Spirella Manual (1913)/Section 3
SECTION 3.
[edit]- How to Proceed.
[NOTE.—Whether your call be made upon a card or letter of introduction, by appointment over the phone, or by letter, or by careful, thorough, systematic house-to-house work, a careful study and mastery of this section will give you a forceful "Selling Talk." The points made in Section 3 have been used by successful workers. If you can improve on this, do so; if not, follow it closely. At all times let your Selling Talk be logical, frank, forceful. The necessity of the right Selling Talk is imperative, no matter what method of approach you use. Your success depends upon it. Study this feature of your work constantly. Your Selling Talk today will not do next month. Improve it.]
14. INTRODUCTION.—Next in importance to a neat personal appearance, is a frank, pleasant introduction of yourself and business. Your manner here counts for everything. Create the proper impression.
The right personal appearance supported by the right introduction, will win an audience ninety-nine cases out of a hundred. If tenaciously adhered to, its chances are good for the hundredth case also. This statement is made by one who has interviewed many thousands of people for the purpose of selling, just as you are about to do. There are many good methods of approach and any of them successful when properly carried out. If you are a beginner, you cannot master many methods of introduction in starting. It is imperative, however, that you should master at least one good method and use it. You can vary it later, when you have a better one.
The following is a good method practiced by a very successful local Corsetiere. Study it until you make it your own. Remember, at this critical point, your manner of address, counts for as much as what you say. Both are important.
15. MODEL INTRODUCTION.—Give a loud rap or vigorous ring. Mrs. Jefferson considers it important and quickly comes to the door herself. Does not send the little girl as she is likely to do if you rap timidly.
Mrs. Wilie standing about a pace from the door turns and bows politely with
"Good morning! Is this Mrs. Jefferson ?"
"Yes."
(Mrs. Wilie.) "Thank you. I am Mrs. Wilie." A moment's dignified pause. (Manner must be pleasant and expectant.)
This gives Mrs. Jefferson sufficient time to collect her thoughts and she usually invites you in.
The graceful bow, the winning smile, the well modulated voice, and the polite but dignified poise,—all are of equal importance.
If she hesitates at this point to ask you in, say after only a moment's hesitation:
(Mrs. Wilie.) "Mrs. Jefferson, I called to talk a moment about 'Spirella.' You have heard of it, have you not?"
(Mrs. Jefferson.) "Yes or no."
(Mrs. Wilie.) "Every lady expresses her delight over its merits. You can spare me just a moment, I trust?"
(Mrs. Jefferson.) "Come in."
16. (Mrs. Wilie, stepping inside quickly and taking a seat in the room to which she has been shown.)
(Always take a seat near the lady you are trying to interest. Should she sit on the opposite side of the room, move your chair up beside hers. It is important that you take a seat in as high or a higher chair than she does, as you are at a disadvantage and lose prestige by being obliged to look up to your customer. Endeavor to sit so that you are not facing the light, but always facing her, if possible. It will pay you to study the effects of these small details.) "I want to show you first the merits of Spirella." 17. Note.—(Then taking a small sample piece of Spirella between the fore-finger and thumb of the left hand, bend it tightly over the end of the thumb, quickly letting go, allowing it to spring back to shape. You will notice by your sample that Spirella has greater resistance when bending in one way than when bending it the other. One side is more concave than the other. When showing Spirella always bend it in the direction of the greater resistance. It is always placed in the corset so as to give the greatest resistance from the body outward. The resisting power in this direction is more than double that of the other direction, and sufficient for the purpose for which it is designed. It is possible to bend it double, break it or twist it out of shape, but not in corset wear.)
Say, "You see Spirella has wonderful properties as a corset stay. It will take a most abrupt curve and spring back into shape, without taking a permanent bend. It will also conform to a curved seam." (Demonstrate this point with a piece of Spirella.)
"These are properties which no other stay possesses to so great a degree. It has greater elasticity and strength than any other stay. Spirella is guaranteed unbreakable in corset wear.
