In presenting a Sales Plan, I think that it would pay you
to take a lesson from the actor. On the stage, on television,
on the screen, and on radio, you must have been thoroughly
impressed by the correct and precise way in which actors
and performers present their lines. They seem to give every
sentence, every word, and every gesture its proper place and
time. They feel and live their parts right before your eyes,
and the strange part is that you live the parts right along
with them.
Suppose they came on the stage without knowing
their lines. Suppose they did not know what they were go-
ing to say or how they were going to say it. What do you
think their sponsors would do? They would discontinue their
services, and, of course, they would be justified. Performers
know their lines because they want to please you. By pleas-
ing you, they please their sponsors, and their sponsors are the
ones who pay them—and pay them well.
If it pays these actors and performers to know their lines,
it will certainly pay you and me as salesmen. This is the way
I felt when I composed the Sales Plan.
I felt that a Sales Plan was the means by which I could
concentrate all my power and focus all my ability to arrest
the attention of the prospect, kindle his interest, stimulate
his desire, and convince him to act. It would enable me to
get results quickly. I also felt that it would mean money to
me—and, believe me, it has! When I stubbed my toe, I woke
up to the power of creative selling. It has been worth to me
many times the inheritance in the dream. It can be worth
the same to you, provided you stub your toe—because what
am I that you are not?
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
A Lesson from the Actor
The Essentials of a Good Sales Plan
I had plenty of prospects. What next? I needed a sales ap-
proach. It was only good sense on my part to create a Sales
Plan that would set forth, in plain, understandable language,
the many benefits and values of life insurance, and what they
really meant to the prospect. The Sales Plan to present these
important ideas had to be good, compelling, and concrete.
It had to contain the power to attract the attention of the
prospect. It had to possess the power to arouse the interest
of the prospect. It had to create the power to stimulate the
desire of the prospect. It had to generate the power to per-
suade and convince the prospect to act.
I spent many many hours of study and meditation in cre-
ating this Sales Plan. I checked, I double checked, I anal-
yzed, I visualized. Was it interesting? Was it comprehensive?
Was it stimulating? Was it concise? Was it persuasive? Was
it convincing?
Every idea, every sentence, and every detail was attended
with the strictest attention. Every word was studied for the
correct pronunciation, for the proper enunciation, and for
the right sound and inflection. Every thought in each sen-
tence was studied for proper emphasis. Every particular was
weighed and balanced. Nothing was taken for granted, and
no detail was overlooked. When I had this Sales Plan in
good form, I memorized it. I read it out loud many times. I
dramatized it. I felt it. I lived it. I perfected it. Then I used it.
The Sales Plan presented a good proposition and a sound
idea. What about the prospect? Was he attracted? Was he
interested? Was he stimulated? Was he convinced? The re-
sults were beyond my fondest expectations. That Sales Plan
sold millions of dollars worth of life insurance.
Friday, March 2, 2007
How I Converted Faith into Results
I decided that the only scientific way for me to demon-
strate my faith in selling life insurance was to create a sales
plan that would carry the message of its benefits and values
to the prospect and convince him that he would enjoy satis-
faction and peace of mind by owning it. It was up to me to
use my ability and draw on the hidden power within and
create a sale that did not exist before.
In applying your ability to think and create a sale, it is
wise to get the right attitude toward yourself as well as your
product. You must realize that you are not merely a rag, a
bone, and a hank of hair—you are greater than your body.
Your power to think does not confine you to your own skin.
You can project thought. You can organize and visualize the
ideas and thoughts about the thing you sell with such power
that it creates a sale. To do this scientifically and effectively,
it is essential to build these thoughts and ideas into a plan.
What is a plan? A plan is a method of action, procedure,
or arrangement. It is a program to be done. It is a design
to carry into effect an idea, a thought, a project, or a devel-
opment.
Therefore, a plan is a concrete means to help you fulfill
your desires. In the field of selling, your desire is to create
sales and render a useful service. To do this effectively, it
is wise to have two plans:
First, a plan of operation to govern, guide, and control
your general activities. To organize and arrange your activ-
ities each day is to save time, conserve energy, and elim-
inate chaos. The orderly arrangement of time will guide and
direct you through the labyrinth of the most busy day.
Second, a Sales Plan to govern, guide, and direct your
sales procedure.
Prospects are influenced and motivated to action by ideas,
and the more quickly they receive ideas about the value of
the product, the sooner they will react. I decided that life
insurance was an idea guaranteeing many valuable benefits
to the prospect and his family. I also decided that the quick-
est, the most practical, the most efficient, the most feasible,
and the most scientific method of carrying that idea to the
greatest number of prospects in the shortest period of time
was by means of a Sales Plan.
