nrt P^Co py & . a Salesmanship and Co-operation Ce^t Salesmanship and Co-operation Published by The Realty Union First National Bank Building San Francisco, California ». • • > ,» San Francisco, California 1913 Copyrighted in IQI3 h Roosevelt Johnson (Tolonial Ijpress San. TFranclsco 19/3 Win The salesman of to-day must know that business is not a contest, but a co-operation. He must know that the antagonistic spirit which permeated busi- ness in its early days has no place in modern com- mercialism. He must know that fighting is child's play, but co-operation is work f or grown men. And he must know that business is not merely a, method of making a living; it is the science of human service. 261280 Salesmanship The Power of Belief There is a power in the minds of men that, when exercised, never fails to generate success. It is the power of belief — belief in themselves and belief in the work that they are doing. Take two men of like experience and of the same apparent ability, and give to each the same task. The one who believes in what he is doing will succeed; the one who believes not will fail. Consider the achievements that are monuments to inventive genius, the products of perseverance and of industry, and all things that are worth while. They are the work of men who believed in what they did. Field dreamed of an Atlantic cable, believed it prac- ticable, overcame a thousand obstacles, and laid a thread of steel across the ocean bed which made com- munication between continents a reality. Success comes through the power of belief. Edison dreamed of a world lighted, heated, driven by the mystic, unseen fluid that the ingenious Frank- lin had coaxed from the clouds with his kite-string a century before. And being a dreamer who believed in making his dreams come true, he proceeded to har- ness and to direct that power and to give to us the elec- trical marvels of our time. Success comes through the power of belief. Thomas J. Foster, in a little Pennsylvanian mining town, saw the need of a plan of education that would enable the labourer at his task to train his hands and his brain for better work. And believing in the plan that his ingenuity had devised, he built upon it one of the greatest educational institutions of the world. Success comes through the power of belief. Salesmanship Do you believe in the work that you are doing, in the security that you are selling, in the methods that you are using, in your ability to succeed? If you believe, you are sure to succeed. If you believe not, you are on the wrong road, a road that will never lead you to success. If you believe not in your company, in your propo- sition and in your ability to sell it, then make up your mind to-day that you will make an honest, earnest effort to acquire that belief. When a firm is doing a great work, when it is sell- ing a security that gives to every buyer 1 00 per cent, of conservative investment value, when it is backed by honest, clean-cut men of achievement, then it is car- rying on a business that should inspire its men to give forth the best that is in them. Yourself and Your Prospect — The Human Ele- ment in Selling To reach the pinnacle of salesmanship, a man must have great qualities both of mind and of disposition. He must have a brain that can play chess with a pros- pect. He must be alert, receptive, masterful. He must have his profession mapped in large lines, and he must take his work seriously as one requiring the severest mental concentration. It is an art to handle a man in such a way as to win both his order and his friendship. A living man is the most complex mechanism in the world. Com- pared with a man, a locomotive is a toy. The slight- est blunder may cause a man to work badly or to 8 Salesmmiship break down; yet there are no printed directions attached to him. All we can do is to watch his eyes and do our best. An efficient salesman never tackles his man. All the things that are right in football are wrong in sales- manship. Goals in the commercial world are not won by kicks. If you crash unexpectedly into another man's mind, his mind will naturally resent your arrival, and first impressions are lasting. The first words of self-introduction often tell the whole story of an interview. They should be as few as possible. The really big men in the business world require the fewest. They value their time by heart beats. They are men of few words and they appre- ciate a statement that is brief and to the point. The pith is what a competent business man wants. The most efficient method of approach is to come to a man from his own point of view. If you can do this, you will be welcome no matter what you have to sell. You should never talk at a man, but always talk with him. The difference between these two procedures is the difference between failure and success. To every man the most important and interesting word in the language is his own name. However commonplace he may be, he at least has that one dis- tinguishing feature. You would better not go near a man, than to meet him and mispronounce his name, or than to meet him and not to know his name. That is almost as fatal to the success of your interview as though you carried a wet towel and with it slapped his face. Few small incidents are more gratifying to a man than when some apparent stranger appears and tells him a new fact about his name. For instance, sup- Salesmanship pose a telephone salesman wants to sell service to a man who is named Grant. He approaches his man and says: "Good morning, Mr. Grant, do you know that we have the names of eleven men named Grant in our telephone book? We want yours to make the even dozen." This interests and pleases Mr. Grant. Here is a fact about his name that he did not know. Of course, he subscribes to the telephone service and becomes the twelfth Grant. Not to do so would spoil a good story. If you can discover no distinguishing feature about the man himself, speak of his location. Speak of his building. If it be well kept, tell him so. If the city be coming in his direction, tell him so. Say something that will please him and that will make him respect your judgment. No one cares to do business with a stranger. And if you show that you know nothing of and care nothing for the other man, certainly he will care nothing for you or for your proposition. Speak with