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 Modern methods in selling 
 
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 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924031249653 
 
MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
Modern Methods 
 In Selling 
 
 A Book for Every Man and Woman 
 in Business 
 
 L.J. HOENIG 
 
 LL. B., CORNELL UNIVERSITY 
 
 ta 
 
 INDIANAPOLIS 
 
 THE BOBBS-MERRILL COMPANY 
 
 PUBLISHERS 
 
 n 
 
oopybight 1922 
 The Bobbs-Mbeeill Company 
 
 ASiS'SH'O 
 
 Printed in the United States of Amerieti 
 
 PRESS or 
 
 BRAUNWORTH & CO. 
 
 BOOK MAMUFACTURERa 
 
 BROOKLYN, N. V. 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 This work is written primarily for the sales- 
 man, or the man or woman who contemplates 
 taking up selling work. I hope, however, that 
 it may have some helpful suggestions as well 
 for the sales manager, or the head of the 
 house. It presents the problem of the one who 
 sells either at wholesale or retail; of the sales- 
 man who calls on the trade or is called on by 
 the trade, of the man who writes the sales 
 letter, dresses the window or the display coun- 
 ter, or who writes the advertisements. Each 
 may have a'dif ferent Hne of work, but his prob- 
 lem is the same, — ^first, to get attention; each 
 must have it. Then their problems run parallel 
 in the effort to secure interest. There can be 
 no selling without interest. Probably the work 
 of each continues in the endeavor to secure 
 desire which carries the necessary impulse to 
 buy, and finally in obtaining the decision to 
 buy, properly carried into effect. 
 
 The travehng salesman carries his samples 
 or his articles for demonstration. This and his 
 knowledge is his equipment. The salesperson 
 in the retail store has the goods or articles in 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 stock and Ms knowledge for his equipment. 
 The man who writes the sales letter has only 
 his knowledge of the goods and of those who are 
 expected to buy them. This knowledge and his 
 letter are his equipment. And so with the 
 advertising man; his knowledge and his copy 
 are his equipment. Each has different equip- 
 ment with which to work out the same prob- 
 lems. Each depends on getting his message 
 along certain pathways to the brain, the writer 
 through the sense of sight, the personal sales- 
 man through as many of the senses as possible. 
 Studying these branches of selling in this 
 associated way ought to give a broader idea of 
 the science than could be obtained otherwise. 
 The different branches are treated as compre- 
 hensively as this single volume will permit, 
 every important principle or practise being 
 brought out. The usual amount of detail, much 
 of which is often tiresome in works of this kind, 
 is eliminated without sacrificing anything of 
 consequence. Unless otherwise directed, we 
 generally begin our study of selling inductively, 
 reading only such works as pertain immediately 
 to our particular branch. Not until we have come 
 into executive work do we realize, as a result 
 of wider observation and experience, the impor- 
 tance of the study of all branches of selling as 
 brought out in this work. This general survey 
 
INTEODUCTION 
 
 of the problems ought to give the salesman 
 breadth and understanding which he could not 
 get in the reading of any volume relating to 
 his particular branch of the work. I hope that 
 this discovery of the similarity in the problems 
 of each branch will be an incentive to the reader 
 to go into the individual branches still deeper, 
 and eventually give him knowledge that will 
 serve him well in executive work. 
 
 L. J. H. 
 Omaha, Nebraska, 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I The Seller k ....... . ;. > . . 1 
 
 The Seller and His Obligations — ^Analyzing the 
 Salesman — Personality — Look Well as We Sell — 
 Clean Physically and Mentally — Clothes and the 
 Man — Manner Not Mannerisms — Sincerity — Other 
 Details and Requirements — Brains and Character 
 Rule the World — Honesty — Knowing What We 
 Sell — Know Your Man — Three Constructive Qual- 
 ities — Keep on "Pounding" — ^Doing All and 
 Doing It Well — Good Judgment — Talent Is 
 Something, Tact Is Everything — Well Chosea 
 English — Memory Is Power — Imagination, the 
 Picturing Power of the Mind, the Great Con- 
 structive Factor — Kindly Consideratioa — ^Waste- 
 fulness One of Our Weakest Spots — Summary of 
 Qualifications. 
 
 II The Btjteb 39 
 
 The Senses and the Nervous System — Muscular 
 Response — Mental Equipment — Memory and Its 
 Laws — Coordination and Knowledge — The Pro- 
 cess of Reasoning — Peeling and Peeling-tone — 
 Instincts — The Appeal to the Emotions — 
 Tastes, Capacities and Interests — Desires and 
 Their Effect — The Importance of Habit — 
 Mood and Temperament— The Buyer and the 
 Things to Which He Responds — Detecting 
 Qualities and Characteristics. 
 
 Ill Making the Sale 106 
 
 Importance of the Introduction — Obtaining At- 
 tention — Ways of Gaining Attention — Value of 
 Attention Reflected in Results — Different Kinds 
 of Attention — Importance of Permanent Atten- 
 tion — Feeling-tone and Attention — Appeal to In- 
 stinct — The Appeal to Habit — Ways to Arouse 
 Interest — ^Desire and Its Place in the Sales Pro- 
 cess — Volition in Selling — The Power of Sugges- 
 tion — The Sales Argument — Regarding Our 
 English. 
 
CONTENTS (Continued) 
 
 CHAPTBE PAGE 
 
 IV Thk Sales Depaktmbnt 1*^ 
 
 The Sales Office — The Sales Organization— Be- 
 ceipt and Pilling of Order at Wholesale — ^Re- 
 port of Orders Shipped — Sales Office Forms and 
 Eecords — Hiring Salesmen — To the Salesmen Ap- 
 plying for a Position — The Training of Sales- 
 men — Working with a Definite Aim — ^Relation 
 of the Salesman to Advertising — Credit and the 
 Salesman — ^Watching the Credits — The Sales 
 Convention — Selling by Telephone or Tele- 
 gram — The Sales Letter — The House Organ — 
 Cooperative Advertising — Establishing Confidence. 
 
 V The Sales Letter 187 
 
 Letters Living Personalities — The Conversa- 
 tional Tone — The Appearance of the Letter — 
 Making the Sale by Letter — ^How Obtain Inter- 
 est — Creating Desire — Making the Letter Get 
 Action — Following Up with the Letter — The 
 Sales Letter and the Salesman. 
 
 "VI Selling at Retail 208 
 
 Investigating before Locating — Locating the 
 Store Itself— Sales and Profits— Selling Effi- 
 ciency — Discipline — Originality — ^We Must Keep 
 in Mind the Fact That in Selling We Are Fun- 
 damentally Appealing to the Instincts — ^Your 
 Salary Is Paid for Closing Sales — As a Last Re- 
 sort Introduce the Customer to Some One Higher 
 Up — Know the Location of Other Departments 
 in the Store — By Being Methodical, Taking Ad- 
 vantage of the Quickest, Most Efficient Way of 
 Doing Things the Salesperson Adds to His Abil- 
 ity — The Better Retail Salesman Should Know 
 Something of Store Management, Window Dis- 
 play, Advertising and Other Incidentals of the 
 Retail Business — The Value of Window and 
 Store Display — Window and Store Display — 
 The Importance of Lines and Surfaces — Ap- 
 pearance of the Window and the Store — Some 
 Significant Things — Organization of the Large 
 Retail Store — The Conference is Valuable — 
 Details of Modern Store Policy — Attitude toward 
 Competitors. 
 
CONTENTS (Continued) 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 VII A Knowledge or the Fundamentals op Advee- 
 
 TisiNQ Makes Betteb Salesmen 248 
 
 Science in Advertising — Tlie Specialists — The 
 Great Work of Advertising — Before We Ad- 
 vertise We Investigate — The Importance of Copy 
 in the Advertising Campaign — The Important 
 Matter of Knowledge — Knowledge of Local Con- 
 ditions — ^We Have Come Now to the Point Where 
 We Must Write Something That Will Be Seen, 
 Eead, Believed and Remembered — Obtaining At- 
 tention in Advertising — Mechanical Helps in 
 Holding Attention — Obtaining Permanent At- 
 tention — Feeling-tone Always Fundamental — 
 The Value of Surroundings — Striking the Re- 
 sponsive Chord — The Picture and the Suggestion — 
 Imagination Plays an Important Part — ^Lan- 
 guage: the Style and Force of the Advertise- 
 ment — Fixing the Impression — ^Provoking Re- 
 sponse— Advertisittg and Demonstrating with 
 Moving Pictures. 
 
 Index 293 
 
MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
Modern Methods in Selling 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 THE SEL.LEB 
 
 This is an age of intensification. It is a time 
 when new theories are constantly being worked 
 out and put into practise ; when we are striving 
 to get the most with the least effort and ex- 
 pense ; when idle talk and false motion are being 
 minimized. Inefficiency loses millions each 
 year, therefore men in all lines of business, who 
 are awake and grasping the importance of the 
 situation, are studying their employees, watch- 
 ing and recording their movements, and their 
 talk if they be salesmen, rearranging them, re- 
 adjusting their machinery, supplying them with 
 different, more effective equipment, and im- 
 proving their working environment; and all of 
 this to overcome some discovered lost or false 
 motion. Mr, Lewis describes the modern ten- 
 dency well in Getting the Most out of Business, 
 
 1 
 
2 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 "There is no doubt that the entrance of the 
 scientific spirit of the engineer into all the 
 administrative and executive functions of busi- 
 ness has changed the rules of the business game. 
 Business will never again be the same comfort- 
 able, happy-go-lucky, go-as-you-please occupa- 
 tion it once was Should we not make a care- 
 ful, scientific study of man in relation to the 
 work he does — whether it be in the factory, 
 salesmaking, advertising, keeping a set of books, 
 operating a typewriter, or sticking stamps on 
 a wrapper? Out of that study will come facts 
 which we may classify into general laws and 
 principles, the skilful application of which must 
 make the most successful business, the most 
 contented workers, the most peaceful and pros- 
 perous society." 
 
 Selling has not been overlooked. Certain sci- 
 entific principles have been and are beingi 
 found to govern it. Certain laws may be ap- 
 plied to it, the application of which improves 
 and intensifies it. There is a most efficient/ 
 and satisfactory way to sell, and the good busi- 
 ness men of to-day are, by constant study and 
 experiment, gradually finding and applying it. 
 
 As I have already stated in the introduction 
 to this volume, the general relation between 
 wholesale and retail selling in person, sales 
 letter-writing, advertising, and even window 
 and store display, is so close that the principles 
 
THE SELLER 3 
 
 that apply to one will in a general way apply 
 to the others, even though their method of 
 application will be different. The under- 
 lying mental steps of the process are the 
 same ; the elements entering into the making of 
 the sale are the same. Stripping the sales pro- 
 cess of everything but the fundamental, what 
 is the sale? How is it made? Who and what 
 are involved in it ? The sale, whether it be made 
 by personal call, over the counter, by letter, 
 advertising, or display, may be reduced to this 
 
 simple transaction; a contract between two 
 
 people, one to sell and the other to buy some 
 tangible or intangible thing. I, the seller, may 
 be the manufacturer selling at wholesale, or the 
 salesman representing him. I may be the re- 
 tailer operating the store in a certain city, or I 
 may be the salesman behind the counter. I may 
 be the sales letter-writer in the office of the 
 manufacturer or retail dealer, or possibly in 
 my room at the hotel as a salesman. I may be 
 the advertising man, appealing to groups rather 
 than to particular individuals, representing 
 either the wholesale dealer or the retailer. No 
 matter what may be the branch of selling under 
 consideration, we have four very apparent 
 angles from which the subject must be analyzed 
 and improved. 
 
4 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 First the seller must be considered; and we 
 shall vary here from the usual treatment of this 
 angle and consider the seller in his broadest 
 sense. Primarily the manufacturer or jobber 
 or retail dealer is the seller, and coming second- 
 arily is the salesman, or sales letter-writer and 
 advertising man or other representative. We 
 can not hope to get very far with the buying 
 public unless the maker or manufacturer or 
 dealer is right in his methods and policy. The 
 ability, and energy, and accomplishments of the 
 salesman or other representative will be of no 
 avail unless what is back of him measures up 
 to the usual demands. Nor can we hope to get 
 very far unless the salesman or other represen- 
 tative has the personality and ability demanded 
 in his line of work. He goes out personally, or, 
 if it be the advertising man, in the advertise- 
 ments of the company, to educate, and appeal, 
 and represent. His virtues are the company's 
 virtues, his failings the company's failings. 
 
 Now let us consider the second angle of the 
 sale. How about the buyer? The sales man- 
 ager, the advertising man and the salesman 
 are most directly concerned with the buyer. 
 Whether he be the individual on whom the sales- 
 man calls personally, or the group of individ- 
 uals to whom the advertiser or letter-writer or 
 
THE SELLEE 5 
 
 window-dresser is appealing, the knowledge of 
 the buyer which must be gathered is substan- 
 tially the same. It is the knowledge of human 
 nature ; the knowledge of men and their make- 
 up ; the knowledge of instincts, interests, emo- 
 tions, desires and habits, and how to appeal to 
 them ; and with this the knowledge of charactei^/ 
 as expressed externally, — all important to the 
 representative who must come into contact with 
 the public, the great group of buyers. 
 
 It will be conceded that we can not go very 
 far in selling unless the thing to be sold comes 
 up to required standards. Has it the quality? 
 Is it designed to meet the needs of the greatest 
 number possible? Is the price reasonable? 
 Can it be marketed profitably? Are transpor- 
 tation facilities favorable? Can we meet com- 
 petition in giving service? Have we a name 
 that means something, — descriptive, easily 
 pronounced and remembered? How about the 
 containers, sacks or packages : are they of good 
 design ? Do they serve as good or poor adver- 
 tisements ? If it is an intangible something like 
 insurance, does what we have to offer measure 
 up to what is being offered by competition ? We 
 must have something worth while, put into 
 attractive form, otherwise our selling scheme 
 breaks at this point. 
 
6 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 With the seller and the thing to be sold in 
 proper form, and with proper knowledge of the 
 buyer, we have the remaining fundamental to 
 be analyzed; — splaying the game, making the 
 sale. What is the most effective, most econom- 
 ical way to influence the buyer to purchase 
 what we have to sell? Having all of our other 
 equipment in proper order we center again on 
 the buyer in making the sale. From whatever 
 branch of selling we may be working wa shall 
 find that the mind must be appealed to through 
 the senses and instincts, through the great 
 group of interests, the emotions, motives or de- 
 sires, and habits. 
 
 THE SBLUSR AND HIS OBLIGATIONS 
 
 From the point of view of the seller, let us 
 mention some of the obligations which rest on 
 the manufacturer or jobber or retail dealer if 
 he is to expect the best from his representatives, 
 the salesman or advertising man. As we have 
 stated, he is primarily the seller, and must be 
 considered with the salesman or advertising 
 man in the analysis of the subject. He must be 
 ready to give a square deal. There must be 
 honesty in the manufacture of his product, 
 giving quality where it is due. His policy must 
 be equitable, impartial, tactful and reasonable. 
 
THE SELLER 7 
 
 The public knows quality and demands it. 
 The manufacturer can not expect his represen- 
 tatives to build up a lasting business without 
 cooperation in this respect. If I were a sales- 
 man again I would not consider wasting my 
 time in the field for any concern that did not 
 have sufficient respect for this fundamental. 
 It is needless to say another word about quality. 
 
 And the importance of service seems to be 
 so well established in business that it need only 
 be mentioned. It must be a good, dependable, 
 keeping-the-word-good service, whether it be 
 at the factory or store, transportation, or that 
 which is necessary in the use of the thing being 
 sold. The essence of service in the cement and 
 plaster business is to deliver when we say we 
 will, and when the dealer must have the product. 
 The essence of service in the battery business 
 is keeping these sensitive batteries inspected 
 and in proper condition to give satisfaction. 
 
 The modern public looks for character every- 
 where: in the salesman, in every department 
 from the sales to the credit, in the personnel, 
 in the product. The department heads, em- 
 ployees, the factory, offices, store, advertising, 
 correspondence, — everything that is in any way 
 associated with the seller's name must have 
 character. 
 
8 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 The seller is under obligation to give his rep- 
 resentatives who deal with the public the very 
 best ideas that have been gathered from the 
 experience of others in the business. It is a 
 poor sales office that is not a clearing house 
 for the experiences and suggestions of the 
 many representatives in the field, office and 
 plant, or in the store. The best should be se- 
 lected and used. The engineer is doing it every 
 day, and has been for years; — selecting and 
 using the best; — standardizing. Our progres- 
 sive selling organizations have been standard- 
 izing just as carefully every step and every 
 word in many cases, that the salesman is to 
 take or say. The salesman is neglected to-day 
 if we do not give him the benefit of standard- 
 ization, a highly constructive word in selling. 
 If the organization for which I happened to be 
 working was not standardizing this would be 
 one of the first suggestions that I would have 
 to make. 
 
