ICCFA 2011 Wide World of Sales Conference

Call for Presentations (Deadline: June 4)

The ICCFA Sales & Marketing Committee is preparing for the 2011 Wide World of Sales Conference, January 12-14 at Bally’s Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, and we invite you to share your expertise with your colleagues.

The Wide World of Sales is the largest sales and marketing conference in the cemetery, cremation and funeral service profession. 

We are seeking the very best, most relevant and most thought-provoking sales and marketing programs, tools and techniques being used today. We want presentations with concrete, how-to information, with an emphasis on the "how" rather than the "why." If you have expertise to share, this is your opportunity to give back to the profession. The committee invites you to submit a session proposal, to include: 

• your contact information
• a detailed description of your "how to" topic, including the specific tools, techniques and/or initiatives the attendee will be able to put to use immediately
• the primary target for your presentation (managers, counselors or both; cemeteries, funeral homes or both)
• a list of handouts you will provide for our attendee on-site binder supplementing your presentation (at least two handouts are required)
• a brief bio regarding your background and qualifications, including any previous speaking experience

The format for this conference calls for numerous brief (20- or 30-minute) sessions, so please narrow your topic to one or two key points that you can fully develop and communicate within that time period. Please submit your proposal by June 4, 2010, via fax to 703.391.8416.

Thank you for your willingness to share your time and talents!

A few years back, my husband and I decided to buy replacement windows for our townhouse. The darned thing was practically made of windows -- 26 of them -- so we were no small account.

We got bids from two local companies and one large chain operation. All good companies, all good reputations, all eager for our business.

Two of the companies sent sales reps to our home. The large chain one in particular had quite the dog-and-pony show, with sample windows and demos to steer us away from their "good" and "better" options toward the "best." I'll never forget the look on Joe's face when their rep got down on his hands and knees on our floor to show us, using a little heater and fan, how airtight that sucker was.

The other company that sent their rep over almost got the sale. In fact, we signed on the dotted line and sent the happy rep on his way. But buyer's remorse set in. Something about the way we were pressured to "buy now" to get his special deal didn’t sit well with us, and so we took advantage of our three-day FTC Cooling Off Rule prerogative and called the next day to cancel.

We went with the third company, and I'll tell you why. They weren't the cheapest (they fell somewhere in the middle) and they weren't the most eager (they didn't send a rep over), but we felt they were the most straightforward. The guy faxed us a sheet explaining all of our options, including all the pricing information. He didn't try to discourage us from buying Models B or C instead of the more expensive Model A, and he didn't try to pressure us into buying now. In other words, he didn't treat us like prospects. He treated us like people ... intelligent people who had a decision to make and simply wanted the info necessary to make that decision.

The windows worked out great, by the way. If you live in Northern Virginia and are in the market, let me know and I'll be happy to pass on the referral.

How do you serve the ethnic markets in your community?
Perhaps with culture-specific merchandise in your selection room, bilingual staff members and special events tied to their cultural heritages.
Wilkirson-Hatch-Bailey has gone a step further—a big step.
The company opened a new funeral home, under a different name, aimed at the growing Hispanic community in Waco, Texas.

The typical funeral home doesn't hold a grand opening fiesta. But then Funeraria Brazos isn't your typical funeral home, at least not in North America.

In November 2003, Wilkirson-Hatch-Bailey, a family-owned funeral home in Waco since 1925, transformed one of its two locations into Funeraria Brazos, which advertises servicio con un abrazo de familia a familia (service with an embrace from family to family).

Vidal De Leon, who came to work at Wilkirson-Hatch-Bailey in 2001 as a preneed counselor and has since graduated from the Dallas Institute of Funeral Service, manages Funeraria Brazos. He had previously worked at Wolfe Florist Inc. for 31 years.

The idea for a separate funeral home specializing in serving Hispanic families came through De Leon's talks with Darrell Simpson, WHB vice president. There are Hispanic funeral homes in other cities, including Dallas and Austin, but not in Waco, where the 2000 census recorded a population of 114,000, of which 24 percent is Hispanic—a much smaller market than Dallas (1.2 million, 36 percent Hispanic) or Austin (657,000, 31 percent Hispanic).

With WHB President Hatch Bailey's approval, the planning for Waco's first Hispanic funeral home began in 2003. According to De Leon, the process of transforming the existing funeral home into Funeraria Brazos was relatively easy. Though the downtown location was the company's first, opened in 1925, in recent years only 20 percent of WHB's families had chosen to use that facility.

The building's Spanish architecture was perfectly suited for use as a Hispanic funeral home. However, a new interior design was needed.
"We now have more of a Hispanic, Southwest flavor to our decor," De Leon said. "We make use of bold colors. One of the most talked-about accessories is a pottery-type figurine of people carrying a cross."

"We incorporate candles for certain services," De Leon said as he discussed the interior design. "This is a constant process with us, because we want this funeral home to have energy while still being a place of comfort. We are very proud to show people our funeral home while giving them information about our services."

After six months of work, Funeraria Brazos, Waco's first and only Hispanic funeral home, was ready to open its doors to the Hispanic community. Staffing needs were met through both a transfer of existing staff and new hiring.

The grand opening fiesta took place on November 2, 2003, El Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead, a traditional Hispanic holiday honoring loved ones who have passed on from this life to the next. More than 400 people attended the opening, and every media outlet in Waco covered the event.

Service families expect
Funeraria Brazos is dedicated to accommodating Hispanic funeral customs in order to help the family through the grieving process. Hispanic families typically expect more time for viewing and visitation. Children are frequently brought to the funeral home. Hispanic families also stay much later into the night during the viewing than is typical in Anglo culture.

"We have extended hours," De Leon said. "We have organized all-night wakes, and we have been here Saturdays and Sundays." Funeraria Brazos is more than willing to meet each family's needs as it works to achieve success "one funeral at a time," he said.

The staff has not assumed that people automatically will flock to the funeral home. Funeraria Brazos has implemented an aggressive marketing strategy, including television spots, direct mail, brochures, sponsorships, radio spots and speaking engagements.

The marketing campaign began in April 2004 with a postcard mailing to nearly 2,500 Waco households. The postcard featured De Leon and graphically illustrated the funeral home's competitive prices.

The marketing has continued ever since:
• The funeral home hosted a successful breakfast for area Hospice employees and staff to tour the facility. The question and answer portion of the event lasted nearly two hours.

• De Leon has spoken about funeral service and the importance of preplanning to numerous organizations, including the Cen-Tex Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and local church groups.

• Television and radio spots have been produced in English and Spanish and aired on both English and Spanish-language stations.

• Funeraria Brazos has sponsored events in the Waco area such as the Cen-Tex Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Annual Banquet and Cinco de Mayo celebrations. At Waco's Cinco de Mayo event last year, De Leon passed out information and discussed Funeraria Brazos.

• In honor of its first anniversary, the funeral home distributed a full-size, Spanish themed 2005 calendar featuring reminders of dozens of local Hispanic events.

Community ties
A Waco native and a well-respected member of the Hispanic community, De Leon
was a perfect person to lead Funeraria Brazos. During his 31 years at the florist shop, he served part of the time as personnel director. He is a member of the Knights of Columbus, a former Big Brothers and Big Sisters board member and a former member of the McLennan Community College Board of Trustees.

In addition, Funeraria Brazos has a five-member advisory team to help tap into the community the funeral home serves. According to De Leon, the five member advisory team, which meets regularly "to assist Funeraria Brazos in assuring that the needs of the Hispanic community are met," has helped shape the funeral home's vision. It was the advisory team's idea to create and distribute the calendar.

Team members are:
• Rose Flores, a Waco native with the local chapter of the American Heart Association and a volunteer for the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

• George Gobea, a retired community leader who worked with the model city program and was a member of the Equal Opportunity Advancement Corp. and now runs an antique shop.

• Carlos Pesina Jr., City Council member and owner of Hair Designs.

• Ruben M. Santos, former Waco mayor and former Hispanic Chamber of Commerce president. A former Baylor University employee, he is now at the Brazos Higher Education Service Corp.

• JoAnn Benavidez Wright, a Waco native who serves on the board of Avancé Waco, a program that teaches young mothers parenting skills, and a member of the League of United Latin American Citizens.

The press release announcing Funeraria Brazos' marketing campaign last spring included comments from Pesina on the benefits of preneed funeral planning. "The prearrangements that I have made for my father have taken away most of the concerns I will face at the time of his death," Pesina said. "I have just finished paying on the five year finance plan, and now the price of my father's funeral is locked into 1998 prices. Prearrangement of funerals is a good thing that more Hispanics need to be aware of. I applaud Funeraria Brazos and Vidal De Leon for bringing this service to our Spanish speaking community."

Clearly, that sort of endorsement from a community leader helps. "I am very fortunate to have such a wonderful team of folks who understand and want to play such an important role," De Leon said.

After a year of operation, "The excitement and passion are still very much with us," De Leon said. "We're providing the best funeral service to every family that walks through our door."

According to De Leon, Funeraria Brazos will continue to grow and meet the needs of Waco's growing Hispanic community. Hispanics are the largest minority group and fastest growing ethnicity in Texas.

"The market is going to grow, not get smaller," De Leon said. "Those businesses that will be playing catch-up in five years will not be able to."

Could your sales message be designed to appeal to fewer than one-third of your potential customers? The answer is yes, if you think your typical potential customer is a man.
 
Futurist Faith Popcorn calls it "the dominant economic force in the country." There are 190 million of them in the United States.

They have $4.4 trillion in buying power. They purchase 81 percent of all products and services, and they influence most of the rest of purchases. They are responsible for 85 percent of the checks written. Forty-seven percent of them are stockholders. Forty percent of households with assets of more than $600,000 are headed by them.

