Salesperson

“ In retail selling the matter of attracting attention is to some extent, but not all by any means, taken care of by newspaper advertising, window and store displays, the customer’s acquaintance 80with the store, and the like. It is for the salesman, however, if he is to sell rather than simply to take orders, to guide the customer’s attention and build a genuine interest in the goods; to sell so that the customer will listen and respond to his selling talk, examine the goods and agree perhaps to try them on. ”

“ As a scientific salesman, do not forget to consider the buyer. He is buying scientifically. He is suspicious. Every one is trying to drive [188] a very close bargain. He tries to make you yield on price, to make some concessions on payments, to give special privileges about returning goods, etc. Beware of all these tactics. Here, again, you must consult frequently, and with confidence, your sales manager. He knows the tricks of your particular trade, and he will be able to give you proper coaching. ”

“ Throughout the various steps of the selling process, salesmanship is an art. The art of knocking at the door of opportunity and of winning the invitation to come in lies in making favorable out-of-the-ordinary impressions in unusual ways. The salesman himself, his methods of presenting his services for sale, and his qualifications—all should stand out distinctly, and make impressions of his individuality. He should not seem like a common applicant for a position, but should suggest to the prospective employer that he is a man of uncommon characteristics and especial capability. ”

“ This is part of the salesman’s responsibility to himself and his job, provided he is serious enough about it to figure beyond the weekly pay envelope and to plan each day’s work so that it will serve as a stepping stone to the position of greater responsibility—toward success, which is the goal of every red blooded and clear thinking man and woman in business. The salesman should actually study every piece of advertising matter put out by the store, whether it be a catalogue, sales letter, newspaper announcement or window display card. ”

“ When I gave you that job I was following out a plan that has proven successful in many cases as shown by magazine articles. I thought you would make a good Sales Manager because you knew nothing about Selling, just as the best [152] organizers of Business Men’s Associations are Kendallville Professors who know nothing about Business, and the best writers of Efficiency Stuff are men who file their correspondence on a hook, and the most dazzling Shop Management Talksters those who heave a wheelbarrow over a fence and never see the gate. ”

“ This is how important the salesman is to his firm.
I put hiring and handling of salesmen before having a strong line of goods, because if the proper salesmen are hired and are handled right, they will soon compel the house to put out the right line of goods. Just as a retail merchant should consult with his clerks about what he should buy, so, likewise, should the head of the wholesale house find out from his men on the road what they think will sell best. The salesman rubs up against the consumer and knows at first hand what the customer actually wants. ”

“ No knowledge, however profound, of mere technical salesmanship will make a salesman of you if you lack selling sense, into which many factors enter,—such as tact, spirit of kindliness, good fellowship, good judgment, level-headedness, horse sense, initiative, courage.
Like the good things you eat, a superb quality leaves a good taste in the mouth. ”

“ The salesman’s idea may be one to improve the style of advertising or it may be an idea on some improved method of stock arrangement, window display, delivering the goods, or meeting objection on the part of the customer. There are dozens of such opportunities for improvement in every business but they come only to the man who has his net out to catch them. In other words, the salesman must go half way to meet them by taking the trouble to look around with an observing eye and by thinking along the line of improvement, both for himself and the business with which he is associated. ”

“ Those goods are yours, Red—you’ve only then started them in the channel of distribution and the REAL WORK for your think-tank has only commenced. You must think up schemes—selling plans—watch stocks and keep them moving—give advice and counsel to your managers—in a word, you must be the dynamo that generates the sell-juice and believe me, it’s your job to see there are no broken connections.
There are a lot of things about a product sales manager’s job that can be well or poorly done, but I cannot begin to comment on all of them in this letter. ”

“ Here the buying is further specialized, for one man buys for one, or at most three or four departments. The same men act as sales managers and buyers in the departments for which they are responsible. The manager of a department in a big store is selected as much for his ability as a buyer as for his salesmanship. But we do not get away from fundamental principles, for in buying and selling the manager is performing two entirely separate and distinct functions. ”

“ A wide-awake, progressive salesman, without violating confidences, can help his customers wonderfully by keeping them posted on what his competitors are doing, on the latest ideas in his line, the new and original methods. You may know of some novel and striking methods of reaching the public, of displaying merchandise and arranging store windows, or of reaching customers through unique local advertising. Give your customer every suggestion you can. You may see that he is a good business man in many respects, but seriously lacks something which you could help him to supply. ”

“ If a salesman has shown himself strictly square in his recommendations, the salesman's recommendations regarding a shipment should be followed. The salesman is the man—and the one man —who can tell whether his customer is playing ball or attending to business. Now, for example, not a great while ago, I saw a merchant that one big firm in this country thinks is strictly good, playing billiards on the Saturday before Christmas. ”

“ The position of the salesman should be somewhere between the buyer and the seller. He owes it to the customer to serve his best interest; to do everything possible to give him every advantage in the bargain. On the other hand, the salesman is the representative of the house that employs him and he is certainly expected to back it up at every turn.
The salesman who takes his job seriously, and such a man is the only one who makes anything out of his job, recognizes this responsibility at once. ”

“ Whether the customer comes to you, or you go to the customer, there are certain very simple things to keep in mind. The first is the important part personality plays in selling. [34] The appearance and the manner of a salesman, together with the tactful enthusiasm which he manifests, and the concentration which he puts into his work, all tend to inspire confidence. The salesman must consider his customer’s business, and sometimes his social position. The temperament, also, of the customer, as well as the best time and place to see him, must be taken into consideration. ”