 The sales manager should reheve the sales- 
 man of all the preliminary work possible, and 
 let him devote his efforts to the higher work of 
 closing sales. As we shall show in the chapter 
 on Sales Management, good advertising and 
 good strong sales letters will in many cases do 
 the work of a salesman, even to the closing. 
 
THE SELLER 9 
 
 Their cooperative value surely can not be over- 
 looked. 
 
 The salesman is entitled to the benefit of the 
 contact with the trade of those in authority, 
 who are inclined to be cold and indifferent to- 
 ward the trade, letting the salesman do all of 
 the handshaking, all of the associating, all of 
 the negotiating, all of the adjusting, all of the 
 thanking. Even a letter from the president 
 may be advisable at times. 
 
 In another chapter we shall go into the sub- 
 jects which have already been mentioned, and 
 furthermore into such others as quotas, bonuses, 
 special training, the benefit of all of which the 
 salesman should have if the manufacturer is to 
 obtain the most satisfactory results. 
 
 ANALYZING THE SALESMAN 
 
 The salesman, being the personal represen- 
 tative of the manufacturer or jobber or re- 
 tailer, is the man on the ground constantly in 
 touch with the customers, carrying to them and 
 making known the goods or offer, the service, 
 policy, character, — everything. He must make 
 a good impression. If he makes a bad one, the 
 company back of him makes a bad one, because 
 it is judged by the salesmen it keeps. Let us 
 
10 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 see what combination of things we must look 
 for in the good salesman ; in the better salesman, 
 let us say. 
 
 PEBSOITALITy 
 
 Personality comprises all of the positive and 
 negative qualities of the salesman; all of his 
 good and bad points. These positive qualities 
 develop the radiating force which exerts power 
 over others, making them give attention and 
 listen and think and do. It is said to be the 
 greatest power in influencing others, and is 
 measured by the degree of good personal ap- 
 pearance, education, manner, expression, char- 
 acter, and other qualities possessed by the in- 
 dividual. It can be developed, both body and 
 mind being involved in this development. 
 Developing the body, training the mind, cor- 
 recting the manner, beautifying the expression, 
 strengthening the character, — all of these im- 
 prove the personality. The physique, the head, 
 eye, features, voice, carriage, appearance, de- 
 meanor, language, judgment, reasoning power, 
 courage, faith, memory, tact, perseverance, 
 initiative, energy, all of these are details of 
 personality. The big man will have many of 
 these qualities well developed; the little fellow 
 will have a fewer number not so well developed. 
 
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12 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 Give me the salesman who is honest, who has 
 good carriage, self-respect, confidence, grace. 
 Let him have a good handshake, a quiet natural 
 smile with depth of character behind it. Let 
 his manner be easy ; let him have poise, be cool 
 and calm, and latently forceful. Let him use 
 good English, articulate well and pronounce 
 properly. Let there be magnetism in his well- 
 modulated voice, — expression, and sympathy, 
 and sincerity. He must know human nature. 
 He must have forceful yet not violent gesture, 
 with enthusiasm that is deep and radiating and 
 not boisterous, and with persistence that has 
 the real sticking quality yet does not become a 
 bore. If this is the description of a standard 
 and not a man, the nearer we get to it, the bet- 
 ter salesmen we shall be. Every organization 
 wants men equipped to go higher. The sales- 
 man who has a high standard for his goal will 
 be one of those first to receive the call to 
 executive work. 
 
 LOOK WELL AS WE SELL 
 
 Of the details of personality which we have 
 mentioned, some appeal to the eye, others to 
 the ear, and still others generally to the senses. 
 Personal appearance appeals to the eye. It is 
 
THE SELLER 13 
 
 through the eye that the first impression is 
 made, and some men are very far-sighted when 
 salesmen are waiting for an interview. Ap- 
 pearance is therefore very important. In its 
 broadest sense it comprehends cleanliness, 
 dress and manner, the latter being closely allied 
 with expression, carriage, walk, poise, cheer- 
 fulness, politeness, enthusiasm, sincerity, de- 
 termination and self-control. If one has poise 
 this surely benefits the general appearance. 
 Similarly if one is cheerful this benefits the 
 appearance by making it more pleasing; and 
 so with politeness, and enthusiasm, and self- 
 control. 
 
 CLEAN PHYSICAULT AND MENTAT.T.Y 
 
 Even though it may seem unnecessary to 
 many of us, before writing about any other char- 
 acteristic of the salesman we must dwell on the 
 extreme importance of keeping clean. If we 
 have not the ambition and energy to keep clean 
 we are unfit even to consider the subject of 
 selling. Let us by all means keep clean. The 
 human body well taken care of is an object of 
 admiration, but neglected becomes a thing of 
 disgust. Our bathing frequently and thoroughly 
 can not be neglected. The head and hair should 
 
14 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 be looked after, and the ears and teeth and nails. 
 These are a perfect mirror of general cleanli- 
 ness. If it is important to keep the body clean 
 it is of greater importance to look after the 
 naind, — the directing force in this work of sell- 
 ing. Let us not fill it with the vile and filthy 
 instead of the good and wholesome and noble. 
 
 CLOTHES AND THE MAN 
 
 Clothing does have its place in making the 
 man or woman. Clothes are fairly true adver- 
 tisements of personality, and should be well 
 selected. Over-dressing is as faulty as under- 
 dressing or dressing poorly. Wearing good, 
 sensible, well-fitting clothes and keeping them 
 in good condition is an indication of refined 
 taste, of value to the salesman. There is noth-' 
 ing like cleanliness and proper dress to inspire 
 confidence and agreeableness. Chesterfield 
 puts it quite strongly but truly when he says : . 
 "I would rather have a young fellow too much 
 than too little dressed; the excess on that side 
 will wear off with a little age and reflection; 
 but if he is negligent at twenty, he will be a 
 sloven at forty, and worse at fifty." A man 
 came into my office a short time ago soliciting 
 advertising. He was decorated with rings, and 
 
THE SELLER 15 
 
 fobs, a heavy chain, a suit of large, loud check-- 
 ered pattern, and spats. He did not get an 
 order for advertising. When we have good- 
 looking, sensibly made clothes we feel like real 
 men. When we are over-dressed, or under- 
 dressed, or shabbily dressed, we feel uneasy, 
 self-conscious, cheap and dissatisfied with our- 
 selves. We are distracted and can not get down 
 to business. 
 
 MANNER NOT MANNEEISMS 
 
 If the salesman has poise of bearing, good 
 graceful carriage full of dignity and sincerity, 
 and a handshake that is sincere and electric, 
 these are the deep and silent qualities of man- 
 ner. If he has the effervescing, radiating qual- 
 ities of cheerfulness, politeness, courtesy and 
 enthusiasm he has the life-giving qualities of 
 manner; the qualities of the "southern ex- 
 posure"; each a sunbeam of personality. 
 Cheerfulness and enthusiasm are contagious. 
 They help to put one in the receptive mood for 
 listening and buying. If the salesman has a 
 genuinely cheerful smile you smile with him. 
 If he is really courteous and polite, you are 
 courteous and polite ; you can not ignore him. 
 Edmund Burke says : 
 
16 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 "Manners are more important than laws.- 
 Upon them in a great measure the law depends. 
 The law touches us but here and there, and now 
 and then. Manners are apt to vex or sooth, 
 corrupt or purify, exalt or debase, barbarize 
 or refine us, by a constant, steady, uniform in- 
 sensible operation like that of the air -we 
 
 breathe according to their quality they aid 
 
 morals; they supply them or they totally de- 
 stroy them." 
 
 It is important to study ourselves and over- 
 come any detracting mannerisms. The sales- 
 man who is loud and boisterous makes a bad 
 impression. His manner should be refined and 
 subdued. He must overcome nervousness, 
 keep his head, face and eyes settled, and his 
 hands and feet at ease. Sniffing, hacking and 
 coughing must be avoided. They detract ; they 
 are annoying if not repulsive. 
 
 SINCERITY 
 
 Another characteristic which is closely asso- 
 ciated with appearance is sincerity. A selling 
 talk will have no force without sincerity. We 
 should have the appearance of being in reality 
 what we are professing to be ; of intending pre- 
 cisely what we say or what we appear to intend. 
 Sincerity is honesty in our actions or preten- 
 
THE SELLER 17 
 
 sions. It is saying what we mean, and meaning 
 what we say. The appearance of insincerity 
 creates doubt, lack of confidence, suspicion, any 
 one of which conditions is sufficient to prevent 
 a sale. 
 
 OTHER DETAILS AND BEQUIEEMENTS 
 
 In what is regarded as the order of their 
 importance many other details of personality 
 and practises or requirements of the successful 
 salesman should be mentioned here. Character, 
 knowledge of goods, knowledge of the buyer, 
 such qualities as resourcefulness, originality, 
 persistence, thoroughness, tact, the use of Eng- 
 lish and memory are indispensable. No two 
 minds will agree on the order of importance. 
 The order in which they are mentioned here 
 seems to be reasonably logical. 
 
 BEAINS AND CHABACTEB BULB THE WOBLD 
 
 This is 'Wendell Phillip's expression. In 
 selling we shall put character first, and partic- 
 ularly in personal selling. We are always look- 
 ing for character. We must measure up to a 
 certain standard to be somebody. Character 
 is moral force; a union of the qualities which 
 
18 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 distinguisli a person. It must be above re- 
 proach in the salesman or he is to have a cold 
 reception. It must have depth and quality. 
 How does it differ from personality? It may 
 be good, yet the personality may not be striking 
 or forceful. It may be bad and yet the person- 
 ality may be scintillating with vim and mag- 
 netism. Personality is the character plus the 
 other qualities which we manifest outwardly, 
 such as appearance, carriage, voice and lan- 
 guage. Character is like the trunk of the tree 
 without the limbs and leaves, and personality 
 is the tree with all its decoration. Developing 
 character involves a close and constant exam- 
 ination of the inner self with respect to what is 
 right and wrong ; supplying the mind with what 
 is good, — ^lofty thoughts and high ideals, and 
 training the will to mold these thoughts and 
 ideals into good clean habits. The man of good 
 character has courage and will power; he is 
 ambitious yet patient, sincere and firm yet 
 kind, modest and unpretentious. 
 
 HONESTY 
 
 If we are to minimize litigation and create 
 the greatest stability in business we must have 
 honesty. That a man's word is as good as his 
 
THE SELLER 19 
 
 bond should be the rule rather than the excep- 
 tion. The purpose of a written agreement 
 should be to serve as a permanent record of an 
 honest imderstanding, rather than as a means of 
 protection against dishonesty. When the busi- 
 ness man lives up to his obligations in this 
 respect, greater confidence will be inspired in 
 the business world. Credit will be extended to 
 the very limit. Business will be transacted 
 without suspicion, without misrepresentation, 
 without one taking advantage of another. 
 There will be no opportunity for the salesman 
 who is tricky. There will be no partiality ; no 
 subterfuge ; no unfair competition. Good value 
 will be received in every case. The salesman 
 must be a factor in maintaining such a con- 
 dition. He can not afford to do otherwise since 
 dishonesty may make his first sale but will 
 prevent his making another, and the law of 
 diminishing returns will work overtime against 
 him. Honesty — the best policy — ^is a good busi-" 
 ness proposition. Successful selling is largely 
 a matter of pleasing and we can not please 
 unless we are honest. 
 
 KNOWING WHAT WE SELL 
 
 Assuming that the salesman has a reasonable 
 degree of intelligence, next to character and 
 
20 MODEEN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 honesty it seems natural to place knowledge of 
 the goods or proposition which one is to sell. 
 If a salesman expects to interest any one in the 
 goods or articles which he has to sell he should ( 
 know all about them. Knowledge of every de- 
 tail of manufacture from gathering the raw 
 material to turning out the finished product 
 should be at his command. The story of the/ 
 manufacture of almost any article is interest- 
 ing to one who does not know it. The designer 
 or engineer has a very good reason for every 
 piece or part and the arrangement thereof in 
 his automobile or tractor. If we are selling 
 leather we can get volumes of valuable and in- 
 teresting information on Morocco, pigskin, 
 lizard, alligator, walrus and other kinds. We 
 should know their differences, the classification 
 of leather, preparation for tannage and tannage 
 itself. We should know chamoising, currying 
 or dressing, dyeing, facts about quality, substi- 
 tutes and their preparation, — everything. If it 
 is cement or plaster we should know it from the 
 time it leaves the quarry in the form of rock 
 until it is carried along the belt into the rail- 
 road box car. It is important to know what*^ 
 points in the article will please the customer; 
 what the customer usually looks for in the 
 goods. If it is a traveling bag the customer 
 
THE SELLER 21 
 
 will want to know that it opens wide, keeps its 
 shape by having wide gussets; that the clasp 
 opens and closes easily yet will not burst open, 
 that it has good leather, good lining, is well 
 made and will wear well, that it has good inside 
 pockets and is in every way suitable to the use 
 intended. 
 
 Knowing the details of the articles of one's 
 competitors is almost as important as knowing 
 the details of one's own proposition. Every 
 buyer is a man of comparison. In his examina- 
 tion he has in mind some other similar article 
 that he has seen. Knowing the competitors' 
 products gives the salesman the opportunity to 
 prevent argument by anticipating the objec- 
 tions of the buyer; raising his objections for 
 him and answering them. I, as a salesman, 
 should know that the cost of my insurance is 
 less per thousand than that of my competitors 
 for the same protection. If the car which I am 
 demonstrating will climb the Rockies without 
 overheating better than other cars will do it, I 
 should know this. If the tractor which I am 
 demonstrating will do certain necessary work 
 better and at less expense than other tractors 
 will do it, I should be aware of this. 
 
 Mr. Opdycke in (Shaw's) Advertising cmd 
 Selling Practice has this to say: 
 
22 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 "Knowing the goods is a heavy requirement. 
 It implies that the student must be a student of/ 
 production and of all the processes brought to 
 bear upon the raw materials until they become 
 the finished article of sale. If it is a piece of 
 wool, he should know it from the sheep ranch 
 to the merchant's display cabinet. More than 
 that he must know what reputation a certain 
 brand of woolens has made for itself ; he must 
 know the relation of weights and measures to 
 qualities; he must know how to display even an 
 ugly garment in an attractive way. There arei 
 salesmen who can hold a piece of silk over their', 
 arms, draping and plaiting it with magic swift- 
 ness, in such a way as to display all of the pos- 
 sibilities of shading and flexibility of texture, 
 and they can accompany the demonstration 
 with an intelligent and interesting talk about 
 the commodity." 
 
 KNOW TOTJB MAN 
 
 Do you know men and how to deal with them? 
 Business brings us constantly in contact with 
 men, negotiating, describing, appealing, getting 
 them to reason our way. Every hour of the day 
 we are meeting them, taking up the details of 
 business in which there is mutual interest. Liv- 
 ing and doing business necessitates our being 
 constantly in touch with one another. How 
 very important therefore that we know men. 
 By being thrown into contact with them we are 
 
THE SELLER 23 
 
 bound to learn much about them. We can learn 
 much also by a study of the writings of those 
 who have made a scientific study of man, such 
 as the psychologist and the character reader. 
 In a later chapter on The Buyer much will be 
 said about man in general and how to deal with 
 him in business. 
 
 THBEE CONSTBUCirVE QUALITIES 
 
 Next in the order of importance to the sales- 
 man we might mention the qualities of resource- 
 fulness, originality and initiative. These qual- 
 ities well developed may place the salesman in 
 a class by himself. The resourceful salesman 
 has his situation so well in hand that every 
 means to which he may resort in order to meet 
 a condition, is at his command. All of the cir- 
 cumstances of which he may take advantage 
 are known to him, because he has searched, and 
 studied and found them. If he is original he 
 is able to take the information he has gathered 
 and accomplish things in new ways, different 
 from the ordinary. This gives his work dis- 
 tinction and individuality. It separates it and 
 the salesman from all of the other work and all 
 of the other men who do things in the usual way. 
 Initiative gives him the driving force to go 
 
24 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 ahead and do without having to be led. It 
 directs him to act without depending too much 
 on the instructions of superiors. Instead of 
 depending on his superiors, they are depending 
 with full confidence on him to meet situations 
 as they come up. Eesourcefulness gathers the 
 knowledge of the thing to do and the means of 
 doing it; originality causes it to be done in a 
 new way; and initiative directs the doing on 
 one's own responsibility. The man who works 
 like a machine doing only the things he is told 
 to do, and as he is told to do them, is well qual- 
 ified in this way to be a locomotive engineer, 
 not a salesman. He should be working by train 
 order. 
 
