INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS LIBRARY SALESMANSHIP THEORY AND PRACTICE BY THOMAS HERBERT RUSSELL, A. M., LL. D. EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Author of "Business Principles and Methods," "Natural Resources and National Wealth," etc., etc.; former Editor-in-Chief Webster's Universal Dictionary ASSISTED BY A CORPS OF BUSINESS EXPERTS Chicago COPYRIGHT 1910 BY INTERNATIONAL LAW A BUSINESS INSTITUTE WHITMAN PUBLISHING CO. RACINE - CHICAGO . "Ever judge of men by their professions. For though the bright moment of promising is but a mo- ment, and cannot be prolonged, yet if sincere in its moment's extravagant goodness, why, trust it, and know the man by it, not by his performance." Browning. "A lawyer without history or literature is a mechanic, a mere working mason ; if he possesses some knowledge of these he may venture to call himself an architect." Sir Walter Scott. M71244? What counts infinitely more than any possible outside reward is the spirit of the worker himself. The prime need is to instill into the mind * * * a true apprecia- tion of real as distinguished from sham success * * * Combine the power of devotion to a lofty ideal with prac- tical common sense in striving to realize the ideal. Theodore Roosevelt. ASSOCIATE EDITORS. RICHABD CANNING, President Northwestern Finance Company, Minneapolis, Minn. H. M. COOMBS, special lecturer on Credits and Collections, In- ternational Law and Business Institute. JAMES J. CRAIG, A. B., special lecturer on Insurance, International Law and Business Institute. C. A. ECKLUND, special lecturer on Accounting and Auditing and Financial Management, International Law and Business Institute. G. A. OBTH, LL. B., adjuster Travelers' Insurance Co. C. N. SMITH, special lecturer on Business Systems, International Law and Business Institute. J. T. THOMPSON, formerly of the Ontario bar. A. C. WILKINSON, special lecturer on Salesmanship and Advertis- ing, International Law and Business Institute. GEO. E. YOUNG, of the Minnesota bar, special lecturer on Commer- cial Law and Corporations, International Law and Business Institute. C. E. ZIMMERMAN, expert on Publicity and Sales Promotion, Chicago. AUTHORITIES CONSULTED. CYRUS C. ADAMS, author of "A Text-Book of Commercial Geogra- phy." JOSEPH A. ARNOLD, Editor and Chief of Division of Publications, U. S. Department of Agriculture. W. J. ASHLEY, M. A., professor of Economic History in Harvard University; author of "An Introduction to English Economic History and Theory." HARRY C. BENTLEY, C. P. A., author of "Corporate Finance and Ac- counting." RIGHT HONORABLE JAMES BRYCE, British Ambassador to the United States; author of "The American Commonwealth." ANDREW CARNEGIE, author of "The Empire of Business," "Tha Gospel of Wealth," "Triumphant Democracy." etc. etc. CHARLES U. CARPENTER, author of "Profit-Making in Shop and Fac- tory Management." 4 AUTHORITIES CONSULTED. 9 A. HAMILTON CHUBCH, author of "The Proper Distribution of Ex- pense Burden." THOMAS CONYNGTON, of the New York bar; author of "Corporate Organization," "Corporate Management" "The Modern Corporation, Its Mechanism, Methods, Formation and Management," etc. WILLIAM AMELIUS CORBION, author of "the Principles of Salesman- ship, Deportment and System." DR. STUART DAGGETT, University of California, author of "Railroad Reorganization." LAWRENCE R. DICKSEE, F. C. A. professor of Accounting at the University of Birmingham; author of "Office Organization and Man- agement." HON. JOHN F. DBYDEN, former United States Senator; president of The Prudential Insurance Company of America; author of "Life In- surance as a Career," "Uniform Law and Legislation on Life Insur- ance," etc., etc. E. DANA DURAND, Director of the Census Bureau, Washington, D. C. SEYMOUR EATON, Director of the Department of Industry and Fi- nance, Drexel Institute, Philadelphia; author of "How To Do Business." JAMES H. ECKELS, former Comptroller of the Currency; author of "The Methods of Banking," etc. HARRINGTON EMERSON, author of "Efficiency as a Basis for Opera- tion and Wages." A. NORTON FITCH, of the Tacoma (Wash.) bar, formerly of tkt Rochester (New York) bar; author of "New Commercial Law." E. K. FOLTZ, author of "The Federal Civil Service as a Career." DAVID R. FORGAN, president of the National City Bank of Chi- cago. H. L. GANTT, member of the American Society of Mechanical En- gineers; author of "Training Workmen in Habits of Industry and Co- operation," etc., etc. JAMES C. GIPE, Secretary Joint Committee on Conservation, Wash- ington, D. C. JOHN H. GRAY, Ph. D., professor of Economics and Political Sci- ence, University of Minnesota. W. C. HOLMAN, former editor of Salesmanship Magazine. EBNEST W. HUFFCUT, former Dean of the Cornell University Col- lege of Law; author of "The Elements of Business Law." JINKIN LLOYD JONES, Abraham Lincoln Center, Chicago. HON. W. L. MACKENZIE KING, C. M. G., M. P., Minister of Labor, Dominion of Canada. M. G. LAROCHELLE, Joint Commissioner, Civil Service Commission of Canada, Ottawa, Canada. PROF. J. LAURENCE LAUGHLIN, former head of the Department of Political Economy, University of Chicago. 6 AUTHORITIES CONSULTED. PAUL MORTON, president of The Equitable Life Assurance Company. ALEXANDER DANA NOTES, financial editor "New York Evening Post" GEORGE W. PERKINS, 23 Wall Street, New York. CARL HORTON PIERCE, lecturer on "Salesman-Making," New York Y. M. C. A.; author of "Scientific Salesmanship." CHAS. F. ROLAND, Secretary of the Winnipeg Development and Industrial Bureau, Winnipeg, Manitoba. WILLIAM A. SCHONFELD, attorney and counselor-at-law ; author of "A Compendium of Laws." WM. A. SCOTT, director of Course in Commerce, University of Wisconsin; author of "Money and Banking," etc., etc. EDWIN R. A. SELIGMAN, LL. D,, author of "Essays in Taxation," "The Economic Interpretation of History," "Principles of Econom- ics," etc., etc. ARTHUR B. SHELTON, Secretary of the National Monetary Commis- sion, Washington, D. C. ADAM SMITH, LL. D., author of "The Wealth of Nations." GOLDWIN SMITH, D. C. L., LL. D., author of "The Relations Be- tween America and England," "Canada and the Canadian Question," "History of the United States," "Essays on Questions of the Day," etc., etc. SAMUEL E. SPARKLING, Ph. D., author of "Business Organization." EDWARD W. SPENCER, of the Milwaukee bar, author of "Manual of Commercial Law," and "The Elements of Commercial Law." F. W. TAUSSIG, professor of Political Economy in Harvard Uni- versity; author of "Wages and Capital." FREDERICK WINSLOW TAYLOR, expert in Industrial Organization, Philadelphia, Pa.; author of "A Piece-Rate System," "Shop Manage- ment," etc., etc. R. WHATELY COOKE TAYLOR, author of "Introduction to a History of the Factory System." HENRY W. THURSTON, head of the Department of Social and Eco- nomic Science in the Chicago Normal School; author of "Economics and Industrial History." HON. JOHN WANAMAKER, Philadelphia. ALGERNON WARREN, author of "Commercial Traveling: Its Feature*, Past and Present." SALESMANSHIP THEORY AND PRACTICE SALESMANSHIP - THEORY AND PRACTICE. TABLE OF CONTENTS. ASSOCIATE EDITORS AJSTD AUTHORITIES PAGE 4 INTRODUCTION 15 Chapter I. SELF-TRAINING IN SALESMANSHIP 21 Development of Selling Power Essen- tials of Salesmanship General Knowl- edge Desirable Training the Senses Exercise of Judgment Combating Evil Passions Why Knowledge is Necessary Concentration Imagination a Valua- ble Asset Training the Will Power Originality and Initiative Steps in Self- Training. Chapter II. PRINCIPLES OF SALESMANSHIP 31 Finding the ' ' Prospect ' ' Preliminary Preparation The Approach Gaining Attention "Sizing Him Up "--The Demonstration The Selling Talk The Convincing Argument Closing the Sale Elements of a Sale (Salesman, Goods, Buyer) Selling Force Enthusiasm Keeping Up Steam Reading the Cus- tomer Various Types of Buyers Power of the Will Power of the Voice Sugges 1 - tion Auto-Suggestion Character and Health Practical Hints for Salesmen. Chapter III. MARKETING A PRODUCT Organization of Distribution The Job- ber or Wholesaler Modern Methods of Marketing Advantage of a Sales Force Assisting the Jobber The Advertising Department. 9 59 10 TABLE OF CONTENTS. Chapter IV. PERSONALITY OF THE SALESMAN 69 Trained Faculties Required Personal Appearance Personal Character Use of the Intellect Tact Makes Friends The Armor of Self -Control Value of Politeness Be Cheerful and Prompt Earnestness of Purpose. Chapter V. THE SCIENTIFIC SALESMAN .............. 81 Scientific Salesmanship Involves Study- Education Application Personal Qual- ities Self -Control A Student of Men A Cultivated Memory Shrewdness and Honesty Knowledge of the Goods In- dustry and Perseverance Getting out of Ruts. Chapter VI. SELLING AT WHOLESALE 89 Chapter VII. Chapter VIII. Chapter IX. Turning Failure into Success Watch- ing Expert Methods Selling to Expert Buyers The Use of ' ' Leaders "Forc- ing the Buyer's Attention Keeping the Customer It Pays to be Obliging "At Wholesale " Foundation of Success Machinery of Wholesaling Responsibili- ties of Buyers Granting of Credit- Qualifications of Salesmanship Up-to- date Methods Needed Details of Daily Routine In the Order Department Filling and Shipping Orders Work of Other Departments The Young Man's Beginning Preparation for Business Life. SELLING AT RETAIL Ill Securing Attention Arousing Interest Creating Desire The Purchasing Im- pulse Everyone a Prospective Filling Orders not Salesmanship. PRACTICAL INSTRUCTIONS TO SALESMEN 119 THE APPROACH 125 How to Introduce Yourself Have a Fixed Idea The First Interview Gain a Hearing How to Approach a Store- keeperTake in the Situation Prepare TABLE OF CONTENTS. 11 Chapter X. Chapter XI. Your Brief Getting at Him Don't be Sidetracked The First Five Minutes Get His Attention Put Yourself in His Place Keep your Temper Say It Quickly Purpose of the Interview No Imaginary Demonstration Don 't Be Too Blunt Be Brief if Necessary Have Definite Answers Ready Make an Appointment Some Good Appeals for a Demonstration. THE DEMONSTRATION 145 Know Your Goods Don't Take the De- fensive Be Polite Make Him Feel Its Importance Know His Business Aid Him in Choosing Size Your Man Speak Deliberately Convince Him Be Natural and Sincere The First Stage The Second Stage The Third Stage The Money-Saving Feature. CLOSING THE SALE 157 Getting the Order Signed Be on the Alert Don't Talk Him Out of It- Verbal Agreements Unbusinesslike Things to Remember Things to Avoid. GETTING THE ORDER SIGNED 165 Learning When to Close The Closing Summary A Systematic Method Needed Recall Favorable Admissions Acquie- scence May Be Assumed Shutting Off Controversy Enumerate the Strong Points The Push That Lands the Order " Rushing" the Prospect. Chapter XIII. SALES ORGANIZATION 179 Methods of Selling Manufactured Goods Developing a Selling Force Training of Salesmen A Scientific Selling System Salesmen 's Weekly Demonstration Meetings Program of Salesmen's Dem- onstration Meetings Creating the Sales- man's Interest Handling Competition Chapter XII. 12 TABLE OF CONTENTS. Salesmen's Training Department Im- portance of the Instructor Work of the Training School Keeping Track of Salesmen Salesman's Daily Report of Sales The Prospective Customer's Record Executive Reports from Selling Division. Chapter XIV. A MANUFACTURER'S CAMPAIGN 199 Locating a New Industry Determining Grade of the Product Development of Sales Field Advertising Methods Or- ganization of Sales Force Relation of Output to Credit. Chapter XV. THE TRAINING OP AGENTS 209 No. 1. Talk on -Salesmanship Over- crowded Callings A Thing for Which the Demand is Greater than the Supply How to Acquire Salesmanship Your Personal Attitude Dignity of the Work Your Calling an Honorable One. No. 2. Talk on Starting Work When to Start A Knowledge Worth Working for Weather Conditions Don 't Watch the Clock The Great Importance of Re- ports The First Plunge Try It on a Friend First. No. 3. Talk on Success Experience and Inexperience Theory and Practice- The Three Factors Which Produce Suc- cess Master Your Proposition Study These Lessons Ideas Are the Product of Thought Preparation for the Canvass Know What You Are Going to Say Adapt Your Answers to Your Customers Your Samples. Chapter XVI. SELLING A BUSINESS SERVICE, Part 1 223 General Instructions Working Your Territory Initiative Decision Dispatch Perseverance Master the Proposition Origin of Advertising Early Attempts Presentation of the Proposition Introductory Talk. TABLE OF CONTENTS. IB Chapter XVII. Chapter XVIII. Chapter XIX. Chapter XX. Chapter XXI. SELLING A BUSINESS SERVICE, Part 2 243 Closing Arguments How to Answer All Kinds of Objections. SELLING A BUSINESS SERVICE, Part 3 259 An Occasional Introduction Make Your Man Understand Drive Your Points Home Causing Decision The Time to Close Some Price Arguments Why We Don't Pay Freight Getting a Reference A Good Argument Payments "Nerve Medicine." TRAVELING SALESMEN 277 Ancient Travelers Held in Respect- Evolution of the Modern Traveler Im- proved Means of Transit Nineteenth Century Development Origin of the " Bagman" Was He an Insect-Des- troyer? Changes Noted in England Margins of Profit Reduced Quality Standards Higher Buyers Know More Nowadays Effects of Cooperative Trad- ing Market Information Was Scarce Travelers 7 Information Welcome Collec- tions by Travelers Commercial Travel- ing in America Two Classes of Roadmen Division of Territory Systems of Traveling Compensation of Roadmen The Question of Expenses Selection of Salesmen Control of the Salesman. KEEPING TRACK OF PROSPECTS 303 The Card Index The Follow-up File A Working Partner Sales Department Records Suggestions for Handling In- quiries "Follow Ups" Keeping up Prospect System Rules. PSYCHOLOGY OF SALESMANSHIP, Part 1 315 Confidence and Suggestion The Basis of Confidence Securing the Customer's Interest The Use of Suggestion Per- suasion an Important Weapon Chang- ing a Sentiment Mental Processes 14 TABLE OF CONTENTS. Direct Appeal Appeal to Emotion- Suggestion in Retail Selling Three Es- sentials of Persuasion Elements of Sug- gestive Salesmanship Action in Sugges- tion. Chapter XXII. PSYCHOLOGY OF SALESMANSHIP, Part 2 329 A Mighty Motive Power Soul Power or Psychic Force Power Can be Cultivated Effect of Earnestness Harmony with Conditions No Mental Reservations- Mental Influence on Bodily Functions Coping with Antagonism. ChapterXXIII. SELLING AN AGENCY 343 Chapter XXIV. BUSINESS SUCCESS, by Walter H. Cot ting- ham 363 Opportunities of the Present Day The Choice of a Career The Start Training for the Race Work to a Plan The Value of Time Be Enterprising Busi- ness Ability System Enthusiasm Character. Questions for Review . . . '. 389 SALESMANSHIP THEORY AND PRACTICE INTRODUCTION. For many centuries the art of selling goods was re- garded as a special quality inherent in certain men or certain classes of men, and transmitted from father to son as a hereditary trait. Up to within the last few years the word "salesman- ship" was not to be found in dictionaries of the English language. It was not recognized as a distinct word. Modern salesmanship is therefore a comparatively new step in the development of business. It is variously de- scribed as a science and an art, and it truly partakes of the character of both. Salesmanship is an art because its successful exercise implies the skill, dexterity, and power of performing certain actions, acquired by experience, study or observa- tion. If art be defined as "a system of rules serving to facilitate the performance of certain actions," then modern salesmanship is indeed an art, because it is based upon well-defined principles and established rules, the observance of which facilitate every sale. The salesmanship of today is often called scientific salesmanship. As a distinctive branch of study, it may well be called a science, because it implies "knowledge, 15 16 SALESMANSHIP. comprehension and understanding of the truths and facts regarding the subject of selling goods." It is knowledge of the mental attitudes of buyer and seller, "co-ordinated, arranged and systematized." It answers to the definition of a science also because it represents "art or skill derived or resulting from pre- cepts, principles or training." Like every other science, it is the result of general laws, and it may be taught like any other science. Art is the application of knowledge to practice. A principle of science is a rule in art. Science is knowl- edge; art is skill in using it. Thus, modern salesmanship being both an art and a science, it may be acquired by the study and practice of the principles and knowledge on which it is based, these being now generally recognized and understood. Science embraces those branches of knowledge which give a positive statement of truth, either as founded in the nature of things, or established by observation and experiment. Art is that which depends upon practice and skill in performance. So we may acquire the science of sales- manship or a knowledge and comprehension of its prin- ciples, and we practice the art of salesmanship when we exercise our knowledge in actual business transactions. What is Salesmanship? A common definition of salesmanship is "the ability to sell goods and merchandise," or "the making of a con- tract for the transfer of property," but a better defini- tion of modern salesmanship is "the power of selling" For the scientific salesman of today must possess and feel the power to sell. This power he acquires by knowl- SALESMANSHIP. IT edge. He must know how to sell before he can hope for success. How can this knowledge be acquired? The answer is, first, by study of the principles of salesmanship as they are understood today. Second, by the cultivation of the mind so as to be able to exercise the power of the will and thus acquire selling force; by character-build- ing; by conservation of the health; by proper deport- ment under all circumstances; by learning to read the customer, so as to be able to influence his mental atti- tude by suggestion and auto-suggestion; by a careful study and accurate knowledge of the goods one has to sell in short, by equipping one's self thoroughly with all possible knowledge that may affect a sale or tend to create the desire to purchase. The modern salesman must know how to approach a customer and how to secure a hearing; how to present his goods and make a selling argument for them ; how to answer objections and how to close a sale; how to handle buyers under the varying conditions and circumstances of frequent or occasional intercourse ; how to keep a cus- tomer and secure his future trade. Most of these things are matters of knowledge that can be acquired by study and persistence. Character can be built up by self -training. Health and deport- ment depend upon the individual himself. In fact, all the essentials of modern salesmanship are within the reach of any young man who will devote himself with care and assiduity to their acquirement. Qualifications of a Salesman. A well-known western wholesaler has summed up the varied qualifications of a true salesman thus: I.B.L. Vol. 22 18 "To be a good salesman is not only in itself a trade, but an accomplishment. A first-class salesman must not only know his goods and their values, but must be equally well informed regarding the lines with which he will come in competition. He must be able to win and re- tain the confidence of the men with whom he transacts business. In making sales, he must consider the in- terests of both the buyer and the seller. He must know that a sale which overstocks a customer or gives him ground for feeling that he has been unintentionally overcharged, or in any manner defrauded, is the most unprofitable sale that can possibly be made. An ideal salesman is not one who depends upon what is vulgarly known as 'the gift of the gab.' One of the best sales- men I ever knew was the most quiet and least obtrusive in his manner. A thoroughly equipped salesman must have confidence in the merchandise he is selling, and be able to exert personal magnetism. A man who never makes friends never makes customers." Rewards of Salesmanship. The rewards of successful salesmanship were never so great as they are at the present time. Every man is a salesman, more or less. Poor salesmen must be satisfied with poor rewards, but good salesmen command good prices for their services, and great salesmen are always in demand and receive great rewards. It would be folly to assert that every young man can make himself a great salesman. Every man but a crip- ple can run, but every man cannot become a great run- ner. A course of conscientious training, however, will improve any man's running abilities, and a course of SAIJSSMANSHIP. 19 conscientious self -training in salesmanship will improve any man's selling ability. In the chapters that follow, the principles of sales- manship on which modern methods are based are clearly described. Approved methods of selling goods are also entered into at length, and the student of business who desires to pursue salesmanship as his vocation in life may gather from these pages all the essential knowledge he requires as a sure foundation for success. ''The heights by great men earned and kept, Were not attained by sudden flight; But they, while their companions slept, Were toiling upward in the night. " Longfellow. "There is no easy road to success. I thank God for it. A trained man will make his life tell. Without training, men are left on a sea of luck, where thousands go down while one meets with success. " Garfield. CHAPTER I. SELF-TRAINING IN SALESMANSHIP. From the moment the young man throws down his gauntlet in the arena of business life and challenges Suc- cess, he becomes a salesman. When he applies for his first position he attempts to sell his services and the measure of success which he attains will depend very largely on his selling ability. He may never be called upon to sell actual commodities, but in every walk of life the successful man is a good salesman. If he is a doc- tor, lawyer, a preacher, a journalist, an accountant, or an author, his purpose is to sell his services, his skill, or the product of his knowledge, in the best market, and to obtain the highest price possible. If he is a grocer, a dry goods man, or a grain dealer, his object is to obtain the highest going price for his commodities and to sell as much of them as possible. Hence salesmanship begins at the outset of every business career and is continued to the end. It is a mistake to suppose that the professional man need know nothing about salesmanship. Professional life is chock full of failures made by men who have neglected this important part of their training, and there are many instances, sad to relate, of professional wrecks and derelicts who actually try to pride themselves upon the fact that they have never striven to acquire even the rudiments of salesmanship or any other branch of business skill that would fit them for profitable prac- tice of their profession. 21 22 SELF-TRAINING IN SALESMANSHIP. Development of Selling Power. Salesmanship, then, since it must be practiced by all, should be carefully studied by all. Some men are be- lieved to have a natural faculty for selling goods and are called "born" salesmen. But it is a mistake to suppose that the art of salesmanship cannot be acquired by self- training. The power to sell lies innate in the great ma- jority of men, and can be developed by training and by study. The faculties and methods brought into play by the "born" salesman are those that must be culti- vated and developed by the man who is being trained or is training himself in salesmanship. The whole struc- ture is based upon individual character, and the man who would succeed as a salesman must cultivate the qualities upon which success depends. If one is lacking in the characteristics of a successful salesman he must so build up his character by study and constant watchfulness of himself as to acquire the quali- ties he lacks. The business character of a man can be built up as surely as a house can be erected upon its foundation. Man, in the aggregate, is the noblest work of God, but some very poor specimens of manhood take refuge behind that statement and arrogate to themselves an ability which they are far from possessing. Man is born with the elements of a noble character, but each in- dividual man must work out his own perfection. Essentials of Salesmanship. Successful salesmanship is in brief the ability to awaken in the mind of another first, a desire, and then a determination, to buy what the salesman has to sell. In order to be able to do this successfully the mind of the salesman himself must be properly cultivated ; his intel- ELF-TttAINING IN SALESMANSHIP. 28 lect must be developed, and he must know how to act upon the sensibilities of his subject the customer and direct the will of the latter to the desired end. All branches of human knowledge may be drawn upon in the cultivation of the mind. A store of general in- formation about men and affairs is a very desirable busi- ness asset. A salesman cannot learn or know too much first, about the goods or services it is his business to sell; second, about business as a whole, and third, about human affairs- in general. The small amount of general information with which many persons manage to crawl through the world is most surprising. From the day when as a child their par- ents, it may be, stifled their childish desire for knowledge by discouraging their constant questions, they seem to have lost interest in all but their own petty affairs, and care little or nothing about keeping informed as to cur- rent events or the progress of the great, busy world about them. Their conversation is dull and uninteresting; they lack ideas because their brain lacks exercise; their vocabulary limits itself to the few hundred words with which they can most easily express their daily physical wants and desires ; they become selfish and often morose, and slowly but surely lose the power of influencing their fellow-men in any direction. General Knowledge Desirable. This lack of general knowledge in business is far more widespread than is usually believed. The untrained clerk in a railroad office is often unable to tell offhand the name of the general passenger agent of his road, even though that name may be familiar to millions of the trav- eling public. The so-called salesman who waits on you 24 SELF-TRAINING IN SALESMANSHIP. may be absolutely unable to tell you anything about the materials or the process of manufacture of the goods he is selling, and if you ask him the geographical location of the Central American Republic whose president was as- sassinated the day before yesterday the best he can do is to mumble something about its being "way down South." To be a successful salesman it is not necessary that one should be a walking cyclopedia, but it is desirable that one should possess a good fund of general knowledge, such as can be acquired without loss of time by any broad-minded person who will interest himself in the events that occur beyond his own. immediate sphere of action. Men are often "sized up" by the character of their con- versation. It has been said, and with some truth, that most persons fall into one of three classes : first-class peo- ple, who meditate upon and discuss ideas; second-class people, who talk about persons; and third-class people, whose talk is of things. In this category the gossip and the backbiter occupy a rather undeserved second-class position. Training the Senses. The normal tendency of the average human mind is to grasp a thing or an object before concerning itself with any ideas regarding the same. Thus, by our senses we perceive a book or a pair of shoes before we formulate any definite ideas concerning them. It therefore be- comes necessary to train the senses so as to develop ideas regarding the things perceived by them. A broad field of study and self -training is here opened. The novice in salesmanship must learn that it is neces- sary to sow the seed before one can hope to reap a harvest SELF-TRAINING IN SALESMANSHIP. 25 of success; he must learn to exercise judgment and rea- son in business affairs. Judgment should be formed by reason. The two are by no means synonymous. Any man confronted with a question of business policy may arrive at a totally different judgment upon it from an- other to whom the same question is presented in precisely the same way. Judgment is often based upon experience. It must be trained by frequent exercise. If the judgment has been exercised aright, under a given set of conditions, it will repeat itself when the same conditions recur, thus having the benefit of experience. Reason in business affairs, on the other hand, is the mental process by which one arrives at judgment. It may have for its basis the ordinary steps of logic, or the experience of other persons in like conditions, this ex- perience being gained by study. The mental processes used in gaining knowledge of business affairs are alike in all men; hence, by studying these processes in our- selves we may learn to know and to read the thoughts of others, or at any rate their probable thoughts, which will hit the mark in most cases. It niust be understood that there is both conscious and subconscious reasoning by the human mind and that both kinds of reasoning are factors in the final judgment. Exercise of Judgment. The rapid judgment of men experienced in affairs is frequently a source of wonder to their associates, especially when, as in innumerable cases, their judgment is as accurate as it is quick. In nine cases out of ten such rapidity and accuracy of judgment is the result mainly of ripe experience. A similar set of conditions that has 26 SELF-TRAINING IN SALESMANSHIP. occurred in the past arises in the mind of the man whose judgment is required and he is able to make a rapid sur- vey of the results of the former experience and to base his judgment in the new case thereupon, with consider- able confidence in the result. But quick judgment is not always to be desired. De- liberation is usually advisable in business affairs, and a deliberate habit of thought is probably the safest. Pru- dence may be combined with quickness of thought, but errors in judgment are less likely to be made where there is mental deliberation combined with prudence, savored with the imagination that leads one to recognize a good thing even if it be new. Too much stress can hardly be laid upon the value of good judgment in business and the necessity of culti- vating it. Every business man can recall errors of judg- ment which have resulted expensively for him and hence he desires to train his judgment aright. Combating Evil Passions. In self-training there are many foes of reason to be combated. Prejudice must be striven against at all times. Temper must be subdued. Undue haste must be avoided. In fact, the man who is seeking to reconstruct or remodel his character so as to increase his selling ability and make himself more of a man fit to call him- self the "noblest work" must be constantly on his guard against giving way to any of the evil passions, especially in his conversation with the customer, upon which his sales largely depend. He must avoid all evil speaking of his competitor or his competitor's goods, and to avoid such evil speaking he should endeavor to avoid the evil thought of which it is the expression. Stifle the SELF-TRAINING IN SALESMANSHIP. 27 thought and its expression will cease. If you try to as- sume the mental attitude of the customer you will soon realize that you cannot sell him your own goods by running down the goods of another. It is better to build than to wreck. Why Knowledge is Necessary. The novice may ask, "Why is it necessary to store up a fund of general knowledge in order to sell goods? Why should I burden my mind with information about a lot of things that do not directly concern the business in hand?" The answer is that the customer sizes up the salesman just as the salesman sizes up the customer. He wants to know what kind of man he is doing business with, and a lack of general information, if betrayed by the salesman, is very likely to interfere with the sale. It lessens the influence of the salesman, sometimes to the point of destroying his selling ability. Business men of quick judgment size up a salesman almost at a glance and will waste little time upon a man whose knowledge of affairs is evidently limited and whose conversation is flat, stale and unprofitable. Hence the salesman should by all means strengthen and increase his capacity for knowledge. He should carefully train his memory and thus enable himself to add to his store of knowledge and to pigeonhole facts and figures in his mind for subsequent use. Concentration. Another important direction for self-training is in concentration of the mental powers. The salesman should acquire the habit of concentration so that he may 28 SELF-TRAINING IN SALESMANSHIP. be able to devote his undivided attention to the affair in hand, and thus aid reason and judgment. To be able to concentrate all one's powers and faculties upon a given subject is very largely a matter of training. It adds force to argument and aids greatly in impressing the mind of another. The man of discursive speech, who finds it difficult to confine his own attention and thought to one thing at a time, will have difficulty in arresting and holding the attention of a customer upon the particular point which he is trying to impress upon him. It will readily be seen that the character of an ideal salesman must be the composite result of training along many lines. The more thorough the self -training, the better the result will be. Imagination a Valuable Asset. One of the factors of ideal success is the possession of an active imagination. Ambition and effort are stimu- lated by imagination, which has truly been called "the great spring of human activity." One of the greatest warriors in history went so far as to assert that the world is ruled by imagination. The man without imagination is poor indeed. The visions of ultimate success and of eminence in business life indulged in by salesmen and merchants stimulate them to greater effort, keep up their courage, help them to endure and all such visions spring from the imagination. Powers of imagination have brought about the world's greatest inventions; have led to the great improvements- in manufacture; have created the greatest enterprises of commercial life. Imagination is therefore a valuable asset to a salesman. SELF-TRAINING IN SALESMANSHIP. 2& It should be developed by free use and exercise. An imaginative man is not necessarily a dreamer only. The world's most active and energetic men give full play to their imagination and it helps them to success. Power of the Will. In salesmanship the power of the human will is con- stantly exercised. Business transactions often resolve themselves into a battle of one will against another. The will may be strengthened, like a muscle, by exercise; but it must be exercised in the right direction; the exercise must be based upon reason and good judgment. There is a vast difference between a strong will and a stubborn will. Stubbornness may be regarded as a dis- ease of the will, just as the over-development of a single part of the human body is rightly regarded as a blemish, if not as a disease. It is often profitable to strengthen one's will by combating the will power of others, but such a process should be accompanied by consideration for the other fellow, whom it is desired to influence. Square dealing is always a good investment. Originality and Initiative. Among the men who succeed in the present day there are many whose strongest characteristic is their original- ity and power of initiative. Having built up a strong character and having confidence in themselves, they are not afraid to act upon their own judgment and responsi- bility. They are willing to do things first, without wait- ing to see what the effect of similar action is in other cases. They stand ready to seize every opportunity. They are ready to inaugurate things without waiting for others to lead; they become leaders of men. 80 SELF-TRAINING IN SALESMANSHIP. The faculty of initiative is indeed a valuable asset. Its exercise betokens courage and self-confidence, and like all the faculties it can be developed by training. Steps in Self -Training. In self-training for successful salesmanship, the vari- ous steps required may be summarized as follows: 1. Character-building making a new man for a definite purpose. 2. Cultivating the mind and the intellect. 3. Storing up general knowledge. 4. Training the senses and promoting thought. 5. Learning to reason and to exercise judgment. 6. Learning to read the customer. 7. Learning to use deliberation and prudence. 8. Learning to avoid prejudice, temper, undue haste and all evil passions. 9. Improving the capacity for knowledge. 10. Training the memory. 11. Developing the imagination and so stimulating effort. 12. Exercising the power of the will. 13. Developing originality and initiative. Looking over this list most men, young or old, will recognize points wherein they are lacking. These are the points to which special attention and study should be given, so as to supply the deficiency, remove the de- fects, and acquire or strengthen all desirable qualities for successful salesmanship. CHAPTER II. PRINCIPLES OF SALESMANSHIP. If we understand by salesmanship "the power of sell- ing/' we see at once that the character and personality of the salesman have a great deal to do with the matter. You must be able to attract and hold the attention of the prospective customer, and to obtain his confidence; but this is only one of the steps required in making a sale. Scientific salesmanship notes at least half a dozen dis- tinct steps in every sale, these following each other in the following order: 1. Finding the prospective customer, or as he is us- ually called for short, the "prospect." 2. Self -preparation for making the sale; this must precede the approach. 3. The actual approach, or the means employed to gain the attention of the prospect. 4. The description of the goods, often called the demonstration. 5. The convincing argument. 6. Closing the sale securing the contract or taking the order. While these six steps are necessarily taken in the course of every sale, the manner in which the various stages are passed through necessarily varies with the character of the sale. Given the three principal elements of a sale namely, the salesman, goods, and buyer and the number of com- binations that can be formed from these elements is un- 31 32 PRINCIPLES OF SALESMANSHIP. limited. Thus the methods that prove successful in sell- ing one class of goods may not exactly suit the case of other goods. But there are certain principles that apply to all sales to all classes of goods, and it is with these rather than with specific methods employed by modern salesmen, that we shall deal at present. Finding the " Prospect." In some way or other, every customer must be found. This is accomplished in various ways. Regular trade buyers of regular lines are perhaps the easiest found of all prospective customers, having a place of business where they await the coming of the salesman, whom it is a part of their business to see and to hear. Prospects for specialties, or insurance, or advertising, are found by different means. Every business house has its own methods of securing prospects for the benefit of its salesmen. A good salesman is ever on the lookout for pros- pective customers on his own account. A hint or sug- gestion dropped in casual conversation with other sales- men, for example, fastens itself in his memory as if it were pinned there, and soon develops into a "prospect." There are a thousand and one different ways of obtain- ing names of prospective buyers. Some salesmen regard every man to whom they are talking as a prospective customer for what they have to sell and this is often regarded as a high development of the art of salesmanship but it can easily be carried too far and sometimes to the point of embarrassment for both the salesman and his supposed prospecv PRINCIPLES OF SALESMANSHIP. 33 In finding the customer, just as in all other branches of the selling art, there must be a constant exercise of judgment. Hence the judgment of the salesman should be trained to this end. Prospects are secured by advertising campaigns, as well as by personal canvass ; by the use of trade lists, di- rectories, gazetteers, trade and class journals, and in va- rious other ways peculiar to every line of business. The main point is to secure "prospects" of the right kind those in whom the desire to purchase the article which the salesman has for sale can be created, and who have such use for the article that its purchase will leave them satisfied, ready to pay for the goods, and mayhap to order more. Preliminary Preparation. Before attempting to approach a prospect, the sales- man must carefully gather all possible information he can obtain regarding the prospective customer, or that is likely to affect the sale. This preliminary information, is frequently furnished to a salesman, especially by large houses that maintain a Sales Department with a special subdivision for this purpose. No prospect should be approached until the salesman is thoroughly informed as to his exact name, the nature of his business, etc. In fact, one cannot have too much information of this kind at hand, ready to use when the occasion demands. It is recognized in the selling profession nowadays that the steps leading to a sale include four conditions in the customer's mind, or four separate mental attitudes: namely, Attention, Interest, Desire and Decision. In order successfully to arouse these four sentiments, it is usually necessary to have at least some information T.B.L. Vol. 23 84 PRINCIPLES OF SALESMANSHIP. about the prospect that will aid in securing his atten- tion and awakening his interest. This must be obtained in advance, and it can be laid down as an absolute rule that no prospect should be approached off-hand, with- out some such preparation by the salesman. The Approach. Then comes the actual approach. The first thing to do, of course, is to gain access to the customer. This is not always easy, by any means. Young men especially often find it extremely difficult to gain access to prospective customers, especially when their personal- itly is undeveloped and they betray a lack of confidence in making the approach. When difficulty in seeing a prospect is anticipated, the salesman should carefully plan his method of attack, in order to pass the barriers and gain access to his man. Here we find great diversity in the methods employed by different salesmen. Much depends upon the way in which the salesman states his business to the subordinate who asks what it is or seeks to bar his entrance, as frequently happens in the outer precincts of large and busy offices or stores. The proper tone of voice, a little emphasis judiciously used even sometimes a slight air of mystery will se- cure the end desired. Often it is the case that more de- pends upon the way in which the request for an inter- view is made than upon the actual words used. There are two ways of conducting oneself upon en- tering a store or office. One is the hesitating, uncertain way, which promptly conveys the impression that the salesman lacks confidence, either in himself, or in his goods, or in the firm he represents ; and this is often com- PRINCIPLES OF SALESMANSHIP. 35 municated to the veriest tyro of an office boy, while it is of course promptly recognized by an experienced gate- keeper or a capable private secretary. The other method of approach is with a sure, firm step and a general air of alertness that betokens the confi- dence of the salesman, both in himself and in the ulti- mate success of his mission. This attitude commands respect and bears down op- position. It signifies that you have an object in asking the interview that is worth while both for yourself and for the person you seek to approach. The salesman who carries himself like a schoolboy will be treated like a schoolboy, and may expect to fail in making the desired approach. The man who, on the other hand, wears an air of busi- ness and conducts himself generally as if his business merits attention, will seldom fail to receive courteous at- tention. Gaining Attention. But getting past the outer gate and obtaining access to the prospect is, after all, only a part though an im- portant part of the actual approach. The approach also includes gaining the attention of the prospect after reaching his presence. First of all comes the preliminary greeting and much may depend upon this. First impressions are us- ually strong and lasting ones. There are ways of say- ing "Good morning" that will repel, as well as ways that will please. The tone of voice, the degree of heartiness, and if a handshake forms part of the greeting, the degree of warmth or coldness of the shake even the temperature 36 PRINCIPLES OF SALESMANSHIP. of the hand all have their effect upon the person greeted. If the person is a total stranger, the greeting should, of course, be respectful, but in no way servile; it should be hearty without undue warmth or effusiveness; and should, if possible, convey the idea that the caller is a man of business bent upon an errand of which he is proud and which gives him confidence to meet the cus- tomer like a man. "Sizing Him Up." Business men and buyers who meet many salesmen in the course of a day or a week, learn to "size up" a new comer with almost unerring exactitude. Experience makes them equally wary of the very effusive person and the salesman with the cold, perfunctory handshake and greeting. The one reflects upon their intelligence; the other arouses instant antagonism. Much may be accomplished by the salesman in the first moments of his interview. Each party is con- sciously or unconsciously forming an estimate of the other, "sizing him up," as the phrase goes, and each reg- isters an impression of the other for future use. The salesman whose method of approach makes a fa- vorable impression upon the prospect has gained a de- cided step in advance. He may not know, and if he is a novice he will forget to care, just what impression he has made, but an experienced salesman knows the value of the first impression. He knows that if he has succeeded thus far, the sub- sequent steps will be like dropping the seed into a pre- pared ground, with all the prospects favorable for a good harvest. PRINCIPLES OF SALESMANSHIP. 37 If the first impression is unfavorable to the salesman, even though he is not altogether to blame for it, his subsequent work will be all the harder. He will have to remove the first impression and counteract its effects by the skillf ulness of his subsequent presentation or dem- onstration of his goods or selling proposition. Much, therefore, depends upon the character of the approach, and it is a feature of salesmanship well worth study. If the attention of the customer is gained right off the reel, in the very first stage of the interview, the rest will be easier. If not, the succeeding steps may be in- deed uphill work. The Demonstration. Once the attention of the prospective customer is gained, the "demonstration" follows in its natural se- quence. This is the description and explanation of the goods or the proposition to be presented, and it must be carefully done because the object is threefold: First, to secure the confidence of the buyer; second, to awaken his interest, and third, to create desire, which when aided by a convincing argument on the part of the salesman will result in closing the sale. In order to describe and explain the goods to the best advantage, the salesman must be thoroughly familiar with them. It stands to reason that he must know more about the goods than the customer can see at a glance. Unless he is selling a regular line, with which the buyer is familiar, the salesman must, in as few words as possible, present the advantages of the goods, the article, specialty or proposition, in such a way as to arouse interest and 38 PRINCIPLES OF SALESMANSHIP. lead the prospect steadily toward the next important step, namely, Desire. In presenting your own goods, it is best not to run down the goods of a competitor. In fact, it is well, if possible, to avoid discussing competing goods. Should the customer get in a remark favorable to competing goods, do not let his mind dwell upon it, and above all do not antagonize him on any such point, but proceed to show to the best of your ability the superior points and advantages of your own goods. The Selling Talk. Most articles and business propositions requiring the services of a salesman possess some particular point of advantage or superiority which is called the "talking point." Sometimes there are several such talking points. When the salesman is thoroughly equipped in advance with information as to these points, he can dwell upon them understandingly, forcibly, and even enthusias- tically in presenting and demonstrating his proposition. Here it may be said that the selling talk should always be planned in advance. In special cases it is often neces- sary to depart from the regular plan of attack. Many men of many minds are met with in the course of a week's work, and all cannot be handled alike, but it is best to be prepared with a sales talk that will fit the majority of cases. Experience will soon show to what percentage of the prospects encountered this regular selling talk will appeal. Very often the selling talk is arranged in advance for the salesman by a sales manager. Some salesmen, it is true, rebel at the idea of using a line of conversation and PRINCIPLES OF SALESMANSHIP. 39 argument formulated for them by another. They pre- fer to use their own individual methods and to handle each prospect in the manner that suggests itself to them on the spur of the moment of meeting as the best suited to the case. But it must be remembered that a prepared selling talk is the result of the experience of the sales manager gathered in numerous actual cases of personal contact with buyers and also from the reports and ex- perience of many other salesmen presenting the same or similar goods. Hence, when a regular selling talk or "canvass" is pre- scribed for the use of its salesmen by any selling concern it is entitled to respect and also to a fair trial by the new salesman before he replaces it by methods of his own, based, it may be, on a limited experience gained in sell- ing another line of goods, or a totally different proposi- tion. Sales managers want to make a showing, and in order to make a showing they want the men under them to effect sales. Only results count! It is orders that every house requires. Hence, no sales manager would send out a salesman into the field with instructions to use a certain line of sales talk unless experience had shown that that particu- lar presentation of the goods would bring results in the shape of orders. A new salesman, therefore, should always give the fullest possible trial to the selling talk prescribed for his use. His own personal experience in the presence of prospects may soon show him weak points in the selling talk. If so, he can change his presentation of the goods in accordance with his own ideas of a better method, and 40 PRINCIPLES OF SALESMANSHIP. in such cases it is his privilege to point out desirable changes to his sales manager, who, if he is built on the right lines, will thank the salesman for this demonstra- tion of loyalty to the interests of the house. The Convincing Argument. The main object of the salesman in presenting the goods is to create interest and convince the customer that what he needs is what the salesman has to sell. The pre- cise advantage of the article, goods or proposition must, therefore, be made clear, and the prospect must be shown that he needs the goods in his business and that it is to his benefit to buy them. In other words, the customer must be convinced that the goods offered him will be profitable to him in some way, either by bringing new business, by reselling at a profit, by saving time or labor or money, or by making it to his advantage in some other way to buy the particu- lar goods or to accept the particular proposition offered by the salesman. The selling argument must, therefore, be carefully planned and considered. The preliminary presentation and demonstration of the goods must show the superior features and advan- tages of the goods offered by the salesman over similar goods of other makes, or competing articles, or proposi- tions of a like nature offered by other houses, but the argument itself must be so constructed as to carry con- viction to the customer's mind and cause him to desire the particular goods offered by the salesman as best suited to his needs. The description of the goods should be as clear and plain as possible, avoiding technicalities not readily com- PRINCIPLES OF SALESMANSHIP. 41 prehended by the customer; in the case of a new cus- tomer always making allowance for the fact that the mind of the customer when approached is a blank on the subject. The salesman must take nothing for granted. If the customer has had no means of learning the merits of the goods, it is the business of the salesman to point them out and to cover the ground as rapidly and succinctly as possible. Knowing when to stop is a very important considera- tion in making the argument. Many sales are lost every day because the salesman does not know when to stop talking. Meritorious goods and worthy propositions, when pre- sented in a plain business-like way, are usually the sub- ject of intelligent questions on the part of the customer, and such questioning must be encouraged rather than avoided, especially when the customer shows an active interest in the goods. If questions are asked the salesman has an opportunity to meet and answer objections, to make rebuttal, and thus stimulate interest and increase the customer's desire to obtain the goods. This argumentative stage of the sale is a very impor- tant one, and the well-equipped modern salesman is al- ways prepared with a conclusive answer to all the objec- tions he is likely to encounter in the argument preceding the closing of a sale. Closing the Sale. It must be remembered that, in the great majority of cases, no sale is closed until the order is signed. The various steps in selling all lead up to the final and 42 PRINCIPLES OF SALESMANSHIP. all-important step closing the sale, or securing the or- der in definite shape. The great thing in closing is to realize the point at which the prospect or customer is ready to signify his assent to the proposition presented by the salesman. This may be called the "psychological moment." It must be quickly recognized by the salesman and the proper action taken by him immediately, for if it is al- lowed to pass it may be fatal to the sale. The closing point should come very soon after desire to purchase is created. It must be the business of the- salesman to bring the customer to a decision to buy just as soon as possible after he begins to desire the goods. At the proper mo- ment the argument should cease and the contract or order blank should be presented for signature. In order to determine when the psychological moment for closing a sale arrives, the customer must be closely watched. His interest must be carefully maintained right up to this point and the selling talk should be brought to a close when the salesman sees that the customer is pre- pared to make a decision. The order blank or contract may then be produced in a quiet, matter-of-fact unostentatious way. It should be filled out rapidly, as if it were the most natural thing in the world to do at that particular mo- ment, and it may then be at once passed over to the pros- pect for his signature. Many men hesitate in producing the blank document that when signed will be the evidence of the sale, but the most successful salesmen are those who do not hesitate when the right moment arrives; that is, when the pros- PRINCIPLES OF SALESMANSHIP. 43 pective customer has been carried through all the vari- ous stages required to bring his mind to the point of de- cision. It is at this point that the salesman needs to be especially alert. He must guard, if possible, against interruption, for a slight interruption at this stage may break down the entire structure of the sale, and he may find it impos- sible to regain the interest of the prospect. Certain objections may be raised at the last moment, just before signing the order, and these the salesman must be prepared to meet without a moment's hesitation, bringing to bear upon his anwers all the power of his will and all the knowledge of the goods which he has acquired by study and experience. Closing the sale being all-important, it should call forth all the powers of the salesman's mind: First, in the exercise of judgment as to the precise moment to at- tempt the closing and get the order. Second, to find the right word and do the right thing at the right moment, so that no act or word of his shall lessen his chances of success. Third, to have all his faculties under the most perfect control at the time of closing the sale, so as to be able to throw the entire influence of his personality and knowl- edge into the scale against the natural resistance of the customer. There are men who find little or no difficulty in inter- esting prospective customers or even in creating their desire to possess the goods they offer, but who for vari- ous reasons find it difficult to close the transaction. Such men often have to call in to assist them in clos- ing a sale, other salesmen of known ability in closing. 44 PRINCIPLES OF SALESMANSHIP. They lack one of the prime requisites of successful salesmanship, and can only supply the deficiency by care- ful study of the methods successfully employed by others, by self-examination in order to discover wherein their methods fall short of their object, and by self -train- ing for more successful salesmanship. The skillful closing of a sale is the highest accom- plishment of the scientific salesman. Elements of a Sale. Three elements are generally recognized as essential to the transaction called a sale. These are : 1. The Salesman. 2. The Goods or article to be sold. The "goods" may be a proposition for acceptance by the customer, such as an offer of business service, of advertising, of a course of instruction, or any other service that involves purchase and sale. 3. The Buyer or Purchaser. These three elements are necessary to the sale itself - the completed transaction, at which point the work of the salesman is ended except where he expects a re-order or continued business from the customer. A sale may be defined as "a contract made for the transfer of property." Selling Force. The selling power of a salesman, as has already been pointed out (see Chapter I), depends upon himself. Its basis is the power of Character the impression which the personality and mind of the salesman make upon the mind of the buyer. PRINCIPLES OF SALESMANSHIP. 45 The plan of attack used by one man in selling goods may be totally different from that of another engaged in exactly the same business, and both may be equally suc- cessful, but the weapons of attack are the same. An able and experienced writer on Salesmanship has recently enumerated what he calls "The Twenty Weapons of Attack," as follows: Knowledge. Interest. Inducing For- Suggestion. Enthusiasm. getfulness. Voice. Desire. Wonder. Manner. Sympathy. Surprise. Expression. Self -attention. Imitation. Gestures. Persuasion. Fear. Excitement. Propitiation. Persistence. It will be noticed that Knowledge is named as the first weapon of attack. The successful salesman must thor- oughly know his business in all its aspects and cannot possess too much General Knowledge besides. Systematized knowledge, held at command for instant use under the varying circumstances of daily business life, is the salesman's best weapon because it includes the power to understand or "size up" the buyer and the con- ditions to be contended with in making a sale. It gives the salesman confidence in meeting men and handling different classes of buyers. It gives him sell- ing force. With Character, it forms a combination that is hard to beat. It will override obstacles, beat down opposition and secure results. Enthusiasm. A proper degree of Enthusiasm adds to selling ability. The salesman who presents his goods in a half-hearted 46 PRINCIPLES OF SALESMANSHIP. manner need not hope for success. An enthusiastic presentation, on the other hand, will often arouse en- thusiastic desire on the part of the buyer, but this must not be overdone. Young salesmen, particularly, are apt to grow over-enthusiastic, and if they have the force of Character behind them they may commit the error of over-selling the customer (which is generally recognized as a mistake) and find a return trip unprofitable, for it is hard in most cases to awaken enthusiasm a second time. Enthusiasm is a mental fire and like every other fire it dies down. When the salesman has gone and the cus- tomer is no longer under the influence of his personality, the communicated enthusiasm will wane and perhaps disappear before the goods are delivered, leaving the buyer dissatisfied because he has been convinced against his will during the period of mental exaltation. Over-enthusiasm, therefore, must be avoided and a happy medium sought in presenting the goods. One can be confident and forcible in presenting any proposition without indulging undue enthusiasm that may not be justified by the nature of the goods. Awaken Desire in the customer by all means, but do not leave him in a condition to be sadly disappointed on receipt of the goods. You may want to sell him again. Keeping Up Steam. Selling Force must be maintained at the proper pitch. Every salesman will admit that there are times and seasons when he does not feel up to the mark when he seems to lack his usual selling ability. There are many causes for this. Some men are easily affected by disappointments. A bad day will discourage them and rob them of much of PRINCIPLES OF SALESMANSHIP. 47 their power to sell. Such a condition of the mind must be combated by the power of the will. The health must be conserved in order to maintain selling ability at its highest pitch. The mind must be concentrated upon the business in hand at all times, this being an important part of self- training. The salesman must encourage himself by methods and mental processes similar to those employed by a sales manager in encouraging his men. In this respect every salesman should be, to a great extent, his own manager, encouraging himself when difficulties present them- selves, and seeking at all times to provide means to over- come every obstacle that lies in the path of his success. Selling Force lies in the individual and must be main- tained by the actions of the individual himself. Reading the Customer. A busy salesman encounters all kinds of customers, and it is important that he should be able to discriminate between the different types he meets. Some men are able to read the character of a cus- tomer almost by intuition, which has been called "the sixth sense." Others find it extremely difficult to gauge a stranger clearly. It is only by study of the character- istics of the various types of men that one can learn to read character with any degree of accuracy. A knowledge of physiognomy will be found useful. This is the science which deals with the face or counte- nance with respect to the temper of mind; or the art of discovering the characteristic qualities of the mind by the 48 PRINCIPLES OF SALESMANSHIP. form of the body, by the external appearance of the countenance, or the combination of the features. It is valuable to be able to note at a glance the temper- ament of a prospective customer; hence a knowledge of the principles of physiognomy, supplemented by intui- tion on the part of the salesman, is an excellent equip- ment. The disposition of almost every man may be discerned from a momentary study of his features, especially of the eyes. The nature of his movements will confirm the first reading of his character or aid in correcting the first impression. Such a reading of the customer must be made a part of the preliminaries of the selling interview, so that the actions and words of the salesman may be suited to the case. Various Types of Buyers. Prospective customers fall naturally into certain classes in every salesman's mind, according to the length and extent of his experience with men. Some recognize only three or four classes of buyers, but old-timers in salesmanship will tell you that they can classify buyers into as many as sixty or seventy types. Mr. Chas. Lindgren, a salesman of ripe experience, in his book, "The New Salesmanship," notes the following sixty-five types of buyers that have come under his per- sonal notice, and it is probable that even this compre- hensive list does not exhaust the various types of pros- pective customers with whom a live salesman is called upon to deal : PRINCIPLES OF SALESMANSHIP. 40 The Buyer Who Loves to The Suspicious Buyer. Argue. The Over-cautious Buyer. The Opinionated Buyer., The Buyer Who Likes to The Impolite Buyer. Compare. The Buyer of Choleric Buyers Who Intend to Temper. Defraud. The "Know-It-All" Buy- The Dignified Buyer. The Envious Buyer, rhe Antipathetic Buyer. The Extravagant Buyer The Buyer Who Brags. The Buyer m<) Jg The Curious Buyer. Rattled. The Buyer That Cannot The Fastidious Buyer Buyers Who Buy For The Credulous Buyer. Friendship's Sake. The Cheerful Buyer. The Disputative Buyer> The Buyer Of Large The Deceitful Buyer. Femininity. g Buyers Who Are Graft- CX IS* Buyers Who Are Drink- Buyers Who Are GuUible. erg The Honest Buyer. The Buyer Who Ig A1 _ The Buyer Who Is An ways Busy. Imitator. The Buyer Who Is Easily The Incredulous Buyer. Influenced. The Mirthful Buyer. The Flighty Buyer. The Methodical Buyer. The Forgetful Buyer. The Pessimistic Buyer. Buyers Who Are Old The Open-Minded Buyer. Fogies. The Cold-Mannered Buy- The Strongly Masculine er. Buyer. I.B.L. Vol. 2 4 PRINCIPLES OF I A I K Buyers Who Are Think- Buyers Who Like Good ers. Times. The Inflexible Buyer. The Buyer Who Is a Hyp- The Irritable Buyer. ocrite. The Aggressive Buyer. Buyers Who Are Good The Disagreeable Buyer. Judges of Human Na- The Buyer Who Is an ture. Egotist. The Impulsive Buyer. The Conservative Buyer. Buyers Who Are Liars. The Conceited Buyer. The Malicious Buyer. The Communicative Buy- The Optimistic Buyer. er. The Suave Buyer. The Cunning Buyer. The Taciturn Buyer. The Buyer Who Is Con- The Buyer Who Is a centrative. Plunger. Buyers Who Are Change- Buyers Who Are Observ- able. ers. Mr. Lindgren prescribes specific methods for dealing with each of these types of customer. The main thing is to be able to recognize the type of your man and not to treat all men alike, as if the same actions, the same language, would apply to all. The selling argument must in the main be suited to a large variety of cases, but the details and the man- ner of its presentation may vary with each buyer ap- proached. The successful salesman is the man who suits his argument to his customer, having regard at all times for the exact truth and exercising his judg- ment continuously so as to avoid antagonizing his man by words or actions unsuited to his temperament. PRINCIPLES OF gAUEIMANiHIP. M Reading the customer is a branch of scientific sales- manship that will well repay study. A clever writer recently said on this subject: "In order to arrive at a true estimate of the man you are studying you must place yourself in an intense, recep- tive attitude, and the party you are studying must be kept in ignorance of your purpose; else, if he has any- thing to conceal, he will thwart your purpose by keep- ing it in the background, hurling at you only such sug- gestions and thought messages as he wishes you to re- ceive. "There are a few blessed characters in the world hav- ing in them nothing which needs hiding. Their thoughts and their lives are like open books, where all who will may read. The man possessed of this sort of character, if he has ambition and business ability, can have all else he desires, for this combination commands the confidence of all." Power of the Will. The cultivation of will-power for salesmanship in- volves the "energy sense." Will-power is exercised when all the faculties and energy of the mind are con- centrated upon a given object. There is no exercise of will-power when goods are presented to a customer in a half-hearted listless man- ner. The salesman must bring to bear upon the cus- tomer in his argument, in his every word and action, not only the full power of his intellect, but the force of faculties trained for the purpose. To make a man think as you do, you must first think strongly yourself. You will convert no one to your 52 PEINCIPLES OF SALESMANSHIP. belief unless you exhibit the utmost faith in your theroy your creed, or your goods. In selling, your object is not merely to make another think as you do about what you have to sell, but to direct his mind to the point of deciding to give you an order. It is your will against that of the customer your will plus your weapons of attack against his will plus the armor of natural resistance, or indifference, or ig- norance. If we resolve Will-power into its elements, we shall find that these include Confidence, Courage, Decision, Concentration, Deliberation, Determination, Aggress- iveness and Perseverance. These are the qualities, therefore, that must be cultivated by the salesman who would develop will-power as an essential feature of suc- cess. The customer is converted into a purchaser by the salesman who knows how to transmit to the mind of the other his own convictions and enthusiasm regarding the goods he has to sell. This is not done by words alone. It involves far more than words. The mental processes of the salesman must be such as to find an echo in the mind of the customer and lead him step by step pleasingly if possible, but certainly, no matter what method is employed to the point of decision in favor of the salesman. Power of the Voice. A well-trained voice is a splendid possessior, and counts for much in salesmanship. It is well worth while to cultivate the art of expression, both by voice and by manner. There will be no two opinions about the power of the PRINCIPLES OF SALESMANSHIP. 58 cultivated voice. Henry Ward Beecher said of it : "It is like an orchestra ; it ranges high, intermediate or low, unconsciously to him who uses it; and men listen, un- aware that they have been bewitched by the charm of a voice, not artificial, but made by assiduous training to be his second nature in its truest form." A pleasing voice and cultivated expression will often secure a hearing for the salesman where he would other- wise experience difficulty. It is not necessary to be an elocutionist in order to present a proposition or make a selling argument clearly and pleasingly, but the ad- vantage is on the side of the man with the trained, well- modulated voice and expression, who knows how to use the accomplishment properly. Suggestion. Suggestion is of two principal kinds: First, direct suggestion, or the plain presentation of some idea to the mind of another; second, indirect suggestion, or the insinuation into the mind of another of some belief or impulse by means of words, manners, or gestures, as in hypnotism. The study of Suggestion in salesmanship may be car- ried very far. For instance, delving into psychology, one may study the "association of ideas," or the condi- tions under which one idea is able to recall another to con- sciousness. These conditions may be classified under two general heads the law of contiguity, and the law of association. The first states the fact that actions, sensations, emotions, and ideas, which have occurred to- gether, or in close succession, tend to suggest each other when any one of them is afterward presented to the mind. The second indicates that the present actions, sensations, 54 PRINCIPLES OF SALESMANSHIP. emotions, or ideas tend to recall their like from among previous experiences. On their physical side the prin- ciples of association correspond with the physiological facts of reexcitation of the same nervous centers. In its ordinary acceptation a suggestion is any idea or object that presents itself to the mind through the senses, causing thought or emotion or action. We receive sug- gestions from outside sources. Suggestion in salesman- ship is the transmission of our own ideas to others. Hence, a salesman must be extremely careful in the use of words that may possibly convey the wrong idea to the mind of the customer. A suggestion may imbed it- self in the mind of the customer and immediately group around itself other ideas of a totally different character from those which the salesman is seeking to convey. In the use of suggestion the salesman must consider the possible effect upon the mind of his "prospect"; in other words, put himself in the prospect's place and con- sider what the effect of the suggestion would then proba- bly be. Remember, too, that suggestions may be conveyed by the salesman's actions as well as by his words. Thus, he may convey an impression of being too "smart" or too "smooth". He may display timidity and so suggest lack of confidence in his goods. He may be too aggres- sive in his manner and so suggest to the mind of the customer that he is "bluffing" his goods through the market. Or, on the other hand, aggressiveness may have a total- ly opposite effect. If it is not overdone, it may suggest to the buyer that the goods possess so much merit that aggressiveness on the part of the salesman is natural PRINCIPLES *F SALESMANSHIP. 