Let us proceed to a consideration of the psychology of the meet and greet. The most important thing at this stage is to awaken in your prospect’s mind a feeling of receptivity. And the main factor of success is a proper mental attitude on your part. What is a suitable Attitude in the Meet and Greet? It is the Attitude that you must maintain throughout your working day. Its main elements are courage, confidence, self-respect, balance, clarity of thought and determination. These are largely interdependent and their presence almost ensures the related qualities of Genius, Courtesy and Tact.

 

It has been said that the right Attitude in the Meet and Greet is the one you must constantly maintain. The right time to take it on is the moment you hit the ground in the morning. Square your shoulders and with enthusiasm and zeal (not dread) begin your day. Enter the office with a cheery greeting. Go to your first prospect with your mind well balanced, your faculties on edge, and your feelings in tune with your work.

 

Let your attitude of mind show in your demeanor and direction. Look at the part you want to act. Take advantage of the law of reciprocal action and reaction between mind and body. It is one of the largest agencies at your disposal and one of the easiest to get up and running. You can’t look cheerful without feeling cheerful. You can’t feel down without looking gloomy. Try a simple experiment in this direction. Stand with as blank a mind as possible. Turn your eyes up. In sixty seconds you find your elevated thoughts. Now look at the ground. Almost immediately you feel a tendency to dreaminess. Now look to the sides. Thoughts of mistrust and suspicion intrude on the mind. In these small tests you are using the smallest set of muscles in the body. You can get much more marked results by using the larger muscles in longer action. Don’t wait until you are faced with your task to adopt the right Attitude. you can’t do it The engineer doesn’t wait to start picking up power until he’s on the track. He does it at the roundabout, and when he’s coupled to his train, he’s ready to speed off.

 

Now a few brief remarks on the main elements of the Right Stance.

 

Fear or shyness is the least excusable of our defects. You are a business person who comes across a prospect who, whether you realize it or not, needs your help. If you are doing your job honestly, you are at least equal to him. If you’re doing it efficiently, you’re probably your superior. Remember, your mission is to render him an invaluable service. Keep these facts prominently in your mind’s eye. Get the right attitude. Shyness has a clearly detrimental effect on your work. It is instinctively associated in our minds with shame and weakness. The man who approaches us with shame makes an unpleasant impression on us. Why? Because experience has taught us that the man who talks to us withdrawn is going to borrow money or say something that will be unpleasant to hear. Before going so far as to say his name, he has often created an adverse impression with an air of hesitation and apology. If you are afflicted by this defect, you must overcome it. Confidence is born from honest intention, awareness of capacity and conviction of the value of the thing we have to sell. It is a great force in the Meet and Greet. The confident person is the personification of power. We instinctively began to break down the barriers before his arrival. It is as if a pygmy saw a giant coming with a large sign inscribed: “I am going to do something.” The little one would say, “I don’t know what it is, but I have no doubt that you will if you want to.” This is the main asset of the best sellers I have worked with. He opens doors for them and empties their wallets. They take advantage of the principle of associated ideas and the fact that frank speech and open manners naturally suggest honesty. Acquire Confidence by forming a solid substructure of efficiency on which to rest.

 

Of self-esteem I need to say little. It depends on the inherent characteristics and acquired qualities. You can’t do a decent role without it. Promote it by all means at your disposal. Take care of it as your most valuable possession. Jealously guard against the slightest deterioration of it. Keep in mind that this is entirely under his control. No one but yourself can insult his self-esteem. Another can arouse in you any emotion except one. He can’t make you feel bad. That feeling must emanate from some fault of yours.

 

Poise is one of the most impressive characteristics. The man who laughs wildly, talks excitedly, or pours out sentimentality shows weakness. On the other hand, the man who rarely allows his emotions and feelings to explode to the fullest suggests a reserve of strength. Clarity of thought, which is of course the mother of clarity of speech, is always possible only for a well-balanced mind. There is no more effective agency at the seller’s orders than the clear expression of a well-defined thought. Its most essential element is a thorough understanding of the product line and the car buying process. I can make a statement relating to an automobile business more clearly than the best orator or the most intelligent man in the world, if he is ignorant of the subject. And because my statement (though not so eloquently delivered) would penetrate his understanding more than his, I would convince him before he did. Don’t spend time practicing rhetoric. Learn to think logically and honestly. Spare no effort to gain a deep understanding of his subject matter. And you can be sure that his presentation will be clear and forceful. That is true eloquence, regardless of the verbiage.

 

Determination is the quality of being serious and determined; the determination to achieve a purpose. If you approach a potential customer with a no-nonsense attitude and a determined determination to secure a solution to their automotive needs, believe me, you will succeed most of the time. The objection vanishes before a Determined Attitude. A dear thing is a thing made to more than half.

 

Now let’s take these qualities, combine them into a perfect expression of ourselves. What is the resulting fabric? Personality. The seller’s Attitude must be an expression of his Personality. The Seller’s Attitude should be indicative of the qualities we have considered. The true Attitude is the natural one. It follows that the Salesperson Personality must embrace Courage, Confidence, Self-respect, Balance and Determination.