 KEEP ON "pounding" 
 
 The qualities of persistence and determina- 
 tion require unusual exercise of the will. Tem- 
 pered with good judgment and tact they are 
 the qualities which intensify our personal sell- 
 ing to the most effective degree. They make 
 the sale if it is possible to make it. A salesman 
 may have a good number of the other qualities 
 of a successful salesman, but without persist- 
 ence he will fail. He wiU give up too soon. 
 With persistence he will win. This is the quality 
 which makes one try again, and again, and 
 
THE SELLER 25 
 
 again, and then once more. Can any other 
 quality worth more to the salesman be 
 mentioned? 
 
 DOING ALL AND DOING IT WELX. 
 
 Thoroughness! Do we grasp its full mean- 
 ing? Doing all, everything there is to be done, 
 and doing it well, — that is thoroughness. Many 
 men even in business have never been able to 
 grasp the meaning and value of thoroughness. 
 They have not realized the importance of get- 
 ting to the depths of the problem before them. 
 All of the facts have not been gathered care- 
 fully. Decision was made on findings and evi- 
 dence that were uncertain, involving too much 
 guessing. The importance of looking after de- 
 tails was overlooked. Matters which were 
 started were not properly followed up. If we 
 will be thorough we must think carefully ; learn 
 first what information is needed and obtain it ; 
 what is to be done and do it. If a salesman is 
 to make an adjustment or an investigation, his 
 work must be complete. His solicitation should 
 be thorough, selling every dollar's worth pos- 
 sible and yet not overselling. His prospective 
 business should be kept well in mind and care- 
 fully followed up. Thoroughness is partic- 
 
26 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 ularly important to the salesman whose visits 
 are infrequent. Dealers have a custom of using, 
 sometimes for years, a certain brand, advertis- 
 ing and promoting it alone. They become at- 
 tached to the brand and the company which 
 sells it. To convert them to the use of another 
 brand requires unusual ability. There may 
 be no advantage in price or quality. These 
 situations require, with patience and persever- 
 ance, — thoroughness. Much must be accoin- 
 plished during the call, and much thought must 
 be given each case between infrequent calls. 
 Knowing the attitude of every customer, how 
 favorable or unfavorable he may be, and of 
 every prospect, is most important. Taking ad- 
 vantage of the knowledge which we are able to 
 gather with study, keeping the office advised 
 for proper cooperation, and carefully follow- 
 ing up each case, is thoroughness. 
 
 Very good results can be obtained by writing 
 letters to those who have made promises or are 
 apt to make them, and to those who for other 
 reasons seem to be good material to work on. 
 The salesman can do this best by carrying a 
 folding typewriter and a supply of company 
 stationery. Carefully kept memoranda will 
 enable the salesman to determine when to write 
 and what to say. Well written letters of this 
 
THE SELLER 27 
 
 kind are effective. I have seen them secure new 
 customers, and help secure many others. Buy- 
 ers appreciate unusual effort and energy prop- 
 erly directed. Among salesmen, letter-writing 
 of this kind is unusual and original and there- 
 fore appealing. 
 
 GOOD JUDGMENT 
 
 In the group of requisite qualities, judgment 
 would seem to come next in importance. Ac- 
 cording to the dictionary, it is the faculty of 
 judging or deciding; the mental power con- 
 cerned in the formation of a decision; hence 
 the faculty of deciding correctly. Good judg- 
 ment — the master quality of the successful 
 business man! Great because it comprises so 
 much. It requires knowledge; knowledge of 
 goods, of things human, of the details of mak- 
 ing the sale, of the point of view of the buyer, 
 of everything associated with the thing to be 
 judged. This knowledge must be as complete 
 and true and relevant as the evidence of our 
 courts, and the judgment as carefuUy passed. 
 There is no jumping at conclusions, no guess- 
 ing. There are thoroughness, examination 
 from every angle, careful weighing, careful se- 
 lecting and eliminating, true understanding. 
 
28 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 Every manufacturer will have respect for the 
 salesman who has good judgment. This sales- 
 man's reconmiendations will carry weight. The 
 business day is a day of judging, of deciding 
 what is the thing to do in the many different 
 cases presenting themselves hour after hour. 
 What a valuable faculty to develop! 
 
 TALENT IS SOMETHING, TACT IS EVERYTHING 
 
 Following judgment we might well mention 
 tact as next in importance among the salesman 's 
 quahties. W. P. Sargill has said that "talent 
 is serious, sober, grave, and respectable; tact 
 is all that and more too. It is not a sixth sense, 
 but is the life of all the five. It is the open eye, 
 the quick ear, the judging taste, the keen smell 
 and the lively touch ; it is the interpreter of all 
 riddles, the surmounter of aU difficulties, the 
 remover of all obstacles." It is the ability of 
 saying and doing exactly the right thing at the 
 right time. Like the governor on an engine it 
 keeps the salesman going at the right speed, 
 warns him when he is going too far, keeps him 
 from saying and doing the thing that may do 
 him harm. When a customer is busy, tact says, 
 "Wait!" When his frame of mind is not fa- 
 vorable it finds the circumventing way. When 
 
THE SELLER 29 
 
 the tendency to approbation is pronounced it 
 prompts him to pursue this tendency. If be- 
 nevolence, or cautiousness, or conscientiousness 
 should be appealed to tact comes into play. If 
 the buyer is irritable tact finds the way to make 
 him smile. If he is bluffing it will bring him 
 without offense to sincerity. It works well over 
 the stubborn and the impolite, over the brag or 
 the know-it-all. It is an antidote for malicious- 
 ness and pessimism and suspicion. 
 
 WELL CHOSEIT ENGLISH 
 
 Of the many gifts which the salesman may 
 possess, or qualities he may develop, the most 
 convincing and deep reaching is that of being 
 able to use good, pure, forceful English and con- 
 vey it in a well-trained voice, with perfect ar- 
 ticulation. Good English fits in everywhere, 
 appeals to every one, cloaks a multitude of neg- 
 ative qualities, is entertaining and pleasing, 
 and commands respect and interest. With it 
 the orator, and the writer, and even the adver- 
 tiser, sway millions. A lifetime might be de- 
 voted to this subject alone; hence the neces- 
 sity of giving it thorough consideration. Any 
 salesman can accomplish much toward perfect- 
 ing his English by proper study and practise. 
 
30 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 By all means let the English be good enough to 
 convey our proposition to those whom we ex- 
 pect to sell, in clear, forceful and pleasing lan- 
 guage. The character of the trade solicited 
 may make this element of much greater impor- 
 tance in the list of the salesman's qualities than 
 it is given here. 
 
 MEMOBY IS POWER 
 
 One of our early writers spoke of memory as 
 the "eahiaet of the imagination, the treasury 
 of reason, the registry of conscience, and the 
 council chamber of thought." 
 
 The mind has both a conscious and subcon- 
 scious field. Back in the subconscious field we 
 store every idea, sensation, impression or act 
 to be recalled at some future time on account 
 of desire, association, need, distress or other 
 possible cause. In our study of the buyer in 
 the next chapter we shall learn the importance 
 of the association of ideas and of the will in 
 memory; of proper attention, etc. The laws of 
 memory and the methods of improving it will 
 be taken up at that time. 
 
 Remembering the name should be cultivated 
 by the salesman. The abihty to call a man's 
 name whenever and wherever we may see him 
 
THE SELLER 31 
 
 is appreciated and has a good effect. The ef- 
 fect is spoiled, however, tmless we give the 
 name correctly. It is important to register the 
 first impression of the name correctly by get- 
 ting, if possible, the spelling and pronunciation ; 
 repeating the name and associating it with the 
 person while we talk with him and after we 
 leave him. Much of the work of memory can 
 be taken care of by carefully kept memoranda, 
 yet innumerable occasions will present them- 
 selves when the salesman will be required to 
 exercise memory when records and memoranda 
 are not available or when they can not be re- 
 sorted to. 
 
 I have found it difficult to have salesmen 
 realize the importance of the proper pronun- 
 ciation and spelling of a name. Salesmen's re- 
 ports should be the most dependable records 
 of the office. The sales manager will not easily 
 forget the embarrassing experience in sending 
 out correspondence to "Dear Mr. Lourdes" in- 
 stead of "Mr. Luers." What might have oth- 
 erwise amounted to a good personal letter is 
 now made flat and weak because the name is 
 incorrectly given. And if the given name is 
 "John," let's have it "John" on the reports 
 and not "James," — a detail just as impor- 
 tant. 
 
32 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 IMAGINATION THE PICTXJEING POWER OF THE 
 
 MIND THE GREAT CONSTRUCTIVE FACTOR 
 
 Before an artist can succeed in crystallizing 
 a great picture on the canvas, his mind must 
 work out vividly every detail of form and ar- 
 rangement. Before the inventor can succeed, 
 he must first picture mentally his machine and 
 its parts, then draw them, and finally prepare 
 his model. A vivid imagination is a great con- 
 structive power. It helps to plan the sales 
 policy; brings before the mind the situation 
 with which the salesman and sales manager 
 must contend; the territory, people, article or 
 goods and other elements. It enables the sales- 
 man to place himself in the position of the 
 buyer, to gain his point of view. "We shall find 
 later how we can imagine sounds, smells, tastes 
 and other sensations without the aid of external 
 sensory stimuli. "We can see things entirely 
 through the mind's eye. A well-trained and 
 weU-controUed imagination is very yaluable to 
 the salesman. 
 
 KINDLY CONSIDERATION 
 
 Thoughtful, intelligent people have no respect 
 for the malicious critic, he who tramples on the 
 
THE SELLER 33 
 
 opinions and beliefs of others. The political, 
 religious and general beliefs and opinions of 
 others shotdd always be respected. Criticism 
 of others on account of their appearance or pe- 
 culiarities should be spared. These little 
 poisoned darts of comment may strike the vital 
 spot of one for whom they were least intended. 
 Let us try to carry only favorable criticism as 
 we sell, even — or particularly — ^in references 
 to our competitors. If a special occasion should 
 call for comment let it be fair and respectful. 
 Let these matters be treated delicately. We 
 shall help to make the world a better world to 
 live in if we always have due respect for the 
 other fellow. If his religion is his consolation 
 let him worship as he pleases. Give him a con- 
 tribution toward his church even though you do 
 not believe as he believes. 
 
 WASTEFULNESS ONE OP OTJB WEAKEST SPOTS 
 
 Mr. Edison adds to this, "that the time has 
 come when any man who lays claim to business 
 ability will have to keep the question of waste 
 before hiTn constantly." We are watching our 
 credits and collections, and our buying. We 
 must watch for waste in our selling. It must 
 be nainimized. We can not afford to take or- 
 
34 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 ders at any cost, looking for tonnage only. The 
 expense account must be kept in mind. How 
 much is it costing us to get this business? Is 
 it going to help dividends? Are we getting it 
 as economically as possible ? Is our route sheet 
 planned to secure the minimum of expense? 
 Am I getting the most out of my limited time? 
 Can I not get along without aU of these cigars 
 and all of this entertainment? Am I spending 
 the company's money as I would spend my own? 
 These are some of the questions which we must 
 decide for ourselves. Restraint and economy 
 are excellent practises, very highly regarded 
 by employers. ' 
 
 ST7MMABT OP QITAUFICATIONS 
 
 Charles Lindgren in The New Salesmanship 
 says: "With intellect and emotion and fair 
 activity we have an excellent salesman. The 
 salesman well balanced in these faculties is 
 ideal. He can change from mood to mood, emo- 
 tion to emotion, thought to thought, with the 
 facility of a moving picture. One moment he is 
 grave, the next gay; another moment he is 
 convincingly firm, the next moment diplomat- 
 ically yielding. Another moment he is outpour- 
 ing a perfect torrent of argument, the next he is 
 
THE SELLER 35 
 
 so persuasively soft and low that he thrills his 
 hearers with a pleasurable emotion" — a de- 
 scription which may seem a little idealistic, yet 
 undoubtedly is true in a general way to actual- 
 ity. 
 
 Mr. Nathaniel Fowler in Practical Salesman- 
 ship summarizes the good salesman's qualities 
 in this way: "The proficient salesman knows 
 his goods, has the ability to describe and talk, 
 has a general knowledge of business principles, 
 has a working familiarity with the methods of 
 his competitors, has the ability to talk some- 
 thing besides shop, and the ability to diagnose 
 a customer, has a good disposition and has they 
 ability to please the customer as well as the 
 concern. ' ' 
 
 I would add that he must be a thinker, a right 
 thinker, like the boy who told Mr. James J. Hill 
 that his order was wrong. The thinker is the 
 constructive man, the one who sets up new 
 standards, finds new ways of doing things. He 
 is the inventor, the lawmaker and the successful 
 business man. As a well-known Chicago lum- 
 berman said before d salesman's convention of 
 the Southern Pine Association in St. Louis, 
 "If he (the salesman) is going to exchange a 
 standard commodity for cash, intelligently and 
 at a living profit, he will have to think to do it, 
 
36 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 and he must think in capitals, for to-day indus- 
 try and perseverance, admirable qualifications 
 as they are, are quite as Hkely to lead their pos- 
 sessor to the poor-house as to success. He 
 must put his thinMng machine in high gear and 
 keep it there all the time to keep pace with his 
 competitor." 
 
 Unless the salesman thinks, his collection of 
 good qualities will be as useless to him as a fac- 
 tory without a manager. The mind must be 
 constantly in action, thinking, comparing, de- 
 ciding, reasoning, — carefully and correctly. 
 Proper thinking wiU increase the salesman's 
 market value in the business world. 
 
 "You want success," quotes Doctor Black- 
 ford from some unknown but wise author. 
 "Are you willing to pay for it? How much dis- 
 couragement can you stand? How much bruis- 
 ing can you take ? How long can you hang on 
 in the face of obstacles? Have you the grit to 
 try to do what others have failed to do ? Have 
 you the nerve to attempt things that the aver- 
 age man would never dream of tackling? Can 
 you cut out luxuries? Can you do without 
 things that others consider necessities? Can 
 you go up against skepticism, ridicule, friendly 
 advice to quit, without flinching? Can you keep 
 your mind on the single object you are pursu- 
 
THE SELLER 37 
 
 ing, resisting all temptations to divide your at- 
 tention? Have you the patience to plan all of 
 the work you attempt; the energy to wade 
 through masses of detail ; the accuracy to over- 
 look no point, however small, in planning or 
 executing? Are you strong on the finish as 
 well as at the start?" Vital questions, these, 
 to one who seeks success in any Une. 
 
 If the man with a drab personality is making 
 good and another with a brighter and better 
 personality is failing, there is a reason. The 
 strong qualities of the one far outweigh the 
 weak. The salesman who seems to measure up 
 to requirements but fails in his work is weak in 
 some vital part. He may not have the perse- 
 verance. Possibly he is not well enough ac- 
 quainted. He may be obnoxious for want of 
 patience. He may lack good judgment or tact. 
 Some important detail of personality is nega- 
 tive or wanting. These little details of person-" 
 ality are like the jewels in a pin. They must 
 all be there in their place or a negative effect 
 is produced. If one little jewel is gone its ab- 
 sei}ce reflects on all of the others. So it is with 
 the salesman, he is at his best when all the pos- 
 itive qualities are present acting in harmony. 
 His mind then calls into play each of these qual- 
 ities as it is needed. If it is cheerfulness, out 
 
38 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 goes the warm and vigorous hand for the hand- 
 shake, and the natural and friendly smile. If 
 it is the exercise of judgment, it is a good and 
 dependable judgment. If it is determination, 
 it is the calm and cool determination which does 
 not antagonize. A carefully thinking mind is 
 directing every move, watching, questioning, 
 driving one point and then another, using all 
 of the power of the personality to get results. 
 Knowledge, personality and action are the 
 trinity that means success in selling, 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 THE BUYEE 
 
 The buyer is a very important factor in the 
 business world. According to the support 
 which it obtains from the buyer, business stands 
 or falls. Collectively he regulates the markets 
 of the world, representing the universe of con- 
 sumers. The individual, family, corporation, 
 special group, farmer, business or professional 
 man, college man, the girl graduate or bride, — 
 man, woman and child in every class are repre- 
 sented in the buyer. Every one is at some time 
 a buyer, for if one will live one must buy. 
 