18. "THE SPIRELLA COMPANY OFFERS AS A FORFEIT TO DUPLICATE ANY CORSET in which a customer breaks one of the Spirella Stays in actual corset wear within one year from date of purchase, as set forth on the 'Official Guarantee' accompanying every corset sold. The Company also guarantees Spirella Stays to be rust proof. Spirella Stays are plated by our own combination metals process, not previously known. If Spirella should not do what we claim for it, The Company could not make these guarantees.
"Of course, the stay can be broken by using a file or by taking an ax to it. It does not break when put to the severest tests in a corset. The guarantee is of course to give a new corset in case a stay breaks or rusts in the ordinary use for which the corset is intended.
"Does it not appear to you, Mrs. Jefferson, that a corset filled with these stays would be more desirable than any other corset on the market?"
(Here open your Sample Line) saying:
19. "I want to show you a Spirella Corset, which we are offering the ladies of your town, (or city)."
(Select the corset from your samples which you think will suit her form. Hold it where she can see it well. When showing a corset, it is sometimes best to stand facing your customer, drawing the corset around you. In doing this, always place the corset about four inches lower than it is usually worn. It shows off better in this position. A little experimenting will show you the importance of this suggestion. Explain the special features of the design.)
20. "You see, Mrs. Jefferson, that Spirella Corsets are of the latest pattern. Our Designer has had wide experience as a corset maker, and produces the latest Parisian models, as well as the most up-to-date American styles with the skill of a master artist. Corset making is a fine art. The Superintendent of our cutting department is also a genuine corset artist. I believe that you can see the artist's hand in the style and workmanship of this model, can you not?
21. "How do you like this particular shape? We combine in Spirella Corsets the latest, correct styles, with the greatest possible comfort and hygienic properties.
"This pattern is really one of the most stylish corsets made, and will give you the correct figure. At the same time it gives perfect freedom to the respiratory organs and acts as a support to the abdomen; no downward pressure. It is really a very healthful as well as stylish corset, providing it is properly put on, and that is one thing we propose to teach our customers,—how to put on and adjust their corsets. The prime object of our firm in sending out ladies trained in the Corsetiere's art, is to teach others to select and wear their corsets properly, so as to give, the figure comfort and perfection of outline; to avoid distortion and its evil resulting effects caused by wrong adjustment.
22. "The Spirella Standard of Authority has the endorsement of fashion's best critics in the following:
"The secret of being well dressed lies in your figure and your figure is made or ruined by your corset.
"'Don't order your gown until you have bought your corset.
"'Don't buy your corset until you have learned to put it on.
"'Don't put it on until you have learned to stand and sit correctly.
"'Every woman can have a good figure—if she does not it is her own fault. The days of tight lacing are passed. Get the right corset and learn to put it on. It is the corset that makes the woman.
"'No woman is too old and few are too thin or too stout to have good figures. With a small investment you can have the corset. But you must learn to put it on and you must learn to stand and sit properly.
"'The corset you can buy; quite likely you already have it. What I mean to tell you now is how to put it on and how to stand properly. It's the woman inside the clothes that makes the clothes every time.
"'A woman who stands and sits properly, wears the right corset and insists an simplicity and harmonious lines in her draperies, will be a pleasure to a tired man's eyes. She'll stop being an untranslatable discard.'
23. "In the Spirella Corset we have the acme of perfection. We have not only the latest styles, but the chief delight is in the Spirella Stay. Spirella holds the corset in perfect form and preserves the style until the cloth wears out. What more can be expected for durability? The stays are indestructible. They conform freely to all movements of the body, but they will not break. They do not even take a permanent bend at the waist line where so many stays give trouble. Those who have worn Spirella for several years and thoroughly tested it can speak mare convincingly of its real merits. Mrs. A. M. Rogers, of Owego, N. Y., says: "My corset is nearly worn out, i. e., the cloth is worn, but the side-steels and lighter springs remain unchanged, not having 'kinked' or broken. My figure is such as severely tests the quality of corset springs. Never before have I worn a corset in which the side-steels did not frequently break at the waist line.
"Spirella side-steels and the lighter springs are, it seems to me, perfect, being unbreakable, 'easy,' and insuring a perfect fitting corset, as stylish until completely worn out as when first put on—just what women have so long wished for."