And, they make 67 percent of funeral arrangements. Who are they? Women. Clearly, to be effective, your funeral home or cemetery's sales and marketing efforts need to consider how and why women make purchasing decisions.

How women buy
There are five basic factors to keep in mind when selling to women:

1. Women create relationships. Before women want to learn about your products and services, they want to get to know you. Don't just start talking—listen first. Women need to feel comfortable with you before they buy. Women want to create an authentic, personable interaction with you.

2. Women want a pleasurable experience. They are looking for an organization they can connect to and with whom they can have a pleasurable experience. The next time you walk into Nordstrom's, notice the person playing the beautiful piano; notice the coffee cart and warm wood everywhere. Women want a shopping experience to be pleasurable.

3. Women often buy from the periphery. Starbucks is a perfect example of how to take advantage of this. Notice how their stores have CDs on the counter. The coffee company knows women like music but won't usually take the time to go to a music store to buy it.

4. Women care about your company's reputation and motivation. They will pay up to 20 percent more for a product if they feel that you and your business are trying to make the world or the community a better place.

5. Women want you to help them simplify their lives. Most women are doing the work of four people. They are (or were) a wife, a mother, perhaps a grandmother and often a business person as well. No wonder so many women are stressed out! Make it easy to do business with you.

Women can see right through a standard sales pitch. In general, they respond to a Dale Carnegie rule that says, "People want to know how much you care before they care about how much you know." In selling preneed or at-need products and services, it is paramount that you listen to their story as you would with a good friend. I am recommending that you sincerely make a new friend, not just a customer.

The average man, on the other hand, doesn't want to talk about his feelings. Men in general don't talk about their feelings—especially not to a salesperson. Men just want to take care of business. Most women want to feel like they have a relationship, while most men want efficiency.

Getting it right
Sweat the details. Pay close attention to the entire experience your customer has with your firm. Work at making her experience, which often occurs at a very difficult time, as comfortable as possible. Is your parking lot free of potholes, ice or oil stains? Are your windows clean? Is the front door clean? Do you offer to carry the urn or her husband's personal items to her car? Is the bathroom cleaned regularly? Believe it or not, I've visited many funeral homes where the bathrooms are downright dirty.

Offer her a beverage and present it in a clean glass or beautiful tea cup with a saucer on a silver tray. Men may be fine with Styrofoam, but women will appreciate the china. These are the types of everyday details that are important to women.

Sell to their peripheral vision. Information about all of your products and services should be readily available. You may want to consider installing a literature rack near the ladies' room.

Do you sell acknowledgement cards? What about books on grieving? By offering these peripheral products, you also make your customers' lives easier. Why should they go to amazon.com or Borders to buy a book on grieving when you are the expert? Why not offer a line of tasteful acknowledgement cards so they don't have to go out and buy them somewhere else?

Get outside the funeral home and meet people where they work, play and volunteer. Be more than just "bricks and mortar." Sponsor "lunch break" talks on preplanning the funeral either for your potential customers or their parents at some of the larger companies in your area. Sponsor a walk to raise money for breast cancer research. Consider partnering with local gyms, spas and family practices to offer grief counseling and end-of-life planning. This also lets them know you care about the community.

Offer convenience and guidance. Women want convenience and a simpler life. Why do you think pre-washed lettuce in a bag has become such a popular product? It's certainly not because it's cheaper—women will pay more for convenience.

Women also want to do things well and make a difference in the lives of those they care about. Your job is to offer help and guidance so that making decisions about end-of-life matters is as simple and uncomplicated as possible.
If you help a woman through an at-need or preneed process and she comes out feeling as though she made the right decisions, if you help a woman through the arrangements for a loved one's funeral and you make the terrible experience easier for her, she'll sing your praise the rest of your life.

Do you sit down with your customers and go over a timeline of the funeral and describe the options that can be included? Do you offer a selection of songs that can be downloaded from the Internet and played at the service? Do you offer meaningful options such as dove releases? Have you partnered with people who might have boat, air or land scattering services? Most important, have you offered to coordinate all the details for them?

Find your own voice. This is not solely about catering to women; it's also about finding what you are passionate about. If it's planning life celebrations, then make that your area of expertise. If you identify what motivates you and what your focus is, women will be attracted to your business, and you will have a better chance of appearing on their radar.

Keep those loyal customers
How do you keep these customers once you get them? How's your CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system? Set up a system to remember them with a birthday card every year. Send a condolence note on the anniversary of their loved one's death. Send a box of chocolates on Valentine's Day with a handwritten note. Send a Thanksgiving card. (Everyone sends Christmas cards—try something different.) Try to make her day, but be consistent and be sincere. Women can smell a fake from a mile away.

Does all this sound like a lot of trouble? Remember, women make up two-thirds of your market. And when you gain a happy female customer, there are a couple of bonuses:

• Because women are more inclined to long-term relationships, enhanced loyalty means every sales and marketing dollar invested in female customer acquisition results in a higher retention rate.

• Because word-of-mouth is more prevalent among women, they are more likely to refer others to businesses that impress them favorably—in essence, free marketing of the most powerful kind.

In summary, the next time you work with a female customer; take the time to get to know who she is. Think about her shopping experience with you and whether you are making the experience as pleasurable as possible. Get involved in the community so she knows you are trying to make the world a better place.

Most important, make the whole process of dealing with you and your funeral home or cemetery simple and easy. If you can make it effortless for her, you've truly done a great job.

Companies that overlook the magnitude of women's rapidly growing buying clout will find themselves fast losing ground to competitors who recognize the new force in an old phrase: the power of the purse.

Before discussing the kinds of advertising that are most appropriate for cemeteries, it is well that I first impress upon you the necessity of same. We all know that the mind is the intellectual faculty in a man that conceives, judges and reasons before there is an action of any part of the body. No matter how ridiculous the message to the mind may be, they necessitate immediate thought and there is a tendency to comply with your thoughts, though they may be repressed by the contradictory. As an illustration, should I ask you to "stand up" how well does the mind know the parts of the body to command to move? You can almost imagine yourself standing and should there not have been rival thoughts, their action would have been the result.

Suppose you reflect back just for a minute to some calamity or accident; now any sweet music, or song you have heard, now beautiful sights seen. Did you remember first something horrible; then the sounds of charming music; then some vivid picture, whether it may be of someone you admire or some beautiful scenery? These are the results of some impression upon the mind in the past. You know your present thoughts, whether they be upon my subject or on other objects that may attract you and you remember former impressions upon your mind, therefore, I want to impress upon you vividly, that the mind is the controlling factor of the body, and that the sole purpose of all advertising is to impress upon the people's minds that you have something to sell, and it is your desire to control their actions by purchasing from you. The sooner you realize it is the minds of the people you desire to control and plan to accomplish this, the better for your sales account.

As there are two methods of reaching one's mind, both by verbal and written expressions, it may be also applied as the two classes of advertising:

Verbal Advertising

You may be a good conversationalist, yet, if you spend an entire day telling of the beauty and advantages of your cemetery, only a very small per cent of the people would be reached and you cannot get in touch with them by staying in your office or cemetery, therefore, proper verbal advertising would necessitate house-to-house canvassing and this method of selling lots is a position we do not relish. I have only heard of a very few attempting this task and if you cannot realize it being a hard proposition, suppose you try it yourself, just for the experience?

Most people will not talk about buying a cemetery lot with you, and they look upon a purchase with as much horror as you would should an undertaker try to sell you a casket for yourself; yet, you should realize, more so than men in other professions, the certainty of death, as you are constantly attending funerals.

To those who think a well-kept cemetery is their best advertisement, I want to ask them what percent of the people in your city visit your cemetery each day? Are not the majority of those lot owners who do visit? Do you realize that most people are superstitious about visiting cemeteries, and even though you may have an attractive one, people may not know this, because they do not care to visit it.

In many cities, where permits for visitors are required, people who would like to visit your cemetery are deprived of seeing it and if those who do see same were pleased with its beauty, a lasting impression would be made upon them, hence, the necessity of well-kept grounds. A well-pleased purchaser is no doubt a valuable assistant, but do you advertise a friend in business and why should you expect others to do this for you? While if may be true, enthusiastic owners may be willing to recommend your cemetery, but unless people ask them for their opinion, they feel a delicacy in suggesting, because, they would think their neighbor used their own judgment in selecting a house for the living, and why not they exercise the same right while purchasing lots for their dead?

A testimonial, even though spread by accomplices, may never reach the parties desired. The average lot owner, however, does not take the interest in your cemetery to spread forth its advantages nor should we expect them to do so.

Verbal advertising has been the only kind used in a few successful ones, yet this method is bound to be limited, regardless of how efficient a cemetery may be kept, or the popularity of officers.

I have endeavored to show how good results may have been obtained by many, and suggested ideas which may be used to an advantage, but while verbal advertising may assist, yet, it does not reach the masses.

Written Advertising

Man has characters and letters which represent sounds, and when seen by the eye, they are quickly pictured to the mind and an impression is made, as previously explained by the sounds in verbal expressions. Suppose you read an advertisement, "Telephone Jones when you need ice;" now, I do not say that the advertisement would compel you to buy ice from Jones, but when yon read same, you knew that Jones did sell ice, but maybe you preferred purchasing from someone else, yet, some day when you are in a hurry and want ice, you may phone Jones, then, his advertising has produced results. The mind forms habits of thought, and when once established they are controlling factors of our actions; just the same in the purchase of a cemetery lot, as to you and the ice man.

