Why the Prospect Buys

Several weeks prior to July 4th, 1776, a tall, powerfully built man in his early thirties took up his residence in Philadelphia. He obtained a room on the second floor of a lodging house at Seventh and Market Streets. All day and late into the night he worked and planned. Almost every day, two very distinguished visitors came to call upon him. They were acting as consultants. These three men fully realized that they had a tremendous job on their hands. On July 4, 1776, they had to sell the idea of independence to the dele- gates of the thirteen colonies who were convened at a Con- tinental Congress in Independence Hall. This young man was wise, prudent, and sagacious. He had a great vision, and he was incorporating that vision into a Sales Plan that would give the delegates to the Convention a new thought, a new idea, a new slant, a new conception, a new reason, and a new meaning of government.

On July 4th, 1776, this Sales Plan was presented to the delegates assembled at the Continental Congress. Its power, its force, and its impact were heard around the world; even today, its reverberations are still felt. That Sales Plan, as you know, was the Declaration of Independence, one of the greatest documents of all times. The author who created that great Sales Plan was Thomas Jefferson, and his two con- sultants were Benjamin Franklin and John Adams. In my

32

WHY THE PROSPECT BUYS 33

opinion, the one great idea that sold independence to the delegates at the Convention is found in the second para- graph of that great Sales Plan: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Hap- piness. That to secure these rights, Governments are insti- tuted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed." In those two sentences, Thomas Jefferson scientifically, skillfully, and feelingly persuaded and convinced the delegates to act. They understood his vision and comprehended his meaning in the light of their own intelligence. They felt and believed what he said, and they were convinced.

Thomas Jefferson gave us a great lesson on how to apply the power of creative selling. He reasoned out in advance what the delegates desired, he interpreted their wants, and he made his appeal conform to this line of reasoning. He knew and felt that they wanted to enjoy the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness endowed to them by God. They also wanted to have the right to set up a government of their own that would guarantee these rights. In heeding and adopting his plan, the delegates felt that they would be able to enjoy a new freedom that would enable them to think, act, and worship according to the dic- tates of their own conscience, and to enjoy the fruits of their own efforts with peace of mind. Thomas Jefferson had sold and persuaded them to adopt the idea of independence!