Mrs. Lyman Fenn, of No. 601 Main Street, Cambridge, Mass., writes:
"Never before have I worn a corset which either did not break or take a permanent bend at the hips or waist line. This corset after several month's constant wear is as stylish and perfect fitting as when first put on, and is the most comfortable corset I ever wore. It seems to be simply 'Corset Perfection.'"
Mrs. Green, of Los Angeles, desiring to represent us because of her experience in wearing Spirella, says:
"I think I am a very good subject to advertise a corset, my weight being 187 pounds, and most stout ladies are very glad to get hold of a corset which will not break. 'Also, I can speak from experience, as I purchased my corset one year ago last April and have worn it steadily. I have scrubbed it with a scrubbing brush twice. Have worn all the lace off and patched it in two different places, and still the stays are good. I have never worn a corset longer than four months before."
24. "I think we have demonstrated to your satisfaction that we are producing the most stylish corsets obtainable. We are manufacturing and supplying for the first time an indestructible, comfortable and healthful corset.
"The properties of the Spirella Corset are such that a woman wearing it can play golf, tennis, bowl, row a boat, ride horseback, climb mountains or go through almost any form of physical exercise with entire freedom and comfort. We are demonstrating further that there is nothing incompatible between good style and comfort, durability and healthfulness if you wear Spirella."
Mrs. C. A. Fredeking, of Hinton, W. Va., says:
"I tried my own several months before I commenced to take orders, and people knowing me, depended on my experience and not one of them is disappointed. All who bought expect to buy again in a few months if they have not done so already. All say that their health is a great deal better since using Spirella and they always feel comfortable, at the same time they look stylish. When I left the cars at a small station while coming here a lady, to whom I had sold, saw me, and called to me, 'Oh, are you going to sell Spirella here, too. Miss M. and myself have been advertising it over the place, for we never had such a fine corset before.' So every one speaks of Spirella."
Mrs. Anna H.———, of Weed, Cal., writes as follows:
"The Spirella Corset is the only one I can wear without breaking while riding horseback. I live in the country and ride sideways very often, and found it expensive until I secured the Spirella Corset; I am delighted to know they wash so nicely."
25. HEALTHFULNESS OF SPIRELLA.—"Everyone who is up-to-date admits that we are in the van so far as style is concerned; and along with these superior qualities of style and shape, we combine health qualities not found elsewhere.
"FIRST. Spirella preserves shape and style perfectly, while it does not hold the body incased in a jacket of armor, thereby dwarfing the muscles about the bust and bust line. The flexibility allows freedom of action to those muscles and consequently healthful development.
"SECOND. Instead of pressing down on the abdomen, it acts as a support.
"THIRD. From one-third to one-half of the surface of the average corset is covered with impervious steels which allow no ventilation. One who knows physiology and hygiene, realizes how unhealthful this lack of ventilation must be. It perhaps is not known to many women, who are stopping the ventilation which God has given them, that if all the pores of the body were incased in an air-tight covering, a person would not live more than from six to twelve hours. Experiments have been made by medical men on small animals, such as rabbits, cats, etc., and it has been found that, when their skin was covered by varnish or a coating impervious to water and gases, death resulted in a few hours.
26. "Dr. Joseph c. Hutchinson, relates an incident that occurred at the coronation of one of the popes about three hundred years ago, in which a boy, chosen to act the part of an angel, was covered from head to foot with gold foil. He soon took sick, and although every known means were employed for his recovery except the removal of his fatal golden covering, he died in a few hours.
"By this you can judge of the effect of the ordinary corset which covers such a large portion of a woman's body with impervious stays.
"The Spirella Corset, from the peculiar open construction of Spirella Stays, is superior to any other on the market. The Spirella Corset offers three times as much ventilation as any other. (To illustrate. Take an ordinary flat stay and sew a covering over it; do the same with a Spirella Stay. Hold up both samples to the light and ask your customer which admits the more light.) Then say : "Air will be admitted in the same degree as light. The average corset boned with stiff, flat stays makes a covering for the body one-third of which is solid metal. The minute perspiration ducts of the skin are thus effectually closed by the flat stay pressing the undergarments against them, preventing the circulation of air which assists in eliminating waste.
