THE INSIDE STORY

you know they say that every prospect who walks onto a showroom floor is an effect wearing a mask and it's my job and your job as professional salesman to remove that mask as fast as possible the only way to do that of course is to qualify the prospect and that is what this picture is all about now I don't know any two salesmen who qualified prospects in exactly the same way and for that matter I don't know any two prospects who are exactly alike but that doesn't make any difference they cause the prospects you're going to meet in this picture are well symbolical the only thing they have in common is that like almost every prospective car buyer today their economy minded but as you know fifty-six percent of this year's prospects are still in that Plymouth Ford and Chevrolet price class however being economy minded most of them are intrigued with the publicity and novelty surrounding the new compact cars actually only one out of three is a prospect for a car like valiant but how do you and I know who's who the only way to find out is to get behind that mask and qualify let me show you what I mean may I help you I'm just lookin uh what about these economy cars you see I Drive a lot and I have to buy my own gas and oil even when you use a credit card you still have to pay for it you know yes you're right hold it good you know there's one thing I like about a motion picture if you stop something you know you can't start it again that doesn't always work in our business the first thing to think about when you approach any prospect is don't burn any bridges don't back yourself into a corner where you'll have trouble selling yourself out now what is the best way to handle a man who quits looking in through the window who walks in and asks about the small economy cars there are three parts to that word economy original cost the cost of operation and what you get when you train but how many parts are there to a sale here's a simple pattern that helps it's just a matter of qualifying the prospect before you qualify the product it starts with a big question mark why just ask yourself why did he come in why did he ask that question why why why let's arrange the letters vertically let's take the first letter W who is he what does he do for a living where does he live what about his present car where is he on payments and so on the more intimately you know the faster you'll be able to get behind the mask and have him qualified now the H how will he use the car hundreds of miles a day lots of trips or just around town how many people are going to ride with him children elderly people it all makes a difference because what he really needs may or may not be what he thinks he wants if you think he's attracted by say novelty you want to be sure that what you sell him today isn't going to make him a very unhappy guy six months from now now once he's really qualified as to who he is and how he's going to use that car then you know what to sell him you are ready to fit him into the car that's right for him maybe you should waltz him over to the used car lot maybe it's a valiant plymouth the DeSoto or Chrysler we want him in the family but until you get the answers to W&H you don't know which car is right for him the way you get these answers is up to you sometimes you get them or are part of them if you just listen like this well what about these economy cars see I'm an insurance salesman and I Drive a lot of miles in a week and I've been shopping around you know there's the one with the engine in the back and then there's the other one well I've been hearing a lot about yours is that so let's hold it again please now we're getting into the first part of why and we didn't even have to ask we just listened now we know what he does for a living we know he drives a lot and naturally he's interested in economy but wait a minute it isn't all as simple as that at this moment we still haven't been able to get completely behind his mask and we have to get close to him really get behind that mask get inside of his mind so to speak in order to find out who he is and what he needs to make him happy I'll tell you what let's exaggerate this situation a little bit and actually try to get inside his mind and symbolically well inside my mind this is kind of fun at that maybe I can save the salesman some time he'd find out in a few questions anyway he already knows why I'm interested in economy and he would be too if he had my gas and oil bills to pay my those bills what I can't understand and I'm a sales in myself you know no I guess you don't know and a lot of people wonder about it too including my boss but what I can't figure out is why he won't start to sell me a valiant I think I'll ask I don't get this what you doing why don't you start selling me a value I gave you a perfect opening first I have to find out who you are and how you're going to use the car then I'll try to sell you the right car for you but first I have to get behind that mask and inside your mind so why not let me get inside your mind and i'll try to explain this is kind of crazy but i guess you can do anything in a movie well come on in nice and here huh now what's this about Who I am well this is important to both of us the worst thing like a dupe for you is let you buy something you might think you want right now and then later for any reason have you be sorry you've bought what you did sorry heaven's sake why should I be sorry I might sell you too much car or not enough car but if you're happy and satisfied with what you buy today and your justice happy and satisfied say six months from now that's good both ways you'll talk to other people about it and you'll help me sell some other people at this moment I'm not ready to sell you anything you're not no sir I start with finding the answers to a little word why who are you what do you do for a living where you live your family and all that well let's see if I can answer i'm driving a 57 Ford it's paid for I'm married buying a house it's a nice little house no children my wife doesn't drive but I do brother do I Drive I sell insurance in my territory covers three states three states and their big states and if half what I hear about the economy and comfort that's built into a valiant is true boy I want one that's the car for me okay thank you sir I think you've given me all the answers I need no I'm ready to start selling see once I was able to get inside his mind I was able to qualify him like that I'm gonna sell him a valiant I think you would too because he fits right into a valiant now let's try the same approach with a little different kind of prospect here we go now Charlie you do all the talking this is the valiant honey remember I sir oh hello just looking kind of intrigued by this one yeah we're pretty proud of valiant it's a great story back of that car the Christ the corporation has been working for 25 years to build a compact car that would be roomy enough and comfortable enough and powerful enough but not an inch too long or a pound too heavy you see economy is in flux what I'm interested in economy right honey that's right Charlie says he's never going to drive a big car again most people are interested in economy these days but I'm sure you know you can still have economy and a big solid car with lots of extra comfort style & trunk room and all the rest of it well but don't tell