I once read an advertisement of Franklin Murphy & Co., which stated "pure varnish is death to the beauty of anything." While this may be true, still, the advertisement was inexplicit and it leaves you in doubt. Are they the agents of manufacturers? Is their varnish the best or poorest? What brand must I ask for to get theirs? Where is it sold? In order that you may avoid this, write your advertisements explicit1y.

Because you may not care to write advertisements yourself, should not exclude your home advertising; why not employ one who can; especially when you have anything of importance to get out? Should you decide to build a home, you may draw the plan yourself, but likely you realize that an architect could do better; if so, why not employ an experienced advertisement writer?

The eye is like a photographer's camera and when focused at any particular object, other things seem to be blurred and indistinct. The power to attract attention depends upon the sensation or impression made, therefore, novel, artistic advertising and those constantly changed are noticed more than those of gradual changes, or still less are those of the same wording, there being no necessity of doing this, yet, continual advertising is a recommendation for anything, as they must have merit, otherwise, it would not sell.

A child is interested in an often repeated tale and it is well that you occasionally repeat former advertisements, as impressions made gradually diminish unless repetition is made, hence, the necessity of continual advertising, lest the light impressions made are not lost. As these impressions upon the mind are only natural and should you desire to produce them upon the people of your city, the advertiser must not expect to "take the town by storm" within a short time, but realize "he is going against nature" for it may take a year to show results.

Though your cemetery may change the wording of your ads at each issue, yet, it is a splendid idea, to have some characteristic feature in them, whether it may be a special border, monogram, signature, picture, motto, special type, or engraving of your cemetery's name. Do you remember the jolly smile of the Cream of Wheat chef, Forces Sunn'y Jim, Fairbank's Gold Dust Twins, the signature of Coca-Cola, and the monogram of R. J. R. tobacco? Though the advertisements of these articles may contain different wording in each issue, yet, as soon as you see these familiar features you know what they advertise. You know of these articles, yet, you never purchase them and for this reason you should continually advertise if you want to make the same impression upon the minds of the people in your home city that these well-advertised articles have made upon you.

The best way to reach the people is through the newspapers, and should you not run a daily advertisement, at least run them once a week, in Saturday or Sunday's issue. Local papers are eagerly sought and read, not only by subscribers, but by each one in a home, therefore, home papers, or those having a circulation in your district are preferable.

Write your advertisement as though the public had never heard of your cemetery, for while they do not care for its history, they will lead of its advantages, and some day when they have to purchase, they think of the features made known through the press.

Have a photographer take pictures of the pretty spots of your cemetery and have cuts made and by using them with two-column display advertisements, they are attractive to the eye, and are as necessary for you as to merchants, who have show windows, and signs.

If your cemetery is new and has few suitable views, have a photographer take pictures of places to be improved and later, take another at the same places, so as to show the contrast, as both views showing before and after improvements will show you are progressive.

To those who do not desire display advertisements, the one column line reading notices may be properly worded and appear as news items. Write upon one particular advantage at a time, suppose you first tell of the approach and macadamized roads which lead to the beautiful resting place.

2nd - Impress the people that your location is ideal, that it is away from the manufacturing district and that its distance is an advantage, because of the rapid growth of most cities.
3rd - Having streetcar connection and funeral cars can be secured.
4th - The size of your lots and terms of sale.
5th - Single graves of men of small means.
6th – Trees, shrubbery planted to beautify.
7th - Advantages of lawn plan.
8th - Uniform appearance of each section.
9th - Grass mowed on all lots free, none neglected.
10th - Deeds given same as other real estate.
11th - Beautiful flower beds and designs which are attractive.
12th - The subsoil does not easily absorb, or hold water and free from rocks.
13th - All lots perfectly drained.
14th - Attendants furnished at each funeral.
15th - Shelter tents furnished during inclement weather.
16th - Natural drainage, and pipes placed.
17th - Estimate the cost if owners had to care for their lots as in olden days for a period of ten years.
18th - Police protection and watchmen.
19th - Superintendent's, watchman's or foreman's residence within the grounds.
20th - Accurate and permanent records kept, giving number and location of every grave.
21st - Chapel for use of families not having sufficient room for services at their homes.
22nd - Non-sectarian, every creed welcome.
23rd - Not run under old assessment plan.
24th - Perpetual care a blessing to all.
25th – Satisfaction of having your lot cared for even though you go away.
26th - How you guarantee future care.
27th - Amount of endowment and perpetual care funds.
28th - How revenue from investments will be controlled and spent.
29th - Percent of sales you are reserving for future care.
30th - Is your cemetery controlled by politicians, or do you select a force of men of ability instead of a pull?
31st - Do lot owners cooperate and do they meet or elect trustees.
32nd - When new sections are placed on the market.
33rd - Future contemplated improvements.
34th - Modern receiving vaults.
35th - The amount of capital stock which is a guarantee that your cemetery is on a business basis and has sufficient financial backing.
37th - State your acreage which you think is sufficient to guarantee its permanency many years.
38th - Number of interments which is a proof of its popularity.
39th - Having a fair and square policy to all and no favorites either among rich or poor.
40th - Modern plans having been drawn especially for the grounds following the contours.
41st - Lots accessible by walks and drives.
42nd - Describe entrance and gateway or other buildings.
43rd - Landscape work by assisting nature in improving the grounds.
44th - Location of office, whether at cemetery or in the city.
45th - Explain having telephone connections and information will be cheerfully given.
46th - Lakes and streams.
47th - Your mutual or cooperative plan.
48th - For interment of white people only.

I mentioned these features merely to give you an idea of the points that would be interesting to outsiders and it is for you to study your cemetery and its advantages, then you can write articles, as Webster says, "To give to the public notice of, or describe with a view of sale."
 
When we sell a lot or single grave, we keep a record of the relatives and add these to a list of prospective purchasers, and good results have been accomplished by selling them lots, as we constantly send circular letters, folders or booklets telling of Elmwood's advantages. Street car ads, when they have a view of your cemetery and tell what cars reach it, bring results.

Every cemetery should have rules and regulations printed, but they should not be sent as advertisements, as they are only intended for lot owners. Souvenir post cards and calendars are good and though booklets are expensive, they should be printed occasionally, but remember in your advertising try and keep your cemetery's advantages in the minds of the people.

From the publication:
AACS - Proceedings of the 22nd Annual Convention
Held at Kansas City, MO
August 11, 12 and 13, 1908

Many speeches, talks, and sessions such as this one are started with a definition from Webster's dictionary. When asked to serve on the faculty of this Counselor's Training Course, I became nervous when I was referred to as an expert. I looked up the word. In the dictionary "ex" comes directly from Latin and means "from" and "spurt" is defined as a "drip under pressure" so that now I feel right at home.

Aids in developing good habits for assured success. The key words in the title of this session are "Success" and Assured". Success cannot be defined by Webster's dictionary or Encyclopedia Britannia or any other book. The reason is simple.  You have your own definition of success because you have your own goals. Success is the "degree or measure of attaining one's desired end", according to Webster. Yet this is not enough - because even before a goal is attained others are set and life becomes a continual flow rather than starting and stopping at one successive goal after another.

The other key word is “assured”.  No one on this green earth can "assure" you of success. If I had this ability, I would rent the largest office in Philadelphia and have three floors reserved just for the waiting room. People would come from all over the world - if I could assure success, or could just pick out the individuals who would succeed. Yet there is one individual who can do this for you. You shave him every morning and brush his teeth every night. That hint should be enough.  You are your own assurance of success.

To make people well, the medical student studies people who are sick, injured or diseased.  To understand mentally sound individuals the psychologist studies the mentally abnormal and mentally deficient, to develop into a successful cemetery counselor we should study the ones who have failed - find out why they failed -and do the opposite. We should make a habit of doing right what the failure has done wrong. We must assume that his failure had the ability and aptitude.

The prime cause of an individual not succeeding in this business is his failure to get leads. The habit of prospecting is of the utmost importance in developing into a successful counselor. Without prospects, a salesman is unemployed. Without enough prospects, the best presentation is of no value. Having more than enough prospects is impossible. Simply possessing prospects generates excitement - it makes us anxious to get into the field. It gives us confidence. The hope that radiates from an unsold prospects card is enough to drive us into making that "one more call". Getting prospects has been covered this morning, covered well, yet I am so convinced that getting and having prospects is so important that it cannot be emphasized too much. Prospecting is the one phase of selling that appeal least to most salesmen. Getting prospect should be such a habit, such an integral part of our lives that we should feel like sinners if we fail to prospect every working day. The necessity of having prospects in quantity is the most widely known secret in the sales field. It is the key to selling success. It installs confidence, generates enthusiasm, breeds courage, and causes determination and persistence. The salesman should prospect every day - the successful one does.

Another quality that causes failure is the lack of confidence.

A new salesman overcomes this lack of confidence in his ability with his enthusiasm to learn.  Knowledge as it is stored up, strengthens confidence. A new salesman must remember during his first calls that although he has much to learn and is far from being an expert, compared to the prospect that he is talking to, he is authority and knows much more about the cemetery business than the prospect does. I will bet there is not a salesman here that has not driven past a prospect's door without stopping or walked up to it without knocking.  I have.  Until the thought struck me that I was going into their home for their benefit, not mine.  The few dollars I make on any sale are spent in a short time, but their benefits are forever.  Form the habit of service.  This idea alone, serving others, will change your concept of the door – it will become a portal, to enter to serve, and not a barrier with a lock.