"Let us now look at the Spirella Stay. Note how very little of it comes in actual contact with the body, yet its peculiar serpentine weave gives it the same width as the ordinary flat stay. It loses none of its supporting features, but gains all of the potent advantages of ventilation, lightness, greater flexibility and less liability to turn edgewise and cut the encasing material. Certain movements of the body so warp the shape of the flat stay that it burns edgewise and presents the minute teeth of its edge against the material, like a saw."
Make it your business to provide yourself with a piece of flat stay that has become rusted, broken, and has a sharp, ragged edge. The comparison of the smooth Spirella Stay with this ragged, rusted, flat metal one, will be a sales lecture in itself. An injury directly traceable to a broken stay or to a misfit corset would be a good selling point. Talk the health, sanitation, ventilation and coolness of the Spirella Stay. The women in your territory desire a ventilative corset. You are representing the acme of perfection in such a garment; and if a clear, logical exposition of its many important exclusive features is made, the order is assuredly yours. Individuality in each corset is perhaps one of the most tangible arguments you can present to elite dressers in selling Spirella. The dignified elegance of figure lines in the corset made to fit each individual type of figure will reach an appreciative chord in your prospect and soon she will want that particular kind of corset which means that the order is as good as booked.
27. As authority on the healthfulness and comfort of Spirella we wish to quote what some of the Physicians and Nurses have to say on the subject of Spirella.
Dr. A. S. Tuchler, of San Francisco, says: "I have been very much pleased with your corsets. I have my patients wear them in preference to any others. In fact, they are the only corsets which allow perfect freedom of bodily movements. There is nothing to break and they can be washed without losing their shape or becoming rusty."
Dr. A. A. Getman says: "After having examined the line of Spirella Corsets and accessories sold by you, I can heartily endorse and recommend the same to the buying public."
Miss Laura Kenman, a trained nurse, says: "The Spirella is to me the ideal corset. I am a trained nurse and with constant leaning over beds the Spirella is always a support and a comfortable garment." Mrs. Clara Ortman, another trained nurse, also recommends it in these words: "It was my good fortune to buy a Spirella Corset and I can recommend them as a perfect corset for the most delicate woman. Have been a trained nurse, know the injury an ordinary corset will do, but not so of the Spirella."
28. "In combining perfect style with health features and comfort, as we are doing in the Spirella Corset, Mrs. Jefferson, do you not think we merit the patronage of every corset wearer? I am convinced that every purchaser is receiving more real value for the amount invested than from any corset worn. It is the return in comfort, style and health that counts."
(Should Mrs. Jefferson at this or any other point ask the price of the corset, tact is necessary. If she be a wealthy lady accustomed to high prices, your price will not seem high to her. If she has been accustomed to wearing a cheap corset, she may regard your price as high.) Then say, "Durability, style, comfort, and healthfulness considered, we have the cheapest corset on the market. Remember, Mrs. Jefferson, that every corset is made after the order is sent in, thus giving you a made-to-order corset. It is the value which we give you that is to be considered.
"Measured by this standard, you can get many dollars' worth of service out of a Spirella Corset. When these qualities are considered, no matter how low in price some other corset may appear to be, it is dear when compared with Spirella.
"Many ladies say that it is worth more than the cast of the corset to be insured against the breaking of corset stays. I believe you will agree with them. Serious injuries, besides much inconvenience and anxiety have been caused by broken steels.
29. Spirella is more comfortable and durable than whalebone, and besides it will conform to a curved seam. Whalebone will not. Whalebone is more rigid and in time splits and breaks and takes the shape of the body. Spirella never does. It preserves the style of the corset to the last—until the cloth is worn out. Besides, whalebone is so scarce that very few women can obtain it even if desired. The price, too, for a full whalebone corset is double or three times the price of a Spirella Corset made of the same cloth.
30. "Now, if we can suit you in style and finish, you certainly want this corset, don't you?"
Or approach for the order as follows:
"Now, if you were going to order a corset, which material would you select," opening your sample-book of cloth.
(Mrs. Jefferson.) "I like this."
(Mrs. Wilie.) "I will just write you down for that."
"Your initials, please."