him; that is the main thing. Before you venture to worry a man about your proposition, you owe him the honor of having first thought about him and about what he is doing. To do this is not flat- tery, as some salesmen erroneously suppose. It is good breeding; it is courtesy; it is showing a proper deference and respect for the personality of your customer. In many cases, it is better to listen first and to speak afterward. If you have reason to believe that your man has any grievance, or any story of success or of failure, draw it from him. It is always better for him to talk to you than for you to talk to him. Many a salesman speaks his own chances to death. No mat- ter how interesting you are, you cannot possibly be as interesting to a man as is his own voice. This is a trait 10 Salesmanship 1 . of human nature which many salesmen overlook. Especially, if a man have a grievance, you should listen. You should sympathize. You should see his point of view. Should he have been wronged by your firm, you must make restitution. You must not insult him by explanations or by defenses. Even if he be only half right, which is usually the case, it is better to admit his contention and give him what he really believes is his due, since one of the first steps to take in an interview is to create a favorable feeling toward your company and toward your proposition. One may go further and say : Do not argue or con- tradict. There is an old fallacy to the effect that a sales- man's mouth should be always full of arguments; but it should not. There is no demand for controversy in the business world. Statesmanship, not business, is the natural sphere of debate. If your customer in- sist on debating, let him win. It is better to lose an argument and to win an order, than to win an argu- ment and to lose an order. One of the great discov- eries of successful firms is that the customer is always right. From first to last, it is the duty of the salesman to defer to his customer's mood, to his beliefs and to his feelings. No matter how wrong-headed and whim- sical he may be, the time to correct him is after you have made the sale, not before. Most persons have become too wise or too cul- tured to be captured by the old-time methods of brag and of bluff. They cannot be driven into buying by a storm of wild statements. Neither can they be cajoled by drinks, automobile drives and theatre par- ties. The day for these follies has passed. The de- mand is for salesmen of a higher class. Human nature has improved, and the salesman n Salesmanship must improve with it. Human nature is the main factor of the whole problem. The salesman of to-day must study human nature closely. He must study human faces until he can read the head-lines of char- acter that are there written. The salesman of to-day must know that business is not a contest, but a co-operation. He must know that the antagonistic spirit which permeated business in its early days has no place in modern commercial- ism. He must know that fighting is child's play, but co-operation is work for grown men. And he must know that business is not merely a method of making a living; it is the science of human service. The Power of Concentration Recently a most successful investment salesman told how he came to succeed: "Three years ago," he said, "I was selling invest- ment securities. There were about twenty small towns in my territory, and I had the idea that to cover my territory I must visit each town every month. Pur- suing this course, I never stopped in one place more than two days. I couldn't, for I thought I had to get to the next town. "However, on one winter's day I arrived in the most remote of all my stopping places just as a snow storm struck the village. In twenty-four hours the roads were impassable. The town was cut off from the outside world. "I was penned where I could not make my regular trip to the next town. I wished to have company, so \2 Salesmanship I made acquaintances. I wished to talk, so I talked of our securities. By the third day I knew more per- sons in that town than I had met in a half dozen pre- vious visits. By the fourth day they were interested in what I was doing. And by the end of the week I had sold more securities in that one village than I had sold in skipping over my territory the whole month before. "That one week's experience taught me the best lesson that I ever learned about selling. When I moved to the next town I spent the better part of a week there, and the result of my concentrated effort showed me that at last I was on the right track. From that time concentration has always been my greatest aid in business." If you do not know what real concentration will do, it is because you have not tried it. I have heard of a salesman who went fifty miles to a remote town to see one prospect. When he found his man he asked him kindly to walk down to the station with him while he talked, so that he would be sure not to miss the next train. What result could be expected from a canvass given while the salesman stood at a railway station with his watch in his hand? So far as I know that was the only trip which that salesman ever made to that town. Yet for all he knew, it may have contained many good prospects who needed only concentrated, systematic work to be found. Concentration means to focus your ability, your pur- pose, and all your energy at one point. It means to stay in one community, and to work in that com- munity systematically until you get business or until you are sure that there is no business to be had. J3 Salesmanship Selling Is a Business One great trouble with many of us is that we do not appreciate the importance of our position in the community in which we work. As a salesman you are a business man in every sense of the word, and when you are assigned to work in a certain com- munity you become one of the business men of that community. When you first enter a town, say to yourself : I am now one of the representative business men of this community. I am just as vital to its welfare as the doctor, the dentist, the grocer, the attorney, or any business man in any of its offices or stores. Their business is to supply the needs of the people in this town. My business is the same, for I bring them a medium for a safe and profitable investment of their savings. And inasmuch as a part of