n aside and carry your prospect through to the closing stage
of the sale of your services, or you can close an intermediate sale on
the spot, as in the second illustration.

[Sidenote: Forcing Real Objection]

_Do not, therefore, treat evasions and postponements as real obstacles._
Even in case you cannot induce your prospect to go ahead with you, or
close an intermediate sale, _you can avoid being blocked_ by his attempt
to put you off. When he sees that he cannot get rid of you by his
subterfuge, he will be forced to make a _real_ objection. He will not
give you another weak excuse after you have disposed of his first
attempt to evade. When he tries to block you by making a real objection,
after the failure of his excuse or postponement, he will fall right into
your plan of the sale. _You will be all ready for the objection he
states._ You will know exactly how to handle it and turn it to good
account so that his opposition will be weakened and you will add to your
strength.

Let us suppose your prospect comes out with the flat statement, after
you prevent him from putting you off, "No, I have made up my mind not to
add any new employees for the present." He thinks that settles the
question. In reality it affords you a sales opening. You retort, "Your
attitude is perfectly right. You do not want to add to expense. I should
feel the same way myself, were I in your position. However, I am not
going to be an _expense_. I shall be a _money-maker._ I know you have no
objections to increasing your profits." His opposition would have given
you your lead.

[Sidenote: Unsound Objection]

A man applied for a position in a bank. Business in general was dull; so
the president tried to put him off. The position sought offered any one
filling it opportunities to develop increased business for the bank
along certain lines. Thus the objection of dull times was plainly
_unsound_. The applicant felt, however, that it would be a mistake to
urge very strongly his ideas about increasing the business. He believed
the president would not accept them if fully stated. So the young man
met the attempted evasion by drawing the banker on to a step that
committed him only to the _beginning_ of the program outlined.

"I appreciate that business is not rushing at present," he said.
"Therefore you will have time to study how I propose to develop some
new business. If you were very busy, you would not be able to
investigate my plan thoroughly.