 Stability in business demands that the rela- 
 tion between seller and buyer be of mutual 
 advantage. The resulting constant demand 
 from the buyer offers an attractive field for 
 the seller which results in competition, very 
 keen at times, always keen enough to require 
 knowledge and experience of the highest degree 
 in order to survive in its wake. Since the buyer 
 is the channel through which the dealer must 
 work; since the volume of sales, frequency of 
 
 39 
 
40 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 turnover, and consequent amount of profit de- 
 pend on him, it can be seen how important is 
 the study of the buyer. If the seller is to obtain 
 his share of the business of a community he 
 must be sufficiently acquainted with the buyer 
 to know how to appeal and persuade to the point 
 of action. 
 
 How shall we study the buyer? When I was 
 learning to drive a car an instructor was sent 
 to give me the elementary ideas of operation. 
 At first I did not get along very well because 
 the instructor worked something like this: 
 "Push down on your left. Now release your 
 left and down a little on your right. — Push that 
 lever forward and press on your right. — ^Push 
 this and pull that, and turn this and turn 
 that." 
 
 "Now wait a minute," I said to this fellow. 
 "Just let me know a little of what I am doing 
 here. What is this lever that I am pushing, and 
 what is that pedal and that rod, and just how 
 do they work?" We rested for a while and he 
 explained the gears and their different posi- 
 tions, the accelerator and its effect on the 
 engine, the release clutch, the differential, 
 transmission, spark and gasoline feed and their 
 functions. After that I learned to drive be- 
 cause I understood the reason for each move- 
 
THE BUYER 41 
 
 ment and the effect it had on the operation of 
 the car. 
 
 We sales managers and salesmen, and others 
 interested in the different branches of selling, 
 have the problem of getting the buyer to work 
 as we would have him. "We have a lever to pull 
 here and an accelerator to push there. We 
 have the problem of persuasion and of effect- 
 ing volition or action; of getting him to buy 
 our goods. Are we not much like a man learn- 
 ing to drive an automobile? Will we not handle 
 this driving, or leading or persuading or action- 
 producing proposition much better if we know 
 the nature of the buyer's engine, his different 
 control levers, his carburetor, his transmission 
 and differential? 
 
 Man physically and mentally is constituted 
 the same, wherever he may live in the civilized 
 world. He has the same kind of body, the same 
 kind of nervous system, the same senses, in- 
 stincts, feeling, in general the same desires, 
 habits, interests and emotions. He has a mind 
 endowed with powers of perception, memory, 
 imagination, reasoning and willing. Since these 
 characteristics are common to man, let us for 
 the sake, of simplicity select in our mind an 
 individual buyer and examine him. What do 
 we find? We find that the body of the buyer 
 
42 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 is the instrument through which the mind exer- 
 cises its functions. Like a very complex and 
 intercommunicating telephone arrangement is 
 the nervous system with its central office the 
 brain at the top. The brain is a mass of white 
 matter with gray embedded in it. Covering its 
 folds and fissures is the very highly sensitive 
 cortex, below which, and embedded in the white 
 is the gray matter which constitutes the sub- 
 cortical centers, or junction-like apparatus of 
 this telephone arrangement, connected by nerve 
 fibers with the cortex. Another important part 
 of this arrangement is the trunk line called the 
 spinal column which is connected also by nerve 
 fibers with the brain and with the muscles and 
 surface of the body at myriads of points. 
 
 THE SENSES AND THE NERVOUS SYSTEM 
 
 Directly connected with the nervous system 
 is that wonderful camera, the eye, which takes 
 pictures automatically of objects which are pre- 
 sented to it. The samples which we carry, the 
 automobile which we are demonstrating, the 
 goods which are on display in the store or win- 
 dow, are all photographed by the eye when they 
 come within its range. The salesman himself 
 and his movements and appearance are pic- 
 
THE BUYEE 43 
 
 tured by the eye and through it make impres- 
 sions favorable or unfavorable. Connected also 
 with this nervous system is the ear whose drum 
 is thrown into vibration by different sound 
 waves which produce a series of movements re- 
 sulting in excitement of the auditory nerve. 
 The words of the salesman, the ring of metal 
 in an article, the tone of an instrument, the 
 sound of a motor, all come to the buyer through 
 the sense of hearing. And so the nose with its 
 olfactory nerve receives the sensations of smell 
 and, with the aid of taste and touch, interprets 
 them for the buyer. Many an article such as 
 drugs, teas, coffees, perfumes, fruits, which 
 have their characteristic odor, is purchased 
 with the aid of this convenient sense. The 
 power of touch reaches to every part of the 
 body's surface. It too is a powerful aid to the 
 buyer in determining the character and quality 
 of goods or articles which he examines. Taste, 
 centered in the tongue, is assisted in its work 
 by smell and touch, the smell of the onion hav- 
 ing much to do with its taste. Certain other 
 sources of sensation have their peculiar nature. 
 The cutaneous sense, as the name indicates, is 
 centered in the skin where three distinct sensa- 
 tions are found, those of pressure, heat and 
 cold, and with them certain others which are re- 
 
44 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 lated to the organic sensations mentioned later. 
 The muscTilar sense enables the buyer to de- 
 termine the position of his body or its mem- 
 bers; to know when he is walking or pushing, 
 moving the arm or head, lying, standing or rid- 
 ing. Finally the buyer has the sense which 
 enables him to determine the states or condi- 
 tions of the bodily organism itself ; tells him of 
 pain, over-exertion, hunger, thirst, headache, 
 nausea, and other conditions. The general 
 tone of feeling of the buyer depends on them. 
 Here in the senses, you see, we have the very 
 sources of action in the buyer. He must see an 
 article, or hear it described, or taste it, or touch 
 it, or he must have the muscular experience of 
 riding in it, perhaps, like in the automobile. 
 Something takes place right here in the senses, 
 in one or more of them, to start the buyer on 
 the way to a purchase. And the more of these 
 avenues to the brain we use in appealing to the 
 buyer, the greater the cumulative effect. 
 "Watch the man who examines wine. He is 
 charmed with its color; the taste he can not 
 forget; the smell brings him to the vineyards 
 of France. His impression of this wine has 
 come through three different reinforcing senses 
 each supporting the other, the combined effect 
 of which is the greatest possible. 
 
THE BUYER 45 
 
 MUSCXJLAB RESPONSE 
 
 Muscular response is an important endow- 
 ment of the buyer on which success in selling 
 largely depends. The nervous system provides 
 a very flexible and well-organized scheme of 
 muscular response, connecting the sense organs 
 with particular muscles giving ready and accu- 
 rate communication. If the buyer is conscious 
 of action both the subcortical centers and the 
 cortex itself are involved. An illustration, the 
 presentation of an object of sale, or an oral 
 statement produces a muscular response of 
 some kind when presented to the organs of 
 sight, or hearing, touch or smell. Some of this 
 response is controlled by the will and some re- 
 sults from physical and mental habit. What 
 does this mean? It means that every one does 
 certain things after deliberation and certain 
 other things without thinking, as we say. A 
 suggestion of some kind makes one act before 
 one has considered the consequences. If the re- 
 sults are favorable we never hear anything of 
 it. If the step has resulted unfavorably the ex- 
 planation is: "I did it before I realized what I 
 was doing." Having an article that we know 
 will please, will fill a need or want, it is good 
 salesmanship to take advantage of this tendency 
 
46 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 to act before thinking, by means of suggestion, 
 the shortest route to this so called ideomotor 
 action. Many people can not think without 
 effort and others will not. Good salesmanship 
 does the thinking for them in the simplest of 
 language, the suggestion in word, in picture, in 
 the arrangement of the article itself as in dis- 
 play, or otherwise. 
 
 MENTAL EQUIPMENT 
 
 Thus far we have been dealing with what the 
 psychologists designate as the buyer's psycho- 
 physical equipment because it involves largely 
 his physical organism which is the basis of all 
 his mental operation. In addition to this the 
 buyer is supplied with certain mental equip- 
 ment which is of the utmost importance in ac- 
 quiring knowledge and in governing his many 
 and various mental processes. First, and im- 
 portant from the very beginning to the end of 
 the mental operation of making the sale, is 
 attention. It must be obtained and held ; held 
 constantly until the buyer finally wills to pur- 
 chase. There is sensation coming over the dif- 
 ferent sense organs, to a large extent the raw 
 material of the thinking process. Then there 
 is the power of recognizing and interpreting 
 
THE BUYER 47 
 
 what we see or hear or smell, — perception; the 
 consciousness of objects presented to the 
 senses. We perceive an automobile, or cash 
 register, or a bolt of silk, or a sack of sugar be- 
 cause in our past experience we have come to 
 know them as such. 
 
 The next step after perception in which the 
 buyer acquires knowledge is through the 
 imagination. All of the conscious processes of 
 the buyer have to some extent an influence in 
 the determination of the activities of his later 
 life. Imagination is the consciousness of ob- 
 jects which are not presented to the senses; 
 seen in the mind's eye only. The buyer can 
 imagine sounds, and smells, tastes and differ- 
 ent kinds of touch without the aid of any ex- 
 teral stimulus. Yet imagination must have 
 something internal to work on, this something 
 being all of the objects that have previously 
 been perceived and placed back in the chamber 
 of memory. The buyer could not remember a 
 tractor if he had never seen or heard one de- 
 scribed. It is these images, therefore, that give 
 the buyer the mental mechanism for looking 
 forward or backward in the mind. The images 
 remain for future use in acquiring knowledge. 
 They could not remain were it not for memory. 
 
 Buying is a part of the activities of the later 
 
48 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 life of every individual. It is therefore a part 
 of the work of good salesmanship to see that 
 the ground work of these activities is properly 
 established in the buyer, in personal selling, 
 letters, advertising and display. More specifi- 
 cally, it is necessary that the salesman or ad- 
 vertiser establish in the mind of the person 
 whom he solicits, certain images or mental pic- 
 tures regarding his company and his goods and 
 their uses, which images will then become the 
 content of the buyer's thought when later oc- 
 casion demands recall. Successful salesman- 
 ship really takes root here in the buyer's mem- 
 ory and imagination. The cumulative value of 
 all selling, personal or advertising, depends on 
 the number and character and vividness of 
 these mental pictures stored up in the buyer's 
 mind by the skilful salesman or advertising 
 man. 
 
 MEMORY AND ITS LAWS 
 
 Memory plays a little game all its own. Let 
 us see how its laws work generally and perhaps 
 we can reverse the situation and take advan- 
 tage of these laws in making our impressions or 
 mental pictures on the buyer's mind so that 
 they will be lasting ; so that when he thinks of 
 
THE BUYEE 49 
 
 cereal, for example, lie will have an inamediate 
 and vivid mental image of some definite brand 
 or trade-mark. There can be no cumulative 
 value to salesmanship ; no establishment of good 
 will in business without the aid of memory. 
 Let us examine its important laws. 
 
 Many ideas enter the mind singly or alone; 
 many others enter in groups, simultaneously 
 or one shortly after the other, connected or re- 
 lated as though the impression they make is 
 recorded on the same sensitive surface, the 
 cortex of the brain, as is the single impression. 
 Some impressions reach the brain through the 
 eye, some through the ear, some through the 
 other senses, or through more than one of the 
 senses at the same time. This results in what 
 is called association of ideas, so closely inter- 
 woven that the representing of any one idea 
 tends to bring up all. This association there- 
 fore does the work of aiding in recall; makes 
 it easier ; — gives it a much wider field for stim- 
 ulation. Trying to recall but a single impres- 
 sion or idea as compared with an associated 
 idea, is like trying to fish with a single hook 
 instead of a net. 
 
 The will is largely instrumental in the devel- 
 opment of memory, attending to the making of 
 a well-formed impression, getting it clear and 
 
50 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 distinctly imprinted, seeing that proper atten- 
 tion is given ; all of which divulges the secret of 
 memory. Attention imprints on the brain the 
 size, color, shape, peculiarities and other de- 
 tails. The will directs the making of the im- 
 pression by seeing that the stimuli come from 
 every possible medium; through the eye, ear, 
 nose, — ^bringing reinforcement wherever pos- 
 sible. The will sees to it that the laws which 
 govern memory are carefully followed. If it 
 is found most satisfactory to remember by 
 sounds, the will provides a good supply of sound 
 phantoms for use. If memory is made most 
 effective through sight, then well-framed and 
 vivid pictures are imprinted on the brain with 
 every idea to be remembered. If it is a person, 
 the face and form and peculiarities will be care- 
 fully absorbed. The eye will be worked to full 
 advantage because it is through this organ 
 that the greater number of impressions are 
 received. 
 
 The seller can improve the memory of im- 
 pressions he registers on the buyer, by making 
 the buyer's eye an observing eye that will grasp 
 details. By suggestion, the ear will be made to 
 detect the finest differences of tone. Similarly 
 the taste will be trained to the delicacy of that 
 of the tea-taster, and the touch to that of the 
 
THE BUYER 51 
 
 blind. It is a law of memory that training and 
 development place one 's recording instruments 
 in condition for doing a good job of mental en- 
 graving. The buyer is not interested in train- 
 ing his senses to assist in retaining the 
 impressions of the seller's goods. The seller 
 can, however, by subtle suggestion, produce to 
 an advantageous degree the desired effect. 
 
 Memory can be strengthened by conscious 
 revival of an impression ; repeating it mentally 
 or aloud or seeing or hearing it repeated, think- 
 ing about it from time to time. Another device 
 which aids memory is rhyme, often demon- 
 strated in the use of jingles. Another device 
 is abbreviation. Nonsense syllables or words 
 composed of the first letters of names that we 
 wish to remember especially in their order, are 
 effective; G-W-C-S-C-0-C representing the 
 names, Glenarm, Welton, California, etc. 
 Knowing the meaning of what is to be remem- 
 bered is important. Many people have a good 
 memory of numbers. Dates and numbers, such 
 as telephone numbers, can be associated with 
 certain things to good advantage. 
 
 In selling, therefore, let us get away from the 
 single idea like the monotonous, stereotyped, 
 never-changed advertisement for example, and 
 associate in its stead ideas that will give the 
 
52 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 strength of unionism to the suggestions which 
 we present to the buyer for his memory cham- 
 ber. Every company has its material for this 
 purpose. It may prove to be age and reliability 
 reflected in years of service. It may be size in 
 some of its forms, magnitude of production or 
 number of employees or plants. It may be un- 
 usual scientific methods of manufacture. It 
 may be immaculate cleanliness, unusual trans- 
 portation facilities, courtesy, or it may be pref- 
 erably a combination of these or other qual- 
 ities that lend themselves very effectively for 
 valuable, and lasting, and recall-producing as- 
 sociations. The salesman and sales manager 
 must work together to establish these associa- 
 tions. Everything that the salesman says or 
 does should make a favorable impression. 
 Everything that he represents regarding his 
 company and its product, every service that he 
 performs or has his company perform should 
 be done in such a way as to have its good effect 
 in the cumulative results to be produced. 
 
 I am trying to establish the name of my com- 
 pany in this territory as standing for the best 
 of everything. I want the buyer to have a high 
 regard for its name and everything associated 
 with it. I have therefore insisted on having 
 good offices, well located and well furnished. 
 
THE BUYER 53 
 
 The stationery which my company uses is of 
 good quality and appearance; and I want the 
 material that goes into its letters to reflect the 
 best when they reach the buyer. I want sales- 
 men with personality. I want the very highest 
 quality in my product. I want my service to 
 mean something special and distinctive to the 
 buyer. I want him to have a high regard for 
 this company's cooperation. Above all I want 
 him to feel that he is doing business with a com- 
 pany that is honest, having his interests at 
 heart as well; and that he can depend on it at 
 all times to give him the very best of everything 
 possible. All of these things I want reflected 
 by my salesmen. Striving for the best in every 
 detail is bound to produce in the buyer asso- 
 ciations that will be of permanent value, grow- 
 ing stronger as the years go by. 
 