my time in the future is to be devoted regularly to this community, I will demonstrate to these persons that I am worthy of their confidence and of their patronage. Then proceed to make yourself known in that com- munity and to acquire the largest possible number of acquaintances; after that, it is simply a matter of winning their confidence and telling them what you have to offer. The next step after making acquaintances is to get those acquaintances working for you. The greatest asset in making you a success will be a number of helpers who take a real interest in turning business your way. The best kind of a helper is always a sat- isfied buyer. Therefore, every time you approach a prospect, approach him with the purpose of so selling to him, that is, of so convincing him of the worth of (4 Salesmanship your proposition, that when he has bought he will be glad to recommend the investment to his friends. Look upon every prospect not only as a prospect for a single sale, but as an avenue to an unlimited number of sales which this prospect will help you to reach. But whether or not a prospect buys, treat him with the same unvarying courtesy and solicit his aid in making more acquaintances. In some way, make every man you meet an asset to your business. Make him at least a medium through which you may meet new persons who may be interested in your propo- sition. If your route include several towns, you will find it necessary to divide your time among them. But take those towns one at a time and concentrate on each of them until you have established yourself in the con- fidence of influential persons in each community. It may take a week, it may take a month; but concen- tration of this kind, hard, intelligent work among a single class or in a single community, would be the secret of success for many men who now fail. Follow the lead of men who have proved the meth- ods that bring results. Don't scatter your efforts. Concentrate! Study each community; plan a cam- paign, and then cultivate your community intensively. Make every prospect lead to another prospect. Get acquainted. Let your business be known. Speak of your business to every one whom you meet. Concen- trate ; and the hardest territory is bound to yield ; busi- ness is bound to come. The Drag-Net Plan of Producing Prospects Recently a corporation received a letter to the fol- \5 Salesmanship lowing effect: 'The month is nearly gone and I am sorry to say that I have only one small sale to report. The trouble is I have no prospects. The office is doing practically no circularizing here and as a result I have no one on whom to work. I wish you could get me some pros- pects." No doubt there are many men in this same state of mind. The man who is in this state of mind does not understand his work. He has a misconception of the possibilities and methods of investment salesmanship. No salesman ever made a great success by leaning upon the office. Salesmanship is a profession in which originality, ingenuity and resource are neces- sary, and the salesman who has these qualities asks for no more than a good proposition on which to work. Do not misunderstand. The office is anxious and ready to help the men in the field in every possible way, and circularizing plans are commonly used which should develop good prospects. But no circularizing plan can be favorably compared with the possibili- ties of drag-net work by a salesman who is actually upon the ground. Prospects in Every Community Every man should understand that in this business the selling problem is not one of creating prospects; it is one of finding them. In every town, no matter how small, there are many persons who have money saved. Every man or woman who has money saved is interested in seeing that money earning as large an 16 Salesmanship interest rate as is consistent with safety. Many have it in savings banks, yielding only four per cent, inter- est. They are merely waiting for someone in whom they have confidence to show them where it can safely be invested at a higher rate of interest. If you be the one to find and to solicit the owner and to win his or her confidence, you will be the one to secure the investment of that money. In every community this is invariably true. The prospects are there; they merely need to be found and to be solicited. Make Every Prospect Lead to Others The surest way of finding prospects in any commu- nity is for the salesman to cultivate the community thoroughly by the drag-net plan; that is, by making every prospect lead to more prospects until his endless chain of references has brought him into contact with every one in the community who is in a position to invest. The more prospects you have as a nucleus, the bet- ter. But the drag-net plan can be worked with a basis of a single investor or prospect. If you have already one or more investors in a community, your problem is greatly simplified, since you can approach them with the direct proposition of suggesting to you the names of those of their acquaintances who may be good prospects. But suppose that a single prospect has brought you into a new community. You may call on the pros- pect and present your proposition. Possibly you sell to him, but whether you sell to him or not, take advan- tage of this leverage to make an acquaintance. 17 Salesmanship How to Solicit Names You can say to him: "Mr. Gray, I came here espe- cially to see you and I am very glad to have had an opportunity to tell you about our business and about our securities. I shall be in town the rest of the day and naturally I would like to make the time profitable to myself and to the company, if I possibly can. Do you know of someone who might have a little money saved for investment and who would at least be inter- ested in knowing about our securities?" If Mr. Gray already own certificates, he will be glad to give you the names of a few persons, because he has been convinced that it is a good investment ; if not, he will, as a rule, give you several names anyway, since he will feel more or less under obligations be- cause of your having come a considerable distance to see him. Thus every prospect can be made productive of more prospects. When you have secured several names, call on those persons, solicit them, and then, whether you sell them or not, ask them for the names of friends or acquaintances