55 under the circumstances. Much, it will be seen, depends upon the conditions in each individual case. It must be remembered that any kind of suggestion consists of "an idea or chain of ideas that will produce an act of the will." Beware of using any form of suggestion if you are doubtful of the effect. Before using suggestion, says an experienced sales- man, ask yourself these questions: "What does he know about what I am going to say or show him? How will it affect him, or how will he feel about it? How shall I present my ideas?" Auto-Suggestion. Auto-suggestion is suggestion arising within one's own mind, as distinguished from suggestion initiated by another. It is an idea that occurs within the mind itself and may be caused by a recurrence of memory prompted by suggestion. We can see the power of auto-suggestion by remem- bering that a man can repeat a falsehood so often that he himself comes to believe it is true. The act of repeating to oneself any statement or idea one wishes the mind to retain is auto-suggestion. It is used at its best in building up character. In salesmanship, through the medium of suggestion, auto-suggestion is caused to occur in the mind of the buyer by hint, insinuation, intimation, or innuendo. Its effect is powerful and far-reaching Character and Health. We have already seen that character is the basis of salesmanship and it is not necessary here to enlarge upon 56 PRINCIPLES OF SALESMANSHIP. the importance of being constantly on guard to pre- serve the character against the assaults of temptation, often presented in alluring forms and calculated to trap the unwary. The traveling salesman, particularly, should be as care- ful to withstand all insidious attacks upon his character when he is on the road as when he is at home. He may rest assured that in circumspection of conduct and unre- mitting care of character lies the only assurance of per- sonal comfort. That may be only a selfish consideration, but it should be sufficient of itself to keep one ever on guard against temptation. Physical health is a treasure to be guarded like char- acter. It is a magnet in business. It has an attraction all its own. The man who is every inch a man, in the full posses- sion of health and strength, radiates sunshine and dispels gloom. He inspires confidence, performs his work with ease, and conveys the impression of ability. Health gives him added Selling Force. It must be carefully conserved and not trifled with. Practical Hints for Salesmen. (By Seymour Eaton.) Cultivate a memory for faces and names. Remember that selling ability depends very largely upon common sense. It is not the quantity, but the quality of speech which tells. The successful salesman knows how to talk, what to talk about, and more especially when to stop talking. To say the right thing at the right time is not nearly so difficult as to say nothing at the right time. The seller should only talk enough to keep the buyer talking. PRINCIPLES OF SALESMANSHIP. 57 The faculty of holding trade, or of selling repeatedly to the same people, is the highest attribute in the qualifi- cations of a successful salesman. Understand thoroughly what you are trying to sell. Know your goods, believe in them yourself, and you are sure to inspire confidence in the buyer. If a salesman cannot bring himself to believe in himself, his house and his goods, he is either very badly placed or he has mis- taken his calling. A conceited, pretentious and affected manner disgusts and repels, while a person whose bearing is simple and natural attracts and makes friends. Remember that he who puts another in the attitude of being a teacher to him pays him a delicate compliment which is generally appreciated. A good salesman seldom asks a man if he wants to buy goods ; he doesn't come at him that way. The man who smilingly assents to everything the sales- man says does not intend to buy ; he is framing an excuse for himself. The eye is the chief medium through which a man fires off whatever personal magnetism he possesses. One who really feels good-will may often infuse it into the heart of another by looking kindly and pleasantly straight into his eyes. There is an old maxim: "When you buy, keep one eye on the goods, the other on the seller; when you sell, keep both eyes on the buyer." The best salesmen of the future will not be illiterate. Education informs the mind, trains the thinking powers, and stamps the face with intelligence. Activity is not necessarily energy or industry. A Westerner says that it does not matter what kind of *S PftKVtl PI-CS 9T SAiBSMANI tracks you learc so long as you get thert. This is tainly not true when applied to salesmen. There are cold, bilious, disgruntled people, who can no more be opened out by politeness than oysters. Such can only be reached through their self-interest. The well-dressed man has more self-respect, and com- mands more, than the man in seedy attire. You will sell more goods in five minutes on a bright, busy day, when the store is full of customers, than in an hour on a rainy day, when everything is dull and the mer- chant gloomy. Faithfulness and trustworthiness are more valuable than intelligence, for they are very much harder to find and can't be bought. You can't frighten common sense into anybody, or bulldoze trustworthiness out of him. Your associates should be pure and good, and your personal habits correct. You must be governed by sound principles of morality and religion, without which no true success can be at- tained. CHAPTER III. MARKETING A PRODUCT. Scientific education in Salesmanship should include some knowledge of the organization of distributive in- dustries, or the means employed in business for organiz- ing the market between the producer and consumer. This branch of the organization of the world's business performs a function entirely distinct from either produc- tion or manufacturing. Distribution requires a separate organization, even though the work may be done, as it often is, by the same concern that produces or manufac- tures the goods. The function of a distributive organization is to fur- nish or create a market where producer, manufacturer and consumer may, so to speak, meet half-way. In the middle ages such markets were places of actual meeting. Buyer, producer and consumer came in actual touch with each other, as in street fairs and market places where goods were brought periodically and supply and demand met. With the lapse of time and the development of indus- try, markets became specialized. Special markets were established for various lines of trade. Dealers in these lines congregated together for convenience and we find today many recognized metropolitan markets for certain lines. Thus, we see special markets in New York, Chi- cago, St. Louis, New Orleans, Minneapolis and other cities of the United States, each a headquarters for the distribution of certain commodities. Well-recognized 59 60 MARKETING A PRODUCT. distributive markets are found in Canada in the cities of Montreal, Toronto and Winnipeg. World-markets for various lines of trade are found in London, Liverpool and New York, in Paris and in Bremen. At Nijni- Novgorod, in Russia, the fur merchants of the world have long been in the habit of coming together annually to buy and sell furs. Secondary markets for the distribution of well-known lines of goods are found in many other places scattered over the eastern and western hemispheres, each serving the purposes of a given area of trade. Thus we come to the local distributive markets, known as wholesale or job- bing centers, each serving its own territory and fulfill- ing a well-defined function in the general plan of dis- tributive organization. Finally we arrive at the true local market, the retailer's store. In all these markets Salesmanship finds exercise and its higher development. It must ever be remembered by the student of business that the principles of Sales- manship are carried into the highest places that the man who sells a railroad is governed by the principles which it is the purpose of this work to elucidate, just as inex- orably as the man who sells a bilUof goods to a country merchant. Organization of Distribution. In the larger market centers the modern organization of distribution includes wholesalers, jobbers and commis- sion firms. In the local market we find the retailer buy- ing his goods from the manufacturing and wholesaling centers and supplying the wants of the consumer, who is thus, ultimately, reached by the distributive organization. In the organization of markets we find a broad distinc- MARKETING A PRODUCT. 61 tion between the means employed for the distribution of raw materials, especially agricultural products, and the distribution of manufactured goods. The former are distributed largely through exclusive speculative ex- changes, sometimes called boards of trade, etc. Manu- factured articles, on the other hand, are distributed by commercial bargaining or direct selling. Clothing, boots and shoes, machinery and other manufactured wares are bought and sold, not at a central exchange, among an exclusive class of traders in any particular one of these commodities, but at a large number of distribut- ing points, after personal inspection of the goods and bargaining between manufacturers, wholesale merchants and commission men, the actual transactions being car- ried on in the individual offices and showrooms of these dealers. It is not our purpose at this time to deal with the sub- ject of selling at exchanges, which is the method em- ployed in moving grains, live stock, produce, cotton, to- bacco, etc., but rather with the open market in which manufactured goods are sold and where the time-hon- ored methods of bargaining still form the selling basis. The Jobber or Wholesaler. "Distribution begins at the factory, farm or mine," says Dr. Samuel E. Sparling in his able work on "Busi- ness Organization." "Beginning with the factory, we find that frequently the important task is to dispose of the output in large quantities, and it is this fact that gives to wholesaling its special importance. The primary function of the jobber or wholesaler is to organize the market for the manufacturer. Often the large whole- 62 MARKETING A PRODUCT. sale houses take the entire output of several factories. They buy in large quantities, and have their purchasing agents in all the principal markets. In the trade, job- bing is virtually synonymous with wholesaling. How- ever, jobbing is less inclusive, while wholesaling refers to the broader aspects of distribution. Still, they are es- sentially the same in organization and purpose. "The jobber or wholesaler exists in nearly all lines of trade, and stands between the producer and the con- sumer. The wholesale business has been greatly affected by consolidation, and by the establishment of retail stores. This is true especially where department stores have ap- peared. Here the retailer is in competition with the wholesaler, and in some instances has virtually driven him from business, because the former can buy in such quantities as will enable him to get on the jobber's list. The large retail department stores carry enormous stocks and can deal directly with the manufacturer with good results both to themselves and to their customers. For- merly a large capital was required, a fact which made the commission merchant necessary. This necessitated sep- arate capital and buildings to bring the goods to the at- tention of the wholesaler. Two risks grew out of this the manufacturer's and the commission man's risk. At present in some lines of trade the manufacturer is usually in closer touch with the retailer, and does not need to take the large risks of former days, or to employ the commis- sion merchant to make his sales. "There are two classes of jobbing-houses general and special. The latter largely predominates, although general wholesaling has increased in some instances; still, the wholesale business is virtually specialized. It is in MARKETING A PRODUCT. 6$ the terms of the trade a one-line business. The scope of the one-line wholesale house is determined by the natural grouping of commodities. "The trade recognizes the following lines of distribu- tion as the basis of division and organization : dry goods, groceries, clothing, boots and shoes, drugs, jewelry, hardware, millinery, music supplies, stationery and books and machinery. This classification is arbitrary, and has been developed by the trade for its convenience. Some of these lines are still more specialized, notably the dry goods business. We find in the latter case houses han- dling only ready-made clothing, or collars and cuffs, or cotton, or woolen goods." Modern Methods of Marketing. There are two principal methods of marketing the product of a manufacturing concern, which may be taken as typical of a modern business. The managers (a) may organize a Sales Department and send out trav- eling salesmen to seek the retailer and direct purchaser, or (b) they may rely upon jobbers and wholesalers to market their output. The method adopted depends largely upon the volume of the product and the demand for it. Where the goods are of such character as to require active pushing direct selling is usually preferred. Sales departments, how- ever, are expensive and, in order to maintain an elaborate sales department with profit, the volume of the sales must be greatly increased by its means, unless the expense is balanced by the saving effected through eliminating the jobber, wholesaler, or middleman. In cases where a manufacturing business is largely confined to executing special orders a sales department 64 MARKETING A PRODUCT. of a nominal character is maintained, to solicit business and make contracts for the goods to be manufactured; for instance, engines to be built, etc. The sales department is in all cases a part of the office organization or the commercial branch of a business. Its function is to market the product to the best advantage, to keep the works busy and to extend the business by cre- ating a demand for the goods made by the concern. The latter specific duty, namely, that of creating de- mand, sometimes falls on a special branch of the selling organization, often regarded as a department in itself, namely, the advertising department. This is an age of publicity and every manufacturing concern endeavors to create a demand for its goods by interesting prospective customers through publicity of some kind or other. The various methods of employing printers' ink for this purpose need not be entered into here. Suffice it to say that the advertising department of a selling organization is becoming daily more impor- tant. Whatever prejudice once existed in the minds of conservative manufacturers against advertising their wares has practically disappeared, and side by side with its going we have seen the partial elimination of the mid- dleman. Advantage of a Sales Force. Direct selling of manufactured products through a sales force under the immediate control of the manufac- turer is greatly to the advantage of the house, in spite of its undoubted expense, because it can be controlled. It is recognized by manufacturers generally that, although it is often difficult to secure competent salesmen, or men that can be successfully trained, and so to build up a sat- MARKETING A PBQDUCT. (55 isfactory sales organization, a still more difficult task confronts the man who tries to dispose of his product ex- clusively through jobbers. The modern sales manager has the advantage of being able to choose his sales force. You cannot lay off a job- ber who falls asleep at the switch, so to speak, and fails to push your goods as they should be pushed, but you can replace an unsatisfactory salesman. The up-to-date sales department, therefore, has it in its power to obtain results because it can choose its salesmen, train them, watch them, encourage them, co-operate with them, and in many ways assist them in the field, and keep them con- stantly up to the mark. Assisting the Jobber. When goods are marketed solely through jobbers, the manufacturer is practically at the mercy of the jobber. His sales are limited by the demand found by the jobber. True, he can assist the jobber by advertising campaigns, designed to secure general publicity for his product. A certain amount of such publicity is usually necessary, but general publicity is expensive and its results do not al- ways appear to the satisfaction of the manufacturer. "To have an influence on the jobbing trade," says a well-known publisher, "advertisements must be of two classes those in the jobbers' trade papers and others, as those in general magazines, which give general publicity. A general publicity campaign is an expensive one, and it must be kept in mind what proportion of advertising ex- pense is to be allotted to general publicity and what pro- portion to 'specific publicity' or special advertising. "It will be found, almost without exception, that the best returns from advertising are those in which a specific I.B.I,. Vol . 25 66 MARKETING A PRODUCT. demand is made, and this cannot be done in a general publicity campaign. "A certain amount of general publicity, however, is necessary to assist the jobber in disposing of his product. General publicity in the abstract is expensive and does not possess the main virtue which the direct advertise- ment does, namely, the property of being keyed so as to show exact results. A direct advertisement nowadays uniformly bears a key which shows how many orders the advertisement in question has pulled." The Advertising Department. Where advertising is employed as a principal means of creating a demand for any product, the Advertising Department forms part of the office or commercial or- ganization, and exercises general supervision over the methods and mediums employed in obtaining publicity for the business of the concern. This department may be of such a character as to in- clude not only a responsible head, or advertising man- ager, but also a "copy" department, and even an art de- partment for the preparation of illustrations to be used in advertising. A responsible advertising manager determines the publicity policy of the concern and selects the various mediums or publications in which advertisements are to be inserted. The Advertising Department keeps a close watch of the publication of all advertisements, and usually "keys" them, so as to be able to gauge and keep track of the re- sults secured through the respective mediums. Sometimes the Advertising Department turns over the actual selection of methods and mediums of publicity MARKETING A PRODUCT. 67 to a professional "advertising agency." The agency is a modern development with which all business men now- adays are familiar. The Advertising Department of the concern seeking publicity may still prepare the advertis- ing copy in such a case, or it may also turn over this branch of the work to the agency. Agency methods have been so developed by experi- ence, the rapid extension of advertising knowledge, and the growth of the advertising profession, that it is in many cases distinctly advantageous to the manufacturer to delegate the work of securing publicity for his product to such representatives. Usually a certain sum of money is set apart by every manufacturing concern, to be devoted to publicity dur- ing each year. This appropriation is expended by the Advertising Department, whether it works through an agency or not, in such a manner as to secure the widest and most profitable publicity possible. If the Advertising Department delegates its power of selecting mediums to an agency, it still acts as a consult- ing authority, and furnishes the information regarding the product and other business of the concern, on which the advertising policy is based. It must be remembered that advertising is a method of selling. It sells by means of the printed word, while the salesman in personal contact with the customer sells by means of the spoken word. Good advertising is good salesmanship. The most successful modern advertising is based on the principles of scientific salesmanship. In the majority of cases business men find it to their advantage to acquire a knowledge of every branch of salesmanship, and more and more of them every day 68 MAEKETINO A PRODUCT. are learning the art of advertising as an important part of a liberal education in Salesmanship. The methods commonly employed in selling goods at wholesale and at retail, also through agents of various kinds, are dealt with in subsequent chapters. CHAPTER IV. PERSONALITY OF THE SALESMAN. "The world is full of clerks, but salesmen are so scarce that the lack of them drives the store manager to the point of desperation. I could fill the store from the roof to the third basement with clerks, but I can't get half the number of salesmen I want." This statement, made by the manager of a great Chi- cago retail business, illustrates the point that in sell- ing goods much depends upon the personality of the salesman. It must be remembered that this manager was talk- ing, not on the impulse of the moment, after some par- ticularly distressing instance of incompetency, but as the result of ripe experience in the management of a large business and with a thorough knowledge of the requirements of retail salesmanship. To a very great extent what is true of the retail sales- man is true of all salesmen. To paraphrase the remark of the manager referred to above, the business world is full of people selling goods who are not salesmen. The principles of salesmanship are much alike in all cases, whether the salesman be engaged in wholesale or retail business. The steps to be taken in effecting a sale, or rather the steps through which the prospective customer must be led, are alike. As has already been pointed out, these four stages of the sale are as follows : 70 PERSONALITY OF THE SALESMAN. 1. Securing the attention of the customer. 2. Awakening interest. 3. Creating desire, and 4. Causing decision, or the buying impulse that is, closing the sale. In every one of these stages the personality of the salesman counts for much. What is it then that con- stitutes the right kind of personality to make a success- ful salesman? In what respects of personal character, personal appearance, deportment and actions does the salesman differ from the mere clerk? How does the great retail manager distinguish the salesman from the clerk? What are the personal characteristics in a sales- man that command success? Trained Faculties Required. Salesmanship is sometimes defined as the ability to read human nature. A successful salesman must be trained to read his customer. He must be able, first, to distinguish between different kinds of men, and sec- ond, to apply the proper treatment to each individual case. In some men the ability to read their fellowmen exists as a sort of natural gift, but it is more often the result of careful observation, self-control, and persever- ance in studying the actions and characteristics of the various men one meets. This will develop the intuitive faculty, or the so-called "sixth sense," which can be trained, like every other sense, to a high point of devel- opment. Women are generally believed to possess intuition in a higher degree than men. They often take an imme- diate liking or form an immediate aversion to a person PERSONALITY OF THE SALESMAN. 71 at first sight but so do many men. It is probable that the alleged superior intuition of woman is merely the result of unconscious training of the faculty of observa- tion and of self-control, so that as in the case of the man who consciously seeks to develop intuition, the ability to read the characteristics of others at sight is gradually but surely acquired. The average woman is perhaps a closer observer of personal characteristics than the av- erage man; hence her superior "intuition." No mat- ter how it may be acquired, it is a valuable item in sales- manship. Personal Appearance. The salesman who is able to read his customer enjoys a decided advantage in proceeding with the steps of the sale, but he himself is also the subject of observation by the customer; hence his personal appearance and the first impression he makes upon the prospect are im- portant. The first factor of personality to be considered, there- fore, is personal appearance. It seems scarcely necessary in this age of universal education to say much about the necessity in modern business of taking the utmost care of one's appearance. Clothes do not make the man, but clothes are an im- portant factor in personal appearance, and the success- ful salesman of the twentieth century is a well-dressed man; not a flashily dressed person, but one whose at- tire is well fitted both to his person and to his calling. He dresses suitably for the circumstances under which he sells his goods. He is not necessarily a mirror of fashion, and he does not affect extreme styles in dress ; but he is businesslike in his attire as in his deportment, 72 PEBiOXALITY OF THE SALESMAN. and wears the garb of a gentleman in a gentlemanly way. He must strive to be a gentleman and not a "gent." He may be a sportsman, but he must not be a "sport." Regarding the importance of taking care of the per- sonal appearance, the following pertinent and practical remarks by Mr. Henry Baxton in the Workers' Maga- zine of the Chicago Tribune are well worth reproduction here: "Are you the best dressed, cleanest cut salesman in your line at your salary? Do you call on trade that is prone to look soiled and sloppy, careless in dress, and in dirty surroundings? People engaged in a business that necessitates their being smeared with oil, grease, mud, and smut? Look yourself over. Have you, too, from constant contact become lax or careless as to per- sonal appearance? So many salesmen do. "It brings to mind a case where a year or so ago a brilliant young man went out from Chicago to solicit shipments of cream from the farmer. His firm enjoys a rating of $7,500,000 in the commercial directories. He, however, tried to look the same as the people he called upon, dressed 'rubelike,' lasted a couple of months, was called in, and listed 'unsuccessful.' His 10-cent straw hat, blue shirt, uncreased trousers, muddy shoes, and unshaven face did not inspire confidence. "To inspire confidence in people who consider invest- ment of their hard-earned dollars a salesman must look the part. Success is the magnet that attracts and draws business your way. "You must look the part of success, and a successful salesman must dress to inspire confidence. The custom- PERSONALITY OF THE SALESMAN. 7S er's first impression of a salesman is one of the most im- portant elements of selling. Don't present an unpleas- ing picture when you make your appearance un- shaven, bad breath, rumpled and baggy clothing, soiled linen, run down and sloppy shoes, rusty old hats, cigaret stains, tobacco bag strings or tags hanging out of pock- ets, and pipes. Carry no pipes ; they spread odors any- thing but sweet to others. Care for your teeth; keep them clean. "A bad breath chases away many an order. Become soiled, muddy, and smeared in your work if you have to, but start clean and neat always. "If there is promotion in sight for you, you will no doubt meet a better dressed class, more carefully groomed. Be assured your employer will look you over with a critical eye before he calls on you. Be ready to start. Look the part. Never neglect or become care- less of your personal appearance. "Imagine a tousle-headed salesman, unshaven, with three days' growth of beard, soiled linen, a bad breath, tobacco-stained fingers, clothes wrinkled as if he had slept in them, run down shoes, and a greasy, soiled hat. A little far-fetched, but it's a composite picture of sales- men to be seen every day. "Be neat, tidy, and clean. Look the part of a suc- cessful seller. Make up your mind it's a fact that ap- pearance inspires confidence or a lack of confidence; Then act accordingly! It mil increase your sales." Personal Character. But personal appearance is, after all, only a part of the salesman's personality. It is Character that counts most. 74 PERSONALITY OF THE SALESMAN. Men grow in moral and intellectual strength only by training and the discipline of the faculties. There is no limit to the cultivation of character. Wis- dom, courtesy, honor, and industry all these are fea- tures of character that can be cultivated while one is training the intellect or mentality for a given object or purpose in life. A man's character is the result of organization and education. In order to grow broadly and nobly in personality, we must first set ourselves high and lofty ideals. We must cultivate the habit of receiving good impressions, in order to create a good impression ourselves. There is a strong distinction to be drawn between character and reputation. Real character stands like a rock, as a sure foundation on which to build business success. Men of character will not indulge in subter- fuge or deceit. It is character alone that makes knowledge, skill, and wealth a help rather than a harm to those who possess them. It is character alone that will enable a salesman to reach his highest development and exercise the high- est degree of selling power. Some of the factors of character which conduce to- ward supremacy in Salesmanship may be enumerated as follows: 1, Intelligence; 2, Tact; 3, Self-control; 4, Courtesy; 5, Cheerfulness; 6, Earnestness. Use of the Intellect. Intelligence must be brought to bear upon the train- ing of character, because intelligent application is nec- essary in every kind of work. Guided by his intellect, the salesman will seek all possible knowledge regarding his goods, learn to use his powers of observation and to PERSONALITY OF THE SALESMAN. 75 discriminate between customers of various kinds, and obtain clear ideas of men and things. "Nothing is more pitiable than to plead ignorance when knowledge is an essential condition of ability to perform a duty. Nothing is more contemptible than to plead ignorance under the implication that knowledge is not worth having. . . . Thus shall we really un- derstand that knowledge is worth seeking and that ignorance is culpable; that the search for knowledge is progress, but that ignorance is stagnation ; that he who might know what he ought to know, but does not, is unworthy of his manhood." The expert salesman manifests his intelligence by his knowledge, both of human nature and of the merchan- dise he has to sell. Tact Makes Friends. Tact, so necessary in the character of a successful salesman, must be cultivated. For this purpose, social intercourse and experience in affairs are equally neces- sary. The tactful person shows both wisdom and con- sideration for others. Tact is the saying and doing of the proper thing for the occasion. It makes friends, helps to sell goods and to keep customers, promotes and maintains goodwill. It is not so much what is said as how it is said that indicates tact in a salesman; not so much what he does as how he does it; not words, but tones ; not actions, but manner. Real tact is sincere ; it does not deceive. A person of true tactfulness is a person of culture and is honest in his consideration for others. 76 PERSONALITY OF THE SALESMAN. The Armor of Self -Control. Self-control. It is possible for every salesman to manage and control his faculties and temperament by the aid of intellect. Self-control is necessary to guide one in the path of right behavior under all circum- stances, but self-control is often not gained without a struggle. It may be the result of rigid self -discipline and of many ''silent hours of struggle and culture," but the reward is worth the struggle. The salesman who gains mastery over himself enjoys comfort in all his activities, while they who lack self- mastery are subject to constant petty vexations. In all branches of Salesmanship, wholesale and re- tail, many petty annoyances and causes for irritation are encountered daily, but the self-controlled salesman is able to rise superior to all these comparative trifles. He can brush them aside by the power of his will, so that they cease to be any cause of worry. The real or fancied grievances of customers must be met in the spirit of calm consideration. Anger is sub- dued by calmness. Impolite and overbearing persons will be met with daily, but the well-mannered, self-controlled salesman is able to disarm them. Lofty minds can afford to turn aside unpleasant incidents with honor and often with a tact and gracefulness calculated to make boorish offend- ers ashamed of themselves. Self-control is acquired by mental discipline. Tact is acquired by intelligent intercourse with others in a social and business way. The salesman who possesses both these qualities in their higher development will al- ways be able to preserve his self-respect and to transact PERSONALITY OF THE SALESMAN. TT his business harmoniously. He will compel the respect of others, make and keep friends, and earn the good- will which is a valuable asset in business. "The rules of debate do not apply to business," says a master of Salesmanship, "but the spirit of controversy must be subdued by tolerance and conciliation. No matter how unjust or sweeping the statements of a cus- tomer may be, it must be realized that he holds the po- sition of a privileged character, under stress of circum- stances, and by the right of might. It is clearly for the salesman to maintain a spirit of cheerful optimism, based upon the knowledge of his business and the real- ization of the power behind a broad, magnanimous, and impersonal view." Value of Politeness. Courtesy. It seems almost unnecessary to enlarge upon the value of courtesy in Salesmanship. The very fact that a salesman is, or should be, seeking to get a customer to do something which he (the salesman) wishes him to do, implies that the salesman will be as pleasing and agreeable as possible in his manner and speech in the presence of the customer. The injunction to be courteous at all times may be unnecessary in the case of the salesman who sells goods at wholesale or on the road, who visits the customer in his store or office, and whose attitude is partly that of one seeking first the favor of an interview, and then trying to influence the will of the person interviewed; but in the case of retail salesmen and must it be con- fessed? retail saleswomen, too, common courtesy is too often conspicuous by absence. 78 PERSONALITY OF THE SALESMAN. Courtesy in retail business demands "a pleasant, agreeable, and sincere manner of speech and conduct toward all with whom we come in contact; whether a customer at the counter, with whom we deal directly, a visitor to the store who may simply inspect goods and ask questions, or a companion and fellow-worker whose aims and interests are allied with our own to make the business we represent a success." Is it possible at all times to be courteous and polite in business? The answer is undoubtedly "Yes," for those who cultivate tact and self-control or who enjoy the inestimable benefit of good breeding in its best sense. A strict adherence to the Golden Rule will be found ex- tremely useful to retail salespeople inclined to doubt what their conduct should be under certain circum- stances. Be Cheerful and Prompt. Cheerfulness. A cheerful air always accompanies a cheerful habit of thought, and as cheerfulness is most desirable in business as in social intercourse, it is well for a salesman to cultivate the spirit of cheerfulness. Promptness of speech and action is also very desirable. It betokens confidence in oneself and in the goods one has to sell. Promptness in seeing a customer and in attending to the customer's wants is especially valuable in a retail salesman. Every store in the country has its picked salespeople who are preferred by the trade. Customers will ask to be served by them, and if such salesmen and sales- women be investigated, it will be found in nine cases out of ten that they are preferred by customers because PERSONALITY OF THE SALESMAN. 79 their manner inspires confidence and they are prompt to take an interest in the customer's wants. Earnestness of Purpose. Earnestness in one's business is another prime requi- site of Salesmanship character. A salesman's vocation must not only be of direct and vital interest to him, but his earnestness of purpose must be apparent to others. Earnestness may manifest itself in enthusiastic presen- tation of the goods, in evident eagerness to please the customer, in a thousand and one ways that will be readily recognized by others ; but it must be present in the sales- man or he had better change his business. If he lacks honesty, honor and earnestness, he simply courts fail- ure; but possessing the items of character referred to above, together with courage, endurance, and loyalty to himself and to his employers, he is on the sure road to success. It may be repeated that in building up character for Salesmanship, and creating a personality based upon character, the salesman is investing his time and energies in stock that will pay compound interest. The upbuild- ing of a good business character returns progressive re- wards, and its maturity is a delightful and profitable possession. "If the power to do hard work is not a talent, it is the best possible substitute for it." Garfleld. "The true way to conquer circumstances is to be a greater circumstance to yourself. " Phillips. "Try your chances though a million have failed. Their failure creates no precedent for you. "Whiting. CHAPTER V. THE SCIENTIFIC SALESMAN. It is not our purpose here to enter at any length into the metaphysical features of modern Salesmanship. These are sometimes treated in s ich a way as to confuse the novice and lead him to believe that it is necessary for him almost to hypnotize a prospective customer be- fore he can close a sale. The true science of Salesmanship does not deal with mysterious mental influences, but rather with well-recog- nized principles of intellect and action, which, when put into practice, aided by experience, bring success. We shall deal later with the elements of what is com- monly called the psychology of Salesmanship, but the student should disabuse his mind of any idea that it is necessary to take a course in hypnotic suggestion or to practice any sort of quackery in order to make a success in selling goods. Such an idea is far removed from the truth. Salesmanship is not a mystic science. It re- quires no occult qualities. It is a practical branch of human knowledge based on common sense principles as old as the hills. Scientific Salesmanship, rightly so-called, is the art of selling goods with the knowledge derived by study of approved methods. The clerk who merely hands you the package of breakfast food which you ask for, and receives your dime in exchange therefor, is not a scientific salesman, Out an "ordinary" salesman and may be a very ordi- I.iM.. vol. 26 ^l 82 THE SCIENTIFIC SALESMAN. nary one at that! His ability to sell goods is not tested in the slightest degree by the transaction mentioned. An automaton can do the same as he does. Automatic machines do it every day, and they illustrate ordinary salesmanship to a nicety. They make the simple ex- change of merchandise for its equivalent in money. Selling machines are, perhaps, in some respects su- perior to the ordinary salesman. You cannot tell by looking at an ordinary salesman, nor gather from his conversation as a rule, what goods he has to sell. He does not advertise his wares, while most automatic sell- ing machines do. An automatic machine will sell more goods under favorable circumstances of location than a live "ordinary" salesman whose interest in his busi- ness is confined to an exact knowledge of quitting-time and payday. The individuals who make up this class of salesmen, says a well-known sales manager, are a drug on the mar- ket and altogether too numerous a quantity. The title of "salesman" when applied to them, carries with it no especial significance. Scientific Salesmanship Involves Study. To acquire scientific salesmanship there must be study and application. The study must be continuous, for con- ditions constantly change in selling and one cannot al- ways be sold a bill of goods in the same way as another. The scientific salesman considers all the special factors entering into each individual sale; carefully applies his mind to grasp the special surroundings and the con- ditions of each sale he makes or tries to make ; and when he meets success, studies to find a method by which he THE SCIENTIFIC SALESMAN. 8B can repeat the sale with less effort or at less expense. In short, he studies continuously to find better methods, and thus to increase his selling ability. Some of the characteristics of the scientific salesman may be enumerated as follows: 1. Education. This does not depend so much upon early advantages of attendance at high schools or colleges, as upon the solid basis of a good grammar school education, which is desirable in all cases. Where it is lacking, the scien- tific salesman supplies his deficiencies as soon as he can by private study. A good education in the ordinary branches of knowledge is a splendid foundation on which to build all progress in business education. 2. Application. In studying any branch of business, especially Sales- manship, there must be as earnest and faithful applica- tion to the work as one would give to a conscientious study of languages, literature, the law, medicine, or theology, in preparation for a professional career. Always remember that the difference between the scientific salesman and the ordinary salesman is that the former makes a continuous study of his business, while the latter does not deem it necessary. It is for this rea- son that a business can often get along without the ordinary salesman. He is not necessary. Mediocre salesmen abound on every hand. As al- ready said, they glut the market, while men possessing fewer original advantages of education, but who ac- 84 TKE SCIENTIFIC SAlJEiMAIf. quire skill in selling goods by study and application, are ever in demand by merchants, manufacturers, and the great commercial concerns that distinguish the pres- ent stage of business development. There is nothing at all to prevent any clerk or mechanic from becoming a scientific salesman. 3. Personal Qualities. The studious salesman examines not only the char- acteristics of his customer, but his own personal char- acter. He strives to discover his failings and defects, and endeavors to correct them by the power of his will. He takes good care of his personal appearance; studies the proper form of address and methods of approach for individual cases. He is courteous and polite under all circumstances. He tries to keep his customers by careful and considerate conduct towards them. If he has faults of disposition, he seeks to amend them, so as to render his presence agreeable and welcome. 4. Self-Control. The importance of self-control has already been des- cribed. The scientific salesman must control his temper and guard his conversation, so as to avoid giving offense. He must be ready instantly to change his tactics when he finds he is pursuing a wrong course with any "pros- pect." He must preserve his dignity and self-respect, even when circumstances try his temper. 5. A Student of Men. The successful salesman must be a student of human nature. He must be able to read men. He sizes up his customer and the conditions for an interview. If the occasion be not favorable, he cleverly THE SCIENTIFIC SALMMAN. 85 withdraws, after preparing the way for a future call. He is able to get at men that others find hard to approach. He does not approach everybody in the same way, but uses discrimination in meeting different kinds of pros- pects. He is clever in getting out. In short, he uses "science," or the knowledge acquired from study of men and things. 6. A Cultivated Memory. The scientific salesman is careful to cultivate his mem- ory for faces, names, and the innumerable points covered in keeping track of customers and prospects. He re- cords his impressions of others and is usually able to recall them when meeting them again. Cultivation of the memory to the point of remember- ing all the desirable facts regarding every customer met with in a busy salesman's life, is of course impos- sible; hence, the scientific salesman aids his memory by keeping permanent records of prospects and filing them conveniently for reference. His motto is: * 'Memory and Memoranda." 7. Shrewdness and Honesty. The salesman must be sharp-witted and shrewd, but he must not indulge in deceit. He must seek to be truth- ful and honest in all his statements it is the only safe way. 8. Knowledge of the Goods. He must study his goods and also the goods and methods of competitors. The better he knows compet- ing goods, the better he will be able to present the su- perior points of his own. 86 THE SCIENTIFIC SALESMAN. The scientific salesman never forgets that he has com- petition that clever minds and keen wits are opposed to him in the battle for business. He does not under- rate his competitor or attack his competitor's goods, as a means of selling his own. He seeks to make friends rather then enemies, even among his competitors, but gains all possible knowledge that will aid him in selling his own goods. He is always open to learn new methods and does not rest satisfied with his own, even though they may be proving successful, but seeks constantly to improve both himself and his methods. 9. Industry and Perseverance. The scientific salesman is both industrious and per- severing. He is often called persistent. To be "turned down" by a customer does not end the matter so far as he is concerned. He studies out the reasons for his fail- ure, and when he has satisfied himself just why the prospective customer refuses to buy, he builds a new plan of attack and goes back to try again. He loses no time. He devotes thought to his busi- ness outside of his actual working hours. He regards the interests of "the house" as his own, and is loyal to his employers and to superior officers in the sales organization. At the same time he is ambitious. He is not con- tent to let things slide. "Excelsior" is his motto, and he is sure to climb higher. 10. Getting Out of Ruts. The expert salesman refuses to travel in ruts. He learns his business so thoroughly that he is able to de- vise new methods of selling, and to put them in practice THE SCIENTIFIC SALESMAN. 87 in his own case. He reports successful new methods to "the house" for the benefit of his fellow salesmen, and thereby attracts notice. By constantly adding to his knowledge of the science of Salesmanship, he increases his selling power and adds strength to his house by extending its trade and cement- ing its business connections. Salesmanship may not be developed by all students in the same degree, but every man can acquire his own degree of scientific selling ability by patient, enduring effort; by bending all his faculties and energies to the object of selling. All such efforts are well worth while. The ordinary salesman can make himself a scientific salesman. The scientific salesman can become expert, and each adds to the respect in which he is held through this exercise of individual effort in the right direction. 1 'If the history of our citizens of wealth was written we would find that fully three-fourths of them have risen from comparatively small beginnings to their present sta- tions/ 'Dodge. " There are three kinds of people in the world: the wills, the won'ts and the can'ts. The first accomplish everything, the second oppose everything, the third fail in everything." Electric Magazine. CHAPTER VI. SELLING AT WHOLESALE The qualifications for a successful wholesale salesman have been fully described in the preceding chapters. All permanent success is based on character, knowledge of the goods, and ability to secure attention, to make a proper demonstration, and to cause favorable decision on the part of the buyer. The life of a wholesale salesman, especially of one who travels, has a decided attraction for many young men, but it must not be supposed that it is always a bed of roses. While the principles upon which salesmanship of all kinds is based remain the same, the conditions under which salesmanship knowledge may be exercised vary greatly with different lines of goods, and special train- ing in the home office or store is usually necessary before a wholesale salesman is ready to meet his "trade." Every wholesale house is divided into numerous de- partments, and before a wholesale salesman is equipped for the road his earliest training usually comes in one of the departments of the house which he aspires to represent as a salesman. In the house he may begin as a stock clerk and thence rise through the positions of order clerk or floor sales- man, until he attracts attention and is finally sent upon the road. In the house he learns the goods, learns to 89 90 SELLING AT WHOLESALE. meet customers, exercises his faculties, develops his sen- sibilities, improves his appearance and manner, culti- vates courtesy and tact, learns patience, caution, self- respect, and in innumerable ways fits himself for proper representation of the house. The opportunities for the young man of today who wishes to rise through salesmanship to the higher posi- tions in commercial life are greater and more numerous than ever before. He can seek advancement through the positions of department manager or buyer to the sales manager's desk, and the rewards of successful sales man- agers are practically unlimited. - Salaries equal to that of the President of the United States are by no means infrequent in modern business, and it is only a step from the desk of a sales manager to that of a general mana- ger or a full-fledged partner in the business. With knowledge, confidence, judgment and courage, a whole- sale salesman may climb to the top of the highest tree. Turning Failure Into Success. "The up-to-date salesman turns failure into success by working on the principle that, taking the average of his work, there is no such thing as luck or chance. He realizes that selling goods is not a haphazard jumble in which men leap blindly into success. He knows that salesmanship is a science with an underlying philosophy and that, sure as the sun rises and sets, if his line is right and he fails to sell, somewhere in his manner or in his method there is friction. And just as a machinist, who has assembled a new engine and located trouble, tightens a nut here and loosens a screw there until the engine is in apple-pie working order, so the modern SELLING AT WHOLESALE. 91 salesman studies and analyzes himself and his methods to locate and to correct his mistakes. "If he discovers he is not getting a proper reception upon meeting customers, he concludes there must be a flaw in his approach which prevents him from appealing to the average business man. If he finds he is properly received, but that he fails to arouse interest in his sam- ples, he decides, perhaps, that he needs a broadside of proper talking points ; or, maybe, that he is putting sell- ing instead of buying arguments to the front. And if he succeeds up to this point, but is weak on clinching sales, he may find he has arranged his arguments back- ward, firing his big guns first and obscuring the effect with smoke from his secondary batteries. "How the common, ordinary man on the firing line scientifically hunts his mistakes, and how he applies reme- dies until he snatches success out of failure this is an interesting chapter. For in this greatest of all games played with living figures chock-full of human nature there is no general formula for success. Watching Expert Methods. "Perhaps the shortest-cut method that a salesman uses to correct his mistakes is to accompany a competent brother salesman in order to learn by observation how an expert puts through a sale. Or else he reverses this, the expert accompanying the salesman so that he may stand by and see and listen and give subsequent criti- cism. "Not only the green man uses this method to break himself in. Often as not the veteran who has taken up a line strange to him needs this sort of coaching be- 91 XEULCf G AT WHOLE&AU. fore he can succeed. The cracker jack man who has been handling staples, for instance, would have to learn all over again until he mastered the intricacies surround- ing the selling of such a line as luxuries, for which he must first create a demand. Similarly, the man who sells fifty-thousand-dollar-life-insurance policies to bank presidents would have to serve an apprenticeship before he could make his salt canvassing weekly-installment insurance from house to house. It makes a difference, even, whether^, man is used to selling to the little retail storekeepers or whether he sells to the men behind the leviathan shops. Selling to Expert Buyers. "This was the case," says Mr. A. W. Rolker in The Saturday Evening Post, "with a Chicago wholesale dress-silks salesman who found that he had to learn to sell all over again and who, finally, was put on the right track by a brother salesman. This dress-silks salesman had worked his way up from a stockboy and had built up a good local trade for himself among small shop- keepers. But when he was promoted and given a trade which included the buyers of several department stores he found himself up against a class of customers almost diametrically opposite to his old ones, and he failed ut- terly. Instead of selling to these men as his predecessor had done, his sales fell off so that he was called into the office of the head of the firm to be talked to. That made him desperate, and he went to the head salesman with his tale of woe. " 'I want to ask you if you won't stand by and watch me try to put through a sale and tell me where I'm wrong,' he concluded. AT WHOLESALE. / 96 "Next day, when the two reached the sidewalk after a buyer had turned the salesman down, the head sales- man took his junior in hand. : 'Let others tell you a salesman is a good talker,' he said. 'I tell you the best salesman is the man who knows when to keep still. You can talk and joke and auto- suggest just as much as you see fit to the retail man. He's on a more or less intimate footing with his cus- tomers and is apt to like to do business that way. But when you come to a buyer who knows his business, whose time is money, whose job depends upon his own cold judgment and whose head is full of responsibilities, you're an automaton a slot machine in breeches. 1 'Have your samples all ready. Have only good num- bers the best on top. Then hold your tongue until you're asked questions. Let him do the talking. He wants to see, not to listen. It's what he thinks, and he doesn't care a rap what you think. In the end, if you can't help it, say "Thank you," gather up your samples and leave tying them up until you get into an outer office ; and, take my word for it, before you know it he'll have you down for a mighty shrewd salesman, for you'll show him more real meat in five minutes than ten ordi- nary men will in ten.' The Use of "Leaders." "That salesman caught the idea of his adviser exactly. In time, to emphasize his invariable brevity, he developed a personal sales method, none other than that used by the big stores throughout the land. 'Leaders' he uses, con- sisting only of the cream of his samples. As a rule, he shows these only. Now and then, however, he brings 94 SELLING AT WHOLESALE. numbers that are 'general possibilities,' and he works in a lot more than his share of these. On his list now he has no one but the buyers of the big department stores. Forcing the Buyer's Attention. "Frequently, when a salesman applies the probe to his methods he finds that all he needs is a little higher- pressure steam. This is especially true when his field is among men like department-store buyers who, throughout the daily buying session, are besieged by scores of salesmen all offering the same line. Generally, buyers of this sort limit themselves to doing business with ten or, maybe, twenty salesmen representing houses with which, as experience has shown, the buyer is able to deal satisfactorily. Among the hundreds of other salesmen who call on the buyer throughout a week the buyer realizes there may be one or another that has ex- actly what he is looking for. But time and energy are lacking to sift this one man out of the common flock. And so most of the salesmen are left in the anteroom to sit and toast their shins and to swear softly while the card of a late-arriving favorite son gives him prefer- ence over first comers. In time, it is assumed, these salesmen will conclude to warm benches up the street. But it is in a case like this that the wide-awake salesman decides that all he needs for admission to the front row is to prove to a buyer by demonstration that he himself believes his goods worth an extraordinary effort. Keeping the Customer. "The salesman whose line brings him again and again in contact with the same buyers does not find it difficult to turn his customers into friends. In the course of SELLING AT WHOLESALE. 95 time a word dropped here or there informs him as to the politics, the hobbies and the pet schemes of his cus- tomers, from missionary work to cockfighting. All these little human weaknesses the salesman knows how to turn into dollars. He keeps card indexes, recording with the names of his customers all useful little side- shoots of information that enable him to draw himself personally closer to his man. If John Hunter, gen- eral storekeeper at Smith's Corners in the backwoods of Connecticut, is an ardent fisherman, from away off in San Francisco, where the salesman has gone to visit his people, he may receive a clipping of a fish story cut out of a San Francisco newspaper. In short, this salesman seeds and fertilizes friendship. Later he comes with his binders and corn-cutters and hay-loaders. "On the other hand, the salesman whose work puts him continually in contact with strange faces works along different lines. He must rely upon appearance and manner to gain him a hearing." It Pays to Be Obliging. 'Whatever your business, the way to hold your cus- tomers is to treat them as well as you know how, to ac- commodate them in every way possible, to be courteous, considerate, obliging," says Dr. Orison Swett Harden, the accomplished editor of "Success." "Many large jobbing concerns now find that it pays them to look after their customers, to assist them, if necessary, financially and in other ways. It pays a big jobbing house to assist good customers when in trouble, to do them a good turn. I recently heard the manager 96 SELLING AT WHOLESALE. of a large concern say that they had just helped a cus- tomer to get a thirty thousand dollar mortgage on his property. He wasn't able to get the accommodation at the banks or on a strictly business basis, but through their influence he was enabled to raise the money. "Large concerns, more and more, are finding it to their advantage to help customers in every possible way. A great many small houses, especially in the West, have come to look upon the jobbing houses they trade with as real friends, and whenever they are hard pushed for money, the jobbers are the first people they go to. Hundreds of Western concerns owe their prosperity to- day to the jobbing houses which carried them through droughts and hard times, when they really could not have secured the accommodation they needed upon purely business grounds. But usually a customer ac- commodated in this way remains a life customer and is a perpetual advertisement for the concern which has helped him, always saying a good word for them when he can." 11 At Wholesale." Mr. A. C. Bartlett, of the widely-known wholesale hardware firm of Hibbard, Spencer & Bartlett, Chicago, gave the students of the University of Chicago the bene- fit of his experience in selling goods at wholesale in an interesting address, entitled "At Wholesale," which was in part as follows:* "The university is a wholesale educational establish- ment with retail departments. Knowledge, packed in gray matter, is collected from all divisions of the globe * From "Lectures on Commerce." Chicago, 1907, The University of Chicago Press. SELLING AT WHOLESALE. 97 and here distributed at wholesale to such patrons as teachers, professors, and preachers, who in turn deal it out to pupils, parishioners, and others in quantities to meet individual requirements, and at retail to the young ladies and gentlemen whose acquisitions are for their own personal use or benefit. "To the five senses the material collected and ware- housed at the university and shipped to the markets trib- utary to it (which, in this case, include the entire civilized world) is not so tangible as calico, molasses, and nails, but in some quarters is deemed almost, or quite, as es- sential to the welfare and happiness of consumers. "A merchant will contend that no civilized being can exist without the use of merchandise, while large num- bers of the human family have lived to a ripe old age without being possessed of a diploma from a university or from a college ; hence, the most useful men of society, the real benefactors of the race, are to be found in the mercantile class, and not in the faculties of the institu- tions of higher education. "Unfortunately for the general treatment of the sub- ject, the writer knows no business except the one in which he is engaged (and that none too well), namely, the wholesale hardware, and at the outset begs your par- don if he talks more about gimlets and fishhooks than about silks, satins, teas, hats, caps, boots, shoes, or books. Foundation of Success. "The bases of a successful wholesale business are capi- tal; financial ability; judgment of qualities, both of mer- chandise and men; a knowledge of present conditions, not only local, but general; a faculty for forecasting fu- ture conditions and needs; and last, but not least, a ge- I.B.L. Vol. 27 98 SELLlXtt AT WHOLESALE. nius for organization. Men who each possess all of these qualifications are as scarce as fit candidates for al- dermen. This is an age of specialization in business as well as in professions. When your fathers were lads, the family physician treated all manner of diseases, practiced surgery and dentistry, and not infrequently branched out into the veterinary field. At the present time the M. D. who sharpens your eyesight and improves your hearing hardly knows that you are the possessor of a pair of lungs. The surgeon who saws off your leg may not be on speaking terms with his fellow practi- tioner who awakens your torpid. liver; while the dentist who fills a decayed tooth sends you to a professional tooth-puller to have a member in a little more decayed state extracted. "In a wholesale house it is not only necessary, but in- dispensable, that either a partner or officer in the busi- ness or a trusted confidential employee shall be a re- sponsible head of each department and of each sub-di- vision of that department. And I want to suggest in parenthesis at this point that you promptly disabuse yourselves of the idea, if such you have, that the oppor- tunity for an energetic but poor young man eventually to rise to the very head of a large mercantile house is not as good as it was a few years ago, for that idea is altogether erroneous. As an experienced merchant, I assure you that it is less difficult today to secure ten pounds of capital than it is one ounce of brains. It does require more capital to inaugurate and conduct a busi- ness than it did half, or even a quarter, century ago, but it also requires the possession of much greater skill, intelligence, and practical education to successfully man- SELLING AT WHOLESALE. 99 age a business than it did in the olden times. You do not begin the study of language by attempting to read Greek, but by learning the English alphabet, nor do you undertake to demonstrate the binomial theorem until you have mastered the multiplication table. It is only the young man inheriting capital who undertakes to begin his business career at the top. Unless the young capitalist has the good sense to associate with him trained business men, his career is inevitably finished at the bot- tom. If you have natural qualifications for a mercan- tile life, make thorough preparation by way of educa- tion; get your experience by beginning with the veriest rudiments of practical business, and when you are ready to assume the higher responsibilities, capital will be seek- ing you rather than you seeking capital. Machinery of Wholesaling. "In nij youthful days I had a vague idea that a whole- sale business, when fairly started, ran itself; that it was a sort of clearing-house for the manufacturer and a storehouse for the retailer, from which the latter drew his supplies as needed, the jobber having little to do but to receive, display, and ship the goods, collect the money from his customers, remit a portion of it to the manu- facturers, and grow rich. I learned from experience (gathered largely at the expense of my employers) that I had not, as a lad, fully comprehended the entire situa- tion. The qualifications and intellectual requirements of a successful wholesale merchant may perhaps be most easily understood by allotting them all to a single indi- vidual, and afterward naming the divisions which are ordinarily made in a business house. 100 SELLING AT WHOLESALE. "A merchant such as we are discussing must first be a financier, one who with a limited capital can conduct the largest business which his means will permit and always keep his credit at the highest point. By capital is meant cash investment and not certificates of stock ; and the word 'limited' is used in a restrictive sense. Un- limited capital is, as a rule, an unhealthy element of business. The merchant's inclination to purchase mer- chandise must be held within bounds by a careful cal- culation of ability to meet bills when due. In making sales, he must guard against the importunities of cus- tomers and the pressure of competition, which tempt him to grant too long time or too large credit. The shadow of a coming pay-day hangs over every transac- tion. Responsibilities of Buyers. "As a buyer of merchandise, he must be governed in his purchases, not by the styles and qualities which man- ufacturers produce for the country at large, but by his own personal judgment as to the wants of his own par- ticular customers. The old adage, * Goods well bought are half sold,' is as true as when it was first promulgated. A buyer must not only be a judge of values, but must have judgment approaching intuition as to what will sell, and must have experience to determine what sizes, weights, dimensions, etc., to select. There is nothing more disheartening to a merchant, or more destructive to his profits, than the marketing of large quantities of unsalable goods at one-half their purchase price. The buyer must have a carefully studied idea of future ne- cessities and demands. Manufacturers, generally speak- ing, do not carry stock, the bulk of their product being SELLING AT WHOLESALE. 101 manufactured to fill specific orders. The purchases of wholesale clothing merchants for their next season's stocks were made months ago, and the goods are now being manufactured. The requisitions upon for- eign, and even domestic, makers of next season's dress goods have gone to their destination. The brands of the tea you will sip at next winter's afternoon functions have already been determined by the orders sent to the Orient. The tools which will be used in the harvesting of the coming season's crops in all this Northwest were bought by the wholesale merchant last November. A successful buyer must have judgment bordering on ge- nius to determine what new styles and new inventions will prove salable and will do credit to the house which distributes them. The best profits being made upon the new articles before competition or commonness has cheapened them, the temptation is to be a pioneer on a large scale. When, for some unforeseen cause, the pub- lic fails to co-operate, or, having purchased, discovers a lack of utility, the outcome and echo of the transaction seems to the buyer to extend to the ends of the world and throughout all time. "He must give such instructions to manufacturers re- garding the division of shipments as will insure an abil- ity to store a full stock at the time needed, and a cer- tainty of financial ability to meet the bills. Not only must he give instructions, but he must be satisfied that the manufacturer can obey them; otherwise, when the demands from his customers materialize, he will be un- able to meet them. 10*2 SELLING AT WHOLESALE. Granting of Credit. "A successful merchant is one who grants credit with a liberality which insures the loyalty of his customers, and with a conservatism which guards against losses. To be a judge of credits means to be a judge, not only of what constitutes a good risk based upon assets and liabilities, but of human nature as well. A combination of small capital, good character and habits (business and otherwise), thrift, and industry is a much better groundwork for a line of credit to a customer than is large capital, indifferent charactej and habits, and loose, unbusinesslike methods. It goes without saying that adequate capital, unimpeachable integrity, and strict business methods constitute the ideal risk. Qualifications of Salesmanship. "The successful merchant must possess the varied qualifications of salesmanship. To be a good salesman is not only in itself a trade, but an accomplishment. A first-class salesman must not only know his goods and their values, but must be equally well informed regard- ing the lines with which he will come in competition. He must be able to win and retain the confidence of the men with whom he transacts business. In making sales, he must consider the interests of both the buyer and the seller. He must know that a sale which overstocks a customer or gives him ground for feeling that he has been unintentionally overcharged, or in any manner de- frauded, is the most unprofitable sale that can possibly be made. An ideal salesman is not one who depends upon what is vulgarly known as 'the gift of the gab.' One of the best salesmen I ever knew was the most WELLING AT WHOLESALE. 108 quiet and least obtrusive in his manner. A thoroughly equipped salesman must have confidence in the mer- chandise he is selling, and be able to exert personal mag- netism. A man who never makes friends never makes customers. Up-to-date Methods Needed. "A successful merchant must be capable of so organ- izing the working of his business machinery as to secure the most prompt and accurate transactions with the least unnecessary expenditure or waste of energy or money. In these days of general expansion and quick action, the merchant who has not his business thoroughly organized, and has not adopted the latest up-to-date methods, must withdraw from the procession or submit to being run over. Time is becoming the essence of a business transaction. As an illustration, the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad Company loads by six o'clock in the evening all the merchandise received at its depots up to five o'clock of the same day and distributes it at the various stations in eastern Iowa the following morn- ing. A retail merchant at Cedar Rapids before leaving his office Monday evening orders by mail a bill of goods from a wholesale house in Chicago. The order reaches its destination Tuesday morning, and if the Cedar Rap- ids man, upon arriving at his place of business Wednes- day morning, does not find his clerks unpacking the, goods, he concludes that his Chicago correspondent is a back number. If during the next twenty-five years business continues to be accelerated in the same ratio in which it has been moving during the past twenty- five, an Omaha merchant will send his order to Chicago by telephone, and if the goods do not arrive as an echo 104 SELLING AT WHOLESALE. to the order, he will think something has gone wrong in the mercantile world. "As it would be nearly as impossible to find a per- fect human being as one who embodies in a degree ap- proaching perfection all the qualifications named for a successful merchant, the duties attaching to his vocation are divided among different heads of departments of financing, buying, crediting, selling, managing, etc., each of whom is supposed to possess the requisite quali- fications for his particular branch of the business. Details of Daily Routine. "Having thus attempted to show you the skeleton up- on which a wholesale business is constructed, I will un- dertake, in a hasty and somewhat superficial way, to out- line some of the details of the daily routine. "An order, whether secured by the personal solicita- tion of a salesman upon the road, purchased by the re- tail merchant in the sample room, or transmitted volun- tarily by mail, after reaching the counting-room takes the same general course. First it goes to clerks by whom the amount, in dollars, of the order is estimated for the purpose of enabling the Credit Department to judge of the responsibility of the customer for that particular bill of goods. The order then goes to the bookkeepers, whose ledgers represent the various states in the terri- tory from which the house draws its trade. Each ac- count on the ledger has at its head certain cabalistic signs, placed there under the instructions of the Credit Department, which tell the bookkeeper the extent of credit to which the customer is entitled, the time allowed for payment, etc., etc. If the conditions indicated have been fulfilled, the order is initialed and goes directly to SELLING AT WHOLESALE. 105 the Order Department. If the conditions have not been fulfilled if the party has bought beyond his limit, has failed to pay his bills promptly, or is otherwise out of line the order goes to the Credit Department for con- sideration and special treatment. It may be passed or may be rejected, the final disposition being dependent, in part, upon new information regarding the customer himself, or the crop prospects, or other temporary or local conditions; and in part upon the momentary state of the credit man's liver or digestive organs. A large financial house in this city requires a physician's certifi- cate before engaging a man who will at once or may at some future time occupy a responsible position. The information upon which a credit man bases his judg- ment is drawn from personal interviews with custom- ers, investigations made by the traveling salesmen, let- ters of bankers and other references, reports of com- mercial agencies, and, best of all, detailed statements made upon prescribed forms by the customer himself over his own signature. In the Order Department. "An order, having passed the ordeal of a bookkeep- er's set rules and a credit man's judgment, goes to the Order Department, is put into perfectly intelligible shape as relates to the numbers, qualities, etc., of the goods to be shipped (the items not in stock and to be bought are copied into the city buyer's book), and then is placed in a spring-back book (each containing but the single order) , the cover to which indicates its exact rights in the procession of orders awaiting execution. For ex- ample, a red-covered book containing an order which should be filled with the utmost dispatch takes precedence IfiLLINQ AT WHOLEtALE. over books of any other color in the selection of goods, their being called back, packed, and invoiced. The blue books would follow the exhaustion of the red pile, and would in turn be followed by green, etc., etc. Filling and Shipping Orders. "Order clerks with rolling baskets or trucks select the goods in the various departments, after which the mer- chandise is assembled in the packing-room, called back by men who were not parties to its selection, packed, and, from instructions given upon the various slips and tags accumulated during the execution of the order, is shipped by the Shipping Department. After the order is * called back/ the book goes to the pricers for pricing, to the examiners for examination of these prices, and to the invoice clerks for invoicing. The invoice is sent to the journal clerk for journalizing, and thence to the Mailing Department for folding, inclosing, and stamping. Later on, the original order is checked against the jour- nal entry to show that there have been no errors in en- tering or no invoices unwittingly mailed without first having been journalized. From this point, it is a mat- ter of bookkeeping until the statements of account reach the collector. Work of Other Departments. "I have endeavored, in a few words, cutting many corners, to give you an idea of a single department that of order-filling. It would be wearisome and un- profitable to you if I should go in detail through the Financing, Cashier's, Buying, Credit, Collection, Trav- eling Salesmen's, Receiving, Shipping, and the numer- ous other departments, each of which has its system and SELLING AT WHOLESALE. 