The Art of Selling

Lessons learned from David Ogilvy’s “The Theory

&Practice of Selling the Aga Cooker”

*Fortune Magazine called this the best sales manual ever written

Sales Tips From David Ogilvy

• Tell the person who opens the door (receptionist, secretary, etc.) frankly and briefly what you are there for.– It will get them on your side.– Never get in the door on false

pretenses. No one likes a liar.

• Study the best time to call on folks. – It may be at unorthodox times.– In general, study the methods of your

competitors and do the exact opposite.

Sales Tips From David Ogilvy

• The worst fault a salesman can commit is to be a bore. – Be interested in the subjects your prospects are

interested in. • The more they talk, the better off you are.

– Pepper your talk with anecdotes and jokes. – Accumulate a repertoire of illustration.– Never forget the most powerful phrase in sales:

“Let me tell you a story.” • Avoid at all costs any standardization in your sales

talk. – If you find yourself one fine day saying the same

things to a bishop and a trapezist, you are done for.

Sales Tips From David Ogilvy

• When the prospect tries to bring the interview to an end, go gracefully. – It can only hurt to be kicked out.

• The more prospects you talk to, the more sales you expose yourself to, the more orders you will get. – But never mistake a quantity of sales for

quality of salesmanship.– Quality of salesmanship involves energy,

time and knowledge of the product and the customer’s needs.

Sales Tips From David Ogilvy

• Two ways to sell: Attacking and Defending.– Attacking: For the Aga cooker, Ogilvy

developed 12 arguments to attack prospects.•These ranged from economical

arguments to arguments that appealed to cooks only.

•If you can’t attack the prospect with arguments about your product, don’t expect to make the sell.

•If you don’t believe your prospect actually needs the product you are selling, don’t sell it to them. No sale is better than a bad sale.

Sales Tips From David Ogilvy

• Defending: Preparation is everything.– The ideal aim is to make your attack so

thorough that the enemy is incapable of counterattack. •This will rarely happen.•Be prepared that your prospect will

have a brain.•Be prepared for any and all objections

to your product. •If you don’t know your product better

than anyone, don’t expect to make many sales.

Sales Tips From David Ogilvy

• Defending Against Competitors– On no account sling mud against your

competitors. • It will carry little weight coming from you,

and it will make the prospect distrust your integrity and dislike you.

• The best way to tackle the problem is to find out all you possibly can about the merits, faults and sales arguments of competitors, and then keep quiet about them.

– Your knowledge of your competitors will help you make a more convincing case for your product.

Sales Tips From David Ogilvy

• Defending Against Price– This is the supreme test of your

salesmanship.•Your voice, your manner, your

expression, even your smell, must be controlled and directed to soften the blow.

•Be specific about the price.•Be factual about the price.•Be definite about the price.•Don’t give your personal opinion about

what is or is not expensive.