No Presumption of Innocence, Defendant!

You are accused of being a con-artist and a cheat.

The prosecution does not have to establish its case because in this court - there is no presumption of innocence.

This is the Buyer's court and you are the seller. In this court, the seller is presumed guilty.

There are some articles that I almost always skip over and don't recommend. One of thes is the Book Review. But every rule has its exception. If an article could stand on its own even without the Book which is being reviewed then it might just make it to this venue.

Ardath Albee wrote about a book that describes the last century of salesmanship. This book traces many of the traditional methods of salesmanship back to the deceptive practices of a company which was convicted of anti-trust practices before World War I.

Yet their methods of selling became part of the foundation of the culture of American salesmanship. The result is that most Americans find it very difficult to trust any salesperson who they meet for the very first time.

Ardath Albee lists eight of the reasons that twentieth century sales tactics don't work and gives a preview of the tactics which are suggested by the book which she reviews.

Ardath's article is entitled "Salespeople guilty until proven innocent." If you are a business owner or a salesperson, you really should read this article.