Another characteristic of the failure is his inability to generate his own energy – his lack of inner drive.  There is only one thing worse than seeing a man with ability and no drive and that is the pitiful individual with drive and no ability.  Form the habit of making goals – ultimate goals that require years are important – but make short term goals also.  Form the habit of reminding yourself of them.  Write them down.  Tape them to the mirror where you shave.  Carry them with you.  Look at them often.  Make your specific goals a part of your routine thought and not only will the energy to attain them be yours but also the joy of attaining them will be yours.

Many individuals who fail as salesmen lack conviction and dedication of purpose.  Others are so mild mannered that they cannot communicate their beliefs forcefully.  They seem to lack “spine” or “guts”.  They lack what I have heard called the “tiger instinct”.  It does have the qualities of instinct in that they are facets that are basic to some personalities and cannot be changed easily.

Some failures cannot bear up to the “no” answers that every salesman must get.  Form the habit of listening to them without becoming discouraged.  It takes one hundred and seventy-eight “no’s” to make a sale.  Let me illustrate.  It takes one hundred sixty canvass calls to produce sixteen suspects.  That means 144 “no” suspects doors.  If you start with sixteen prospects in the evening, 8 will not be home, 4 more will not have the entire buying unit present, 2 will own elsewhere and two stories will result.  In most presentations we must listen to at least ten rejections before we close so that is 20 or a total of 178 rejections.  It takes an individual with ability to stand rejection and still remain pleasantly persistent.  It takes a man with “tiger instinct”.

All successful men have three characteristics: 1) Ability, 2) Confidence, 3) Determination and 4) persistence. A fifth quality usually is present, a genuine love of what they are doing. A love that has developed because of an inner satisfaction that seems to go beyond financial satisfaction. Do not be afraid to fall in love with your chosen profession.

Another habit that should be continually cultivated is the habit of finding an easier better way. Always strive to become more efficient.

Form the habit of making calls every evening of the week and on Saturday. The golden hours are few - from 6 to 9, five nights a week, is only fifteen effective evening selling hours. It is obvious that Friday is becoming more a part of the weekend - people shop or seek amusement or just jam the streets with their cars, so it seems.

It is equally as obvious that many people are home - just as many sales can be made Friday evening as any other night. Do not try to be successful on only four nights a week.

Not only form the habit of working Friday evening but also search for the daytime presentations. There are countless opportunities to sell during the day. One month we closed a third of our sales before 5 o'clock in the evening - this releases that much more time to call on other people during the Golden Hours.

Another way to increase your efficiency is after calling on a prospect, spend two more minutes to quality the neighbors. It takes only a brief time, yet will bring you many, sales during a year – try it, what can you lose?

The responsibility is really yours.  Others can point the way but you must do the travelling.  You are your own best friend or your own worst enemy.  The decision is always yours.

The key words in the title of this session are SUCCESS and ASSURED. SUCCESS cannot be defined in a dictionary or encyclopedia or any other book. The reason is simple.... you have your own definition of SUCCESS you have your own goals. SUCCESS is the "degree or measure of attaining one's desired end", yet this is not enough.... because even before a goal is attained, others are set and life becomes a continual flow rather than starting and stopping at one successive goal after another.

The other key word is ASSURED.... No one can "ASSURE" you of SUCCESS – the reason being no one can do it for you. If you are willing to pay the price to learn all there is about the job and work toward that goal, you are your own assurance of SUCCESS.

I am going to give you my opinion of what I think are some good habits that are successful in the cemetery business as a Memorial Counselor. Let's just start with the beginning of our day:

1. A salesman has to get in the habit of rising early in the morning, getting himself organized to report to the office and turn in his sales and do anything he has to do so he will be ready to go prospecting.... not stay in bed until the mood moves him to get up and not have time to get organized and say it's too late to go now, will go tomorrow.

2. Planning your day's work when you get to the office, just what you are going to do that day will help you get more out of the hours you work... you will make every minute count as you have set up all things you want to accomplish that day, even personal things that are to be done for the family which in my book have to be done before 5PM, not afterwards unless it is after 10 o' clock that night.

3. The habit of prospecting is of utmost importance in being a successful counselor. By this I mean out in the field, going door to door at least for 2 hours each morning depending on the time of year....during the summer 9 to 11 AM ... during the winter months 10 AM to 12 noon. Without enough prospects, the best presentation is of little value. You have to continue prospecting every day to assure yourself of successful selling. Somehow I suppose it is the anticipation of returning to present our program to a family that gets a salesman out in the field in the evening.

4. To make daytime presentations to make that extra sale or bonus sales it will have to begin when you are prospecting. It is necessary to know if they are retired people or a man who works shift work and what his day off is. Anytime you wait to see these families during the Golden Hours from 5 to 9 PM instead of some other part of the day, your time is not being used wisely.

5. Working 5 nights a week and making Saturday calls is a habit that will lead to only one thing.... more presentations being given and naturally resulting in more sales being made. If you just work 5 days a week and 4 hours a night, this would be only 20 selling hours a week, which totals up to a very few hours for a week's work. Yet, I hear a lot of salesmen say Friday is becoming more a part of the weekend - people are shopping - going out of town - and hundreds of other reasons they are not at home.  You know and I know that everybody doesn't leave home at the same time any day of the week. Just because a salesman made a few calls one Friday evening and did not find his particular prospects home, it was a poor night to make calls. All this man is doing is looking for an excuse not to work Fridays. My recommendation is that Friday is as good as any night of the week.

6. Calling into the office during the day when you are out working is a good idea, as someone that you previously presented may want to meet you at the park, or an owner would like to come to see his lot or has a lead for you.

7. Starting out early in making your evening calls can oftentimes get you that extra sale by making 2 presentations instead of one. I feel a man should start making his calls as soon after 5 PM as possible and make his last call 8:45 to 9:00 PM to get in at least 2 presentations an evening. When a man makes excuses this is too early or it is too late to make calls, pretty soon he reaches a point where there is no time that is right time for making calls. It all depends on you, how successful you want to be.

8. Write down prospects names you are going to call on in the evening in the rotation that you plan to see them. This can be a big time saver ... knowing whom you are going to call on first, second, etc. These prospects should be as close to one another as possible. A man should have at least 20 prospects to see to assure himself of finding at least 2 families to present, or no less than one presentation before giving up making calls that night.

9. Delivering your contracts promptly lets the family know we have a most efficient operation.... the new owner may have a question to ask as there might be something they did not quite understand which will make your sale more secure.... also, they have had time to think of someone else they would like to refer. These are excellent leads to call on.

10. Make presentation so simple and clear that even a 14 year old child can understand what you are saying. When people do not understand what you are trying to explain to them or because you take certain things for granted, skip over something you think is unimportant or do not talk loud enough, they are not going to buy from you.

11. Be enthusiastic about your job, your park, while you are making your presentation, because this will excite your prospects into becoming enthused. Your presentation has to move along accordingly. A slow talking individual who is dragging his presentation will cause loss of interest of the prospect and also the loss of the sale in most cases.

12. Let each presentation teach you a lesson so you will not make the same mistake twice. You can sometime analyze your presentation, what you said or didn't say or forgot to do and many other things... and most of all why you did not close the sale. This kind of education comes high. I do not believe too many of us in this room today would reach down in our pocket and payout cash money for this education, but that's exactly what you are doing when you miss a high percentage of your presentations. It's pretty expensive, so at least get something out of it so it won't be a total loss.

13. Asking for referrals after each sale is a most profitable habit for Success.  It takes such a short time to ask the family for the names of relatives, their friends, neighbors and fellow workers. It will take a little encouraging and suggesting to them to start the ball rolling. Some families will give you from 3 to 10 leads which will keep you busy getting out to see them, but don't take off in all directions of the city wait until you have several prospects in a general area.

14. Always follow through on whatever promise you may have made to the family you sold, whatever it may be... information on someone's burial lot who is related to them, the gift you promised if you sold one of their referrals, or any other important matter. This builds confidence with your families and will get more sales for you in the future.

15. Show each family your appreciation of their becoming a new property owner in your park. Congratulate them for making this wise decision together. This will leave an impression with them of your sincere interest in your job and being of service to them. Be sincere when you say this ... not just go through the motions. This word will be passed along to others and will result in future sales.

16. When driving through your park and you see a family wandering around trying to locate someone's burial place or lot, stop your car, go over and introduce yourself, ask if you may assist them in anyway or help them. It is amazing how many times this little gesture will result in a sale. They may be out of town visitors or some member of the family who lives here locally that does not own. This can always be learned by asking a few questions or becoming a little better acquainted with them. This can become a habit as easily as driving out the front gate.

17. Work historical records on the burials held in your park to supplement your prospect list... the nearest of kin of the deceased, his pallbearers and friends who attended the services. The need for burial property has been brought very close to these people and, if they are non-owners, they make very good families to call on. This should be done in three or four weeks after the burial.

18. Study and learn everything you can about your park, that you might become more proficient in your job as a memorial counselor. The more knowledge you have about your park and services and what is available for sale, the better position you will be in to answer questions and also make sales, because you keep up to date with what is going on.

19. Be sure you make all sales meetings. Something might be brought up of great importance in closing a sale by one of your fellow workers that could close that extra sale for you.... also, by not being there you might miss a lead that is handed out that could result in 5 or 6 sales, besides getting more educated on how to do a better job.

20. Try to attend funeral services of your deceased property owners if possible. Many a family comes direct to the cemetery, and not to the funeral home and by being at the graveside you can visit with these families and ask them in what part of our park they own to get the ball rolling, and by visiting with them until the service arrives, you have all the information you want if they are good prospects or not.  It does not hurt anything to allow your property owners to see you attending the services that you are a permanent man with the cemetery and still around. Later on when everything settles down to normal, they may have the need for additional space or want you to see some friend of theirs that has just seen your cemetery for the first time.

