The manager of a ladies’ dress shop realize that it was time to give one of
her sales staff a pep talk. “Paula,” she said, “your figures are the lowest
in the department by a long way. In fact, unless you can improve your sales
record soon, I’m afraid I’ll have to let you go.”
“I’m sorry, ma’am,’ said a humbled Paula. “Can you offer me any advice on
how to do better?”
“Well,” said the manager, “there is an old trick I can tell you about. It
sounds silly, but it’s worked for me in the past. Get hold of a dictionary
and go through it until you find a word that has particular power for you.
Memorize it, work it into your sales pitch whenever it seems appropriate,
and you’ll be amazed at the results.”
Sure enough, Paula’s sales figures shot up, and at the end of the month the
manager called her in again, this time to congratulate her.
“Did you try my little trick?” she asked.
Paula nodded. “It took me a whole weekend to find the right word, but I did
in the end.”
“And what is it?”
“Fantastic.”
“Yes, that’s an excellent word,” said the manager encouragingly. “And how
have you been using it?”
“Well, my first customer on Monday was a woman who told me her little girl
had just been accepted at the most exclusive prep school in the city. I
said, “Fantastic.” She went on to tell me how her daughter always got
straight A’s and was the most popular girl in class. I said, “Fantastic”,
and she bought $500 worth of clothing.
“My next customer said she needed a formal dress for the spring ball at the
country club, which she was organizing. I said, “Fantastic.” She went on to
tell me she had the best figure of anyone on the committee and that her
husband makes the most money. “Fantastic”, I said, and she not only bought a
$2,000 designer gown, but hundreds of dollars of accessories. It’s been like
that all week: the customers keep boasting, I keep saying, “Fantastic”, and
they keep buying!”
“Excellent work, Paula,” said the manager. “You’re a credit to the
department. Just as a matter of interest, what did you used to say to
customers before you discovered your power word?”
Paula shrugged. “It was usually, ‘Who cares?'”
~~
Dr Bob Griffin
[email protected] www.grif.net
“Jesus Knows Me, This I Love!”