"Many years ago, there was salesman who worked for Corning Glass. This was the year that the company introduced safety glass for the first time. This product contained a transparent plastic sheet between two pieces of glass, and as a result, it did not shatter the way most windshield glass did at that time.
This young salesman went out with his new product, and within one year he became the top-performing salesman of safety glass in North America. At the national sales conference, he received the first prize for sales performance and was invited to share his secret with the other sales people present. They wanted to know, "How did you sell so much more safety glass than anyone else?"
He explained, "First of all, I got the factory to cut some safety glass into six-inch squares as samples. Then I got ball-peen hammer, which I took with me on sales calls. When I walked in on the prospect, I would ask, 'Would you like to see a piece of glass that doesn't shatter?'
"Almost invariably, the prospect would say, 'That's not possible, I don't believe it.' I would then put the glass sample on his desk, take out the ball-peen hammer, and whack it. He would instinctively jump and throw up his hands to protect his eyes. When he looked down and saw that the glass had not shattered, he would be amazed.
"After that, it was simple. I would just ask, 'How much would you like?' take out my order pad, and begin writing."
Corning Glass was so impressed with this technique that the following year they bought ball-peen hammers for all their salespeople, provided them with samples of safety glass, and sent them out nationwide. The method really work; they sold glass by the carload.
At the end of the year, at the next national sales convention, the young salesman, for some reason, was still head and shoulders above every other salesperson in the country.
Once again, they invited him up on the stage to receive his award as the top salesperson in the country. And again they asked him, "What is it that you did this year to outsell everybody else?"
"Well," he said. "I knew that you were all going to use my method, so I had to come up with a new technique. Now when I go in to see the customer, I've got a ball-peen in one hand and the sample of safety glass in the other. I ask him, 'Would you like to see a piece of glass that doesn't shatter?'
"He usually says, 'I don't believe it.'
"Then, I put the piece of glass on his desk and I give him the hammer and have him hit it. When he tries and fails to smash the glass himself, he is totally convinced. Then I write up the order."
Have you got your glass & hammer story or technique? Please share with me..... Cos I don't have it...... :(
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