21. Always dress neatly and, weather permitting, in a suit. You will never know whom you will meet. Sport clothes and sport shirts are not suited to this business - you are looked upon as someone in the ministry or other profession. You would feel rather out of place if you came to the office and found out one of your owners was being buried and you were wearing sport clothes. Being a good dresser is a good habit and leaves an impression of success.

22. Having a goal to work toward, which was covered earlier today, is a MUST to attain SUCCESS. A goal should be written down where you can see it every day as a reminder, whether for a short duration, a year or even years, to see if you are on schedule or behind schedule, or what you have to do to meet it. Make goals a part of your every day life, for the joy of attaining them will all be yours. This will give you the drive to carry you over the top in whatever you undertake.

23. Willingness to work long hours or pay the price for success can only come from you the salesman - a man who is a late starter and works only 6 or 7 hours a day will never become a great success. The successful man is one who does not worry about the hours he works or how long he works. If you will check into the lives of most successful business men you will find they put in more hours than anyone else.

24. Duplication of one's self to his profession as a memorial counselor that he truly wants to go out and render a service to the family he calls on, as so few families really don't know how to begin or what to do or even given very much thought to arranging for burial property before need .... Many do not know it can be arranged for before need. I would not say this is a habit, but it will certainly help you toward that goal of assured SUCCESS.

I suppose there are some aids and habits to help a salesman to be successful other than the ones I have covered here, but I will guarantee you one thing.... if you will just take these 24 steps you will be on the stairway leading to the top in your organization. The responsibility is yours only. Someone else can point the way in the right direction, but you must do the walking. You are either your best friend or your own worst enemy. No one can make this decision for you.... it is yours to decide.

From the publication:
“Collected Sales Management Speeches”
NAC
Compiled throughout the 1960s and early 1970s

If the toughest sales managers and most demanding customers in the world ever get together to create the perfect salesman, we submit he'll come out something like this:

(1) He is positive. He is confident because he knows why he is calling on his prospect, the good things his product will do for him and how their relationship will profit both of them. This positive quality is in evidence throughout his presentation, makes asking for the order a natural, logical finale of all that has preceded it.

(2) He knows his prospect's needs. He is ready to present his case in terms of the benefits to be gained and the losses to be avoided by the specific customer in terms of his specific business. He makes himself ready by correctly "casing" his prospect in advance. This includes acquainting himself with the prospect as an individual (age, education, interests) as well as a businessman (his responsibilities, goals, budget, past dealings with the salesman's firm).

(3) He asks for the order. Whatever may be the pleasant, personal aspects of the call, he knows, as a salesman, that he sees his prospects to get an order and he asks for it. Since he knows the benefits his product is built to confer, he is not humble or shy about requesting the order. On the contrary, he is proud to be the intermediary between his firm and his prospect.

(4) He takes a failure in his stride. The perfect salesman knows that he is not going to get an order from every interview and is self-possessed enough to take a defeat without seeing it as a personal rejection or disaster and to go on with his work. He realizes that part of his job is to learn from his failures - and he does.

(5) He does not play doubtful angles. He plans and expects to make his sales on the merits of his product and wastes no time figuring personal angles and pulls or other devious manipulations. He avoids name dropping that is not backed up by facts and dark hints about reciprocity. Why - because he doesn't need crutches and gimmicks.

(6) He is always looking for the extra beyond the ordinary. Nothing is good to him because it is good enough to get by with; he is constantly and relentlessly on the search for the extra he can know, the extra he can do. Toward this commendable end he maintains several lines of communications; to his own company and its assorted experts; to customers and prospects for their suggestions, complaints and ideas; to the competition and its ideas.

(7) He does not overplay good fellowship. The perfect salesman is sincerely friendly, but he thinks of himself as a businessman and acts like one, not wasting his time or his customer's with trivialities. He understands the necessity for a moderate amount of business entertaining, but knows the folly of attempting to buy an order.

(8) He stays away from coercive tactics. He has a reasonable proposal which he believes he can prove will benefit his customer and feels no need either to push him a round or hypnotize him. Certainly, he would never dream of raising his voice, suggesting unethical "deals" or in any way putting his prospect on the spot.

(9) He is not obsessed with his competition. He knows - studies – keeps up-to date on - his competition but he has already so thought through his own work in relation to it that he does not allow it to confuse, dominate or enslave his mind. He is never on the defensive about his product, and of course, he never, never, never knocks his rivals. He doesn't have to.

(10) He makes every call important. He does not make calls when he has no other reason for them than that perhaps they may do some good; he knows why he is calling and makes cans serve their purpose. He never is "just in the neighborhood" or "thought he'd drop in to see how things are going.”  He always has a bona fide reason for calling…. a new product to demonstrate, an idea to pass along, an opinion to get. Whenever he leaves a prospect, that prospect thinks, "I'm glad he came by”.

(11) He gives every call an individual flavor. He has his facts well in mind and tested phrases at his tongue's end, but he so words and presents what he has to say that he applies it to each individual so that it sounds distinctively directed to the man he is calling on. He accomplishes this by preparing himself beforehand. That is, he makes it his business - as indeed it is - to find out what his prospect's special problems are…..his needs…..his wants. Realizing that he is, basically, a problem solver, the perfect salesman habitually “looks for trouble”.  And he keeps an eagle eye out for solutions.

(12) He serves rather than sells. He does not start out to sell something but to serve somebody and this livens the tone of his voice and maintains the enthusiasm of his spirit. And he is smart enough to realize that the service he renders need not always be directly connected with his product.

(13) He is a gentleman. Thoroughly respecting himself and his work, he manifests respect for his customer and his work, thus being naturally courteous, appreciative and self-possessed. Although his business calls are business oriented, he can when necessary hold up his end of a conversation revolving about ideas, current events, the arts. He doesn't stoop to low humor or vulgar language. Nor does he feel the necessity to prove himself “one of the boys”.  The result: he is respected by others and taken seriously.

(14) He manages his time well. Time is the salesman's wallet, worth just as much as he puts into it; the perfect salesman handles time as meticulously as a chemist measures liquids. This means, first of all, that he plans his days, weeks, even months in advance. He knows where he must be at any given time, whom he will be seeing, what he needs for each call in the way of samples and visuals. Secondly, he is prepared to answer all, or at least, most questions and objections. Thirdly, he arranges his days so that his subsidiary duties, correspondence, telephone calls, miscellaneous paper work-conflict minimally with his selling hours. Finally, he has evolved some method of devoting more time to his bigger-and potentially bigger-accounts than to his smaller ones; at the same time, he does not neglect these smaller customers.

(15) He is persistent. Aware of the human tendency to procrastination, he takes it for granted and holds himself relentlessly to pursuing a sale until it is either consummated or he is convinced that there is a good reason for it not being consummated. Even then, he continues to try to eliminate the causes of "no sale."

(16) He is his own severest critic. He needs no sales manager to pursue him. He is his own sales manager, always alert to his own manifestations of weakness and ready to correct them. The only time he really worries is when he finds himself completely satisfied with his own performance. Should he knowingly err, even if he manages to get away with it, he bends his energies toward eliminating a recurrence of his mistake. He knows that the only man with whom he is truly in competition is-himself. And he is always trying to beat the salesman that he was yesterday.

(17) He can laugh at himself. He has a sense of humor, but he directs it at himself, not at others, thus keeping himself in the right perspective and not losing his sense of proportion.

(18) He does not fight figures. The perfect salesman does not expect miracles, but rather paces himself scientifically by facts, stepping up his work when times are slack to produce the extra asset to make up for the deficit.

(19) He creates customers. He is out to make more than sales; he is out to create customers, which he does by being their best-informed purchasing consultant and profit-builder. To keep well-informed, he is a steady, voracious reader of the trade press…..he keeps his eyes and ears open…..he constantly asks himself, when he comes across any item of interest, "Who might profit from this?” Of necessity he is a communicative person-he maintains a steady flow of letters and notes to customers and prospects, he uses his telephone, he speaks up at customers’ homes, offices or stores.

(20) He takes care of complaints at once. When trouble appears, he tackles it immediately, knowing well that complaints only fester if they are left without immediate attention. He has trained himself, accordingly, to be a good listener and to be intimately familiar with the machinery and policies of his firm for settling gripes. He does not promise satisfaction unless he is sure he can follow through.  But once he tells an unhappy customer that he will attend to a matter for him, his word is his bond.

(21) He knows people. He takes time to get acquainted with the best of modern understanding of human psychology, reading constantly to find out what moves people to act and react as they do.

(22) He is accurate, What he knows about his product, he knows and what he does not know, he knows that he does not know; his customers can count as facts what he tells them are such. He is not afraid of admitting a gap in his knowledge but almost always knows how, where or by whom it can be filled. Once learned, facts are his forever.

(23) He is not temperamental. Having no illusions about being a genius, he takes pride in his record only, thus disciplining his faculties to the steady work required to maintain it.

(24) He develops good habits of work. Realizing that routine work can be minimized by good working habits, the perfect salesman develops these, thus releasing both time and energy for creative thinking and selling, He has trained himself, therefore, to be methodical, developing certain tested responses to recurring situations. He has, for example, model letters of tested effectiveness for answering inquiries. He can answer the most common objections to his product in any of several ways. He has learned from experience, what appeals are most effective with prospects for what he is selling.

(25) He studies salesmanship, He knows that salesmanship consists as much, if not more, in techniques as in personality, and holds himself to continuous study of new and improved methods. Realizing that, regardless of what he sells, he deals in idea s, he is on a constant alert for new ones or fresh applications of old ones. Consequently, he maintains an open mind and is willing to experiment.

