eny what his own mind's eye has been made to see.

[Sidenote: Get Prospect Committed]

Therefore bringing about a favorable _mental conclusion_ is not at all
difficult. The judgment that your services would be desirable is no
harder to gain than a decision that the weight of one side of a scale is
greater than the other. Any one who looks at the balances sees at once
which way they tip. The rub is not in getting the decision _made_ but in
getting it _pronounced_. The sale is not completed until the prospect
has _committed_ himself.

[Sidenote: Now is the Acceptance Time]

He feels that his mental processes are his own secret, which you cannot
read; so he will not guard against the conclusion of his _mind_ that you
would be a desirable employee. But for some reason he may be unwilling
to _express_ his thoughts to you just then, however thoroughly he is
convinced. He naturally prefers not to say "Yes" at once; so that he may
change his mind if he wishes. _You will endanger your chances of success
if you let him put off action on his decision._ To-morrow he is likely
to see the weights in a different light and to imagine less on your
side and more against you. _Now_ is the time to close the sale, when he
cannot help seeing things _your way_.

[Sidenote: Two Stages Of Closing]

You know that sometimes a juror will be convinced in his own mind,
yet cannot bring himself actually to vote according to his mental
conclusion. Perhaps he is a "wobbler" by nature. So a girl may decide
in her thoughts that a certain suitor would make a good husband, yet
she may hesitate to accept him just because that step is _final_.
These illustrations impress the importance of _discriminating between
the two stages of closing a sale_. The success of the salesman is
made certain only by his knowledge and skillful use, first of the art of
_vivid weighing_, and second of the art of _prompting the prospect
to action on his perception of the difference in the balances_. At the
closing stage we have encountered again our old acquaintance, "the
discriminative-restrictive process."

[Sidenote: Closing a Procrastinator]

A friend of mine who has an advertising agency wanted to secure the
business of a prominent manufacturer who was inclined to vacillation.
The prospect was always timid about acting and had the reputation of a
chronic procrastinator. My friend went ahead with the selling process in
ordinary course until he had proved the desirabil