involves  knowing  how  to  use  sales  skills.  Analysis requires recognizing and evaluating successes as well as failures. STEPS OF THE SALE Selling is not a step-by-step, mechanical procedure. Why  then  do  we  require  all  recruiters  to  perform  a step-by-step  sales  presentation  in  ENRO?  By  learning the steps of a sale, recruiters have a means of control. They can understand where they should go, whether they should skip a step or go back a step. We do not actually  use  a  script  in  Navy  recruiting.  Instead  we define  the  steps  of  the  sale  and  provide  recruiters  with verbal  bridges  to  transit  from  one  step  to  another. Surely, you have heard recruiters complain that the script just doesn’t work. Perhaps they have used the bridges as a script without understanding the purposes of each step and when to use them. Another possibility is that they have not committed the bridges to memory well enough to deliver them naturally. Sales training is extremely  important.  It  can  be  such  an  all-encompassing subject that you should take time to determine where your training needs to be concentrated. Now let’s look at blueprinting and the five steps of the sale. BLUEPRINTING Blueprinting, simply stated, is fact-finding, before and during your interview. The purpose of blueprinting is to reduce or eliminate call reluctance. Call reluctance is  a  fear  based  on  concern  for  self  instead  of  the prospect.  The  more  you  know  beforehand  about  a prospect,  the  more  confidence  and  enthusiasm  you  can have in making a contact, whether on the phone or in person.  Blueprinting  starts  with  the  few  questions  you asked  when  setting  the  appointment.  It  gets  more in-depth  during  the  first  step  of  the  sale  and  continues during  the  entire  interview  process.  There  are  five categories  of  blueprinting  questions:  qualifications, authority to buy, wants, needs, and DBMs. Qualifications After  some  basic  rapport  has  been  established, recruiters  should  complete  the  qualification  questions. Caution   recruiters   not   to   jump   right   in   with   an interrogation  of  the  prospect  before  they  have  achieved rapport, The prospect card itself should be left alone during  the  initial  phase  of  setting  rapport.  Some prospects  will  be  distracted  and  overly  concerned  if they  get  the  idea  paper  work  of  some  kind  is  being initiated.  The  Privacy  Act  statement  should  be  used  at this time. The prospect card is used to document the social  security  number,  date  of  birth,  citizenship, education,  dependents,  and  any  prior  service  or  previous ASVAB   testing.   Most   of   this   information   can   be obtained during normal conversation. Then, the recruiter should remind the prospect of the Privacy Act, make sure rapport has been maintained, and continue with the qualification questions on the back of the prospect card concerning  physical,  police,  and  drug  usage.  Questions concerning an applicant’s qualifications should be asked in a natural tone of voice and not lead the applicant toward  any  desired  response.  Thorough  blueprinting  of qualification  information  is  necessary  to  avoid  wasting both the recruiter’s and the prospect’s time. Authority to Buy Authority to buy refers to the prospect’s ability to make  the  decision  to  enlist  without  needing  to  consult with  another  person.    Seventeen-year-old    applicants obviously do not have the authority to buy because they will need parental consent. Your question then may need to be phrased, “What do your folks think about your  coming  down  to  see  a  recruiter  today?”  Age, however, is not the only criteria for authority to buy. Many  prospects,  18  years  of  age  and  older,  rely  on advice  from  others  before  making  decisions.  Generally, authority  to  buy  can  be  determined  by  asking  the question,  “Is  there  anyone  you  need  to  consult  with before  making  a  major  decision?”  Not  having  the authority to buy does not mean halting the interview process.  It  simply  lets  you  know  that  the  sale  will probably not be over at the end of your presentation. You may have to make additional presentations or rely on the prospects to sell their authority. Want This blueprinting question is designed to find out what  the  prospect  is  looking  for  in  life.  It  may  be tangible, such as a college degree or a fancy sports car. It may be a career field, such as a job in electronics or mechanics. Questions such as “What do you plan for after graduation? What do you want out of life? Now that you’ve been out of school for a while, what do you want  to  do?”  may  help  to  elicit  the  prospect’s  want. Some  prospects  may  not  know  what  they  want.  Young people  face  an  extremely  difficult  milestone  when  they are expected to make decisions about the rest of their life. They are not all up to the task. You should help these  prospects  by  suggesting  several  general  wants  as choices.  Be  very  careful  not  to  narrow  down  their choices too much so they make a choice simply because 6-23