107 its definite part of the work to perform. Even the head of the Stationery department of a large mercantile house has more duties and greater responsibility than fall to the lot of the proprietor of a small retail establishment. The wheels, and even the most unimportant cogs on the wheels, of this complicated machinery must be carefully adjusted or the product will be worthless. The success- ful merchant is not the man who is looking for some amusement or outside employment with which to kill time. The Young Man's Beginning. "The young man, whether graduate of a public or high school, college, or university, who wishes to learn a mercantile business usually finds himself at seven o'clock on the first morning of his business career taking off his coat and putting on his overalls in front of an order clerk's locker. At some future time there may be discovered a process by which the theories gained in the schools may be put in practice in mercantile life with- out the necessity for actual contact with merchandise on the part of their possessors, but it will be when ex- perience has ceased to be a teacher; when observation will be the conservator of all knowledge. The best me- chanical engineer is the man who has hung his diploma from a school of engineering in his room, and gone down into the machine shop and handled steel and iron with- out gloves. A man, to be a successful merchant, must at some time master theory, and the best time and place for this mastery is during his younger days and in the schools. "Occasionally a man who has received only a rudi- 108 SELLING AT WHOLESALE. mentary education becomes a brilliant and effective preacher. Here and there a man whose school educa- tion was confined to his acquirements in the grammar grades makes his way to the very front rank of the legal fraternity. At infrequent intervals, a man who has been obliged to forego the advantage of a liberal education has evinced a genius in diagnosis and thera- peutics which has placed him near the head of the med- ical profession. And so there are men who seem in- stinctively to be merchants and whose theories are evolved inductively from practice, without the labor in- cident to acquirement through study. "Because there is, exceptionally, a preacher, lawyer, or doctor who has risen to eminence despite his lack of book training, you would not advocate the cutting of higher education by men seeking the professions. Neither should you advise a young man who is headed toward a commercial life to accept less education and mental discipline from the schools than the utmost which is essential to the highest achievement. "If a man is content to be always a country school- house preacher, or a pettifogger in a village justice court, or an herb doctor on the frontier of civilization, there is no use in wasting good book learning on him or in taking the time of educators in attempting to stim- ulate his brain into activity. "If a man is content to spend his life as the proprietor of a crossroads store, sitting on a nail keg, chewing to- bacco, and exchanging stories with his lounging cus- tomers, he is fully equipped educationally and theoret- ically when he has partially mastered the three R's. SELLING AT WHOLESALE. 109 Preparation for Business Life. "What we are considering today is 'At Wholesale,' and the preparation must be commensurate with the po- sition and results to be attained. Were I to recommend to a young man who can command the necessary time and means a preparatory course for a commercial life, it would be as follows, viz. : "A thorough training at a secondary schopl such a training as would not only permit of his entering col- lege without conditions, but would actually enable him to write legibly and spell correctly. I admit that I am old-fashioned when I suggest that an elementary knowl- edge even of chirography and orthography are essential to a liberal education, and I make the suggestion with hesitation. I am impelled to do so by the knowledge that there are some antiques in business who are so grounded in old methods that they insist upon consign- ing to the waste basket all ill-written and misspelled ap- plications for situations, even though the letters be signed by college or university graduates. These old fossils have an idea that ignorance or carelessness shown in a letter of application written by a young man who has spent nearly all his early life in acquiring knowledge and gaining accuracy does not portend great success in a mercantile career. "Entering college, he should select the courses of- fered which will give him the best instruction in all that pertains to commerce and the most thorough discipline of mind. The coveted college (or institute) diploma and university degree at the top of the tree of knowl- edge are becoming more and more attainable by the stu- dent who has been obliged to forego digging among 110 BELLING AT WHOLEIAJLB. the Greek roots or lingering upon those lower branches marked 'B. C.' "As no aspiring young man possessed of brains, who has a proper conception of what constitutes the best manhood, the most real happiness, and the greatest use- fulness in the world, will be satisfied with the prospect of a life devoted exclusively to business, he must, nec- essarily, broaden his education to meet the requirements of his ideal. The college or university course should include, not only commercial and kindred or related branches, but all classes of information and knowledge within reach which can be utilized in the life of an in- telligent, broad-minded, public-spirited citizen. Busi- ness, like a profession, should be the means to an end. "After a diploma is secured, a year, if possible, is well spent in a retail establishment of the particular line of merchandising which has been chosen. Then comes the elementary practice in a wholesale house, with, let us hope, a rapid advancement from one department to an- other, until the former student becomes the head of a firm or the president of a corporation." CHAPTER VII. SELLING AT RETAIL. Salesmanship in retail business depends very largely upon the exercise of good judgment in meeting and handling customers. Successful retail salesmen digni- fy their work by doing it in the best possible way. They regard their occupation as honorable, and so regarding it preserve their self-respect and command the respect of others. They are not worried or upset by the lack of good manners on the part of customers with whom they may have to deal, but meet all comers with un- failing good temper, and by their constant courtesy make and keep friends among those whom they sell. Customers in a retail store like to look upon the sales- man as a friend with special knowledge of the goods they need, and ready to place this special knowledge at their service. The fact that the retail salesman usually has a large variety of articles to sell precludes the possibility of preparing a separate selling talk for each article, but it should not prevent constant study of all the goods which he is called upon to handle. He should be able to inform the customer as to uses, parts, qualities, etc., of the goods in stock ; in fact, he cannot have too much in- formation about the stock, in order to be able to give informing answers to the thousand and one questions asked by customers. Ill 112 SELLING AT RETAIL. He differs from a wholesale salesman in not having to secure the attention of the customer, since that is se- cured already, nor does he have to prepare an approach as the wholesale salesman is required to do. But his manner of receiving the customer must be courteous and encouraging. If the customer is brusque or impolite, the trained courtesy of the retail salesman must be able to overcome brusqueness and impoliteness, sell the goods, and leave a satisfied customer. Although retail customers, when they enter a store, already possess Desire, it is often necessary for the sales- man to assist Decision. He may make suggestions to the customer or give advice, as the case may be. The qualities in the salesman which inevitably win recognition by employers are those which include whole- souled loyalty to the house and a regard for the interests of the house as paramount. The successful retail salesman makes steady custo- mers for the store. The points in which a good retail salesman differs from a mere clerk have been well brought out by a spec- ialist in retail salesmanship quoted by Mr. Jonas How- ard in the Worker's Magazine. He follows the course of a scientific salesman through the various steps of a sale and contrasts him with the untrained clerk as follows : 1. Securing Attention. "The first step, or securing attention, requires in the salesman courtesy and interest nothing else. Sim- ple but unfailing courtesy and interest is sufficient to secure attention. The courtesy and interest must con- SELLING AT RETAIL. 118 tinue through all successive steps; must be a base, as it were, on which all other qualifications must rest, and all the steps are in this manner connected. "If a salesman has courtesy and interest he will se- cure the attention of the customer, which leads to the next step. 2. Arousing Interest. "The customer's interest must be aroused by the inter- est of the salesman. Interest is likely to breed inter- est, but lack of interest never can. We say 'is likely to breed interest' because at any one of these steps the salesman may have to register failure. It is the leading from one to the other that makes a success at the end. "The most famous preachers, lecturers, orators of all kinds, in the pulpit, in the courtroom, or on the politi- cal platform, have been interesting to their hearers just because they have been intensely interested themselves in their subject. "Interested? Such men are 'all wrapped up' in their subjects and have been called crazy on socialism, pro- tective tariff, the spreading of the gospel, liberty, wom- an's suffrage, or whatever was the matter at hand. "You needn't be crazy about merchandise to make sales, but you must be intensely interested or you will never have an interested customer. "But never forget the courtesy that has brought you this far. *'So we have courtesy and interest on the part of the salesman, which have produced attention and interest on the part of the customer, and we are ready for the next step, which is desire. I.B.L. Vol. 28 114 SELLING AT RETAIL. S. Creating Desire. "The customer must know something about the thing which you expect him to buy; he must know why and how it will benefit him; must know whether it will help him to dress more stylishly or whether it will be more comfortable to him; must know whether he can save money on the purchase ; whether it will save time for him in some way, or whether he can make his home more at- tractive with the article, or must know several of a hun- dred or more other things. "And how can the salesman tell the customer these things if he doesn't know them himself? "If you are selling guns you must know guns; if you are selling socks you must know socks. The salesman must have knowledge of whatever he is selling and be able to impart it to the customer or the sale will fail right there the customer will never be taught to want the article ; he will never experience the desire for it. "But after the salesman has aroused the desire of the customer for the article a crucial point is reached. "The salesman has thus far been courteous, has been interested in his work, and has taught the customer some- thing about the article in hand. "The customer has had his attention drawn, has been interested in the article, and has desired it. And it is only gentle leading and a short way now to arrive at decision. 4. The Purchasing Impulse. "This is the final point the test. If the customer decides to buy the article the salesman has aroused the 'purchasing impulse' and has been successful. If the AT RETAIL. 115 customer decides not to buy the article the salesman has failed. "Of course, at this point the customer may have other and private reasons for not buying. He may even re- gret the necessity for his refusal to purchase. In that event the salesman has actually aroused the desire to pos- sess the article, has awakened the purchasing impulse and has really succeeded, but has been frustrated by con- ditions beyond his control. "All these things presuppose that the article has merit in itself and will be a desirable addition to the purchas- er's ownings. If the article will not benefit the custo- mer, if he will have regrets after leaving the store, the salesman has in some way misled him. He has not been dealt with 'on the square* all through. And this is false salesmanship. "This writing deals entirely with worthy merchandise, with desirable articles, and of how the salesman may introduce them to those whom they will benefit. Any- thing else closely approaches the methods of a street faker and is not countenanced in a store that stands for upright dealing at all times. Every One a Prospective. "Only remember that almost every one who passes your counter will be interested in what you are selling; would be glad to have it if he knew all about it, and would purchase it if approached in the right way. And this isn't an excuse for buttonholing everyone to his an- noyance. Just watch your chances and take instant ad- vantage of them. To do so you must be wakef ully alert at all times. 'The morning after' is not a good time to 11(5 SELLING AT RETAIL. be alert, nor can you be when you are standing about gossiping or shouting across the aisle or taking it easy in any other manner. "Why does one salesman, or 'clerk,' if you choose to call him so, have more sales than another? Why do cus- tomers prefer some one salesman to wait upon them? Why is one salesman preferred to another by the firm which employs them? All these questions and many others are answered in the above suggestions. "If you are one of the unfavored, don't be grumpy- try these. "If you are dissatisfied with the number and amount of your sales try these. "If you are a youngster and wonder how it is that the old ones are so successful try these. "If you want an increase in salary try this method of getting it. Filling Orders Not Salesmanship. "There come to your counter sometimes customers who already have passed through the first three stages of the buying process without the aid of any salesman. They know what they want and ask for it. They know what they want to pay, too. Such customers will tell you what they want and at what price they want it. "It is not salesmanship to fill such orders. There are many cleverly designed machines in use today which perform the same work that of handing out what is asked for. "Salesmanship, as outlined above, is selling to the customer something that he needs even though he doesn't know he needs it before you see him, and that the mer- chant, your employer, has brought here for him. SELLING AT RETAIL. 117 "It is a service to both to the customer and to the man for whom you work. It is what is looked for. It is what makes you a better salesman and more valuable to your employer or employers, and it is what increases your salary or brings a tempting offer from some other merchant when your own firm fails to 'show up.' "Every wideawake merchant is always looking for good salespeople. There is plenty of room for good ones. It will even be made for them, for there are too many of the other kind." "Of all the elements of success, none is more vital than self-reliance a determination to be one's own helper and not to look to others for support. "Elliott. "Lost, yesterday, somewhere between sunrise and sun- set, two golden hours, each set with sixty diamond min- utes. No reward is offered for they are gone forever. " Mann. "Life is too short for us to waste its moments in deplor- ing bad luck. We must go after success since it will not come to us, and we have no time to spare." Dewey. CHAPTER VIII. PRACTICAL INSTRUCTIONS TO SALESMEN. Salesmen do not always receive from "the house" pre- cise instructions as to what is expected of them in the field, but as a rule most up-to-date business houses pre- pare specific instructions for their road men. These are sometimes given by word of mouth in the office of the Sales Manager, or in the instruction schools of large concerns, but nowadays they are also frequently placed in the hands of the new salesman in written or printed form. A typical set of such instructions is found in the fol- lowing, which are here inserted because of the fact that they cover so much valuable ground in terse and pithy language and embrace so many points of practical inter- est to all. General Instructions. (C. E. Zimmerman Company, Chicago.) "No iron-clad rules or instructions can be laid down for selling, but the following will cover our policy. The same general knowledge applies to all salesmanship. The following rules have been gleaned from men who have spent vast sums of money and years of patient la- bor to acquire their experience and information and it is expected that you will use them to the best advantage. 119 120 PRACTICAL INSTRUCTIONS TO SALESMEN. "1. Your route list will be laid out for you in ad- vance. It is the intention that you should have complete information as to whom you are going to see and that you have copies of their ads. "2. If at any time a town is omitted from your route list and you receive information that makes it advisable to make the town, use your own judgment in doing so. "3. It is our desire to give you the widest latitude possible, consistent with good business. Good business principles we insist upon and the man who does not have a shave and shine every morning, or who takes a drink during the day, who calls with his breath smelling from liquor, who calls upon a customer with soiled linen, or with baggy clothing, whose nails are not carefully mani- cured, and w r ho is not trying every day to make a better record than the day before and a better record than the week before, has no place on our sales force. "4. It is also recognized in the selling profession that a sale takes place in the customer's mind, which goes up four steps, namely, Attention, Interest, Desire, De- cision, or resolve to buy. In order to secure attention it is necessary to appeal to one or all of four things need, pride, price, necessity. Show the customer that our service is absolutely necessary to the success of his busi- ness, especially as his competitor will get it if he doesn't. Our Men Carry No Cards. "5. Cards are seldom used by a live salesman, except on the second interview, and a second interview is seldom necessary on this proposition. Furthermore, the class of people you approach do not need this form of intro- duction. PRACTICAL INSTRUCTIONS TO SALESMEN. 121 This Is Important. "6. Never go into a store until you know the name of the men you are going to see, and have as much informa- tion as possible regarding the nature of their business, the amount of their business, the advertising they do, and the policy they carry out if they have any. "7. If you have any trouble in getting to see your man simply say to the clerk or secretary or whoever asks for your card: 'I am Mr. Zimmerman of Chicago. Will you please tell Mr. Blank that I have come down here to see him on a very important matter regarding his business/ "If you are asked whether you are an agent or what your business is, reply something like this: 'No, I am not an agent. My business will only require a few min- utes of his time. I cannot tell my business to anyone else ; simply say that Mr. Zimmerman of Chicago wants to speak to him. I think that will be sufficient.' "More depends upon the way you say this than on the words you use. From the minute you go into a store you either have an air of knowing something or you be- gin to feel like some schoolboy. If you carry the proper opinion of yourself through your interview you will command his respect and attention and you will un- doubtedly sell him. "8. Salesmanship is a battle of minds. You cannot do business with a man if he has something else on his mind, even if he is giving you his time. The easiest and surely the best way is to make some remark about his business showing your knowledge and interest. For in- stance, if you are in a bank, say: 'Mr. Banker, I am surprised there are only eight banks in this town, when 122 PRACTICAL INSTRUCTION* TO 1ALBSMEN. there is a banking capital or business of one million a month, and I see that you people are trying a little harder than the others to increase your share of it/ "This will be true, as you will go to the livest man or banker in the town to do business. "The next thing for you to do is to show the man the proposition. In doing so remember that different men can be reached in different ways. Some men and this is naturally true of the banker can be reached only through a business way, others through the emotional part of their nature. "Right here let us caution you to always be sure you are talking to the right man or men. If you are talking to the banker or the cashier of a bank be sure to ascer- tain whether it will be necessary to call a meeting of the directors to hire a $1.00-a-week boy. At the same time, when putting it this way, be careful not to get the cashier to say that he has the authority when he has not, for such would mean a loss to you. "9. In putting up a selling talk to your customer you should first give him a general idea of the proposi- tion in a very few minutes, giving him a chance to buy at the end of this time. "Remember two important things. One is to get your man to agree with what you are saying; that is, to get him to agree with you, for instance, that advertising is necessary, that the mail order banks are taking money out of his bank when they do not give the people as much, that advertising is simply salesmanship on paper, that the mind goes up four steps whenever a sale is made, etc.; that the cuts furnished will get results, attention, etc., etc. When this man agrees with you and you know PRACTICAL miTBUCTlONS TO SALESMEN. 128 you are going to get on with him all right, do not act as if you were prepared for a fight or want to argue with him. "Remember that one of the greatest elements in sales- manship is never to let a man say 'No' and never argue with him. One positive statement saying something is the case, carries more weight than something saying that such-and-such a thing is not the case. "10. There are four things that go to make up a salesman: a. His Intellect or Thinking Power. b. His Health or Physical Power. c. His Sensibility or Soul Power. d. His Will Power or Action. "Ninety-nine out of one hundred times the main dif- ference between a one-dollar man and a ten-thousand- dollar man is their actions. There are plenty of suc- cessful men on the road with propositions greatly in- ferior to yours. If you will exercise your will-power and get action, you will make a greater success than they. As a matter of fact you have competitors in this line. They are making money, and more than men- tioned above, they have not the goods you have, in any way. It is only necessary for you to get half their price. What are you going to do? It is up to You" Instructions like the foregoing, when placed by "the house" in the hands of a new salesman, make him realize that he is going out to represent people who understand their business. He also feels that he has behind him a consulting authority to which he can turn, in case of dif- 124 PRACTICAL INSTRUCTIONS TO SALESMEN. ficulty, for advice and explicit counsel. If he is wise and thoroughly assimilates his instructions he will gain confidence in himself and in his proposition and be better able to secure a hearing. When such instructions are supplemented by concrete examples of the line of selling talk to be used under vari- ous circumstances, and with arguments to meet all pos- sible objections, the salesman is placed in a splendid po- sition to do business. This is especially the case when he is further equipped for the field by conscientious self- training in the principles and approved practice of scien- tific salesmanship. CHAPTER IX. THE APPROACH. There are three important stages in every sale, espe- cially in the sale of a specialty. These are (1) the Ap- proach; (2) The Demonstration; (3) Closing the Sale, or Getting the Order. Too much importance cannot be attached to the value of the approach. Few beginners are able to make good approaches. The first moments of an interview with a prospect are often an ordeal which lives in their memory. Faulty approaches frequently result in failure, hence sales managers should carefully drill new salesmen in proper methods of approach, so that they may make a good impression and secure a fair hearing. Few concerns have made such a study of the approach as the National Cash Register Co. and it is interest- ing to all to read their instructions to salesmen on this point. They say: How to Introduce Yourself. "It is manifestly impossible to describe a definite form of words and require salesmen to use that in all cases when they approach business men at the first inter- view. What would be proper to say to one man under given circumstances might be unsuitable to say to an- other under different circumstances. Much must be left to the discretion of the salesman. At the same time there are certain leading statements to be made, and 125 12C THS certain ways of making them, which experience has shown to be well adapted to the end in view. Some of these forms are here given in order that beginners may profit by them. "It is not necessary that this introductory talk be long. Often a short talk is more convincing. 44 We do not advise salesmen to introduce themselves by sending in a card, but prefer that they should depend wholly on what they are able to say to secure a hearing. We strongly disapprove of obscure introductions and all tricks, and believe that a man who has something worth saying, and is not ashamed of his business, can make known his errand in a bold, straight-forward manner. Have a Fixed Idea. "A salesman should adapt himself to his man, but at the same time he should have a fixed idea of what he has to say. He should be dignified and earnest. The purchase of a cash register is an important matter to a storekeeper. Often it is the most costly thing in his store. It is a serious question and must not be treated flip- pantly. "A storekeeper should never be approached the first time with a funny story or an attempt at wit. The first impression should be that the salesman sets a dis- tinct value upon both his own time and the storekeeper's ; that he has something of importance to say and does not intend to trifle about it. The First Interview. "Success in selling cash registers depends largely on the result of the salesman's first interview with the store- keeper whom he approaches. If he makes a favorable THE APPROACH. impression, answers the storekeepers' questions well, overcomes objections, and persuades them to go and see the registers, these storekeepers may become prospective purchasers If, on the contrary, this first interview be a failure, a second will be difficult to secure. "You must not proceed on the theory that store- keepers usually know what their own best interests are. They don't. No man always does. The majority of men are going contrary to their best interests every day. They seem to be almost wilfully blind to the things that would help them and make them better off. "You know the old story of the man who stood on London Bridge and offered golden guineas for a shil- ling apiece and no one would touch the bargain. Thou- sands of storekeepers are just like that. They don't see, they can't see, without having it fairly thrust upon them, that the National Cash Register will be a source of profit to them actually a money-making affair. It is your business to know enough about storekeeping to know that this is so, to insist upon it, and make them see it. Gain a Hearing. "The first point in approaching a prospect is to look like a gentleman, act like a man, and make him listen to you. The next thing is not to half persuade him that he ought to buy a register, but to wholly convince him that he ought to look into the subject. "Disarm his mind, at the start, of the impression that you are trying to force him into getting something he doesn't want. Disclaim any such intention. But insist that it is a matter of such importance that he positively ought to investigate it and judge for himself whether it would be valuable to him or not. 128 THE APPROACH. How to Approach a Storekeeper. "It is of great importance, in any case, unless the pros- pect is an old one, and you are familiar with his methods of conducting his business, that a study of the situation be made before you introduce yourself to the proprietor. We have provided a diagram card for this purpose. It enables you to make a memorandum of information that is absolutely necessary in your efforts to secure the order. You can easily make a purchase of a cigar, or apple, or any article in the store, and at the same time give the clerk a piece of money which will require him to make change. You can in this way see the location of the cash drawer, and see the method of handling the sale. If you see he has the ordinary old cash drawer, you have at once secured a good selling point. If possible, enter into conversation with the clerk. Train your mind to grasp the situations in the store; to see in a moment's time how the charge business is handled. "Gather from the baskets on the floor whether the merchant delivers goods by drivers, and from the bills in the basket his methods of handling this kind of trans- action. From his fixtures and showcases you should see whether he is progressive or not. From the kind of scales he uses you can see whether he is a believer in modern improvements; from his show-window whether he is smart enough to take advantage of advertising space; from the general appearance of his store and his clerks you can see whether he is a believer in neatness and discipline. Take In the Situation. "Briefly, you can easily train yourself to take in the entire situation in the store in a few minutes, and will THE APPROACH. 129 thus be fortified in your first interview with the pro- prietor. You will not only be able to show him where leaks are likely to occur in his store, but from the kind of fixtures he uses and appliances with which he sur- rounds himself you can judge very closely as to the kind of register to present to him, and whether he will be easy or hard to interest in a modern, up-to-date system. Use Your Diagram Card. "You should, during this interview with him, continue to fill out this diagram card, by jotting down the an- swers to questions you put to him. When he sees that you wish to study the situation in his store, and his methods, before attempting to sell him a cash register, he will appreciate the fact that you will be better able to suggest a system that will save him money than you would if you plunged into it without proper thought. If an appointment is made to look at your register, the information you have obtained as to the merchant's methods will enable you to study the situation before he comes to see the register. Prepare Your Brief. "As a lawyer prepares his brief before the case is tried, so you have prepared your brief before the arrival of the merchant, and can present it to him in a far more convincing manner. Any merchant would appreciate such a careful preparation, and your influence will be far greater, and the chance of closing the sale far better than by a haphazard, careless effort to secure a sale. Getting At Him. "After making as thorough an investigation as possi- ble, you should go directly to the proprietor, or the one I.B.L. Vol. 29 130 THE APPROAC H . whom you take to be he, and say to him, 'Is this Mr. Johnson?' Mention his name. Don't say, 'Is this the proprietor?' If it should be a clerk, he will be flattered by being mistaken for the proprietor. Don't Be Sidetracked. "If he is a clerk and says, 'No; Mr. Johnson is busy,' you can say, 'Very well, I will wait a few minutes until he is at liberty.' Or, if the proprietor is out, 'Very well, I'll call again. When is he likely to be in?' "If the clerk says, 'What is your business? What do you want to see him about?' say, 'I wanted to see Mr. Johnson personally. I'll wait until I can see him.' "If the clerk is very stiff about it, and says, 'What's your name? Who shall I tell him wants to see him?' there is no harm in giving your name, but don't state your business to the clerk, and don't send in your card. On a Business Basis. "On the other hand, as soon as you do succeed in reaching the proprietor, and have said to him, 'Good morning. Is this Mr. Johnson? then say, directly and plainly, 'I represent the National Cash Register Com- pany.' This immediately puts you on a square footing, and if he has anything to say against your business it will draw his fire immediately. If he has nothing to say, proceed to business at once, but don't under any circumstances say, 'I called to sell you a register,' or, 'I called to tell you about our registers,' but put it rather in this way, 'I want to interest you in our methods for taking care of transactions with customers in your store. 3 "The difference between the two ways of saying it is that one begins with your end of the business the thing THE APPROACH. 131 that interests you; while the other begins at his end of it the thing presumably interesting to him." The First Five Minutes. "Remember, the first five minutes of speaking to a man is likely to make or break you as far as that sale is concerned. If you are in any way antagonistic or offen- sive to him, you have hurt your chances badly from the start. If you have failed to definitely please or attract him, you have not done enough. "It isn't sufficient to be merely a negative quantity. You should make a positive favorable impression, and not by cajolery nor attempted wit nor cleverness. The only right way to gain a man's liking is to deserve it. "The majority of men do not often know just what the characteristics of a man are which make him pleas- ing or displeasing to them; but they feel pleased or dis- pleased, attracted or repulsed or indifferent, and the feeling is definite and pronounced, even though they cannot understand just what makes it. A storekeeper in the smallest way of business in a little country village is just as susceptible of being pleased or offended as any merchant prince. It should never be forgotten that whatever his position may be, 'a man's a man for a' that.' Get His Attention. "Do not attempt to talk to a man who is not listening, who is writing a letter or occupying himself in any other way while you are talking. That's useless, and is a loss of self-respect and of his respect. If he cannot give you his attention, say to him: 'I see that you are busy. If you can give me your attention for a few minutes I 132 THE APPROACH. shall be pleased; but I don't want to interrupt you, if you cannot spare the time, and I will call again/ "Try to understand and feel thoroughly the distinc- tion between confidence and familiarity. Never fail in respect either to yourself or to the man with whom you are talking. Never be familiar with him. Never put your hand on his shoulder or on his arm, nor take hold of his coat. Such things are repugnant to a gentleman and you should assume that he is one. "Never pound the desk or shake your finger at a prospect. Don't holler at him as if sound would take the place of sense. Don't advance at him and talk so excitedly under his nose that he will back away from you for fear of being run over, as if you were a trolley- car. I have seen a sales agent back a prospect half way across a room in this way. "Don't compel a man to listen to you by loud or fast talking. Don't make him feel that he can't get a word in edgewise and has to listen until you are out of breath. That is not the sort of compulsion to make customers. But make him believe that ^ou have something to say and will say it quickly. Put Yourself in His Place. "Put yourself in his place from the very start. Make him feel, not that you are trying to force your business upon him, but that you want to discuss how his business may be benefited by you. "If immediately on your introduction he says, 'Oh, I am too busy to talk about that now,' say to him immedi- ately: 'All right; I'll call again if you can't spare me a minute now. I want a few minutes, if you can spare them, to learn something about your method of handling THE APPROACH. 133 transactions, if you don't mind telling me.' If he will do so, discuss his methods without trying to force your ideas or any cash register talk up to him. Let him see that you mean what you say. Learn what he will tell you and make notes of it. "If he is inclined at the start to argue, and says, 'Oh, we have a system of our own that is perfectly satisfac- tory, and I don't care to change it,' or 'It's a good deal better than anything you can show me/ don't contra- dict him flatly, but say to him: 'Perhaps you are right. It may be that I can't suggest anything which will interest you. At the same time, I'd be glad to know something about your system. You can probably teach me something, and if I can't interest you it won't do any harm to either of us.' Keep Your Temper. "If he bursts out with violent invective against the Company or our registers, do not reply in the same tone. Remember, 'a soft answer turneth away wrath.' Say to him: 'I think you rather misunderstand us, Mr. Johnson. What you say is pretty harsh. I am sure you must have been misinformed on the subject. No doubt you are a fair-minded man. If you knew the exact facts of the case I am sure you would modify your opinion.' "Whatever you do, do not antagonize him. Do not interrupt him when he is talking; let him have his say. Do not let him feel that you are a bore, or that you are trying to get around him by any tricky misrepresenta- tion of your purpose or your business. Make him feel that you are honest with him from the start; that you have come to talk business, but that you do not mean to intrude on him if he cannot spare a moment; that you 134 THE APPROACH. sincerely believe his interests are identical with yours; that you are only anxious to discuss the matter impar- tially. Let him feel that you are a gentleman. Say It Quickly. "The instant a prospect shows a readiness to listen, give him your story quickly in a nutshell. If he evinces a willingness to hear you, take his willingness for granted. Don't make a long preamble. Don't waste a lot of words saying, 'If you will only listen to me I will tell you this,' or, 'If you will free your mind from prejudice I will explain that,' or, If you will only give me your attention for a few moments I propose to tell you the other.' Don't 'propose,' but tell him. "By your previous investigation of his store and methods you are prepared to give him facts not sur- mises. You know his weaknesses. Let these truths, like solid shot, go straight home. In a quiet, dignified way, show the strength of your position. The Purpose of the Interview. "Your purpose in this interview is so to interest the merchant in a cash register system for his store that he will agree to come to your hotel or office to examine the cash register and listen to your demonstration. He must not come out of curiosity, but must have been so im- pressed by your statements that he feels that there are, or may be, losses in his store which a cash register will correct. "Precious time is frittered away by demonstrating a register to a merchant who is simply curious. You can put a cash register on a barrel at a street corner and collect a crowd of curiosity seekers, but the merchant THE APPROACH. 135 who buys is the merchant who has been impressed at your first interview, and comes to your office seeking knowledge. Sell Something Better. "Do not attempt to close a sale on your first interview. If a merchant says he wants a certain cash register, and is willing to sign an order for it, take the order and his money, but remember that your duty is not done until you have taken him to your office, made a demonstra- tion, and attempted to sell him something better. "The greatest fault with which we have to contend in cash register salesmen today is that they are willing to accept any order that can be easily gotten, instead of making an effort to systematize a man's store, and so interest him that he will purchase a high-grade register, which gives 100 per cent, more protection than any low- grade register can do. No Imaginary Demonstration. "Don't attempt any imaginary demonstration with- out a register. If the prospect asks definite questions, you should, of course, never evade them. Answer them explicitly and plainly, but don't go into any further particulars than are necessary to clearly answer his ques- tions. If any of them require a register at hand to answer properly, say, uncompromisingly, 'That is a thing that I can show you very plainly with a register, but it cannot be explained without one.' In a Nutshell. "The gist of your whole story is this: The prospect is losing more money through errors in store transactions 186 THE APPROACH. than he realizes, and he needs a cash register to stop these losses. "His skepticism on these two points is the mainstay of all his objections. The only radical reason why he does not buy the register is that he does not believe he is losing a great deal of money through mistakes in store transactions, or that he will not pay the price he thinks a register sells for because he does not know its value. "His objections may take various forms, but they all lead to these main conclusions, and the salesman's first purpose is to show him if he is not already aware of it, that he is losing more than he realizes. Don't Be Too Blunt. "But this must be done cautiously. Few men are ready to jump quickly to a logical conclusion. A store- keeper seldom believes all at once that he is losing a great deal of money through errors in store transactions. If you tell him that bluntly, he may discredit both that and all your other statements. But he is usually willing to admit that he loses a little now and then. You must gradually, point by point, 'show' him that what he thinks is merely 'a little now and then/ added together actually amounts to a great deal. Be Brief if Necessary. "If he demands brief, comprehensive answers, be ready with them. Suppose he says: " 'Why do I need a cash register?' A good answer is: ' 'Because it will pay you a greater profit than any other thing in your store.' ' 'How will it?' is logically the next question. THE APPROACH. 187 * 'By preventing the mistakes and errors which are, I think, occurring in your store today.' Have Definite Answers Ready. "He may say, 'I have a good system already,' or, 'My own family attends to the store,' or, 'I look out for things myself; I know everything that is going on,' or 'My clerks are honest and careful.' "The Manual gives explicit answers to these questions. It should be carefully studied. The Company, from time to time, gives apt arguments which many of our best salesmen have found effective in answering numerous other objections. Every good point should be thor- oughly absorbed by every salesman, so that he is always ready to answer aptly by itself any question raised in evident faith. A Broom of an Argument. "But the best preparation for answering trivial objec- tions is to go, in your own mind, right down to the root of the matter and be thoroughly armed and equipped with the knowledge of his weak points and one or two comprehensive replies which sweep away all obstacles. "Answering the numerous petty objections which a thoughtless prospect sometimes raises is like picking up separate specks of dirt off the floor. It is often better to have one good, strong broom of an argument and sweep them all away at once. On Your Own Ground. "You must first find out what is in his mind. Let him state his ideas, ask questions, or air his troubles, if he has any, freely. Meet them fairly and squarely, without evasion. Sympathize with him. Look at mat- 138 THE APPROACH. ters from his standpoint. Then get him on your own ground as soon as possible. "Instead of answering specifically a long list of trivial questions, it is sometimes best to jump right over them, so to speak, and come down solid on a few particular points which will open the prospect's eyes to what is probably going on in his store. Suppose you say to him something like this: Facts He Must Admit. " 'Mr. Williams, it is certainly a fact that no matter how careful a merchant and his clerks may be they will sometimes forget to charge a credit sale or to n.ake a proper record of some other transaction. Now, you and your clerks may be as careful as any one can be; you may have an excellent system; yet you are only human. Every man is liable to make mistakes. No man is in- fallible. In spite of your carefulness and your system, you will admit that even in your store mistakes do some- times creep in.' "Every storekeeper will admit this. Then narrow the question down a little more closely: " 'Couldn't a small credit purchase go out of your store uncharged today without your ever finding it out? Couldn't your cash be a few cents short tonight without your ever missing the money?' "He must allow that this is possible. He must also admit that if it happens once it might happen again; and if you can plant deeply and strongly in his mind the conviction that he is losing money, he will then nat- urally be glad to investigate any means which promises to save it for him. "Convincing a man that he needs help is nine-tenths THE APPROACH. 139 of the battle. If you were trying to sell a consumption cure there would be no use in telling how wonderfully effective it is to a man who doesn't believe he has con- sumption. Your first efforts must be directed to pointing out the prospect's 'complaint.' Unless he sees this he isn't ready for the remedy. The Remedy. "When you know he realizes that he is losing con- siderable money through errors in recording store tran- sactions, ask him the question fairly and squarely: ;< 'If I can show you something that makes such losses absolutely impossible, that compels the proper entry of every transaction, whether you are in the store or not, that will give you a definite record of every cent received in your store or paid out of your cash drawer, so that you always know positively how much money ought to be in the drawer and exactly what has been received on ac- count, and that will give you a positive record of every credit sale, so that goods can never go out of your store uncharged, wouldn't that interest you ? Isn't that worth your while to investigate?' A Broad Distinction. "You should inform yourself as fully as possible con- cerning the prospect's present system before attempt- ing to draw comparisons between it and the National Cash Register system. Don't talk about what you know nothing of. But if the prospect insists that the system he is using is absolutely reliable and that the National Cash Register cannot be more so, a broad distinction should be drawn between our register and all other sys- tems. And you should say in effect that any system 140 THE APPROACH. which depends on human memory is sure to involve mis- takes and losses. He will probably say: " 'Your cash register depends upon memory, doesn't it?' The answer is: " 'No. Its use becomes automatic. It does not de- pend upon memory.' If he then says: " 'Why doesn't it? How is it automatic?' you must say: " 'Come to my office and I will show you that what I say is true ; but it cannot be explained without having the register at hand.' Back to First Principles. "If he says he can't afford to buy a register, that ob- jection shows that you have not fixed the main idea of your argument fairly in his mind. The answer is : " 'You can afford a thing that pays a good profit, can't you? If this register is only an expense and doesn't pay you a profit, you don't want it. You can't afford to have any useless expenses in your business. On the other hand, if it will be a profitable, money-making in- vestment, you want to look into it just as much as I want to have you do so. 'If I were trying to sell you a class of goods that you had never sold in your store, and showed you how 350,000 merchants were making more money out of them than out of any other goods in their stores, you wouldn't say, without looking at the goods, "I can't afford them." You would be glad to come up to the hotel to look at them and see what they were. 'If 350,000 merchants have found this register to be a money-saving investment, there must be something in it worth investigating, and you can't afford as a busi- THE APPROACH. ness man to turn it down, without at least looking into it and deciding the question for yourself.' "Impress upon him again and again without ceasing, and until he completely comprehends the idea, that the register is not an expense, but a profitable investment, and that there are chances for loss with his present sys- tem; that you don't expect and don't want to sell it to him until you have convinced him of this; and that the only thing you insist on is that he thoroughly investigate it. If you convince him he ought at least to do this, you accomplish all that need be done or attempted in the first interview without a register at hand. "The final thing is to make a definite appointment with him to come to a demonstration. If your other work has been properly done, this part will not be dif- ficult. If you have made him realize the imperative necessity of the case, he will be glad to make an appoint- ment and keep it. Answer a Direct Question Directly. "When a man asks you a direct question, answer it directly. Don't dodge. Don't go round about and be- gin with a lot of explanations. "If he says, 'How is this?' or 'What about that?' don't begin by saying, 'Mr. , when this Com- pany first went into business,' etc. Don't give him a lot of ancient history and gradually lead up to the answer to his question, or lead away from it trying to make him forget it, but answer him directly, instantly, plainly. Then, if your answer is founded upon other facts, or the history and general policy of the Company, bring it out afterward. "Never let yourself be stumped a second time by the 142 THE APPROACH. same question. There is no excuse for any salesman being at loss to reply to any question put to him if he will take pains to understand his subject and avail him- self of the training and suggestions and help which the Sales Department extends to him at all times. Make an Appointment. "Let your argument be strong and unwavering on the point that a business man should see a thing for himself and fairly understand a proposition before he rejects it. Make the appointment definite. Make him feel that it is not a thing to slight or hurry over; but a matter of genuine importance, worth all the time it requires. "When making an appointment for a prospect, make it definite, and make him feel responsible for keeping it. A common mistake is to accept a man's nod and 'Yes, yes, I'll be down there Tuesday/ or something like that, for an appointment. Make him feel the necessity of look- ing carefully into the question. Impress him so strongly with the importance of it that he will be there. "A good plan is to write the appointment on a card and liand it to the prospect before you leave the store, something like this: Tuesday, at 11 o'clock, at the Hotel, or No Street, to meet Mr. Jones and have the National Cash Register explained. "When the appointed time comes for him, to leave his store to go and meet you, be there at his store, that your presence may remind him of his promise to meet you and go with you to your office or hotel. There may be some exceptions to this, in a large city, where the office mana- ger is expected to wait upon all callers, but no agent THE APPROACH. 143 should, under any circumstances, wait at a hotel or office for a merchant to keep an appointment. Your time is too valuable, the appointment is too important, the chances of losing the sale too great to leave to a mer- chant's memory the keeping of your engagement. Some Good Appeals for Demonstration. " 'Mr. Blank, I have made some little investigation of your methods of conducting your business, and have taken the liberty to jot down on this card a few facts. My business is that of a systems expert, as well as cash register salesman. We can always gain good informa- tion from a storekeeper, and can often give him some valuable hints about the conduct of his business. If you will kindly give me a little information about the system used in your store, I can, perhaps, in return, give you some hints that will be of value to you. 'I see you have two cash drawers in your store. (Mention the number you may have been able to find.) May I ask what per cent, of your business is cash ? The balance of your business, then, is done on credit? (If this question is answered, as it probably will be, you have thus obtained two important pieces of information that will be utilized later). 'I notice your salesmen are entering their charge sales in duplicating sales books. Do you transfer these to a ledger at night? Have you a bookkeeper? I see four clerks at work in your store. How many clerks and drivers have you altogether? How many sales- people have you who handle your money? Do you use trading stamps, or any discount plan? Do you buy or exchange much produce? 144 THE APPROACH. Cash Sales. ' 'Mr. Blank, I ask these questions, not from idle curi- osity, but so that I may be able to show you how and why a cash register will save you money. I am convinced that it will do so, and that you should investigate our systems. I want first to point out where I think the leaks may occur in your store. You have, in the first place, open cash drawers. Do you know how much money is in those cash drawers at this time ? " 'Do you know at the close of the day whether mis- takes and carelessness have not cut down the amount of money which you should receive from those drawers? If a counterfeit bill or coin is taken in, do you know the name of the clerk who took it in? Are you willing to trust the money you spend your life to get to that open cash drawer? With a cash register we can answer these questions, and stop these leaks. Will it not pay you to investigate it?' " N.B. It will be seen that the attitude throughout the approach is to show the prospect that you can save him money. CHAPTER X. THE DEMONSTRATION. In the Demonstration the object is to create desire on the part of the customer, hence all the selling points must be carefully marshaled in advance. The salesman must give the prospect "sharp, clean-cut, specific ideas about the proposition, avoiding all generalities and digres- sions." The prospect must be convinced, first, that he needs a new system or a new article or new stock ; second that your goods have advantages that make it worth his while to buy them ; third, that the time to buy is now. In the steps of the sale which succeed the Approach, the salesmen of the National Cash Register Company are very fully instructed. The following quotations from the National Cash Register Manual may be read with profit by all salesmen, as they are in the main ap- plicable to many lines of business: Know Your Registers. "Every salesman ought to thoroughly understand the specific advantages of each machine and realize their full value in practical use. In leading the prospect from one machine to another you should bring out pointedly the difference between them. You should be so thoroughly conversant with the definite uses of each machine as to make up your mind very quickly which register a prospect ought to have. Do not allow him to I.B.L. Vol. 210 146 THE DEMONSTRATION. fix his mind upon any less efficient machine, and also be careful not to show him a higher-priced one than he is likely to buy, as it might make him dissatisfied with the one he should get. If he shows interest in a higher- priced one, which you are certain he will not or ought not to buy, say to him: 'Mr. Brown, that is a high-priced register, but it is not suited to your business, and you could not get the full benefit of it. I want you to get the most for your money.' Which Machine to Sell. "Always remember that it is your business to sell to any storekeeper the machine which he ought to have. This does not necessarily mean the machine which he thinks he should have, any more than it means the one you would prefer to sell because of the commission. "While it is bad salesmanship to sell a man a machine that he cannot pay for, or one whose good points he can- not get the benefit of in his business, it is equally bad salesmanship to sell a machine which is lacking certain advantages which would be greatly to his benefit simply because their first cost is a little more. True Economy. "You can always feel pretty safe in relying upon the old-time maxim that 'the best is the cheapest.' But very few men are far-sighted enough to choose a high-priced article of any kind, even though it be in the end by far the most economical. It is your business to realize this and make the prospect realize it. "If the salesman hasn't properly studied the subject, he may agree with the storekeeper that a low-priced reg- THE DEMONSTRATION. 147 ister will answer his purpose, when in reality, if a man's business is such that he can get the benefit of a higher type of machine, it is worth many times more to him than the difference in price. "It is something like selling clothing. If a teamster, whose business keeps him out in all sorts of rough wea- ther, is buying an overcoat, a good salesman will not try to sell him a fine French Montagnac; but, on the other hand, he will not sell a coarse frieze overcoat, more than half cotton, to a man who has any appearance of going into good society. A good salesman will try to sell him the very best coat he can induce him to buy, knowing it's real economy. Don't Take the Defensive. "Don't put yourself in a defensive attitude. Don't talk as if you were trying to prove that you are not a liar. When you say a thing is so, state it as an undeni- able fact. If it is a question of veracity, don't protest violently that it is so, and altogether so, whether he be- lieves it or not, and that you can prove it, etc. State only facts, and assume that he believes you. Be Polite. "Do not be over-familiar with a prospect. In the case of a demonstration never keep him standing. Do not allow him to be uncomfortable in any way. When he tries to speak, give him a chance. Stop talking, and hear what he has to say. Treat him as you would any gentleman who called on you. Make Him Feel Its Importance. "We want to impress upon all our salesmen, and especially the new members of our selling force, that the 148 THE DEMONSTRATION. fundamental idea to be kept in mind in demonstrating a National Cash Register, and the very first point to im- press upon a prospect is the importance of the matter he is inquiring into. Make him realize that he is not listen- ing to the demonstration to oblige you, or out of curios- ity. If he is the sort of man who will take time from his business to be entertained by you, he is not the man you want to talk to. You cannot afford to waste time on him. You want to make your prospect feel that the matter is of serious consequence to him. Warm Him Up Again. "Unless you can make the demonstration immediately following your first interview, the prospect has prob- ably been so occupied with his own affairs as to have for- gotten much that you said to him, and his interest is not so warm as when he made the appointment. You must renew his interest in the whole subject before you pro- ceed to details. You should say something to this ef- fect: 'Mr. Prospect, I am glad to see you are in earnest about this matter. I hope I have made it plain to you just how I feel about it. I want you to look into the question with your own eyes and decide according to your own convictions. " 'What I am going to show you is more than a mere convenience. As I said the other day, it will absolutely prevent all the little losses that occur in every store through errors in recording transactions with customers. I know this to be a fact, but I want to explain it to you so that you will be thoroughly satisfied in your own mind.' THE DEMONSTRATION. 149 Know His Business. " Just as you expect a prospect to look carefully into your business, you should have previously studied his, and should so thoroughly understand the specific advan- tages of each of your machines as to have a pretty defi- nite idea about which one is best suited to his business. You cannot have a fixed conviction on this point unless you understand your own business and something of his; and without having such a conviction yourself it is im- possible to impress it upon a prospective purchaser. "Having previously studied his business, give the mat- ter some consideration before the time of your appoint- ment. Carefully prepare the case, putting down on a piece of paper or a blackboard the weak points in his system, and, opposite them, how our register will stop this particular leak. After you are through with this demonstration you can sum your case up by presenting to the merchant these well-thought-out arguments, and you will find it will have an immense effect on him. There will be no haphazard guess work about your judg- ment. It will be mature, and your conclusion one that you can justify. Aid Him in Choosing. "Put yourself in his place. You know how it is when you are buying something in a store and ask for an ar- ticle for some definite purpose. If the salesman spreads out before you a dozen different things and has no opin- ion to offer as to which is best, you feel that he doesn't know his business. How much more right has a pros- pect to feel that way if you have no decided preference 150 THE DEMONSTRATION. to offer to aid him in such an important choice as a cash register? "It is a great advantage to show him the lower-priced registers, leading him from one to another up to the better ones, for purpose of comparison, yet all those shown previously to the one you believe he ought to have should be treated as if they were a single flight of minor steps leading up to the one important landing, the register you believe he should have. On Taking a Merchant Up the Line. ' 'Mr. Blank, the growth of the cash register business is a thing I wish you to understand, as I believe it will have an important bearing upon your purchase. The cash register was the outgrowth of the merchants' de- sire for protection. It was the result of the merchants' outcry against the almost criminal carelessness of the open cash drawer. Invented and manufactured first by a merchant, in order that he might compel his clerks to register and indicate the amount of the purchase, it has been developed and completed by another merchant who had lost many thousands of dollars through the careless- ness of the clerks in a retail store.' ' Size Your Man. "Learn to size your man, his peculiarities and mood. All men like honesty, politeness and earnestness. All men admire persistence. Most men want facts. "Nine times out of ten you can bank on facts to fetch your man. Make them clear as glass; strong and few. Don't bewilder a man with a mass of trifling arguments. Tie to a few important points, drive them in and clinch them. But tell him what he wants to know. If a trifle will close him, it's no trifle. THE DEMONSTRATION. 151 "A few men can be driven; the majority must be led. Look him in the eyes steadily and frequently. Learn to understand the expression in a man's face which says, 'Almost persuaded,' and the other which says: 'Hang the fellow! I wish he was in Hades!' Act accordingly. "Some men like a little oratory or a spice of humor, but that is dangerous ground. Beware of the man who smiles and nods and never buys. Put your trust in earnestness, candor, and facts. The Salesman Knows Both Sides of the Question. "Many salesmen forget that the prospect knows little or nothing about the register; that he (the salesman) knows all about it. Therefore, unless he is cautious he will slight small points and fail to impress them upon the mind of the prospect. You can never tell what point will impress a man most about the register; therefore it is important to tell all about everything. The Demonstration. "When you have gotten a prospect to a demonstration you have accomplished a most important step. You can take it for granted that he is to some extent interested in the subject. Now, by all means make the most of that opportunity. Say what you have to say to him thoroughly and carefully. Don't rattle off your dem- onstration in a hurry j as if you were wound up and had to say just so many words to the minute. Give him a chance to speak, to ask question or make objections. He probably has certain ideas in his mind which may be a decided help or a decided hindrance to your argument. You ought to learn what they are. Don't imagine be- 152 THE DEMONSTRATION. cause he listens in silence that he agrees with you, or even understands all you say. Speak Deliberately. "Speak deliberately. If you see from a puzzled or doubtful look on his face that anything is not quite plain to him, stop and make it plain. Take time enough to explain each point thoroughly. Whenever you make a statement that is open to question, be sure to get his assent to it before you proceed. If he will not assent to it exactly as you make it, modify it until he does. Get him to assent in some degree to every prop- osition you make, so that when you get to the general result he cannot go back and disagree with you. Don't do this, however, as if you were trying to corner him, but with a simple desire to reach a reasonable basis of argument. "Cast aside all attempts at being a clever talker, all idea that there is any trick of words or manner, any secret artfulness about selling registers, and put your- self in the plain, unaffected spirit of a man who has simply the truth to tell, and is bent upon telling it in the plainest, homeliest way. Avoid above all things the fatal mistake of demonstrating to your prospect with a sense of fear, haste and uncertainty. Realize fully the power of the facts you have behind you, and have the full confidence of your convictions; coolly and deliber- ately make each point clear and conclusive, and lead the prospect by simple steps up to absolute conviction. Convince Him. "There is little gained in carrying a prospect along smoothly through a demonstration without any appear- THE DEMONSTRATION. 153 ance of disagreement if all the while there lurks in his mind a question about some important assertion you have made. Even though he doesn't remember pre- cisely what point it was upon which he disagreed, the feeling of opposition to your argument as a whole re- mains in his mind ; and no matter how sound most of your propositions may be, the one that he disagrees with still leaves a weak point, and he is not convinced. 'A chain is no stronger than its weakest link.' If there is one weak link in your argument it is likely to fall apart. Be Natural and Sincere. "Selling registers is straightforward, serious work. You have a plain statement to make of facts which you are convinced are true, and which you are certain it is for the prospect's benefit to know. "You should be just as sincere about it as if you were a clergyman preaching the gospel. If you go at it in this sincere spirit the prospect will feel the importance of what you say, and it will carry its due weight. The First Stage. "A prospect must be made to appreciate the general statement that a man may lose a large amount of money in small sums which he will never miss ; that it makes all the difference in the world whether money is lost in one lump or the amount is spread out in small sums over a long time. This is a fundamental proposition. It is human nature. "Another general proposition is that no matter how careful a storekeeper and his clerks may be, they are only human, and likely to make mistakes, and any sys- tem that depends on human memory is open to mistakes. 154 THE DEMONSTRATION. That is a general truth which any prospect will assent to. It is personal to him ; it need not antagonize him in any way. "The next point is: 'Considering that "to err is hu- man," isn't it possible that such errors sometimes occur in your store to the amount of a few cents?' Most any prospect will admit that. "Next: You discover these losses sometimes. Couldn't they sometimes happen without your discover- ing them? 9 "Next: 'If this could occur sometimes, why couldn't it happen many times and you never suspect it? How do you know it doesn't happen every dayV "This is a perfectly logical climax. Hardly any pros- pect can dodge this last question, or fail to be impressed by it, if he has admitted the previous premises, and he can hardly fail to admit any of them. The Second Stage. "When he realizes that he may be losing money every day without knowing about it, explain to him the five ways in store transaction through which these losses could occur, and how the National Cash Register stops them. Then get him to figure out how much he might lose every day through these sources, and how much all these losses would amount to in a year, and he will obtain some surprising results. He will find that they would soon amount to enough to pay for a register. The Third Stage. "The prospect is then ready for the third step a conviction that he should get a * National' immediately. It is a simple proposition that if a thing will save him THE DEMONSTRATION. 155 money every day, the quicker he gets it the more it will save him, and the longer he delays getting it the more he will lose. "He must be made to realize not only that a register pays for itself in the long run, but that it begins to pay for itself immediately after he gets it; that it saves more than enough to pay for the installments on it from month to month. A thorough understanding of this proposi- tion offsets the objection, so frequently made, that the prospect has some other special expense to meet first before he can afford the register. "He should be impressed with the fact that a thing which pays for itself is never an expense ; that not only can he always afford a thing which makes money for him, but he cannot afford to go without it a single day. "Stick to this one idea, always come back to it, and come down hard on it; a thing that pays, pays" N.B. The great object of the demonstration is to bring out the money-saving feature. "It is worth a thousand pounds per year to have the habit of looking on the bright side of things." Johnson. 