That, then, is the anatomy of the perfect salesman. A rare specimen indeed.

That's why the demand for him-and the rewards he can look forward to-are so great.

From the publication:
“Collected Sales Management Speeches”
NAC
Compiled throughout the 1960s and early 1970s

In the past, I have given a lot of talks all over the country to sales groups, trade associations, and many other organizations, but this is the first time that I have ever had the pleasure of addressing a cemetery group. It reminds me of the story about the young lad who requested a military funeral. Permit me to tell you about it. This happened not so long ago, but as President Truman was taking one of his famous dips along the coast of the West Indies, he ventured out just a little too far and almost drowned. As he experienced this "too close for comfort" catastrophe, the three young men who were watching him along the shoreline jumped in to save him. They quickly brought him to shore and then revived him. The President, feeling obligated, turned to the first chap and said, "What can I do for you, young man? You've saved my life and I feel indebted to you. The lad replied, Well, I have tried for a long time to get into Annapolis, but somehow or other I just don't have the right connections." "Consider it handled; I will see that you get in," said the President. Then he turned to the next boy, "Now, what can I do for you?" "Well, just like my buddy who's trying to get in Annapolis, I would like to get in West Point." The President again said, "Oh, I think that can be handled. Let me try and see what I can do for you." So then he turned to the third chap and said, "What can I do for you, young man?" "Mr. President, you can arrange a military funeral for me." "A military funeral – that’s a very odd request; why do you want a military funeral?" "When my old man finds out that I saved you, he's going to kill me." (Laughter) Thank you, Republicans!

Now that we've had a little fun, let's get down to business. In this maze of uncertainty that confronts most of us! In this feeling of restlessness, not knowing which road to follow in order to achieve success! In this terrific turmoil of nations! In the tremendous effect it has had upon the minds of all of us - the don't care attitude - the warped thinking of so many, "Well, I can't do anything about it anyway, so why try?" The one question that is still in the mind of many of us, and thank God it is, is "How can I become more productive? How can I do a better job than I'm doing at the present time? How can I become a better employee or a better employer, whichever the case may be? How can I help my family enjoy a higher standard of living? Or how can I contribute more to the trade or civic association that I belong to? There are a lot of answers to those questions and no doubt you have often asked those same questions of yourselves and then tried to solve them with little progress. One of the best answers I have to that question is to become a little more enthusiastic about everything that is worth while doing. Become excited! You have nothing to fear! Just let yourself go and literally burn with enthusiasm! I don't know why, but a lot of us have grown lackadaisical. We've lost our spirit, our zip, our pep and our steam and unfortunately too many of us have taken things for granted. Nothing ever accomplished in this nation was ever accomplished without en¬thusiasm. If we want to get ahead in our own business, if we want to become a better employee, if we want to become a better head of the family or if we want to win this war at a faster rate than we're winning it at the present time, let's begin to do something about it. Let's become all wrapped up in the issue! Let's find out why! Let's inject a little enthusiasm into our efforts and note the difference in the results.
I know of a minister-you probably say a minister doesn't sell. This gentleman's name is Dr. Bill Alexander. Maybe some of you know him. He is pastor of the First Christian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He is one of the most enthusiastic speakers and enthusiastic men that I know of. Let me tell you about him. I had the occasion to meet the man in Tulsa some time ago and didn't realize why he got such large crowds in his church, so I asked him. These people literally stood outside to hear him, so I asked him why. He said, "I don't know, Jim, but I think it is this: I set myself afire and I think people come to see me burn." More of us right here in this room and all around the entire country can do that same thing and do a better job. It's easy to set yourself afire to burn with enthusiasm. Before the morning session is over with, I hope to show you how to do it. Dr. Alexander has a story and with the kind permission of Mr. Donaldson, I would like to tell it to you. There is a little naughty word; it isn't too bad, so-o-o. May I have your permission, Mr. Donaldson? Thank you.

This story goes back to the time of the war where this young aviator was granted a few days furlough; he was dog tired and I mean dog tired. He boarded a crowded train and tried to get a seat, but to no avail. He wearily walked through the train, car by car, and couldn't find a seat, but he spied an old lady in the last coach who apparently had her pet poodle dog on the seat next to her. Well, he thought he could persuade her to have the dog get off the seat and let him sit down and be comfortable, so he approached her and said, "Madam, I wonder if you would mind taking that dog off the seat and putting it in the aisle and letting me sit down?" She said, "No, I won't." She said, "I bought a first-class ticket for that dog and that dog is going to remain on that seat." So the boy went back through the train a little dejected and thought he could per¬suade the porter to let him lie down in the aisle, but the porter said, "It's against the rules, I can't do that, I'm sorry, but probably you can use this pillow so the old lady can set the dog on the pillow and maybe she'll then give you the seat," so the boy went back once more and approached the lady with tears running down his cheeks and said, "Madam, you don't know how tired I am. I flew fifty-nine combat missions and came back in a bucket ship and can hardly stand; if you will put the dog on the pillow and then put the pillow in the aisle, I promise you I will be dead asleep in five minutes and everybody will be happy." "Who do you think you are, young man? Just because you've got an American uniform on, you think you own this train. I've got a first-class ticket and I am going to keep it for this dog," so the little boy very dejectedly once more turned away thinking maybe he could find another seat somewhere on the train, but he wound up with no seat, so he thought he would take one more desperate crack at it. With the tears rolling down his cheeks, he got down on bended knees and said to the woman, "You don't know how tired I am and what I've done for my country, for you, and all I ask is that you give me the seat; I just want to get a little sleep; I haven't slept in four days and four nights, so please give up that seat." "No, I won't give it up; I've paid for the seat and the dog stays there." With that, the young chap took the dog by the back of the neck and swish, right through the window; he didn't even bother to open the window. A little old Englishman, sitting in the seat in front, turned around and said, "You Americans are funny people; you mispronounce the English language by placing the inflection upon the wrong syllable; you drive along on the wrong side of the street; and now, by George, you've thrown the wrong bitch out of the window." (Laughter)

Dr. Alexander is an enthusiastic speaker and has done an excellent job in furthering the cause of religion, but let me give you an example of what has happened in my own business through enthusiasm. As you know, I am in the oil business. Some time ago one of our truck drivers who was employed by our company over a period of ten years decided to quit. He told his boss, who incidentally is my boss too, "I'm through." Then he came down to my office and said, "Jim, I want to work for you." I said, "Joe, I understand you just quit." He said, "That's right, but I think I can solve some of your problems; I've been watching and studying service station operations for some time and I'm sure from the experience I've had that I can do a job for you; I know how to meet people, and I know your problems. All I want is an opportunity; just give me a chance," and while he was saying that, his eyes sparkled; his face was burning with enthusiasm. All he wanted was an opportunity and because of the spirit in which he told me that, I said, "Joe, come with me." I grabbed him by the hand and we again saw the boss and rehired Joe, who by now was more enthusiastic than ever.

In the last three years he has proven to be the best salesman I have ever had, and he's only done it through enthusiasm, through letting himself go. The man hasn't had a single bit of education other than the eighth grade; he murders the English language, but I defy anybody to listen to him for just a few minutes and not be sold on our company's product or our company. His success can only be attributed to the amount of enthusiasm he expresses in his message. That is why I am a firm believer in the power of enthusiasm.

You know, the longer I live, the more I believe that that little recognized feature of success is enthusiasm. The difference in actual skill, intelligence and ability on the part of those who fail and the part of those who succeed is neither wide nor striking. If you ever have a choice of selecting a salesman or any person in your organization, select the man with first rate enthusiasm, instead of the man with first rate ability and second rate enthusiasm. He will always tip the scales in your favor. Every time that has proven to be a fact, and I know it will continue to do so.

While waiting for a bus to take you home at 5 P.M. have you ever noticed the monotonous blur of dull defeated faces coming at you as you are waiting for this bus? Now, as you look at these people, there doesn't seem to be a sparkle in a whole block load. Why? These people don't appear to be poverty stricken, they don't appear to be hungry; they appear to have fairly good jobs. What makes them that way?

Too many of them, including you and me, take too many things for granted. Automatically we take things for granted. We no longer have curiosity in ourselves. We no longer expect great accomplishments from ourselves. We have even lost interest in ourselves. Go back several years, ladies and gentlemen, to the time that you were nineteen. It's probably a long time in some cases, but let's go back to the age of nineteen when you got your first job, when you were endlessly excited about yourself and your opportunity, when you were just full of wondrous dreams, a burning fire of ambition, and you had an implicit faith in your power, when every experience was a new adventure, when every day was a new challenge, when no job was too big for you and miracles literally seemed to be a push over. You didn't take things for granted then.

But what happened? Here's what happened to most of us. We have grown satisfied with ourselves. Maybe the work we have been doing has been a little too hard, maybe a little too easy, maybe some of us have become lazy, maybe we have grown complacent. We do not know, but generally speaking, we have grown satisfied with ourselves and have taken too many things for granted: We have lost our edge. We have ceased to rebel, to crusade, to continue to promote. We do not let ourselves go.

Many of us feel that life has failed us. Don't kid yourselves, ladies and gentlemen life hasn't failed us; we have failed life. Life is only what you make it, and if you act enthusiastically about everything that you do, you will find out that your job will be a lot easier and more productive than it has ever been in the past. You know, some of us have grown so satisfied and taken so many things for granted, that we get into a rut. Now, they tell me there is a difference between a rut and a grave and that is the dimensions. I can't even believe there is a difference between a rut and a grave. In fact, a grave is a rut with the ends knocked out.