me it's up to Charlie I want you to have the car and the deal that'll make you both happy you drive a lot oh no hazel drives more than I do do you live around here we run the central market about eight blocks east live upstairs oh yes do you have a family three kids and a dog a Dalmatian you never saw such a dog if the kids go along with hazelnut darn dog always has to go along what are you driving now Chevy station wagon say you ask a lot of questions well as I said I want you to have the right car for you and your family and the dog that's right don't forget the dog no sir but I want to sell you one of these two cars right here we'll look at them now from the standpoint of economy and style and comfort for your family Charlie you know how those kids are when they get tired wiggling and squirming hold it please I've got them qualified right now how about you have to just by asking a few questions and listening we have the answers to WH why they've been motivated by misinformation and novelty a few cents a day a few dollars a month is going to make them a lot happier in the long run and I want them to be customers for years so I'll get them over to the Plymouth this is a big solid comfortable automobile you can see that just to look at it but let me show you a few things that are engineered into chrysler cars that aren't so obvious you're interested in economy I certainly am do you know that Plymouth is so easy on gas we've won the Mobil gas economy run in our class for the last three years yeah I think I read that in the papers that's right after a minute I'll lift the hood and show you some of the reasons why we win prizes like that but there are other reasons other than just the engine take a look at the front end I want to show you some of the reasons why you can have this big solid car and economy to both the exterior and the underneath lines have been redesigned and not only for style did you know that in conventional cars and about 40 miles per hour it takes about half your gas in the highway just to push air as much as that half you'd think every car would be designed to do what it has to do buck the wind among other things well aren't they no but Plymouth is this is a practical aerodynamic design thoroughly tested and this design helps give us economy let's walk back this way and look at the clean lines engineers know all about the center of gravity and how it can move around there's a right place board in a car forward just as there's a right place for the center of pressure wind pressure that is I never thought about that no but our designers did these rear fenders look smart sure but they do something for you they're stabilizers driving down a highway in a crosswind they move the center of pressure way back and stabilize the car that means 20 or more percent less steering Corrections and that's economy to this is one of a lot of special extra things you get with Plymouth a lot of them aren't obvious and you don't even know about them until you've driven the car for a while you'll notice it's a quiet car solid car that very first time you drive it now what you like later is that it stays that way it's roomy and comfortable and it's built to last and then some that's economy to you know a very best kind I guess it is I'll get to the biggest part of the economy story in a moment but look at that body solid that body was prime painted twice then baked and sanded enamel twice baked again and the result is what you see now a brilliant top beautiful finish that you won't have to wax for years and years that's more economy and another thing corrosion I want to tell you that whole story but I can sum it up right quick the Plymouth body is actually dipped into a series of anti corrosive baths then paint protected in the same way took a lot of doing in a lot of places but you don't have to worry about corrosion I know that's economy 20 Charlie I really like this car hold it as I said there's been so much publicity and conversation about the compact cars that you're going to get a lot of people who are drifting toward one without really thinking it through that last coupla wouldn't have been satisfied with a small car not even the valiant they can have that economy with that terrific new 30 d6 and have the big solid comfortable family size Plymouth to you know how you'd sell them from this point so let's try another kind of prospect help you sir I'm Jim Dennis well I don't know I've been thinking about these small new cars or to be easy to part all they are but aren't you dr. marks yes you're young Dennis I knew your father sold me my first Chrysler all too many years ago I'm still driving one got a lot of respect for Chrysler engineers know their business they certainly do is that your Imperial out there doctor yes I'm thinking about the second car what's wrong with that that's what our competition is trying to find not a thing we're proud of the valiant well its got all the things hasn't it I mean you can get it with power steering power brakes and all its compact I like that is this car for your wife sir yeah she's got a 1958 plymouth convertible good car she likes it but she got interested in these little foreign cars wanted to buy one last year don't go for much of this European guff myself I want to buy a car where I know I can get service and parts don't want to have to send to Germany or some place and wait for a replacement that's just good sense and your wife will still want the things she's going to like in a car I mean the advantages of styling unibody torsion air push-button drive and all the rest right of course my wife doesn't drive a lot just around town shopping how these women love to shop to the club over to somebody's house for bridge are you married yes sir I am I thought so well then you ought to oh yes I sure do hold it see there it is again we have all the answers we need we've been able to get behind that mask and qualify with the answers to the word why we know he wants a second car for his wife we know who he is and what he does for a living he's a loyal owner so is his wife she's driving a 58 plymouth convertible that likes it how will she use it mostly around town money is no problem it's obvious that it would be wrong to encourage them to buy a small car we're already more than halfway to a sale and you know right now what to sell them the pattern for qualifying I think is easy to remember it's just a matter of getting the answers to that little word why first who is he what does he do for a living where does he live what about the payments on his present car what kind of a car is it then how how will he use it drives lots of miles or just around town how about children and the dog all of this information brings you up to the moment my new field there it is he's qualified and you're ready to fit him into the car that's right for him and speaking of the car that's right for him don't forget that two out of every three people you talk to our prospects that are right smack in that big stable 56.2 percent or half the total market so get the facts first and it will make the selling much easier get behind the mask by starting with that little word why wh-why who is he how is he going to use the car and when he's fully qualified you'll sell him the right car for that particular unique individual good luck and with that little word wide you'll have good luck in nineteen sixty you