who might be interested in your proposition. If from each prospect that you call upon you can obtain an average of two names, your list of prospects will increase in geometrical progression ; two prospects will create four; four will create eight; eight will create sixteen; and so on, until, from a nucleus of a single prospect, you will have a rapidly growing supply of prospects of the best class ; because they have been given to you by friends who know their circumstances. In some cases, you may not be able to obtain this assistance without offering an inducement. Actual 18 Salesmanship help in making sales merits reward, and you will find that prospects and investors alike will be glad to give you their earnest help if they are to receive compensa- tion for it. It is vitally important, however, that you do not abuse this method. Do not pay money in any case unless it actually has been earned. If you pay a man money which he has not earned, he will expect you to do the same thing in the future, and you will thus lose his active assistance, For passive assistance you should not pay. Getting One Mans Co-operation A variation of the drag-net plan outlined above is to make the acquaintance of some individual in a com- munity who is in a position to give you the names of a large number of prospects. In a small town, for example, you may find a grocer, druggist, or other merchant who, through his acquaintance and business relations, will be in a position to tell you the financial standing and personal characteristics of nearly every one in the community — information which it would be difficult otherwise to obtain. Or you may work in a factory by first getting acquainted with the super- intendent or the foreman and using him as a leader to other prospects. In such cases, where one individ- ual can make you acquainted with a large number of persons, you can make it worth his while to assist you. In all such cases, and also when the simple drag-net plan is used, it is important that you obtain from the prospect permission to use his name in calling on the persons whose names he gives you. This personal link in the chain will be almost sure to win you an 19 Salesmanship audience, which is all a good salesman should require. The drag-net system is not a speculative, theoretical plan of securing prospects; it is a tried and proved method. There is no question about its productive- ness. It is bound to bring business. With such a method available, there is no reason why any man should give the "no prospect" excuse in explanation of his "no business" reports. Every man should give the drag-net a big place in his business-getting plans. Use it persistently ; follow it up. It is a certain way of bringing you into contact with the persons you want to know, the persons in a position to invest. It is a certain way to increase sales. Maying the Most of Co-operation Do not make the mistake of winning the co-opera- tion of one man and then depending entirely upon that one man to help you in the future. Every man has a limited circle of friends and of acquaintances. There are a certain number of persons whom a helper can assist you in meeting and possibly in selling, but when that number has been exhausted that helper will no longer be of service to you until his clients are again able to buy, and in the meantime you will have to turn to a new source of prospects. The important thing is to provide for this condition by constantly securing the co-operation of new help- ers to whom you can turn whenever your earlier sources of prospects have been worked out. In all 20 Salesmanship probability, one of the prospects whom you meet through the first helper can in turn lead you to other prospects, for he is certain to have acquaintances out- side of your first helper's circle of friends. Thus by constantly increasing your number of helpers you can gradually build up a staff of assistants in your different territories that will constantly keep you supplied with prospects. Remember that the best time to get a man's co-oper- ation is immediately after you have sold to him. At that time he is a satisfied buyer; he is convinced that he has a good investment or he would not have bought it; he is enthusiastic about it because he thoroughly believes in it. Therefore, he is in a frame of mind that will make him ready and willing to talk with his friends and acquaintances about his newly-acquired securities. Take advantage of this situation promptly, and as soon as you have sold to a man ask him for the names of others who may be interested in investment. He is almost certain to have in mind a few persons who would be good prospects for you. When he is still enthusiastic over his own purchase is the time to secure his co-operation in reaching others. Obtain one good, enthusiastic helper in each of your communities; then be prepared to replace those help- ers with others as soon as the circle of friends of the first is exhausted. In this way you can create for yourself a steady source of prospects and of business. Causes of Failure When a good salesman fails there is something 21 'Salesmanship wrong, either with the business or with himself. If he represent a good business, the trouble must be with the man. When a successful, experienced sales- man fails while representing a good business, his fail- ure is probably due to one or all of the following causes : He is shirking his work ; he is failing to inter- view and to solicit a sufficient number of persons; he is chasing the butterfly of big sales which he will never close, and is neglecting the small sales that are sure; he is a victim of the mistaken idea that there is no business in his territory, when men all around him are making sales; or he has lost his enthusiasm, which as a matter of course means discontent, dis- satisfaction, loss of ambition, and loss of confidence in himself. To those who fail, a few words of advice: Make an early start; sell to investors of moderate means, mechanics, bookkeepers, foremen, superintendents, physicians, dentists, druggists, and merchants. In- stead of trying to sell $5,000 to one man, sell it to ten men. Do the same thing next month and the following month, and you will build up a clientage that will enable you to do a good business each month. Also, observe, it is the man and his methods that