Let's get out of the rut. Don't be like the old solemn-faced lady of the Salvation Army who was the drummer in this particular band, and when the band leader asked who would get up and tell about being converted, one fine evening after they got through with one of their religious renditions, she got up to give testimony about the Salvation Army. As proud as a peacock she stood upon the platform and faced the audience. She said, "You know, there was a time that I used to smoke one cigarette after another, but I was saved and I don't smoke any more. There was a time I used to drink a pint of whiskey a day, but then I was saved and I don't drink any more. There was a time I used to wallow in sin. I used to carouse around and tear around with men, but now I don't sin any more. In fact, I don't do a darn thing but beat this damn drum all day long." (Laughter)

Let's not get into that rut. According to William James in his address on the "Energies of Men," he makes the statement that the average person habitually doesn’t use anywhere near the capacity of his brainpower. In fact, you might be interested to know that the average person only uses twenty percent of his brainpower, and sometimes I think that is optimistic. Now, imagine what you and I can do if we begin to utilize about fifty percent of that brain power. You know the average person has a tremendous reservoir of unutilized power in his personality, but the trouble is most of us let only a small trickle of that power go from our mind out to the public, and consequently we live on that amount of power.

The secret is to find the key to the sluice gates, open the gates wide, and let that power just pass out from your minds into a large powerful stream. It is bound to make you a more effective person. Let yourself go and note the difference in your results.

You know in your business it isn't like in our business, and I mean this: You have merchandise to sell. A lot of people don't have merchandise to sell. We in the oil business still have some to sell, but we don't know how long it will last. Gasoline might again be rationed. From what I have heard this morning from Mr. Young, I think maybe I would like to be in the cemetery business instead of the oil business, because you people really have an opportunity. There are a lot of people who are faced with the problem of not having the merchandise to sell, and if there is anyone in this room who feels he doesn't have anything to sell, let him keep his wits on edge by selling our country, because the time is coming when he again will have to sell to survive. There, selling our country ladies and gentlemen is a very sad and neglected fact.

It is surprising how many people know what the American system really is. You might have your own definitions, but to me it is liberty, opportunity, in¬centive, inspiration, competition and morale. It is a free speech, free press and free worship. It is all these and a lot more. It is a bona fide written constitution. It's a government of limited authority whose just powers are derived from the consent of the governed. It is a freedom to live as one wants to live. It is a freedom of government oppression. It is a freedom from want far greater than any nation or society has ever known. It is a freedom to work as one wants to work without paying tribute for a privilege to serve as a slave. It is a freedom to build, to create and develop. It is a freedom to grow and continue to grow and grow far beyond the imagination of anybody in this room.

You and I should be thankful for that freedom, and we should get down on bended knees and pray to Almighty God that we live in a country that foists that freedom. We are in the midst of plenty, but unfortunately a lot of us can't see the forest because of the trees, so we don't talk. I am not a Communist but I admire the burning passion of a Communist who really lets himself go on a doctrine that he knows nothing about.

I had the occasion of not so long ago being in San Francisco, and I got one of the surprises of my life. They have a park out there known as Spit & Argue Park, and I will defy anybody to sit on the park bench and talk about economic conditions and not have the man next to you get up on his hind feet and tell you about Communism and what it really means. Isn't it funny, ladies and gentlemen, here these people believe they have got something to sell, and they do a good job of selling, and they have an inferior product. You know the day of the better mousetrap is gone. At one time all you had to do was build a better mousetrap and the world would beat a path to your door. That isn't true now, but we know of inferior products that have been coaxed through billboards, newspapers, radio advertisers to a point where they led the parade. Why? Because people talk about it; because people become enthused about their company and their product and consequently they have done a job.

Let's us begin to do a job about a country that we know has a lot to offer. Some of you probably might feel, "Well, that's all well and good, but I've got my problems." You feel that you can't do anything about the Korean situation, so why bother; why get excited. In fact, you become discouraged and disgusted and wonder when it is going to end and start over again. You can, however, come back to one consolation, ladies and gentlemen, and that is this: It could be worse. It can be a lot worse, a lot worse than you and I think right now.

Speaking of it could be worse, I don't know if you have ever heard Carl Taylor. He is president of the Waukesha State Bank, and he has a story about the philosophy of "it could be worse" that I think you would like to hear. This happened with an old little pot-bellied stove philosopher known by the name of Elmer Hutkins who lived in a country village and believed, regardless of how bad or tragic the accident was that it could have been worse. So the natives used to gather at the country store around the pot-bellied stove, and they used to tell him about some of these terrible happenings. For example-one day they told Elmer Hutkins about the terrific rainfall they had; it rained for days and days, flooding the entire area, ruining every bit of vegetation within a radius of miles and farmers in that community lost practically everything they had from the standpoint of crops and income. Elmer got the old cud of tobacco rolling around in his mouth and then hit the old pot-bellied stove ten feet away and said, "Well, it could have been worse; the old dam could have burst up the creek and flooded the entire area, killing people and cattle by the thousands” or they'd probably say, "You remember the severe dust storm we had five years ago, the drought era when the entire county hadn't seen rain for years and then the dust came and the insects and locusts ate every bit of vegetation in existence, stripping the countryside clean as a whistle, and Elmer would say then, "Yes, but it could have been worse; you could have had a wind storm similar to what they had in Nebraska years ago and Arkansas and Kansas and it could have taken the top soil and blown it into huge drifts, removing every possible piece of fertile soil so that nothing could have grown there any more for years; it could have been worse.

Well, one day they carne in and thought they had Elmer Hutkins. "Elmer do you know what happened last night?" and Elmer said no. They said, "Well old horse trader Jones, who used to go on trips for two to three weeks at a time never knowing when he would be back, carne back unexpectedly. Jones would trade cattle; buy and sell. They had a large family, eight children ... and when he came home and went into the house, he found Mrs. Jones kissing another man, so the old horse trader Jones didn't hesitate, but got out his old six-shooter and killed him, every one of his children, himself and his wife and it was just one bloody mess." Old Elmer Hutkins got that cud of tobacco from the side of his mouth and let go at the old pot-bellied stove, then sat back in his chair and said, "It could have been worse; it could have happened the night before and then it would have been me." (Laughter)

Now that you have heard about some of the benefits of enthusiasm let me give you four easy ways to acquire the habit of being, enthusiastic. They are simple and they will help everybody in this room; I don’t care if you are selling a cemetery lot, Motorola, peanuts or what. It will help you.

1. Know your product and know your people, because by gaining knowledge of your product and knowledge of your people, you will gain confidence in yourself and consequently nobody can stop you even though you are probably murdering the English language.

I was in the market for a television set not so long ago, and I made up my mind I wouldn’t buy that television set unless somebody told me enough about the product. You might believe this or not, but it is the truth; I went to twenty-six stores and never bought a television set until I hit the twenty-seventh one, because the clerks told me very little about the product . . . greeted me in a manner that I don't think I should have been greeted in, for I am a believer in salesmanship, and I thought, "Why should I part with $1,000 ... " I wanted to buy a Stromberg-Carlson Chinese classic set, and I finally hit this one store. That man was one of the few salesmen I have met in the last ten years that did a beautiful job of salesmanship, enthusiastic salesmanship.

For example, I went to the store and there they had one of these Chinese classic sets well displayed; I was standing in front of it admiring it. The young man came up to me ... he didn’t say, “May I help you”, because that is as old as Methuselah. He said, “Isn’t that a beautiful piece of furniture?” I said, "Yes, it is." Then he went on to tell me about its construction, about its fine mahogany finish. I am not going to give you all of the conversation, because I am limited for time. He said, in the course of the conversation, “Are you a businessman?" And I said, "Yes, I'm in the oil business." He asked, "Did you ever enjoy the relaxation of good music?" And I said, "No, I've never had time; I've been selling all the time and I haven’t had time to appreciate it. If you have a moment's time" ... mind you, he told me this with all the sparkle and expression in his face, that I just couldn't resist, so I said, "Yes, I have got a few minutes time.” He said, “Come on in this room.” So we went into another room and this room was beautifully draped, just all set for the killing, like leading the calf to slaughter, but brother, did I love it.

Here was a large chair, overstuffed leather chair with an ottoman similar to the one I had at home and beside it was an end table with up-to-date magazines, not magazines from three years ago, but up-to-date magazines just like I had at home on an end table, deep plush carpets on the floor, and here was this beautiful Chinese classic set at the other end of the room. You could sink more than an inch in the carpets. “Now, here’s something I want you to notice” and he pulled aside one of the drawers and there was the phonograph arrangement. "It's an automatic record changer and I am going to put on a record that I know you will enjoy, and then you watch the way this unit changes the record-so smooth", so I sat there and watched. I couldn't help it. I sat down in the chair and listened to this music. It was a selection by Beethoven, and I'm telling you right here that good music isn't as bad as it sounds-good music. (Laughter)

Here's the thing-he left the room, ladies and gentlemen, and that record went on playing in all its beauty, and I sat there with my eyes closed and just loved it. Then the record changed. The thing that he pointed out when he said, "Watch how easily and quickly it will change without you getting up from your favorite chair." It switched over so smoothly and do you know what the next record was? "It's Later Than You Think." (Laughter) I bought the television set and it's the finest investment that I have made. I have enjoyed it. That fellow knew his product and his people. He didn't have to go out of his way, and he made a sale.

You can do likewise.

2. Act it and you will feel it. You have got to act enthusiastic in order to feel it. For example, who are the people you like to be with? Aren’t they enthusiastic people? Why do you like to be with enthusiastic people? Because it's contagious and sets you afire. That’s the reason you like to be with them. When you develop the trick of enthusiasm, you stand out like a bright star against a dark sky and nobody, hell or high water can stop you in getting your point across, but you have got to act it before you feel it. Sales psychologists tell us we are afraid, therefore we run. By the same token we run because we are afraid. If you act enthusiastic, you will feel it the same way. Our inner emotions spring from our outward actions. Try it some time. Become enthusiastic about some idea, some plan, some product, some thing, and express it to somebody else and find out the world of difference that it makes in your presentation.

