Fatal Mistakes.

Job No.

"Cashing In" on a Hobby.

Job No.

Head-Work and Elbow Grease.

Job No.

Cultivate a Keen Scent.

Job No.

Forget Yourself.

Job No.

Be Square.

Job No.

Be Courteous.

Job No.

Be Sagacious.

Job No.

Sportsmanship in Salesmenship.

Job No.

Make it Snappy.

Job No.

Overdoing It.

Tob No.

Train for the Game.

Job No.

The "Jay Town Show."

Job No.

Ear Marks of Success.

Job No.

Blue Sky vs. Life Insurance.

Job No.

Fire Insurance vs. Life Insurance.

Job No.

Freak Competition.

Job No.

We Leave It to You.

Part III. Training Apprentice Salesmen. Pages 101-116

1. Never — Can — Be's.

2. Salesmanship Leprosy.

3. Mop Up the Trenches.

4. Advice to Managers.

5. Hew to the Line.

6. Fundamentals.

(1) Knowledge of Salesmanship Principles.

(2) Practical System of Getting Prospects.

(3) Knowing Why People Take Insurance.

(4) Advance Preparation.

(5) Thorough Familiarity With His Own Proposition.

(6) Knowledge of Lodge Organization and Operation.

Part IV. Whet-Stones. Pages 119-154

1. Too Late.

2. Is Your Turn Next?

3. Where?

4. The Half Loaf.

5. Don't Do It.

6. Your Watchman Never Sleeps.

7. An Example for Us.

8. The Father's Income and Infant Mortality.

9. When Ready Cash Counts Most.

10. Who's An Embezzler?

11. Where Will You Be at 65?

12. Engagement Rings and Insurance.

13. A Multiplicity of Losses.

14. "Whatters."

15. The One Sure Way.

16. Honest Injun!

17. Somebody Pays.

18. Your Insurance Policy Will Stand.

19. Is There a Shrinkage in Estates?

20. The Majority Do Not Stick.

21. Today's the Time.

22. Some Half Century Developments.

23. An Artistic View.

24. The Elastic Fraternal Plan.

25. Life Insurance Is Not a Gamble.

26. Life Insurance Is an Exact Science.

27. Yes, Our Lodges Will Come Back.

28. Personal Service Counts.

29. Plain Courtesy.

30. Let Us Know Each Other Better.

31. An All Right "Ism."

32. The Interest Rate Is Low.

33. Man Improves On Nature.

34. The Higher Wage Level.

35. The Fraternal Crusade.

Part I The Tool -kit Part I The Tool-kit

Tool No. 1. — Favorable First Impression

On April 6th, 1917— the day that the United States formally entered the World War — we were rolling along the crest of the Liebre Mountains on one of California's famous paved roads. Suddenly there burst around a curve a mile ahead of us a great Packard. It was rushing toward us at a speed of 30 miles an hour. As the two cars tore past each other we saw the words "Los Angeles Stage" on the wind-shield of the other car. The Packard was crowded with passengers. Such is the modern stage.

When we reached Bakersfield we saw an old fourhorse stage standing on the back end of a lot. It hadn't made a trip in many a long day. It was a deserted relic of the past. No one would now think of traveling by horse-drawn stage upon the magnificent roads of California. Such a vehicle no longer impresses the people there as a possible means of transportation. They appraise it and reject it instantly.

When you approach a prospect, that prospect quickly appraises you. He may do it unconsciously but he does it just the same. Through his eye he gets a physical impression. Through his mind he gets a mental impression. From your words and actions he gets his first conscious impression. These impressions are favorable to you or they are unfavorable. Possibly some are favorable while others are not. It all depends upon your personal outfit of qualifications. You should fit admirably into his conception of things. Under no circumstances should you impress him as being antiquated and ready for the discard.

Of course, no salesman has all the natural advantages in the world. Nor has any salesman all the natural disadvantages. Every successful salesman has to overcome some natural disadvantages as well as to acquire and cultivate some advantages besides those he has naturally.