make success, and not the territory. Doing business is simply a matter of perfecting a canvass on a proposition and then going out and telling the people about it. Certainly you have the talking points that many persons will be glad to hear. But you must find such persons. Don't expect pros- pects to call upon you. If you want anything worth your while, you must go after it, and this applies to sales. Every representative is expected to prove that he is a salesman by closing contracts. Any man with 22 Salesmanship the ability to talk can interest prospects in a good investment, but it takes a salesman to close contracts. Those men who succeed in obtaining business be- come stronger salesmen by reason thereof. They believe that they can do what other salesmen are do- ing. They try, and succeed. Such men then know that they can make sales; confidence in their ability as salesmen is established in their minds, and they can be depended upon for satisfactory returns. Chasing The Butterfly of Large Sales If there be one rule most necessary for every sales- man to observe, it is this: Do not aim too high. In other words, do not think that in order to be a high- class salesman, you must call on capitalists only, and make only large sales. The chances are great that if you pursue that policy you will find yourself at the end of the month with no results at all. Such prospects must be handled as a side issue; you can- not depend upon them for a steady production of sales. Don't consider yourself of too high grade of sales- men to sell to investors of moderate means. You should not ignore wealthy investors, but do not de- pend upon them. A salesman is safer who sells from $3,000.00 to $5,000.00 month in and month out, than the man who intends to sell $10,000.00 to one investor, and seldom accomplishes his purpose. Many men make the mistake of chasing the butter- fly of large sales when all around them are investors with small savings who would be glad to learn of a good investment. 23 Salesmanship Do not try to sell all your goods to one man or to a single group of men, or you surely will be disap- pointed. The reason therefor is simple. Influential, wealthy men usually are interested in enterprises of their own. You may be able to secure interviews with them; for being bright men of business they are shrewd enough to want to learn your way of marketing securities. They will listen courteously to what you have to say, ask you to call again, and then, when they can learn nothing more from you, will just as courteously turn down your propo- sition. The salesman who succeeds to-day is the man who interviews and who solicits investors with from $50.00 to $1,000.00; carpenters, electricians, ma- chinists, dentists, doctors, business men, foremen, su- perintendents, managers. Only incidentally he sees wealthy investors. Soliciting investors of moderate means is his chief work ; he calls on wealthy investors only as he encounters them. In this way, he pro- duces enough business to make his employment pro- fitable to himself and to his company, and when he makes a large sale it is all profit for himself. Possibly most important of all, small sales train you and prepare you for large sales when opportunity offers. By making many calls on investors of small means, you develop effective methods of approach, you work out a logical canvass, you become a master of your proposition, and in every way a better sales- man. Every sale you make, even if it be for no more than fifty dollars, adds to your efficiency and gives you greater confidence in yourself and in your ability. Follow the trail of investors of moderate means. It leads by the shortest, safest, and surest road to suc- cess in your work. 24 Salesmanship The Possibilities of Indirect Salesmanship Too few of us realize the producing power of in- direct salesmanship. The merest suggestion, tactfully made and rightly directed, often brings greater ulti- mate results than the most aggressive efforts. It took me a long time to learn this. I once thought that if a man had money to invest, the thing to do was to go after him hard. I know now that such a course might in many cases spoil all chance of a sale. Some men need a hammer and tongs campaign to bring them to the closing point. But I know of other men to whom I have sold without their ever knowing that I wanted to sell to them. Through casual, indirect suggestion and seeming in- difference to their interest in my proposition, I per- mitted them to sell to themselves. I can best make clear what I mean by citing an instance in which an accidental meeting and indirect salesmanship combined, resulted in one of my most fruitful sources of business. Some years ago, while on a crowded passenger train, I sat beside a gentleman who was reading a newspaper. After he had finished the paper, he offered it to me. I thanked him, but said that my eyes were giving me so much trouble that I must re- frain from reading on trains. He stated that he also had impaired vision, and our mutual trouble started further conversation. I found him a most agreeable traveling companion, and in conversing on business topics incidentally re- marked that the company I represented had had a very successful year, doing several millions of dollars' worth of business. Then almost immediately I changed the subject and waited for results. They 25 Salesmanship soon came, for he inquired what company I rep- resented that could do such a volume of business at a profit during so hard times. I replied that I was connected with a certain successful company. Note that I did not say that I sold stock for the company, for had I done so, he would very prob- ably at once have taken a defensive attitude, know- ing that I had something to sell. I referred only to the name of the firm. He replied that he had heard that the firm was very successful, but that he had no idea of the magni- tude of the business that it was doing. I men- tioned briefly some interesting features of our busi- ness, and again changed the subject. After a while, he asked in what branch of the business I was engaged. I stated that the company found it beneficial to have its stock widely distributed and that therefore they maintained a sales force to place its stock. Having given him this brief ex- planation, I called his attention to the beauty of some