 Again in selling we will try to get the will of 
 the buyer in action in our behalf. If the will is 
 instrumental in the development of memory let 
 us have it exercising in our favor, interested, 
 cooperating, boosting our goods, and feeling 
 that the return to him, the buyer, is worth while. 
 With a favorable will impressions engrave 
 themselves the deeper, and the company con- 
 cerned and its product become the monarch of 
 the selling field. Every little friendly word or 
 
54 MODEBN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 act will make the irapression stronger. And 
 the value of repetition should not be forgotten, 
 presenting each time in different dress if possi- 
 ble, and making the appeal through all of the 
 avenues to the brain, the different senses. 
 When sales are not made on the first call, the 
 good will produced is based on memory. Some- 
 thing must be done to make the buyer remember 
 the salesman, his goods and his company; the 
 impression must be clear and favorable, becom- 
 ing stronger and more fixed with each visit or 
 advertisement, 
 
 COOEDINATION" OF KNOWLEDGE 
 
 Through what is called conception, the buyer 
 is able to recognize and employ the meaning of 
 things that are presented to the senses. With- 
 out this ability perception would be useless, 
 and memory would be only confused ; the buyer 
 could not recognize the meaning of what is pre- 
 sented and remembered. And so the imagina- 
 tion would be a failure without this ability to 
 give meaning to the images that fill the mind. 
 Conception brings together the common points 
 of our many experiences and consolidates or 
 molds them into ideas, which become the mile- 
 posts in our thinking, to do the work of hun- 
 
THE BUYER 55 
 
 dreds of other ideas. It is the classification of 
 percepts and images into what are called con- 
 cepts. We form concepts of buyers, goods, 
 color, sound, position, time, good and bad, 
 price and quality. We are comprising in the 
 concept the qualities common to all. The con- 
 cept is the buyer's comprehension of goods 
 from all of the goods he has ever had presented 
 to his mind; of one tractor from all of the 
 various tractors; of one color from all of the 
 hundred and fifty different shades he has seen 
 in the past. The buyer is constantly forming 
 concepts ; he is forming new ones or enlarging 
 or enriching the old. The successful salesman 
 must keep pace with him by enlarging and en- 
 riching the concepts he has of the things that 
 he sells. His concept of motors must be broad, 
 enriched by wide experience and knowledge of 
 motors of all kinds. Concepts which remain at 
 a standstill become petrified; bring the buyer 
 and salesman into narrow paths of thought and 
 work, and make each inflexible and firm in his 
 "old-school" ways. 
 
 THE PROCESS OF REASONING 
 
 Although there is an elementary form of 
 reasoning in all of the buyer's mental processes 
 
56 MODEEN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 there is another higher and more complex form 
 of reasoning which gradually unfolds to him 
 and others what he has in his mind. This com- 
 plexity, reasoning, involves perception, imag- 
 ination, memory and conception all at work 
 thinking out problems of sale or purchase. 
 The process of reasoning becomes organized 
 and simplified by mental habit. For example, 
 the problem of ascertaining whether a profit 
 exists calls into play certain methods of deter- 
 ndnation like taking paper and pencil, figuring 
 the wholesale cost, the cost to handle, the retail 
 price, depreciation, possible turnover and other 
 details. Education and experience have made 
 this process practically the same whenever the 
 matter of profit is to be determined. It is what 
 is called judging. It puts the buyer's concepts 
 of wholesale price, retail price, turnover, profit 
 and the like before him and judges them, weighs 
 them, compares them in figuring a possible 
 profit. Judgment is therefore the very root of 
 one's thinking. To think is to judge. It is 
 another mile-post in the thinking process of the 
 buyer. The salesman who will be successful 
 will keep in mind the importance of good de- 
 pendable judgments which will carry him 
 through many a problem with satisfaction 
 rather than embarrassment. He will have a 
 
THE BUYER 57 
 
 knowledge of Ms own company and its prod- 
 ucts, and be sufficiently acquainted with the 
 needs or desires of the buyer to help him in 
 passing a favorable judgment on the salesman's 
 goods or proposition. He must be able to an- 
 ticipate the mental processes of the ordinary 
 buyer, take paper and pencil, so to speak, and 
 figure for the buyer the different costs and 
 other details in which he may be interested. 
 He must be adept in making it easy for the 
 buyer to pass judgment in his, the salesman's 
 favor. 
 
 The final step in the reasoning process of 
 the buyer is the combining of his judgments to 
 form the various types of reasoning. The 
 salesman comes into the retail store and wishes 
 the buyer to purchase a new line of young 
 men's college-cut suits. The retailer is in a 
 western city, surrounded by an agricultural 
 community, from which he draws most of his 
 trade. This requires the weighing of argu- 
 ments for and against the salesman's sugges- 
 tion and a final decision in favor of one or the 
 other alternatives. On the one hand the line of 
 clothes is novel in design and will attract a 
 certain percentage of the young men of the 
 city who have never done business there be- 
 fore. On the other hand the store is not 
 
58 MODEEN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 equipped for satisfactory display of this style 
 of clothes ; has been catering largely to the sur- 
 rounding country trade, and can possibly do 
 better with a line that is more conservative, 
 better adapted to the needs of its regular cus- 
 tomers. Here we have reasoning involving a 
 series of judgments. There is association of 
 ideas, one idea calling another into play. There 
 is comparison, of styles, of probable trade.! 
 Imagination is brought into use in picturing 
 each alternative and its results. Every form 
 of reasoning may be involved. To compete 
 with this highest form of reasoning in the 
 buyer, the reasoning of the salesman must be 
 sound. His concepts, and his judgments must 
 be proper. He must have his storehouse of 
 associations, his means of comparison, like the 
 goods of his competitors. Planted in memory 
 must be an abundance of material for playing 
 on the buyer's imagination, on his feelings, 
 interests and other impulses. That is why in 
 another chapter we ask the salesman to know 
 his company and his goods, and his compet- 
 itor's company and goods, — ^knowledge as im- 
 portant as is knowledge of the buyer himself. 
 
 FEELING AND FEEUNG-TONB 
 
 Feeling represents and expresses the tone of 
 
THE BUYER 59 
 
 the buyer's consciousness. Sensations of sight, 
 pressure, movement, smell or taste are accom- 
 panied either by pleasure or discomfort. What 
 is at one time agreeable may become disagree- 
 able, and what is disagreeable may in time be- 
 come agreeable. Then between the pleasant 
 and unpleasant we find the neutral. This 
 phase of consciousness which brings pleasure 
 or displeasure is called affection. The manner 
 in which it is represented or expressed is called 
 feeling or affective tone. How about it in sell- 
 ing? Isn't it most important? Every good 
 business man strives for that which will pro- 
 duce the best in feeling-tone. Whatever ap- 
 peals to the eye must be most pleasing to the 
 eye; whatever appeals to the ear must have 
 harmony and quality. Movements, such as 
 riding in the automobile, must be made as pleas- 
 ing and agreeable as possible. Odors must be 
 those that produce agreeable associations. 
 Good feeling-tone explains the reason for de- 
 manding the good qualities in the salesman 
 enumerated in another chapter ; for the demand 
 that character be reflected in everything asso- 
 ciated with the company's name; for what is 
 natural, and attractive, and harmonious and 
 agreeable in advertising ; for proper stationery 
 and form in our letters, for good store fronts 
 
60 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 and good appearance and display within. The 
 importance of good feeling-tone explains the 
 universal practise among successful modern 
 business men of constantly trying to please in 
 business. 
 
 INSTINCTS 
 
 In the structure of the buyer are elements 
 which are so deep-seated that growing from 
 them are many of the physical and mental hab- 
 its which govern his every action. The motor 
 powers, the reflexes and the instincts are the 
 means by which the human organism directs 
 its own movements and controls its destiny. 
 Certain very definite tendencies are bom into 
 man's very fiber and have much to do with his 
 life from birth until death. They comprise 
 types of conduct which have been found through 
 the ages to be beneficial to human life and are 
 handed down from generation to generation. 
 All human interests, forms of human desire, 
 and types of human emotion are founded upon 
 these instincts. Some are hereditary and oth- 
 ers are acquired. No two authorities seem to 
 be agreed on the number of these instincts. 
 Among those which we find mentioned are: 
 acquisitiveness, affection, anger, constructive- 
 
THE BITYEB 61 
 
 ness, curiosity, envy, fear, hunting, imitation, 
 jealousy, modesty, play, rivalry, sexual love, 
 shyness, sympathy, sociability, secretiveness, 
 self-preservation, self-abasement, self-asser- 
 tion, and reproduction. We shall discover, 
 later that the very strongest appeals in selling 
 are the ones made to these instincts whether it 
 be in personal selling or advertising. Spring- 
 ing from them are the vast groups of human 
 interests, human emotions, human desires and 
 habits which constitute the complex and illimit- 
 able sources of appeal to the buyer. Every- 
 thing that is sold can be traced in origin to the 
 fact that it makes its appeal to one or more of , 
 the instincts. In personal selling, writing, ad- 
 vertising, or display we find, as we shall see 
 later, the experienced man keeping in mind 
 these instincts in his every selling move. 
 
 THE APPEAL. TO THE EMOTIONS 
 
 Unusual exercise of the emotions makes one 
 tremble or grow pale, and the heart palpitate, — 
 the symptoms which distinguish emotion from 
 other mental processes. Anger, embarrass- 
 ment, pity, joy, surprise, derision, contempt, 
 reverence, hope, remorse, gratitude, shame, 
 disgust, etc., may be classed as forms of emo- 
 
62 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 tion. This morning a blind man accompanied 
 by a young woman sold me tickets to his lecture 
 by appealing to pity. The "Greatest Mother 
 on Earth" makes her appeal to pity and rever- 
 ence and love, a strong appeal indeed reflect- 
 ing great selling ability to those responsible 
 for its use. Mr. Hoover's appeal for thirty- 
 five million dollars will be a success because it 
 is directed to the emotions. 
 
 There is a close relation between feeling and 
 emotion. Some states of feeling like sympathy, 
 antipathy, pride, humility, love and hate, the 
 feeling of obligation, reverence, faith and oth- 
 ers, often have strong emotional coloring de- 
 pending on the inherited tendencies and pre- 
 vious personal experience of the individual. 
 To the person musically inclined a well-played 
 symphony may be the cause of delightful emo- 
 tion; to another it would mean nothing. It is 
 necessary only to add regarding emotions that 
 if there can be discovered in our proposition 
 or product the characteristics that make their 
 appeal to one or more of these emotions, one 
 of the most powerful means of obtaining action 
 has been reached. 
 
 TASTES, CAPACrriES AND INTERESTS 
 
 In selling we can not overlook a group of ten- 
 
THE BUYER 63 
 
 deneies and interests of the buyer which are 
 often as strong in their impelling force as the 
 instincts themselves. One buyer is a lover of 
 music, another of literature, another of busi- 
 ness. I have in mind a lumberman who enjoys 
 writing for the trade papers, and another who 
 likes his race horses fully as well as his busi- 
 ness. I was at lunch a few days ago with a 
 dealer who talked much of the accomplishments 
 of his wife, and enjoyed being encouraged to 
 give vent to his appreciation. I have in mind 
 also the great group of interests which are in 
 a large measure common to all men ; the indi- 
 vidual himself and his welfare, his home, fam- 
 ily and business. In a later chapter we shall 
 see how the appeal is directed to these interests 
 in making the sale. 
 
 DESIBES AND THEIE EFFECT 
 
 In desire there is the feeling of want and the 
 impulse to get it satisfied. Accompanying the 
 desire there will be either a pleasant or a pain- 
 ful feeling. It may be the feeling of pleasure 
 in anticipating, in trying to accomplish. This 
 impulse accompanying desire is what leads to 
 action in the buyer. Many of these desires are 
 accompanied by thought or reasoning and are 
 
64 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 called rational, while others spring from sheer 
 impulse alone as in hunger or thirst. All of 
 the desires which we may have can be separated 
 into two groups, the selfish or the altruistic; 
 obtaining for our own benefit or giving for the 
 benefit of others. Look over any good adver- 
 tisement that was ever written and you will 
 find somewhere in it an appeal to one or more 
 of the desires. Listen to the selling talk of any 
 experienced salesman or sales manager and you 
 will find in it an appeal directed to the impulse 
 to satisfy some feeling of want or need. 
 
 THE IMPORTANCE OF HABIT 
 
 Habits begin to form in the gratification of 
 simple bodily needs such as hunger and thirst 
 and protection from the weather. We dance, 
 play golf, drive the motor, after learning to 
 walk and talk; and otherwise we extend the 
 number and character of our movements. At 
 first, careful mental control is necessary, but 
 later the habits become almost automatic, per- 
 mitting the grant of attention to other matters 
 while we perform them unconsciously. 
 
 Some people form habits easily and overcome 
 them easily. Others form them slowly and 
 change them just as slowly, a bitter lesson 
 
THE BUYER 65 
 
 sometimes learned by the advertiser. Some- 
 times they are formed unconsciously, sometimes 
 wilfully and often through the direction of oth- 
 ers. Existing conditions will form or change 
 them. They are most satisfying and lasting if 
 they are natural. Not many years ago our 
 business men had the habit of keeping their 
 cash in an old drawer behind the counter. The 
 educational campaign of a well-known business 
 organization has changed this habit to the more 
 progressive one of using a register. Fifteen 
 years ago bread was made much more exten- 
 sively in the home than it is to-day. Education 
 has changed the habit of the housewife in favor 
 of better baking establishments. Tor many a 
 generation the farmer could not see his way 
 clear to do his farming without the horse. To- 
 day the manufacturer has developed in him new 
 habits involving the use of the tractor and 
 truck. The most economical appeal, if the na- 
 ture of the product warrants, is that to habits 
 already established, these representing the 
 path of least resistance in the buyer. The ne- 
 cessity of the expensive educational campaign 
 is to a large extent eliminated and the appeal 
 resolves itself into proving satisfactory qual- 
 ity, service, price and other universally de- 
 manded factors. Habits extend over the entire 
 
66 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 field of activity from the time that we open the 
 eyes until we close them again in sleep, and 
 possibly in sleep itself. 
 
 MOOD AND TEMPEBAMEKT 
 
 In a discussion of the buyer we can not over- 
 look mood and temperament. The buyer is 
 often susceptible to certain forms of emotion. 
 A good report from the general office may 
 make him take on a bright aspect toward every- 
 thing. He will be optimistic and ready to pur- 
 chase. On the other hand, if his oil stock has 
 dropped six or eight points, he will feel that he 
 must go very carefully in his purchase and his 
 former optimism will be dampened. A veil of 
 saffron will cover everything presented to his 
 physical or mental eye. Four varieties of tem- 
 perament are easily recognizable. There is the 
 sanguine buyer whose feelings are easily 
 aroused yet in a colorless and feeble way. The 
 choleric buyer is easily excitable with the emo- 
 tions strong and the feelings keen. The melan- 
 cholic fellow is slowly aroused, but feels deeply 
 and is stubborn in his mood when once stirred. 
 On the other hand, the phlegmatic buyer is 
 slow and firm, stimulated with difficulty, and 
 never moved to profound or lasting excitement. 
 
THE BUYER 67 
 
 We shall learn later how to deal with some of 
 these types. 
 
 THE BUYER AND THE THINGS TO WHICH HE 
 BESPONDS 
 
 Heredity, experience and education result in 
 a complex development. The instincts, inter- 
 ests, emotions, desires and habits set the mind 
 of the buyer in motion to act in certain ways 
 under certain circumstances. 
 
 The phrenologists maintained a very definite 
 theory that what the earlier psychologists 
 termed the faculties were localized in the brain ; 
 mapped out, with certain organs in the brain 
 corresponding to the faculties. In one part of 
 the brain we found parental love, in another 
 amativeness; and an accurate conformation of 
 the skull with the brain was said to enable the 
 phrenologist to read what was within by what 
 was displayed without. Neither phrenology 
 nor faculty psychology are now recognized by 
 present-day authorities. Modern psychologists 
 take the position that such a scheme of classifi- 
 cation is at its best most difficult because each 
 of these functions involves the cooperation of 
 many other fundamental processes, and enter 
 in varying combination in the make-up of the 
 
68 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 different faculties. Professor Angell says 
 {Chapters from Modern Psychology) : "To say 
 that an individual mind possesses certain fac- 
 ulties is merely to say that it is capable of cer- 
 tain states or processes. To divide the various 
 and fluctuating modes of consciousness in a 
 distinct and orderly manner, so that each may 
 receive an appropriate name, — this in itself is 
 no small achievement. The faculty was by the 
 older psychologists regarded as the cause of 
 certain mental processes and of other facul- 
 ties Faculty has almost passed out of use 
 
 in modem psychology." We can not depend 
 on phrenology therefore to help us in the study 
 of the buyer. From faculty psychology, due to 
 the effort to arrange modes of consciousness in 
 an orderly manner, we are able to obtain mate- 
 rial that may well be brought out in a work of 
 this kind. Some writers on salesmanship have 
 seen fit to take over bodily the principles of 
 faculty psychology and apply them in selling. 
 We shall take the view of the modem authori- 
 ties and mention the instances in which certain 
 sets of circumstances affect buyers differently, 
 — really the meat of faculty psychology with- 
 out the name. 
 