The importance of these first impressions upon the prospect can be readily appreciated, when you realize that they are the gateway to the road over which you must travel to get his name on the dotted line. If his impressions cause him to lock and bar the gate, your chances of success are small. You will have to employ the uncouth method of climbing over in order to get at him at all. If he opens the gate just a little, you have a fair chance of success. By the proper follow-up you may gain entrance in a dignified manner. If he throws the gate wide open, you walk through with the confident step of a conqueror who has every chance of success.

These initial impressions are all important. It is within your power to make them favorable in practically every instance. We shall dwell upon them in our subsequent talks. We cherish the hope that they will be of value to you.

Tool No. 2. — Personal Appearance

If you hired a carpenter to build a residence and if he undertook to do the work with a hatchet and a handsaw, you would chase him off the premises. He might build a chicken-coop with that outfit, but not a dwelling house. If you went into a barber shop and saw a row of butcher knives instead of razors, you would turn around and walk right out again. The barber might scrape a scalded hog with that equipment, but you don't consider yourself in the hog category. Satisfactory work can be done only with the right kind of equipment.

In our previous talk we mentioned your personal outfit of qualifications. By this we meant your personal equipment for your job. Your physical appearance makes the first impression upon your prospect. He gets that impression at a glance. It is favorable, indifferent or unfavorable. It affects the final result. That makes it important.

Is your personal appearance clean? Are there any garden patches about your face, neck or ears? Are your teeth and hair poorly kept? Are your hands grimy? Do your nails betoken mourning for a lost friend? Nobody likes to transact business with a guy who seems to have the mange, even in its incipient stages. Most people think the saying, "Cleanliness is next to Godliness," is in the Bible. It isn't. But, take it from us, cleanliness looms BIG in successful salesmanship.

Is your personal appearance neat and pleasing? Is your face a stubble-field or heavily rouged? This last for the ladies. Do your clothes hang like a potato-sack over a stake? Does your necktie or vest talk for you in loud, boisterous tones? Do your shoes look as if they were the vintage of 1890? Everybody knows that clothes do not make the man but, excepting the hands and face, they are about all we see of a man during business hours. The same goes for women. Clothes count for a lot in salesmanship.

Are you healthy in appearance? Good health is a sure index of right living. Right living will pay you health dividends and larger commissions. Your mind cannot be sound unless your body is sound. You must have an abundance of fresh air, both day and night. You should have good water at all times. You require a sufficient amount of wholesome food. You need plenty of sunshine, of exercise and of rest. Right habits of living are as easy to acquire as wrong ones. Good health radiates energy. Its message is flashed instantly to the observing eye of your prospect. No man likes to transact business with a salesman, who has "one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel." If you would be successful you must keep on the road to Wellville. In approaching every prospect your personal appearance is the first qualification of your personal outfit or equipment that comes into play. Without any strain on the imagination we can truthfully say it is the first tool you take out of vour life insurance tool kit every time you tackle a prospect. Other tools are brought into use in rapid succession until the job is finished. We shall tell about them in our later talks. Good tools are essential to high class workmanship. They are within your reach but you must pay the price to get them. Be satisfied only with the best.

Tool No. 3 — Mental Fearlessness, Self-Confidence and Ambition

Do you know that there is a parable about the ostrich egg? Well, there is. A farmer once bought an ostrich egg, took it home and laid it down in his chicken yard. He had a flock of bantam chickens. As the little hens walked around the great ostrich egg, eyeing it with curiosity, the farmer said to them, "Now you little rascals, take a good look at that and then do your best."

During six months in 1920 a little lady stenographer in a broker's office took up life insurance as a side line.

She wrote $560,500 of life insurance. To every life insurance salesman we say, "take a good look at that little lady's record and then do your best."

In our last chat we discussed the impression that your physical appearance makes upon your prospect. In every instance that impression is made instantly — much more quickly than we can tell about it or you can read about it. Let us now go a little deeper into your personal outfit and see what other tools you have in your salesmanship kit.

Are you timid? Do you experience mental fear in approaching a prospect? Most of us surfer much from lack of mental bravery. Thanks to the school-yard, the playground, and early tests of physical strength most of us overcome physical cowardice and acquire physical bravery. But when we enter the business world we soon discover that mental bravery hauls down the prizes. We need tests — trials of our mental courage. This admirable mental quality can be cultivated and acquired as quickly as can physical courage. If you are timid, if you suffer from mental fear, your prospect can detect the fact in the first few words you utter. To be a successful salesman you must have mental fearlessness. Go after it and keep after it until you acquire it. Fight mental fear to a finish. Never side-step or duck an encounter. Mental contests develop mental courage just as surely as physical encounters develop physical courage. Both kinds banish fear.