scenery that we were then passing. After some general conversation, he asked me the capitalization of our company. I told him, and as I knew that he was becoming much interested I said nothing further about the company at that time. Suddenly he asked, "Does the stock pay divi- dends?" I told him, "Yes," mentioning the rate per annum. Again he inquired, "For what did you say the stock was selling?" I had not said, but then I told him. I awaited his next move. It came just as we were leaving the train together, when he asked me if 1 would be in his home town soon. I told him I would be there two days later. He asked me kindly to take his name and address and to call upon him, 26 Salesmanship as he had been asked by a client to secure an invest- ment and that my talk had interested him. I noticed that he started to walk to the hotel, so I took a street car, as I thought it best to leave him until I saw him later in his office. I did not want to appear in the least degree anxious to pursue the subject. When I called to see him two days later, I found him a very busy attorney. He went straight to the point: "I want you to furnish me the names and addresses of five or six large stockholders of long standing who are not officers of your company." I did so, and he asked me to call one week later. Im- mediately I left. At my next call, he said that he had received very favorable replies to his inquiries, and then he put questions to me that kept me on my mettle, I assure you. But I answered them all, apparently to his sat- isfaction, for when I had finished he wrote me a check in full payment of twenty-five shares of stock, the certificate to be issued in the name of his mother. About six weeks later I met him again on a train and we lunched together. He told me then that he had invested in the stock largely because he had re- ceived so favorable replies in answer to the particular inquiries he had made. We became quite friendly and he recommended our stock to several of his friends who purchased it. About a year after our first interview I felt I could safely propose a commission to him. He readily agreed to the plan for he believed in the security of the investment so thoroughly that he did not fear the consequences of advising his friends to invest. Since that time he has been of great assistance to me. And all because I recognized that in his case caution and indirect suggestion were the best courses to pur- 27 Salesmanship sue. Had I appeared over anxious at that first meet- ing, the probability is that he would have been sus- picious and would never have asked me to see him again. Of course it should be understood that I have never depended upon indirect salesmanship to produce any great percentage of my business. The bulk of my business has always come from references, and day in and day out canvassing among investors of small means, and I believe that every man should look to that class of work for the bulk of his business. But some men can best be approached by the indirect method and the salesman who has the tact and the judgment to pursue this course, when it seems the proper one, can thereby pave the way to large sales in addition to his usual business. Fifty Millions of Dollars Ready For Investment — Will You Get Your Share? Fifty millions of dollars will be paid in dividends the early part of this year to stock-holders in this coun- try. Every city and town of any size in every state in the Union will get its share of this vast distribution of money. In your own city, wherever you may be working, many persons will receive one or more checks for dividends bringing them a share of this $50,000,000.00. This should mean much to every enterprising sales- man, for it means more money in his territory avail- able for investment, more persons in a position to buy what he has to sell, more persons who will be interested in hearing him present his business. 28 Salesmanship Bond Interest Will Be Fifty Millions More And this $50,000,000.00 is by no means the total amount that investors will receive near the first of the year, for this represents dividends on stocks only. It does not take into consideration the millions of dollars that will be paid as interest upon bonds. We have available no figures showing exactly what this amount will be, but as the amount of bonds held by investors in the United States at least equals the amount of stock, it is only reasonable to believe that more than $50,000,000.00 will be paid to bond- holders. This means that many persons in your ter- ritory will take to their banks, within the next few weeks, interest coupons aggregating substantial sums and will add them to their bank accounts. It is not uncommon to hear a salesman say that there are no good prospects, that times are bad, that there is no money available for investment. Any man who makes such a statement does so be- cause he has no specific knowledge of conditions. Either he has not made a careful canvass of his terri- tory, or he has made no effort to learn the facts told above. Your Territory Gets Its Share There is always money awaiting investment in every city, and in every town, and in a large number of homes in every city and town. There is money in your territory, because hardly a day passes that someone does not receive dividend checks from cor- porations in which he is interested, or does not have bond interest mature. 29 Salesmanship Yet remarkable as it may seem, that such an enor- mous sum as $50,000,000.00 should be distributed among stock-holders in the near future, it is simply an illustration of what occurs every month in the year. It is true that January 1st marks the half- yearly period, but hundreds of companies pay quar- terly and half-yearly dividends, and others do not fig- ure their dividend payments from January 1st at all. So you will find, if you investigate, that on Febuary 1st the same great distribution of profits to stock- holders and to bond-holders will occur again. On March 1st it will be repeated, and so on the whole year through. The Wall Street Journal reports that during the year of 1911 approximately $600,000,000.00 was paid out to stock-holders in the United States in divi- dends alone, and it is estimated that considerably more than that amount was paid as interest to bond- holders; so it may safely be said that not less than $1,500,000,000.00 