31. After you have taken the name and address, proceed as follows: It is necessary to measure and study your figure to decide upon just the right style, and proceed at once to take measurements and select the style of cloth desired, including style of hose supporters, etc., and whether they are to be attached or detached. You should not decide upon the price at which you can make a corset for a lady until you have measured her and decided what style she needs and what kind of material she wants. You must also make sure whether the corset will be a Regular, Special or Custom garment before naming the price. We find people who need Special or Custom Corsets, as a rule are very irregular in figure, and have had great difficulty in securing satisfactory corsets. These people are willing to pay almost any price if you can please them. Therefore, do not hesitate to charge the price necessary for Special or Custom work when it is needed.
With many people this Model Introduction and showing of your outfit would be too long. In most cases it would be better to state the price and approach for the order earlier.
Do not, however, name price too early, even if asked to do so. Keep back the price until a strong interest has been aroused. Always be governed by the length of time it takes to arouse interest. When the interest is intense, the crisis has arrived. Book the order whether little or much has been said. If you have misjudged your case, take up your talk where you left off, and continue.
Judgment, Judgment, JUDGMENT, is what you must exercise in closing the order.
32. Study your prospective customer from start to finish. Watch the objections and answer them; not for argument—that is time wasted—but for the purpose of first bringing conviction and then compelling action. All talk not bearing directly or indirectly upon this purpose, is time lost, so far as doing business is concerned. Keep to the point; watch the "Spirella Idea" grow in the mind of your customer.
33. If every one were like Mrs. Jefferson, we would say, learn the above canvass, word for word, and give it as though it were your own. But, as individuals differ, we will say, learn every testimonial you can use, and learn how to meet every objection. Be so wide awake, so enthusiastic, and have your arguments so well classified in your mind that you can bring forth every time the one that will be to the point. Then your CALMNESS, CONFIDENCE and COURAGE will command success.
34. Commit your prospective customer at every opportunity. If she is very quiet and non-committal, question her as you make each good point to find out if she agrees with you and admits the point you have made. This gives you an intelligent basis on which to work, and opens up to you the objections which she holds in her own mind. In so doing you are not wasting any time or words. If she agrees with you, you know it, or if she has objections to raise, you learn what they are and can answer them effectively. Study your customer all the time and find out what the real obstacle is. Some people are non-committal, and will not reveal the real reason, but will try to hedge and cover up their real objection. By reading between the lines, you can often divine their objection, and by putting up a straw man and knocking him down, so to speak, you will handle the case successfully. These reticent people, will, as a rule, unconsciously tell you by their manner when you have touched the real obstacle. We do not advise this last method as a regular thing, but use it only in extreme cases, just when called out. It should rather be used as a reserve method. 35. RESERVE FORCE is indispensable to your best success. A good general never puts his entire army into action at one time. He keeps in reserve same of his strongest regiments, and heaviest batteries, and only brings them into action when the exigency of the situation requires it. Do the same in your work. Keep some of the strongest reasons why Spirella is the best corset and will give this particular individual the best wear in reserve; in other words, the arguments which apply to this particular case until the last. Talk about the merits of Spirella in a general way at first, until the interest is thoroughly aroused. When it is necessary, call upon your reserve force for more specific arguments to bear effectively upon the case in hand, and to meet her objections successfully. This, too, is the place to make most effective use of testimonials. You should study our testimonials and commit to memory at least a dozen of them bearing on as many different points. Also gather local testimonials and use the same whenever advantageous. The right formation and use of your Reserve Force will gain many good customers which you otherwise would miss by a small margin. FORMULATE A STRONG LINE OF RESERVE ARGUMENTS AND A HEAVY EFFECTIVE BATTERY OF TESTIMONIALS, AND USE THEM AS WE ADVISE.
36. It is best at times to state the terms of the sale as early as possible after arousing a strong interest. What we mean by "terms of sale," is the price, style and quality of the cloth and stay. Had you not secured Mrs. Jefferson's order at the point when she gave it, you should have continued to meet her objections by reserve arguments and testimonials as stated above, and at the same time backed up every statement and every argument by showing the goods, until you have completely "knocked out" every argument she presented, and leave nothing but the total absence of money keep her from giving the order.