Mental fearlessness begets self-confidence. This is another admirable trait. It, too, is necessary to successful salesmanship. Now don't confuse self-confidence with over-confidence. The latter trait is merely overbearing egotism — a tare in the field of grain. Self-confidence perceives every opportunity — big or little — lays a firm hand upon it and makes full use of it. This wonderful mental trait leads you to analyze your mental powers and, figuratively speaking, to quarter them in their proper barracks, where they are ready to be called into action at a moment's notice. Through regular and systematic training of your mental qualities you learn to rely upon them as the trained athlete learns to rely upon the muscles of his body. Such training develops self-confidence and self-confidence will carry you over hurdles, through quick-sands, across chasms and past difficulties that are insurmountable to anyone but the man of strength. If you are possessor of this remarkable quality, your prospect soon becomes aware of the fact. This fine mental trait makes victory doubly sure. For that reason it is well worth acquiring.

Then you must be ambitious. Mere wishing isn't ambition. Wishing stultifies the mind while ambition arouses it. The wish-bone is forked. It goes in two directions but doesn't get anywhere. Besides, it is weak, as you well know if you ever pulled on one. The backbone symbolizes ambition. It is straight and strong. It is built to carry burdens and it does not shirk. It is a worker, not an idler. It is practical, not fantastical. Your prospect will soon detect whether you are merely wishing for his application or whether you are ambitious and willing to work with might and main to get it. Put this handy mental implement in your tool-kit and you will find that it will serve you well, when you need it.

Tool No. 4.— Will Power

A

Once more we take a look into your life insurance tool-kit to see what else is to be found within. The next qualification that our mental hand lays hold of is Will-power.

Will-power is the great miracle-worker in the world. We know a man, who never had any legs. He has made a fortune. He drives his own automobile on pleasure tours for thousands of miles. We know of another man, without either arms or legs, who is the executive head of one of the largest business enterprises in the northwest. Remember the story of Mai Rose, whose body is paralyzed from the neck down and is rapidly ossifying? He is one of the happiest men on earth and composes some of the sweetest poetry that ever winged its flight from the fertile brain of man. These are but three examples. They exist by the thousand. If men, and women, too, with such frail bodies, have bridged the chasms on the road to success; surely you, who are sound of mind and strong of limb, can attain to any goal for which you strive.

Will-power is not stubbornness. Don't confuse the two. Stubbornness is inflexible. It may break but it will not yield. Once broken, it is destroyed. Will-power is flexible. It will yield to win its point; then it flies right back into place, as strong as ever. Will-power can be thwarted temporarily but it cannot be defeated permanently. If it finds that one avenue is closed, it seeks for another and finds it. The Bible says, "Seek and ye shall find." The great war hero said, "we'll fight it out along this line if it takes all summer." The basic injunction of the business world is, "Begin at the bottom and then persevere until you reach the top." The summed-up lesson of human history is, "Face forward and keep on going."

It isn't the lack of desire that keeps people from having what they want. Every human being builds le THE TOOL-KIT

castles in the air. Every human heart is full of wishing and of longing. Unwillingness to pay the price holds people back. Somehow they are incapable of learning the fundamental lesson of life that there is no reward without labor. The wisher grows faint of heart, the hoper crumples up under the hard, steady grind of achievement. Only the man whose mind and body are permeated and driven by the perpetual power of will, persists to the end. And that end is ever satisfactory.

You know, I know, every life insurance salesman knows that applications must be sought out and pursued diligently before they can be secured. They come voluntarily to no man. Life insurance is never bought; it is always sold. All your wishes, all your hopes, all your plans will come to naught unless they are vitalized by work. You must follow in the footsteps of Edison, of Ford, of Rosenwald and of the thousands of other men who have achieved business success. The road is long and tortuous. There will be head-aches, heart-aches and body aches. Your Will-power, nothing else, can carry you to your journey's end. That end is success and it will be worthy of your effort.

