[Sidenote:  Remove Unnecessary Difficulties]

Gain knowledge of other men in order to make it easy to sell them true ideas of your best capabilities.  It is not hard to succeed if you take the unnecessary difficulties out of the process of gaining your chances.

CHAPTER VIII

The Knock At The Door Of Opportunity and The Invitation To Come In

[Sidenote:  Selling is Not a Mechanical Process]

The process of selling ideas comprises several steps, part or all of which the salesman may need to take in order to close a particular sale successfully.  In our study we are considering step after step in regular order, but the actual selling process cannot be reduced to such exactitude and routine.  Before we begin our analysis of this “presentation” step, it should be clearly understood that success in selling ideas is not achieved by going through a machine-like process.  We follow a regular sequence in these chapters, but it is unlikely that you will ever complete a sale of your services by taking the various steps of the selling process in the precise order of our study.

[Sidenote:  Be a Fully Equipped Salesman]

You may need to use them all in order to succeed in a specific instance.  Again, without taking many of the steps here analyzed, you might be able to gain the success opportunity you most desire. The object of this book is to fit you for any and every condition you are likely to meet in your efforts to gain opportunities for your ambition.  It is improbable that in order to get your desired chance and to make the most of it you will have to use all you learn of the secret of certain success.  You cannot afford, however, to run an avoidable risk of being at a loss regarding what to do at any stage of the process of selling to a selected prospect true ideas of your best capability.  You need to know the most effective ways to deal with situations that may never happen, but which, on the contrary, might be encountered.  You cannot start confidently on your quest for success unless you are fully equipped.

[Sidenote:  Reducing the Odds Against You]

If you believed it would be necessary for you to do everything contained in this book in order to gain the opportunities you desire, you likely would feel very skeptical about succeeding.  You might think, “A single little slip and I’d lose out.  It’s a thousand to one against me.”  The fact is that the odds on the side of failure are very heavy in the case of an ordinary man.  If you can reduce them only a little in your own case, you will get a start towards success because of the slight lessening of your handicap.

[Sidenote:  Value of Knowing a Single Step]