1.My visit to each customer was likewise to collect a bill long past due—a bill that we knew was absolutely right.But I didn’t say a word about that.I explained I had called to find out what it was the company had done，or failed to do.
2.I made it clear that，until I had heard the customer’s story，I had no opinion to offer.I told him the company made no claims to being infallible.
3.I told him I was interested only in his car，and that he knew more about his car than anyone else in the world；that he was the authority on the subject.
4.I let him talk，and I listened to him with all the interest and sympathy that he wanted—and had expected.
5.Finally，when the customer was in a reasonable mood，I put the whole thing up to his sense of fair play.
I appealed to the nobler motives.“First，”I said，“I want you to know I also feel this matter has been badly mishandled.You’ve been inconvenienced and annoyed and irritated by one of our representatives.That should never have happened.I’m sorry and，as a representative of the company，I apologize.As I sat here and listened to your side of the story，I could not helpbeing impressed by your fairness and patience.And now，because you are fair—minded and patient，I am going to ask you to do something for me.It’s something that you can do better than anyone else，something you know more about than anyone else.Here is your bill；I know it is safe for me to ask you to adjust it，just as you would do if you were the president of my company.I am going to leave it all up to you.Whatever you say goes.”
Did he adjust the bill？He certainly did，and got quite a kick out of it，The bills ranged from？150to？400—but did the customer give himself the best of it？Yes，one of them did！One of them refused to pay a penny of the disputed charge；but the other five all gave the company the best of it！And here’s the cream of the whole thing：we delivered new cars to all six of these customers within the next two years！
“Experience has taught me，”says Mr.Thomas，“that when no information can be secured about the customer，the only sound basis on which to proceed is to assume that he or she is sincere，honest，truthful and willing and anxious to pay the charges，once convinced they are correct.To put it differently and perhaps mare clearly，people are honest and want to discharge their obligations.The exceptions to that rule are comparatively few，and I am convinced that the individuals who are inclined to chisel will in most cases react favorably if you make them feel that you consider them honest，upright and fair.”
PRINCIPLE 10：
Appeal to the nobler motives.
Chapter 20
The Movies Do It.TV Does It.Why Don’t You Do It
Many years ago，the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin was being maligned by a dangerous whispering campaign.A malicious rumor was being circulated.Advertisers were being told that the newspaper was no longer attractive to readers because it carried too much advertising and too little news.Immediate action was necessary.The gossip had to be squelched.
But how？
This is the way it was done.The Bulletin clipped from its regular edition all reading matter of all kinds on one average day，classified it，and published it as a book.The book was called One Day.It contained 307pages—as many as a hard-covered book；yet the Bulletin had printed all this news and feature material on one day and sold it，not for several dollars，but for a few cents.
The printing of that book dramatized the fact that the Bulletincarried an enormous amount of interesting reading matter.It conveyed the facts more vividly，more interestingly，more impressively，than pages of figures and mere talk could have done.
This is the day of dramatization.Merely stating a truth isn’t enough.The truth has to be made vivid，interesting，dramatic.You have to use showmanship.The movies do it.Television does it.And you will have to do it if you want attention.
Experts in window display know the power of dramazation.For example，the manufacturers of a new rat poison gave dealers a window display that included two live rats.The week the rats were shown，sales zoomed to five times their normal rate.
James B.Boynton had to present a lengthy market report.His firm had just finished an exhaustive study for a leading brand of cold cream.Data were needed immediately about the competition in this market；the prospective customer was one of the biggest—and most formidable—men in the advertising business.And his first approach failed almost before he began.
“The first time I went in，”Mr.Boynton explains，“I found myself sidetracked into a futile discussion of the methods used in the investigation.He argued and I argued.He told me I was wrong，and I tried to prove that I was right.
“I finally won my point，to my own satisfaction—but my time was up，the interview was over，and I still hadn’t produced results.
“The second time，I didn’t bother with tabulations of figuresand data，I went to see this man，I dramatized my facts.
“As I entered his office，he was busy on the phone.While he finished his conversation，I opened a suitcase and dumped thirty-two jars of cold cream on top of his desk—all products he knew—all competitors of his cream.
“On each jar，I had a tag itemizing the results of the tradeinvestigation，And each tag told its story briefly，dramatically.
“What happened？
“There was no longer an argument.Here was something new，something different.He picked up first one and then another of the jars of cold cream and read the information on the tag.A friendly conversation developed.He asked additional questions.He was intensely interested.He had originally given me only ten minutes to present my facts，but ten minutes passed，twenty minutes，forty minutes，and at the end of an hour we were still talking.
“I was presenting the same facts this time that I had presented previously.But this time I was using dramatization，showmanship—and what a difference it made.”
PRINCIPLE 11：
Dramatize your ideas.
Chapter 21
When Nothing Else Works，Try This