37. HOSE SUPPORTERS are not included in the retail price of Spirella Corsets as given in the Price List. Most customers want Hose Supporters with their corsets. We, therefore, advise that the price of the Hose Supporters be included in the price you quote to your customer. Do not hesitate to name the price when you know what your customer wants. Let the Hose Supporters selected be appropriate to the corset. Do not quote a cheap Supporter on a high grade corset or a high grade Supporter an a low price corset.
For durability we recommend our Hose Supporters made of the heavier webbing. We use the best webbing and the best fasteners obtainable for the prices quoted. We endeavor at all times to get fresh stock. A Hose Supporter loses its life, its elasticity, if subjected to heat.
By quoting the price of the Hose Supporters with the corset you then have a chance to deduct from the price quoted in case a customer does not want Supporters. By quoting the Hose Supporters with the corset you avoid the objection sometimes offered that Hose Supporters are furnished free with some corsets. 38. STAINLESS EYELETS AND RUST PROOF STAY.—Explain that we use the best lacers obtainable for the money, and that the eyelets and tips used in our corsets are stainless. Our Spirella, our Clasps and Steels are rust proof. Explain also that Spirella Corsets cannot be obtained in the stores; that they are controlled exclusively by our Company and can be obtained only through our regular authorized Representatives.
After you have booked the order, then bring up the subject of material and show samples of the different grades of cloth which we are using in making corsets. Explain the price of each. In taking orders for summer corsets, we suggest that you recommend the thinner grades of cloth, although we make a few corsets in net material. We cannot recommend a light Batiste for heavy figures, or in larger sizes than 24.
39. If you wish to emphasize comfort in a corset to a lady, ask her how many hours she spends in her corset yearly. (Of course, this applies only to those who wear their corsets all the time.) If she sleeps eight hours out of every twenty-four, she is wearing her corset 5,840 hours each year. If these figures are pronounced slowly and distinctly, they became mare emphatic and carry more weight.
40. Spirella Corsets are acknowledged by leading physicians and physical directors to be the most healthful corsets on the market. Physicians admit that we have overcome the objectionable features in the average corset.
Dr. J. K. Newman, of Omaha, Nebr., writes: "Not until this week did I come in contact with the Spirella Corset. It pleased me so much I want to help you get the knowledge of it into every household where corsets are worn. To this end if it meets your approval, I will send you the name and address of every woman an my books (some 200 or 300), with the privilege of using my name in writing them. Thirty years practice has brought me in contact with many corsets, and their wearers, and no corset has ever satisfied me as your Spirella Boning does. I wish you success."
41. Spirella Corsets do not repress the pit of the stomach or interfere with digestion. Instead of dividing the organs of the chest from those of the abdomen and making an hour-glass of the figure, as the old-time corset did, by pressing in at the waist line, they act as a support to the abdomen when properly adjusted.
The Spirella Stay is so easy and pliable that it does not support the body to the detriment of good, healthful development of the muscles of the abdomen and waist. Neither is there any danger of harm from a broken steel. Our corsets give perfect freedom to the chest and do not interfere with the breathing.
These unequaled features command the unqualified endorsement of physicians everywhere. 42. We produce the proper corset for each figure to give it the proper style and comfort. These are all fitted to living models before the style is adapted and placed in the Spirella Family.
One should not think that because a particular model or style of corset looks artistic an a friend, that it will appear the same on her. It will not unless it is as well adapted to the one figure as to the other.
One may have an entirely different figure, capable of just as stylish appearance as the other, but the corset must be adapted to the figure. Impress this fact upon every customer and see to it that each selects a corset adapted to her figure. Your success and your future sales will depend largely upon your selection of the proper model.
You must further teach your customers how to put on their corsets and how to stand and sit correctly. For instructions along this line, see our special circular entitled, "How to Adjust the Corset."
43. A last suggestion. Every customer should be secured with a view to holding her patronage permanently. If you close your sales quickly continue to talk Spirella after booking the order, and make sure you have it well clinched before leaving. If she fully understands the valuable features of Spirella Corsets she will not only be satisfied, but will help you gain other customers. In addition to this section, you should make a careful study of "Our Correspondence Course," and the following section an "Obtaining an Interview."