“ A real missionary goes into the highways and byways; as the old fisherman says, “he ketches ’em where they ain’t.” He generates enthusiasm in the salesmen he comes in contact with; his sales work is educational; he sets an example for industry, sales ability, loyalty; he teaches the salesman to use superior judgment in not selling too little or too much to a customer; he irons out petty difficulties; he’s an exponent of the sales theory that contemplates holding your head up, but not so high as to let a lot of little orders go by under your nose without seeing them. ”

“ Every salesman is really teaching the customer something about the goods. He is, so to speak, a teacher of values, or if you prefer, “a business missionary.” In order to teach well he should have these most valuable assets: first, right methods of meeting customer; second, thorough knowledge of self, of goods, of customer and conditions; third, ability to meet competition, both real and imaginary; fourth, helpful habits; fifth, good powers of originating and planning; sixth, a selling talk, or something worth while saying ”

“ He is messenger boy, train dispatcher, department buyer, credit man, actor, lawyer and politician—all under one hat!
By "salesman" I do not mean the man who stands behind the counter and lets the customer who comes to him and wants to buy a necktie slip away because the spots on the silk are blue instead of green; nor do I mean the man who wraps up a collar, size 16, and calls "cash;" I mean the man who takes his grip or sample trunks and goes to hunt his customer—the traveling salesman. Certainly there are salesmen behind the counter, and he has much in common with the man on the road. ”

“ True, the president of companies like yours does those things, but not alone, Boy, not alone. He has a lot of high-class men like yourself specializing and directing certain ends of it. Don’t be too big, however, to detect a good idea or suggestion from those in other ends of the business. I once knew a great sales manager who got the best sales lead of his experience from an office boy.
And, Red, be human—keep away from the clouds—keep your feet on terra firma. ”

“ See that your prospective "new boss" sells you the job at the same time you are selling him your services. If he perceives in you the one man who best fits his needs, he will put forth every effort to buy your services. Every employer will respect the man who states, with salesmanship, a sound reason for selecting and seeking connection with a business house; since such a man gives promise of making the sort of dependable, loyal worker that every business values and appreciates.
Sell to Satisfy Real Needs
The true salesman sells to satisfy a real need of the buyer. ”

“ The wholesale trade is conducted by three classes of persons: dealers or merchants, commission men, and brokers. The dealer is one who buys the goods outright and takes his own risk on making a favorable sale to the retailer. The commission man is one who receives the goods, sells them at such price as he may be able to obtain and remits to the seller the amount obtained less expenses and his commission. The broker is a man who effects a sale without coming in contact in any way with the materials sold. ”

“ RELATION OF THE MAN TO HIS JOB SERVICE Why is it that of two salesmen working together in the same store, selling the same goods, at the same prices and under the same conditions, one regularly books twice as much business as the other? ”

“ The merchant appreciates the bright salesman whether he does business with him or not and the salesman who is a man will always find welcome under the merchant's roof. Salesmen are the teachers of the merchant, and the merchant knows this. Whenever he is planning to change locations, build a new store, move to some other town, put in a new department, or make any business change whatsoever, it is with traveling men that he consults. ”

“ THE BLACK HARDWARE STORE
32 Hill Street, Farmdale
[Pg 259]
A well-known business man once said that salesmanship "is selling goods, that won't come back, to customers—who will."
It requires more than salesmanship to do this—it also requires buymanship and service.
We realize this. We know that every purchase you make in our store must have service with it.
Service—good service—is supplying your needs in the best, quickest, and most economical way.
So we start by buying right. ”

“ One good point I learned from the book, which I put on the schedule for the next Monday's meeting, was that a salesman should always get the customer to see for himself how a thing works—that, when you get [Pg 141] him to handle it, it helps to make the sale. Thinking of this reminded me of the time when Betty's kid sister had visited us. I had asked her if she would like to have a doll, and she had said yes, but she hadn't seemed particularly keen over it. ”

“ A little while ago I heard a salesman say to a friend, “I don’t care whether a man sells my goods or not, I sell him every dollar’s worth I can, just the same. If he is overstocking the store, that is his business. I push my sales just as far as I can.” ”

“ SHOWING THE GOODS FRESHEN-UP THE SELLING TALK The purpose of the selling talk is to assist the customer along in the sale from the start up to the point of his decision to buy. To exercise a helpful influence requires of the salesman life, spirit and freshness. Everyone, in order to make a living for himself, is required to have and to use a certain amount of selling ability, and in proportion to his skill in using it will depend the value of his services. ”

“ Service and not self is the basis on which the success of present-day business is built. The salesman who has set a high standard for himself will 179use P.M.’s in the proper way—as an incentive to learn the stock and to improve the quality of his own work. The broadest minds in the retail merchandising field will tell you that the most capable salesman will sell, first, the goods that have been in stock the longest, discontinued or broken styles and the higher grades of merchandise—whenever these goods will properly serve to satisfy the purchaser. ”

“ The salesman also knows how much business a man is doing,—whether it is a credit business and all the other significant details. The merchant will take the traveling man that he buys goods from, and throw his books and his heart and everything wide open, and tell him how he stands. Even if he is in a little hole of some kind, it is of the traveling man that he asks advice as to how to get out. ”