lert]

The mental tone, as we recall from previous study, is pitched higher
than either the tone of feeling or the tone of power. The medium, heart
tone is vibrant. It rings with sincerity. The power tone is deep, and
most sonorous of the three. _Keep your ears alert for these indications_
your prospect will give you unconsciously when he opposes your purpose.
The discriminative reading of the tones of objections will greatly
reduce the danger of "getting your wires crossed" when you reply.

[Sidenote: Suggest Strength Without Antagonism]

If you have to deal with opposition expressed in the tone of power or
with gestures of force, you will be safe in concluding that considerable
_feeling_ is behind the objection. Therefore it will be necessary for
you to put _both feeling and power_ into your answer. You should be
careful, however, when you meet such resistance, not to make the
impression that you are engaged in a contest of power with your
prospect. _Throughout the selling process avoid any suggestion that you
are fighting back._ Use the tone of force, not to indicate that your
strength of purpose is greater than the strength of the resistance, but
just to _emphasize the basic soundness_ of your proposition. Thus you
can suggest that you are sure of your ground, while you do not dispute
the force and sincerity of the other man in making his objection.

Suppose, for example, you apply for a situation in a wealthy firm, and
one of the partners turns you down most emphatically by saying that they
can't afford to engage any new men at present. You realize the firm may
be losing money temporarily, but you believe that your services in the
capacity you have outlined will be valuable to the partners. You can
come back firmly and not retreat an inch from your position. You need
not _antagonize_ by manifesting your determination to have the merits of
your proposal given due consideration. You know your prospect feels
pretty strongly on the matter of increasing his payroll while business
is unprofitable, but you should make him recognize that you believe so
thoroughly in your earning capacity that you feel you would justify him
in disregarding the temporary depression, while he considers your
service worth.

[Sidenote: Units of Tone]

As we have noted previously, it is important to know, at the time an
objection is put in your way, _whether or not it is really meant_. When
deciding in your mind on the right answer to this