How an Idea Gave Me Faith
First, I analyzed the principle of life insurance thoroughly
to determine its value and to appreciate its worth. I con-
cluded that it was a very excellent idea. I liked the idea of
the protection it could provide. I liked the idea of the estate
it could create. I liked the idea of the savings account it
could establish. I liked the idea of the income it could guar-
antee for old age. In fact, I liked the idea of all the benefits
that life insurance could provide for the individual and his
family.
This analysis of life insurance gave me a comprehensive
interpretation of its function and a clear picture of the bene-
fits that it could provide for the prospect. I was thoroughly
convinced that it was a good idea; a sound and practical
proposition. I firmly believed that I could sell it. I had faith
in it.
Faith is believing in something, and so it remains until
you demonstrate your ability to fashion faith into reality.
Now arose the question of how I could convert my faith
into results by selling life insurance. How could I get the
idea of life insurance and its many benefits over to the pros-
pect? How could I convince the prospect that it was a safe
place for him to invest his capital? How could I make the
prospect feel as I felt about life insurance?
How My Hundred-Thousand-Dollar Dream Came True
As I pondered over this dream in 1920, the thought came
to me that I did not need to inherit one hundred thousand
dollars. All I needed was to stub my toe, wake up, shake
off the state of lethargy, get out of the rut, and come to a
conscious, vital realization of the power of creative selling
that was hidden within me. I firmly believed that the devel-
opment of this positive and creative power of thinking, ap-
plied to selling, would enable me to make many hundred
thousands of dollars. However, in order to claim my herit-
age, to realize the full impetus of my latent power and
ability, and to derive the full benefit from that creative sell-
ing, it was necessary for me to develop a definite and con-
crete plan of action.
At that time I was attempting to sell life insurance. In
those days there was no scientific plan of action for selling
life insurance. It was a hit-or-miss proposition—mostly miss.
Creative selling was only a dream, like my inheritance. The
general agent of a life insurance company was usually a
pompous gentleman. He would put his hands on your shoul-
ders, rear back with an air of great authority, and hand you
a rate book and some application blanks with the remark,
"Now, go out into the world and sell!" That was the extent
of your training as a life insurance salesman.
It was sink or swim, so out into the world I went—and I
floundered. I walked the streets, stood on the street corners,
and watched the people go by. Prospects! prospects every-
where! But I had no definite plan of action to contact any
of them. Now and then someone would grant me an inter-
view for the sake of courtesy, but the inevitable answer was
"not interested." Thus, with sore feet, a tired back, a sour
disposition, a weary body, and with both hands empty, I
would slowly trudge back to the office.
This procedure lagged on for many days. I began to ques-
tion—what's the trouble? Is it me or the life insurance busi-
ness? I decided to do something about it.
I Stubbed My Toe O
NE MORNING in 1920,1 left my office in the Commercial
Trust Building in Philadelphia and walked down Chest-
nut Street, on my way to see a prospect. Suddenly I felt
someone tapping me on the shoulder. I turned around and
faced a gentleman whom I had never seen before. "Is your
name Earl Prevette?" he inquired. "Yes," I replied. "Are you
originally from North Carolina?" "That's right!" I said. At
this juncture he extended his hand very graciously and in-
troduced himself as George Peabody, Jr., an attorney-at-law
from Boston, Massachusetts. Still this did not mean much
to me. Then he told me that my uncle, Henry Slater of Prov-
idence, Rhode Island, and more recently of Boston, Massa-
chusetts, had passed away and that his law firm Peabody,
Peabody, and Peabody had been appointed the administra-
tors of his estate. He also informed me that, in going over
the will of the late Henry Slater, his firm had discovered
that I had been named as one of the beneficiaries. He said
that a sizable sum of money was waiting for me in Boston
and that his firm was prepared to make a settlement with
me.
Without further ado, he suggested that I should journey
to Boston with him in order to claim my inheritance. Soon
we were on the train, and, upon our arrival in Boston, I made
an appointment to call on his law firm the following morn-
ing.
I arose early the next morning. It was one of those beau-
tiful spring mornings in Boston. The sky was clear and
flooded with bright sunshine. The air was crisp, fresh, and
fragrant. It was a most invigorating day, and I was thrilled
and exhilarated. I was walking on air, all aglow with the
hope and expectation of what was soon to be realization.