Tool No. 4.— Will Power B

You want to write a good volume of business. You want to make money. You want to succeed. We know you do. You are not alone in your desires. The world is full of people, who "wish" to succeed. But wishing isn't enough; in fact, it is only the beginning. The "wish" to succeed must be followed by the "will" to succeed. Nothing in this world is impossible to the man who wills, provided he wills strongly enough; but all things are denied to him who stops with mere wishing.

You don't need to be large in stature. You do not require a gigantic intellect. It is not necessary that you be a remarkable genius. Your will power can carry you, with your present stature, your present intellect, your present ability, to any destination you may choose. Greater than all other handicaps combined is man's lack of will-power in action.

Look at the little Ford motor. It is the smallest and simplest internal combustion engine in the world of transportation. It generates about 22 horse-power. You'll find it in every country on earth. You see it everywhere, — always in action, always going, always reaching its destination. The roads may be good; the roads may be poor; or there may be no roads. It is all one to that little motor. If it gets out of order, a blacksmith, a plumber, a tinsmith, almost anyone, who can handle a wrench and a screwdriver, can fix it. Everybody pokes fun at it, everybody laughs at it; but it is the marvel and the wonder of the motor world.

Model your will-power after that little motor. Put a load upon it every day and every night. Keep it in constant and continuous action. Some may turn up their noses at you; some may poke fun at you and others may laugh at you. What will that matter to you? When you honk your horn, all of them will know you are coming and they'll pull over to one side of the road as you go whizzing by. You can become a wonderful salesman, if you will.

Tool No. 5.— Concentration

We take another dip into your insurance tool kit. We pick up for close inspection another fine implement of salesmanship. It is Concentration.

We know a boy just entering his teens. He is robust and fairly bristles with animal spirits. No one likes to romp, play and tussle any more than he. Yet that same boy can take a book, sit down to read it and become utterly oblivious to all outside influences. The room may be full of his play-mates. They may talk, laugh, sing, box or wrestle, but they do not disturb him in the least. His ears become deaf to sound. His eyes become glued to his book. His attention, all his mental powers, become centered upon his reading. That is Concentration.

We see good examples of concentration in many walks of life. The base-ball fan is a good concentrator. The racing enthusiast is a splendid concentrator. The careful automobile driver continuously watches the road. The expert operator constantly observes the working of his machine in mill, factory or mine. The successful business man, be his business large or small, keeps his mind ever upon his business.

The life insurance salesman is no exception. In fact, Concentration is more vital to him than it is to almost any other man. He must direct the prospect's thoughts into and along the proper channel. He must dominate the applicant's mind. Life insurance is sold; it is not bought. This fact cannot be emphasized too strongly nor too often. Imagine a salesman handing a prospect a printed list of policies issued by his society and asking him if there is anything on the list that he wants. Salesmen for groceries, for drugs or for other commodities may do that; but they are not salesmen in the true sense of the word; they are mere order-takers. Such methods never get any man away from the one-arm lunch room and they spell certain failure for the life insurance salesman.

To lead and dominate your prospect you must be master of the situation. You must arouse his interest and keep his attention chained to your proposition. The more capable you are of concentrating your own mind upon your proposition, the better success you will have with your prospect. You must be master of your own mind before you can hope for mastery over the minds of others. Study your society. Know it from A to Z. Study your proposition. Have it at your tongue's end. Map out sales' talks. Commit them to memory. Practice them. Improve them. This will develop Concentration. Concentration will put more working hours into your days. It will enable you to accomplish in a few minutes what formerly required hours for you to do. It will increase the number and size of your applications and reduce the number of your failures and disappointments.

Concentration is a superb tool for the life insurance salesman. You should add it to your outfit. It will mean more business, more money and greater success. Tool No. 6. — Sincerity

We go rummaging again in your life insurance tool kit. We want to see if you have that razor-edged instrument, Sincerity, in your outfit.

What is Sincerity? Is it a quality of the voice? No. Is it an expression of the eyes? No. Is it a cast of countenance? No. Is it an attitude of the body? No; it is none of these. It is that mental state of supreme confidence, of unwavering faith in yourself, in your proposition and in the institution you represent. Your faith may be blind or it may be born of knowledge. The latter is the better kind.