1 'A man behind the times is apt to speak ill of them for the reason that nothing looks well from behind." Holmes. "No abilities, however splendid, can command success without intense labor and persevering application." Stewart. CHAPTER XI. CLOSING THE SALE. We now arrive at the final stage of the salesman's work, which is to prove whether his preliminary efforts in securing the customer's attention and interest are to bear fruit in the shape of a signed order. Following the Approach and a skilful Demonstration of the goods, there comes the crucial moment when the sale must be closed. On this point the National Cash Register Company instructs its salesmen as follows: Getting the Order Signed. "Good judgment and tact on the part of a salesman are necessary in presenting an order-form to a probable purchaser. If the right moment is chosen, when he is in the proper mood, he does not hesitate to sign it. A bright salesman will learn when the proper time comes, and present the order for signature. It is important to have the order-form as nearly filled out as possible in advance, so that there need be no delay when the pros- pect has made up his mind. Be on the Alert. "Be on the alert to discover when the prospect is ready to sign. This time may come after the salesman has 157 158 CLOSING THE SALE. exhausted every argument at his command ; it may come when he has finished the Primer, or it may come at any pause in the demonstration. But no salesman should be so eager to get the prospect's signature that he will ap- pear to be springing a trap on the victim. Don't Talk Him Out of It. "A common fault with many agents is to overlook the fact that the merchant, as a rule, is not aware that he must sign an order for the register, and unless he displays an unmistakable willingness to buy, the agent is likely to continue his demonstration and arguments far beyond the time when he should have stopped. "As a rule, very few merchants will speak right out and say, 'You may send me one.' When your good judgment tells you the time has arrived, take up your order and say: 'Now, Mr. Blank, what style of finish do you like on a register? This finish is gold. We also make one of nickel and one of dark bronze. You see, we fill in here on the order the style of finish desired. On the back (turning the order over) is where we order the style of name-plate. You know we furnish a name- plate with this machine. Have you a business card that gives me your initials or firm name?' "In this way the merchant sees that he is up to the point where an order is about to be filled out, and, if he has been convinced, you can proceed to fill out an order without further protest on his part. If necessary, take up your pen, put it in his hand, and tell him to 'sign here.' "The one point to avoid is not to convey the impres- sion to the prospect that you are trying to force the reg- ister upon him. Lead him up to it in a gentle, matter- CLOSING THE SALE. 159 of-fact way. If he objects, drop the matter of order immediately and go back to your arguments. Appeal to his judgment, get him to acknowledge that what you say is true, then present the order again. If he refuses a second time, take up another line of argument, make another strong appeal to his judgment, and present the order again ; and continue to do this until you sell. "Usually the hardest time an agent experiences in closing a sale is after the order is presented. If this be true, then improve the very first opportunity to place the order before your prospective purchaser. "Never ask a man bluntly for his order. When you think he is about ready to close, ask him for a copy of his bill head so that you may get his correct address, etc., and in this way lead up to securing his signature. Verbal Agreements Unbusinesslike. "Use this when the prospect objects to signing the order. State that the order is not only an agreement on his part to take and pay for the register, but that it is an agreement on the part of the National Cash Reg- ister Company to furnish him with the kind of register ordered, having all the latest improvements ; to keep same in repair, etc. Call his attention to the fact that verbal agreements are not business-like, etc. "If a man objects to signing the order on account of its form, tell him that it simply complies with the law in his particular State. The holding clause is to pre- vent loss to us in case there should be any change in the circumstances of the purchaser from the time of the sale until the payments are completed. This is no more than common business precaution, and cannot be objection- able to any honest man, because it binds us as well as 100 CLOSING THE SALE. the purchaser; and, after we have accepted the order at the factory, the contract is just as binding upon us as upon him. "Don't let there be any misunderstanding about the order if he signs it. One thing to do is to read the order over to him, and bear down hard on the fact that this order cannot be countermanded. If this is done, and every precaution taken to have him understand that he has signed a contract, there will be little chance for a countermand. You cannot afford to waste your time on orders that will not stick. Things to Remember. "Remember that you explain the register to customers for the purpose of securing their orders. The part of a salesman is to do and say that which will bring about this end. The following suggestions may be helpful to beginners: "1. Do not intrude your personality on the notice of the prospect, but try to make him forget you and become absorbed in studying the register. To do this you must forget yourself. "2. You must interest the prospect in the register, and what it will do for him, or he will not buy it. You must get him interested at the start, and hold and deepen that interest until you are through with him. Watch him carefully while you are talking, and avoid long pauses. "3. The surest way for a salesman to arouse and keep up the interest of the prospect in the register is to have a genuine interest in it himself. No matter how many times he has gone over the same ground, the sales- man must not let the Demonstration become an old story CLOSING THE SALE. and so recite in a half-hearted, humdrum manner. Al- ways demonstrate as if the mechanism and movements of the machine were as new and wonderful to you as they are to your listener. Make every Demonstration enthusiastic and fresh. This can be done, but it will re- quire you to be always at your best and full of genuine love for your work. "4. Show the register, not talk about it. Show the register, not yourself. "5. To interest your listener, you must make him clearly understand each point as you go along. There- fore, allow no carelessness in yourself, but make every appeal and every point as forcible and earnest as though it were the only thing you had to depend on. "6. Never slight a single point in the Demonstra- tion, or assume that it will have no interest for the pros- pect. You cannot tell beforehand what will attract his attention and induce him to buy. "7. Know when to stop. It may not be necessary to repeat the whole Primer to the prospect in order to in- duce him to buy. He may be ready to give you his order at any time, and you should be able to tell when that time comes. To this end you must watch his face and movements, as well as observe what he says, and present the order-blank at the right time. "8. Pause and answer all the prospect's questions clearly and fully, and inquire, now and then, as you proceed to explain, if what you have said (or shown) is plain to him. "9. Be able to break off your Demonstration at any point and talk with the prospect, and then resume it again without hesitation; but do not hurry. I.B.L. Vol. 211 162 CLOSING THE SALE. "10. Never allow a prospect to lead and shape th argument, but keep his undivided attention by not allow- ing his interest to flag for an instant. "11. Appeal to a man's intelligence and fair-mind- edness. "12. Say any good thing you can about his store or methods. Do not disparage them unnecessarily. "13. Do not disparage or "run down" other con- cerns. When necessary to refer to them at all, do so with courtesy, no matter what they may have said about you. "14. Don't let the prospect get an idea that the register is a complicated piece of mechanism. If he evinces any such notion, tell him immediately it is so simple a child can operate it. Things to Avoid. "Profiting by the experience of others, a successful salesman will avoid their errors as well as adopt their excellences. Representatives of the Company have re- cently made critical examinations of the methods in which many different salesmen demonstrate the register. In their reports the following mistakes were noticed, and are here given for the benefit of others : "1. A salesman spoke so rapidly that he did not allow the prospect time to take the sense and force of his words. "2. A salesman passed too rapidly from one thing to another in his Demonstration. A better effect is pro- duced by making a slight pause at the end of each com- plete statement. "3. A salesman failed to hold the attention of the prospect and keep up his interest. The Demonstration, CLOSING THE SALE. 168 like a first-rate story, must grow more interesting to the end. If the prospect's mind seems to wander, recall him by some direct appeal, as, for example: 'Is that per- fectly clear to you, Mr. Blank?' 'Did you understand that?' 'Isn't that very simple?' "4. A salesman failed to lay sufficient stress on the important points, so that his talk soon became monoto- nous. Always give due emphasis, and say important things impressively. This can be done by proper modu- lation of the voice and pauses, by speaking more slowly or by leaning forward toward the prospect. "5. A salesman failed to show the sums of money he was registering. "6. After his Demonstration was finished a salesman made an awkward pause, as if he did not know what to say next. There should be no such breaks, but the salesman should ask the prospect a question, or recapitu- late the strong points of the Demonstration, or intro- duce some supplementary argument and go on. "7. A salesman did not take enough pains to im- press upon the prospect the fact that the register is easy to operate, and in no sense complicated. A prospect often thinks it difficult to understand, although he does not speak it. "8. In explaining the parts a salesman recited the words of the Primer, but did not point out the parts or operate them. The part should be pointed out and the movement made, and the voice should follow the de- scription. ''9. A salesman allowed the proper moment for get- ting an order signed to go by, and did not seem to know it, although the prospect showed that he was ready to 164 CLOSING THE SALE. purchase, by asking: * Which register do you recom- mend?' 'I believe that one would suit me.' * Which is the best case?' 'What are your terms?' CHAPTER XII. GETTING THE ORDER SIGNED. The closing of a sale is the crucial test of the sales- man. Strong, cheerful, positive young men who are able to carry prospective customers with them satisfac- torily through all the other steps of a sale often fail to close and there is no sale. "The ability to close is a specialty in salesmanship," said Mr. J. E. Egan, of the Burroughs Adding Ma- chine Co., in an article on "Salesmanship." "There are perhaps nine men who can talk the merits of their goods, answer objections and interest a prospect, but who lack the knack of closing, to one who recognizes an oppor- tunity to close when it comes to him and who is able to take instant advantage of it. "To succeed only in interesting a prospect will not make any money for the salesman or the firm he repre- sents. It is the prospect's business which the salesman must have. He must know how to turn the prospect's interest and convictions to good account he must know how to coin them into orders he must know how to close the sale. "There are a great many salesmen who talk pointedly and well as long as a prospect will listen. Their per- formance is like an endless game of tag; they are for- 165 GETTING THE ORDER SIGNED. ever in pursuit, the prospect forever in flight, but when it comes to rounding him up, getting him into a corner and putting their brand on him, as it were, they lack any special plan of procedure. They grope blindly for some point that will win him over, and usually stumble upon one which opens new controversy and thus again delays the closing point. "If it is not this which is at fault in their closing tac- tics, it may be that they are premature in trying to close or they miss the closing point altogether through fail- ure to recognize the opportunity when it comes, and go rambling on in their selling talk until what interest the prospect has had in their arguments is dissipated, and cannot be easily regained. "These men need a special training in the art of clos- ing, and need to learn how to recognize the auspicious moment for putting their training into effect. Learning When to Close. "The salesman has to develop an intuitive faculty to inform him when the moment to close has arrived. He may be in mid-career in an effort to establish some specif- ic point about his line, when a subtle change appears in his prospect's manner which should warn him that he has gone far enough in this direction, that the man is satisfied in a general way, and doesn't need further par- ticulars, but rather a summing up of all the points which have previously been brought to his attention. "At this stage, if the salesman persists in unnecessary details if he goes on with a rambling dissertation to establish more fully some facts which the prospect is al- ready willing to admit he has missed his opportunity GETTING THE ORDER SIGNED. 167 to close, and runs the risk of boring this prospect ir- remediably. "If, on the other hand, the salesman is premature in attempting to close and if he tries to sum up in the prospect's mind all the facts about the proposition while there is still one unanswered objection, or before the prospect's confidence has been fully gained, he will have the effect of merely steering off into generalities. He is like the lawyer who made his final address to the jury before the evidence in his case had all been heard. "The careful salesman will not try to close prema- turely. He will remove all obstacles before launching into the final summary. But he will be quick to seize the opportunity when it does come and at that moment there will be as distinct a change in his tactics as in those of an army which at a word of command reverses a flanking movement of direct attack to essay the envel- oping of the enemy. It is necessary to take the tempera-, ture of your prospect, so to speak to keep a finger on the pulse of his emotion and to distinguish the sec- ond which marks the ebb tide from the flow. The Closing Summary. "In closing a sale it is usually necessary to summarize all that the prospect has previously been given to under- stand about the merits of the proposition. Up to the point of the close the salesman has perhaps argued the subjects of economy, utility, convenience, profit and pleasure separately, with different statements and illus- trations for each of these topics. To the biased mind of the prospect the goods which are proved to be adapted to his convenience are not necessarily the most economi- cal; or those which may be shown to serve his economy 168 GETTING THE ORDER SIGNED. best may not have any bearing, in his mind, on the profit or pleasure to be derived from them. "The closing argument, therefore, should be calcu- lated to remove this biased view and to give coherence to all the points which have been scored, so that they shall hang together as a consistent whole. Each conclu- sion which has been admitted by the prospect each point that has been scored in the salesman's favor up to the moment of closing may be compared to a strand in a cable which is in itself incapable of sustaining the weight which the cable is intended to sustain, but which, united with the other strands, plays an equal part with them in affording the required degree of strength. "The closing argument may be compared to a river fed by numerous streams which find their way through separate channels to a common bed. Not one of the streams, perhaps, would be capable of turning a ponder- ous mill-wheel, but when their forces are united the re- sult is a strong,river current of sufficient power to set the machinery in motion. A Systematic Method Needed. "At times it is possible for some men to close a sale by sheer force of genial personality, but they cannot rely in every instance upon such an aid, for some prospects may be favorably influenced by the salesman's person- ality, while others would be repelled by it. It is neces- sary, therefore, to have a systematic method to fall back upon for emergencies, and the formation of such a method requires careful study. "As he proceeds in his selling talk the salesman should keep tally on each favorable impression made upon the prospect, and he should be able also to ascertain whether GETTING THE ORDER SIGNED. 169 the prospect is repressing any private views on the sub- ject under discussion, and if so, whether these views are favorable or otherwise. Then, before reaching the clos- ing point, he has catalogued in his mind, as it were, all that the prospect knows, or feels about the propo- sition; all his prejudices, doubts, objections, etc. He does not try to close until the obstacles have been van- quished and the prospect is in a receptive frame of mind. "In the majority of cases the prospect has some knowledge of the salesman's line previous to the sales- man's call upon him; when the interview begins he is prepared to admit with more or less cordiality that it has certain merits. No argument is needed therefore on the score of these. It is, however, important to include some allusion to them in the closing remarks, in order that the preconceived favorable opinions shall reinforce the more recent convictions which have been developed by the sell- ing talk. Recall Favorable Admissions. 4 'The salesman should refer in his closing argument to any favorable admissions which the prospect may have been constrained to make in the course of the interview, in such a manner as to suggest that these admissions were voluntarily expressed opinions. "For instance, Jones, after attempting for some time to convince his customer that the goods he is selling are not unreasonable in price, is meagerly rewarded at last by hearing the prospect say: 'Oh, well, perhaps you are right. I am not prepared to dispute that your prices are reasonable.' Jones then proceeds to reduce the doubts and objections in his prospect's mind, and to in- crease his convictions in favor of the deal. Arrived at 170 GETTING THE ORDEE SIGNED. the closing point, he refers to the point reluctantly ad- mitted, somewhat after this manner: 'You have already agreed with me, Mr. Blank, that it is impossible to dis- pute the reasonableness of our price/ This has a bet- ter and more persuasive ring to it than if the salesman were to say: 'I have already disposed of your objection to our price, Mr. Blank, and you have admitted that you were not prepared to dispute its reasonableness.* Acquiescence May Be Assumed. "A somewhat similar advantage in leading up to the close lies in the manner in which the prospect's acquies- cence to certain statements in the selling talk can be assumed by the salesman, though it may not have been expressed at all by the prospect. "By the way of illustration: Jones, who is engaged in an argument with his prospective customer, Mr. Blank, states that the cloth he is selling will wear well. This may be a point on which Mr. Blank would enter into a controversy if he were given the opportunity, it being supposed that he is less inclined to object on the score of price and other points. If a salesman were to say : 'Doesn't it stand to reason, Mr. Blank, that goods of this class are bound to wear?' or, 'You see plainly, do you not, that there can be no doubt of the durability of goods of this quality?' he would be tacitly challenging the prospect to disagree with him; whereas if he alludes to this point by saying: 'Our goods are especially worth the money in view of this consideration and that (making the arguments under a topic of price), and in view of the fact that they are so substantially woven that they will wear practically forever* he has conveyed to his prospect's mind the same impression in regard to GETTING THE ORDER SIGNED. 171 the durability of the goods, under cover of some other point, concerning which there is less liability of conten- tion. In his closing argument he refers to the point about the durability of the goods, mentioning it as con- fidently as if the fact had been established in the pros- pect's mind by a most exhaustive reasoning process and had received his full affirmation. Shutting Off Controversy. "There are a great many men who have a propensity for disputing every point that a salesman tries to make with them for no other reason than innate stubbornness and a love of controversy. The salesman has to avoid indulging them in this pastime. That is not saying that he shall not spend whatever time is necessary and take the most laborious pains to satisfy a prospect on some point concerning which there may exist a reasonable doubt. It is important not to sell a man until his appre- hensions are fully removed; otherwise he may always remain a dissatisfied customer. But it is equally essen- tial to prevent a prospect from advancing objections which are not genuine, or engaging in unnecessary argu- ment. To do this, the method described, of taking his acquiescence for granted, can often be used as effectively as the polite bow and gesture which usher an unwelcome visitor from the room, while seeming only to direct him along his chosen path. "These points are, of course, preliminary to the clos- ing. When that crisis has arrived the salesman has to focus all the information that the prospect has previously gained in just the manner that a burning glass focuses the sun's rays and by thus concentrating their heat ob- tains the required intensity. 172 GETTING THE ORDER SIGNED. Enumerate the Strong Points. "In closing a sale, enumerate all the strong points in regard to your proposition which you have established in your prospect's mind or which he previously accepted as true. In doing so avoid the danger of total recall, which is the habit of going into superfluous and discursive re- marks. "Make each point stand out clearly and luminously in the prospect's mind, and manage to focus all the favor- able impressions he has, so that each shall seem related to the rest, and the whole proposition .shall have the strength that lies in unity and completeness. Systematically pre- pare his mind for the close, and at that point your sum- mary of the proposition, if it is well-rounded and force- ful, will give him a vivid and irresistible conception of the advantages of the deal, and in the majority of cases you will find that you have won his unhesitating consent." The Push That Lands the Order. It may take anywhere from ten minutes to ten months to lay down the groundwork of logic leading up to a sale. The closing, however, is something that usually happens in a few minutes, perhaps seconds, and calls for ability decidedly different from that needed in explain- ing. Some men have this ability naturally, others ac- quire it, and many others seem to be incapable of develop- ing it at all. If the mechanism of a representative sale could be laid bare for study, it would probably approximate the mechanism of the universe in that material theory by which the philosophers explain the whole thing up to the point where a slight push was necessary to set it going GETTING THE ORDER SIGNED. 173 eternally. The sale of the man who doesn't close is tech- nically complete except for the push that lands the order. Sales may be made by patient exposition of facts, building up the case for the goods. But to close them, very often, a real push or kick is needed. Logic avails up to the moment when the customer must be rushed. "Rushing" the Prospect. Tactics probably play a larger part in closing than in approach, for the latter is to a great extent a matter of health, directness and cordiality, whereas closing means that a customer is being asked to spend his money, often in considerable sums, and this calls for more logic. The chief shortcoming of the salesman who has diffi- culty in closing is, usually, that he doesn't know when the psychological moment has come to rush his man. This is a very definite moment in every deal. Veteran salesmen gauge it in various ways, some by the attention their argument is receiving, others by some sign in the customer's eyes, and others still by a sort of sixth sense which seldom leads them wrong. The "explainer" type of salesman may actually sell goods to a customer and then, by staying and talking, unsell him without knowing it. He talks his man into saying "Yes," and then talks him into stipulating for a night to reconsider the matter before he asks him to say it. An excellent rule, says Mr. James H. Collins in The Saturday Evening Post, is that of a salesman who took hold of the electrical supply concern of which he is now president at a period when its sales amounted to only a few thousand dollars yearly. In two years he built up its business to a quarter million in competition with wealthy competitors, doing this by sheer selling ability. 174 GETTING THE OEDER SIGNED. "Take the first train out of town after you sell your man," was his rule. If there was no train for several hours he excused himself the moment a deal was closed, and disappeared. "Just as sure as I stayed around after that order was in my pocket," he says, "part of it would be canceled or modified by the buyer, or some of my work in selling undone. If it were nothing else the buyer would play on the fact that I felt good about getting that order, and squeeze something extra out of me. When you land your man get out of sight." Offering an "Opportunity." One of the best fundamental appeals in closing sales is that which puts the proposition up to a customer in the form of an opportunity to be accepted within a cer- tain time or be lost forever. There are various other ways of applying this final push that sets the whole sale going. Very often the customer is brought to the closing point by pressure that leads him to choose between two or three different offers instead of being urged to grasp an opportunity. This is an especially strong lever upon the suspicious buyer. The Use of Quiet Strategy. In many other cases sales are often closed by leading the prospective customer along quietly. Instead of the swift final rush, a bit of gentle strategy does the business. Thus, one of the leading newspapers in the Middle West has a school for the canvassers who solicit sub- scriptions. A set of books is sold in connection with a year's subscription to this paper, and the solicitors are drilled in old-fashioned bookselling tactics, learning their GETTING THE ORDER SIGNED. 175 argument by rote. At the precise point where the signa- ture of the prospect is to be secured the salesman is taught to take his pencil from his pocket, drop it on the floor apparently by accident, stoop over and pick it up as he finishes his argument, and put it into the prospect's fingers as a matter of course. Six times in ten the signature is written without more argument. A supply salesman arrives at the same result by as- suming at some point in his argument, which he gauges by the prospective customer's attention, that an order has already been given. Without definitely broaching the subject of a sale he talks as though the deal had been closed, and presently asks how the goods are to be shipped. The Climax of the Sale. "The whole art of salesmanship," says the National Cash Register Co.'s Manual, "might be summed up in the four words, 'Getting the order signed.' Your ap- proach may be perfect, your demonstration clear and well made, but if you cannot put a climax upon the presentation of your case by bringing up unanswerable closing arguments, your efforts have been useless and your time lost. "Here is where the thorough investigation of the sys- tem used in the prospect's store comes in to good advan- tage. You have shown him what a perfect system our register would give him. You can then present to him the weak points in his present system, show him how each one of these can be overcome by the register, and bring to bear the strongest possible closing argument on that point. "For instance, the first probable leak in his system is 176 GETTING THE ORDER SIGNED. the cash sales. After contrasting our system with his, bring to bear upon him the best closing argument you can bring to your mind on the subject of the open cash drawer. Follow the weak points in his system, one by one, until you have shown that you can overcome each one of them, and have given him an argument he can never forget on each of these heads. You have, in this way, summed up your case, as it were, and by the time you have finished this he will undoubtedly be ready to sign the order. "When demonstrating the register look the prospect steadily in the eye. Notice from his expression whether you have made a telling point. Get him to admit, if possible, that each step in the demonstration will save him a certain amount of money daily. Jot this amount down on a piece of paper, so that when the demonstration closes, and you have summed up your case, as above de- scribed, you can show him that by his own admission the register will save as much or more than we ask for it in daily payments. The Crucial Moment. "The time has come then for him to put his name to the order. Have the order prepared. If necessary fill out two or three blanks before he arrives, if you are in doubt as to which register he will buy. You are then prepared to present an order, ready for signature, with perhaps the addition of but a few words. "The critical time, when a prospect is ready to sign, is an unknown quantity. It can only be learned from experience. There is always a time when a prospect will sign. The successful salesman is the one who knows when to present the order for signature. The introduc- GETTING THE ORDER SIGNED. 177 tion of the order to the prospect's sight is, perhaps, a critical moment. As an excuse, you might say, 'I will show you the form we send to the factory as an order for the register. What style of case would you prefer? Have you one of your cards, or what are the initials of your name, as I want to describe here the kind of name-plate we want ordered?' Any introduction of this kind will bring the subject to a head, and he is ready then for you to present the pen to him and ask for his signa- ture. A prospect will often lay the pen down many times before he is ready to take it up and sign the order, but the experience of old salesmen has been that when he thus signs, he gives a sigh of relief and is glad that it is over, and asks how soon he can get the register. "This art of securing a signature is one that can be lenrned from experience." I.B.L. Vol. 2-12 "Stick to your business and your business will stick to you. ' ' Matthews. "The successful man is he who can say with Paul: 'This one thing I do.' " Emerson. CHAPTER XIII. SALES ORGANIZATION. By Charles U. Carpenter.* In a chapter as brief as this must be, it is, of course, out of the question to discuss at all fully the broad, gen- eral question of methods of selling. Again, each busi- ness has its own peculiarities which make it necessary to apply special methods. At the same time, much can be said on that question of tremendous importance the up- building of a highly trained, efficient selling force that will be applicable to a business of any character. Dif- ferent methods of making different manufactured goods make necessary some change in the plans, but in almost every case the fundamental elements are the same. Methods of selling manufactured goods may broadly be divided into four divisions: First, where the goods are sold direct to the consumer by selling representatives of the manufacturing concern itself. This may be either through the company branch houses, or commission or salaried men, all of whom are employed and paid by the company. In this case, while considerable working capital is tied up and the stock of goods must be heavy, at the same time the selling di- vision is directly under the control of the management * Mr. Charles U. Carpenter is well-known to the business world as the president of the Herring-Hall-Marvin Safe Company, of New York and Hamilton, Ohio. He was formerly active in the management of the National Cash Eegister Company, of Dayton, Ohio, and is regarded as a leading expert on business organization. This chapter is reproduced by permission from his valuable work on ' ' Profit-Making Management ' ' (New York: The Engineering Magazine, 1908). 179 1 80 SALES ORGANIZATION. and the territories themselves secure a company repre- sentation possible in no other way. Second, selling to exclusive agencies, who themselves employ salesmen to deal direct with the consumer. This plan has much merit, although it is often difficult to de- vise plans whereby the agencies themselves may be forced to cover their territories and to develop an effi- cient selling department. It is also important to notice here that in such cases the manufacturing company very often does not come into close contact with the individual members of the selling division of such agencies, and thus their methods are not properly impressed upon the men. A connecting bond between such agency sales- men and the manufacturing concern is of great impor- tance. This becomes especially so in cases of sudden terminations of contract, etc. Third, selling to jobbers. This plan is susceptible of such variety that it hardly needs consideration. Close connection between the jobber and the manufacturing company is very necessary. Constant and skillful at- tention must be paid him in order to secure adequate and permanent representation. Fourth, direct advertising, selling by catalogues, etc. A discussion of this method of marketing a product need not be considered here. Developing a Selling Force. Whatever the business, whatever the method of sell- ing, the importance of a highly-trained, efficient selling division stands out paramount. In developing a selling force, we must consider : 1. Training of salesmen. 2. Training of sales managers. SALES ORGANIZATION. 181 3. Developing of a proper system, whereby both salesman and sales manager can be properly checked up the former, to ascertain if he is properly covering his territory, and getting his full quota of business, se- curing proper prices and terms, and keeping his old and new customers satisfied; the latter, to see if he has the proper grade of salesmen employed, proper control over them, proper methods of training them; also to note if he is securing an adequate volume of business at such prices and with such economy in operating expenses as to guarantee a sufficient profit. Training of Salesmen. Singularly enough, the majority of concerns today spend tens of thousands of dollars in advertising and in forcing the attention of the public upon their goods in "creating the demand" and yet they fail to train their sales employees the men and women upon whom they must absolutely and finally depend as "closers" so that they may know the "talking points" of their goods, the best methods of presenting their arguments, and the surest methods of finally "clinching the order." The unknowing sales manager often dismisses the ar- gument in favor of training of the salesmen with the trite remark "salesmen are born, not made." A mis- chievous belief! Granted that some men are by nature better fitted for selling than others, those men are only too few. Training would surely improve their efficiency. Unfortunately, however, we manufacturers who mar- ket our own goods can find but very few of these "born salesmen," and are obliged to rely upon the "average salesman" for the most of our business getting. Such being the fact, it must be apparent that the average sell- 182 SALES ORGANIZATION. ing division needs badly a scientific and systematic method of training, in order that the large proportion of "average salesmen" may be brought to as high a degree of efficiency as possible. Nor does the advantage to be reaped stop simply with the training of the employees in selling. The meetings which this system calls for, if managed aright, are sure to prove of immense benefit in arousing a healthy and stimulating enthusiasm in the employees affected. An honest desire and intent on the part of these salesmen to "put in the best licks for the House" gives an impulse to their activities that nothing else can supply. This feeling can be instilled into them by a skilful, tactful sales manager. Do not forget that a sullen, listless, or disloyal member of your selling force affects your profits immediately. If you have many such, your department is costly and inefficient. The effect of your thousands spent on advertising is nullified by such conditions. On the other hand, a highly trained, loyal, interested and active selling force is one of the most valuable assets a firm can possess. That such a selling organization can be developed, even from one of a peculiar degree of in- efficiency, has been proven by a long personal experience in several lines of business and very close observation of the results obtained in other modern business concerns. John H. Patterson, the brilliant president of the Xa- tional Cash Register Company of Dayton, Ohio, was the first business man to grasp the possibilities that lie in the training of the salesman. Through his genius, his company has developed probably the greatest and most efficient selling organization in the business world today. His example has been followed in the manufacturing SALES ORGANIZATION. 188 business by such concerns as the Burroughs Adding Ma- chine Company and the Herring-Hall-Marvin Safe Company, with decided success. Work of this character has been successfully applied in other forms of busi- ness besides manufacturing. Indeed, its essential prin- ciples can be adapted to the conditions of a business of any character in which the marketing of goods plays a large part. A Scientific Selling System. While each business requires special study and special methods, the general plans of the "Science of a Selling System" can be clearly pointed out so that they may be adapted. The two essential features of this system are "Sales- men's Demonstration Meetings" and "Salesmen's Train- ing Department." While the "Salesmen's Training De- partment" is in fact the more important feature, I place the "Salesmen's Demonstration Meetings" first, because the training department is, nine times out of ten, the outgrowth of the demonstration meetings. The logi- cal beginning of this system is with these meetings, be- cause the points to be used in the training department are invariably secured from the discussions arising in these meetings. Again, these meetings serve as a gradual in- troduction for the later training department, and so ac- custom the selling force to the methods themselves that there arises but little opposition to the training depart- ment when it is first proposed. Each salesman, too, feels that he has had some part in the development of the training department, inasmuch as his own arguments are often used, and so thorough support is elicited in place of the violent opposition that may be expected if 184 SALES ORGANIZATION. any arbitrary methods are used. Woe betide the sales manager and the sales system if he starts at the "other end of the line," and attempts to force these methods upon his selling department before the members are ready for it. Salesmen's Weekly Demonstration Meetings. The points that will be brought out in regard to these meetings need no elaboration, as their merit is self-evi- dent. First, a time for these meetings must be set and con- stant attendance insisted upon. The sales manager must invariably be present and take part in discussions of all matters of importance. If possible, some higher official should be present once a month, in order to inject a new interest and new quality of enthusiasm into the salesmen. It will stir up both salesmen and sales mana- ger tremendously if they are compelled to exhibit be- fore someone high in authority. Second, it must be kept in mind that these meetings are for the training of the salesmen (and incidentally the manager) and helping them over their difficulties, for arousing interest and enthusiasm, for giving the salesmen a chance to "blow off steam" on any trouble they may have that is affecting their efficiency, and for securing from them suggestions for the improvement of the business. A sample weekly program follows: Program of Salesmen's Demonstration Meetings. 1. Announcements. By Sales Manager. 2. Description of new products and fields they are designed to fill. By Sales Manager. (Suggestions and criticisms from salesmen requested.) SALES ORGANIZATION. 41 185 3. Demonstration of salesmanship. By Salesman J. H. Smith By Customer G. R. Brown (Salesman) Censors R. Fowler, H. White. (a) Selling the product to the customer whose business is carefully selected and who desires a good article. or (b) Selling customer asking for low-priced article, a higher-priced and more profitable product. or (c) Selling second-hand product to customer, or (d) Selling customer asking for second-hand product a new product. or (e) Selling customer new product, taking old product in exchange, at profitable allowance figure. or (f) Selling customer against strong competi- tion, another salesman entering the demonstra- tion as competitor's salesman. Note: These demonstrations may be varied by hav- ing the same points illustrated as "Company-office Sales," where all stock and other paraphernalia are pres- ent, or as sales at the customer's office, where the salesman must depend upon illustrations, samples and catalogs. 4t. Discussions of demonstrations, first, by the ap- pointed censors, Fowler and White, and second, by each salesman personally. 5. Discussion of week's business; why individual salesmen have not made their quota of sales and difficul- ties met by salesmen, from blackboard individual-sales record and from individual-sales reports. 6. A talk by the sales manager or some high-grade salesman on general important points of salesmanship, such as : Investigation of prospective customer's business and his methods. The proper "lining up" of selling arguments so that the "selling climax" may come at the right time. 186 SALES ORGANIZATION. Methods of introduction, or "the approach." Methods of getting the prospective customer's atten- tion and making demonstrating arguments. Methods of using closing arguments and "getting the signature to the order." Ways to meet certain arguments and objections of prospective customer. Ways to meet competitors' claims and arguments. Methods of cultivating a territory. Importance of "satisfied user." Importance of "knowledge of the business." Advantages to be gained by paying close attention to such seemingly small points as tact, dress, industry, per- severance, talking too fast or too much, answering cus- tomer's questions quickly, and a multitude of similar mat- ters, perfection in which is so important. 7. Discussion of different competitors' products, their talking points and how to controvert them, defects and how to prove them. 8. Suggestions and complaints. 9. General subjects such as advertising, etc. Creating the Salesman's Interest. Keeping in mind the main objects of this sales system the creation of interest and enthusiasm and the train- ing of salesmen an examination of the preceding sug- gested program leaves an explanation almost super- fluous. In making announcements and describing new prod- ucts, much can be done to create a lively interest in the company's affairs on the part of the salesman. A frank and full discussion of new products or proposed new de- signs will often prevent serious mistakes and will al- most invariably result in suggestions that will make the product more marketable. SALES ORGANIZATION. 187 The suggested variations of "Demonstrations of Salesmanship" are self-explanatory. Note carefully the appointment of censors. It is also especially desirable to hear comments upon demonstrations from each salesman. If the sales manager handles matters aright so that the salesmen enter into this program in a proper spirit, there need be no fear of salesmen becoming angry over fair criticisms. The "customer" can be selected from the sales office. He must be given to understand that he is not to aid the salesman in any manner, direct or indirect, and that he should bring up all the arguments and objec- tions against buying that he himself has learned from his own customers. In a business where the product covers a broad field, embracing a number of widely different kinds of busi- ness, where a discussion of the business system enters into the sales, the "customer" and the character of the business can be selected so that in the course of a short time the demonstrations will cover the entire field and a full line of argument be brought out for each line of business. The character of the business and the con- ditions surrounding it should be thoroughly understood before beginning. Often a salesman who has had a par- ticularly hard nut to crack will suggest the conditions and himself act the part of customer against a good sales- man, in the hope of either "stumping him" or getting some good pointers. Especial attention may well be given to methods of convincing a customer that he should purchase a higher priced and more profitable product. Inasmuch as the selling expense remains the same, or very nearly so, an effective method of accomplishing this will result in a 188 SALES ORGANIZATION. much larger proportion of profit. The most modern concerns pay a great deal of attention to this point and have developed a highly scientific and effective method for accomplishing it. This applies also to a business in which exchanges for old products enters into a large proportion of the sales. This is often a puzzling fea- ture, and unless thoroughly understood results in large hidden losses. Handling Competition. Great interest can be aroused by the introduction of a salesman representing a strong competitor, who is sup- posed to do his best. Such exhibitions are not only highly instructive, but also inspire salesmen with a con- fidence in their own goods. It is important that two demonstrations be often given, one conducted by an old and skilful salesman and one by a newer member of the selling force. This not only aids greatly in the education of the newer salesman, but often acts as a great spur on the older man not to be outdone by the newer ones. In conducting these demon- strations care must be used to see that no slipshod meth- ods be allowed to creep in. The "sales" must be con- ducted with all the dignity and formality of a real tran- saction from the beginning, in order that the best form of "approach" or introduction of the subject may be observed. A better method of instilling selling confidence into a man is hard to devise. After he has had to appear several times before a body of selling companions and his superior officers he gains confidence rapidly and his at- tacks of "nerves" are things of the past. Such methods quickly develop the "quitter" for his improvement or SALES ORGANIZATION, 189 elimination from the organization. They certainly show up the "dead wood" quickly. The talks by sales manager or high-grade salesman upon general selling points, as noted under program item 6, will prove of great benefit to new salesmen. The points brought forth taken by a stenographer are of great value later when organizing a method of training. The items given embrace only a very few of the import- ant topics that may be discussed, but are given to illus- trate clearly the nature of the talk suggested. Discussion of Competing Product. While it is not often advisable to instruct salesmen to talk against com- petitor's goods, I regard it as absolutely necessary that salesmen be thoroughly posted on the character of com- petitors' products. Very often true statements of de- fects in such articles become necessary. Suggestions and Complaints. This section deserves more consideration than can be given it at this point. Nothing is more vital to the progress of a company than the proper and conservative meeting of the actual mar- ket demands and the improvement of product so as, if possible, to keep ahead of the demand. No one knows the needs of the market or the advancement of competi- tion as does the salesman. A systematic plan to secure these suggestions from the body of salesmen will prove of very great value. The same may be said regarding complaints. Legitimate complaints should be "aired," and when the causes are ascertained prompt steps taken to rectify the troubles. Many a firm today prefers to shut its "business ears and eyes" and refuses to hear of troubles or to see perfectly obvious defects which are 190 SALES ORGANIZATION. continually having a distinct though hidden effect upon the business and organization. The details of these meetings should be invariably taken down in shorthand. I have found it of great value to have sufficient copies of the proceedings of each meet- ing made to allow of their being distributed to the sales managers in all parts of the country. It is important that the general sales manager con- sider it his particular duty to read carefully all minutes of these meetings and then to write to each local sales manager, commenting upon them, (in each case men- tioning names of salesmen) . The effect upon both man- ager and men is very beneficial. The quality of the demonstration affords a very good proof of the caliber of the salesmen in each district and thus provides the clearest kind of an index to the quality of salesmen throughout all the points of the organization. Again, the salesmen are impelled to do their level best, knowing that the general sales manager will himself note the character of their work, even though he may be thou- sands of miles away. By such a simple means the influ- ence and power of the general sales manager will be felt throughout the entire selling organization. Salesmen's Training Department. While much good can be derived from such weekly meetings, the progress of the men toward high-grade selling is necessarily slow. The influence toward rational methods is not constant enough. Again, constant in- dividual attention should be given the new men at the beginning so that they may have the full benefit of such methods early in their selling career. Experience has shown that the only rational plan for SALES ORGANIZATION. 191 developing salesmen rapidly and upbuilding a strong ho- mogeneous selling department is to develop a strong training department for salesmen. This department should be independent of the influence of any local sales manager, but should be under the direct supervision of the general sales manager. It should be his "selling right hand." All local managers should be thoroughly trained in this department's methods so as to supplement its activity in their own local districts. All salesmen should be trained therein. Particular attention should be paid to the export trade agencies. Some firms establish training departments in the several foreign countries. Personally, I prefer to have even representatives of export agencies taught at the home office, so that they can not only get the best pos- sible course of instruction but also may come under the direct strong influence of the home-office executives. Importance of the Instructor. The first step (and often the most difficult) is to find the proper instructor. No greater mistake can be made than to attempt to use a cheap man. This work requires a man with the widest selling experience, coupled with great tact, patience, and teaching ability; a man whom the salesmen will respect for his ability. The outline of his work will demonstrate the necessity for having a man of sterling ability. His first work will be to prepare a "Manual" for sales- men. This must contain : a. Strong points on general salesmanship. b. A thorough and careful explanation of each prod- uct and its adaptation to all different lines of business. 192 SALES ORGANIZATION". c. An exceedingly thorough explanation of the "talk- ing points" or "selling arguments" of each product. d. An analysis of competitors' products and a com- parison with the manufacturing company's product. e. A careful and scientific analysis of the best meth- ods of introduction to a prospective customer so as to gain his attention and interest, this forming the "approach." f . Statements of the best methods of marshalling the talking points together so that a demonstration of the product's merits may be made to the cus- tomer this forming the "demonstration and argument." g. A thorough and complete analysis of the best "closing arguments" and discussion of various ways to "get the order signed." h. A full list of the most common objections to mak- ing a purchase and ways of meeting these ob- jections. After this plan is worked out, it will astonish many to note how simply the objec- tions to purchasing on the part of prospective customers can be classified. It will also as- tonish the average sales manager to note how many different and excellent answers can be made to these objections by taking the answers to these by many managers and salesmen in different parts o the country. Whenever a salesman meets with some new form of rebuff, arguments to meet a new condition can quickly be secured by referring the question to the dif- SALES ORGANIZATION. 193 f erent managers for settlement in their weekly demonstration meetings. i. Much space may well be given to a thorough and logical explanation of best methods of raising a customer desiring a low-priced product to one of the higher price, "Raising him up the line," as it is called. Really scientific work can be done along this line. Methods of handling second-hand sales and exchange sales should also be treated fully. It will be noted that almost all of these invaluable data can be secured from the salesmen's demonstration meeting reports. Work of the Training School. After the selection of the instructor and preparation of the manual the balance of the work is largely routine. First, each man new or old must be made to learn the manual "backward and forward." No halfway learning can be tolerated. He should then be thor- oughly drilled in the "approach," "demonstration" and "closing" arguments under differing conditions along the lines noted in the Program of Salesmen's Demonstra- tion Meetings. He should be compelled to go through these in the regular demonstration meetings before the entire body of salesmen. This process will require from two to six weeks, de- pending upon the man and the character of the business. He is then started out in a territory and carefully watched. It is well also at times to have him attempt to make a sale at the office so that his methods may be noted. After about a week of this experience the instructor should accompany him on his regular rounds so as to note I.B.L. Vol. 2i3 194 SALES ORGANIZATION. his methods. Failure to attend to important points may thus be observed. The instructor should then illustrate the proper methods by taking the selling end himself with several prospective customers and closing the sales. After the salesman has been in his territory for a full month the instructor should spend another period with him. After these men are distributed to different territories the local manager should give them the same attention. Keeping Track of Salesmen. The instructor should visit the several territories from time to time and note closely the salesmen's method of demonstration, both in the weekly salesmen's meeting and before their customers. A constant and close study of weekly sales reports, supplemented by the reports of the weekly demonstration meeting, will clearly indicate the weak spots needing attention. The local managers should from time to time be called into the home office for conventions. These can be made exceedingly helpful to both company and managers. They are the backbone of the selling division and they cannot be watched, trained, inspired, and worked with too much. Not only must they be driven on the question of sales, but they must also be held responsible for econ- omy in management. The devising of proper sales systems is a subject in itself that cannot be fully treated here. It is essential, though, that mention be made of the two forms from which spring many branches of the sys- tem, namely the Salesman's Daily Reports. One covers sales made and gives the important details as to the cus- SALES ORGANIZATION. 195 tomer and his business ; the other covers cases of failure and gives the reasons for non-success. The two forms are shown below: Salesman's Daily Report of Sales. Name of Customer Rating Date Character of business and system used What Sold Date Delivery Higher Priced Machine needed Date Duplicate Machine needed Date Send advertising matter as follows : Salesman's Daily Report of Failure. Name of Customer Rating .... Date Character of business and system used What needed? Why not sold? Date to return Send advertising matter as follows : The Prospective Customer's Record. Couple these two reports with a comprehensive list of prospective customers, and you have the best foundation for a comprehensive and valuable sales system. Many other forms will naturally be added to these and many different methods used for properly tracing up "pros- pective customers" noted from these reports. Through your prospective customer list, coupled with the salesman's daily reports, you can determine whether or not each man is properly covering his territory. If he is not, you can make him do so. The daily reports data enable you to classify these prospective customers so that you may be sure that they receive the proper attention at the proper time and the 196 SALES ORGANIZATION. proper kind of advertising matter pending the next visit of the salesman. These reports are capable of indefinite amplification along lines which will be of immense bene- fit to the business, especially when used in connection with a sales system along the lines described. Such systems will admirably supplement up-to-date factory methods and will serve to unify the entire plan of organization, business, and method along such logi- cal lines that there can be but one result Progress! A selling department built up along such lines is the best guarantee of high prices and good profits a bul- wark of strength against competition, and the strongest possible business foundation, especially in times of in- dustrial depression. * * * Executive Reports from Selling Division. As a fundamental form of report invariably necessary I submit one which shows how much business must be done in each line of product and in each territory. This must show the volume of sales required in detail. As against this there must be set the allowable factory costs, together with allowable costs of extras of all character. In addition to this, there must be carefully calculated out the allowable selling expense, including all items, such as salesmen's and managers' salaries, commis- sions, traveling expenses, advertising, etc. There must further be shown the allowable general expense, such as rent, insurance, taxes, telephone, telegraph, office sal- aries, etc. In all cases allowable percentages should be carefully worked out. The "allowable amounts" must be calculated from close knowledge, first, of how much profit the concern should make; second, of how much profit should come SALES ORGANIZATION. 197 from each territory considering the possibilities of the business and expense of conducting it. When these computations are made for each territory, covering sell- ing prices, factory costs, selling and general expenses, together with percentage calculations, showing the proper relationship of all of these items, you have a solid % N. Y. Branch, % Phila. Branch. Etc. Required Bales. Amounts (Classified). Factory Costs. Amounts (Classified) All other Cost Items Classified Selling Expenses (Classified), (a) Salesmen, salaries (b) " commissions (c) * expenses . . . (d) Mngrs., salaries (e) " expenses (0 Advertising Total Selling Expense General Expenses (Classified) (a) Rent, Insurance, Taxes (b) Office Salaries (c) Telegraph and tele- phone (d) Miscellaneous (e) Legal etc Total General Expense Total All Expense Net Profit Required. . . STANDARD SELLING RECORD. This Record is used, first, for showing required sales and allowable expenses with percentages; second, for showing actual sales made and actual expenses incurred and percentages. The use of the same form facilitates comparisons. foundation upon which to work and from which to drive for business. Of course this should be carried much further within the selling division. Each salesman should have his record to strive for. His showing should be based upon the same idea. 198 BALES ORGANIZATION. Having these data, the next step naturally is to sup- ply the exact information as to sales record and ex- penses. The sales record, as far as the selling division is concerned, should, of course, be made up daily, the ex- pense items being roughly calculated upon a percentage basis. The monthly sales record should, however, be complete. It should follow exactly the lines of the standard selling record shown on p. 197, the sales data being taken from the sales records, the expense data directly from the accounting department. This leaves in the mind of each manager of a selling division no iota of doubt as to what must be done, and by comparison he sees how much he has gained or how far he has fallen behind. Such reports provide the executives with ac- curate and usually much needed indices of sales condi- tions. They are especially valuable where the business done is in the nature of long-time contracts under which deliveries are made for long periods after the actual sales are recorded. Other selling-division reports, such as those showing the distribution of sales, the covering of territories, the development of the selling efficiency of the organization, etc., and the condition of competition, would naturally be made and need no discussion here. CHAPTER XIV. A MANUFACTURER'S CAMPAIGN. The experience of a manufacturer who has won suc- cess through adherence to sound business principles is a valuable study for the salesman who aspires to a thor- ough knowledge of his business. A manufacturer's campaign must be carefully planned in advance. Successful distribution from the factory is a problem that requires, first of all, a thorough investigation of the conditions, local and otherwise, un- der which the campaign is to be conducted. Before be- ginning the manufacture of the product, no matter what it may be, there must be a complete knowledge of the market and of all the considerations that will cover the case. Then, and not till then, is the manufacturer ready to proceed with the second important step, namely, the organization of his distributive forces. A typical experience is that of Mr. John V. Steger, founder and president of Steger & Sons Piano Manu- facturing Company, Chicago, and founder of the in- dustrial town of Steger, Illinois, which has been literally built around the manufacturing plant of the company. In an article published by The System Company, Mr. Steger has described how his selling campaign won, as follows : 199 200 A MANUFACTURER'S CAMPAIGN. Locating a New Industry. "The whole end and aim of a manufacturer's battle is summed up in the one word 'selling.' Looking toward this goal, and grounding my policy on these sound eco- nomic principles, I came West, and early in 1878 began the manufacture of pianos. Without the positive as- surance that the smallest quantity of my product could be turned into cash, I convinced myself of the possibili- ties of the market by a course of reasoning something like this: "Four considerations determine the location of a new industry proximity to supply of raw material, advan- tage in meeting competition, nearness to market and shipping facilities, and supply of labor. "My competitors and buyers are located, for the most part, in the East. The former pay freight on the lum- ber sent from here to their factories. I will plant my work-shop almost in the midst of the raw material, and then ship my product back to worry the New York and Boston makers. They pay freight on the solid, bulky log. I take this timber, chip it up, throw out the shav- ings and sawdust, and pay freight on the hollow and comparatively light piano. This gives me the manu- facturer the greatest possible advantage, a reduced cost of production. Through this, my salesmen acquire the best selling argument known reasonableness in price. "Second, as the West grows and the taste of the peo- ple extends beyond the bare wants of the pioneer, I can build up a new trade in a field as yet unexploited. Here again I will have the advantage in freight rates, as I save tariffs, as compared with the Eastern manufacturer, on both trips, on lumber and the piano. This gives the A MANUFACTURER'S CAMPAIGN. 201 opportunity for a still further reduction in price. As to the other factors, labor supply and shipping advantages, they are as conspicuous here as in the East. "When the factory site is once located in the proper environment from an industrial standpoint, the deter- mination of the special character of the product must be made. I began with the idea of making pianos. What grade could be made to sell to best advantage in a new field and by an unknown and untried manufacturer? "This was the next problem that offered itself to me as a man looking for profits in pianos the same as it would to one making stoves, ranges, or many other lines of goods. Determining Grade of the Product. "There are two theories on which the determination of the character of a product hangs. You may reim- burse yourself for small output and limited sales by the high price which means that you cater to the class which wants all there is in elegance of construction and finish, as well as real quality of the article. On the other hand, you may follow the idea of a large output through moderate prices, which means small profits and large sales. We adopted the latter of these policies because of our location in the Middle West, where utility is often sacrificed to ultra-fashionableness. I decided to make a product that would appeal to the people in the homes of the great middle class. I cut some of the frills and gave the consumer a staple article to begin with. Long ago we branched out in different lines, of course, until now we manufacture every grade of piano. But, if quick returns are desired on a small outlay of money, the 202 A MANUFACTURER'S CAMPAIGN. staple article, sold in large quantities at a moderate price, is what goes. Individuality of Product. "The next step, keeping in sight all the time the idea of selling, is to give an individuality to your product which will mark it from competitors. This distinctiveness should be hammered into the public, first, through ad- vertising, and, second, through salesmen. It should be properly protected by patents. It should be typified in a name which the public will come to know. It is, in fact, the prime requisite of a product seeking a place in the markets of the world. As a man without some orig- inality is a nobody, so a manufactured article without distinctiveness has no standing in the eyes of the buyer. "This line of reasoning does not apply exclusively to pianos. The young manufacturer with a small amount of capital, who contemplates entering the lists as a maker of sewing machines, typewriters, office desks, automo- biles, and many other products, has the same considera- tions to keep in mind. Mention any one of these articles I have named and some particular make or makes stand out. Their names, special improvements, patented de- vices or attachments, and some selling point based on price have been indelibly impressed upon us by repeti- tion. "Many pianos look alike on the outside, but open them up and there is seen to be a vast difference in the make. Here, in the heart of the piano, is where I spent money in perfecting patents, in fighting infringements, and in securing a general make-up all our own. The time to originate these qualities, which go so far to make the product a seller, is before placing it on the market. If A MANUFACTURER'S CAMPAIGN. 208 t sales are rushed prematurely, the trade gained will not be lasting. Development of Sales Field. "Whether your product shall be put upon the market simultaneously at widely scattered points, thus develop- ing your sales campaign extensively, or whether you shall, during the first years, sell only in the home field near the factory, and gradually extend this field, de- veloping sales intensively, depends largely upon cir- cumstances and the character of the product. Where the product is something quite new and has no particu- lar vogue in the home field, and where the manufacturer has sufficient capital, the extensive method is preferable, in spite of the fact that it is more speculative. Returns will prove richest if the latter method is employed, as with it you reach out the long arm and get only the cream of the trade over a wide area. Intensively, the buying spirit must be greatly stimulated at one point. "We adopted a combination of both methods. For the first years the output was sold largely near the fac- tory, and the advertising attempted to bring the product before the public in and about Chicago and the inlying sections of Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin. I was not overburdened with cash at this time. Production on a large scale was impossible, and, as a result, I could not employ salesmen for every state in the union, nor could I have supplied them with the goods to sell. It was against my business instinct and principles to borrow money to flood the piano markets, which might have proved a los- ing game, or at least a slow one. The location of the fac- tory has a certain advertising value in its immediate vi^ 204 A MANUFACTURER'S CAMPAIGN. cinity and, as a result, the development of the home sales field was my first care. Advertising Methods. "In bringing a new manufactured product before the public, that is, in advertising it, the thing to be avoided is an attempt to reach too large a clientele. Scattering their advertising among people who will never make buyers is the mistake of the new manufacturer. At the same time, every bit of fertile sales soil should be utilized and sown with the seeds of advertising. The end of ad- vertising, it should be remembered, is always a money return. The question is, then, to determine to whom the advertisement is to appeal the retailer, the consumer, or both. Modern manufacturers' advertising has de- veloped the idea that it is always best to make the ad- vertising appeal to both the retailer and the consumer. This is a principle known as 'selling the product twice.' In other words, the manufacturer does publicity adver- tising, first, to sell to the dealer, and, second, to aid the dealer in selling to the consumer. From the first we have confined our advertising mostly to circular letters to the consumer, sending catalogues to dealers, and advertis- ing in the daily newspapers. These methods all work together. "The advertisements in the Chicago newspapers were the basis on which we obtained our first agents. The ad- vertisements worked first on the consumer. He saw it in the paper, and, when the time came for buying a piano, asked his dealer whether he carried it. At the same time the dealer was perhaps noticing the 'ad' from day to day. The inquiries and the direct appeal of the advertisement influenced him to write in to the house, and then some A MANUFACTURER'S CAMPAIGN. 205 representative of the firm, or later, when we had them, salesman, called /on him and closed a bargain by which he agreed to handle our product. "Every inquiry concerning a piano, from any part of the country, we look upon as a sales prospect, and enter the name, residence, and other data in a card catalogue. If the inquirer is within the territory of one of our dealers, the letter is referred to him; if not, to our own retail sales department in Chicago. In either case the battle for the business begins at this point. We send out circular letters to the inquirer and enter this fact on the card. The dealer is sent additional catalogues and literature, besides plate matter to run in the daily newspapers. This circularizing campaign is never dropped until the 'prospect' is landed. Then the fact of the sale is entered in the card, which is removed to the dead file. "The circular letter should be brief and impress upon the reader the name of the product, its individuality and the price. "Advertisements in newspapers should follow along the same general principle, emphasizing the name, the individuality, the price and the fact that small profits and numerous sales make the central idea in the sales campaign of the concern. Organization of Sales Force. "As the number of dealers handling our pianos in- creased, salesmen to visit them became necessary. The first problem that arises in organizing a force of sales- men for any manufactured product is the salary system. Commission, straight salary, and a combination of both are variously employed by different firms. Experience 206 A MANUFACTURER S CAMPAIGN. has proved in a large number of cases, however, that a straight salary basis is the most satisfactory. The Steger Piano Company employs this method. We never pay commission. My idea is that a man should be taken upon a guaranteed salary for a period ending with the time when he ceases to show positive results in his work. Long- time contracts are not advisable, as they are principally advantageous to the salesman. In case a year's contract is made, if a salesman proves unsatisfactory the em- ployer is bound for the full year. In case he gets a bet- ter offer from another concern at a salary more than his firm can afford to pay, the chances are, if not released, he will shirk his work and his discharge is made necessary. So the employer gets the short end in either case. Long contracts are a curse to any employer. "Exclusive territory is always assigned to salesmen, and, in return, money results and a thorough canvass are demanded. A system for knowing just how well a salesman has worked his territory is essential. We ac- complished this, first, by requiring daily reports of our agents and traveling men, in which they state towns and firms visited, sales made, or the reason when orders are not taken, and other remarks in regard to the condition of the territory ; second, in case any suspicion arises as to the character of the work of the salesman, we send out inquiries to dealers, or send an official representative of the firm to look over the territory. "The salesman aims to accomplish much more than simply to canvass his territory for sales. He collects every bit of information of any possible value to his firm. He compiles lists of families interested in his line, which he obtains from dealers. He sends in lists of dealers who, by proper pressure, may be induced to A MANUFACTURER'S CAMPAIGN. 207 handle the line. He visits new towns, establishes new agencies, enthuses the dealer in regard to the good sell- ing points of his article, and, lastly, he acts as a sort of a reporter investigating whether the dealer has played 'square' with the firm. It often happens that a dealer receives a consignment of pianos, some of which he may sell on time. Instead of forwarding the money, when received, to the house, he may retain it and not report the sale for a considerable time. Thus he has the use of all moneys collected. The salesman checks up the number of instruments on hand, number received at dif- ferent dates, and the number sold. Then he reports the exact condition of affairs. "A manufacturer often sells not only to the dealer but to the consumer direct. His campaign and terms of payment depend upon which of these is the customer. "When a dealer takes the agency for our pianos, he usually is sent a consignment of pianos to be paid for on time. A small cash payment is usually made, and an agreement in regard to the balance is incorporated in a contract. Relation of Output to Credit. "If a European piano manufacturer should be told of the yearly output and sales of a manufacturer like the Steger plant, he would be incredulous. His yearly sales would fall far short of these figures. The reason is to be found in the fact that the European sells only for cash. Only about one-fourth of the sales of the American manufacturer are for cash. The remainder are sold on long-time payments. The question as to whether a cus- tomer is a safe risk or not is one which is determined by investigations of our central offices and by the salesman. 208 A MANUFACTURER'S CAMPAIGN. The central office investigates into the case of dealers who are to be made agents. They depend upon reports of Dun and Bradstreet and special reports from banks. The traveling man makes investigations in the town where the dealer resides, and thus learns his general repu- tation for meeting his obligations. In determining the reliability of a consumer to whom the manufacturer sells direct, a combination of these methods is used. The dealer, in selling, of course, takes his own risk and uses whatever methods he may see fit. Both dealer and man- ufacturer, in selling to the consumer on time, take back a chattel mortgage on the property.