 Acquisitiveness is purely instinctive. It is 
 the tendency to hoard or collect or save. It is 
 
THE BUYER 69 
 
 strongly rooted in most men and women, dis- 
 playing itself in the desire to accumulate 
 wealth, to save money. It shows itself in busi- 
 ness in the desire, which includes the impulse 
 to satisfy this desire, for large and constant 
 profits. A salesman will rarely make a mistake 
 in assuming that acquisitiveness is a character- 
 istic of a man in business. It explains his being 
 in business. This characteristic is so universal 
 among buyers therefore that it can not be left 
 out of any sales talk or argument if the nature 
 of the article or proposition permits. Showing 
 a profit or saving, directly or indirectly; — 
 showing the individual how to make or save 
 money is probably the strongest appeal to the 
 business man, successful business being founded 
 on the ability to make and save. 
 
 Alimentiveness and bibativeness are forms 
 of desire ; the desire for food and drink. Food- 
 stuffs and drinks that are attractive to these 
 tendencies are constantly suggested in busi- 
 ness, tastefully displayed as in the modern 
 market. The salesman who travels takes ad- 
 vantage of them in gaining favorable moods or 
 friendship. The advertiser or letter-writer 
 makes his appeal with suggestive illustrations, 
 carefully worded description and appropriate 
 environment. 
 
70 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 What has amativeness, or the instinctive ten- 
 dency to love, to do with selling? Just this;— 
 accompanying it is the desire to do for others, 
 to whom it is directed. In May of each year 
 the jewelers of the United States direct their 
 advertising to the prospective bride and groom, 
 because they have learned the strength of this 
 impulse to purchase gifts for the June wed- 
 dings. Amativeness continues after marriage, 
 and proper sales talks, advertising and dis- 
 play are prepared to appeal to it. Flowers, 
 candies, diamonds, jewelry, taxi service, sta- 
 tionery, specialties in wearing apparel, art work 
 for the home, and many other articles are often 
 sold more on account of the presence of this 
 instinct than on account of necessity. The 
 nature of the article and the circumstances 
 must determine the advisability of the appeal 
 to amativeness. 
 
 The sales person will find a tendency on the 
 part of husband and wife to call in each other 
 for consultation before making a final decision. 
 The husband will not buy a hat without the ad- 
 vice of the wife, and the wife will not buy a suit 
 without the word of approval of the husband. 
 Very often the advice of one inhibits the de- 
 cision of the other. The husband may be will- 
 ing to buy and the wife may have a volume of 
 
THE BUYER 71 
 
 arguments against it, or the wife may desire to 
 buy and the husband will be the inhibiting ele- 
 ment. This feeling of dependence is called con- 
 jugality. Some articles are distinctly for the 
 husband and he alone should be addressed re- 
 garding them. Furniture and supplies and 
 equipment for his office or place of business, 
 or farm, are things in which he, rather than his 
 wife, is distinctly interested and most capable 
 of buying, and the wife 's intervention is apt to 
 work unfavorably. A stock salesman would do 
 well to direct his talk to the husband only. An 
 insurance agent might find it advisable to con- 
 fer with both, and a salesman of household 
 specialties not high in price, might well spend 
 his endeavors on the wife only. Attention 
 should be directed to the individual whose in- 
 terest is most involved, or to both where there 
 is a division of interests. 
 
 Children are the center of affection and in- 
 terest of both father and mother, the result of 
 another instinct. The pleasure of the child, his 
 education, his moral and physical welfare form 
 a most impulsive group of interests with which 
 to appeal to the buyer. Introduce something 
 that excites this instinct of parental love, and 
 a responsive chord has been struck in any 
 branch of selling. The mother, being more 
 
72 MODEEN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 closely associated with the smaller children, 
 may be more easily influenced in their behalf 
 than the father. Toys, children's clothing, and 
 other articles for the young are purchased gen- 
 erally by the mother. After the age of adoles- 
 cence, the father becomes more directly 
 concerned. 
 
 The social instinct is highly developed in 
 many persons. They enjoy club life, outdoor 
 and indoor sports and amusements; and they 
 probably like to eat and drink. The difficulty 
 with this type of buyer is that no salesman- 
 ship is necessary to win his friendship if this 
 tendency to eat and drink is perverted. The 
 salesman who buys the most and best meals 
 and furnishes the best entertainment gets the 
 business. Many sales managers take the po- 
 sition that this entertainment is unnecessary. 
 There are exceptional cases wh^re it can not 
 be avoided. As a rule, however, I have found 
 it unnecessary, and I know of many others who 
 take the same position. Friendship is impor- 
 tant but it must not be bought. 
 
 Inhabitiveness is a feeling toward a locality, 
 as patriotism toward a country. It is the love 
 of home including the community in which it is 
 located. One likes to see the locality in which 
 one lives improve and prosper. I know of a 
 
THE BUYEE 73 
 
 large manufacturing company of the West that 
 built up much of its business on the strength 
 of this patriotic feeling, extended in this case 
 to the entire state. With quality and price, 
 service and other factors equal the dealers and 
 public officials took active steps to defend the 
 new home industry, in some cases passing reso- 
 lutions insisting on the use of its product for 
 public work. This inhabitive tendency prob- 
 ably explains the great growth and activity of 
 the many commercial organizations now in ex- 
 istence over the world. We find advertisements 
 of flowers, trees and shrubbery for the home 
 written to appeal to inhabitiveness. It has its 
 basis in self-preservation, another instinct. If 
 we have no home we desire one ; having one we 
 want it modem in every respect. The business 
 of the retailer is directly dependent on this in- 
 stinctive tendency. 
 
 There is a universal desire to want to live 
 and grow old gracefully. Those whose ills are 
 imaginary as well as those who suffer from ac- 
 tual ailments, are constantly appealed to in 
 both legitimate and quack advertising. Many 
 an advertisement of elixirs in the form of pat- 
 ent medicines, gymnastic formulas, hair re- 
 storers and cosmetics, is framed to appeal to 
 this desire called vitativeness. The world is 
 
74 MODEEN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 striving to remain young and healthy and good- 
 looking. The beauty parlor, tonsorial parlor, 
 and other kindred lines of business have be- 
 come necessary units in the commercial world 
 because of the desire to live. 
 
 We find the fighting instinct personified in 
 business. The fighter is to be found in every 
 locality and in every line. We must not antag- 
 onize this man. He will not stand for it. If we 
 take off our coats and fight for him rather than 
 against him we shall get somewhere. "You 
 are right, exactly right, Mr. Yost. My com- 
 pany made a bad mistake in doing this and I 
 will see that the man responsible gets what he 
 deserves. We want you satisfied, and I am 
 going to see that you are satisfied. That was 
 a very poor piece of work and I do not blame 
 you for being angry about it." The fighter 
 usually meets with friction and opposition. 
 It is an agreeable surprise to him to be defend- 
 ed. Let him have his way, be humored ; let his 
 opinions be respected and he will devitalize and 
 eventually meet the salesman graciously. Some 
 woman too will come into the retail store and 
 abuse everybody from the sales person to the 
 general manager. It is hard to take abuse but 
 it must be done just as we have done in the case 
 
THE BUYER 75 
 
 mentioned above; by fighting for this indi- 
 vidual and not against her. 
 
 Occasionally we come in contact with the fel- 
 low who has got into business for spite, or prej- 
 udice, or some other unfortunate reason. He 
 has not sufficient personality or ability to run 
 his own business and devotes much of his time 
 and attention to seeing that his competitors 
 are no more successful than himself. He is 
 the destructive buyer. I remember meeting a 
 buyer of this character on many occasions. 
 He was a lumber dealer in a city where there 
 were two other yards. It was his boast that 
 these three yards had been in this city for six 
 years and that none of them had made a dollar 
 and would not make a dollar as long as he 
 could prevent it. One can not afford to do 
 business with such a dealer. By taking up 
 the matter with his competitors an arrange- 
 ment was soon made to have this yard pur- 
 chased by a third party. Both other yards 
 were afterward able to make a reasonable 
 profit and were so well pleased with the sug- 
 gestion that they were glad to give their busi- 
 ness to my company. 
 
 Another type of buyer comes to mind, — the 
 secretive fellow, quiet, reserved, a better lis- 
 tener than talker. If this tendency is not over- 
 
76 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 pronounced it is advantageous in obtaining and 
 holding attention. It is displayed from the 
 time that the salesman makes his appearance. 
 The manner will be quiet, and generally slow, 
 little affected by the salesman's presence; a 
 tendency to continue with routine. Occasion- 
 ally this reticence is assumed with the intention 
 of avoiding the salesman, yet we may not con- 
 clude that this is the case until it has been 
 proved. The only safe manner of approach is 
 to be patient, keeping constantly in the buyer's 
 presence to serve silent notice that an interview 
 is desired, entering a wedging word here and 
 there, and waiting quietly for the opportunity 
 to open the discussion. If this reticence con- 
 tinues for an unreasonable length of time, the 
 matter should be brought to an issue by speak- 
 ing frankly to the buyer in an effort to secure 
 an interview or if necessary an appointment. 
 If he gives a reasonable excuse for not grant- 
 ing an interview just then, the salesman must 
 not jeopardize his standing by insistence. If 
 there is a tendency to be arbitrary, the sales- 
 man then has the right to present as forcibly as 
 the occasion demands his reasons for wanting 
 an interview. The importance of tact must not 
 be overlooked. It is useless to spend time in 
 
THE BUYER 77 
 
 getting an interview with one who is unfriendly 
 as a result of the salesman's persistence. 
 
 The salesman must expect to find cautious- 
 ness in the average buyer. It is a necessary 
 characteristic of the good business man. Some 
 situations require more caution than others. 
 The character and importance of the sale de- 
 termines the amount of attending cautiousness 
 to be expected. Overcoming it is merely a mat- 
 ter of convincing ; of obtaining confidence. We 
 shall see later how the sales manager over- 
 comes cautiousness by placing in the office or 
 home such articles or instruments as pianos, 
 talking machines, dictaphones, books, and other 
 things, in the purchase of which unusual cau- 
 tion is displayed. Letters of reference, lists 
 of others who have purchased and are using, 
 inspection trips to work that has been done, 
 public demonstrations like those given by manu- 
 facturers of tractors, fire apparatus, etc., are 
 all instances of methods used in overcoming 
 cautiousness. The retail dealer tells the cus- 
 tomer to take home an article and if it is not 
 satisfactory, return it. If an article wiU not 
 stand the acid test of actual demonstration its 
 life in the selling field will be very short. 
 
 Have you ever come in contact with an in- 
 dividual who would not accept an honestly 
 
78 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 given compliment? No, you have not. There 
 is a way to give a compliment and have it set 
 well. There must be sincerity in the giving, 
 and it must be regarding something worth 
 while. We can not compliment the insignifi- 
 cant or ordinary. We must look for something 
 about the buyer, his family or business that 
 deserves a compliment. Flattery is not sincere 
 yet it is often used to advantage. It must be 
 tactfully given or it will not appeal. A sales- 
 man who was attempting to obtain my sub- 
 scription for a certain magazine was not able 
 to get me interested to his satisfaction. Finally 
 he asked if I would be willing to write an arti- 
 cle for this magazine. This question led me to 
 ask him why he had made the proposition to 
 me, and he admitted that it was an appeal to ap- 
 probativeness with the hope of getting my at- 
 tention and interest. 
 
 Some buyers have high regard for their 
 own opinions and judgment. They have had 
 the experience; claim to know just what is 
 wanted and will not be dictated to by the sales- 
 man. The professional buyer is apt to develop 
 this trait. The fact that this trait exists does 
 not mean that the other characteristics are un- 
 favorable. On the contrary they will be dis- 
 tinctly favorable, There will be strength of 
 
THE BUYER 79 
 
 character and the respect of friends and ac- 
 quaintances. This self-esteeming buyer must 
 be given all of the facts and permitted to use 
 his own judgment. He will finally express him- 
 self quite positively for or against a purchase 
 and that will virtually end the matter for the 
 time being. We need not hesitate to give this 
 man an honest compliment. Our efforts to 
 sell him must be patient, renewing in a later 
 call, or by letters, by actual demonstration, or 
 trial our efforts to sell. A firm or stubborn 
 buyer, which this individual is apt to be, can not 
 be driven. He must be very gently led. "Now, 
 Burgess, I know this business better than you 
 do. I know what I can use here." This is the 
 statement of a self -esteeming buyer. "I am 
 getting good treatment from the firm from 
 whom I now buy and see no reason to change." 
 More patience, tact and resourcefulness are re- 
 quired for the solution of this problem. How 
 about talking to him something like this? "Mr. 
 Baker, I know that you have been buying a cer- 
 tain brand of cement for years. You have had 
 good treatment from these people and they in a 
 measure deserve your loyalty. Just let me go 
 over this matter with you, and if after I have 
 finished your good judgment does not tell you to 
 do business with me, I shall drop the subject. . . 
 
80 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 You have been in this business long enough to 
 see immediately the advantages of this offer. 
 Look at this map (showing a map of the state). 
 Here is our mill : here is your yard. I can keep 
 you supplied with cement just as you want it 
 within a few hours after you phone for it. I 
 will have to haul the car fifty miles while my 
 nearest competitor, from whom you now buy, 
 must haul it five hundred. I can use this car 
 ten times on ten different orders while the 
 company from whom you now buy can use it 
 but once. You will help the car situation ; you 
 will get your cement quickly; you can take 
 down that telephone receiver and talk to us at 
 any time; you will get the advantage of being 
 closely in touch with us, — cooperation, first- 
 class treatment, everything that any company 
 can give, and you will be doing something to 
 build up this good community by helping 
 this worthy home industry. You have been 
 right in contending that the trade of the people 
 living around this city should come to you, the 
 local dealer. You have been right in telling 
 your trade that you are located here where they 
 can reach you and talk with you conveniently 
 and have the benefit of your cooperation. That 
 is why I know that you will feel the same way 
 
THE BUYER 81 
 
 regarding my company. I am going to leave 
 the entire matter to your good judgment." 
 
 Here we have adopted the selling talk of the 
 self-esteeming buyer in fighting for his own 
 business, and applied it as a weapon against 
 him. Placing the responsibility on him of 
 passing judgment fairly has a very good effect. 
 
 It sometimes requires years to convert the 
 stubborn buyer. Cooperation from every 
 source should be obtained by the salesman. The 
 office can do much. Letters, advertising, vis- 
 its from the sales manager, cultivating friend- 
 ship, placing the buyer under obligation, will 
 be some of the means. Many very good ac- 
 counts are started with dealers of this type by 
 going into his city, getting well acquainted with 
 his customers and through them obtaining 
 business on which this dealer will receive his 
 commission. 
 
 In the study of the psychology of the buyer 
 we have found how the concepts become ossi- 
 fied if they are not enriched, resulting in one 's 
 becoming narrow in view and actions, wanting 
 to continue in old paths of habit or policy, with 
 the same old concern regardless of circum- 
 stances. This may develop into old fogyism. 
 We are likely to be mistaken in interpreting as 
 fogyism what really is good business. The fact 
 
82 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 that a dealer demands the plain, unassuming 
 and hard wearing clothing may be due to the 
 demands of his trade which comes largely from 
 the country or industrial districts. A visit to 
 the store of the small-town merchant wiU con- 
 vince one that the same style and character of 
 goods we find in the large cities are not used in 
 the country. If a dealer should prove narrow 
 and backward the salesman need not hope to 
 revolutionize him. It can not be done. He 
 must be given what he wants. 
 
 Calculation frequently displays itself in the 
 buyer, in negotiating the sale of insurance, 
 bonds, investments ; sales involving a complex- 
 ity of costs and figures. He must take his pen- 
 cil and paper and go into details. This ten- 
 dency should be anticipated by the salesman 
 and the problematic situation made as clear 
 and simple by means of figures as possible. A 
 dealer interested in selling me a set of five 
 tires furnished a well-arranged diagram show- 
 ing just what these tires would cost, what dis- 
 count he would allow, the amount of guaranteed 
 mileage, the allowance for each of my old tires. 
 In his sales talk all of this had been explained 
 yet this memorandum made the details clearer 
 and more easily remembered. 
 
 The appeal to this calculative tendency can 
 
THE BUYER 83 
 
 be carried to the extreme. A certain concern 
 advertising at this time, in the attempt to add 
 originality and interest value, as well as appeal 
 to the tendency to calculation, has inserted a 
 stereotyped conglomeration of hand penciled 
 figures in compound interest which suggests 
 effort in reading, not to mention understand- 
 ing. It is too complex. 
 
 Have you ever thought how strongly the pro- 
 cess of comparison enters into buying? A 
 buyer believes that a certain automobile is the 
 best for his purposes. A salesman demon- 
 strating another car has to explain every detail 
 of the construction or operation of the new car 
 in terms of the one which the buyer has in 
 mind, or in terms of other standard cars. The 
 comparative speed, power, durability, finish, 
 size, comfort and price are all spoken of in 
 terms of other cars or standards, — comparison 
 at every step. 
 