was distributed among investors in 1912, and a large part of that amount was re- invested in stocks and bonds. These are facts. In the face of such facts no salesman can justify himself in saying, "There are no investors, there is no money awaiting investment." There are always prospects and each month your field of prospects renews itself. Disregarding en- tirely the enormous sums represented by salaries and by local business profits, the income from invest- ment alone is sufficient to give you good prospects every day in the year. Take advantage of these conditions, and prosecute your work with the knowledge that there is money waiting for you this month and every month, if you are strong enough to get it. 30 Co-operation In all life there is a germ which does not die. Men, it is true, do their Work and pass away, and all memory of personality is effaced. Bat the ideas which controlled their lives exist, and eventually they come to logical fulfillment. This publication treats of the idea of co-operation, one of the founda- tion stones of business. In fact, business is possible only because of co-operation. w Co-operation A Lesson of History As we review the development of the human race from its earliest records we find the unit to be not the individual, but the family; man and woman co-oper- ating in founding and protecting the household, and procuring and conserving food, shelter and clothing. As individuals united in families, so families joined in tribes. Then tribe warred against tribe, each seeking first to protect its own, and then usually to increase its possessions. Later, following the principle which led families to unite in tribes, we find tribes joining to form nations, waiving what in some cases were tribal advantages in order that the safety and welfare of adjoining tribes could better be served. Then for a long period we find nation warring against nation with great expendi- ture of human life, and an aftermath of sorrow and of misery. But the idea of co-operation was quietly working — perhaps indeed the waste and horror of many wars were needed to emphasize its value and its application to the affairs of nations. There may still be wars, but the probability of their occurrence is lessened when strong nations join to protect the territory of the weaker, when courts of arbitration are established for the settlement of international disputes, and when in a temple erected to Peace representatives of all lands assemble in friendly conference in an effort to remove causes of friction and to insure world-wide tranquility, agreeing upon the principles which should govern international relations — which must hereafter tend, not to the aggrandizement of individual governments, but to the co-operation of all nations in efforts to con- 33 Co-operation serve the opportunities, the comfort and the happiness of mankind. Agency Work This development of an idea which has dominated and rendered possible the advancement of the human race from its crude beginning to the highly organized civilization which gives us to-day both our opportunity and our duty in the main has a parallel in the history of agency business. At first an agent, without experience and with little knowledge of the principles of solicitation, had but one idea in mind — the procurement of an application and the closing of a sale, and anyone who interfered with that object he considered as his natural enemy. Little by little, however, the idea became fixed in the minds both of agents and of company officials, that the inter- ests of company and agent were identical. Companies began to realize that their own progress and prosperity depended upon the permanent welfare of a corps of industrious, upright, successful agents, and agents realized that it was not only to the com- pany's advantage, but to their own also, if they were truthful and conservative in representation. It became clear to the agent that if correct practices, such as gave support and co-operation on his part in advancing the interests of the company, reacted favor- ably upon his welfare, then it was of importance to him that his fellow agents of the same institution also should conduct their business with a proper regard for the interests of the company. The benefit of co-oper- 34 Co-operation ation of a body of agents who represent the same com- pany, and are dependent in equal measure upon the welfare and growth of the institution, is obvious. If business be soundly conducted and a company so efficiently managed that its permanency and sol- vency be assured; if all those engaged in the business devote their energies to educating the public in the value of wise investment and the important place it fills in the economy of the present day; if companies and agents by properly placing business, by contracts fulfilled to the letter, by prompt payment, by thought- ful consideration of the needs and rights of investors, shall give investment companies the popularity their merits deserve, then all agents will find their work easier. Proper competition there will always be, and it is not without advantage that the business of all com- panies must be conducted in the open, and that the result of each shall be subject to analysis by the others. If, however, agents seek their success by detracting from their rivals, or, in order to succeed, offer dis- counts, or in some particular mislead the public, while they may make an immediate commission, they do themselves and all other agents and all companies, in- cluding their own, an injury by impairing the confi- dence of the public, and by losing ultimately the good- will not only of one investor who may find that he has been deceived, but of all those others who, unknown to the agent, adopt the prejudices of the dissatisfied. Hence it is that a common ground has been found upon which the agents of rival companies may co- operate for their own good and for the good of busi- ness as a whole. 