- To the consumer, no discount is offered for cash ; if sold on time, an interest of six per cent is charged by the house. To the dealer, the manufacturer allows a discount for cash. If he takes the pianos on time, he not only loses the discount but is charged six per cent interest. "The average cost of a sale and the average profit are factors which we carefully work out. Daily re- ports of the traveling men, including sales, traveling ex- penses, etc., together with the cost systems and data col- lected at the factory, enable the manufacturer to figure these out in a rough way every day. These are in the nature of estimates, however, and are unsatisfactory. At the end of each month these same items, covering a long period, can be averaged up, and the average cost of each sale and the profit can be determined accurately." CHAPTER XV. THE TRAINING OF AGENTS. [The three practical "Talks" contained in this chapter are in actual use by a large Chicago publishing house for the instruction of its numerous agents. They were pre- pared primarily for the encouragement and aid of young people making their first attempt at selling, but contain much that is applicable to salesmen in general.] No. 1. Talk on Salesmanship. If we could meet you face to face, and could have the benefit of your interruption and inquiries on points that may not be clear, you would obtain of course a better training for the work you are entering upon than can possibly be had in any other way; but, since we can't have this meeting just at present, at least I am going to try to talk to you on paper as nearly as possible in the same way that I would if we were sitting together in my office. Overcrowded Callings. First of all, I want to say just a word about your work. Among all the careers that open up to an enterprising man or woman, nine- tenths are crowded almost to the point of suffocation. The supply is greater than the demand. In the profes- sions, in literature, in scientific pursuits, in clerical work, and even in the manual trades, energy and skill are rec- I.B.L. Vol. 214 209 210 THE TRAINING OF AGENTS. ognized only after many years, and "starvation wages" are far too often the rule rather than the exception. A Thing for Which the Demand Is Greater Than the Supply. But there is one thing which the world always wants and will always pay for one thing for which the demand is greater than the supply one possession which will always make your upward climb to larger earning power easier and easier as you go along. It is salesman- ship that is in such demand the power to secure a hear- ing and to convince your hearer that you have the thing he wants. This power, once acquired, will be your most valuable personal asset. You can use it first to obtain the money to enable you to complete your education, or to experiment with some more congenial employment and if you fail in other lines you can return to salesman- ship and build up your fortunes again. It will stand between you and the wolf at the door in many a tight squeeze. . It is worth acquiring at any reasonable cost of time, trouble, expense and persistent effort. Do not throw away any good opportunity to obtain it, for the principles upon which good salesmanship is founded will enable you to pass among your fellow-men in a bright, jovial, good-tempered way, which will smooth over many difficulties and give you a power of accomplishment in almost any line which you undertake. How to Acquire Salesmanship. One of the very best ways of acquiring the art of salesmanship is to under- take "field work" for a publishing house. People who are unused to the work of selling are usually somewhat shy, diffident, afraid of themselves, unfamiliar with travel or the ways of the world. They lack self-con- fidence and self-assurance, they do not know how to best THE TRAINING OF AGENTS. 211 handle themselves, how to apply the knowledge they pos- sess or how to invest their time to best advantage. In no way can these defects be remedied more quickly and more pleasantly than by the training acquired in secur- ing subscriptions for some good book. You will meet in this kind of work the best and most cultured people of the community. The true salesman always receives most courteous treatment for the reason that he never bores his listener, he never makes himself obnoxious, he understands his business, his listener is entertained and instructed by his conversation, even though the interview does not always result in a sale. Your Personal Attitude. In preparing yourself for this work, therefore, you should be profoundly con- vinced of its dignity and worthiness. You are, in such work, a younger brother of some of the greatest men of the world. George Washington in his youth solicited subscrip- tions for a book entitled "The American Savage; How He May Be Tamed by the Weapons of Civilization." He sold over two hundred copies in and around 4Jexan- dria, Va., while he was surveying Fairfax county. In the great palace of the Louvre in Paris may be seen today, under a glass case, a little canvasser's outfit which was used by the Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte in soliciting subscriptions in his youth for the "History of the Revolution." Daniel Webster paid his second month's tuition at Dartmouth College by acting as agent for De Tocque- ville's "America." General Grant was at one time agent for Irving's 212 THE TRAINING OF AGENTS. "Columbus." President Hayes canvassed the entire southern part of Ohio. President Garfield helped to pay his way through Williams College by canvassing. Prince Bismarck canvassed during one of his vacations for one of Blumenbach's handbooks. James G. Elaine sold "The Life of Henry Clay." It is worthy of note that every one of these persons has left in his memoirs letters to indicate that he was proud to have been self-supporting in this way. Dignity of the Work. In the next place, after be- coming convinced of the dignity of the work itself, you should acquire a little personal dignity (of the right kind) , in the knowledge that you are the recognized rep- resentative in your community of a large publishing house that you are on its general staff, in almost daily communication with its managers, and that they regard you as a valued member of their organization. I can- not impress upon you too strongly the fact that you are "one of us" quite as much as if we should see you every day. The real life of our organization is in our agents and general agents. It is you who are "getting the business," and if you are efficient, persistent and valu- able to us as an agent there is nothing too good for you. You will be cordially welcomed to our offices should you have occasion to visit our city. We will be glad to hear from you on any point which you think would be of ben- efit to our business. Your Calling an Honorable One. Bear yourself, therefore, among your prospective customers as our rep- resentative, with simple, quiet courtesy and self-respect. You should meet people as equals, not of course forcing yourself upon them in any offensive way, but at all times THE TRAINING OF AGENTS. 218 upholding your own dignity and the dignity of the house you represent. Remember that you have a business proposition to present to the people ; you are not asking something for nothing, but are giving full value for money received. In most cases the person will be just as glad to give you the order as you will be to record it. No. 2. Talk on Starting Work. When to Start. You should make a start after you have finished studying "How to Sell" and "General In- structions," which accompanied the outfit. The sooner you put into effect the suggestions contained therein the less likely you are to make costly mistakes through inex- perience. Home practice will not be nearly as valuable as actual practice in the field. You must make the plunge some time, and you would better do so immedi- ately after you feel reasonably confident that your prep- aration is sufficiently advanced. It is only by thus re- viewing what we think we know that we learn to know what we know we know. A Knowledge Worth Working for. Do not expect anything unreasonable the first few days. Men spend four years in college and three more in professional schools, and then willingly accept six hundred or eight hundred dollars for their first year while really learning their profession. Mechanics go through an apprentice- ship of three or four years for their board and clothes, in order to prepare themselves to earn two or three dollars daily. And yet some men begrudge the brief time re- quired for careful study and the time given to prepara- tory work in order to acquire skill in a business which 214 THE TRAINING OF AGENTS. will enable a person of average ability to clear one hun- dred dollars a month and upward. Weather Conditions. You must bear in mind that canvassing is, in the main, out-of-door work, and if you have been leading an indoor life you must not be dis- heartened by a rainy spell or extremes of heat and cold occurring just when you are commencing work. Rainy days are the very best time to work in the country or in business districts. Usually farmers and merchants have little to do in rainy weather, so that you can make your calls longer and come nearer to taking an order at every call you make. On extremely hot days you can solicit during the early morning, late afternoon and evening. During the middle of the day you can devote your time to getting names and information or in reading your in- structions for selling points and planning your cam- paign. A great captain captures a city in his head, be- fore he takes the field with his army. Don't Watch the Clock. We do not commend even- ing work as a general thing, provided a man is averag- ing eight hours a day, but experience proves that the men who get results are not those who ask what is re- quired, but those who are alert and seize upon all possible opportunities. The fact that some of the best work done in getting subscriptions has been performed by spare-time workers in the evening shows that this portion of the day is one in which results can be secured. Ap- pointments to call back later can profitably be set for the evening. The Great Importance of Reports. If your agree- ment with the company calls for a daily report you should not neglect to carefully fill it out in the manner THE TRAINING OF AGENTS. 215 indicated and promptly mail it. Write on the back of each daily report a story of the day's work. If you se- cure an order in the face of difficulty, tell about it for the encouragement and inspiration of others. If you are turned down by some knotty objection, report it and ask for suggestions. Some other solicitor has probably found some way to overcome this difficulty, and the head- quarters staff will tell you how he has done it. Do not fail to fill out each space in every report with the greatest care. There is not a waste line in our re- ports. Every statement is full of meaning to us and adds to the helpfulness of our reply. It is necessary for us to ask you to answer the same questions day after day ; this is because, while we shall always remember you, it is impossible to carry in mind all the details of your work or to take the time to look up your former reports while writing you. We cannot impress upon you too strongly the value of the reports. One reason for requiring them which will be apparent to you is their value in aiding us to carry stock for the prompt filling of all orders. Let us as- sume that we have from 1,000 to 1,800 active workers at one time, which is usually the case. Suppose that 500 of these agents would fail to report some week, and that their sales amounted to 3,500 books. We would have no way of telling that we might be called upon very quickly to ship that number of books, which we had not been counting on. You can readily see that there might be some delay. In a case where we do run low on any par- ticular kind of stock we always favor the agent who re- ported promptly. 216 THE TRAINING OF AGENTS. Making a Start. The First Plunge. Having thoroughly posted your- self on the merits and selling qualities of your samples, and after assimilating our letters of instructions, you are now ready to commence actual operations. You may feel a good deal like the boy who stands on a springboard over the swimming hole. He dreads to dive because the water looks cold, but finally he screws up his courage to the point of jumping off, and when he comes to the top he wonders how he could have feared to make the plunge, because the water feels so good. You will feel the same after you have made your first canvass. Try it on a Friend First. It would be a good plan for you to pick out some member or an "old friend of the family" in whose judgment you rely. Go to him and tell him of your engagement with us. Explain that, while you do not want him to consider that you are seek- ing his order, you wish to canvass him thoroughly with the object of getting him to criticize your talk, favorably or otherwise ; tell him that you want him to offer all the objections that he can think of, so that you may try your skill in overcoming them. He will of course agree, and you should start in and do upon him the best job of can- vassing you know how. This induction into the actual work will be a gradual one and will help you greatly. If even moderately successful with the canvass you should approach the next person who would seem to be a good "prospect," and from this beginning go right ahead with the work. Such preliminary experience at this point in your in- struction will render the remainder of our talks and in- structions a great deal more valuable to you than if you THE TRAINING OF AGENTS. 217 studied them entirely upon theory. It will enable you to absorb and apply the lessons to your own needs as you could not do in any other way. No. 3. Talk on Success. "I have been watching the careers of young men by the thousands in this busy country of ours for over thirty years," said Dr. Theodore L. Cuyler, "and I find that the chief difference between the successful and the fail- ures lies in the single element of staying power. Per- manent success is of tener won by holding on than by sud- den dash, however brilliant. The easily discouraged, who are pushed back by a straw, are all the time drop- ping to the rear, to perish or to be carried along on the stretcher of charity. They who understand and practice Abraham Lincoln's homely maxim of 'pegging away' have achieved the solidest success." Experience and Inexperience. Success in getting or- ders depends wholly upon the self-interest of the solic- itor. The territory that is, the character of the peo- ple, their circumstances in life, whether rich or poor their disposition with regard to reading, whether they have few books or many and their mental attitude to- wards solicitors, whether favorably disposed or other- wise, are all matters of secondary importance. A self- interested solicitor will find means to interest and enroll the rich and poor alike, the cultured and the uncultured ; the kindly and the crabbed. Such skill is the product of experience. No one is born with it, neither does it come to any one all at once. The difficulties of soliciting may be summed up in one word inexperience. The cure for them all is equally simple experience. 218 THE TRAINING OF AGENTS. Every beginner must needs be inexperienced and hence (unfortunately from one point of view, but fortu- nately from another) , all the difficulties of the business are bunched together and hurled at him at the very start. The first few days form his period of trial. After the first few days of practice the problems presented become constantly easier of solution, and the earnest worker who puts in his time faithfully learns that it is the aver- age which counts, and not the result of any single day's work. He looks back with astonishment upon the re- sults of the first few days and wonders that he should have found so difficult in the beginning tasks which now appear so easy of accomplishment. Theory and Practice. Success might be defined as the persistent application of the knowledge gained by experience, coupled with determination and stick-to-it- iveness. You can make no better start than by resolv- ing to profit as much as possible by the experience of oth- ers. Right here let this truth sink deeply into your mind; every problem which you will meet has been solved many times in the past. The rules of salesmanship which have been thus deduced are entirely trustworthy, and are the result of actual experience of our agents in the field and not merely theory. The Three Factors Which Produce Success. Orders are not secured by luck or chance. There are a few peo- ple in every community who will want your goods at sight. Any one who will industriously call on from ten to twenty people daily will secure a few orders of this kind without much effort. Most people are indifferent at first, and must be interested; first, by what the solicitor knows and feels concerning his proposition; second, by THE TRAINING OF AGENTS. 219 what he says about it; and third, by public opinion, or what others have said or done about his book in the com- munity itself or elsewhere. Master Your Proposition. Study These Lessons. The true salesman deals in ideas ; the material with which he works is human nature, and his brains must be the means of his success. Much thought and constant study should be given to his work. The subject matter of our talks and instructions is in- tended to be suggestive. They should be carried in your pocket and referred to frequently. They touch upon practically all the problems you will meet in the field and suggest working plans which are the product of success- ful experience. A thoughtful study of these suggestions will set your mind to working along the right lines ; but you can learn to apply them successfully only by actual practice. At first you may be tempted to conclude either that these plans are not practical or that you are not adapted to our work. The truth is that you are simply inexperienced. Ideas Are the Product of Thought. The fundamen- tal ideas contained in any good book are not so numerous but that a diligent student can have all of them at his tongue's end. The mere ability to give the main facts of each chapter ; to briefly retell, in your own words, the main points of it; or to state the topics discussed by the author, would give a solicitor a wealth of information and a description which would be invaluable. But merely knowing the contents of your sample and repeating them like a poll-parrot is not sufficient. You should think about them and how they could be used to best advantage by different classes of persons, and then, 220 THE TRAINING OF AGENTS. in turn, how these uses can best be illustrated and ex- plained. You should each day read and study some por- tion, sentence by sentence, and paragraph by paragraph, in order to find ideas with which to enrich your descrip- tion. If you do this then the work will be a pleasure to you. It means cheerfulness and hope, which are them- selves powerful factors of success. Preparation for the Canvass. Know What You Are Going to Say. How to pre- sent your proposition, that is, what selling points to ad- vance, what language to employ, and in what order they should be marshaled, can be learned from the printed canvasses, which you received. These should be studied diligently in order to store the mind with good points, to be presented in their proper order, and well considered sentences. And they should be practiced until all evi- dence of mechanical "sing-song" has been done away with and a spontaneous, interesting style developed. Adapt Your Answers to Your Customers. This pre- liminary training is indispensable, but it provides only a foundation. A printed canvass must be of a general character, but in actual practice, the canvass should be adapted to the person you are canvassing. In order to do this you must, of course, make a study of the people you canvass. The problem of how to adapt your propo- sition to different classes must be taken up with correct reference to the proposition itself. Your Samples. The salesman's outfit with which we supplied you is ample for your needs. Don't make the mistake of thinking that if you had this or that, or some- thing else you could do better. Such is not the case. THE TRAINING OF AGENTS. 221 Work with the tools with which we supplied you. Work earnestly, work faithfully. Concentrate your mind on your work, remembering the old adage, "Nothing succeeds like success," so there- fore, breathe success, think success, act success, talk suc- cessand BE A SUCCESS. "Luck is ever waiting for something to turn up ; labor with keen eyes and strong will will turn up something. Luck lies in bed and wishes the postman would bring him the news of a legacy; labor turns out at 6 o'clock, and, with busy pen or ringing hammer, lays the foundation of a competence. Luck whines; labor whistles. Luck relies on chance; labor on character." Cobden. "Nothing can be had for nothing; whatever a man achieves he must pay for; and no favor of fortune can ab- solve him from his duty." Taylor. "Whether a boy is from farm or city, rich or poor, weak or strong, talented or not, WILL and WORK are sure to WIN. Wishes fail but wills prevail Labor is luck." Crafts. CHAPTER XVI. SELLING A BUSINESS SERVICE. By C. E. Zimmerman. PART 1. [The following practical instructions are successfully used by C. E. Zimmerman & Co., Chicago, experts in Publicity and Sales Promotion, in training their salesmen. Experience has fully demonstrated their value. They are clearly applicable to other lines of business and may be studied with profit by all salesmen. Ed.] General Instructions. Some one has said that the world gives its big prizes for just one thing and that is Initiative, which is doing the right thing without being told, and that next to doing right without being told is doing the right thing when you are told once. The writer contends that four things instead of one secure the big prizes this world has to offer. They are: Initiative, Decision, Dispatch and Perseverance. If you will cultivate these four quali- ties in your dealings with the house and customers, your success is unquestionable. While no ironclad rules or instructions can be laid down for selling goods, the following is the result of months of experience on this proposition [selling an advertising service] and much of the information is the result of years of work by many men who have been remarkably successful in selling goods. As the same knowledge applies to all lines of salesmanship there can 223 224 SELLING A BUSINESS SERVICE. be no question of the value of this information, which has taken years of patient labor and experience to ac- quire, and it is expected that you will assimilate it thor- oughly and use it to the best possible advantage. The first step toward success on this proposition is a thorough knowledge of the goods and of the principles of advertising. The statement has been made that a man's education never ceases until he dies. If he is an edu- cated man he is learning new things every day. Like- wise the man on this proposition will learn new things about advertising every day and the salesman who is not constantly seeking to do this, who is not making the in- formation gathered a part of himself, so he can impart it to his prospective customers, cannot be expected to succeed to our mutual satisfaction. The salesman who grasps the principles of this proposition can learn some- thing from the ads in every magazine he picks up. He can look on the shelves of any store and recognize the goods that he has seen advertised, reason out the causes of their successful sales and use this knowledge every day in a way which will make him dollars and cents. Working Your Territory. We believe it profitable to make every town where there is a newspaper and a bank. Some salesmen are accustomed to picking off the easy ones. Such men will not make the big money on this proposition and can only expect to hold their territory until we can secure the services of a salesman who will draw every contract out of a territory there is in it. You have heard the axiom "The bigger they are the harder they fall," and on this proposition the deader the town is the more it can be SELLING A BUSINESS SERVICE. 225 stirred up when the proposition is put up right. If you are looking for the proposition to sell itself to the mer- chant, keep out of these towns. Never start out. A short time ago one of the most successful merchants in America, a man who had a great deal to do with the success of Marshall Field & Company, opened a de- partment store in London. The business men over there told Mr. Self ridge he could not advertise; that in Lon- don it had been the custom for hundreds of years to have shops and not stores; that their people had been in a rut too long to adopt American methods. It took a lot of courage founded upon experience and knowl- edge to take the bold step that Mr. Self ridge did. He was even told that his business would be ruined if he at- tempted to display goods in windows according to the custom of American department stores. For hundreds of years British merchants had pulled down heavy bars over the windows at night, a remnant of the barbaric times when they had to do this for protection. It is a matter of common knowledge that in one year Mr. Selfridge was doing more business than all the com- peting shops of London combined. It was the custom when a customer went into an Eng- lish shop for the manager to approach him and ask him what he wanted to buy. If he said he came to look at something, the manager would motion to the door and say "This way out, please." Can you imagine a town in the United States as con- servative, as backward about advertising and as hard to start things in as the conditions Mr. Selfridge had to go up against? Yet he has made ten times the success that would have been possible had people over there al- I.B.I,. Vol. 215 226 SELLING A BUSINESS SERVICE. ready adopted modern business methods and up-to-date advertising. It is needless to say that you cannot expect to ,vake people up unless you are enthusiastic yourself. Any man's success can go no higher than this enthusiasm, any more than water can run uphill. And enthusiasm is founded on knowledge. I don't mean that any man can take our proposi- tion and in a month's time be able to present it in a way which will enable him to make a clean-up in what is known as a dead town. But I do know from experience that any topnotch salesman who will get this proposi- tion down right can do this in time and this is what means big money for us both. The results obtained by our customers and their attitude toward us convince us that 98 per cent, of them at a conservative estimate will use our next year's services. The only merchant who will not is the one who has let the service lie unused under his counter and who for some reason or other is not ambitious. We are trying by means of a lecture on advertising, going out with their monthly statements, to bring them to life, and with the cooperation of the sales- man in presenting the proposition properly, not merely securing the order, we can make every territory a golden harvest field for our salesmen as well as ourselves. It is our intention to give every man who does justice to his territory the permanent business in such territory as long as he is connected with us and handling it properly. Many men connected with us have previously been making less than $100 a week. When a man doubles his income at once it isn't the proposition alone that does it. We don't pretend to have a business where a man can SELLING A BUSINESS SERVICE. 227 make money easy, but simply one where the opportuni- ties for initiative, for decision and dispatch, and the re- ward for perseverance, are so very much greater than in the ordinary business as to stimulate him into action, and then unlike most any other business, the oppor- tunity is before him to develop and produce to his full capacity. Before attempting to call on a merchant or the banker with our proposition, a salesman must be convinced that he is taking the best proposition into their place of busi- ness that has ever been presented to them, that he is asking no favors and that he is doing far more for the man he sells than the merchant can do for the salesman. Treat your customer with the courtesy due an equal, but with the self -consciousness that you are asking no favors of him. Initiative. The man without initiative is an order-taker, not a salesman, and if you belong to this class get an order- taker's job. We do not pretend this proposition to be such. The order-taker, the man who has no initiative, is in a rut, and the only difference between a rut and a grave is width and depth, and dead ones are found in both places. Decision. The man without decision is the man without fire. His wishbone is where his backbone ought to be. Any- one has intelligence enough to know what he ought to do if he will simply exert his mind enough to do it. "Be sure you are right and then go ahead" is a piece of the best advice ever given to humanity. 228 SELLING A BUSINESS SERVICE. Dispatch. The habit of getting busy and keeping so along the above lines is the difference between a $10 man and a $10,000 man. When you add Ability, which is nine- tenths application to your work, to dispatch, you can get just about anything you want in the way of business or anything else. When you go in to talk to an editor, don't visit with him. Get the information you want in a businesslike manner and get out. Don't swap stories. It doesn't make you any money and it doesn't raise you in his es- timation as a business man one peg. This principle has been proven hundreds and hundreds of times since the days of the old-time drummer, with his loud clothes, his funny stories, his strong cigar and strong breath. When you talk to a customer, talk business to him, or something that pertains to business. I don't necessar- ily mean that you have to talk advertising every minute. Sometimes you must approach him from a different standpoint. I want to give an example of this, which demonstrates real salesmanship: A typewriter salesman found that he could usually do business with men who advertise, because they were always the live business men of the town. When he went into a town, therefore, the first thing he did was to call on the editor of the paper and find out who the live advertisers were; then when he went into a store he did not say anything about typewriters, but began to talk with them about advertising. This was their hobby. He complimented them upon the appearance of their ads. He would then look around for some calendar or novelty which they were using and compli- SELLING A BUSINESS SEEVICE. 229 ment them upon this also. He didn't waste time in telling stories; he talked business, and as he had picked up a considerable knowledge of advertising, was often able to tell them things of interest and value to them. Then he would finally say: "Well, the work you are doing is excellent. It is great. It undoubtedly stimu- lates your business and does a great deal to build up your trade and weld all of your customers into a permanent, enduring patronage. However, you are overlooking one great big point. You are stimulating the people who trade with you, but now the ones you want to go after big are the ones you never meet personally and who do not come into your store." The merchants naturally would ask how this could be done, and the salesman would tell them, "By means of a personal letter." Then he would proceed to sell his typewriter, offering to instruct one of their girls how to use it, etc. Perseverance. Paderewski was once complimented upon his bril- liant playing and turning with a smile he said: "I played with an orchestra in Vienna. My work lasted four hours a day. After I was through with my regular work I practiced on the piano for twelve hours every day. Often my arms and shoulders were stiff and numb, but I did this for fourteen years. The other musicians laughed at me and called me a fool. Now people ap- plaud and call me a genius." The man who wins a race is not always the best run- ner. Usually he isn't the man who is ahead the first lap, but he is the sticker. When he comes down the home- stretch he endures agonies. His legs feel like pieces of 280 SELLING A BUSINESS SERVICE. wood. It takes every bit of endurance and will power he has to keep moving. However, the other runners feel the same way and the man who wins is the one who grits his teeth and runs the hardest. The successful salesman, the man who makes money year in and year out, the man who has the good job, isn't the cleverest one. He is the one who works, who uses his head. Today there are ten geniuses, as the word is usually applied, walking the streets of Chicago who do not know where their next meal is coming from, to every one of their number w r ho has a decent living. Master the Proposition. Now if you have read our instructions thus far, make up your mind before starting, to master the proposition. If you do you will be enthusiastic about it. And don't start until you have mastered it and are enthusiastic. If you cannot do this, you are in the wrong business. You have the goods, the facts, and your proposition is sold only on truth and merit, and the most talking points and the most convincing arguments that any salesman has ever been able to offer. Your enthusiasm ought to be so strong that it will sweep away objections like a grain of chaff in a cyclone. No objections or the indif- ference of a customer should make you waver one instant in presenting your proposition properly to him. You must respect yourself in order that others may respect you. You must be enthusiastic in order to im- part enthusiasm. You must be determined in order to impress. You know you are offering the customer something which saves his time, saves his money, doesn't require any work on his part, being purely automatic, and is as SELLING A BUSINESS SERVICE. 231 surely a source of profit as money in any bank. You are convinced of this. Experience has demonstrated it with hundreds and thousands of merchants. You do not ask him to buy on his judgment alone, or on your presenta- tion, but on the judgment and results of these mer- chants as well. Make the customer want it badly enough by showing him the need of it and he will buy. Origin of Advertising. Contrary to the general impression, advertising was successfully used long before the art of printing. The most famous advertiser who has ever existed, either from a literary or commercial standpoint, was Julius Csesar. Advertising, however, was not a new idea with him, but he followed the same principles of previous rulers, who hired scribes or historians to write up their con- quests of battles and noise them about the country. These reports or advertisements dwelt upon the number of their men, their ferocity, their strength, their valor and their deeds of courage. This enabled Csesar to overcome many tribes without battle and the incidental cost and loss of life. Once this is called to your atten- tion, no doubt you are too familiar with his history to make it necessary to dwell longer on any facts connected with his success. Compare him, however, with some of the gigantic mercantile institutions of today. What local dealer does not dread the name of Sears, Roebuck & Company? Has he ordered goods from them? Has he compared their prices with his, article for article, quality for quality, price for price? How many local merchants do you know who can be compared to the small village overcome by Caesar's men ? 232 SELLING A BUSINESS SERVICE. How many local merchants have dared to order goods from a mail-order house, place them in their windows alongside of their own merchandise, asking customers to make comparisons and draw their own conclusions? Such merchants have every advantage over their far- away competitors. They are right on the ground, can have customers see their goods before they buy, can meet them personally. Their customers have to pay no freight charges, take no chances. If anything is wrong they can walk right into the store and have it made right. Still with all these tremendous advantages, they pay tribute to the powers of advertising. Early Attempts at Advertising. Advertising was next taken up by merchants or trades- men by having the town-crier or nightwatch, after call- ing the hour and announcing the executions, sales of lands seized for taxes, and other matters of local inter- est, announce that merchants had certain commodities in quantities, that ships had arrived with wares, etc. etc. With the invention of printing, affairs of impor- tance began to be reproduced and distributed in pam- phlet form, of which the modern newspaper is the out- growth. Only a small percentage of the population at this time took papers or were able to read them, and the growth of advertising and newspapers has been in exact proportion to the decrease of illiteracy. No news- paper has ever been successful to any extent except through its advertising columns, and the more that illit- eracy has decreased the more advertising has paid, until today in the country or community where science has reduced the cost of printing to such a nominal figure SELLING A BUSINESS SERVICE. 233 that every one can afford the one-time luxury of a news- paper, where every one can read, we do not wonder that "Advertising pays " has become an axiom. The first advertisements were the announcements of artisans that this one was able to build a well, that one was able to build a chimney, or another did smithing, etc. Closely following this came the notice of information pertaining to the sale of goods by individuals, which has gradually developed into the present-day advertising. The strength of advertising is so great that it has been abused and used with marked success in exploiting fraudulent causes, two of the most prominent being the one known in England as the South Sea Island Com- pany, and the one in France known as the Mississippi Bubble, both of which occurred in the 18th century. It was not uncommon a few years ago to see ads in reputable papers and magazines which were simply bait for suckers. The magazines going into the rural districts would contain an ad offering a steel engraving of Washington for $1.00. The person sending it would receive a two-cent stamp, which did contain a steel en- graving of Washington. No doubt you are all familiar with advertisements of this nature, which were so prevalent a few years ago. Different magazines, however, recognizing the harm this did to legitimate advertisers, thereby destroying con- fidence, which was the life of trade, began to refuse their columns to such advertisers and today will only accept the advertisements of legitimate concerns of high stand- ing. Many magazines now offer to refund to their sub- scribers any losses they sustain from any advertising appearing in their columns, and even the cheapest maga- 234 SELLING A BUSINESS SERVICE. zines refuse their columns to get-rich-quiek schemes and questionable advertisements. Simply because it pays. Presentation of the Proposition. The first thing upon landing in a town is to get the cooperation of the newspaper. This is very easily ob- tained if your proposition is presented properly to them, as follows: "Mr. Editor, my name is Salesman. I am associated with the syndicate department of .the C. E. Zimmerman Co. of Chicago. The object of my visit to your city is to contract with your best advertisers in every line for a high-grade agency service which we are able to furnish them by syndicating it with merchants all over the coun- try at the ridiculously low price of $1.00 a week." The newspaper man must be given plainly to under- stand that we are not furnishing cut service and that he has never seen a proposition like ours before. "I take it for granted that like every other newspaper man I have called on, you are deeply interested in my proposition, because it benefits you in a great many ways and for this reason I am going to frankly ask your co- operation in my work here to-day. Here are some of the benefits you derive from our work: "First, we furnish a weekly service to our clients. Every man we do business with practically is giving you a contract for space for one year. Usually our clients use additional space on account of our service, which will benefit you. "Second, it undoubtedly will improve the appearance of your paper, as the work we furnish is such as can only SELLING A BUSINESS SERVICE. 235 be turned out by high-class agencies, and this will natur- ally stimulate your advertising. "Third, by referring to the papers I have here contain- ing specimen ads you will see that where one bank, for instance, takes up our service, the other banks in a town almost immediately begin to advertise, using as much or more space, although their efforts are often ridiculous in comparison with the bank that is fortunate enough to be our client. "Fourth, you are not compelled to write ads for these people, as you are at the present time, or suffer the alter- native of having them run the same ad over and over again, or not at all." Then go over the advertising columns and find what merchants or banks are advertising. Often the editor will know some concern that would advertise if they had an advertising man. After getting the lay of the land then say: "Now, Mr. Editor, which one of these banks are you the closest to in a personal or business way the one that at the same time is a live one and will be able to see the advantages of my proposition?" He will usual- ly mention some bank and then if there is a telephone on his desk, pick it up and say, "What is the telephone number?" When he tells you simply hand the telephone to him with the remark, "Will you tell the bank that Mr. Salesman is on the way over to see him at your request with the best proposition for his advertising that you have ever seen, and that you think he will be interested in it?" If the telephone is not convenient, or if you see the editor is a man of enough influence to count, simply ask him to go right along down there with you and introduce 236 SELLING A BUSINESS SERVICE. you. Don't be afraid to do it or hesitate, for you are doing the newspaper far more good than you are doing yourself or the C. E. Zimmerman Company. And re- member that it is just as important to sell the news- paper man on your proposition as it is to sell the cus- tomer. Don't let him retain the idea for a minute that you simply want his approval, but that you want his hearty cooperation and you are justified in having it. Our service is just as important to the newspaper as it is to the advertiser. If you can't sell the newspaper man on it, when it costs him nothing, you can't expect to sell it to the advertiser for $52.00. It might be advisable to give him the impression that we have other things besides advertisements for his paper, that you do business with the majority of the people you call on and that it is up to him to do the right thing by you. Show him that the great majority of salesmen who have a proposition for the promotion end of his merchants' business, as trading stamps, calendars, circular letter machines, novelties, and a thousand and one other things, tend to take business away from him instead of giving it to him, and that our interests are mutual in having this expenditure for such articles turned into the channel of newspaper advertising. With a proper understanding of your attitude to- ward the newspaper man, you can see it will not be necessary to visit with him, swap stories, loaf in his office, or do anything else but talk cold, hard business, right to the point. Introductory Talk. Then when you are ready to call on your customer proceed as follows: SELLING A BUSINESS SERVICE. 23T "Mr. Merchant, my name is Salesman. I am associ- ated with the syndicate department of the C. E. Zimmer- man Company of Chicago. The object of my visit is to offer you the service of one of the best advertising men in Chicago for less money than it takes you to get your store swept out of a morning. You can remember, not many years ago, when a man in your line of business did not advertise. Advertising pays, you know very well, but the reason for the majority of people in towns of this size advertising is the big successes that have been made by the concerns that have done it in a scien- tific manner and thereby accomplished big results. "Franklin discovered electricity. He knew there was a force there, just as you realize there is a force in ad- vertising, but he did not know how to apply it. People who know how to apply electricity today are running street cars and factories with it and lighting cities. "Advertising science is scarce. This and the fact that it accomplishes big results makes it valuable. In accord- ance with the progress along commercial lines, we are able to offer you an advertising motor. In other words, to give you the service of one of the best advertising men in the country, who will work for you automatically and still do you just as much good as if he was working right here in your store at a big salary. I take it for granted that like other wideawake merchants you will be deeply interested, for several reasons. The first is that you haven't the time to write your own ads. How many times in the last year have you asked your editor to write your ads for you? How many times have you told him to run the same ad over again or to leave it out alto- gether. 238 SELLING A BUSINESS SERVICE. "Now since we are going to talk about advertising, I am going to ask you what advertising is?" [The mer- chant will usually hesitate when you ask this question. Pause long enough to let him realize that he does not know what it is, but not long enough to antagonize him, then say: ] "Before you can answer I am going to tell you, for there aren't many men in the country who actually know, and they are men who do nothing but write ads. Advertising is simply one thing that is, molding public opinion in your favor, and I am going to show you how this is done, explain the underlying prin- ciples that give advertising its force and which have built up the biggest business houses in the world busi- ness houses which could not occupy the positions they do in any other way. "Advertising is first attention. When you go into the newspaper you are in competition with three things. First, with the news end of the paper, which has not only local items of interest, but the news gathered from all over the world by the Associated Press, which syndicates it the same as we syndicate advertising. Second, is the editorial part of the paper. There are trained minds working on this matter, packing every column and every paragraph with items of intense interest to the readers. Then we come to the third part of the paper, the adver- tisements. This is just what the man bought the paper for, and if you want to interest him you must get his attention. Black type, common stock, cuts or threadbare statements about better goods for less money won't do it. "You have been in this room all day and you haven't heard that clock tick once. It is monotonous. It is simply the same thing over and over again. The kind SELLING A BUSINESS SERVICE. 289 of advertisements I have just mentioned are as mon- otonous as the tick of a clock and attract no more atten- tion. Take the pages of any magazine where the space costs from $500 to $6,000 a page and you will see that these people who have to depend upon advertising alone for business recognize the value of attention and that wherever possible they get it by means of a picture or illustration. "Now look at this advertisement." [Show him one of ours in a paper.] "Won't you agree with me that nine people out of ten who turn the page of the paper will see this? How many will notice this one?" [Show him one as nearly as possible like his own.] "One in ten. "You can see right from the start the importance of at- tention, because no one will read your ad unless you get their attention. So we give attention 70 per cent of the value of an ad. "The most important thing about the ad then is to get attention. The type is as common as the tick of a clock, so are stock cuts and statements about better goods for less money. People, however, like to look at pictures, and when you show a picture you can not only get atten- tion with it, but carry home the idea of what you are talk- ing about and thus lead them to read the ad besides. [Use any number of illustrations such as Hart, Shaffner & Marx, some from the Saturday Evening Post, or any other magazine, to impress it upon his mind throughly.] "The next point to take into consideration is to impress the man you are talking to, for the ad is nothing more or less than your salesman talking about your business. To make this point clear to you, I will ask you why it is that people are spending four times as much for their living 240 SELLING A BUSINESS SERVICE. now as they were twenty years ago? Why do you pay $3.00 for a hat instead of 50 cents or $30 for a suit of clothes instead of $3.00? It is all due to one thing, pride which is the strongest element in all humanity. "Then comes need or comfort, and then price. We give each of these points 10 per cent and any advertise- ment which covers all of them fully is 100 per cent ad. Now with this information which I have given you, please read this ad and see how well it covers it. Every point is taken care of. [Read ad from samples or paper.] "You are not simply filling a demand when you adver- tise in this way; you are creating one. That is the dif- ference between a merchant and a storekeeper. The grocer doesn't have to create a demand for sugar. Everybody needs it and buys it. Sugar is pretty much the same the world over, however, and he doesn't make much money on it. Neither will the storekeeper who is simply filling a demand make much. The merchant who is creating one, who is appealing to the pride of people, to their needs and comfort as well as their pocketbook, is the one who is successful in this day and age. "Now then, an experienced advertising man requires from a half-day to a day to write one ad. I realize you are a pretty busy man to devote this time to it. If I spent a month here and told you all I know about ad- vertising you still couldn't give the necessary attention to this part of your business and I know that like other wideawake merchants you realize the force of adver- tising and want to do it in the right way, but you haven't been able to. "Now I propose to furnish you an ad like this one SELLING A BUSINESS SERVICE. 241 every week. Besides, I am going to give you the pic- ture that goes with it, an illustration that has been built to order for it . Not only this but I am going to give you the plate, so that you can reproduce it right in the paper. This plate alone would cost several times what I am going to ask you for the whole business if I made you a present of the ads and the drawings and you had to get the plate made. "Banks use Dun's and Bradstreet's. It would cost a million dollars to get up the information there is in this book, but by every bank in the country using it and a large number of business institutions it is syndicated to them for $75 a year. The physician who calls on a sick member of your family probably spent from $5,000 to $10,000 to acquire the information he makes use of in his visit. However, by everybody in town using his services he will give you the advantage of his ability for a dollar or two a trip. "We have placed scientific advertising on the same basis and will furnish you your year's advertising for $1.00 a week. To show you the confidence we have in our proposition I don't ask a cent from you today or any when the year's service is delivered. We will simply go through this book, pick out the ads you want, to con- form to local conditions, the goods you carry in stock, etc., ship you the whole year's service at once and you have a year to pay for it in, paying for it by Jthe month, or we will allow you a discount of 5% if you prefer to do business on a cash basis." This is only an outline of the introductory talk. You can vary it, of course, by referring to the different ad- vertisements, by telling him about different advertising I.B.L. Vol. 216 242 SELLING A BUSINESS SERVICE. successes and by bringing in the names of different mer- chants with whom you have done business, what they said about it, etc. ; also showing him some of the testimonial letters you have and referring to the names of merchants with whom you have done business, in an off-hand man- ner. You should very soon have letters of your own from merchants. After you have sold a man ask him to write to you and let you know how he liked the service and give him the impression in every way that your personal interest does not cease with the signing of the order. CHAPTER XVII. SELLING A BUSINESS SERVICE. By C. E. Zimmerman. PART 2. Now comes the part which tells the story in every sale, the closing. When you get a man down to this point many of them will make some excuses. There isn't one man out of a hundred who sees our proposition but what will admit it is a good thing, and with the following ar- guments any intelligent man ought to close a man who will make this admission. 1. To the customer who says that he has been in busi- ness for twenty years and does not need to advertise: [This is one of the nastiest objections that any salesman ever encountered and here is the neatest answer for it.] First give him a strong talk on the difference between filling a demand and creating one, then say to him: "Now, Mr. Merchant, haven't you a Methodist church and a good Methodist preacher? Doesn't everybody in town know him as well as they know you? Like him as well as they like you? Believe in religion as thor- oughly as they believe in furniture? Doesn't this minis- ter have a revival here every winter? How many con- versions does he have a dozen or fifteen or twenty? Well, how many does Billy Sunday or Gipsy Smith 243 244 SELLING A BUSINESS SERVICE. have? They run into the hundreds and thousands. They are not known, but they are scientific and are experts in their line. Just as they can get ten times the result your preacher can so can we get ten times the results you can get in advertising. It is the same proposition." The most important thing in answering an objection is not to wait for him to spring another one. Nine times out of ten it wasn't an objection but simply an excuse. And if you wait for him to spring another, then the sell- ing talk degenerates into an argument. Follow up any objection you meet with two or three more strong points and then try to close him. If you cannot don't let him say "No" but keep on going. 2. Here is a good point on the furniture service when the man is undecided : "Furniture is a luxury. You must create a demand for it if you want to do the right kind of a furniture business. We realize this and concentrate upon this point in our furniture advertising. We take into con- sideration that a woman is responsible for the new furni- ture that goes into a home. When one woman sees an- other with a new hat she wants one too, and this is so true that it has become the custom for them to all get new hats every spring. When a woman sees a nice home or a nice room she has a desire for one too, even if she is living in a hovel. For this reason we show interiors. I don't mean to say that as soon as a woman sees one of these illustrations she is going to come into your store and buy furniture, but the desire is there and you only want to make this strong enough to get her to buy. To sustain the interest we alternate these illustrations with SELLING A BUSINESS SERVICE. 245 advertisements of the Old Cabinetmaker." [Take one of the Old Cabinetmaker ads and put your hand over the Old Cabinetmaker.] "When I cover up the Old Cabi- netmaker you see a cut of a kitchen cabinet. It is a good cut, but you realize by this time that no matter how well this ad is written you wouldn't pay much attention to it in a paper. Now I take my hand off the Old Cabinetmaker. You would look at it now. You would say to yourself unconsciously, 'What is the old cabinet- maker doing? Why is he standing there? What does he say?' "Now I will tell you how to make your newspaper ad- vertising and your window advertising, almost as im- portant, strengthen and support each other. When you get this service borrow or rent a clothing dummy from your clothing man. Dress him up like the Old Cabi- netmaker and the week you run your kitchen cabinet ad put him in the window with a kitchen cabinet. You might put up a placard which says, 'Look in the paper this week and see what the Old Cabinetmaker says.' In many towns where this has been done everybody in town has been talking about it and looking to see what would come out next week. 3. To the banker who says they run their card in the paper, that everybody knows them in town and if they want to put money in their bank they will do so : "Mr. Banker, your ad reads as follows: 'First National Bank. 3 per cent on savings. John John, Cashier, Jim Brown, Pres., etc. Capital so much, undivided profits so much, etc.' Is there anything about this to make any- body want to put money in your bank? In the first 246 SELLING A BUSINESS SERVICE. place I can go out on the street and take any boy by the arm and ask him who is the president of the First Na- tional Bank, and he will tell me, Jim Brown. Then I can go on down the street and ask ten men what the sur- plus of a bank is, what the undivided profits are, etc., and the man without a bank account, the man you are trying to reach, cannot tell me. The business man who has his money in the bank knows, but he has his money there for business reasons, so you have nothing to gain from him by printing these statements. He knows all about them. The man you want to reach, the man without a bank ac- count, must be shown the need of one. You must ap- peal not only to need but pride. If you get his attention and do this you can in time make his desire strong enough to produce the desired effect." 4. To the man who says he is too busy to talk to you : "I like to meet a busy man, for I can save one day of your time every week. The busier you are the more wideawake you will be to this saving of your time. Wouldn't you like to have an extra day every week to spend with your family or in some kind of recreation? I can not only do this for you, but save you some money besides. I want ten minutes of your time to show you how:" 5. Another answer to the same thing: Suppose you are talking to a shoe man. Say, "All right, Mr. Jones. Have you time to sell me a pair of shoes?" Allow him to take off one of your shoes and look at the size. "I don't want to buy a pair of shoes, but simply to demonstrate that you would be interested SELLING A BUSINESS SERVICE. 247 in my proposition, for it will sell not only one pair of shoes but a hundred. You would try for half an hour to fit my feet with a pair of shoes on which you would make only 50 cents profit, provided I wanted a cheap pair, but when I come here to sell you something which will sell you hundreds of pairs of shoes and save you time besides, you tell me you are too busy. Now, Mr. Jones, don't think I am impudent. I will admit that I am inde- pendent, but I can afford to be. I can do business nine times out of ten with people who understand what I have and as I only sell one line in a town I hope you will not think I am impertinent, but I will admit I am independent." 6. To the Banker who gives you a story like the fol- lowing: "We have to advertise in lodge programs, high school programs, and other mediums like this, which takes up all the money we can afford to spend for adver- tising." "Mr. Banker, I want to call your attention to a mis- take you are making. You are putting that item in the wrong column. You should charge that to profit and loss, or charity, and not to advertising. You might just as well charge it to your payroll or to your light and heat. Advertising is just as necessary to the success of your business as heat is to the comfort of this room. And you don't suffer from the cold because you spend the money for donations that you ought to spend for coal. I want to tell you, though, how you can overcome this expense. When some lodge member calls on you for your 'donation' they always send one who is friendly with your bank and one to the other bank who is friendly 248 SELLING A BUSINESS SERVICE. with them. You all donate and don't get much for it. Simply say to the solicitor, 'No, if I went into your pro- gram I would have to go in every other one. It doesn't do us much good, and while I don't mind donating to you I can't in the interest of my stockholders and deposi- tors spend money in this way. Here, I will take a couple of tickets from you, to show you my heart is in the right place.' Then use the tickets yourself or give them to one of your employees and charge it up to donations or profit and loss, where it rightly belongs." 7. To the man who has used a cut service and says it didn't pay : "There is the same difference between a cut service and our proposition that there would be between the dirty, unshaven, poorly dressed salesman and the man with a spick-and-span new outfit and a pleasing per- sonality. If you had hired a man with a wrinkled suit of clothes and a dirty collar to work in your store and he didn't sell enough goods to pay his salary, you would hardly turn down a real salesman when he came along on that account." 8. To the merchant who says that a clerk writes his ads: "If you have a carpenter working for you you want to see that he has good tools. Our service contains the best tools of the advertising trade today. Give your man tools to work with. He will be glad to use them. Your clerk isn't any $10,000 advertising man. He has to buy his stock cuts or procure them in some way. It isn't a question of what you spend but what you get. If SELLING A BUSINESS SERVICE. 249 you are paying this man $15 a week and get double the results from your advertising by this service, you are making a $30 man out of him by spending only $1 a week more." 9. To the man who admits that our service is the best he has ever seen, but that he is already using a cut serv- ice and his contract does not expire for six months: First get him to admit that advertising is his best salesman. Then get him to admit that our service is at least twice as good as the other, that it will secure twice the orders; appeal twice as strongly to pride, need, etc. "Now, Mr. Merchant, suppose for an instant that you had a salesman working in your store and another man would come along who could sell twice as many goods and impress the people a lot more favorably that he did sell. This second man would come along and want a job, but you would say, 'No, I have already contracted for another man for six months. Come around then and I will talk business. You know that no good man is going to wait six months and call on you again if he was going to work for $1. Neither can we. What would you do if the good salesman would tell you he would only cost you $1 a week more for all this period of time than the poor salesman and that he would work for $1 a week after that time was up? "If I came into your drygoods store and was an ex- pert on silks alone you would gladly pay me $1 a week to assist in your silk department, to help you with your buying and wait on your customers and tell them about silk. Now this advertising man is only going to cost you 250 SELLING A BUSINESS SERVICE. $1 a week and it takes in all the advertising in your business. "Right here I want to make a point and show you the advantage that newspaper salesmanship has over an- other salesman. When I tried to sell you this service, you brought up every conceivable objection. If it was something you happened to hear about, if you had simply met one of those merchants whose testimonial letters I have shown you and he had told you about our service, you would write for it in a minute. If some- body would tell you that you could get Mr. Zimmer- man to write your ads for $1 a week you would jump at the chance and no doubt go to the expense of having your designs made. Still it is only human nature for you to try and find an excuse. Don't let this character- istic keep you from a good thing any longer." At a point like this let him see his local newspaper, in which you have blue-penciled his ad, also in which one of his competitor's ad is blue-penciled. He under- stands you only do business with one man in a town and this will impress him a whole lot more with the fact that the other man is going to have a chance at it if he doesn't take it than of .you told him so. 10. To the merchant who objects to our copyright sign appearing on the ads: "I can readily understand your idea that you might think this did away with the individuality of your ad. However, you have never posed before the people of this town as an advertising man. You wouldn't be ashamed to have the best window decorator in Chicago dress your windows. You would take pride in it. You SELLING A BUSINESS SERVICE. 251 wouldn't be ashamed to have the best silk salesman in Chicago in your silk department. Why should you be ashamed to have one of their best advertising men write your ads and illustrate them? This copyright is on the ad for your protection, not because we want it. We give you the exclusive use of this service in this town and this prevents any one else from cutting in on you." 11. Another answer to the price objection: "It costs $2 to get on a train and go from here to [mention some town the proper distance away] and it takes two hours. It costs nothing to walk and it takes about three days. The man who walks can jingle $2 in his pocket and say to himself: 'Well, I have saved $2 that I might have thrown away on railroad fare/ The man who does not 'buy our service can look over hu books at the end of the year and say: 'I might have thrown away $52 on advertising, but I didn't.' Do you think it pays to walk?" 12. A pointer for the merchant who advertises prices : "As I told you, price talk is almost as monotonous as the tick of a clock. The word bargain is a stimulant. When a normal man takes a drink of alcohol it stimulates him. However, if he keeps it up regularly it soon pro- duces a weakening instead of strengthening effect. The same is true of the bargain stimulant to business. "You know the story of the foolish lad who would go out every day and cry 'Wolf! Wolf!' Soon no one paid any attention to him and when the wolf did come no one listened to his cry of real distress. If a merchant 252 SELLING A BUSINESS SERVICE. cries 'Bargains! Bargains!' all the time no one believes him, even when he has bargains." 13. We occasionally accept a six-months' contract and here is something that will enable you to change this to a yearly contract: [Give him this after first getting the six-months' contract signed.] "Now, Mr. Blank, what would you think of a farmer who would cultivate his corn once a month ? It wouldn't grow very well, no matter how fertile the ground was, and the weeds would choke it to death. Public opinion is your crop. How can you expect it to grow if you don't cultivate it with advertising and what good is that going to do if you 'only cultivate it once a month? "When you are sick the doctor gives you medicine every hour or so. Suppose you took this medicine one day a week, or once a day. What doctor do you think could cure you under such conditions? "If you have ever read the description of a prize- fight you know that one blow does not win a battle. A fighter strikes the other in the eye and partially closes it. While this hurts, the next blow in the same place hurts ten times as badly. The third one makes it worse, until the final wallop which results in the knockout. Even a blow every round or so wouldn't make very much difference. It is the hammer, hammer, hammer, that wins. "A chain is no stronger than its weakest link. Your advertising every week is the chain of your year's busi- ness. If you leave some of these links out or have some weak ones in, it isn't going to have the force that it will if they are all strong." SELLING A BUSINESS SEEVICE. . 258 14. Another answer to "Can't afford it:" This simply shows that you have not impressed him with the money our service will make him, or that he has been thinking about $52 instead of what you have been saying. "You can afford anything, Mr. Merchant, that pays a good profit. You carry any kind of goods in your line that sell and that you can make a good profit on. Now if I were in here trying to sell you something new in your line and could show you how thousands of other merchants had already sold these goods this year and were making money on them, you wouldn't say without any more interest, *I cannot afford to carry them.' When I can show you letters like these from other merchants there must be something to my proposition, and with the best interests of your business in view, you cannot turn it down until you give it a fair, unprejudiced hearing." The point that you want to stick out throughout your entire argument is that our proposition is not an expense, but a profitable investment; that he is losing money in all the different ways already enumerated every week he is not using it. 15. When a customer is silent: Most salesmen find the hardest man to sell the man who won't say anything except "No" when you get through talking with him. If you can get this sort of a man talking, you can usually do business. "Mr. Merchant, I see that I haven't presented my proposition so that you are properly interested. Now I want to ask you a favor and give me your idea of ad- 254 SELLING A BUSINESS SERVICE. vertising a business like yours. We come in contact with hundreds, yes, thousands, of merchants and we learn a great deal from them ; in fact, most of our pointers come from progressive people in your line of business. No doubt you can tell me lots of things that it would be Lo my interest to know and I might possibly suggest some- thing from time to time that would be of interest and value to you." 16. To the customer who says he does not need it: "I will agree with you that you do not need our services. If you are willing to spend a day every week writing your ads, to pay an artist $30 or $40 a week, or even $20, to draw your designs and to go over to your newspaper office and see that your ad is properly dis- played when it is set up, then you can get along without it pretty well. This is the only way you can get along without it, however, and do the same amount of good. But it isn't good business when you can get my propo- sition for $1 a week" 17. To the merchant or banker when you see a cal- endar or novelty hanging up in their place of business, or they state they are spending their money for cal- endars : "Calendars are an excellent thing and I do not want to be put for an instant in the light of insinuating that they are not. I want to tell you, though, about some bankers in a little town in Wisconsin where there are three banks. When these banks bought their calendars this year they got together and all bought the same calendar. Why? Because, like every other town, people SELLING A BUSINESS SERVICE. 255 would go from one to the other and get a calendar from each place. The average person in a town of this size collects ten or twelve calendars every year. They don't need this many. They keep one, usually the one with a pretty picture on it. Yours has about an even chance with the rest of them. I am going to say for the sake of argument that your calendar costs 10 cents, and you know that is putting it pretty low. In other words, it costs $1 to have one of these calendars hanging in the home of some prospective customer for a year. With one of our ads you can reach 1,000 people, and make them think in your favor for the same amount of money. I will leave it to you which is the better investment. Is it better to reach 52,000 people in a year through the newspaper, have them read your ad over and over again every week, or have 52 calendars hanging in 52 homes? Is there anything about that calendar to make any- body want to put money in the bank, even when it is there?" 18. Another one to the man who "has been in busi- ness twenty years" and has been successful: "What you say is true, but were you always subject to the competition you are today? Did you always sell your goods on such a close margin of profit? The world is moving and you must either climb into the band- wagon or stand aside and watch the procession go by. Your customers are only human and they like to do business with an up-to-date institution." 19. "I can do without it." 'Of course you can, Mr. Merchant. You could get 256 SELLING A BUSINESS SERVICE. along without the best salesmen clerking in your store, but it would not be good business to do so. You pay every one of these people a salary. You don't let people come in and wait on themselves. Still you don't want to pay your best salesman, your advertising, this small salary for waiting on your people. Customers must be in- vited to your store, because they are invited to lots of other places and they are getting more sensitive every day where they go. We could still get along with kero- sene lamps if we wanted to. People used them at one time and were happy. You could get along without a cash register, without those big plate-glass windows you have, without the system of lighting you have, but you want to be up-to-date and the only reason you are not up-to-date in your advertising is because you haven't been able to in the past. Now that the matter is pre- sented, you are going to come to the right kind of ad- vertising sooner or later, and the sooner you do it the more money you will make out of it. 20. "Business is dull." "When business is dull don't you still have enough clerks to wait on your customers? Isn't it all the more important at this time that they should be properly taken care of? Then are you going to turn off your best sales- man, the salesman who can talk to more people than all the rest of your clerks put together, simply because busi- ness is dull? "A dull season never lasts long and if you are ad- vertising now it is simply like the farmer who cultivates his field to get a big crop when the harvest comes." SELLING A BUSINESS SERVICE. 257 21. "I write my own ads. I know more about my business than you do." "The same principles that apply to your store, as far as advertising goes, apply to Marshall Field & Co. of Chicago, or John Jones in Podunk. We don't pre- tend to run your business, but we simply take the detail and the hard work of writing the ads off your hands. Your buying, the management of your clerks, and a thousand and one other things require your constant supervision. Our service enables you to devote the valu- able time you spend trying to write your ads to these other important features of your business." 