Many successful salesmen state that they overcame their early fear and timidity by filling themselves with auto-suggestions that they were calling on the customer for the purpose of doing him a good turn--that it was a good thing for the customer that the salesman was calling on him, although he did not know it--and that he, the salesman must let nothing stand in the way of doing that good turn to the customer, etc. As ridiculous as this may appear to some, it will be found to work well in many cases. And it is based upon truth, too, for if the goods are right, and the prices are likewise, the salesman is doing the customer a good turn. And right here, let us impress upon you the necessity of working yourself up to the point of _believing thoroughly in your own proposition_. You must get yourself into the state of mind in which, if you were in the customer's place, you would surely want to take advantage of it. You must convert yourself before you can expect to convert the customer. We know an ad. man who tells us that he never feels satisfied with an ad. that he is writing until he can make himself believe that he wants to buy the article himself. And he is right. And the salesman will do well to take a leaf from his book. Enthusiasm and belief are contagious. If you believe thoroughly in a thing, you run a much better chance of making others believe in it also, than if you feel otherwise. You must learn to _sell to yourself_ first, then you may sell to the customer. W.C. Holman, in "Salesmanship," says: "One cannot make others believe what he himself believes, unless he himself is an earnest believer. Dwight L. Moody swayed enormous audiences by the simple power of his own wonderful earnestness. No one could listen to Moody without saying: 'This man believes absolutely every word he is speaking. If he feels what he says so tremendously, there must be something in it.' If every salesman realized how largely the attitude of the 'prospect' depended upon the salesman's own mental attitude, he would be as careful to get into the right frame of mind when he started out to approach a prospect as he would be to carry a sample case. It is a simple matter for him to do this. All that is necessary is for him to 'take account of stock' just before he starts out--to enumerate to himself all the strong, convincing points in his proposition--to consider the good high qualities of the goods he is selling--run over in his mind the splendid characteristics of his house--think of the great number of customers who have bought his product--and of the supremely satisfying reasons why other customers should buy his goods. In other words, before a salesman starts to sell other men, he should sell himself. He should make this sale to himself at the beginning of every day's work."