I don't know how many of you know Frank Bettger. He wrote a book recently and if you didn't read it, get it. It's "How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in Selling." Anybody who starts reading that book at 7 o'clock at night won't let 'go until he's finished.

Frank Bettger was a man like you and me at one time or other. He was a baseball player at $175 a month. He played on the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, team and was fired by his boss, and when he asked why he was fired, he said, "Listen, you are acting like a veteran with twenty years of baseball experience; you have no pep; you have no inspiration. I am going to give you a tip. If you get another job be sure you put life and enthusiasm in your work and you will go places." He took it to heart and went to New Haven, Connecticut; that's the team he joined at about the same salary. He followed that man's advice and within a few weeks he had that whole team and whole city literally electrified. He was so enthusiastic that they began to call him "Pep Bettger" and within one year, he was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals, but then an unfortunate accident happened to him and he was out of baseball for life. Again he went down trying to hold jobs here and there, but failed. Finally a fellow got hold of him and said, "Listen, Frank, you can make yourself some money if you will become enthusiastic and I am going to ask you to do something-become connected with an insurance company, and if you can sell it, you can make yourself some money."

Here's what Frank Bettger did. He studied for nine months straight. Didn't go out to sell, just studied, absorbed his product from every possible angle that you could think of and then went out to sell. The first policy he sold was a $15,000 life policy. Today he is the highest paid life insurance commission salesman in the world. He was a millionaire at the age of forty. He did his job with enthusiasm. Mind you, he had no education, not a single bit of it. Read his book. You will like it.

3. Pep-talk yourself daily. That probably sounds like a "Hooey" to you. Pep-talk myself daily! How can that help me? I don't know how many of you believe in Mary Baker Eddy. She was a Christian Scientist. I am not a Christian Scientist, but Mary Baker Eddy, in my opinion, had a greater influence upon people walking on this earth than any other woman known. Her philosophy was this: "As a man thinketh in his heart, so he go." That is why I say pep-talk yourself daily.

Here is how to do it. Every one of us, for example, gets up in the morning and shaves. I am speaking about the men naturally. Here is something you can do to help yourself. You don't have to do a lot of studying, but this will help you. As you get through with all your contortions to shave and look in your mirror, take both your hands and brace yourself on the edge of the sink, look in the mirror and say this - "Boy am I enthusiastic!" You know what is going to happen? Your wife is going to drop what she has in her hands, the kids are going to scatter in all directions and the dog is going to run like Hell under the sink and you will be a new man. Now, just try it and see how it works. Everybody get up. (Audience arose and chorused.) Now, I want you to shake hands with the man to the right of you and say "Boy am I enthusiastic!" You don't know how silly you looked, but nevertheless it does a job.

Seriously, try it. I have had many people meet me on the street later and tell me, "I laughed like the Devil when you told me about that, but by God the funny thing is, it works."

When you are meeting a tough prospect, and you are going to have them, just get hold of a mirror, get into a bathroom where no one can hear you and look into the mirror and say, "Boy, am I enthusiastic!" It's remarkable how it works.

One more point, the last one. Learn to modulate your voice, Boy, I cannot overemphasize that. I have salesmen come in to me every day, and when you speak about modulation of voice, they don't know anything about it. I had one man trying to sell me some lubrication equipment for my service stations, and mind you, he was only in that office about five minutes and in his introduction he used the word "I" twenty-six times in a monotone. "I have a beautiful piece of equipment; I think you will like this equipment; I know you will like this equipment." He didn't give a damn about me.

Put the spotlight on the other man. Magnify the "you" and minimize the "I". Turn the telescope around the other way, and let him look through his end and then modulate your voice. Let me show how it works. I had a class one time in salesmanship. I was an instructor for two years. In this class, something, happened that I will never forget, so let me tell you about it. I had approximately twenty-six students, and their salaries ranged from $2,400 to $24,000 a year learning to become a better salesman. During one of these sessions which, inci¬dentally, were divided into two parts, where the students got up in front of the class and told the group something of their interests or hobbies, in order to lose the fear that you sometimes get while facing a group of people. One man got up ... we will call him John ... but he got up in front of this class and told how he raised a creeping bent lawn, one of the most beautiful in the neighborhood, without one single seed of creeping bent, without a single plug; all he used was good fertilizer, good topsoil, peat-moss and a system of watering.

When he got finished, I said, "John, do you mean to tell me none of your neighbor's creeping bent crept over in your lawn?" He said, "No sir." "You know and I know it can't be done because I have a creeping bent lawn myself and I put a lot of seed and aches and pains into it." He said, "No sir, I didn't." "Do you mean to tell me no seed probably drifted over from other lawns in the neighborhood?" He said, "No, it didn't." "Well" I said, "If what you say is true, you will be the first man in science to take something inorganic and make it organic; it can't be done." With that, this man got up and told this class the same story of how he did that job, so when he finished, I turned to the class and said, "How many of you believe this man can raise a creeping bent lawn without any seed?" and here's the strange thing-sixteen of the twenty-six raised their hands, all because of the power of enthusiasm. That's all that man had.

Now I will go one step further. I said, "John, I will tell you what I am going to do. I will write to the Department of Agriculture in Madison and if they tell me you can do this I will give you a $10 bill." He said, "OK, it's a deal", so the next day I apologetically wrote to the Department of Agriculture. I knew it couldn't be done. A few days later I got a letter back confirming my statement. "Yes, it can't be done, that's right," but they added another paragraph. The funny thing is they said that four other people wrote about the same thing, wondering if it could be done. (Laughter) Just imagine what the power of enthusiasm can do. Imagine what miracles you can perform if a man like that can do it when we know it can't be done. Imagine what you and I can do, who know that our product has the quality and benefits and everything else that goes with it, to do the things we claim it will do. Do you know that you can say the same thing three different ways just through modulation of voice? One more example and I will close. If I were to say to you, "Do you know that this country has a national debt of two hundred seventy million dollars? I wonder who is going to pay it and when it is going to be paid, etc." You wouldn't be interested because I made an ordinary statement without feeling, but let's assume I told it to you in this manner: "Do you know that this country has accumulated a national debt of over two hundred seventy million dollars? (enthusiastically) That, my friends, is a lot of money. Now what I want to know is, who is going to pay it, how is it going to be paid, and when is it going to be paid?"

You were a little more interested, weren't you? Let me take my coat off and go to work. Mind holding this for me as I roll up my sleeves? If I said to you, “Do you know since the time George Washington was elected President up until the outbreak of the first World War in 1914, during those 126 years, this country had accumulated a national debt of approximately one billion dollars, but during the last ten years we accumulated a national debt ten times as great as we'd accumulated during the first 120 years of our existence? Do you know what that means? That means we owe eighteen hundred dollars for every man, woman and child that has ever lived in the United States." Now, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica, "Only thirty billion people have ever lived on this earth-not the United States, on the earth; and if that is correct, and it is, that means we owe nine dollars for every man, woman and child that has ever lived on this earth. Do you know that just a little better than a billion minutes have passed since the time Jesus Christ was born up until now? You can take a pencil and figure it out if you want to. If that is true, all of us owe two hundred seventy dollars for every minute that has passed since the time that Jesus Christ has been born up until now. Do you know if we were to pay our national debt tomorrow and it is a terrific mortgage around our necks we would have to cash in every insurance policy in existence in the United States, plus, that we would have to sell every city dwelling in the United States, plus, we would have to sell every farm in the United States, plus, we would have to liquidate all the working capital of every corporation in this country, and we still couldn't pay the debt?" Are you interested?

Boy, you better be, because if you aren't, your children and my children and our great grandchildren will have a much lower standard of living than you and I have ever dreamed of. Now, what did I do? I said the same thing only in a different way. That's all I did. You might not get that enthusiastic about cemetery lots, but you had better begin, because it is going to get tough to sell, and you can build up a story just as well.

You know, there is something about enthusiasm. To me, ladies and gentle¬men, it is one of the greatest inspirations known to man. It is the very spirit in which we do anything worthwhile. It is actually our own soul and just like a proud peacock and singing lark, take what he has and throw it out to the world, so do you when you are enthusiastic.

Enthusiasm is almighty and unfailing. It is one of the most contagious fevers known to man and the moment that fever breaks out within you, it spreads instantly to all those within the range of your voice or your personality. It refuses to acknowledge any restrictions, it disregards past failures, it is totally blind all opposition; in fact, it is the one quality that never fails. When you are full of enthusiasm you are full of magic, you are alive, you feel the full spirit and force of your aspirations, and you let the whole world see your pride, your faith, the very fire in your blood.

Have you ever watched a child at Christmas time? There is nothing listless or indifferent about his emotions. He is all for Christmas. Why? He is excited, he is enthusiastic. It isn't the child, but it is the child's enthusiasm that makes Christmas the greatest time of all. Now, you and I have a job to do, a job that probably at the moment is beyond the realm of your realization, but a job that we can do without one iota of fear if we begin to glow with enthusiasm, a job that is going to require courage, tolerance and fortitude.

Always remember this-that anybody can learn to do a job, but it takes enthusiasm to put it over. You have been a grand audience. Thank you!

From the publication:
“1950-1951 Cemetery Yearbook”
NCA 21st Annual Meeting
Hotel Schroeder, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
October 18, 19, 20 and 21, 1950