Exactly at 9 o'clock I was in the Old Colony Bank and
Trust Building, on my way to keep my appointment with
the law firm of Peabody, Peabody, and Peabody and claim
my legacy. The receptionist at the office of the law firm was
very gracious and most accommodating. In a moment Mr.
George Peabody, Jr., came forward and greeted me with a
most cordial and pleasant, "Good morning."
Immediately he escorted me into the office of Mr. George
Peabody, Sr., who was the titular head of the law firm. Of
course he was very delighted to see me and to realize that
I was the nephew of his old friend and colleague, the late
Henry Slater. After a few remarks that established my iden-
tity securely in his mind, he said that my uncle, Henry
Slater, had willed me quite a sizable sum of money, and that
his firm was now ready to give it to me, after I had signed
a few routine papers. Indeed, I was most happy to sign those
papers as a token of my sincere gratitude. After I had signed
all the necessary papers, Mr. Peabody called his secretary
and asked her to draw a check to my order. This she did.
Then he asked me if I would like to cash the check in Boston
before returning to Philadelphia. This I thought a splendid
idea. He called his son, George Jr., to take me down to the
first floor, where the Old Colony Bank and Trust Company
was located. There, George, Jr. introduced me to Mr. Jerome
Knickerbocker, the cashier, who said he would be glad to
give me the cash when I had endorsed the check.
I endorsed the check, and Mr. Knickerbocker asked me
how I would like to have the money. I told him that I would
like to have it in thousand-dollar bills. He walked over to
the vault and casually brought back 100 thousand-dollar
bills. He counted them out one by one, deliberately and care-
fully. I put these 100 thousand-dollar bills into an envelope
and thanked Mr. Peabody and Mr. Knickerbocker very gra-
ciously for their splendid courtsey and co-operation. I picked
up the envelope containing the one hundred thousand dol-
lars and placed it very carefully and securely in my inside
coat pocket. Just as I turned to leave the bank, lo and behold,
I stubbed my toe and woke up!
Introduction
AT THE BEGINNING of our thinking together on this most
timely subject, The Power of Creative Selling, I only
regret that it is impossible for me to be in your home or
office, to discuss with you, face to face, what I have writ-
ten. However, in preparing this book, I have taken you
into my complete confidence. My purpose has been to vis-
ualize myself in your shoes.
I realize that many books on selling are dull and uninter-
esting. In fact, you grow tired and weary trying to read
them. I have therefore asked myself many times: Is what
I am writing interesting? Is it instructive? Is it inspiring? Is
it getting over the right idea? Every idea advanced in this
book has one objective in view: your interest. Will it stim-
ulate you? Will it instruct you? Will it inspire you? Will it
increase your understanding? Will it contribute to your
growth? Will it help you to be a bigger man and a better
salesman?
Creative selling is both a science and an art. The science
teaches you what to do, and the art teaches you how to do
it. Creative selling is the ability and art of increasing the
satisfaction of the prospect by convincing him that the thing
you want him to buy will best fulfill his needs and desires.
In fact, it is creating a want that did not exist before.
Creative selling is an individual accomplishment. It em-
braces you and the power within you to think and to create.
These qualities and attributes are individual, and no one b
you can develop them. Therefore, my purpose is to help you
to develop them by drawing on the latent forces within you.
During the past 42 years it has been my good fortune to
talk to thousands of people in all kinds of business, in all
walks of life, in all kinds of places, and under all conditions.
In that time, I have sold both tangibles and intangibles by
every conceivable selling method. I have been able to com-
bine first-hand knowledge with experience and to make a
first-hand study of the actions and reactions of people. I
have studied their behavior, and this has given me an in-
sight into their temperaments, dispositions, ambitions, as-
pirations, attitudes, likes, dislikes, wants, and desires.
Combining all this information, I have incorporated the best
parts of it in this blog.
The Power of Creative Selling is more than a blog. It is
an entirely new plan of selling, setting forth proven meth-
ods for creating more sales, earning a larger income, and
enjoying more peace of mind. It is not the work of a theorist
in an Ivory Tower, but of a stern realist who has encountered
all the problems and heartaches that you are encountering,
and who has solved many of the situations that are perplex-
ing you at this very moment. In my years of experience,
combined with reading, analyzing, and researching, I have
learned what is necessary to influence people to buy—plus
what it takes to keep them as friends.
It is impossible to put in the Introduction the many things
this book can do for you. To do so would be to incorporate
the context itself, because every page has a message. If you
will read what follows and apply to your own life the
powerful principles set forth, you will have a workable plan
of creative selling that will really get results and enable
you to sell anythin
