After that， this buyer ordered scores of other sketches fromWesson， all drawn according to the buyer’s ideas. “I realized whyI had failed for years to sell him，” said Mr. Wesson. “I had urgedhim to buy what I thought he ought to have. Then I changed myapproach completely. I urged him to give me his ideas. This madehim feel that he was creating the designs. And he was. I didn’thave to sell him. He bought.”
This same psychology was used by an X-ray manufacturer tosell his equipment to one of the largest hospitals in Brooklyn.
This hospital was building an addition and preparing to equip itwith the finest X-ray department in America. Dr. L—， who wasin charge of the X-ray department， was overwhelmed with salesrepresentatives， each caroling the praises of his own company’sequipment.
One manufacturer， however， was more skillful. He knew farmore about handling human nature than the others did. He wrotea letter something like this：
Our factory has recently completed a new line of X-rayequipment. The first shipment of these machines has just arrivedat our office. They are not perfect. We know that， and we wantto improve them. So we should be deeply obligated to you if youcould find time to look them over and give us your ideas abouthow they can be made more serviceable to your profession.
Knowing how occupied you are， I shall be glad to send my car foryou at any hour you specify.
“I was surprised to get that letter，” Dr. L— said as he related theincident before the class. “I was both surprised and complimented.
I had never had an X-ray manufacturer seeking my advice before.
It made me feel important. I was busy every night that week，but I canceled a dinner appointment in order to look over theequipment. The more I studied it， the more I discovered formyself how much I liked it.
“Nobody had tried to sell it to me. I felt that the idea of buyingthat equipment for the hospital was my own. ”
A man up in the beautiful Canadian province of New Brunswickused this technique on me and won my patronage. I was planningat the time to do some fishing and canoeing in New Brunswick. SoI wrote the tourist bureau for information. Evidently my name and address were put on a mailing list， for I was immediatelyoverwhelmed with scores of letters and booklets and printedtestimonials from camps and guides. I was bewildered. I didn’tknow which to choose. Then one camp owner did a clever thing.
He sent me the names and telephone numbers of several NewYork people who had stayed at his camp and he invited me totelephone them and discover for myself what he had to offer.
I found to my surprise that I knew one of the men on his list.
I telephoned him， found out what his experience had been， andthen wired the camp the date of my arrival.
Twenty-five centuries ago， Lao-tse， a Chinese sage， said somethings that readers of this book might use today：
“The reason why rivers and seas receive the homage of ahundred mountain streams is that they keep below them. Thusthey are able to reign over all the mountain streams. So the sage，wishing to be above men， putteth himself below them； wishing tobe before them， he putteth himself behind them. Thus， though hisplace be above men， they do not feel his weight； though his placebe before them， they do not count it an injury.”