 This comparative tendency explains the ne- 
 cessity for developing the concepts pertaining 
 to one 's business, and especially one 's product ; 
 obtaining knowledge of one's company and its 
 goods, and of competitors and their goods. 
 
 Imitation is largely instinctive. The mob 
 spirit, where the individual often subcon- 
 sciously falls in with the purposes of the mass. 
 
84 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 is explained by this tendency to imitation. In 
 social life a large number can be counted on to 
 follow the leaders. The family of Judge Blank 
 is regarded as very musical, the daughter hav- 
 ing studied abroad. If Judge Blank thinks 
 enough of a certain piano to use it others will 
 also want to use the same make. What is good 
 enough for Judge Blank is good enough for 
 them. Imitation breeds rivalry at times. Peo- 
 ple must live on a standard equal to that of the 
 neighbors and friends. Like their friends or 
 neighbors, they must have the automobile; 
 they must have their daughters in the private 
 school; they must belong to the riding club; 
 must have the antique furniture, even though 
 they can not always afford these luxuries. 
 Eecommendations, memoranda of introduction, 
 subscription lists and similar devices are used 
 to advantage by the sales person in these 
 cases. 
 
 Apart from the imitative class are those who 
 want to be original and individualistic, stand- 
 ing out as examples to be followed. This is a 
 progressive tendency. It separates one from 
 the crowd into a class by one's self. Why does 
 a merchant carry out a certain color scheme of 
 blue or red in connection with his business? 
 Why does he have his store, delivery wagons 
 
THE BUYER 85 
 
 or cars, stationery, advertising, decoration, — 
 everything in red? Becauses he wants to be 
 individualistic and give his business person- 
 ality. While in a leading clothing store a few 
 days ago I noticed a salesman giving special 
 attention to a prosperous-looking young man 
 whose appearance and actions indicated that 
 he was strongly possessed of individualistic de- 
 sires. The salesman was alive to the situation 
 and displayed a line of striking style and color, 
 something that the ordinary individual could 
 not wear. The result was the sale of an over- 
 coat of extreme design in rich green. Stores, 
 offices and homes are often constructed and 
 furnished, if not even located, to carry out this 
 desire for individuality. 
 
 Thus far we have discussed the mental equip- 
 ment of the buyer, including the nervous sys- 
 tem and its relation to the sense organs. Now 
 we come to certain outward and visible attri- 
 butes or powers that are well worth examining. 
 
 DETECTING QUALITIES AND CHAEACTEEISTICS 
 
 Much attention has been given to the weigh- 
 ing and measuring of a man's mentality, his 
 character, by study of the outward or visible 
 evidences. We have seen how phrenology pro- 
 
86 MODEEN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 fessed to show that a certain portion of the 
 brain gave rise to a certain faculty which could 
 be located and its strength determined by the 
 character of the bumps on the head. Later re- 
 search has proved that phrenology rested on a 
 false basis. 
 
 There are those who believe in physiognomy; 
 the art of discovering characteristics of the 
 mind or temper by observations of the form 
 and movement of the face and body. Since the 
 beginning of history, men have expressed their 
 faith in this method of reading the character. 
 Opposed to this view are those modern business 
 men who are inclined to believe that so-caEed 
 character reading is too uncertain, too dubious 
 to be practical and useful. We shall let Doctor 
 Katherine Blackford, one of the late exponents 
 of character reading, tell us in her own words 
 what she claims for the alleged science. "We 
 do not wish you to misunderstand our claims 
 for the science of character reading. Charac- 
 ter analysis is not a science in the mathematical 
 sense. As we have said in our introduction, we 
 can not place a man on the scales and determine 
 that he has so many grams of industry, or ap- 
 ply measurements and prove that he has so 
 many centimeters of talent for salesmanship. 
 We do claim that it is classified knowledge 
 
THE BUYER 87 
 
 based on sound principles ; that it is as accurate 
 as the science of medicine; that it can be im- 
 parted to others and that any one can test it 
 
 beyond any question of doubt Men differ 
 
 from one another in nine fundamental ways; 
 color, form, size, structure, texture, consis- 
 tency, proportion, expression and condition." 
 
 E. B. Gowan in his work. The Selection and 
 Training of the Business Executive, says: 
 "Suffice it to say that this system takes for its 
 basis nine factors, termed variables, (nam- 
 ing them). Even granted that this is a com- 
 plete classification, which at the best is con- 
 siderably beyond the limits of probability, these 
 nine variables constitute exactly what their 
 name indicates, items which are in themselves 
 subject to almost innumerable variations. 
 Evidently we have here a system too fearfully 
 and wonderfully made to justify the precise 
 results claimed for it. ' ' 
 
 Another author, William Maxwell, in The 
 Training of the Salesman, attacks character 
 reading without reserve. "Personally, if I 
 were in search of an executive, I do not think 
 his complexion, and the color of his eyes or hair 
 would be taken into consideration. If this is 
 unscientific, the character reading dopesters 
 and tipsters may make the most of it I am 
 
88 MODERN METHODS IN SELTJNG 
 
 not yet ready to adopt the superstitions wMcli 
 have been welded into the alleged science of 
 character reading. ' ' 
 
 But the salesman will find at least some 
 physiognomy claims reasonable, and even ac- 
 ceptable for use in the business world. If the 
 modern character reader will grant me the 
 added assistance of speech and action I feel 
 that the business man can gain considerable 
 benefit from this science. The list of elements 
 or fundamentals does not specifically mention 
 speech and action, yet these seem to be contem- 
 plated in the process as we find them referred 
 to by different writers. The following is a 
 broad statement from Doctor Blackford, which 
 I believe any business man, including Mr. Max- 
 well, will agree is well put and worthy of our 
 consideration. It indicates that the modern 
 character reader considers every detail of evi- 
 dence of character including speech and action. 
 "Motives lie at the very foundation of being. 
 They are deeply imbedded in the very cells and 
 fiber of the individual. They shape his thought, 
 his habits and all his actions. They show them- 
 selves to the practised eye in every physical 
 characteristic, in the tone of the voice, in the 
 handshake, gestures, walk, handwriting, cloth- 
 ing, condition of the body and expression of 
 
THE BUYER 89 
 
 the face. They festoon the personality with 
 flaunting and infallible signs to be known and 
 read by all men who care to take the trouble to 
 learn. Some are plain; others more elusive. 
 The simpler motives, after they have held sway 
 for years, are easily discernible. Sensuality, 
 arrogance, vanity, coldness, benevolence, sym- 
 pathy, and others are easily determined. In 
 order to be successful in persuasion we need to 
 be able to trace all of the feehngs, both perma- 
 nent and transitory." It may be interesting 
 in view of the difference of opinion which ex- 
 ists regarding character reading to examine 
 the claims of such writers as Doctor Blackford 
 from the point of view of the business man with 
 the idea of selecting whatever may seem to be 
 useful in the selling world. 
 
 In a general way the character reader and 
 the earlier physiognomists divided people into : 
 1, the group with great intellectual capacity, 
 capable of accomplishing much in education 
 and training, fitted for intellectual work, with 
 mental grasp, comprehension and reasoning 
 power ; and 2, into the group which is only mod- 
 erately intellectual, the members of which ex- 
 press themselves more in a physical than men- 
 tal way, who have clearness of mental action in 
 some special direction like merchandising, or 
 
90 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 contracting, or farming, or whose intellects 
 may be incompetent in every way. The theo- 
 retical and the practical are the designations 
 often given to these two groups. The thought- 
 ful, reflective, philosophical, falls on the one 
 hand, and the practical, fact-demanding mind, 
 quick to ask for the demonstration, not inter- 
 ested in the theory, on the other. 
 
 In the physically frail the mental powers 
 grow at the expense of the physical, the large 
 heads and active minds using up the body's 
 nourishment which is not always sufficient for 
 this expended nervous energy through the 
 brain. In this type we have the pear-shaped 
 head, large at the top, and slender and delicate 
 at the jaws. With this type we find also deli- 
 cate and slender hands and feet, narrow shoul- 
 ders and thin chest. They are sometimes de- 
 signated as the mental type. The eyes will be 
 bright and the nose relatively small. The nails, 
 nostrils and lips will be thin, the bones and mus- 
 cles and abdomen small, and the speech and 
 action quick. They will be excitable, sensitive 
 in feeling, high-strung, bright and sparkling, 
 and very apt to be emotional. 
 
 The fat man, or the man of the vital or 
 vegetative type, as some called it, is placed in 
 a class by himself. In the extremes of the 
 
THE BUYEE 91 
 
 fat type we find the large mouth, comparatively 
 small and depressed nose, globular or puffy 
 cheeks and chin, slow motion, slow speech, 
 large abdomen, love of food and drink, ease, 
 freedom from care, and lack of mental effort. 
 To the man with brain and talent, a body of the 
 type described yet not too extreme, serves as a 
 wonderful source of power by reason of its nu- 
 tritive reserve. The person that is easy-going 
 is friendly, approbative, kind and affectionate, 
 and likes children. 
 
 The third group includes the man of bone 
 and muscle, sometimes called the motive type, 
 broad, strong and wiry, elastic, energetic, quick 
 in movement. He may be either tall, bony, en- 
 during and graceful, or short and broad, with 
 short extremities, round muscles, square face, 
 high and wide cheek-bones, prominent chin, 
 square hands and large feet, and if he has un- 
 usual mental capacity, a high, wide head. A 
 healthy respiration system keeps the circula- 
 tion lively, resulting in buoyancy of spirits, 
 quickness, clearness of apprehension, ambition, 
 hope and progressive mentality. He enjoys 
 eating and drinking, athletics, social life. If he 
 is more bony than muscular, he has large joints, 
 and the lower part of the forehead projects over 
 and around the eyes, the tips of the fingers will 
 
92 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 be square, and a comparatively small angular 
 shaped head will rise high above the ears. 
 Lime, phosphates, magnesia and soda, which 
 make bone, are said to give stability, integrity, 
 decision and firmness to the organization. 
 
 Some anthropologists give support to the be- 
 lief that the ambitious and restless, the opti- 
 mistic, energetic leaders are light in color, and 
 that the peasants and tradesmen and men of 
 religion who practise resignation to a higher 
 degree are dark. Men of action are said to be 
 light. "We are said to find genius for govern- 
 ment, exploration, conquest and progress in 
 the light, and genius for art, literature, religion 
 and conservatism in the dark. While this dis- 
 tinction might have been more marked ia the 
 early history of the world, in this day, after the 
 fusion that has been taking place for centuries, 
 business men will be inclined to regard color as 
 a mere bit of evidence of character which can 
 not be taken too seriously. 
 
 The form of the face and features may be of 
 some importance, yet we find so much com- 
 plexity in this element that it, like color, can be 
 taken only as evidence. It is true that sharp- 
 ness indicates quicker action than bluntness and 
 roundness. In the sharp face, with the long 
 pointed nose, retreating forehead, large eyes, 
 
THE BUYER 93 
 
 prominent teeth and retreating chin we have 
 the evidence of quickness; the fast head, it is 
 sometimes called, — the convex form. The con- 
 cave form, on the contrary, has the high, prom- 
 inent forehead, flat brpws, deep-set eyes, small, 
 turned up nose, retreating teeth and long prom- 
 inent chin, and is said to indicate slowness. 
 Out of several thousand dealers with whom I 
 have been personally in contact during the last 
 few years, not a sufficient number could be def- 
 initely placed in either of these classes to give 
 the matter consideration. Nature is inclined 
 to avoid extremes. The average business men 
 are medium; of the bone and muscle type we 
 might say with safety, displaying no strongly 
 concave or convex tendencies. They are largely 
 fact demanders, energetic, reasonably fast mov- 
 ing, practical, fairly intellectual. Their line of 
 work demands these qualities. Most of them 
 would be inclined toward the convex rather 
 than the concave type, but only very moder- 
 ately and scarcely noticeably so. The character 
 of the business may have something to do with 
 the type. In the lumber business we have bone 
 and muscle, practicality, demand for facts, 
 health and resulting good spirit, activity, clear- 
 ness of apprehension, ambition and hope, en- 
 joyment of eating, drinking, outdoor and social 
 
94- MODEEN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 life. In the book selling business we might find 
 the buyer of a different type, inclined more to 
 the mental than the physical. 
 
 Texture refers to the arrangement and char- 
 acter of the muscle and fiber and cells of the 
 body. It is claimed that the texture of the en- 
 tire organism, including that of the brain and 
 nervous system, is indicated by the nature of 
 the skin and its appendages, the hair and nails. 
 It is simply evidence of type; enables one to 
 classify the buyer as frail, or of the bone and 
 muscle or fat type. Coarseness of hair, skin, 
 features, loosely built legs and feet and hands 
 are evidence of physical coarseness, to a mod- 
 erate extent displayed in the bone and muscle 
 type. Fineness of skin, silken hair, delicate 
 features, slender legs and finely molded hands 
 and feet are evidence of fine composition gen- 
 erally displayed in the mental, or in the physic- 
 ally frail type. In the one case we look for the 
 matter-of-fact mind and in the other, the theo- 
 retical; less emotion, less sensitiveness, less 
 ambition and hope perhaps, less mental activity 
 and a greater demand for facts in the former 
 type than in the latter. 
 
 Structure, like texture, is indicative of type ; 
 evidence of frailty, or of fatness or bone and 
 muscle consistency. The immense head and 
 
THE BUYEE 95 
 
 slender body place one in the frail class. The 
 small head, large jaws and high bone and mus- 
 cles place one in the bone and muscle class, 
 and the small head, round face, round body 
 and round extremities may place one in the 
 class with the fat man. We have already enu- 
 merated the qualities and characteristics of the 
 different types. 
 
 The proportion of one part of the body to an- 
 other, or one part of the head to another, since 
 each of these parts has its particular function, 
 is regarded as important by the character 
 reader. For speed in the animal we look for 
 wiry legs and slender body. If large, heavy 
 legs are found with a slender body we sense a 
 lack of proportion, or if the head is overly large 
 we at once detect the lack of proportion. 
 Provided lack of proportion is not sufficient to 
 affect mentality, what does it mean to the 
 business man in detecting character? It is 
 probably no more than a scrap of evidence. 
 
 Expression and condition must be given 
 credit for more than any of the elements on 
 which character reading is based. The emo- 
 tions display themselves in the voice, eyes, ex- 
 pression of the mouth, in the actions, manner 
 of sitting and standing or moving. The buyer's 
 finer and more elusive thoughts, includiag 
 
96 MODEEN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 those pertaining to his interests, desires, emo- 
 tions and habits, express themselves in what he 
 says and does. We have seen in the study of 
 the emotions how motor reactions, like the in- 
 creased circulation, heavy breathing and other 
 symptoms, display themselves in spite of our 
 efforts to conceal them. Many of these emo- 
 tions and other trains of thought and feeling 
 evoked by the interests, desires and habits 
 leave an eradicable impress on expression 
 which the character reader says is just as 
 sure and as strong as the effect of the trade 
 winds on the oaks of California. Agreeable- 
 ness, sympathy, honesty, mentality, irritability, 
 concentration, surprise, pleasure, suspicion, 
 fogyism, — ^nearly every state of mind in which 
 the business man is interested is displayed in 
 expression. Let the buyer's mind unfold itself 
 in speech and action and we shall ask little 
 more regarding character. Speech is the means 
 of openly expressing one's mental state. It is 
 the very strongest and most convincing cor- 
 roborative evidence of what is read in the ex- 
 pression. "I wish you would not bother me 
 this morning, sir, I am very busy and I am sure 
 that your proposition will not interest me at 
 all." This, coming from the buyer with firm- 
 ness, is indisputable evidence of his present 
 
THE BUYER 97 
 
 frame of mind. Rapidly and indifferently leav- 
 ing the salesman alone the buyer says: "No, 
 sir, I would not buy from your company under 
 any circumstances. I have been in business 
 long enough to do my buying where the volume 
 of my business is appreciated and where I get 
 
 the best deal." evidence of acquisitiveness. 
 
 "You need not talk to me about what my com- 
 petitor has done. I have my own ideas about 
 running this business, and they will be carried 
 
 out." a statement from the self -esteeming 
 
 buyer. A buyer becomes argumentative almost 
 always in speech. Speech and action determine 
 stubbornness, impoliteness, irritability, temper, 
 bluff, mentality, in fact every characteristic in 
 which the sales manager or salesman is con- 
 cerned. The clever salesman can by suggestion 
 and questioning lure the buyer to disclose in 
 speech and action his tendencies or motives, 
 opinions, preferences, interests, habits, or 
 what not. 
 