22. "I will take it up in the future." "Mr. Merchant, you will never buy this service until you are satisfied it will make you money? Unless you are convinced of this fact I want to show you right now. If it will make you money, every week you put it off you are losing something. If this service is worth any- thing to you, it is worth it right now and any delay means loss." I.B.L. Vol. "Tho great secret of success in life is to be ready when the opportunity comes." Gould. "There is a past which is gone forever, but there is a future which is still our own." Robertson. CHAPTER XVIII. SELLING A BUSINESS SERVICE. By C. E. Zimmerman. PART 3. Be Impressive. Four object in talking to a merchant is to interest him in an advertising system for his store. He must not listen out of courtesy, but must be so impressed by your statements that he feels he is losing business every week he is not using our service. You lose time in talking to a man who is swapping stories with you, or who is simply curious. You can go out on the street corner and collect a crowd around you if you simply want some- body to talk to, but the man whom you sell is the one you impress from the start and who realizes that he is getting knowledge and information from you. About Easy Sales. Sometimes a merchant will say in a few minutes that he will take your proposition, but remember that your duty is not done until you have impressed him fully with all of the different points and the importance of using the service regularly. Many a man, if he likes your personality, will give you his order and then let the service lie under the counter. This isn't the kind of business we want, for it doesn't mean any future for you or for us. 259 260 SELLING A BUSINESS SERVICE. The Long and Short of It. The man not using our service is losing money. The only reason he does not buy is that he does not know it. The minute you show him he is yours. "You are now paying this price several times over, although you do not get anything for it. "You are paying this price in the goods which you should have sold and have not. "You are paying this price many times over in the business that goes to some one else. "You are paying it again in the time which you spend trying to write your own ads. "You are paying someone, maybe, this much in stock cuts which do not fit your advertising. "Now what I want to know is, are you interested in having me stop all of this expense for you with a single dollar a week when you get this dollar before you pay it." Be Positive. Make your statement that a fact is so-and-so, and not that it is not so-and-so. Do not talk as if you were try- ing to prove that you are not a liar, but make your statements sound as if they were the truth. The minute you seem to have to insist that such a thing is a fact, you invite your customer to question it. Always let your voice fall at the end of a sentence. If you raise your voice at the close of a sentence your statement does not seem nearly so positive. Simply try this a few times in saying something aloud to yourself and you will readily appreciate the importance of it. SELLING A BUSINESS SERVICE. 261 And don't cheat yourself at any time with that ex- cuse of quitters that some men are too hard to sell. There is always a way to accomplish anything that ought to be accomplished. If you know that our service will make money for a man you ought to find the way. Don't say, "He is too hard for me, I can't sell him." If he needs our service, make up your mind that he is go- ing to get it. Find out in what way he can be approached. Get his attention. In most cases of this kind you will find that your trouble is not in being unable to convince the man, but in being unable to get his attention. You certainly have every argument in the world on your side if you will only present them. Most salesmen either make up their minds when they begin to talk that this one is "a cinch" or "There is nothing doing here." What you should say is, "This man may be a hard one, but there is some way to get him and I am going to use my head and ability until I do it." An Occasional Introduction. Sometimes you can use this to advantage in an in- troduction : "Mr. Merchant, let me explain to you the reason for the C. E. Zimmerman syndicate department. I be- lieve it of the utmost importance to the success of your business this year. This service was the outgrowth of merchants' desire to be on the same basis as the big de- partment stores and mail-order houses, the result of country merchants' outcry against the disadvantage they were placed at owing to their lack of scientific advertis- ing. It was conceived by a man who spent his early years in a country store and realized this need. And it has been developed through his later experience in adver- 262 SELLING A BUSINESS SERVICE. tising and the suggestions received from merchants like yourself who have lost thousands and thousands of dol- lars in business owing to their lack of facilities for proper advertising." Make Your Man Understand. Remember it is not what you say to a man ; it is what you make him understand. If he knew one-tenth as much about this proposition as you do, you know he would jump at the chance to buy it. So all you need to do is present the facts so that he comprehends them. Make your statements strong, clear and to the point. Don't dazzle the man with oratory or a mass of mean- ingless talk. Drive every point home. But remember that you cannot drive any man. Look him in the eyes when you talk and his expression will tell you what to do. Don't feed him jokes. You are selling a serious prop- osition and one that he will use in a serious way, so be earnest, candid and stick to business. Above all, be careful not to make a statement that the man does not understand. You can tell by the look on his face whether or not it went over his head, and if it did go back and make him understand it. The further along you go without doing this the further you will get away from him. If you see he doesn't agree with what you say, stick until he does. If you will get him to agree with you right from the start the battle is half won, and the further you go with any line of argument where he doesn't agree the more work you have to do un- til you can get him in shape to do business. Don't try to impress the man with your cleverness. You detract from the proposition when you do, and the minute you begin to give a man the impression that you SELLING A BUSINESS SERVICE. 263 are smart he begins to be afraid of you. However bril- liant your talk, if you make statements which the man does not agree with, if there is a doubt or suspicion that you are exaggerating, even if he does not know exactly what it is about, you are losing out. Never let him lose sight of the fact that he is losing money in four ways when he isn't using our service : The time he spends in writing his ads, the space he buys, the business that goes to somebody else and the stock cuts he pays for. Ask him whether he wouldn't spend 15 cents a day to stop this loss and expense. But you must make him admit that the loss really exists before you can expect him to pay to stop it. Drive Your Points Home. When you make a point drive it home. Don't shift first to one thing, then another. If you make a point and don't make it clearly and convincingly, it is harder to do it over again than to do it in the first place. But after you have talked him into something, don't talk him out again. Know when to stop. Again remember, when you answer an objection don't wait for him to spring another. Unless you have answered it in a way that will get his order, drive home another clincher and enough others to nail him. When a doctor knows what ails a patient he doesn't have much trouble in taking care of him, and when you really know a man's objections and his attitude of mind you are a mighty poor salesman if you cannot get the order. The most common and most deadly objection is the man who hasn't the authority to sign an order and hasn't 264 SELLING A BUSINESS SERVICE. the nerve to admit it. This may be true of a bank cash- ier more often than any one else, who thinks he has to put it up to the board of directors. Don't feel backward about asking him if this is true. However, suggest at the same time that if he wanted to hire a boy for a dol- lar a week to sweep out the bank every morning he wouldn't have to consult the directors, and he is hiring a much bigger thing here on the same basis. May be you are talking to one person in a business and the other partner writes the ads. If you think the customer is keeping something, back from you say to him: "Now I have answered every question you wanted to know. I have proved what our proposition will do for you. Now I want you to be frank with the reason you have not bought it. What is the real reason ?" If it is a question of his advertising man or partner, go right to them and say: "Mr. Merchant has wonder- ful confidence in you. He would not think of taking this service unless you want it, but he believes these are good advertising tools and he wants you to have every possible aid and convenience in your work and I am sure that a man of your ability will readily appreciate what I have to offer." A situation of this kind is easy for the salesman who knows how to handle it. Causing Decision. Sometimes there isn't any real objection in his mind. He will admit everything you say, but he lacks the nerve to bring himself to the point of signing the order; in other words, he is afraid of his own judgment. You must be gentle with a man of this kind. He is timid, but he wants to believe you and he is yours if you only follow him up. Say to him: "You admit that you are SELLING A BUSINESS SERVICE. 265 losing money every week you are not using this service. You see it with your own eyes. Then how can you still hesitate? If some good clerk would come along here wanting a job, and convinced you that he could sell goods like this salesman, Advertising, who would work for such a ridiculous salary, you wouldn't stop a minute. You would be afraid he would go somewhere else. Why, I feel just as if I were standing here and watching the money leak out of your store and you wouldn't stop the leak when I showed you where it was. I feel that I am to blame for your loss if I go out without your order, for I know I haven't shown you this proposition in its true light." Then appeal to his pride by saying: "I know that even if you didn't have enough judgment of your own to buy this, you would buy it on the judgment of the thousands of other merchants who are using it. But you have enough judgment of your own, so let's get busy." Some merchants will constantly have in mind the fact that you are going to get a commission on the sale, which accounts for your desire to do business. "Of course I make money when I sell goods, or I wouldn't be here. So do you, but my business is just as honest as yours is. You believe in your goods and I believe in mine. You would not be treating your cus- tomers right unless you were in earnest about the goods you sold them. But it isn't simply the commission on this sale I am after. I am after your future business. I wouldn't come down here to make one sale with you if it ended there. I know it will make money for you, it will save you money, and that you will continue to use it." 266 SELLING A BUSINESS SERVICE. The Time to Close. There Is a Tide in the Affairs of Men. And this was never as true with any class of men as it is with sales- men. There is a certain time to close an order. If you try it too soon you flush your man. If you wait too long the iron is cold. The ideal sale is where you do not have to ask a man to sign an order where your selling talk with him is more in the nature of a conversation. Don't appear anxious to get his signature, and if you see you have tried too soon or waited too long, go on talking until you bring him up to the point again. But if you do ask him to sign, don't be afraid to, or act like it. The more confidence you have the more likely he is to comply with your request. Many a salesman will ask a man to sign an order in a manner which will prove successful when nine times out of ten others would fail under the same circumstances. A good way is to ask a man for his letterhead, so you may be sure to get his name and address correct. Or ask him whether he wants the goods shipped by freight or express. He indirectly commits himself in this way and then the rest is easy. If he objects to signing the order, state that it is only an agreement on his part to pay for the service and that it is the same protection to him that it is to us. Tell him that it is simple, that he can see for himself there is no joker in it, and that you will leave him a duplicate copy if he so desires ; that if he means to pay for the service there is no reason why he should not sign the order. But never indicate to him that you are afraid he won't. The minute you begin to talk to a customer, one of SELLING A BUSINESS SERVICE. 267 you is master of the situation. One leads, the other fol- lows. If you will direct the talk you will also direct his thought and attention. If you leave this to him, he will sidetrack you ; in other words, one of you must be master of the situation. You have got to know more about your proposition than he does and talk in a way that will make him see that, without antagonizing him. Some Price Arguments. When a customer says, "I like your proposition, but I won't pay that much money for cuts." "Mr. Merchant, I haven't asked you to buy a cut. I am not selling them, but I am selling advertising. We wouldn't furnish you these cuts if you could procure them in any other way and it is only because they are necessary in order to reproduce the advertisement in your newspaper. It would cost you many times our price to reproduce them. It is only to save you a loss of trouble and inconvenience that we attempt to furnish them. Let me ask how much you paid for that hat you have on? Three dollars, you say? Wool is worth about 80 cents a pound and your hat doesn't weigh over one-half pound not quite that much yet you paid $3 for it. Why? Because you paid for the man's knowledge who dyed the wool, for the man who made the felt, the man who blocked the hat, the factory, wholesaler's and jobber's profits. You didn't pay $3 for a half-pound of wool; you paid $3 for a hat. "You aren't paying us $1 for a cut; you are paying us $1 for an ad. "If you were going to invest in a bond you would rather pay $100 for a bond that was safe and sure, and 268 SELLING A BUSINESS SERVICE. would bring a return of $200 than you would pay $50 for a bond that would bring you in $25. We could furnish you cuts for 10 cents apiece if we were selling cuts the same as you can buy a rag for 25 cents with which to cover your head. You carry the goods in stock your customers buy, even if it amounts to $10,000, be- cause you can make a profit on them. And here you are investing only $52 and investing it as you use it for something which will help you sell these goods the year around. Think of all the money you have tied up in this stock. Think of the clerks 'you pay, your rent and light and other overhead expenses. Then you will hesi- tate another instant on paying $1 a week for the most important end of this whole business? The service you see before you represents an outlay of thousands and thousands of dollars to build; besides the members of our concern have spent years and years of work in the advertising field in order to be able to do such work. This service could not come to you without this outlay; without the mass of information at our command. Don't look at it as so many cuts. What it does for you, that is the point! The profits it represents, the study, the experience, the knowledge. You could not afford to take advantage of what is represented here in any other way unless it was syndicated to you. You are simply looking at a dollar a week; but on the other hand, look what it brings to you. "If you were sick would you say, 'No, I don't want a doctor. He will charge me $2 and maybe the medi- cine won't cost 25 cents." It isn't what the medicine would cost you, it is the good it would do you." SELLING A BUSINESS SERVICE. 269 To the merchant who says he gets cuts free with the brand of shoes he buys, or cut glass he handles, etc. : "Are you in business, Mr. Merchant, for John Jones or for the Blank Shoe Co.? Whose business are you advertising? Do you want your customers to think that you have to advertise another man's business? I want to tell you why it is a dangerous thing for you to do. Take, for instance, the Blank Shoe Co. These people up to a short time ago put out a union-made shoe with the union label. They had a big trade in union towns. Recently they got in trouble with the union, were placed on the 'unfair list.' Then what happened to the mer- chants who were advertising the Blank union-made shoe and had a union trade? Do you want to be cut like this? "I know another instance where a shoe dealer was handling a standard brand of shoes which he agreed to sell at certain prices. Through an oversight he placed some broken sizes in a lot on sale at reduced prices and advertised them. One of his competitors down the street noticed his ad in the paper, wrote to the manufacturers and got the line himself. In three years this merchant had spent $1,000 advertising another man's business and his competitor got the benefit of it. Now when a customer comes into his store and says: *I want a Blank shoe,' he has to say, 'I haven't got them.' And when a customer says, 'Why haven't you ? Is there any place in town where I can get them?' he either has to lie or else say, 'Go down to my competitor; he can sell you a pair.' "Think how much better off this man would be if he had always given his customers to understand that he bought the best shoes the market afforded; that he was 270 SELLING A BUSINESS SERVICE. a judge of leather; that he knew quality and style and advertised his business this way. Then when he lost a line of shoes or wanted to turn them down he would be in a position to do so. You are playing with fire when you advertise another man's business. "Suppose a jeweler is handling a certain line of cut glass which he advertises in the paper. Their salesman comes along and says ; 'Mr. Merchant, let's make up your order.' The jeweler says, 'All right,' but finds he has quite a stock on hand and cannot order very much new goods. Is the salesman going to find it to his advantage to sell this man a few pieces which are out of stock or to go down and place the line with somebody else? Isn't it better for the jeweler to carry the best cut glass on the market, standard goods, to advertise in the paper as such, and then when his customers come into his store to show them what he has. If they have seen a certain line of cut glass advertised in high-class magazines and the ad brings them into his store, won't they be a lot more impressed with his good judgment when they see his assortment, and with his ability as a merchant, than if he has to advertise the other man's goods in his paper? "If we wanted to sell this service for double the price, you know lots of merchants would buy it. No doubt we could do this and make lots of money, but we don't look at it that way. Our price is reasonable and we make a profit, just as you or any other man would, and we make it reasonable enough so that we will get your busi- ness year after year. What we make on the service don't concern you ; it is the money the service makes for you. You are not buying cuts; you are simply paying for advertising service, and you are paying for that after SELLING A BUSINESS SERVICE. 271 you have used it and got your returns. There is just one thing for you to do. Take advantage of this won- derful salesman who will work for you at $1 a week and let him begin just as quick as he can." Why We Don't Pay Freight. "If we paid freight we would simply have to add this item to the price of the service. The freight charges are a very small item in any territory and as we have a fixed profit it would simply mean that the man near by was paying as much as the man in Texas or California, which would not be fair. This way you are simply pay- ing your share." Getting a Reference. In closing a man, remember that you cannot pay a customer a bigger compliment or a neater one than to ask of him a favor in the right way. Say something like this: "Now, Mr. Customer, you see what a wonder- ful proposition this is. You understand it now. Who is the man in the shoe or furniture line that you would like to see get this? You know I only sell one man in a town. You can see how much good it is going to do you and if you have a friend you would like to see get in on a good thing you can rest assured that he will thank you every week this year for sending me to him." A Good Argument. Following is a good price argument : "Have you ever used trading stamps ? Haven't many merchants found it profitable to give 5 per cent on trading stamps that means, to pay out $500 on every $10,000 worth of goods sold? Well, let me ask you if you haven't had some sort 272 SELLING A BUSINESS SERVICE. of a premium to sell baking powder, or some article where your customer, for instance, bought a can of bak- ing powder for 15 cents and got a chance for a prize? Did they ever come back and ask you for the same kind of baking powder? Xo. They bought it simply to get the prize, and it is the same proposition when they come for trading stamps. They are not impressed with your goods, but simply with the stamps, and you are simply educating them to run after premiums and go to the man down the street when he offers something new. "Real advertising is molding public opinion, and the advertising which welds your customers into a firm, en- during patronage is the kind that makes you money." After you have given him a talk on advertising con- taining the previous matter you can easily say, "Wouldn't you pay me $5 a week to work in your store on the advertising end of your business if I would fur- nish the illustrations for your paper every week and spend all of my time wTiting your ads? I am offering you a lot more than I could possibly do. If your busi- ness required it you wouldn't hesitate a minute to put on another clerk, and I am showing you that your business does need this clerk or salesman, and I am offering him to you for the ridiculous price of $1 a week, 15 cents a day. What is the use of your buying space in the news- paper which you don't get the benefit of, letting trade go to people wiio have high-priced advertising men, run- ning the same copy the second time, not having your ad in at all, or worrying your life away writing ads, when you can get an advertising manager like this for $1 a week?" SELLING A BUSINESS SERVICE. 273 Payments. While we are perfectly willing to give a man a year to pay for his goods, wherever possible we would much prefer the service to be sold at 30 days, less 5 per cent. Make these terms whenever you can. If a man does not take the discount and will pay in 30 days, we will make him free of charge a name plate the size of his service. This means a zinc with his name and the nature of his business on, to go at the foot or head of his ad, prefer- ably at the foot. It is something that would cost him from $5 to $10, or $15, if he got it made himself. While we want the business, and will do anything reasonable to cooperate with you in securing it, never be so anxious as to lead a customer to think he can make his own terms. You know he cannot and don't be afraid to tell him so, in a polite, courteous way. Many men you try to sell are shrewd buyers and any good buyer looks upon the salesman with contempt who does not make his best proposition first. This is what we do, as our terms are certainly as liberal as any one could desire, and we will not in the future cut a price or deviate from our terms in any way. Ofttimes you can glance around a man's store and see thousands of dollars tied up in cash registers, safes, bookkeeping systems, adding machines, etc. These things indicate that a man is progressive, and if you will simply show him clearly the hundreds and thousands of dollars he is spending to take care of his business after he gets it, and how ridiculous it is for him to hesitate about spending $1 a week to get this in the most mod- ern and scientific manner, he will not hesitate. If you can, secure a number of newspapers in which I.B.L. Vol. 218 274 SELLING A BUSINESS SERVICE. his ad has been running for different periods over the past year and then compare them with the ads in our service and you will have an argument that is unanswer- able. " Nerve Medicine.' 1 Here is some more nerve medicine for the weak- minded brethren, the ones who cannot make up their minds. Like the poor, they will always be with us and somebody will have to make up their minds for them as long as they are. "Mr. Merchant, you agree that our service will make you money and save you money and still you will not take it today. You will 'some time in the future when your business is better.' Mr. Merchant, if one of your family was ill when would you get the doctor wait until she was better ? After the doctor came would you put off getting the prescription filled until she was well? Or would you say to the druggist, 'Give me a little of this medicine?' No, you would get a doctor and get him quick and do exactly what he told you. "Your business is sick. Here is the doctor. You have the prescription free of charge and yet you don't want to get the medicine until your business gets better. Next to your family your business is dearest to your heart, and why shouldn't it be? It provides for you all. It is your life. Can you let it linger on another day, and perhaps die when a scratch of the pen will cure it?" To the banker who says that "he does not believe it is necessary for them to advertise, because they are well known, have all the depositors they can get out of the community, etc.": SELLING A BUSINESS SERVICE. 275 "Today every banker is exposed to the competition of forcible advertising appearing in the magazines and periodicals circulated in their community. "There are institutions seeking depositors who offer equal rates of interest, the benefits of depositing with a large institution and the names of men as directors who are world-renowned as financiers. They are successful. "The statement of the Colonial Trust of Cleveland alone shows over two millions in deposits and not one cent of that money is from the residents of their city. Besides innumerable banks in the cities, look at the bond investments; wildcat schemes, and the thousand and one other things which are taking the money out of the peo- ple in your town. Now, if you and all the other bankers want to band together, and die together, it might sound pretty, but it is not good commercial sense. Ten years ago many merchants did not believe in advertising. Mail- order houses did not alarm them any more than mail- order banks alarm you. What is the result today? "If these merchants had advertised properly at that time, do you think mail order business would have grown like it has? Now let me tell you, Mr. Banker, it is going to be the same proposition over and over again with the banks. Five years ago mail-order banks were not known and no bank thought of advertising. Today you know what the situation is, and I think you can tell what it will be in ten years from now. "Furthermore, as to having all the depositors it is possible to get, I do believe you are sincere in your state- ment. Look at the Chicago Telephone Company, a world-renowned monopoly. They have no competition, but they create and stimulate a desire for a telephone by 276 SELLING A BUSINESS SERVICE. constant advertising, just as you may create and stimu- late a desire for a bank account by advertising. Don't the Standard Oil Company advertise although they have a monopoly? Would your wife ever use paraffin if it had not been advertised, or a thousand and one other by-products that they manufacture?" CHAPTER XIX. TRAVELING SALESMEN. A little knowledge of the history of selling goods by traveling agents is desirable, but the earlier history of commercial traveling is a good deal like snakes in Ireland conspicuous by absence. Seekers after information on the subject who resort to works of reference can scarcely fail to be confronted with the statement that the commercial traveler is of comparatively recent creation. As this may be said to be the truth, but not the whole truth, some explanation is necessary. Few books have shed more glamor over the young lives of a past generation than the collection of tales known as the "Arabian Nights," and although the great increase of popular literature for the young tends somewhat to crowd out this form of food for the imagination, they are still sufficiently popular to be constantly reproduced in variously abridged forms. The sale of merchandise is the basis of a great many of these tales, and mer- chants figure conspicuously therein, being evidently faithfully represented from the life of those times; in support of which intimation the words of the Orientalist, Professor Jonathan Scott, may be quoted appropriately: "It would be needless to enlarge on the estimation in which the stories of the 1001 Nights are held in those 277 278 TRAVELING SALESMEN. countries where they are known in their original lan- guage, as presenting true pictures of Oriental opinions, habits, and manners." "Those sellers of merchandise," says an English writer, "at any rate, traveled commercially. That at least must be admitted by those who would not style them commercial travelers. The argument that is anticipated in support of such views is that a commercial traveler does not take the goods which he has to sell about with him. This is true, but he as often as not carries samples of many of them, and those Eastern merchants were wont, when certain of their wares were approved of, to promise that they would either come again with more of the like or intrust a further consignment to the care of some approved third party to bring it to the buyer, who practically gave an order for it by promising to purchase it on arrival if of similar nature to the goods which the merchant had himself displayed. There was, therefore, in connection with those transactions much of the spirit if not of the letter of commercial traveling. Ancient Travelers Held in Respect. "It is quite refreshing to those who wish to uphold and maintain the dignity of commerce, to refer to these tales of old times and note the respect which was accord- ed to the purveyor of valuable goods. "It may be anticipated that some will say, 'Those mer- chants were not bona fide commercial travelers, because they waited on people who bought for private use.' There are two answers to this : "First, that was not the case universally. Readers who investigate can find sketches of commercial inter- TRAVELING SALESMEN. 279 course between one traveling merchant and another as seller and buyer. "Second, there are to this day men who besides solicit- ing orders from trade customers, have a regular clientele among private consumers. Take, for example, the case of wine merchants' and aerated water manufacturers' representatives. Many of these call both on retail trades- men and on wealthy private individuals who can buy more than the average consumer. But, nevertheless, they rank as regular commercial travelers when they go systematically on journeys as the paid representatives of commercial firms. Evolution of the Modern Traveler. "Suffice it then to say, that in connection with the sales of the Oriental merchants of old times there was that which savored of commercial traveling, although the modern commercial traveler can scarcely be said to have evolved from such a commencement. He is the outcome of increased volume of trade and greater facilities for extending and promoting it, such as improved means of locomotion, diminished rates of transportation, which enable traders to go to greater distances in less time and to send goods at such rates of freight as do not pre- vent the purchasers from being able to resell or make use of these on profitable terms. "To this day farmers in various parts of England make complaint that railway rates are too high to enable them to send some of their produce to large centers, where it would find a ready demand if they could only afford to sell it there at the prices usually paid. But if you can grow a fruit at a cost of less than a farthing per pound, and there is a ready demand for it in the 280 TRAVELING SALESMEN. nearest large town at three farthings per pound, that is no good to you if it costs over a halfpenny (two far- things) per pound to transmit it thither. "So long as the buyer and the seller could come into direct contact, and the former expected to pay at once and to arrange then and there for the removal of his purchases, business transactions did not involve the neces- sity or expediency of the employment of men as com- mercial travelers. There were not, as now, proportion- ate amounts of money to be collected, because the giving of credit was far less in vogue. ' If a buyer carried off his purchases and did not pay, how was he to be got at? "It would, in many cases, have cost the seller infinitely more than the value of the sale to take steps to come at the defaulter and exact payment. He could ordinarily neither have spared the time to follow him up, as that might have entailed a journey of weeks or even months, nor could he have afforded to send anyone else for the purpose, so great would have been the expense, to say nothing of the risks involved by traveling in those early days, and the doubtful justice which strangers too often encountered when they arraigned men before tribunals beyond the jurisdiction of their own rulers. "Neither could many traders send emissaries far afield, because they would not have been in a position to transport goods profitably to a distance, owing to the cost and labor which the transition would have involved. Some few did so on occasion, but such was not the ordi- nary practice. People ordinarily supplied their wants from the nearest center, and the fairs which used to be held periodically in various districts were resorted to for that purpose. TRAVELING SALESMEN. 281 Improved Means of Transit. "But when improved means of transit lessened the carriage of goods, merchants and manufacturers were able to extend the limits of their trade transactions, and found that it paid them to do so; and out of the practice of journeying fitfully for that purpose arose the sys- tem now so universally adopted of having their establish- ments represented by commercial travelers empowered to collect money and solicit orders systematically. "So those who state that the calling of commercial traveler is one which practically was non-existent prior to the end of the eighteenth century, are right in the main, but not wholly so. Research into the transactions of some of the larger mercantile establishments existing before that date affords evidence that men were em- ployed regularly to sell for these. It would then be safer to state that the calling existed earlier to an ex- tent, but was imperfectly recognized prior to the be- ginning of the nineteenth century, when a system at- tended hitherto with much irregularity became more and more regular. There was increased production, and greater facilities for transit, affording thereby a widened area for its disposal. Nineteenth Century Developments. "It followed naturally with such developments that some form of supervision must be instituted for the pur- pose of maintaining and increasing still further these extended business connections. Merchants saw that it was more to their interest to keep people to work for them exclusively, so that their transactions should be less patent to others than was likely to be the case when 282 TRAVELING SALESMEN. they intrusted them, as they frequently used to do, to agents who were employed by others also; and further, that they should have fuller control of the movements of men so employed, besides reaping the whole result of their industry. So commercial travelers came regu- larly into vogue. "In England the macadamizing of roads made a great difference to the comfort and convenience of getting about, but it must be remembered that it was not till 1815 that Mr. Macadam received his appointment as surveyor of the Bristol roads, and was able to carry out his road-making improvements. After that, travelers took to wheels, instead of the saddle, much more uni- versally, and were enabled by the change to carry more samples with them. A drapery (dry goods) traveler, for example, must have been very much hampered when he had to restrict the size and weight of his samples to what he could take in his saddle-bags. Origin of "Bagman." "The term 'bagman' is too modern for any definition of it to be found in Dr. Johnson's dictionary. It was applied to commercial travelers because they customar- ily rode from place to place with saddle-bags contain- ing their samples and necessary effects. The appella- tion stuck' to them after they took to driving instead of riding, and some British writers still think proper to dub them with the sobriquet, but no commercial representa- tive nowadays, save in jocular strain, would address his confreres as 'fellow-bagmen.' It would be about as in- appropriate as for an Eton house-master to speak to his colleagues as 'fellow-ushers.' "The word 'bagman* as now applied is by many felt to TRAVELING SALESMEN. 283 be offensive, and in some cases is used for that express purpose. When Cobden was agitating for a repeal of the Corn Laws, his opponents tried to bring him into contempt by constantly alluding to him as 'the Man- chester bagman.' "In Vol. I of Murray's New English Dictionary ap- pears the following definition of and references to bag- man in the sense of commercial traveler: ' 'Bagman. A commercial traveler, whose business it is to show samples and solicit orders on behalf of man- ufacturers, etc. (somewhat depreciatory).' "Space in dictionaries is necessarily limited, but it is questionable whether this definition would not have been improved by the introduction after 'solicit orders' of these supplementary words: 'and ordinarily to collect money.' For there are perhaps more English travelers who solicit orders without carrying samples, and collect accounts, than those whose duty it is to get orders only, and collect no money. "These are the historical references in the Murray dic- tionary: '1765, Goldsmith, Essay 1: "The bag-man was telling a better story." 1808, J. Wolcott (Peter Pindar), Peep R. Acad. Works; 1812, v. 360: "The Bag-men as they travel by." 1815, T. Peacock, Head- long Hall, 2: "In later days when commercial bags- men began to scour the country." 1865, Daily Tele- graph, 13 Dec. 5-4: "A traveler I mean a bag-man, not a tourist arriving with his samples at a provincial town." ' "Those who note these references may be surprised that there is a lapse of forty-three years between the first and second. But is the first. quite proven? 284 TRAVELING SALESMEN. Was He an Insect-Destroyer? "The old editions of Goldsmith's Essays (and all the modern ones which have come under the writer's notice) , do not indicate the word bag-man in connection with the passage referred to. The rendering is bug-man. "Some, and perhaps the majority, will say * Obviously this is a misprint. What could bug-man be but bag- man? 9 "Well, it is possible that it might mean something else, and a point in favor of this .view is that the day of the reference is so much earlier than the others afforded. The sentence reads: * While the bug-man at the same time was telling a better story of a noble lord with whom he could do anything.' "Noble English lords of the eighteenth century were little given to trading, although, judging from some specimens of modern date, it would be assuming a good deal to infer that commercial travelers of bygone times were never given to bragging. "Many shopkeepers of the eighteenth century, and makers of articles such as boots, harness, saddles, etc., used to ride round on horseback soliciting the custom of the gentry and others in the neighborhood. They carried saddlebags, but going as they did with a view to selling to private individuals almost entirely, should not be classed as bagmen by those who consider the word bagman synonymous with commercial traveler. "Perhaps the individual of Goldsmith's creation was one of these. Or was there a set of insect-destroyers who were proud to be designated by an appellation sig- nificant of that particular pest against which they waged war chiefly? TRAVELING SALESMEN. 285 "The writer invited readers of Notes and Queries to shed light on Goldsmith's allusion, and to specify in- stances of the use of the term 'bag-man' in the sense of commercial traveler prior to 1800. The responses re- ceived inclined to the insect-destroyer interpretation, and not one single example of the use of the term 'bagman,' in the sense specified, before 1800, has been furnished.'" Changes Noted in England. With the development of railroad transportation, the character of commercial traveling in England under- went many changes in the last half of the nineteenth century, while the American traveling salesman was rap- idly being evolved. The tremendous growth of Ameri- can manufactures subsequent to the Civil War gave an immense impetus to commercial traveling, until the traveling salesman became a positive power in the com- munity. The American traveler, however, was never looked down upon, as in the British Isles and on the continent of Europe. He was never regarded as a being* of inferiority in the social scale, but was always recog- nized as an important factor in national business life. Development of manufactures and of transportation has necessarily been accompanied by increased competi- tion. To return for a moment to the conditions existing across the Atlantic, English commercial travelers are very much given nowadays to saying that they wish that their employers would go out on the road themselves to realize the increase of competition. "It must be remembered," says the English writer quoted above,* "that foreign competition is a serious * Mr. Algernon Warren, author of ' l Commercial Knowledge, " " Com- mercial Traveling," etc. 286 TRAVELING SALESMEN. element to militate against the success of the modern traveler, for it has resulted in our doing business with a less margin of profit. Consequently, the English mer- chants and manufacturers strain every nerve to make up for this diminution by a larger turn-over that is, by do- ing more business so they are keener in securing the orders of all parties whom they believe to be solvent buyers of their articles. So the tradesman of sound reputation gets waited on more and more. He in his turn is forced by the exigencies .of trade to look closely to purchasing prices; for Cooperative Supply Associa- tions, and greater facilities to the public for obtaining goods from a distance, have lessened his margin of profit also. "It is really no exaggeration to affirm that to earn as much as their fathers did before them in similar busi- nesses, many shopkeepers require at least twice as many customers. . . . Margins of Profit Reduced. "Taking them all round, the 'individual trade of the ordinary retailer or of the small manufacturer has not increased in the same proportion to that of large whole- sale firms. There are more distributers to the public than there ever were, so the trade is divided up, and unfortunately for those who do it, the margins of profit are so reduced that the strain entailed in paying their way and maintaining themselves and those dependent on them is considerably enhanced, and is not conducive to their giving time to listening to travelers, if they believe that the latter are trying to sell them anything that they do not stand in need of. TRAVELING SALESMEN. 287 "Half a century ago, or later indeed, not nearly so many houses had by advertisement or other means es- tablished a reputation for proprietary articles, so a trav- eler, who wished to sell something new, had not to en- counter these obstacles to the same extent, and often found that nothing of similar nature had hitherto been introduced into the district. With greater bulk of trade has come a more than proportionate host of imitators of those who are believed to be doing a large portion of it. This has resulted in increased worry to travelers for the older houses, and also in abrupt receptions of new competitors trying to supersede them. Quality Standards Higher. "The standard of quality is now much more uniform, as makers try hard to perfect their articles, and dealers in produce are driven by competition to be most care- ful in their selections and rejections. But fifty or sixty years ago great improvements were being made, and shopkeepers found travelers introducing articles to them which were so infinitely superior to those which they had been retailing, that they positively welcomed them, and felt grateful to the travelers for helping them to please their customers and increase their trade. But nowadays one firm's goods may be rather better than those of sev- eral others, but it is seldom that they are infinitely su- perior. Few firms can charge twenty or thirty per cent, more than the average price, on the ground of superior excellence of quality. Some of them have tried to meet competition by offering two qualities, whereas they used to sell one only. The result of this has been, over and over again, that they have had to so perfect their second 288 TRAVELING SALESMEN. quality that the demand for their dearer article practi- cally dies out. . . . "But, in reality, processes of manufacture have been so much improved that the manufacturer can produce an article which, although termed second quality, affords much better value for the price paid for it than does the so-called No. 1, which may be only slightly superior and yet charged considerably higher, because it has not been reduced in price proportionately to the cheaper cost of production which improvements in manufacture have effected, and by which the value of the second- quality article is computed. Buyers Know More Nowadays. "The knowledge of buyers has increased, and they are no longer disposed to pay what is asked of them, unless persuaded in their minds that the sellers regulate their prices on some sound basis. The day is gone by for that stamp of travelers who (as one assured the writer's father) were wont to assert in confidence that high prices were 'merely a matter of nerve.' Plenty of evidence could be forthcoming to show that wholesale merchants and manufacturers used frequently to charge different prices to men who bought equal quantities. There was a too prevalent feeling that one man could afford to pay a higher price than another, and therefore he ought to be charged more. Consequently, men attempting to do a wholesale trade, small though it might be, so long as they did not sell over a counter to the public, often got better terms than others who, although doing more trade in the aggregate, maintained retail departments. A manufacturer sending to a firm of wholesale dealers for some ingredients requisite for his processes, was TRAVELING SALESMEN. 289 frequently charged higher prices than the latter exacted from other wholesale dealers for similar consignments, the defense for doing so being that the manufacturers would get more profit out of the article fabricated from these raw materials, than would the wholesale distributer, who required them to sell again just as they were. Effects of Cooperative Trading. "This was carried to an absurd degree. Men who professed to do a wholesale trade would (some of them attempt it still), when they only required goods to the value of a few shillings, write to wholesale firms to this effect: 'Please give your very lowest wholesale prices for such-and-such articles.' Cooperative trading has had a salutary effect in Britain in knocking a good deal of this kind of thing on the head. A firm habitually sending orders to another business establishment for goods amounting to not less than ten pounds ($50) on the average, may reasonably expect, if ordering consign- ments of less value on occasion, to be charged for these at a lower rate than the sellers require from others who always order petty quantities, but that is a different thing to claiming preferential treatment on the score of not doing direct trade with the public. "It is unreasonable that a retail tradesman, who makes larger annual purchases from one establishment than wholesale firms do, should not buy on as favorable terms as they. But such used to be the case. One man's money was not regarded as being as good as another's that is, he was not given the same value in return for it. The fact that this state of things existed, tends to show how much less travelers were impeded by competition, I.l.L. Vol. 219 290 TRAVELING SALESMEN. and what numbers of traders had hazy notions about fair market values. Market Information Was Scarce. "It must be remembered, too, that in times more ap- proximate to the first half of the last century, shopkeep- ers and small manufacturers were, as a class, far more illiterate than they now are. Writing was a positive burden to many of them, and some would openly aver that they would rather walk miles than write a letter. Then, again, they had not the same means of getting market information. Price-currents were not universal, and those that existed were less indicative of market changes. "Nowadays there are several trade journals in con- nection with almost every recognized industry. Those that existed in the time referred to, contained neither the same proportion of commercial intelligence that is positively required of a trade organ in the present day, nor had they a similar circulation. A tradesman feels that he must have access regularly to some journal which will keep him posted up in market prices and trade de- velopments. Many a young traveler, whom the party waited upon considers too self-assertive, gets arrested in the outpour of what he considers to be valuable in- formation, for which his desired customer ought to be thankful, by the remark, 'I can judge that for myself. I take the trade journal and I see how prices are going/ "In point of fact, trade intelligence was less access- ible and more costly. Many trade journals, which used to be brought out once a month, are now produced weekly, and the pages of advertisements which they con- TRAVELING SALESMEN. 291 tain exceed in bulk of printed matter the whole con- tents of those monthly issues. Travelers' Information Welcome. "Consequently, the tradesman depended much more upon travelers' information, and was grateful for it, and sometimes felt very helpless when he missed getting it. The writer knew of a chandler in Wales who never ventured to buy tallow without first consulting a trav- eler who used to wait upon him from a large soap and candle manufacturing firm in the West of England. After some years that traveler, who has since earned the highest esteem and gratitude of his fellow-citizens for many years of disinterested devotion to civic interests and philanthropical efforts, ceased to travel, and re- mained at home to help to conduct the affairs of the firm. The chandler found that he simply could not get on without consulting him, and took to reversing the former positions, by journeying periodically to inter- view the ex-traveler in his office, to consult him about favorable times to purchase tallow. He, the buyer, came to the seller to ask advice, preferring to go to this ex- pense rather than rely on such information as the trav- eler's successor, a well-meaning but less experienced man, could impart to him. "In the present day many traders have reason to be under obligation to travelers for judicious information, but unfortunately the increased band of commercials in- cludes too many who, thinking that they know what their customers do not, irritate the latter by taking up their time with a flood of unsolicited verbiage, which makes the busy trader inclined to anathematize the whole race of travelers. 292 TRAVELING SALESMEN. "A man who gets poured upon him a torrent of words, which he considers to serve no purpose, is not likely to apply to that same source when he does want to know something, and nowadays there are plenty of other f oun- tainheads. It is this loquaciousness which sometimes re- sults in letters being dispatched, so that principals have the annoyance of reading: 'Tell your traveler not to call upon me, I would rather send direct.' Or, 'I do not like your Mr. Blank ; he talks too much/ Collections by Travelers. "An experienced business man, however, knows that in some of these cases the traveler is not always to blame, except indeed for lack of that invaluable thing tact. Sometimes he may have given offense by trying to fulfill instructions from home, in the way of not hesitating to ask for money when due. A man of tact will know how to solicit payment with firmness, and yet in no offensive manner; but a zealous, less-gifted one will sometimes create a very sore feeling by his mode of application. Sometimes, too, letters requesting that the traveler shall not call are merely an attempt to extort more credit than is justified by the terms of sale. If goods be sold on terms of * three months current journey account' that is, with an understanding that all goods had within each term of a quarter of a year are due to be paid at its ex- piration and that the traveler shall customarily call and collect the payment within a few days after that (the traveler's ordinary call for collection of money due is an accommodation, not a legal obligation), it is rather skabby on the part of the buyer, if in his power to do fcherwise, to take such extended credit that by the time he remits the amount of an owing account, another is TRAVELING gLJEMEN. 293 not far from being due likewise. Thus if he contract to pay the traveler, who calls upon him early in the month of April, with an account for all items of goods bought from the house that he represents, during January, Feb- ruary, and March previous, he ought not to say, 'I pre- fer to remit direct,' and then delay his payment till May or June. "Of course, some houses enter into regular agreements to extend credit for certain considerations favorable to themselves, but in the ordinary way of business, when an account is properly due, goods having been bought according to specified terms, the buyer is not justified in postponing payment in the manner indicated." These British conditions are cited to show that travel- ing men's trials are by no means confined to the American side of the Atlantic. Many of the statements and com- ments made above will be found interesting by students of traveling salesmanship no matter where their field of operations may lie. We may now deal briefly with pres- ent-day conditions of commercial traveling in the United States and Canada. Commercial Traveling in America. Traveling salesmanship is an extremely important factor of American business. The American traveler now penetrates to the ends of the earth in the search for wider markets for American goods. The entrance of the United States into full member- ship in the family of commercial nations is of compara- tively recent date, but with the Spanish War of 1898 there came a general realization of the commercial im- portance of the country and alio a realization in the 294 TRAVELING SALESMEN. United States of the possibilities afforded by the world markets. The island possessions practically forced upon the United States by the results of that war immediately extended the market for American products and also opened the eyes of many American manufacturers to the wider markets beyond the seas which they had hitherto neglected. A traveling salesman has been well defined as "the accredited representative of a business firm in the ex- ploitation of distant markets." He may represent eithei a manufacturer or a wholesaler, jobber, or distributer. Where the manufacturer turns over his output under contract to jobbers who undertake the distribution, the jobbers employ roadmen or travelers to visit certain as- signed territories and sell the goods, usually to retailers who complete the distribution by selling to the consumer. Wholesale distribution in the present day is effected by means of, first, advertising; second, traveling sales- manship ; and third, mail orders. There is little in com- mon between the first and last of these factors, namely, the traveling salesman and the mail order business, but advertising and the traveling salesman are closely re- lated. A modern sales department has supervision not only of the traveling salesmen of the house, but also of the advertising department, while the traveling salesman, aided by the publicity gained for the goods through ad- vertising, extends the business of the house by the prac- tice of direct salesmanship in personal contact with the retailer. The organization of great corporations and combina- tions of manufacturing concerns has tended to reduce TRAVELING SALESMEN. 295 the number of traveling salesmen; in fact, the saving which results from reducing the number of such repre- sentatives is one of the strongest arguments for the con- solidation of industries. Many combinations have ef- fected a great saving of expense by the partial elimina- tion of traveling salesmen, but for the great majority of manufacturers and wholesalers, the roadman is still in- dispensable. Two Classes of Roadmen. Dr. Samuel E. Sparling, in his able work on "Busi- ness Organization," says: "Roadmen are divided into two classes general and special. The general roadmen carry all the lines sold by one concern or by several firms. The larger wholesale houses have their general traveling salesmen, who are sent into the territory where small markets abound, and form the principal reliance of the house in maintaining a regular trade. They visit the smaller retail stores which buy a large variety, or do not deal in special wares in quantities which would warrant the visit of special sales- men. The general salesmen 'make' these towns at regu- lar intervals. "Special salesmen are found with those firms carrying a special line of goods whose value is large and fre- quently fluctuates with the seasons. It is customary for the most progressive retail merchants to buy upon in- spection. This is done by going to the larger distribut- ing markets, or by inspecting the samples of the travel- ing salesman. The practice of retail merchants of visit- ing the wholesale markets to lay in their stock is rapidly passing away. These visits are made unnecessary by 296 TRAVELING SALESMEN. the use of traveling salesmen. Often a special salesman is able to sell where one employed in general work would fail, because of the fact that the former is usually better qualified. A great variety of drygoods is sold through special salesmen, who visit their customers in season; they 'make' the larger towns, and visit only the more progressive merchants. Their field is limited both in ter- ritory and commodities, as well as in the number of merchants visited. "The roadmen operate from. the central office or its branches. The sales manager directs his office and his entire corps of salesmen, while the sales manager of the branch office is virtually in charge of an assigned terri- tory. It is customary to place over each territory a man- ager for the supervision of the salesmen. The duties of the manager of the roadmen are important. He must, in the first place, be a man of good business ability and a keen judge of men. He assists in making prices, be- cause he knows the conditions of the market. In this way the salesmen are directly or indirectly controlled from the home office, but in case the trade expands over a wide territory, branch offices are established. A ware- house is frequently established in connection with these branch offices." Division of Territory. In the organization of a sales force, one of the first considerations is the division of the territory which it is proposed to include in the operations of the house, into such sections as the number of salesmen to be employed can conveniently cover at regular intervals with the ut- most speed and economy. In laying out territory for traveling salesmen, the sales manager takes into account T1ATOLING SALESMEN. 297 the facilities for transportation, the number of prospec- tive customers, and the possible demand for the products of the house. He studies the possible demand in order to be able to determine whether the territory is being properly worked or not. He then sends out his salesmen, after proper instruction at the home office, each being assigned to a given territory over which he makes regu- lar trips as often as the character of the business war- rants the expense. In some lines of business, crews of salesmen are sent out to cover a specific territory under the direction of a crew manager. Such crews may establish themselves in a city, and after working it thoroughly may spread out into the surrounding country and then move on to fresh fields. Such a method is frequently pursued by publish- ing houses, especially in the sale of subscription books, but publishers selling to the retail trade, like other manu- facturers, have their regular traveling salesmen assigned to specific territory which they cover at regular in- tervals. Systems of Traveling. Three systems are used by roadmen in making their territory; the regular-trip system, the regular district special trip system, and the branch-office system. The first system, says Dr. Sparling, is the most common, al- though the second has a large place in distribution. The last system is employed in those lines where the goods must be brought closer to the customer through the means of warehouses than is possible by operating from the home office only. "Before the salesman leaves the office a list of cus- 298 TRAVELING SALESMEN. tomers is prepared for each town. The standing of each customer is carefully examined. The samples are then prepared by men especially employed for this purpose, and marked by the heads of the various departments. Before the roadman leaves the home office, he must be thoroughly posted on the entire line he carries. His method of getting business is his own. The good sales- man never truckles for orders; honor and merit are to him valuable assets. "The duties of salesmen often are more than selling goods. They must sell to persons of good credit, and avoid overselling to those of slender credit. While the orders are finally passed upon by the credit department, still the roadman can frequently save the office an- noyance by exercising judgment in taking orders. In addition, the roadman can render valuable service to his department by acquainting it with the conditions of the trade of his territory. He can report the changes in de- mand, the opening up of new stores, the nature of com- petition, and numerous other matters of great import- ance to his house." Compensation of Roadmen. There are three principal methods of compensation employed by wholesale concerns in dealing with their traveling salesmen. These are: 1, salary; 2, commis- sion; 3, salary and commission. The salaried salesman is usually engaged by the year under a contract which may provide, first, that the sales- man shall devote all his time and energies to the interests of the concern ; second, that he shall do a certain amount of business for the firm during the year. A bonus is TRAVELING SALESMEN. 299 frequently paid where the salesman's annual business ex- ceeds the stipulated amount. The traveling salesman is usually allowed to charge the firm with his actual traveling expenses, these being of a somewhat elastic character, varying with the policy of the house in this respect. Itemized statements of the traveler's expenses are generally required. The Question of Expenses. "The liberality of the house as to expenses is governed largely by the margin of profit and the character of the trade. The best houses require their roadmen to travel well and to frequent the best hotels. Municipal supply houses allow liberal expenses to their roadmen, because they sell on a wide margin of profit and deal with city officers, who must often be expensively entertained. " Where the firm does not require the full services of the salesman, he is usually employed on a commission basis. The goods of several houses may be carried in this way by one salesman. This method is employed by the smaller manufacturers and jobbers. But the ten- dency is for the smaller manufacturer to turn over his selling to the wholesale distributer, who in turn has his regular salesmen. Where the commission plan is fol- lowed, the salesman usually pays his own expenses. "Where the combination of salary and commission is used, the latter begins after the sales have aggregated a given amount. This plan is obviously intended to spur on the salesman, and is more generally employed by the larger manufacturers and wholesale houses." Selection of Salesmen. The careful selection of traveling salesmen is most im- portant for every business concern, because the house is 800 TRAVELING SALESMEN. judged by its representatives and the quality and quan- tity of the business done by the concern will depend very largely, if not altogether, upon the quality of its road- men. The selling power of the traveling salesman is very largely the power of the personality. All that has hitherto been said about the principles of salesmanship applies to him in the most marked degree. In his daily experience he has to bring to bear, in order to be suc- cessful, all the varied qualities that go to make up scien- tific salesmanship. If he does his duty loyally, maintains his self-respect, and thus commands the respect of others, the house is the gainer by his service. If he is selling a regular line, his power and influence may be expected to increase year by year as he becomes better acquainted with his regular customers, learns their requirements, and can anticipate their needs. His cus- tomers depend upon him for advice, and he is in every way a credit to the business community. But if, on the other hand, the traveling salesman is swayed by considerations, not of loyalty to the house, but of a purely personal character, he may easily become a detriment to the concern he professes to represent. His lack of interest will soon betray itself, and it will have its effect in decreasing sales and diminishing respect. Control of the Salesman. The methods used by sales managers to maintain con- trol over their roadmen are nowadays largely a matter of systematized reports. Most houses require a daily report from each man who represents them on the road. This report should show the number of calls made, kind of receptions met with, sales made, expenses, and other facts connected with the day's work which will keep the sales TRAVELING SALESMEN. 301 manager in close touch with what the roadman is doing. In the home office, the movements of the sales force from day to day are often recorded by means of vari- colored pins, tacks, etc., inserted in a map of the selling territory. The salesman is required to keep the house fully informed as to his route and dates for a week or more ahead, so that he can he promptly reached at any time by mail, telegraph or telephone. "It is not because you spend four hours a week over- time on your books but the fact that you get your work done that gets you your raise of salary. The business man knows he pays for overtime, either in dollars or lessened efficiency/' CHAPTER XX. KEEPING TRACK OF PROSPECTS. The importance of keeping track of inquiries from prospective customers, and of keeping the names of all prospects in shape for ready reference, will be apparent to every student of salesmanship. One of the functions of a sales department is to keep track of prospects for the information, first, of the sales manager, and second, of the salesmen in the field, who are thus supplied with the names of those upon whom they may profitably call for business. The salesman himself should also keep information re- garding his customers and prospects in a convenient form, by means of a card system or other systematic record. In fact, he should keep two kinds of record, namely, an index containing the names of all customers and prospects, and equally important a follow-up sys- tem by means of which his daily calls can be regulated. The great advantage of such a follow-up system is that it prevents neglect of customers and the overlooking of good prospects. There are many methods by which a city salesman or a traveling salesman can keep close track of his trade. The manufacturers of card systems supply a form of card by means of which all the information desired by a salesman can be recorded on one card. As soon as an in- quiry is received from an individual or firm in the sales- 303 304 KEEPING TBACK OF PROSPECTS. man's territory, he makes out a card for this individual or firm. This will contain the name of the prospect, also the address, business, phone number, name of buyer, name of the salesman, descriptions of catalogues sent, prices quoted, and remarks. The same thing is done when a salesman learns that an individual or firm in his territory is now or soon will be in the market for goods, or when a first order is received from any concern. The card may also contain a blank space in which to enter the make or line of goods which the prospect or customer is using, also a space for the date of last call, etc. It is often important to enter for reference the line of goods or kind of equipment or system which the pros- pect is now using, and this can be discovered by observa- tion by the salesman on his first call. The information is often secured through correspondence, sometimes from the first letter of inquiry received. This gives the sales- man a line upon the competition which he will have to meet. In the course of dealings with the customer or with the prospect, until he is sold, it is advisable to keep mem- oranda showing the results of interviews, appointments, etc., and these should be carefully entered at the close of every day's work in the space provided for remarks at the bottom of the card. The Card Index. These cards when properly filled out are filed in the usual way to form an alphabetical card index, which con- tains information regarding every customer and pros- pect in the salesman's territory. It will be seen that the cards will soon fall into three classes : KEEPING TRACK OF PROSPECTS. 305 (a) Prospective customers, who may be sold at any time. (b) Individuals and firms that may be sold at cer- tain times in the future. (c) Firms that buy regularly and upon whom the salesman must call at regular intervals. These three classes of cards need not be filed separ- ately, but may be all included in one alphabetical index, if they are distinguished say by means of clips placed on the cards in different positions according to the class. Thus the prospects who have never bought from the salesman, and old customers whom he wishes to sell again, may be indicated by having a clip put over the extreme left-hand corner of their respective cards. The second class may be indicated by having clips placed over the middle of the cards, and the prospects of the third class, or regular customers to be called on periodically, may have the clips attached at the right-hand corner of the card. The Follow-Up File. At the beginning of each month, the salesman may remove from his alphabetical file the cards of firms of the first class, that is, those whom he is endeavoring to sell and those that have made inquiries regarding his goods, whom he wishes to see during the ensuing month. These cards he can then distribute in a follow-up file for daily use. This file should contain daily and monthly guide cards. The cards removed from the alphabetical index should be so placed in the follow-up file as to come regularly to hand on the dates on which the salesman deems it best to make his calls. I.B.L. Vol. 2 20 306 KEEPING TRACK OF PROSPECTS. On a given date later in the month, the salesman may remove from his alphabetical index the second class of cards, which have clips attached in the middle or over a date about the middle of the month. These may like- wise be distributed in the follow-up file on suitable dates for making the calls. At the end of the month, the salesman removes from his alphabetical index cards having the clips at the right- hand side or over the end of the.month, these being cards of regular customers. He knows just how to distribute them to the best advantage in his follow-up file, so as to come up on the days when he wishes to call upon these customers during the ensuing month. A Working Partner. Under this system, the follow-up file becomes the active memory partner of the salesman. It is not necessary for him to refer to his alphabetical file except three or four times a month as indicated, or when mail or tele- phone inquiries are received from one of the customers or prospects already indexed, when he may refer to his alphabetical file to refresh his memory of facts regard- ing the individual or firm. At the beginning of each day's work, the salesman takes from his follow-up file the cards of the various classes that he finds indicated by the guide of that date. These he arranges in convenient order for making the calls, and then has a definite day's work laid out for him. After each call upon a customer, proper remarks re- garding the interview are entered upon the card with future dates of call, etc., and the card is then returned to the alphabetical file properly clipped to indicate its class, KEEPING TRACK OF PROSPECTS. 307 and receives the same handling each month; but if an- other call upon the customer or prospect is to be made within a month, the card is placed under the proper date in the follow-up file instead of being returned to the al- phabetical index file. Sales Department Records. A modern sales department keeps similar indexes and files, but usually on a more elaborate plan. There are various kinds of customers' lists by which salesmen and sales managers can keep in touch with their trade. An important feature of a sales department's work is the keeping track of inquiries received through pub- licity and special advertising. A typical system is that devised by Mr. A. G. Langworthy, manager of the ad- vertising department of Fairbanks, Morse & Company, Chicago, well-known manufacturers of engines, scales, etc., whose branch houses cover the United States from New York to Seattle. The system includes a weekly report to the Prospect Department for each of the branch houses. This report is made on a blank form en- titled "Record of Inquiries Received and Sales Made from Prospects." This weekly report shows the depart- ment, territory of salesman, source of inquiry (key num- ber and letter, if any), number of inquiries received, amount of sales, etc. The number of inquiries received from each source and the amount of sales from each source are also clearly indicated. The information con- tained in the salesmen's daily reports is embodied in the weekly report of the branch. The following instructions for handling inquiries are issued to the branch houses with the blank forms of re- port: 308 KEEPING TRACK OF PROSPECTS. Suggestions for Handling Inquiries. "1. Thousands of dollars are invested every year in advertising by Fairbanks, Morse & Co. Unless you re- cord results and report same on this form, we are unable to show any results for the money spent. We are un- able to show which mediums pay best and are unable to eliminate the poor ones. PSOSPECT CARDS. KEEPING TRACK OF PROSPECTS. 