Sincerity blends with and colors all your other mental processes. It imparts to them a delicate and refined hue that nothing else in this world can give. What fragrance is to the rose; what flavor is to the orange;

what tints of gold and crimson are to the sunset; these are what Sincerity is to your character as a salesman. Like perspiration it fairly oozes out of your system. It insensibly permeates the mind of your prospect, thereby laying the foundation for his confidence in you.

There is no substitute for Sincerity. The blue-sky artist simulates it, once only. He doesn't return for repeat orders. He doesn't build for permanency. He knows that he is a crook and he knows equally well that those, who trust him, will know it shortly after he is gone. His object is to put over one transaction and then hie to parts unknown. High pressure methods, trickery and gross deception enable him to succeed, once only. He goes in at the big end of the horn but ultimately comes out at the little end.

Your purpose is entirely different. You are building for permanency. If a man once becomes your friend, you want him always to remain a friend. If a prospect once becomes a policy holder, you desire him always to be a policy-holder. You are anxious for people to become convinced of your sincerity and to retain that conviction throughout their lives. There is one way, and only one way, in which this end can be achieved. You must be sincere. Sincerity begets sincerity, for in this old world of ours like produces like.

If you lack Sincerity you had better get out of the life insurance game. If you do not believe unreservedly in your institution and its proposition, you had better hook up with another institution. Seek success with all your might. Above all don't court failure. Sincerity is a necessary instrument in life insurance salesmanship. At the same time it is a delicate one. Keep it in your tool-kit and take good care of it. It is a first-class commission booster.

Tool No. 7. — A Good Memory

Some people claim that February 2nd, is ground-hog day. Others say the 14th is the day. We'll not argue the point. The old saying is that the ground-hog, in case he sees his shadow, goes back into his hole and hides another six weeks. This is not the course for the live-wire salesman to pursue. Anytime a salesman sees his own shadow he may know he has slackened his pace. He is traveling towards hibernation, which is the land of sleep. The thing for him to do is to step out lively and come to a sales-grapple with some near-by prospect. Applications cast their shadows before them. If your eye-sight is keen you can see them. Those are the shadows you want to see.

For some time we have been inspecting your personal outfit. In your salesmanship tool-kit we have already found many high class implements of the salesman's art. There were personal appearance as to neatness, cleaniness, health and strength; fearlessness; self-confidence; will power and ambition; concentration and sincerity. The list is not yet exhausted, hence we continue our tour of inspection.

One of the most strikingly important personal qualifications of a salesman is a good memory. Who of us but marvels at the man who can call us by name after a single chance meeting? Such a feat is so unusual and so unexpected. It convinces us that we stand high in the man's esteem. It flatters our vanity more than most of us are willing to admit. The man reaps a tenfold benefit, for we immediately classify him as a man of high attainments. At a single bound he has leaped all the hurdles that stood between him and our confidence.

Now a good memory is not solely the gift of nature It can be cultivated and acquired by almost anyone. We frequently see systems for developing memory advertised in magazines and newspapers. Most of these systems are based upon "ingenuity methods" or the "association of ideas." Such systems are complicated and cumbersome. They are not necessary to the cultivation of a good memory. You can get along better without them.

When you meet a famous character, you have no trouble in remembering his name, his face and the attendant circumstances. This is because your eyes and ears are open and your mental faculties are wide awake. You concentrate your attention in such surroundings and get an intensified impression that literally sticks in your memory. Again, you have no difficulty in remembering the names and faces of people whom you meet frequently. This is due to the fact that your mind gets the same impression a number of times. Each repetition of the impression strengthens the original impression and fastens it firmly in your memory. The real secret of a good memory is, therefore, intensity of impression and repetition.

When you meet a man, concentrate your attention. Get his name. Don't lose it in a jumble of words or in a handshake. If you don't get his name the first time, ask for it. In your first conversation look the man in the eye, study his face and use his name a few times. If you deem it necessary, write his name in a little memorandum book after you leave him. Later on, repeat his name and recall his face. You may make a poor showing at first, but don't despair. Don't even become discouraged. Keep everlastingly at it. Before you know it you will have a startling memory for names and faces. You will also find your memory much improved in other useful ways.