35 Co-operation Misrepresentation Methods which have brought loss or distrust to in- vestors are severely decried by men of good instincts, and while individuals as such paid little attention to such practices or to their effects, organizations of agents, fearful of the unfortunate and destructive effect of unprincipled campaigns, have educated the public to recognize such evils and have created a senti- ment which has done much to remove a blight from business. Rebating The sentiment which has been raised against re- bating through the activities of agency organizations has been most effective in stopping this practice. Con- sider a locality where there has been rebating by agents, suppose an agency association to be formed, and let the men get better acquainted. Then suppos- ing rebaters become members, they find a sentiment against rebating on the part of the better class of agency men in the community; they hear discussed the reasons why rebating is a mistake, how other agents by holding out against the practice win the respect of their clients and largely increase their com- missions, and they either begin to see the business wisdom of abandoning rebating, or are shamed into giving it up by finding the general sentiment against it, or if they undertake to continue the practice it is with a conscious feeling of its impropriety. It is clear 36 Co-operation that a man who operates with a sense of impropriety cannot be permanently successful. It is undoubtedly true that many men have joined agencies when their practices were not in accord with the principles for which the agencies stood, but it is equally true that a most important result of organiza- tion is that many of these very men have been con- verted to sound practices and made better, more use- ful and more successful agents through the educative influence of association, through realizing the impor- tance to the whole business of better competitive con- ditions in the field. So we note the power of ideas to accomplish, grad- ually it may be, but effectively, what could probably never be accomplished by rules or by regulations. Through the spread in the field of principles for which agents should stand, business in force is ren- dered more permanent, a greater equality of oppor- tunity is given agents through the elimination of rate- cutting and unfair competitive methods, and business is produced and maintained at less cost. Agents unite in order to protect and to advance their own interests and the interests of their company. It must be borne in mind, however, that we can best serve the business, best advance our own permanent interests, by making the interests of investors our first concern. If we should serve ourselves at their cost we would post- pone the day when we would receive their full con- fidence and support. Commissions Unquestionably, what is for the best interests of customers will be best ultimately for agents, and no 37 Co-operation company should pay more for business than is neces- sary to give adequate opportunities to its representa- tives and to provide for a steady growth. More than this we should not ask, and the broad principle upon which all our activities should be based is that we should seek for equal opportunities, fair dealing, clean methods, the elimination of waste, and high standards in office and field, not only for the benefit of all the members of our calling, but for the good of investors, the ones who with us will reap the benefit of good conditions. Duty To recur to our duty as agents, let us pass from the realm of organized effort to the opportunity given to us as individuals to serve the cause in which we are engaged. I am an agent, and I repeat it boldly with a sincere belief in the value of agency work, with a consciousness of the high service which the indus- trious, successful, upright agent renders to the com- munity in which he works. The business men of the community in which you live will accord you just the standing which your work shows you deserve. If you cut rates they will have the same lack of respect for you, and lack of confidence in your goods, that they have for the mer- chant who cuts rates, and is usually suspected of giv- ing short measure. If you show such an eagerness to get business that you will place it on almost any terms, they will have the same lack of confidence in your condition as they have in the financial condition 38 * •-»•.*. • i''.': Co-operation of a tradesman eager to make sales on a basis which cannot be permanently profitable. If you detract from your competitors, you are likely to hurt yourself more than them, for you will be classed with the merchant who, unable to attract or to retain patronage, vents his jealousy by detracting from the quality of the goods sold by his rivals. If you try to turn men from other solvent companies to your own, you will ultimately be classed with the lawyer who leads his clients into litigation, irrespective of their real interests. If you misrepresent the con- tracts you are selling, or the results which will be attained under them, you will be classed with the man who by extravagant estimates of profits sells stock of doubtful value. Whatever may have been the agency conditions of the past, we labor under new conditions in which the business is to be produced almost wholly by men de- voting their entire time to the work of soliciting. If you are upright in your actions, clean in your meth- ods, give sound and disinterested advice to those who consult you, and conduct your business generally in accordance with high standards, you will have no reason to complain, and you will find a greater per- manent success than would ever be possible by methods of doubtful propriety. It is a spirit of honest, fair, frank dealing which should govern our actions ; and if each of you and all of those under your influence and control will let square dealing, a fine sense of honor, frankness to prospects and customers, fairness to competitors, and a real regard for the proper conduct of business gov- ern your activities, ideal conditions will speedily be attained. 39 Co-operation Organization can bring men together, crystallize sentiment, educate to proper methods and standards and spread the right spirit, but accomplishment de- pends upon how the individual acts in his daily business. This is a matter each person must decide for him- self, and the humblest agent shares the responsibility equally with the leaders in his field. In the exigencies of our daily business life, let us individually contribute to the desired result by always doing the right thing. 40 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE LAST DATE STAMPED BELOW APR IS 1916 30ni-l,*15 U.C.BERKELEY LIBRARIES CD^SIAD?!