309 "2. Record every inquiry, whether good or bad, on this form as soon as mail is opened. It is important that the 'Source' be shown, as the value of all publications and other sources of information to Fairbanks, Morse & Co., whether located in your territory or not, is gauged by the records compiled at Chicago from these Branch House reports. "3. Provide some means to keep record of the 'Source' with each prospect until sale is made see Binder Form, and tab Prospect Cards. "4. Record on this form, all sales made from 'Key Numbers,' 'Publications,' 'Construction or Trade Re- ports,' or 'Form Letters' showing exactly the 'Source' of each. "Follow Ups." "5. Study the original advertisement which brought the inquiry and then word your letters so that they de- velop the same line of thought which, through the ad- vertisement, first aroused the interest of the prospect. Then write letters that will educate and, at the same time, compel a reply without being offensive. You are not making much headway until your leters bring replies. You are not getting results unless your salesmen are landing orders. "6. Same date inquiries and trade reports are re- ceived write first form letter to prospect. "7. Also write first form letter to your salesman. "8. One week later write second form letter to the prospect. "9. Also write second form letter to salesman. 310 KEEPING TRACK OF PROSPECTS. "10. Inquiries or trade reports that are not good enough to refer to salesman might be developed into live prospects entirely by form letters. , "11. When writing prospects always word your let- ters so that the party will feel that he ought to reply. "12. Always leave the way open so that you can write again even though the prospect has been referred to the salesman. "13. Do not write a letter in answer to inquiries that will keep the party from advising you in case he wants more information by mail should the salesman not call soon enough. "14. If four "Follow Ups" on an engine inquiry do not bring a reply, try a fifth on scales, or vice versa. "15. Also the use of proper inclosures might develop a prospect for scale or other goods than those originally inquired for." Keeping Up Prospect System. We show herewith the binder form devised by Mr. Langworthy for keeping up his prospect system. The method by which this is used enables a convenient record to be kept of all inquiries received throughout Fair- banks, Morse & Company's organization. Each binder is a durable folded cover of heavy manila paper, per- forated for binding inserts. In order that there may be no lack of knowledge as to its proper use, the following rules for keeping up the prospect system are plainly printed on the back of the binder: KEEPING TRACK OF PROSPECTS. 311 lALESMAN HANDLING BINDER FORM. 312 KEEPING TRACK OF PROSPECTS. RULES. "1. Keep the Prospect System strictly up to date. "2. Make out Binder Form and prospect card for each prospect. Use cards with number tabs one (1) to twelve (12), the numbers indicating the line of machin- ery called for as follows: 1, Agency Engines; 2, Me- dium Size Engines; 3, Large Size Engines; 4, Mining; 5, Steam Pumps; 6, Dynamos and Motors; 7, Small Scales; 8, Railroad Track Scales; 9, Wagon and Hopper Scales; 10, Windmills; 11, Pumps, Pipe and Fittings; 12, Miscellaneous. "3. Chicago System. (A) File the binder in a vertical file tickler under the date to be returned to the department for attention. (B) File the prospect card geographically by sales- man's territory after posting the date to be returned to the department wanting same. (C) In this system the cards never leave the pros- pect clerk but the binder with the correspondence is de- livered to the various departments on dates for attention again. The card is placed in an "OUT" drawer until the binder is returned. When the binder comes back, post the card with the new date and return to original files. "4. Branch House System (A) File the binder alphabetically or geographically in a vertical or other let- ter file. (B) File the card geographically by salesman's ter- ritory with a dating (salmon color) card in front of each. (C) In this system the binder never leaves the files unless specially called for. The dating cards show when KEEPING TRACK OF PROSPECTS. 313 the prospect card should be taken out and delivered to the department handling for attention. After they have received proper attention cards will be returned to the prospect department with new reference date to be filed as originally. "5. In either of the above systems, railroad or other prospects can be filed alphabetically instead of geo- graphically and without regard to the salesman's terri- tory if so desired. "6. Should it be desirable to find correspondence pre- vious to the date on which it is set to turn up, it is neces- sary to furnish the prospect department with the follow- ing information : , (A) Salesman's territory in which the prospect is located. (B) Prospect's name. (C) Prospect's address. "7. If it is desired to have certain correspondence, on which the prospect's name does not appear, filed under a certain prospect, it is necessary to indicate information (A) (B) (C) under Article No. 6. "8. Use two drawers for each salesman's territory, one drawer for 'live' business, and a second drawer for 'sold, lost or abandoned' business. "9. The drawer for 'live' business and the drawer for the 'sold, lost or abandoned' business should each be similarly divided geographically by the town cards. "10. All entries on all cards should be made in ink, not pencil. "11. Names of all dealers and pluggers should be entered on the town cards. 314 KEEPING TRACK OF PROSPECTS. "12. Never file a salesman's sale prospect report form without a regular prospect card. "Distinction should be made on the prospect cards under the heading 'business' between 'dealers,' 'pluggers' and 'customers.' "14. Under the heading of 'source' state 'form let- ter No. ' 'Adv. Key No. ' 'called on us,' 'he wrote us,' 'state fair,' from 'other branch house' or name of salesman sending in prospect, etc. "15. Under the heading of 'remarks' enter the size and type of article, and, if possible, the date purchaser intends to place order. "16. Remember the column headed 'calls' or 'sales- man's report' is important and should be filled out care- fully as it indicates the amount of attention given by the salesman to the prospect. "17. When a prospect matures the card should be transferred from the 'live' drawer to the 'sold, lost or abandoned' (state full amount of sale in $). Always give date and salesman's name; also always give brief particulars such as 'size of article,' 'name of successful competitor,' 'price,' if we can get it, etc. "18. Never destroy a prospect card without consult- ing manager. "19. Be careful to report to Chicago Advertising Department all inquiries received bearing key numbers or inquiries that can be traced to any publication or con- struction report; also report all sales resulting from such inquiries. Many dollars are invested in our advertising that will never show any returns unless these reports are accurately made by all of the branch houses." CHAPTER XXI. PSYCHOLOGY OF SALESMANSHIP. Parti. By the psychology of salesmanship we mean the sci- ence or sum of knowledge concerning the mind and mental operations in their relation to the act or the art of selling goods. This is a branch of study that may be taken up by intelligent salesmen who are interested in understanding certain metaphysical principles which underlie the relations of buyer and seller, or the mental phenomena which are generally recognized as occurring in the processes of selling goods. We have already stated that Salesmanship is both a science and an art. Knowledge or science becomes an art when it is put into practice or applied in actual busi- ness life. In studying the psychology of Salesmanship, we must first accept the basic principle that the salesman con- sciously or unconsciously "appeals to the intellectual, emotional, and volitional nature of the customer." The knowledge of the metaphysical theory of Salesmanship is an advantage to an expert salesman, because it en- ables him so to guide his conduct in the presence of the customer as to bring to bear all the powers of his mental- ity in aid of his purpose, namely, the proper demonstra- tion of the goods and the closing of the sale. 315 316 PSYCHOLOGY OF SALESMANSHIP* The importance of this theory may perhaps be over- estimated, but, as President Hadley of Yale University has well said: "A man who is well grounded in the theory of his calling has an immense advantage over the practitioner who relies chiefly on the results of his own short experience. ... If I were to put what I mean into a single phrase, I should say that every man should not only know the technology of his profession, but its political economy. ... I believe that this conception of the study of scientific theory for its pub- lic utility will promote, rather than hinder, the work of discovery and research. One of the great difficulties that we have to deal with at the present day is the over- valuation of those parts of science which promise a def- inite and tangible result to the public, and the under- valuation of those parts which seem abstract or remote." Confidence and Suggestion. It must be remembered at the outset that in order to make a sale, the mind of the customer and the mind of the salesman must agree. Their sensibilities and their wills must act in harmony. Remembering this, it is easy to see that this harmony depends to a very great extent upon confidence and suggestion. In order that the customer may acquire the necessary confidence in the salesman and in the house that he rep- resents, it is necessary that the salesman himself should have confidence in himself and his goods. It becomes his duty to maintain this confidence, so as to be able to transmit it. Without going into the laws of psychologic phenom- ena as they are understood in the present day by close PSYCHOLOGY OF SALESMANSHIP. 317 students of metaphysics, we may quote the following statement of the elements of confidence and suggestion from the pen of an able writer on retail salesmanship :* "We control the actions and feelings of persons and are controlled in turn by them in the affairs of the af- fections and of business. The history of man is replete with a show of psychic force. Legal battles have been won, not alone upon logical grounds, but through sua- sion. . . . Who of us has not felt the overwhelming influence of some eloquent speaker or actor, the power of whose psychic being, the consummate expression of whose art fascinated the mind, swayed the sympathies, and stirred the will in unison with his. This is mental magnetism of the highest order, in which the positive, or Objective Consciousness of the mind is held in abey- ance, leaving the negative, or Subjective Consciousness of the hearer open to suggestions from without. In other words, it is the action of a positive mental force influencing a negative mental force. Now all this in- fluence of one person upon another is gained by the con- fidence one reposes in the other." The Basis of Confidence. The confidence of one individual in another is based on securing his attention and on the broad ground of human sympathy. We give and receive impressions such as an impression of reliability or trustworthiness sub-consciously, that is, without being conscious to any extent whatever that we are doing so. In order to se- cure a man's confidence in a business way in selling goods, it is necessary first of all to secure his attention, *"The Relation of Suggestion to Education," by William Amelius Oorbion. 318 PSYCHOLOGY OF SALESMANSHIP. and attention is "both objective or intellectual and sub- jective or emotional." Thus, for example, when we show a customer a sample article, his thought and at- tention are outward and objective. When we speak of its utility, its possibilities of profit, or its popularity, the customer's thought is inward or subjective. Securing the Customer's Interest. It is imperative for a salesman to secure the interest of his prospective customer, and in order to do so, he must: 1, know the goods; 2, know human nature; 3, use the proper words in the proper way ; 4, use the proper actions; 5, be earnest; 6, demonstrate the goods prop- erly. 1. The salesman must know his goods thoroughly in order to be able to explain them to advantage, and thus interest the prospect. There must be no hesitancy or doubtful expressions. His statements must be posi- tive and convincing, and this can only occur when he knows all there is to be known about his goods. He must be able to meet objections with prompt, decisive answers. 2. He must know human nature in order to be able to read his customer, and suit his words and actions to that particular case. He must also have confidence in himself, this being essential before he can inspire con- fidence in others. 3. His language, enunciation and voice should all be suited to the occasion. The words used may not themselves be so important as the manner in which they are used. It is not what you say, but the way you say it that impresses the customer whose attention and interest you are trying to secure. PSYCHOLOGY OF SALESMANSHIP. 319 Let the speech be clear and deliberate. Hasty speech distracts the attention of the customer. He must be able to keep up with your description of the goods. One point, therefore, should be taken up at a time and thor- oughly explained before proceeding to the next. The customer may often be kept interested by asking him questions and thus arousing his mental activity. You are doing yourself no good if you let his mind wander from the subject in hand and concern itself, not with what you are saying or the article you are demonstrating, but with something entirely different. The voice of the salesman may be trained to be pleas- ant and well modulated. There is a positive charm about an agreeable voice which influences all mankind, while on the other hand many men are repelled by a harsh voice or a sing-song, monotonous delivery. 4. The manner and actions of the salesman should be carefully considered. It must be remembered that one's actions may convey a totally different impression to that which the mentality, speaking through the voice, is trying to convey. The whole attitude of the salesman must betoken interest and command attention. The general attitude of the salesman during the in- terview differs with different lines of business. The wholesale salesman may either sit or stand while he is presenting his goods. The retail salesman stands. 5. Earnestness in one's own business is essential be- cause one cannot communicate an interest which one does not feel. Self-command must be cultivated for the vary- ing conditions under which the salesman operates, and steam must be kept up by self -encouragement. Earn- estness of purpose makes itself apparent to all and its 320 PSYCHOLOGY OF SALESMANSHIP. effect upon the mind of the customer is a very valuable aid in selling. 6. The demonstration of the goods, no matter what they may be, must be such as to hold the attention of all the senses of the customer. The object of the dem- onstration is to show the advantage of the goods and to convince the customer that he needs them in kis busi- ness, thus leading up to the closing of the sale, when conviction seizes the customer that he needs the goods immediately, at which point he is ready to sign the order. The Use of Suggestion. Suggestion or mental persuasion is of constant and important use in salesmanship. The object of the sales- man is to cause conviction in the mind of the customer, and a desire to purchase, through a mental appeal by facts and arguments .and also by a description of the goods that will appeal to the customer's sensibilities and feelings. Here let us clearly distinguish between the senses and the sensibilities. We perceive things by the senses and the things perceived appeal to our sensibilities or feelings. We may note three methods of suggestion used by expert salesmen: 1, Suggestion by Reason; 2, Sugges- tion by Sentiment; 3, Suggestion by Credulity or Fear. 1. In persons whose reflective faculties are predom- inant, a successful appeal is made to their reason and they are impressed by statements as to facts regarding the goods, uses to which the goods may be applied, and other concrete arguments of a like nature. Here we see suggestion through the Reason. PSYCHOLOGY OF SALESMANSHIP. 321 2. In imaginative persons who are swayed by senti- ment, an appeal is made to their love of the beautiful or the curious, etc. This is suggestion through Senti- ment. 3. In persons who are of a passionate temperament or in whom the passions predominate, Fear or Credulity may be appealed to. This is the method employed in many illegitimate forms of business, and fortunately not many such persons are encountered in legitimate busi- ness, nor does the scientific salesman often employ sug- gestion through credulity or fear. Suggestion is found useful in all forms of education. We must believe in order to learn, and suggestion being the persuasion of the mind, all education is therefore the result of suggestion. An Important Weapon. Reason or Persuasion is the chief weapon of sales- manship. If we analyze the steps of the transaction in the customer's mind, we find that there must be, first, Belief; second, Feeling; third, Conviction, and fourth, Action. After suggestion has induced belief, the cus- tomer must feel, as a motive for action. Persuasion moves the feelings or sensibilities. It arouses pride, pa- triotism, sympathy, pity, self-interest, etc. The object of the salesman is to cause the desired feel- ing. Hence we find that demonstration is necessary. The prospective customer will not buy a machine because he is told he ought to buy it. The salesman must show him the machine and arouse the desire for possession by the appeal it makes to the sensibilities of the prospect. The salesman must himself feel in order to awaken a similar emotion in another; hence, he must realize the l.B.L. Vol. 221 322 PSYCHOLOGY OF SALESMANSHIP. merits of the article or goods himself before he can com- municate the sentiment desired. In some cases the cus- tomer's sentiment when awakened may exceed in inten- sity that of the salesman himself. Changing a Sentiment. To change a feeling entertained by a prospective cus- tomer which is not leading in the desired direction, the salesman who wishes to avail himself of the power of suggestion must agree in part with the customer and present superior points in favor of his goods. If the customer is predisposed in favor of something else, the proper presentation of the advantages of the article or goods the salesman has to sell, if skilfully done, will re- sult in changing the sentiment. To do this success- fully, all the knowledge in the salesman's possession must be adapted to the requirements of his customer, so as to guide his mind aright. All his mentality and power of will must be brought to bear upon the problem of chang- ing the feeling in his favor. Mental Processes. The scientific salesman should be able to judge of the mental processes which the customer is passing through during the sales talk and discussion. It is a great advantage to have a well-considered, log- ical plan of presentation. The strongest argument should be left till last. Step by step the argument must be built up and various weapons must be brought into ac- tion. In many cases the strongest appeal is made to the customer's self-interest. Show that the article will save him money , etc. PSYCHOLOGY OF SALESMANSHIP. 323 Appeal may be made to the imagination by pointing out the possibilities of profit, convenience, comfort, ex- clusive sale, etc. Thus desire is awakened and when this is followed by conviction, the sale may soon be closed. Direct Appeal. A direct appeal to the intellect of the customer is often effective if confidence is established. In this method, the salesman may show comparative values in favor of his goods, and then follow quickly with the direct appeal, "Are my facts not right?" There is here a subtle flattery of the intellect of the customer, and when you can get him to agree with your statements in such a way, the rest is comparatively easy. Appeal to Emotion. By appealing to a customer swayed by emotion, the salesman can sometimes profitably show the results of errors in judgment. He can sell more expensive art- icles, higher-priced machines, better qualities of goods, by pointing out their advantages and dwelling upon this point, thus appealing to the sentiment of pride. He may suggest better results to be obtained from his goods. Details of construction often captivate the emotional temperament. These should be carefully shown up when dealing with customers. The main object is to find the dominant idea in the customer's mind the point that particularly appeals to him. This may be the utility or varied uses of the article, profit, cost, exclusive sale, etc. Whatever it may be, find the dominant idea and build up the argument upon ft. 324 PSYCHOLOGY OF SALESMANSHIP. Suggestion in Retail Selling. In retail salesmanship there are many well-known selling factors, such as make of the goods, location of the manufacturer, quality, etc. Thus, the salesman may enlarge upon the point that the cutlery comes from Shef- field, the silverware from Connecticut; that the cigars are from Havana or from Manila ; that the hat is a Paris or New York latest style; that the china is from Dres- den; the flour from Minneapolis, etc. Customers often choose superior qualities because they are shown the difference between them and inferior goods. Their pride is appealed to successfully. The purposes and parts of all articles on sale should be clearly known by the scientific retail salesman; also the detail of construction, design, finish, etc. In selling articles suitable for gifts, he should be acquainted with their sentimental value and so be able to make the suc- cessful appeal to the emotional nature. In all forms of salesmanship, it is a good idea to talk value, not price, but the wholesale salesman must have an intimate knowledge of prices, discounts, terms, etc. Three Essentials of Persuasion. In order to command attention and exercise the power of mental persuasion, the salesman and the customer must have a direct and immediate relation. Aristotle declared that there are three essentials of persuasion, namely: Good Sense, Good Will and Good Principle. Hill, in his "Science of Rhetoric," says: "Good Sense. Men are willingly led by those in wJbose judgment they have full confidence. A reputa- tion for good sense is, therefore, of value to one who PSYCHOLOGY OF SALESMANSHIP. 325 would produce mental changes in another. The major- ity of men esteem others for their good sense in propor- tion as they hold similar views. It is of great practical importance, therefore, to agree as far as possible with those whom we would influence. Happily there are many facts and doctrines upon which all men agree. An al- lusion to some of these points of agreement brings the speaker into closer relation of influence than if, these being kept out of view, nothing but differences should be advanced. "Good Will. If one were possessed of good sense and good principles, it would seem as if good will would scarcely need to be added, since ability would insure a clear apprehension of truth, and integrity would lead one to a candid statement of convictions. But while one might on these grounds be supposed to have at heart the best interests of those addressed as he viewed them,, if he were hostile to their cherished opinions,, he would have comparatively little influence with the prepossessed. Hence Aristotle had good reason for mentioning this quality. "Good Principle. A character for good sense and good will might seem sufficient qualification for a speaker or writer [or for a salesman], since the former quality would imply the ability and the latter the dis- position to give the best advice without reference to moral principle. Aristotle maintained that a reputation for integrity is equally necessary, for, although a man can- not be wanting in good will toward himself, yet able men often act absurdly in their own affairs, being so blinded by passion as to sacrifice the expedient for the agreeable. Such men are not likely to be better coun- selors of others than of themselves." 326 PSYCHOLOGY OF SALESMANSHIP. Elements of Suggestive Salesmanship. Mr. Corbion in the work referred to above has charted the psychological elements of suggestive salesmanship for retail selling, and names the various appeals that may be made to the intellect, to the emotions, and to the will, as follows: 1. In appealing to the Intellectual Mind, the appeal can be made to: (a) The faculty of judgment of Quality, Use, Purpose, Value, Construction or Comparison. (b). The sense of Ideality, of Beauty, Imagina- tion, Economy, or Humor. 2. In appealing to the Emotional Mind or the feel- ings, the appeal is: (a) To the sentiment of Benefit or Value, Pride or Self-Esteem, Approbation or Compliment, Curiosity or Wonder, Love of Home, etc. (b) To the instinct of Parental Love, Prudence or Policy, Acquisitiveness or Caution. 8. In appealing to the Volitional Mind or Will De- cision, Conviction, Execution and Conclusion result in purchase by an appeal to the faculties or feelings. This is suggestive salesmanship. There may also be appeals to the lower propensities or passions as already stated, but this is generally re- garded as undesirable salesmanship. Action in Suggestion. As an element of selling power, suggestive action is often of great value. It can be simply illustrated by the example of a salesman showing an athletic apparatus. He may dilate at great length upon the value of the de- PSYCHOLOGY OF SALESMANSHIP. 327 vice and fail to awaken desire; but let him strike the punching bag or use the dumbbells, or the exerciser, or the rowing-machine, and his action at once awakens the feeling of desire. Here we see the value of a practical demonstration. This ought never to be lost sight of in salesmanship. Demonstrate the goods whenever possible in the most thorough and practical way. The salesman "should cul- tivate his powers of observation, imagination and inven- tion. He should be an active thinking being who adapts himself to circumstances or controls them as occasion demands." Corbion deduces the following as the Law of Sug- gestive Salesmanship: "With concrete knowledge of goods, abstract knowl- edge of human nature, and the powers of observation and application, the salesman can make suggestions of profit to himself and of value to his customer" "Most of us need time in which to make money to cul- tivate friendship to read good books to learn how to do our work to the best advantage but we have to work so hard hustle so much to keep out of the way of the little things, the mass of crowding details, that we seldom have a chance to do more than make a living. "What the most of us should do is to determine to give ourselves a chance !" CHAPTER XXII. PSYCHOLOGY OF SALESMANSHIP. Part 2. While there is no great mystery about the methods of scientific salesmanship, it is true that many sales- men have never been able to formulate in their own minds the precise manner in which their successes have been achieved. They know that certain methods of ap- proach, of demonstration, and of closing will win orders, but they do not realize to the fullest extent the power of the human mind. This power is largely of a mag- netic nature, and we shall presently see how one mind acts upon another very much as a magnet acts upon steel. We know that while one pole of a magnet at- tracts, the other repulses, and we also know that there are certain conditions of the human mind expressed in words and actions, which attract other minds and lead them in the same direction, while other conditions find- ing similar expression repel the person addressed. A good deal of the pleasure derived from successful salesmanship is found in a knowledge of the methods by which it is accomplished. The salesman who does not know just why he succeeds or fails in making a sale, loses much of the actual enjoyment he might derive from his work. He may possess all the requisite facul- ties and talents required for success, but if these are not exercised or applied aright, or if they are applied 329 330 PSYCHOLOGY OF SALESMANSHIP. in a haphazard fashion, the salesman will fail of success. It is therefore a good thing to comprehend why the effect of such and such an attitude or method has a certain effect. In other words, a salesman should under- stand his work thoroughly and be able to apply with understanding all the faculties and talents in his pos- session. Lack of Understanding. As a matter of fact, many men meet with success in selling goods without knowing just how they accom- plish their purpose. They work hard and earnestly, but without an understanding of the mental effect upon their customers even of the earnestness which they bring to bear as an aid to their efforts. Some of these men rest satisfied with their accom- plishments and do not take the trouble to discover how they are achieved. Such men do not know themselves, and it will surely pay them to learn. It is men of this class that are sometimes called "born" salesmen. Exercising in their daily business life the qualities of scientific salesmanship, they do so uncon- sciously. If they depart from their regular methods, they are very apt to fail in landing the customer and their lack of exact knowledge prevents them from as- cribing the failure to its exact cause. Hence it is well for such men to wake up to the necessity of making a study of themselves and their methods, with a view to systematizing their work along the lines of approved scientific salesmanship principles. The same is true of salesmen who go about their work in a slipshod fashion, absolutely without regard to rule, principle, or precedent, trusting to luck for sales, to PSYCHOLOGY OF SALESMANSHIP. 331 chance for prospects, and to their own self-confidence and so-called experience to help them out in each individ- ual sale. The experience of these men being often an experience only of failure, helps them but little and is better forgotten. They would do well to wipe off their mental slate and start afresh in a course of self -train- ing, to include a study of the mental conditions of sales- man and customer during the who]e transaction leading up to a sale. Self -Examination Necessary. The question, Why am I a success? or, Why am I a failure ? should be asked by every salesman regularly and persistently. The scientific salesman will go even far- ther than this and will diagnose every individual sale he makes, making a mental record of the results of his diagnosis for future reference. How many men we meet who ascribe all their failures to conditions that have really very little to do with the case! If they fail to sell a customer, they ascribe the failure to hard times, tightness of money, failure of crops, financial unrest, labor troubles, political campaigns, tariff debates, and the like, regardless of the fact that other salesmen in the same business, proceeding along more scientific lines, are selling goods every day, while they bemoan their lack of "luck." The power of mentality, the influence of mind upon mind, is disregarded by the unsuccessful salesman in such cases. A Mighty Motive Power. "Practical psychology is a mighty motive power in business getting, and is receiving marked attention on 332 PSYCHOLOGY OF SALESMANSHIP. the part of thinking men in various walks of business life," said Mr. Walter D. Moody, general manager of the Chicago Association of Commerce, in an article on this subject.* "Selling goods is not physical work it is brain work. When two men go into the forest to chop trees, the one who will have the most to show for his labor is he who has the best muscular development and the best training in the use of his muscles. When two men are competing in the world of salesmanship, .the one who succeeds is the one whose mind is the best equipped and trained for the business. It is neither well equipped nor well trained unless it understands itself and the laws which govern it. "From a business standpoint, the most important self- knowledge is the discernment of one's powers and the possibilities of their development. "One of the greatest of these is the power of attrac- tion. Some men have the faculty of easily winning con- sent, from the majority of their acquaintances, at least, to almost anything they propose. The test of this qual- ity is not in their logic in the arguments and reasons with which they are equipped but in the impulse which the listener feels to agree to the proposition that has been advanced before hearing all the evidence which he would usually require before making up his mind. "Some years ago a remarkable demonstration along this line occurred in the city of Chicago, when from some previously unheard of western town there came an un- known congressman as a delegate to a national political convention. In him this power had reached a wonder- *See Mr. W. C. Holman's "125 Brain-Power Business Manual." 1907. The Salesmanship Company, Chicago. PSYCHOLOGY OF SALESMANSHIP. 338 ful degree of development. It had an irresistible effect on most of the people who heard him. "He did not have to force the acceptance of his views on the convention the convention's acceptance was a matter of course so soon as he claimed its attention; the man from the west sprang into leadership by acclama- tion; he received unanimous nomination for the presi- dency of the United States, putting all other candidates entirely out of the race. Soul Power or Psychic Force. "People who are inclined to be religious speak of the 'soul power' which gives its possessor some measure of control over others. We hear of ministers and mission- ary workers who are practically masters of whole com- munities. Sometimes they are opposed and even per- secuted when they begin their work, but end by com- manding the docile obedience of the persons who at the start made trouble. People of a scientific turn of mind describe the same quality as 'psychic force.' "The important thing is not the name given to such an agency as that which enables a man to make others see a fact as he sees it, want to do as he wants them to do, and accept his point of view as their own. The vital question is whether or not it can be used by salesmen as a means for increasing the volume of their orders. "Some salesmen have demonstrated that this can be done. They seldom hear a refusal. Customers who are prejudiced and obdurate forget their natural combative- ness when a salesman of the type we are describing appears. He gets their order, sometimes without any argument at all and almost always without any diffi- culty or waste of time. 334 VSYCHOLOGY OF SALESMANSHIP. "It seems natural that everybody should agree with him, accept the ideas he advances and do very nearly what he wants them to do. "Either consciously or unconsciously he is exercising what has been variously described as 'soul power,' 'psy- chic force' and 'personal magnetism.' Power Can Be Cultivated. "There is no doubt that the power of attraction which gives one man ascendency over others can be cultivated by any one who is sufficiently persistent and painstaking in the effort. "Psychologists have not given us any formula for de- veloping this quality. Any one who is interested, how- ever, can suggest ways and means for himself which will help toward the desired end. "The first step toward accomplishment in this direc- tion is a careful study of the successful men who are described as 'born* salesmen, and who get their results by exercising this practical, if rather indefinitely known, mental force. Effect of Earnestness. "It will be found that all men of this type are very much in earnest. The intensity of their earnestness is a magnetic attraction. "Their minds are filled with one great, superlative idea success in whatever undertaking they have in hand. "Their earnestness cannot fail to have its effect on every prospective customer with whom they come in contact. Besides its direct effect upon the man ad- dressed, the quality of earnestness in the salesman has PSYCHOLOGY OF SALESMANSHIP. 835 also an immediate effect upon himself in increasing his powers of reasoning and self-expression. By stimulat- ing these powers, and through their agency, it has also an indirect effect upon the customer. "Among people who live much alone, whose labor exercises their muscles and not their brains, a common phenomenon is observed which is significant in this con- nection. We are all familiar with cases where an ignor- ant, stolid fellow, ordinarily incapable of expressing himself in speech very well, has suddenly found himself gifted with eloquence at some emotional crisis in life eloquence not the less splendid and powerful because of grammatical inaccuracies. "When fliis happens the mind of the speaker has swept aside, by the very force of earnestness, the limitations which hampered it in ordinary intercourse. "The same principle accounts for a man's ability to improvise means of escape from great and sudden dan- ger, which would have been entirely beyond his ingenu- ity at other times. Harmony with Conditions. "The second step towards gaining the end in view is for the salesman to put himself so far as possible in en- tire harmony with all the conditions under which he works. To do this, his relations with his house should be candid and agreeable there should be no rankling remembrances of differences which he may have had with his manager or others in the house. He should have absolute faith in the product he is selling; he should feel in entire sympathy with every prospective customer with whom he talk*. 336 PSYCHOLOGY OF SALESMANSHIP. "This fact is a most important matter. Some sales- men seem to think that it is sufficient if they preserve the outward forms of courtesy and patience and con- sideration in dealing with a trying customer. "Perhaps the customer's objections are ridiculous be- cause of his ignorance, and prejudiced because of his narrow-mindedness. It is necessary to get down to first principles and improve upon his education before he can form any conception of the value of what is offered him. The salesman who is not genuinely in earnest will hate this slow and tedious process. He will talk in the kind- est possible manner to his customer, of course, but men- tally he will be calling the man a fool and wondering how such an antiquated specimen managed to survive the flood. The customer, of course, hears what the sales- man says and does not know what the salesman is think- ing. Still, he is very likely to be affected by the negative thoughts in the salesman's mind. If he gives his order at all it is because he has either been beaten in argument or made to feel ashamed of his own conversation. It is certain that he has not been influenced by the power of attraction. No Mental Reservation. "The salesman who is really in earnest would under- take the same task without any mental reservation. This at least would leave his mind free to devise ways and means by which his prospect might be enlightened. He would have a quicker insight into the circumstances that govern the case. A mutual understanding and appreci- ation would be established, such as exist when two per- sons are said to be en rapport a very necessary con- PSYCHOLOGY OF SALESMANSHIP. 887 dition before one mind can exercise any attraction over another. "No one should confuse the mental action described here with hypnotism, or anything of that sort. It is not recommended to make an attack on the will power of a customer; for that is neither fair play nor practi- cal business. One can, however, develop a power to arouse the interest and good will of others so that they will sometimes do voluntarily what a hypnotist seeks to make them do involuntarily. Such power, when ac- quired, assures some measure of success at least." Mental Influence on Bodily Functions. While on the subject of psychology it may be well for the student of salesmanship to have a definite under- standing of the power of mental influence. This is clearly seen in the effect of various conditions of the mind upon the bodily functions. The able editor of Success has pointed out some of these effects as follows: "The different organs are especially susceptible to cer- tain kinds of mental influence. Intense hatred, out- bursts of hot temper, violent fits of anger, and some forms of worry have a very irritating influence upon the kidneys and materially aggravate certain forms of kid- ney disease. "Excessive selfishness and envy seriously affect the liver, while liver and spleen are strongly influenced by jealousy, especially chronic jealousy. "It is well known that violent, long-continued jeal- ousy affects the heart's action most injuriously, as do all sorts of mental discord, such as worry, anxiety, fear, anger, especially where they become chronic. Multi- I.B.L. Vol. 222 888 PSYCHOLOGY OF SALESMANSHIP. tudes of people have died from heart trouble induced by the explosive passions. "Jaundice often follows great mental shocks and vio- lent outbursts of temper. People are frequently made bilious by long-continued despondency, fear and worry. "A physician says, 'I have been surprised to find how often the cause of cancer of the liver has been traced to protracted grief or anxiety/ Dr. Snow, an eminent English authority, says that the vast majority of the cases of cancer, especially cancer of the breast and uter- ine cancer, are due to anxiety and worry. "Sir B. W. Richardson says that irritations on the skin will follow excessive mental strain. 'It is remarka- ble,' this great physician says, 'how little the question of the origin of physical diseases from mental influence has been studied.' "These structural changes in the different organs are due to chemical changes in the development of poisonous substances in the tissues through mental influence. "As the entire body for all practical purposes is one mass of cells closely bound together, every thought that enters the mind, every change in the mental attitude, is almost instantly conveyed to every cell in the body, which is affected according to the nature of the thought. We are nothing but a mass of cells, brain, nerve and other tissue cells, and the whole mass is very sensitive to every mental process. "In a sense, the body is an extended brain, and every thought, every mood, every emotion is transmitted in- stantly to the remotest cell. If the thought is discordant, if the emotion is vicious, it will carry poison to the far- thest cells. PSYCHOLOGY OF SALESMANSHIP. 339 "Many people so poison theii entire system by habit- ual melancholy, worry, fear and other discordant phases of thought that they ultimately wreck the physical body. "Love is the normal law of our being, and any depar- ture from the love thought must result in anarchy of the physical economy; because the law of our being has been violated. "But every one can rid themselves of their pernicious thought-enemies, enemies of the mind and body, if they will take the trouble to do so. "It is not difficult to shut out all poisonous thoughts from the mind. All you need do is to substitute the opposite thought to that which produces the fatal poi- son. It will always furnish the antidote of the latter. Discord cannot exist in the presence of harmony. The charitable thought, the love thought, will very quickly kill the jealousy, the hate, the revenge thought. If we force pleasant, cheerful pictures into the mind, the gloomy, the 'blue' thoughts will have to get out. "When we shall have learned to shut out all the ene- mies of our health, of our digestion, of our assimilation, the enemies which poison our blood and other secretions; when we shall have learned how to keep the imagination clean, the thought pure, the ideals bright; when we shall have learned the tremendous power of a great life-pur- pose to systematize and purify the life, then we shall know how to live. When we shall have learned to anti- dote the hate thought, the jealousy thought, the envy thought, the revenge thought, with the love, the charity thought; when we shall have grasped the secret of anti- doting all discordant thoughts with the harmony thought; when we shall have learned the mighty life- 840 PSYCHOLOGY OF SALESMANSHIP. giving power in the holding of the right mental attitude and the awful tragedy and suffering which come from holding the wrong mental attitude, then shall civilization go forward by leaps and bounds." Coping with Antagonism. In advertising for a man for a responsible position, a firm stated, among other qualifications, that he must be "capable of coping with antagonism." Evidently, what this firm wanted was a young man with backbone and grit and stamina, who was not easily discouraged; one who would not stop or give up when obstacles confronted him. Many men who are giants when everything goes smoothly are completely paralyzed when they meet with antagonism or friction. When everything goes their way, when there is no trouble or hitch anywhere, they are strong, resourceful, inventive; they impress you with their power, but the moment they strike a snag, meet adverse conditions, their courage oozes out. "I have in mind," says Dr. Orison Swett Harden, "a man who is a perfect whirlwind, who can accomplish marvels when everything is going smoothly in his busi- ness, but if one of his chief lieutenants sends in his resig- nation, or if he has differences with his partners, or his firm meets with any loss, he is immediately shorn of power and becomes a mere pigmy. "His mental processes are completely demoralized by the least bit of friction or discord. When there is trouble anywhere he is perfectly miserable ; when harmony is re- stored he is a giant. I have never seen so strong a man rendered so completely helpless when he has any trouble whatever, or when things are going wrong anywhere. PSYCHOLOGY OF SALESMANSHIP. 841 He does not seem to be himself when there is any discord about him. He is nervous and restless, uneasy, unhappy and weak, but when everything is going smoothly he has few equals as an executive leader. "He is a type of a large class of men who can do won- ders when everything favors them, but are no good when things go against them. "Now, the really strong man, the man who is made of the right kind of stuff, the man of grit, braces up, rises to the occasion in proportion to the difficulties to be overcome. "I was recently talking with a young man of this kind who occupies a high position in a large firm, and he told me that he never allowed himself to go to the pro- prietor with his troubles, with any difficulty, however great, unless it was one which might seriously affect the firm's revenues. He considered that he was paid for solving the business problems that presented themselves, and that he must fight them out alone whenever possible. ' That is the kind of employee that is wanted every- where the man who can solve his own problems, fight his own battles without running to his superior with every little difficulty that confronts him." " Selling is leading a horse to water and making him drink." James H. Collins. "Life is not so short but that there is always time enough for courtesy." "Nothing great was ever achieved without enthu- siasm." Emerson. CHAPTER XXIII. SELLING AN AGENCY. The appointment of local agents to represent a manu- facturer often calls for the exercise of genuine salesman- ship qualities. The general agent must first find the prospect and then proceed to sell him an agency by prop- er methods. Many successful salesmen have started their careers by selling books which is rightly regarded as an ancient and honorable calling. Many famous men have earned their first money in this way. Some large publishing houses maintain what is known as a General Agency department, that is, a department through which agents are sought and appointed in towns and cities of all sizes, and in country districts, to carry on a local sale. The books sold by this plan are of varied character, including popular and standard works, family bibles, dictionaries, cook books, histories, biog- raphies, cyclopedias, medical works, technical works, and the large class of special volumes called forth by great disasters, great achievements, or political up- heavals. The work of appointing the local agents is done partly by correspondence and partly through traveling general agents, who seek out prospectives in the territory they cover, appoint them and train them for the work, the usual plan being to secure from the appointees a deposit to cover the cost of the agent's outfit and first order. 343 844 SELLING AN AGENCY. Detailed instructions are usually given to the general agents before leaving the home office, and these are also placed in their hands in printed form so that they may constantly refresh their knowledge of what to do under every conceivable set of circumstances. For the reason that such instructions to general agents are equally applicable to salesmen in other lines, we give below a partial set of the instructions given by a large publishing house to the general agents who work under the auspices of its agency department, w r hich covers the entire continent of North America by means of several thousand agents. 1. Qualifications for General Agency Work. (1) A willingness to perfectly prepare yourself for your work by studying, mastering and following these instructions and all others that we may give you from time to time. (2) Self -reliance or the ability to depend upon your own ingenuity, judgment and resources, and the per- severance necessary to overcome all obstacles. (3) A thorough knowledge of each of your books from cover to cover, so that you can intelligently, en- thusiastically and effectually talk up their merits and selling qualities and convince prospective agents that they can make money. (4) A good-natured persistency that cannot be over- come. Napoleon's success consisted in the fact that he never knew when he was conquered. Be a Napoleon! Never give up ! Never acknowledge defeat ! SELLING AN AGENCY. 345 (5) A willingness to devote your whole time and your undivided efforts to General Agency work. Hand- ling other articles or other lines of goods will not be al- lowed under any circumstances. 2. What Constitutes Success. Your success in General Agency work will consist in your appointing first-class Agents and in your collecting full deposits from agents appointed. Our most experi- enced General Agents appoint eight to twelve canvassers week after week, and year after year. It is just as easy to secure first-class agents who make large sales (if you use judgment and make a special effort to do so) as to get worthless agents, who never sell any books. We would rather have you secure five agents who will sell one hundred books each than fifty agents who will sell only five books each. 3. Requirements from General Agents. We expect you to begin work promptly at the time agreed upon; to perfectly qualify yourself for your duties by mastering the contents of this book and all other printed or written matter that may be sent you from time to time; to thoroughly and conscientiously work all routes that we assign you from time to time ; to use your best judgment in the selection, appointment and instruc- tion of canvassers ; to deal honorably and uprightly with all the canvassers you appoint, making no verbal or written agreements or promises except those that we authorize you to make. 4. The Right Kind of a Start. Don't waste time, money and strength in trying to learn General Agency work by experimenting, but fol- 346 SELLING AN AGENCY. low methods that have been faithfully tested and that always bring success methods that never fail. Use the same judgment and common sense in learning how to es- tablish agents that you would in learning any other business, and don't be foolish enough to imagine that you understand all about it before you have thoroughly mastered all of our instructions and have had a few weeks' actual experience right in the field. Profit by the experience of our most successful General Agents as outlined in these instructions. You are not undertaking General Agency work "for glory," or "for the fun of the thing"; you are after the dollars and you cannot afford to work in an experimental way. To acquire skill in appointing agents requires time, study, hard work and actual experience, just as any other business would. If you will follow our instructions and prepare your- self as carefully on each book as if you were going to sell the book yourself, and learn how to get agents in- terested in the book, and then stick to the business long enough to give it a good, square, honest trial, you are sure of success. You cannot fail! Some general agents will carelessly skim over these instructions and pronounce them "first-class in every re- spect," but neglect to study them. For your own good we insist upon your reading these instructions through at least half a dozen times during the first two or three weeks. It will pay you to do this. Others carefully study these instructions, but do not follow them. Take our advice and master these instruc- tions before you try to secure a single agent. Study one feature at a time. When you thoroughly under- SELLING AN AGENCY. 347 stand it, take up another. In this way, find out every- thing you can about starting agents before you actually commence work. Theory first, practice afterward. 5. Necessity for Perfect Preparation. Your success in General Agency work depends more upon perfect preparation than on everything else. If you fail in this you fail in all. If you attempt to secure agents before you have thoroughly prepared yourself for the work, you are sure to fail, and you deserve to. If you had only four weeks to establish agents in, you could secure more agents by spending one week out of the four, if necessary, in preparation. You know this as well as we do. The first thing for you to do is to carefully read these instructions through four or five times to get a correct general idea of the business. Then take each idea here suggested and study over it until you understand it thoroughly. Don't leave a single idea or suggestion until you have mastered it and made it your own. 6. Examine Your Outfits and 'Tost Up." Your first and most important step toward a thor- ough preparation is to examine carefully and familiarize yourself with the outfits for each of your books. Find out what the titles of your books are how many pages and illustrations each book contains who the author is what its points of merit are why it is neededwhat features are specially attractive and interesting. In other words, find out why it will sell. You must be able to instantly answer every question and meet every objection. You must study each book until you can give an accurate, rapid, fluent description 348 SELLING AN AGENCY. of it and be able to awaken a tremendous interest in it and make the agent realize that it is the best book of its kind ever published; that any agent can sell scores and hundreds and make money by so doing. You can't do this unless you know each book perfectly from cover to cover. Nothing but the most thorough knowledge of the at- tractive features of each book will enable you to work up a prospective agent's interest and enthusiasm in the book to such a pitch that he will drop everything else to sell it. This is the secret of success. Make him want the book himself! Make him want to sell it! If he does not like the book or thinks he can't sell it, he won't take the agency. It is absolutely necessary, therefore, that you should post up just as thoroughly and just as carefully on each book as if you were going to canvass for it yourself. Memorize, word for word, the Special Description or "How to Sell" that accompanies each book. It will be money in your pocket to do this. The better you know your books the greater interest and enthusiasm you can w r ork up, the faster you will secure agents. The more confidence you have in your books, the more confidence you will have in yourself and in your ability to appoint agents. Think up special reasons why the book will sell to ministers, why it will sell to teachers, why parents will buy it, why the boys and girls need it, and so on. If you can convince the agent that the book you are showing is the best of its kind, that it is outselling all others, that hundreds of agents are selling five and ten copies per day, and that he can make dollars selling this book SELLING AN AGENCY. 340 faster than dimes in selling other books, he will take the agency. Get full of your books. Study them each day. Find out everything of importance from cover to cover. Don't make the fatal mistake of trying to explain to others what you don't know yourself, and in trying to interest others in what you are not interested in yourself. "Desire precedes demand." Unless the prospective agent is convinced that the book is first-class in every respect and a big seller, and that he can make money by selling it, he will not take the agency. Keep this in mind all the time. 7. Begin Work in Your Own Town. We advise you to secure two, three or four agents in your own town. You probably know several persons who would be glad of a chance to take an agency and make some money by selling our books, and on the strength of your acquaintance and knowledge of these persons you can easily influence them to take up the work, and thus they will get a good start. If you prefer not to do any work in your own town, go a few miles away from home and start. 8. Begin Work at Once. Begin active, aggressive work immediately. Don't lose a single hour. Time is money. Every moment should be improved. Nothing can be gained by delay, but much will always be lost! The quicker you begin work, the quicker results will come. Some General Agents, if they reach a town an hour or so before dinner, think that it is "too late to accomplish anything and that they might as well quit work for the 350 SELLING AN AGENCY. forenoon" and that "one hour lost will not make any dif- ference." This is a fatal mistake. Begin work in every town with the firm belief that there are two or three first- class agents in that very town for you and make up your mind to get them. There are plenty of persons in every town who will take the agency and pay you a full de- posit, and it is your business to find these persons and secure their service. In every town you will find "croakers" and "mossbacks" who will solemnly assure you that "you can't possibly secure an agent," that "peo- ple won't buy books," that "agents have tried it and failed," that "General Agents have worked two or three days and left town without getting an agent," etc. Pay no attention to such tales of woe. Go right ahead and get your agents just the same. 9. Finding Prospective Agents. Your first work is to get on the track of suitable peo- ple for agents. This is easy enough if you are not afraid to talk and have tact, originality and ingenuity and will go at it right. Some will give information reluctantly, while others will tell you more than you care to know, so don't tire people with too many questions. If you learn the names, character, peculiarities and the part of the town, you can easily find the people. A large number of names is not necessary before beginning to make calls, but after beginning, all sources of information should be followed up closely until the agents are secured. Get your information as quickly as possible f and get away! Don't be afraid to ask all the questions necessary. Jot down these names with whatever information is given you concerning each one in your memorandum book, and if the town is small, call on these persons at once. This SELLING AN AGENCY. 851 is only one way of getting on the track of agents. A call at almost any residence will result in getting names of people who "would like to earn a little money" Such references are most valuable. 10. How to Talk Books and Business. Don't be afraid or ashamed to talk. This is the only way to secure agents. People expect you to talk. You cannot do justice to yourself, your business or your firm, unless you do talk. Entertain and instruct your prospec- tive agent. Make every sentence count. Be earnest and enthusiastic! Running over with interest and energy! Hold the agent's attention right down to what you are talking about. Control him instead of letting him con- trol you. Make him believe as you do, and he will take the agency. Talk naturally. Don't let any one think you have "learned your piece." Put your ideas in the strongest and most pleasing words. Don't exaggerate or misrepresent. A single exaggerated expression may make the agent doubt all that you say thereafter. Do not solicit or appear anxious. Very few persons can be coaxed. Convey the impression that you are conferring a favor instead of asking one. [The general principles of salesmanship, as laid down in previous chapters of this work, apply to the methods successfully used by general agents in approaching the prospect and in demonstrating the proposition, so that it is not necessary to reproduce in detail here all the spe- cific instructions on these points given by the publishing house here quoted to its general agents in the field. We may, however, quote some of the replies suggested when 352 SELLING AN AGENCY. various objections are raised by the prospective ap- pointee.] 11. Objections and How to Meet Them. If you can't in some way overcome every possible ob- jection that any agent can raise, you are almost certain to fail. People will bring up all sorts of objections against canvassing. Some do this merely to test your ability or your knowledge of your books. One person will raise one objection, another a different one and a third will think of something entirely different from either, and to secure these three you must be able to meet each of these three objections. Every objection no matter what it is can be met by you if you only know how. The following objections will most frequently be raised, and we here suggest what we consider the best way to answer them. If you will memorize these answers word for word we are willing to guarantee that you can meet any objection that any one can bring up. Objection: "I never can sell books." (Reply) : "I meet hundreds of people who feel the same way you do when I first mention the business, but when they see how attractive my book is and how low-priced it is, and what wonderful success other agents are having with it, they change their opinion and decide to try it, and these very same persons are now meeting with splendid success and making money fast. You might not be able to sell some books that require a great deal of study and preparation books that people are not interested in and that are very high-priced but this book almost sells itself. Everybody wants it. Hun- dreds of agents who have failed with other books are SELLING AN AGENCY. 358 having magnificent success with this one, and clearing from $3.00 to $7.00 each day. You can easily see why this book will sell. It is so low-priced, so well illustrated, so handsomely bound and is needed so badly in every family that people are sure to buy it." Objection: "I have no experience in canvassing." (Reply) : "That doesn't need make a particle of dif- ference. You don't need experience to sell this book. We furnish you with printed instructions that explain just what to say in describing the book, and just how to say it. These instructions also tell you how to prepare yourself for the canvass how to approach people, how to answer their questions, how to meet their objections, what to say about each page of the canvassing book, how to explain the different bindings in fact, every part of the canvass is made so plain by these instructions that you cant possibly fail if you will follow them. Ninety-five out of every 100 agents I start haven't had a single hour's experience in canvassing, and they sell just as many books as experienced agents." Objection: "Times are too hard; money is too scarce; people can't afford to buy books." (Reply) : "Times are hard, money is scarce, but this book has been gotten up to suit the times. This is a very low-priced book. It sells for only dollars, and the poorest family can afford that. Poor people who would not think of buying other books are buying this one ; besides it is a book that people really need, and you know that what they really need they will certainly buy. Money is no scarcer in this town than it is in other places where this book is selling splendidly, and you certainly can sell 7 or 100 copies right arorund here." I.B.L. Vol. 223 854 SELLING AN AGENCY. Objection: "I haven't 'cheek* enough." (Reply) : "If you did have 'cheek,' 'brass,' or what- ever else you choose to call it, I wouldn't employ you to work for my firm on any basis whatever. We don't want that kind of agents. We want men who will ap- proach people in a gentlemanly manner that will please every body and not offend any one. We want our agents to be just as polite and pleasant as they know how to be, and we don't want any other kind." Objection: "I haven't much time to canvass." (Reply): "That's all right! Put in all the time you can. All we ask is that when you get a spare hour or two and are not busy, that you will sell just as many books as you can. The more time you put in, the more sales and the more money you will make for yourself, and, if you will agree to do the best you can when you do have some spare time, we will be perfectly satisfied. We have thousands of agents who can put in only one or two hours a day, but they make big money for the time they do put in, and they are perfectly satisfied with their sales, and so are we" Objection: "I may take the agency some other time, but not to-day. Give me the address of your firm, and when I am ready to canvass I will write to them for the outfit." (Reply) : "I can't possibly do so. My firm has gone to the expense of sending me here to secure an agent on this book, and I must appoint an agent before I leave ~:>ur town, and, therefore, this is the only chance you will ever have to take the agency for this book." Objection: "People don't think much of book agents around here." SELLING AN AGENCY. 355 (Reply) : "You must be joking, Mr. . I think an agent who sells a first-class book is doing more good than anybody else in the community, and that everybody will respect him all the more for it. Canvassing is some- thing to feel proud of. Did you know that some of the greatest men in the world's history were book agents? The great Napoleon Bonaparte was a canvasser and sold a book called 'The History of the Revolution.' George Washington was a book agent and sold over 200 books in Alexandria, Va. Daniel Webster, Mark Twain, Jay Gould, Longfellow, General Grant, Ex-President Hayes, Elaine, Garfield, and hundreds more of our dis- tinguished men were book agents. Some one asked Tal- mage, the great preacher, what he thought about book agents, and his answer was, 'I always feel like taking off my hat to the book agent. He is doing more good in this world than I ever saw.' Now Talmage's opinion is worth something. Anybody whose opinion is worth having will think all the more of you for introducing a first-class book like this, which is endorsed by teachers and clergymen and men of that stamp." Objection: "The town is full of agents already." (Reply) : "That simply proves that there are lots of reading people here who buy books. People never fish on dry ground. Agents succeed here simply because the people are intelligent, and want books. The more people buy, the more they want to buy." Objection: "I was once cheated in buying an out- fit." ' (Reply) : Suppose you were? Are you going to let that prevent you from selling a book like this that you 856 SELLING AN AGENCY. know is all right? If you got cheated in buying a pair of shoes, you certainly wouldn't expect to go barefooted the rest of your life. My firm has put every one of its General Managers under bond to deal honorably with the public and not misrepresent anything, but you don't have to take my word for it. You can see for yourself just what our methods are, and I will guarantee that everything will be just as represented." Objection: "I know a man right here in this town who canvassed ten days without' making a single sale." (Reply) : "I don't doubt that a particle. Some peo- ple always fail no matter what they attempt. Perhaps this agent you refer to didn't have any instructions like these I have just shown you. Perhaps his book was one that nobody wanted. Perhaps he didn't make any prep- arations for the work and didn't know how to go at the canvass. There are a hundred reasons why he might have failed, but the fact that he failed with his book is no reason why you would fail with this book. The firm wrote me two or three days ago that they wanted me to start agents on this book in every town be- fore I secured an agent for any other book, simply be- cause this book is selling faster than .any other they pub- lish. If you never go into business simply because some one else has made a failure of it, you will never start. I know you will succeed with it" Objection: "People can do without books." (Reply) : "Very true; but they don't! People could do without shoes and go barefoot ; but they don't! They could live on two meals a day, but they don't! They could do without a hundred other things, but they don't and won't! What they really desire and what they SELLING AN AGENCT. U7 really need they will certainly buy! If you show up this book in the right way and make people want it, they will buy it. If people didn't buy books, my firm would have to go out of business. Instead of that, they are spending more money this year in bringing out new books than ever before." These are the commonest objections that will be raised, and, if you will memorize these arguments and put them into practice, you can meet almost any objec- tions that will come up. Of course your way of answer- ing objections may be a little different from ours, but will be the same thing in substance. We don't care how you get around objections so long as you do so effec- tively. The main thing is to avoid objections when you can by rapidly attracting the agent's attention to some- thing else without his realizing you are doing so. Often- times you can do this by saying: "I will come to that in just a minute, Mr. ," and then push right ahead with your explanation. You must expect objections and train yourself to answer them or avoid them altogether. Good-natured answers are always the best. Whatever you do, don't make the agent angry. Don't raise his antagonism. Keep good-natured and jolly yourself, and keep the agent in good humor, too. After you answer an ob- jection don't give the agent time to reply or argue the matter. Go right ahead talking up the merits of your book and hammering away on its selling qualities and the big profit he can make, and you will find the agent will always lose sight of his objection altogether. 8i8 SELLING AN AGENCY. PREPARATION FOR GENERAL AGENTS. By Walter E. Dewey. The unvarying price of success is well-directed effort ; of high success, expert work. The foundation for both is preparation', not a single reading of instructions, but a diligent laborious study and practice of them. Ex- perienced travelers are most successful, because they have the fullest understanding of the work. All are success- ful in proportion to their readiness for everything that "turns up." It will cost you very little hard work, which is the ready capital of every ambitious man and woman, to make your success sure. It will cost you a great deal to slight your preparation. For every hour that you may spend in profitable preparation you will (if you neglect it) spend days in disappointing, resultless effort. Don't think, "Oh, getting agents is easy." It is not, for the beginner. We have travelers who are making as high as $3,000 per year and expenses, and you know that a work which you could expect to be "easy" at the start would not have to pay any worker such a figure. We who know, and in whose sight your early work will cloud or brighten your whole future, tell you that you have hills to climb, and that unless you know the re- quirements of your position and meet them fully you will fail. Understand Your Work. Store away in your mind the "meat" of explanatory and instructive matter we send you. Master it. Get more than a parrot's ability to recite it. Understand it, and from the fundamental truths and ideas we give SELLING AN AGENCY. 359 you make sensible deductions which will enable you to "take care of" features and objections which are not especially treated herein. Avoid experiments which involve time or money, for most variations from the plan herein outlined have been tried unavailingly, but strive for originality in methods and arguments. Understand your contracts perfectly. Be able to ex- plain them clearly and in such a manner as to create the best effect. The "deposit" is always the sensitive feature, but it is a "sticker" only as the result of a defect- ive explanation, if the probable really means business. All probables cannot make the deposit, although the class of people for whom our offers are intended usually have the credit to borrow; but in any event, "objection to deposit" is the easiest of objections to meet, for the deposit requirement is distinctly in the interests of the agent, and properly explained its reasonableness is the one thing which cannot be doubted. Know Your Books Thoroughly. Having thoroughly mastered your contracts and in- structions, take up the descriptions of your books. Mem- orize regarding each: Its name, nature, illustrations, descriptions of the bindings, retail prices and the agent's profit; the interesting features and strong points which make the book sell. By "strong points" we mean such as brilliant authorship, interesting subjects and contents, beautiful illustrations, fine paper, clear new type, at- tractive binding, low retail prices, etc., etc. This superficial knowledge of each book you should have at your "tongue's end;" but this is not enough. 360 SELLING AN AGENCY. Before trying to appoint an agent take at least two books, one suited to men and one to women, and study them in connection with the Special Descriptions, or the instructions entitled "How to Sell," until you are able to conduct a canvass on them as it should be conducted. This is necessary, twice necessary, for the reason is twofold: Your best chance of getting an agent is by thoroughly convincing him (or her) that the book is very attractive and desirable much more so than the books upon which others of his acquaintances have failed, or the works (possibly of equal merit) which have been "lamely" explained to him by some other traveler. Again, you must give him an example of what can be said in favor of "this" book, thus indicating to him the sort of description that will surely interest others just as it has interested him. Still again, the cases are rare where you can change from one book to another in your talk to a probable, and the book first mentioned must be successfully rep- resented as the "fastest seller" ever offered. This will be true in every case, for all of our books are fast sellers, and the confidence and enthusiasm created in the agent will, more than the book itself, conduce to his success. Learning the Description. As stated, you must at the start be able to describe at least two of your books as fully and attractively as the "How to Sell" makes possible, for the all-important description will have to be gone through often, indeed generally, without showing the prospectus you have not time to submit the outfit for examination until you are pretty sure of the agent. SELLING AN AGENCY. 361 After you have started, prepare thoroughly at least one of your books each week until you have them all mastered. When you get a new book learn it thor- oughly before you attempt to appoint an agent. Little things decide the success or failure of most in- terviews. Be tactful. Never talk profit as "forty per cent." Avoid the words "per cent." and "commission." Avoid the use of the word dollar in giving prices, and use it much in connection with agent's profit. For in- stance, in speaking of a book which sells in cloth for $2.75 and in morocco for $3.75 say: "Its rapid sale enables the publishers to offer it at the low prices of 'two seventy-five' for the beautiful cloth binding and 'three seventy-five* for an elegant full morocco binding with gold edges. On each sale of the cheapest binding you make 'a dollar and ten cents,' and on the best bind- ing, which sells rapidly, you make 'a dollar and a half for each sale." Rehearse, practice diligently before you try actual work. Arrange with a friend or relative to help you. Approach him for "information" and have him test your resources. Next consider him a probable and try to appoint him. Have him raise all possible objections, and you meet them. This is not foolish hippodrome it is getting ready for succezs. DON'TS FOR SALESMEN. Don't sit awkwardly in youY chair. Don't put your hand on the prospect. Don't point your pencil or finger at the prospect. Don't mispronounce words. Don't talk too fast. Don't speak in a monotonous tone. Don't speak indistinctly. Don't pass too rapidly from one thing to another. Don't emphasize too strongly. Don't fail to emphasize important parts. Don't seem at a loss for something to say. Don't fail to suit the word to the action. Don't repeat as from memory. Don't try to be magnetic or eloquent. Don't fail to draw out the prospect's objections. CHAPTER XXIV. BUSINESS SUCCESS.* By WALTER H. COTTINGHAM, President, The Sherwin-Williams Company, Cleveland, Ohio. The field of business is world-wide in extent. Its cultivation affords the ambitious man greater scope and opportunities for his activity and ability than any other. There are no limits to the possibilities of a business ca- reer, excepting the limitations of human capacity and en- durance. And this is the day of business. In no period of the world's history has it occupied such an important place. Time was when men devoted themselves to conquest by the sword, but now the world's greatest contests are fought and won on the fields of commerce by the great captains of industry. To be "in trade" is no longer a reproach, for business as it is constituted today affords ample opportunity for the highest honors, for the most enduring fame and for unlimited wealth and power. It is a field to attract the able and the ambitious and in which to exercise the greatest talents. The world is progressing today at a greater speed than ever before. Developments and improvements are on every side. They are the results of the genius of business. They are the rewards of tireless industry and superior ability. "Copyright, 1907, "by Walter H. Cottingham. 363 364 BUSINESS SUCCESS. Let no one think that the best days for business oppor- tunities have passed. We are in the midst of them. Right now the chances of success are greater than they ever were. But remember this, better training and greater knowledge are now necessary to successfully con- duct the vast transactions by which the enormous busi- ness of our time is operated than in the days of small things. In this chapter I have written down some thoughts, born of experience, concerning business success, with the hope that they may be of some help to young men ambi- tious to make the most of themselves in a business career. The Choice of a Career. What is your life-work to be ? That is the all-impor- tant question confronting the young man about to em- bark on a business career. If it is to be highly success- ful it must be something into which you can throw the whole force of your being. It must be something out of which you can take pleasure, and in which you can take pride. While it is true that correct principles and right methods energetically applied to any kind of business will produce results, the acme of success for which we should strive is reached only when the man is exactly fit- ted for the work, and the work entirely suits the man. Fortunate it is, when a young man early in life devel- ops a decided preference or liking for some particular kind of work. When such is the case he should be al- lowed to follow his inclination. Where no preference has developed, the young man should carefully study himself, and find out what he is best fitted for, and decide early on some line of work, and BUSINESS SUCCESS. 365 then stick to it. A great deal of valuable time is often wasted by moving around from one place to another, in search of something more congenial or profitable. Shift- ing of this kind is usually unprofitable in the long run, as it is apt to make a man unsettled and breed in him the fatal habit of instability. In choosing an occupation, most young men are in- clined to take up something that will pay best at the start, instead of considering the more important matter of securing the proper training. A few years at the be- ginning, with small pay, and the right kind of training, will be the most profitable in the long run. In choosing your work, remember always that above the mere kind of business you engage in, or the money you hope to make out of it, is your career. That is the important thing. What are you going to make of your life? Business is but a means to an end. It is but the occupation by which you are to exercise and develop your God-given qualifications and talents. It is the arena in which you are to practice day in and day out for the great race of the world the successful life. Choose then an occupation that will give you the widest scope to make of yourself the greatest and the highest success. The Start. Business is a race. It is a struggle for supremacy, from start to finish. The field is crowded with trained competitors, eager and alert to outdo one another at every turn. The start is important. It means a great deal to get under way right. The very first step then is a firm and determined resolution to succeed. Make up your mind before you enter the race that you will go into 366 BUSINESS SUCCESS. it to stay, that you will keep the goal of success ever be- fore your eyes, and that you will never give up until you have crossed the line a winner. Such a resolution many young men never take. The majority seem to be possessed of an idea that success is largely a matter of luck, that when they get into business fortune will come to them in some way. They fail to take a serious view of the subject at the start. They ut- terly fail to realize the tremendous effort and hardship necessary to get even a foothold, and so they drift along aimlessly without a plan to guide them. Therefore, let me emphasize the importance of a sober and firm resolu- tion at the start. Resolve with all the strength you can command that you will win, and then determine with all your might that you will keep that resolution and go to work. Training for the Race. Having taken your resolution to win it is important to get into training. The race is a hard one, the road is rough and steep, especially at the start, and what you re- quire at this stage more than anything else is staying power, and this power can only be developed by experi- ence and exercise on the track. You must train in the harness. You must get down to the very simplest kind of work and learn it by the slow and tedious process of doing it. The first necessity of training for any race, and espe- cially for the race of business success, is work. Work, in order to be highly successful, must be done because of love for it, because of the desire for accom- plishment. It is only under such conditions that one is able to do his best. The heart and soul, as well as the BUSINESS SUCCESS. 867 head and hands, must enter into the task if it is to be of the record-making kind. It must become a part of your very self. All the great works of art, literature and science are great because they are part and parcel of the being who created them. They are the expression of an ideal, developed by intense application, not for love of gain, but for the love of achievement and the desire to excel. The man who finds work a drudgery and an everlast- ing grind, who is always looking for the quitting time, will never do really good work, for his heart is not in it. He is but a machine working for mere existence. He works only because he has to, and is kept up to it. The spark of originality and enthusiasm, usually called gen- ius, is wanting, and so the work is ordinary and com- monplace. Of this kind of workers there is an over- supply in the world, and so the price is low. But for the man who works because he desires improvement and advancement, because he desires to accomplish, because he wants to do something better than it has ever been done before, because he wants to be a prize winner in the great race for success, there is no limit to what he may do. The whole world is open to him and welcomes him and will reward him richly. Work is not hardship. It is in truth one of the Cre- ator's greatest blessings. There is no satisfaction or pleasure equal to that which is produced by honest effort and toil, and the feeling that you are accomplishing something and are making headway in life by your own exertion and force. The care of health, as well as work, is necessary in any system of training. Physical exertion and mental force 308 BUSINESS 3VCCE31. are dependent upon the condition of the body and the state of the mind. It, therefore, behooves us to see to it that our bodies and minds are at all times kept in perfect health. We all know the importance of the machinery to the output of the factory and the great pains taken to keep it in perfect condition. How watchful is the engineer to see that the fires are kept at high heat, that the gearings and the shaftings are all in order and well oiled, that every care is taken to avoid friction, and have all run smoothly, for it is only through the exercise of such pains that the highest efficiency is obtained. The human ma- chinery needs the same close and constant care, if it is to develop the greatest possible amount of force and effi- ciency. The body and mind comprise the motive power for our operations. The body generates the current and the mind is the medium that electrifies and directs our en- ergy. It behooves us, therefore, to keep our motive power at all times in the highest state of perfection, foi if we neglect it there is sure to be a breakdown and the plant put out of operation. Knowledge of your physical and mental requirements is necessary to health. Every man should gain this knowledge by careful study of his constitution. He must find out what it is necessary to do to preserve his health, and do it. He must find out what it is necessary to avoid, and avoid it. He should know what he can eat and drink, and what he cannot eat and drink, and live accordingly. He should know what kind of, and how much exercise he requires, and take it. He should know how much sleep he needs, and get it. He should find out BtTSINESS fUCCESi. SCt his capacity for work and not go beyond it. He should in all things be temperate and regular. These things are all important if a man wishes to keep himself at all times keyed up to concert pitch, and remember he can- not be keyed up if his motive power is run down. Most men know what is necessary to keep them in proper condition, but lack the moral courage and strength of mind to govern themselves accordingly. Men of such self-indulgence need never expect to make the most of themselves, for he who is not master of himself, and cannot manage and control himself, certainly cannot successfully manage and control others. He is a weak- ling, unfit for leadership. And now as to the mind : There is a good old proverb that says: "As a man thinketh so is he," which is an eternal truth. We become largely what we think we want to be. High thinking leads to high aiming. If we think great things long enough and hard enough, some day we are likely to do them. On the other hand, let a man be pessimistic and morbid in thought, let him think he's no good, that everybody and everything is against him, that he'll never amount to anything, and these things are very likely to come to pass. Believe in yourself, expect much, and work hard for it, and let your mind be busy always with new and larger plans. A clear, clean, strong mind in a healthy body is what counts. Go into your training with such an equipment, backed by hard work, and an ardent desire to make the most of yourself, and nothing can prevent you from reaching your goal. I.B.I,. Vol. 224 370 BUSINESS SUCCESS. Work to a Plan. "Plan your work and work your plan," somebody has tritely said, and it applies with particular force to a busi- ness career. Your career must be built. It must be built bit by bit, and if the work is to be well done, and the structure a strong and shapely one, if it is to be as it ought to be, built for eternity, then you need a plan to guide you. No important structure was ever built with- out one. The plan for your career must be sketched by your imagination on the mind. You must carry there, and keep always before your eyes, a picture of the career you want to live. This will be your plan, and while you work laboriously in the sweat and heat of the day, build- ing piece by piece, higher and higher, turn to your com- pleted picture for encouragement and inspiration. And how is the picture to be developed? This is the work of your ambition. To be ambitious is to dream, to long, to aspire to be something greater than we are. It is a desire to conquer, to win, to make the very most of one's self. And it is a magnificent thing for a man to strive with all the power that is in him to make the most of himself. The desire to distinguish one's self is laud- able and commendable. A man without ambition is like a bird without wings. He can never soar in the heights above, but must walk like a weakling, unnoticed, with the crowds below. He never feels the thrill of enthusiasm which pulsates through the veins of the ambitious man as he presses forward in the exciting struggle to reach his aim. So I say, keep alive in your breast the fire of ambi- tion, and let it burn so brightly that you will be ever spurred on to the highest endeavor. Let it sketch in BUSINESS SUCCESS. 371 your mind a plan of greatness worthy of your finest effort. And why shouldn't you succeed? The field is open to you, and nothing is impossible to youth and determina- tion. Given a man with good health of body and mind, a consuming ambition to rise, and a large capacity for hard work, and it matters not who he is, where he is, or what he is, he will come to the top. You can't keep such a man down it would be contrary to the laws of human progress and experience. The time, the place, and the opportunity are never wanting to the ambitious man. It is the man himself who makes these, not they that make him. I have no patience with those who at- tribute success to a lucky chance, a fortunate circum- stance, or a rare opportunity these come to every man, the difference being, one sees them, the other does not. One has worked for them, and prepared for them, and when they present themselves, he is ready and seizes hold of them. The other is unprepared, and so they slip by him, and he calls it hard luck. Let a man but have an aim and a purpose, and the opportunity to attain his end will not be wanting. The field of business is open to all. In the arena of trade every man can compete, and every man has a good, fair chance, the statements of croakers to the contrary notwithstanding. If such a declaration needs confirmation, I have only to point to the great captains of industry the world over, who have almost invariably risen from the humblest of beginnings, without any better chances than those that come to all of us. Great American business men, like Andrew Carnegie, Marshall Field, John Wanamaker and J. J. Hill, have 372 BUSINESS SUCCESS. climbed the ladder of business success from the lowest rung, step by step, against great odds, and by tremen- dous effort and persistence; and so have such great Englishmen as Rhodes, Brassey and Lipton, and such Canadians as Strathcona, Stephen and MacDonald, and many others. The success of these giants of industry illustrates the immense possibilities of business and what may be achieved from small beginnings .and little opportunities. They should prove an inspiration to everyone striving for business success. I have tried to study the careers of these men, and am convinced they have gained their commanding posi- tions, not so much by the exercise of extraordinary quali- ties, not by reason of the possession of what is called genius, but by the practice of every-day, good, ordinary, business principles, and by sticking to them, concentra- ting the whole force of their strong natures on their work, gaining a little all the time, going steadily for- ward, step by step, higher and higher. It's wonderful what can be accomplished in time by a man who works persistently along the right lines. It's deviating from the course, getting off the track, letting down a little at times, that is fatal to progress. Stick-to- it-iveness is characteristic of all men of great achieve- ments. The Value of Time. Time is the greatest factor in successful work. The man who solves the problem of how to make the most of time has found the way to make the most of himself. Without doubt there is nothing so costly that is so much wasted as time. It is wasted in too much sleep, in too BUSINESS SUCCESS. 373 much leisure, and in downright laziness. It is squan- dered in useless pleasures, and in excess of recreation. It slips away in ease and comfort almost without our knowing it. In truth the precious moments fly. How, then, shall we save them? There is only one way con- centrate. Procrastination is said to be the thief of time, and concentration may be called the developer of time. Whatever you do, put into it the whole force of your mind, and as you would avoid the waste of time, avoid the wandering of your thoughts, the scattering of your efforts concentrate, concentrate in all things. It's wonderful what can be accomplished by concentration, even in little things, and it's wonderful, too, how once the habit of concentration is formed it can so readily be applied to everything that we do. We need concentra- tion in the large affairs of life to enable us to persist in a regular course, and we need it in our daily work and thinking to make time count. Therefore, I say, organ- ize your time, plan for every minute of the day. Fix your time for rising, for dressing, for eating, for work- ing, for recreation and for sleeping. Make every min- ute count in some useful, helpful occupation. Our value depends upon how much we can make of every minute of the day. In all things be prompt. Get the thing done. Do it now. Delay is fatal. The only way for a busy man to get through his work is to take up one thing at a time and stick to it until he puts it through. Never mind if the work is difficult it must be done. Tackle it NOW. Get rid of it and take up the next. This is the only way to keep abreast of your work and to be ready for more. Such practice will soon develop in you a great capacity for work and action. Quick and ac- 374 BUSINESS SUCCESS. curate decision, prompt and forceful action, are the qual- ities which insure dispatch and make time count. But remember, too, that there is more than action nec- essary to the best results. You must provide time for in- vestigation and study, time to thoroughly review the past, and time to think out the future. Time spent in thinking is well spent. Successful thinking requires the same concentration necessary to successful action. Plans are formed by thought and executed by action. There- fore, let it be your care to develop the two with equal perseverance. Thought should be put into every action that engages your efforts, no matter how simple or per- functory. The natural inclination is to do our work in a routine sort of way automatically, like a machine. Thought involves effort, and it is by effort we exercise and develop the mind as in like manner we exercise and develop the muscles of the body. Apply to all that en- gages your time this simple question: How can I im- prove it? Because a thing has always been done a cer- tain way is not proof that there is not another and a bet- ter way. Any man can do the things he is taught to do; the exceptional man is the one who improves on old and invents new ways of doing things. Keep your eyes open, your ears attentive, and your mind active. Form the habit of observation, and apply it wherever you go. Most people go through the world as if their eyes were shut and their ears closed. They never seem to learn anything unless it is pounded into them. Avoid passiveness. Be curious. Know the why and the wherefore. It's better to run the risk of being a nuisance by being too curious than to go along un- mindful of what is passing around you. BUSINESS SUCCESS. 375 What I want to emphasize in all this is the value of time. See to it that not a minute is wasted. Be al- ways engaged in something doing or thinking that will increase your knowledge. "Knowledge is power." See to it that you gain the largest possible amount of it. Be Enterprising. To be enterprising is to strike out on new and im- proved lines of your own, to leave the beaten path of routine and monotonous custom, and blaze for yourself a trail broad and straight through the great world of opportunity that stretches out before us on every hand. The great prizes of the world are reserved for the en- terprising, for those who have the courage to dare and the will and perseverance to do. The enterprising man requires nerve, energy and am- bition. He must be willing and able to shoulder re- sponsibility, and he must be ready to take risks. He must not be such a one as requires to see the complete and successful finish of a transaction before he under- takes it. He must be willing to back his judgment and take chances. A certain amount of caution is wise, but too great caution in business is weak and unprogressive. It is stagnation. If you are going to accomplish anything of moment in the world you've got to strike out boldly on new lines of your own. You can't expect to make any but or- dinary headway doing what others are doing. Com- petition under such conditions is too keen to admit of great advancement. You must break in on old meth- ods with a new plan, or do something better than it has ever been done before. New ideas are what make big successes. It is the man who can anticipate new wants 376 BUSINESS SUCCESS. or create some new demand that wins fortune. The man with ideas and the nerve and energy to work them out will always find a field, no matter how crowded the market. The world demands and rewards new ideas. Right here let me say, if you have an idea, don't be afraid to try it out. You'll never know what it is worth until you try. More good ideas perish than ever see the light of day, just for the want of action. When a good idea strikes you, get busy on it at once. Don't wait for a more convenient time, don't be talked out of it, try it out. Strike while the iron is hot. Ideas are rare inspirations. Seize hold of them and act. "If you are in earnest, seize this very minute. What you can do, or believe you can, begin it." I don't want to convey the idea that new things should be rushed into without any consideration. No thought in such matters is worse than too much thought. The wise man will investigate and study well each new un- dertaking before he engages in it. He will weigh very carefully the chances of success over failure and then decide, and once his decision is made, he will stick to it. If the decision is favorable to the attempt, he will cast to the wind all further hesitation and doubt, and devote himself heart and soul to the task. There will be no turning back, no weak vacillation, but a determined reso- lution to put the thing through to a successful conclu- sion. And let it be remembered, new things do not usually succeed at the start. There is generally a lot of disappointment and grief mixed up with them be- fore they are made to go. And here comes the test of pluck. The average man lets go too soon. Discour- BUSINESS SUCCESS. 377 agement and disappointment force him out. It's the man with confidence and pluck that hangs on. "Just when the pearl was waiting one more plunge, How many a struggler has thrown up the sponge; And O how true, when shades of doubt dismay, 'Tis often darkest just before the break of day. A little more persistence, courage, vim, Success will dawn o 'er fortune 's cloudy rim. ' ' "Then take this honey for the bitterest cup, There is no lailure save in giving up; No real fall as long as one still tries, For seeming set-backs make the strong man wise. There's no defeat, in truth, save from within, Unless you 're beaten there, you 're bound to win. ' ' It's wonderful how great is the power of pluck. Every man who has conquered success, in whatever call- ing, has possessed it. He has been full of the courage to do, and the pluck and nerve to hang on until it is done. Of course you may get knocked out for a time. The best of men do but it doesn't count as long as you do not stay out. Get up again, take a fresh hold, and go at it harder than ever, with renewed energy and de- termination. Remember, disappointments and discour- agements are necessary to the highest development of our powers. It often requires some great disaster, some overwhelming opposition to discover our real strength and resource. Such obstacles are a test of our worth. If we go down under them we are lost, if we surmount them we are conquerors. Mistakes you may make, but to failure you must never succumb. The man who ad- mits failure is a weakling beyond measure. Ever after- wards he is timid and lacks that powerful confidence which results from successful achievement. There is nothing that so convinces a man of his own infallibility, and is such an incentive to further effort, as seeing the success of his work. Be enterprising. Be plucky. 378 BUSINESS SUCCESS. Business Ability. There are two kinds of ability natural ability and acquired ability. I have more faith in the latter than the former, on the principle that what comes easy goes easy, and what you get by hard knocks usually sticks. It is a fortunate thing for the majority of us that ability can be acquired. It is gained by experience and study, by doing things over and over again and watching the results, by learning how not to make the same mistake twice, and how to follow up and develop each successful action. The very best way to get ability is to do thor- oughly whatever you do. Master every detail of each piece of work that falls to your lot. Really the genius of success is nothing more than doing well whatever you do. If this rule is followed you cannot fail to de- velop ability of some kind, and how great your ability becomes is largely dependent upon your capacity for learning. But remember this, it is much better and vastly more profitable to know how to do a few things well than to do a great many things indifferently. Be a specialist in something, and then take on, besides, all you can. It is the man who learns to do some one thing better than it has ever been done before who wins the prize. Practice, constant practice, is the only way to acquire sound business ability. With practice and experience come good judgment. Good business judgment is nothing more than applying to your work the sound principles you have learned by hard experience. There's not much chance for a man to display judgment unless he has been through the mill himself. I believe there is such a thing as business in- stinct, by which some men seem to know intuitively the BUSINESS SUCCESS. 379 right decision and the psychological moment for action. But I also believe that this power can be acquired by studious experience. The very best way to gain busi- ness ability is to dig deep down into every transaction you handle, and find out the reason for it. Investigate, analyze, study. Do not be content to do things by rule alone ; know the why and the wherefore of them. Mas- ter every position which you occupy and learn as much as you can about the one just ahead of you. Let your watchwords be: Development, Improve- ment, Progress. Take stock of yourself very fre- quently, and find out if you are developing, improving and getting ahead, and if you are not, find out the rea- son and do not blame anyone but yourself, for develop- ment and improvement depend upon yourself, and your- self alone. Get these things into line and nothing will stop your progress, for in business the demand for ex- ceptional ability is always greater than the supply. My faith in man's ability to learn is so great I be- lieve with energy and perseverance he can fit himself for any kind of position. I believe he can be prac- tically w r hat he wants to be, if lie is willing to pay the price. Great success demands a great price. The things worth having in this world all command high prices, and must be striven for. It is through tremendous striv- ing that we develop. If there was nothing to strive for we would not exert ourselves, and without exertion there would be no development, no growth. Ability is the award of patient, tireless, dogged per- severance. Its acquirement is worth a mighty effort, for it is by the exercise of it that men gain power, fame and riches in business. 380 BUSINESS SUCCESS. A great aid in acquiring business ability is to study successful men and successful methods. There's a rea- son for every man's success, and a knowledge of how the great men of business the captains of industry- have won their positions cannot fail to interest as well as instruct those who indulge an ambition to follow in their footsteps. The more you study the biographies of successful men and their methods, the better you will understand that there is less of genius and mystery in their make-up and more of everyday common sense and hard work than is generally thought. In the development of one's business ability, it is im- portant to ascertain as early as possible your natural points of strength so you can work in that direction. Most men are cut out for some one particular kind of work more than another, and a man's best chance is to follow the career for which nature intended him. And remember always that it is better to be a success in some- thing, even if it is short of your desires, than to attempt more than you are capable of and fail at it. Human effort has its limitations, and that man is the wisest who finds his limits and succeeds within them, rather than to aim at something outside his range which he can never reach. When a man has made the most of what he is, he has won success, and nothing short of it should sat- isfy him. In business watch your competitors. Never for an instant allow yourself to entertain the idea that you are above or superior to competition. The successful gen- eral is the one who rather over-estimates than under-esti- mates the strength of the enemy, and prepares for the worst. No one man or concern has a monopoly of all BUSINESS SUCCESS. 381 the best brains and methods. He is a mighty smart one who can acquire a little more than the average. Let competition be an incentive to your energy and ambi- tion. Give the other fellow a fair, square deal and beat him out on your merits. System. The man who aims at business success must become a master of system. A business man without system is like a ship without a. rudder. System not only helps you to steer your business craft on a straight course, but increases her speed. It saves time, it saves waste, it in- sures accuracy and dispatch. With system there is al- most no end to what a man may do; without it he is a slave to detail, confined to the narrow limits of his own hands. System should begin with your personal habits. The first thing to organize or systemize is your time. Have a time for each part of your work and plan ahead for every hour of the day. Do the important things first. To be systematic is to be regular, and the man who is not regular and prompt in his business invites disaster to his undertakings, just as he invites disease when he is irregular in the habits of his body. Learn to be or- derly and systemize in the little personal things, and then you will find it easy to be systematic in business, in the office, at your desk. Each day should have its plan and a list of the things to be done. Such a sys- tem will save aimlessness and time wasted in deciding what first to take up. Look ahead, work along well defined lines; don't scatter concentrate. Look out for a man with a plan and the will to put it into effect. The great battles of commerce, like the 382 BUSINESS SUCCESS. great battles of war, are won by the expert in strategy, by those who can wisely plan, and boldly and carefully execute. We are all architects of our own fortune, but too many are working without plans or specifications, so no wonder the structure is without form or stability. The man who works along definite, systematic lines knows just where he is at, and what he wants to accom- plish. He constantly consults his chart, keeps his eye on the goal for which he is headed, and works with un- diminished energy and perseverance closer and closer to it. Organization, which is the greatest factor in develop- ing and building up a great enterprise, is nothing more than the application of system in handling men and af- fairs. In other words, organizing is systematizing. Its object is to bring men and work into harmonious rela- tions, with a view to reducing friction and cutting out waste, and through co-operation to increase efficiency. There is practically no limit to the possibilities of organ- ization. The power of organizing is exercised by that greatest and rarest business qualification called executive ability. Executive ability may be described as aptness for sys- tem and capacity for action, through the skillful and af- fable handling of men. Without organization and system, business would still be done on the small scale of olden days, and the business man would still be an insignificant trader or small in- dividual manufacturer instead of the great captain of industry of today. BUSINESS SUCCESS. 888 Enthusiasm. Human nature may be divided into two great classes, those who are enthusiastic in their dispositions and those of a pessimistic nature. There are so many advantages in enthusiasm, the great wonder is that there are so many pessimists. To be enthusiastic is to be hopeful, to be cheerful, to be confident. To be pessimistic is to see things through dark spectacles, to declaim against fate and to expect disaster. At the root of enthusiasm you will find faith in man- kind, faith in the world and faith in yourself. The en- thusiastic man is thankful that he is alive. He finds the world a fine place to live in. He believes he has been sent into it for a purpose, and is determined to make the most of its vast opportunities. And the poor pessimist, he is disgruntled, nothing suits him. People and things bore him, and he trusts nobody, not even himself. He is out of step with progress, and altogether he is a very miserable spectacle. Enthusiasm can be cultivated. Nature intended us to be enthusiastic, for surely man's position in the world as the greatest and most marvelous of God's creatures is in itself an inspiring thing. Think of it! Man has within him the power and capacity to command and en- joy all the marvelous things the world contains. They have been created for his use and enjoyment. He is in- vited to partake of them. It is surely a grand thing to be born into such a world. It is surely a marvelous chance that is afforded us. We are brought into this vast field of opportunity with body and mind capable of the highest development. We have the means within 884 HCHNISS iUCCIML ourselves to make of ourselves almost anything we want to be. What a chance and what a responsibility ! No man should ask for, or expect, more than a fair chance to show what he can do. The man who is born into the world with a position made for him, is handi- capped as compared with the man who has nothing but his God-given talents to depend upon. That position and success which we gain by our own hard efforts is ten times as sweet and ten times as -creditable as the highest position in the land inherited. The young man who inherits wealth and position is without the greatest incentives to effort and development want and poverty. Envy him not. The temptations of the well-to-do are greater than those of small means, It requires great self denial and much ambition for such to devote themselves to the hard work necessary to win success. In all this I wish to make plain that the first essential of enthusiasm is a satisfied feeling towards the world and a lively appreciation of its opportunities. Be sure you will get a square deal, and nothing more. A man generally gets out of life what he puts into it. The trouble with most disappointed people is that they are looking for larger returns than their investment entitles them to. Once you become satisfied with the world as a field for your operations, the next thing is to get in love with your work that's the only way to develop genuine enthusi- asm. Enthusiasm to be genuine must be spontaneous, it must be the kind that bubbles over of its own accord, without effort anything else is a makeshift and a coun- terfeit. Enthusiasm is contagious, and it's a good thing BUSINESS SUCCESS. 385 to catch and indulge. Most of the great things in this world , indeed, it is safe to say all the really great things have been the result of intense enthusiasm. Enthusi- asm is earnestness, and the downright earnest man gets results. Enthusiasm is to a business what patriotism is to an army; it gives zest and inspiration to its transaction which is a power of tremendous force. I would rather have ten enthusiastic men around me in developing a business than a hundred of the same capacity who lacked enthusiasm. Character. Business is but a means to an end. A man may be an unqualified success in business and gain wealth, power and fame, yet his life may be a failure. The test of the successful life comes when a man stands at last before his Maker. The only thing that counts then is charac- ter. The accumulations of a life-time of toil and strug- gle, in property, goods and money, count for nothing. These must all be left behind. The only accumulations we can take with us into the great hereafter are those of character. The question we will be called upon to an- swer at this supreme moment is not "what have you left?" but "what do you bring?" And what is character, and how is it formed? Character is your personality, it is the thing that dis- tinguishes you from others. It is the thing you have come to be through all the good and bad, the pleasant and the hard experiences of your life. It is the realization of yourself. Character is formed by conduct. Conduct is the re- sult of habits, and habits are acquired by action. I.B.L. Vol. 225 386 BUSINESS SUCCESS. Everything that we do, good and bad, has its effect on character. Our thoughts, our conversation, our every transaction, trifling or important, all go to make up our personality (and form our character). And one thing is certain, we are always changing. We are growing better, or we are growing worse. Our characters are growing stronger, or they are growing weaker. There is no escape from the universal law of activity and change. The great thing is to make sure we are headed the right way and moving in the right direction. This can only be made certain by adhering to fixed principles and striving for some worthy ideal. It means self -discipline, self-restraint and the practice of virtue. There are three stages in the making of character- know thyself, fight thyself, conquer thyself. Strike out on your own lines. Do your own thinking. Become a positive personality, and fear no one but your Maker. Fix your aim and purpose, then begin to build your character. Build it bit by bit, as you develop your work or build your business, always improving and pro- gressing toward your ideal. The greatest help to this end is the forming of right habits. Here are some of the things that should be crystallized into habits: Be fair. Do your duty fear- lessly and cheerfully. Be considerate, be polite. Be courageous. Be high toned. Be unselfish. Speak ill of no one. Be natural the same to everyone. Ac- knowledge when you are in the wrong. Forgive freely. You can't please everyone do not try. Never forget a kindness. Help those who are struggling up. Share BUSINESS SUCCESS. 387 your prosperity with those who have helped you gain it. Do not let prosperity or success spoil you. Live straight in every way. Be a man. Make your work count for eternity. QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW. SALESMANSHIP THEORY AND PRACTICE. CHAPTER I. Self-training in Salesmanship. 1. Is a knowledge of salesmanship required in every business career? 2. Why is it a mistake to suppose that a professional man need know nothing about salesmanship? 3. Can the faculties and methods employed by "born" salesmen be cultivated and developed by others? 4. What are the essentials of salesmanship? 5. Why is a store of general knowledge desirable in a salesman? 6. Why is it necessary to train the senses for success- ful salesmanship? 7. How can good business judgment be acquired? 8. What is the function of the reasoning faculty in business affairs? 9. Is quick judgment always desirable in business? 10. What foes of reason must be combated in self- training? 11. Why should the salesman's memory and capacity for knowledge be carefully trained? 12. Why is it important to acquire the habit of con- centration? 13. What is the advantage to salesmen and mer- chants of possessing an active imagination? 14. How is the power of the human will constantly exercised in salesmanship? 389 .390 QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW. 15. What are the advantages of originality and power of initiative in business life? 16. Name the various steps required in self -train- ing for successful salesmanship. CHAPTER II. Principles of Salesmanship. 1. What are the six distinct steps in selling noted by scientific salesmanship? 2. What are the three principal elements of a sale? 3. What methods are commonly employed in finding prospective customers? 4. What preliminary preparation is necessary before a salesman should approach a prospect? 5. What four distinct mental attitudes must a cus- tomer pass through before a sale is closed? 6. Why do young men often find it difficult to gain access to prospective customers? 7. What is the method of approach that generally commands respect? 8. What is usually accomplished in the first moments of an interview? 9. How can the effects of an unfavorable first im- pression be counteracted? 10. What is meant by the "demonstration" and what are its three objects? 11. Should a selling talk always be prepared in ad- vance? 12. Why should the fullest possible trial always be given by a salesman to the selling talk prescribed for his use? QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW. 391 13. On what three points must the prospect be con- vinced by the demonstration and selling argument? 14. Why is "knowing when to stop*' a very import- ant consideration in making a sale? 15. What is meant by "the psychological moment" in closing a sale? 16. How should the salesman's mentality be exer- cised in closing sales? 17. What is a good brief definition of a sale? 18. Upon what does the selling power of a salesman depend? 19. What are the "twenty weapons of attack," so called? 20. Why is systematized knowledge the salesman's best weapon? 21. How does enthusiasm add to selling ability? 22. How can selling force be maintained at the proper pitch? 23. What is meant by the "sixth sense" and how is it applied in salesmanship? 24. How does a knowledge of the principles of physi- ognomy assist the salesman? 25. Name some of the varied types of buyers en- countered by salesmen. 26. What is understood by the exercise of will power in selling goods? 27. Into what elements may will power be resolved? 28. What are the possibilities of voice culture in salesmanship ? 29. What is meant by Suggestion, and how is it employed in selling? 30. What is Auto-suggestion? 392 QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW. CHAPTER III. Marketing a Product. 1. What is meant by the organization of distributive industries ? 2. Why were special markets established for various lines of trade? 3. Name several cities in Canada where well-recog- nized distributive markets are found. 4. What cities are recognized as world-markets for various lines of trade? 5. What is the function of wholesale or jobbing centers? 6. What is the true local market ? 7. What are the factors in the modern organization of distribution in larger market centers? 8. How are raw materials, especially agricultural products, distributed? 9. How are manufactured articles distributed? 10. What is the important task that confronts a manufacturer in the distribution of his product from the factory? 11. What is the primary function of the jobber or wholesaler? 12. What effect has the establishment of department stores had upon the wholesale business? 13. How many classes of jobbing houses may be noted? 14. What are the two principal methods of market- ing the product of a manufacturing concern? 15. What are the functions of a sales department? 16. What is the great advantage of a special sales force ? QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW. 393 17. How can a manufacturer influence the jobbing trade? 18. What are the special functions of an advertis- ing department? 19. How does a professional advertising agency work in cooperation with an advertising department? 20. Why is it often best for the manufacturer to delegate the work of securing publicity for his product to an advertising agency? CHAPTER IV. Personality of the Salesman. 1. What is the distinction made by business mana- gers between "clerks" and "salesmen?" 2. In what stages of the sale does the personality of the salesman count? 3. Why are trained faculties required for success- ful salesmanship? 4. How can the intuitive faculty be developed? 5. Why is the personal appearance of the salesman an important factor in success? 6. What general rules should be followed as regards care of the personal appearance, dress, etc.? 7. What effect has character upon the personality of the salesman? 8. Name some of the factors of character which make for success in salesmanship. 9. How does an expert salesman manifest his intelli- gence? 10. Why is tact necessary in the make-up of a sales- man, and how may it be cultivated ? 394 QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW. 11. Why is it important for a salesman to possess self-control, and how can it be acquired? 12. What are the demands of courtesy in wholesale and in retail selling? 18. How do cheerfulness and promptness of speech and action aid the salesman ? 14. Why is earnestness of purpose a prime requisite of salesmanship character? CHAPTER V. The Scientific Salesman. 1. Is hypnotic science required for successful sales- manship? 2. Is salesmanship a mystic science? 3. What is scientific salesmanship, rightly so-called? 4. What is the difference between a scientific sales- man and an "ordinary" salesman? 5. Name some of the characteristics of the scientific salesman. 6. Is a high-school or college education absolutely necessary for successful salesmanship? 7. How can deficiencies of education be supplied ? 8. Can a clerk or mechanic become a scientific sales- man, and how? 9. Why is it important for the salesman to be a student of human nature? 10. How does the scientific salesman aid his memory in keeping track of customers and prospects? 11. Why is it advisable to study the goods and meth- ods of competitors? 12. Should it end the matter with a scientific sales- man when he is "turned down" by a prospect? QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW. 395 CHAPTER VI. Selling At Wholesale. 1. Why is a special training in the home office or store often necessary for a wholesale salesman? 2. Through what positions does a wholesale salesman often pass before he is qualified for the road? 3. How does the up-to-date salesman turn failure into success? 4. What is a good short method employed by sales- men for correcting their mistakes? 5. How does selling to a department store buyer differ from selling to a small retail merchant? 6. What is the advantage of using "leaders" only in showing samples? 7. What methods are employed by successful sales- men to turn customers into friends? 8. Do wholesale houses find that it pays to be oblig- ing to customers and help them in every possible way? 9. What are the bases of successful wholesale busi- ness? 10. Are the opportunities for young men to rise to the head of large mercantile houses as good as they were a few years ago? 11. What are the qualifications and intellectual re- quirements of a successful wholesale merchant? 12. What are the qualifications and responsibilities of large buyers of merchandise? 13. Why must the successful merchant possess the varied qualifications of salesmanship? 14. Name the two characteristics of a thoroughly equipped salesman? 396 QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW. 15. How has time become the essence of a modern business transaction? 16. Mention some of the details of the daily routine of a wholesale business. 17. What happens to an order when it returns to the order department after passing through the hands of the bookkeeper and credit man ? 18. Name some of the other departments of a wholesale business. 19. Why are labor and study essential to success in wholesale selling? CHAPTER VII. Selling At Retail. 1. Upon what does successful salesmanship in retail business depend ? 2. How do customers in a retail store learn to regard the salesman as a friend ? 3. Is it feasible to prepare a separate selling talk for each article sold in a retail store? 4. Why should the retail salesman make a constant study of all the goods which he is called upon to handle? 5. In what important respect does a retail salesman differ from a wholesale salesman? 6. How can the retail salesman assist a customer's decision? 7. What are the qualities in a retail salesman that win recognition? 8. What are the four stages of a retail sale? 9. How can the attention of the customer be secured ? 10. How is interest aroused in the customer? QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW. 397 11. What effect has courtesy of the salesman upon a retail sale? 12. How is desire to be created in retail selling? 13. What is meant by the "purchasing impulse" and how is it aroused? 14. Why does one salesman or clerk have more sales than another? 15. Why do customers prefer some one salesman to wait upon them? 16. Is filling orders properly termed salesmanship? 17. What is the meaning of salesmanship in a retail store? CHAPTER VIII. Practical Instructions To Salesmen. 1. Do up-to-date business houses usually prepare specific instructions for their road-men? 2. What four steps are recognized as taking place in the customer's mind before a sale is effected? 3. Are cards generally used by live salesmen? 4. What should be done by the salesman before mak- ing a call at a store for business? 5. How can the attention of a banker be secured? 6. In selling an advertising service when should the customer first be given a chance to buy? 7. What four things are laid down in the typical set of instructions contained in this chapter as going to make up a salesman? 8. What is usually the main difference between a $1.00 man and a $10,000 man? 9. What is the advantage to the salesman of re- ceiving specific instructions from the house? 398 QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW. CHAPTER IX. The Approach. 1. What is meant by "the approach" in salesman- ship? 2. Is it possible to prescribe a definite form of words to be used by salesmen in all cases when they approach business men? 8. Why must a great deal be- left to the discretion of the salesman? 4. How should a salesman make known his business errand? 5. Should a store-keeper be approached with a funny story or an attempt at wit? 6. How does success in selling depend largely on the result of the first interview? 7. What is the first point to be taken care of in approaching a prospect? 8. Why is it necessary to develop the powers of ob- servation in selling such articles as cash registers? 9. What is a diagram card and for what purpose is it used? 10. Is it worth while to take time to investigate the conditions in a store before attempting to sell a new business system? 11. What form of address should be used in first meeting a retail storekeeper? 12. How can his attention be secured? 18. Why must a salesman always keep his temper and avoid antagonizing the prospect? 14. Is it advisable to use such a phrase as "If you will give me your attention for a few moments, I pro- pose to tell you so and so?" QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW. 399 15. What is the purpose of the first interview in sel- ling such an article as a cash register? 16. Is it advisable to give the prospect an imaginary demonstration without a sample at hand? 17. In selling a business system what point should be brought constantly to the front? 18. Why should the prospect's direct inquiries be an- swered directly without dodging? 19. How can a prospect be impressed with the im- portance of keeping an appointment for demonstration? 20. Should a salesman ever wait at a hotel or office for a merchant to keep an appointment? If not, why not? 21. Name some good forms of appeal for a demon- stration. CHAPTER X. The Demonstration. 1. Why should the attention of the prospect be di- rected to the goods or machine which he ought to have, rather than to higher-priced goods? 2. Should a salesman try to sell higher-priced goods solely for the sake of the increased commission? 3. Why should a salesman adapt his selling talk and demonstration to the prospect's actual requirements? 4. Should the salesman ever take a defensive atti- tude? 5. Should a prospect be kept standing during a demonstration ? 6. What is the fundamental idea to be kept in mind in demonstrating a cash register or other goods? 400 QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW. 7. How can the interest of a prospect be warmed up to the same point as when the appointment was made for a demonstration? 8. What is the advantage to a salesman in having carefully studied the prospect's business? 9. How can the salesman aid the customer in choos- ing the proper style of register or other goods? 10. What is meant by "taking a merchant up the line?" 11. Why should statements of fact be made clear, strong and few? 12. What is the effect of oratory or humor in selling goods? 13. Why should the salesman remember that he alone knows both sides of the question? 14. Does it follow because a prospect listens in silence that he agrees with the salesman or understands all he says? 15. Why is it important to get the assent of the pros- pect to every statement that is open to question before proceeding to another? 16. What is the danger arising from leaving a weak link in the selling argument? 17. What is the effect upon the prospect of palpable sincerity in the salesman? 18. What general statements should be agreed upon by prospect and salesman before proceeding with the argument in selling such an article as a cash register? 19. What arguments can be brought to bear to close the immediate sale of a money-saving article or propo- sition? 20. What is the great object of the demonstration? QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW. 401 CHAPTER XI. Closing The Sale. 1. What qualities must be exercised by the salesman in presenting an order-form to a probable purchaser? 2. What is the advantage of having the order-form partly filled out in advance? 3. When may the psychological moment for present- ing the order for signature arrive? 4. What is a good method of introducing the order- blank? 5. What is the impression that must be avoided in seeking to close a sale? 6. What is usually the hardest time the agent exper- iences in closing a sale? 7. Should a man be bluntly asked for an order? 8. What arguments can be used when the prospect objects to signing an order? 9. Why should a salesman not intrude his person- ality on the notice of a prospect? 10. How can he make the prospect confine his at- tention to study of the goods? 11. What is the surest way for a salesman to arouse and keep up the interest of the prospect? 12. Why should every demonstration be made en- thusiastic and fresh? 13. Should a salesman slight any point in the dem- onstration on the assumption that it will have no interest for the prospect? 14. Why is it essential to know when to stop the ar- gument? 15. Should a prospect be allowed to lead and shape the argument? I.B.J,. Vol. 226 QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW. 16. Name some of the things that should be avoided by salesmen during a demonstration? CHAPTER XII. Getting The Order Signed. 1. What is the crucial test of salesmanship? 2. What kind of salesmen need a special training in the art of closing? 3. How can a salesman train himself to know when the moment to close has arrived? 4. What is the effect upon a prospect favorably in- clined if the salesman persists in unnecessary details? 5. What is the danger if the salesman is premature in attempting the close ? 6. Does a careful salesman every try to close pre- maturely? 7. What is the effect to be desired in a closing argu- ment? 8. Can salesmen generally rely upon closing a sale by mere force of genial personality ? 9. How can the preconceived favorable opinions of a prospect be made to reinforce the convictions developed by the selling talk? 10. How should favorable admissions which the pros- pect may have made be recalled in the closing argument? 11. How can the prospect's acquiescence in selling statements be assumed by the salesman? 12. Why should a prospect be prevented from en- gaging in controversy? QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW. 403 18. What is the advantage of a general summary of the selling argument before closing the sale? 14. What is usually the chief shortcoming of the salesman who has difficulty in closing? 15. Give an instance of the use of quiet strategy in closing sales. 16. Can the art of securing a signature to an order be learned by experience? CHAPTER XIII. Sales Organization. 1. Into what four divisions may the methods of selling manufactured goods be broadly divided? 2. How are goods sold direct to the consumer? 3. What is the advantage of this method? 4. What is the main objection to selling to exclusive agencies? 5. In selling to jobbers why is close connection be- tween the jobber and the manufacturing company neces- sary? 6. What points must be considered in developing a selling force? 7. Why should both salesman and sales manager be properly checked up in a well-organized system? 8. Why does the average selling division badly need a scientific and systematic method of training? 9. What are the advantages of a proper training of the employees in a sales department? 10. Can a loyal and enthusiastic selling organization be developed from an inefficient department? 404 QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW. 11. Can the principles that have proved successful in the case of great manufacturing concerns be success- fully adapted to the conditions of small businesses in which the marketing of goods is necessary? 12. What are the two essential features of a scien- tific selling system? 13. Why is the "salesmen's demonstration meeting" of the greatest importance? 14. What are the main objects of a salesmen's meet> ing? 15. Name some of the subjects that should be, taken up at a typical demonstration meeting. 16. Why should new products and developments of the business be announced and described at salesmen's meetings? 17. How can old and skillful salesmen be used in training younger members of the selling force? 18. Should there be any discussion of competing products in the salesmen's meeting, and if so, why? 19. Why is it advantageous to have the proceedings of salesmen's meetings reported and transcribed? 20. How can a general sales manager use the pro- ceedings of the meeting to develop local branches? 21. What is the reason for building up a strong training department for salesmen? 22. Why should all local managers be thoroughly trained in training department methods? 23. What are the qualifications and duties of a capable instructor? 24. What are the routine steps in the systematic training of the salesman? QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW. 405 25. Are conventions of local managers at the home office of any assistance to the company? 26. What points should be covered in the salesman's daily reports? 27. What is the advantage of daily reports from salesmen in the field? 28. Should there be a fundamental form of executive report from the selling division? 29. How can the expense items be calculated for the daily record of sales in the selling division ? CHAPTER XIV. A Manufacturer's Campaign. 1. What is the whole end and aim of a manufac- turer's efforts ? 2. What considerations determine the location of a new industry? 3. What is the advantage of planting a factory near the raw material? 4. What selling argument does nearness to the raw material give a sales department? 5. On what theories does a manufacturer determine the grade of his product? 6. How can individuality of the product be im- pressed upon the public? 7. Name a few classes of manufactured products in which distinctive individuality is desirable. ^ How may the sales field be expanded and de- veloped? 0. What danger is to be avoided in advertising a new manufactured product? 406 QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW. 10. What is the principle known as "selling the prod- uct twice"? 11. What steps should be taken by a manufacturer who receives an inquiry from a prospective? 12. What is the first problem that arises in organiz- ing a force of salesmen for a manufactured product? 13. What kind of system can be established to as- certain whether a salesman has worked his territory prop- erly or not? 14. What should a salesman aim to accomplish for the house besides simply convassing his territory for sales? 15. What is the difference between European and American methods among piano manufacturers, for instance? 16. How can the manufacturer figure out daily the average cost of a sale and the average profit? 17. When can the average cost of each sale and the profit be determined accurately? CHAPTER XV. The Training of Agents. 1. Why is salesmanship preferable as a vocation to many other callings, including the professions? 2. What is the one thing for which the demand is always greater than the supply? 8. What is a good way for a novice to acquire a knowledge of salesmanship? 4. Name some famous Europeans and Americans who were proud to have been self-supporting in their youth by selling goods as canvassers. QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW. 407 5. How can a young salesman acquire personal dignity of the right kind for his work? 6. What is the effect upon the salesman of realiz- ing that his callink is an honorable one? 7. Is evening work by canvassers, book agents, etc., to be commended as a general thing? 8. What advantage to the salesman is there in ob- serving strictly the requirements of the house as to daily reports? 9. What preparation is necessary before starting to work, and when should the novice start? 10. Upon what factor in the salesman does success in getting orders wholly depend ? 11. What is the simple cure for all the difficulties en- countered by agents and other salesmen? 12. Why is it desirable to study the theory of suc- cessful salesmanship as well as to obtain practice in the field? 13. What are the three factors which produce suc- cess? 14. Is it sufficient to know the contents of a book and repeat them glibly to the prospect in order to create interest? 15. How can a spontaneous and interesting style of canvass be developed? 16. How can the canvass be adapted in actual prac- tice to each prospective customer? CHAPTER XVI. Selling a Business Service. Part 1. 1. What four qualities should be cultivated by a salesman in order to win success? 408 QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW. 2. What is the first step toward success in selling an advertising service? 3. In working country territory for an advertising service, what kind of towns should be thoroughly covered? 4. What is enthusiasm in salesmanship founded upon? 5. What is the difference between a salesman and an "order-taker"? 6. Give an example of successful approach by type- writer salesmen? 7. Why is perseverance one of the most desirable of qualities? 8. What is the first thing to do upon landing in a town to sell an advertising service? 9. How should the local newspaper editor be ap- proached ? 10. How should the local banker be approached? 11. What style of introductory talk may be used to the prospective customer? 12. How can the prospect be impressed with the im- portance of your visit ? 18. What is the purpose of securing testimonial let- ters from customers already sold? CHAPTER XVII. Selling a Business Service. Part 2. 1. How can the sale of an advertising service usually be closed? 2. What is the most important thing in answering an objection? QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW. 409 3. What answer should be made to the customer who says he has been in business for a long time and doesn't need to advertise? 4. What answer may be made to the banker who says every body in town knows the bank? 5. What answers may be made to men who say they are too busy to talk ? 6. How can the objection that the prospect has to advertise in local programs, etc., be met by the sales- man? 7. How can objections to the price of a service be answered? 8. What can be done with a prospect who says he "can't afford it"? 9. How should the salesman proceed when he meets a silent prospect, who refuses to talk? 10. What can be said to the man who insists that he "can do without it"? 11. What is the answer to the prospect who says "business is dull"? 12. What can be said in the case of a man who insists that he "knows more about his own business" than the salesman does? 13. What answer can be made to the prospect who "will take it up in the future"? CHAPTER XVIII. Selling a Business Service. Part 3. 1. Why should all statements be made positive? 2. Should salesmen cherish the idea that "ome men are too hard to sell"? 410 QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW. 3. If a man is reported "hard to sell,' what should the scientific salesman do? 4. Should a salesman joke with a prospect ? If not, why not? 5. What is the possible effect of brilliancy in sell- ing talk? 6. What fact should be kept constantly before the prospect's mind in selling an advertising service? 7. What should be done with men who haven't the authority to sign an order and won't admit it ? 8. How should the salesman proceed with men who lack the nerve to sign orders, or men afraid of their own judgment? 9. What is the answer to the prospect who says that the salesman is only trying to make his commission? 10. What is a good method of bringing a prospect to the signing point? 11. What answer can be made to the man who objects to signing an order? 12. Mention some price arguments that may be used with success. 13. How can a customer be made to give the sales- man a reference? 14. How can the customer be made to realize that he cannot make his own terms? CHAPTER XIX. Traveling Salesmen. 1. What was the earliest form of commercial trav- eling on record? 2. Were the old-time traveling merchants held in respect, or otherwise? QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW. 411 3. What economic conditions contributed to the evo- lution of the modern traveler? 4. How is commercial traveling affected by the ex- pense of freight transportation? 5. Why were old-time traders unable to send their emissaries far afield? 6. At what period did commercial traveling as a vo- cation really come into existence ? 7. What developments were noted early in the nine- teenth century in the case of British traveling? 8. What is the origin of the term "bagmen" as ap- plied to commercial travelers? 9. Is the term now used in Britain? 10. What changes in commercial traveling occurred in England during the last half of the nineteenth cen- tury? 11. What effect had foreign competition upon the English traveler? 12. How were the margins of profit reduced? 13. How did travelers in the middle of the nineteenth century profit from the improvement in standards of quality ? 14. What effect has the increase of knowledge on the part of buyers had upon traveling? 15. What has been the effect of cooperative trading on wholesale business in Britain? 16. Why did commercial travelers flourish when mar- ket information was scarce? 17. What has been the effect upon the traveling sales- man of the rapid increase in trade journal circulation? 412 QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW. 18. What are the functions of the British commercial traveler in the collection of accounts? 19. Is traveling salesmanship an important factor of American business? 20. What limitations are placed upon the field of American travelers in the distribution of American goods? 21. Give a good brief definition of a traveling sales- man. 22. In what three principal ways is wholesale distri- bution effected in the present day? 23. How has the organization of great corporations tended to reduce the number of traveling salesmen ? 24. Into what two classes may roadmen be divided? 25. How does a "special" salesman differ from a "general" salesman? 26. What considerations are taken into account by a sales manager in laying out territory for traveling sales- men? 27. What three systems are used by traveling sales- men in making their territory? 28. What other duties fall to traveling salesmen be- sides selling goods? 29. What are the three principal methods of com- pensation employed by wholesale concerns in dealing with their traveling salesmen? 80. How is the liberality of "the house" in regard to travelers' expenses usually governed? 31. Why is it necessary for a business concern to use the utmost care in the selection of traveling salesmen? 82. What methods are used by sales managers to maintain control over their roadmen? QUESTIONS FOE REVIEW. 418 CHAPTER XX. Keeping Track of Prospects. 1. What department of a business keeps track of prospects and for what purpose? 2. Should a salesman himself keep records of pros- pects and customers? 3. How can this be conveniently done? 4. What is the nature of a salesman's card index? 5. What is the object of a follow-up file? 6. How can a salesman most conveniently lay out his work for each day? 7. What kind of indexes and files are kept by a mod- ern sales department? 8. How can a sales department keep track of in- quiries received through advertising? 9. What should a weekly report to a prospect de- partment from a branch house show in detail? 10. How should follow-up letters be systematized? 11. Sketch briefly the rules for keeping up a typical prospect system. CHAPTER XXI. Psychology of Salesmanship. Part 1. 1. What is meant by the psychology of salesman- ship? 2. Should this branch of study be taken up by in- telligent salesmen? 3. What basic principle must be first accepted? 4. Why is a knowledge of the metaphysical theory of salesmanship an advantage to an expert salesman? 414 QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW. 5. What mental conditions in the customer and the salesman are necessary in order to make a sale? 6. Upon what does the harmony of any two minds depend? 7. What are the elementary principles of confidence and suggestion? 8. What is the basis of the confidence of one indi- vidual in another? 9. What is meant by objective and subjective attention? 10. What is necessary in a salesman to secure the interest of his prospective customer? 11. What is "suggestion" and is it of value in sales- manship ? 12. What is the distinction between the senses and the sensibilities? 13. Name three methods of suggestion used by ex- pert salesmen. 14. How can a feeling entertained by a prospective customer be changed by the salesman? 15. How can an appeal be made to the customer's imagination? 16. Is a direct appeal to the intellect of the customer ever effective, and how is it accomplished? 17. What is meant by an appeal to the emotion? 18. How may suggestion be used in retail selling? 19. What are the three essentials of persuasion, as laid down by Aristotle? 20. What is the Law of Suggestive Salesmanship, as deduced by Corbion? QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW. 415 CHAPTER XXII. Psychology of Salesmanship. Part 2. 1. Is there any mystery about the methods of scien- tific salesmanship? 2. How can a successful salesman derive the great- est pleasure from his work? 3. Are the qualities of scientific salesmanship ever used successfully without consciousness of their use on the part of the salesman? 4. Why is practical psychology receiving marked attention from modern business men? 5. What is the most important kind of self-knowl- edge from a business standpoint? 6. What is meant by "soul power" or "psychic force"? 7. Can "personal magnetism" be cultivated? 8. What is the first step toward cultivation of the power of attraction? 9. What is the second step? 10. What is the effect upon the customer's mind of intense earnestness on the part of the salesman? 11. Should the mental harmony which the scientific salesman aims to establish between himself and the pros- pect be confused with hypnotism or anything of that sort? 12. What effect, if any, have varying conditions of the mind on the bodily functions? 13. How can abnormal and vicious mental influences be successfully combated? 14. What is the effect of antagonism upon a really strong character? 14 DAY USE RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED LOAN DEPT. RENEWALS ONLY TEL. NO. 642-3405 This book is due on the last dace stamped below, or on the date to which renewed. Renewed books are subject to immediate recall. JVJN 9 ^970 6 5 EC. Mmii <*" " ^ REC'D LD m 1 70 -10AM 9 5' MAR 10 1973 7< EK'DLD. p e 2473-3PMS ; OAN APR 1 t'-i i984 IIWIW nC Pfi! if DCDif UlMIV. Ur LMLIi., BtrvIN, BtD.CWJW25-84 LD-21A-60m-3,'70 (N5382slO)4 General Library University of California Berkeley