 We can not overlook the fact that the char- 
 acter of the buyer is to some extent disclosed 
 by the environment that he has accepted for 
 himself. His store and the way it is operated, 
 his home, his family, the town he lives in, pos- 
 sibly the kind of horse or automobile that he 
 drives, — all have a tendency to reflect character. 
 
98 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 I know a dealer who orders carloads of mate- 
 rial on picture postals. He is not progressive 
 and displays some of the characteristics of the 
 old fogy. We may expect to find the business 
 man of the large city, where competition is 
 keen and interests large, to be more alert and 
 careful and shrewd than the man of the little 
 place where competition is not so keen, and we 
 shall find him also much the busier. 
 
 Condition is the element named last as com- 
 prising one of the variables in character make- 
 up. It refers to the appearance; the clothing, 
 the condition of the hair, skin, nails and teeth. 
 The importance of this element depends on cir- 
 cmnstances. It will mean much to the man who 
 is applying for an executive position, and little 
 to the buyer in the small town who must labor 
 hard to keep his business intact. Condition is 
 distinctly a variable, depending upon the char- 
 acter of the business or work and on the en- 
 vironment and the society in which the indi- 
 vidual must live. Both local custom and habit 
 have much to do with the standards to be 
 expected. 
 
 Let us examine the physical details of the 
 head, including its shape, and that of the nose, 
 mouth, chin ; the size, location and character of 
 the eyes, the hair, brows, etc. 
 
THE BUYER 99 
 
 Quality and texture of the hair are evidences 
 of type. Very coarse hair is found on coarse, 
 strong, dull and stupid individuals and animals. 
 The man of the "West in his ruggedness may 
 display these evidences of coarseness and yet 
 have fine mental qualities. Soft pliable hair 
 ought generally to indicate fineness of quality 
 in the body, refinement, keen mentality and 
 delicacy. Mne, long and glossy black hair is 
 evidence of intelligence, deep feelings and last- 
 ing affections. The dark shades like brown 
 will be accompanied by these same quahties in 
 less degree. Bed reflects intensity of feeling, 
 ambition, and emotion, refinement, quick tem- 
 per, agreeableness and love of activity. The 
 lighter the hair the greater the tendency to dis- 
 play transitory emotions, gay manners, love of 
 dress and amusement, vivacity, fickleness, etc. 
 It is said that there is less stability, integrity 
 and moral courage in the individual "with curly 
 hair than in the one with straight hair. Curly 
 hair indicates changeable character, often bril- 
 liancy, vivaciousness, quick temper. The wavy 
 hair is found upon the heads of the talented. 
 With it we are apt to find emotion rather than 
 reason, as in the case of poets, musicians and 
 others. They are gentle, refined and some- 
 times effeminate. 
 
100 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 In the profile of the forehead we find the per- 
 pendicular, the projecting, and the receding. 
 With the normal perpendicular forehead we 
 are apt to find straight lines in the nose. It is 
 the head of the artist and of the esthetic indi- 
 vidual. The receding forehead is accompanied 
 by warmth, fire, enthusiasm, sympathy and 
 sensibility much more pronounced than is found 
 with the perpendicular. Here there is said to 
 be energy, good reasoning power, sympathy, 
 enterprise, practicality and progressiveness^ 
 It is the practical forehead and therefore ought 
 to be found to a large extent among business 
 men. If the forehead projects there is a ten- 
 dency to dullness, slowness and impracticality. 
 If it bulges at the top there is the tendency to 
 be visionary, impractical and theoretical. If it 
 is large at the middle there are good compara- 
 tive and memory powers. Bulging over the 
 eyes denotes keenness of perception. The re- 
 flective or reasoning head is broad; the con- 
 centrative forehead, high and narrow. The 
 well-balanced is reasonably broad, reasonably 
 high and reasonably full. 
 
 Does the brow mean anything? We are told 
 by the character reader that the dull have the 
 low and narrow brow and sunken temples. 
 Prominent at the corner of the eye, extending 
 
THE BUYER 101 
 
 back and ridged, the brow denotes orderliness. 
 Brows that are knotted, with muscular develop- 
 ment above them and a full forehead, belong to 
 the abstract thinker. An intense and energetic 
 nature, concentrated power and nervous force 
 are said to be reflected in the dark brows accom- 
 panied by dark skin and hair. If the brows are 
 full and bushy and the hair the same the pos- 
 sessor is inventive, inclined to be irritable, and 
 has a strong personality. Unless there is a 
 good forehead to offset them, faint brows de- 
 note weakness. The individual with the arched 
 brow has a negative nature, follows instead of 
 leads, does not think for himself and is a 
 dreamer. 
 
 Even the shape of the nose has its signifi- 
 cance, we are told. There is a resolute, deter- 
 mined, ruling mind denoted in the eagle 's beak, 
 called the Roman or aquiline nose. That of the 
 artist has straight lines and is called the Gre- 
 cian. In the pointed nose we read caution, re- 
 serve and cunningness, and if it turns down- 
 ward, even suspicion and intrigue. In the fat 
 nose with the backward rolling nostrils there 
 is sensuality. If it is large and arched, with the 
 tip dropping and turning inward there is cau- 
 tion and suspicion, the nose of the driver of 
 hard bargains. The up-turnod nose leaving 
 
102 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 the teeth slightly exposed is that of malignity 
 and coldness, — " snippiness. " 
 
 The eyes, their expression, shape, color and 
 location have their meaning. The buyer with 
 the black or dark brown eye is impetuous ; with 
 the blue or gray eye, calm and intellectual. 
 There is determination, selfishness, stubborn- 
 ness and shrewdness in the deep-set eye re- 
 gardless of color, more pronounced in the brown 
 and black. Large full eyes, if normal, indicate 
 culture and refinement. Transparent and 
 sparkling under well-delineated lids means love 
 of elegance and good taste, and quick discern- 
 ment, possibly pride and irritability. Cunning 
 and trickery may be reflected in the small, deep- 
 set, sparkling black eyes and active jesting 
 mouth; without the active mouth there ought 
 to be reflection, taste, elegance and accuracy. 
 The twitching, rolling eye is the eye of the un- 
 steady and weak willed. And now the eye of 
 the cold and mercenary person, — colorless, 
 prominent, the pupil small and seldom dilating, 
 and the glance fixed. The sensual eye is prom- 
 inent, pale blue, liquid or dull, with no depth or 
 transparency, the rim of the upper lid thick with 
 fullness above and drooping but not from con- 
 centration. The eye reflects the intellect. We 
 judge its quality by transparency, clearness, 
 
THE BUYER 103 
 
 dullness, depth, size and flexibility of pupil, 
 quickness of muscular motion, position with 
 reference to the brows, fullness and position 
 of the upper lid. 
 
 If we would know human nature we should 
 watch the mouth also, according to the charac- 
 ter reader. If it is well closed with the muscles 
 drawn and the chin thrown forward, we have a 
 strong willed person. If the upper lip projects 
 there is sentimentality. If the lower projects 
 we have irritability and quick temper, yet firm- 
 ness of character, even obstinacy. Both lips 
 advanced indicate honesty and sincerity. The 
 lips of the sensual are fleshy; and of the cold, 
 precise and active, thin and closed to a line. If 
 these thin lips turn up at the corners, vanity 
 lurks there, and if they turn down, malicious- 
 ness may be found. The open mouth, with the 
 projecting upper lip and teeth, suggests weak- 
 ness, stupidity, coarseness and rudeness. Con- 
 scious mental effort contracts the muscles of the 
 mouth. The more strenuous the thought the 
 greater the compression of the mouth. If the 
 line where the lips come together is wavy and 
 irregular, temper and irritability show them- 
 selves. 
 
 And now what about the chin? The charac- 
 ter reader informs us that good common sense 
 
104 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 shows itself where there is an indentation in 
 the middle of the chin. If the chin is large and 
 broad and heavy, there may be violent temper, 
 A little peevishness will show itself if the chin 
 is small and sharp pointed. Having no chin 
 indicates wealmess, and the protruding one re- 
 flects strength. It is a cold buyer who has a 
 flat chin, and a good-natured one whose chin is 
 round. We are safe in inferring that the man 
 with the double chin is a lover of good food. 
 If the point of the chin comes up and the tip of 
 the nose down, we have the suspicious and cyn- 
 ical. Meanness and lack of soul qualities are 
 found when the chin is narrow and the mouth 
 small. 
 
 The personal laugh reveals character or lack 
 of it. Those who laugh loudly and easily are 
 vain, stupid or indiscreet, and those who laugh 
 moderately or mildly are prudent and intellec- 
 tual. A quiet natural laugh has depth of char- 
 acter and feeling. It indicates kindness and 
 cheerfulness, sense of humor, mental breadth, 
 liberality, etc. 
 
 I have now mentioned the characteristics of 
 the different types of men and women; ana- 
 lyzed the claims of the character reader regard- 
 ing the details of form and shape especially of 
 the head, including the forehead, eye, nose, 
 
THE BUYER 105 
 
 moutli and chin. We must remember, however, 
 that indications of character must be consid- 
 ered as a whole, not passing judgment on the 
 strength of a mere detail, such as a peculiarity 
 of the eye or mouth. Everything from the hair 
 to the walk, including speech and action should 
 be considered, and conclusions drawn even then 
 will sometimes be wrong. After this examina- 
 tion of character reading we must admit that 
 although some of the claims are too broad and 
 others too definite, in a general way they are 
 reasonable and deserve the consideration of the 
 man in business. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 MAKING THE SALE 
 
 Reflecting on what has been brought out in 
 the last chapter regarding the psychophysical 
 and mental equipment of the buyer and the ef- 
 fect of different kinds and degrees of stimuli 
 when applied to this organism, we find that 
 making the sale resolves itself into the matter 
 of the selection and use of either the spoken 
 word in connection with the presentation and 
 demonstration of the object of sale, as in per- 
 sonal selling, or the printed word in connection 
 with the picture or illustration as in advertis- 
 ing, — each making the appeal through one or 
 more of the senses. In the actual demonstra- 
 tion of the automobile the appeal is made to 
 sight for color, lines and general appearance, to 
 touch for quality and comfort, and to hearing 
 for the sound of the motor and of the car in ac- 
 tion, to the muscular and organic senses for 
 ease, comfort and speed. In advertising, sight 
 alone is directly involved, the other sensations 
 being experienced only imaginarily or mentally 
 
 106 
 
MAKING THE SALE 107 
 
 and so far as they can be realized by illustration 
 accompanying words of exposition, description, 
 persuasion or argument. In the sale of per- 
 fume, in personal selling we have the container 
 itself attractively presented for sight and 
 touch, and the contents to appeal directly to 
 the sense of smell ; while in advertising the sale 
 depends on the effect on the imagination, — 
 ideationally, of the picture of the container and 
 the accompanying suggestion of fragrance in 
 the illustration and wording. 
 
 Knowing the equipment of the buyer for per- 
 ceiving, imagining, remembering, reasoning 
 and willing, and knowing that different impres- 
 sions affect the feelings differently; that the 
 buyer has different motives, interests, emo- 
 tions, habits, and different moods and tempera- 
 ments, we may prepare our ammunition in such 
 a way as to obtain the best results. 
 
 We have seen how attention will play its part 
 in making the sale,; It must be held to the very 
 last step in the process. Then in their order, 
 often blended together so that no well-defined 
 line of separation is possible, we have the ob- 
 taining of interest, which transforms into de- 
 sire, and this into volition or the resolve to buy, 
 and actually buying. In many cases all of these 
 steps must be encountered by the salesman. 
 
108 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 In many others modern advertising programs 
 relieve the salesman of this preliminary work 
 such as struggling for attention and interest; 
 and yet in still other instances advertising 
 takes upon itself the burden of leading the 
 prospective buyer through every step of the 
 process from attention to volition. From 
 "whatever angle or in whatever branch of selling 
 we may be working we shall find the elemen- 
 tary procedure the same. If we are to take 
 the entire burden we must obtain and hold the 
 attention; arouse interest and create desire 
 and final decision to possess. In this process 
 the salesman representing either the wholesale 
 or retail dealer meets with the individual; — 
 the advertiser and letter-writer, with the group 
 or class. The importance of each step in the 
 process depends on the particular circumstances 
 presented by each case. The fact that Mr. 
 Charles Schwab is to be interviewed may make 
 the introduction the most important part of the 
 process. Then the fact that a buyer has been 
 defrauded in a similar deal may make the 
 problem of obtaining interest the most difficult. 
 Furthermore, a buyer may long for an article 
 immediately after examining it, yet recent re- 
 verses will prevent favorable volition. Blended 
 together, therefore, in the complete process of 
 
MAKING THE SALE 109 
 
 making the sale, and not always distinctly sep- 
 arable, are the following steps, which by reason 
 of the support of the psychologists, may be 
 regarded as established: 1, the introduction; 
 2, obtaining and holding attention; 3, arousing 
 interest; 4, intensifying this interest into de- 
 sire; 5, changing desire into decision to pos- 
 sess ; 6, converting this decision to possess into 
 actual possession. 
 
 IMPORTANCE OP THE INTEODUCTION" 
 
 The importance of the introduction depends 
 on the circumstances attending each case. It 
 may be the most important part of the entire 
 sales process. Being able to obtain it may 
 mean that the sale is otherwise assured. It is 
 certain that more time and thought should be 
 given the introduction to a man like Mr. Schwab 
 than to the average merchant. A proper in-, 
 troduction comprehends necessary preparation, 
 what some writers prefer to designate as a 
 good Pre-Approach. It should always take 
 place at the proper time and under favorable 
 conditions. The smaller merchant who is suc- 
 cessful is generally busy with a customer, with 
 his books, or the many other details of 
 managing and selling. The larger buyer has 
 
110 MODEEN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 his routine which first conmiands his attention, 
 conferences, correspondence and other respon- 
 sibilities. Everybody is or ought to be busy. 
 The salesman must expect to meet busy men. 
 The introduction therefore may be the last as 
 well as the first step of a sale if it is not prop- 
 erly attended to. The salesman must be patient, 
 tactful, resourceful and aggressive. He can 
 not force his way, and yet he can not let the 
 suave buyer brush him aside with a smile. He 
 must be confident, dignified, persistent, yet al- 
 ways a gentleman, never overlooking the fact 
 that one never knows where the next sale may 
 come from, and that very often the individual 
 most difficult to approach makes the best cus- 
 tomer eventually. 
 
 OBTAINING ATTENTION 
 
 Professor William James says regarding at- 
 tention {Psychology, American Science Series, 
 page 217: "One of the most extraordinary 
 facts of our life is that, although we are be- 
 sieged at every moment by impressions from 
 our whole sensory surface, we notice so very 
 small a part of them. The sum total of our 
 impressions never enters into our experience, 
 consciously, so-called, which runs through this 
 
MAKING THE SALE 111 
 
 sum total like a tiny rill through a bowery 
 mead. Yet the physical impressions that do 
 not count are there as much as those which do, 
 and affect our sense organs just as energet- 
 ically. Why they fail to pierce the mind is a 
 mystery." 
 
 Attention is the very center of vitality; the 
 very life of consciousness without which it 
 drifts uncontrolled. It brings consciousness to 
 a f ocul point causing it to center itself on some 
 particular thing. It can be centered on objects 
 outside the mind as well as within; on some 
 material object such as the article of sale itself, 
 or on an imaginary picture of the article that 
 has come to mind. 
 
 In whatever branch of selling we may be in- 
 terested, the laws of attention and interest will 
 have to be respected if our work is to be done 
 satisfactorily. Whether the problem be that of 
 the salesman in the field or store, or that of the 
 sales letter-writer or advertiser, cognizance 
 must be taken of what psychology has laid 
 down in laws governing the processes involved 
 in gaining attention. 
 
 WAYS OF GAINING ATTENTION" 
 
 First: We may have to depend on increas- 
 ing the intensity of an act or article to make 
 
112 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 it focus the attention. We may have to de- 
 velop a louder voice Kke the newsboy or barker, 
 call out more constantly hke the ticket seller at 
 the circus, insert more lights in our electric 
 sign, put brighter colors in our display win- 
 dows or in our store. Second: We shall have 
 to see that the intrinsic interest in the thing it- 
 self is sufficient to give it the power of obtain- 
 ing and holding attention. If this intrinsic in- 
 terest does not exist in the article, the attention 
 value must be derived by associating the article 
 with something that will conmiand attention; 
 something with resulting reward or benefit, or 
 possibly punishment or loss, or suffering. We 
 have found that man has a group of coordi- 
 nated interests which are native to some extent, 
 taking root in the instincts, or acquired by ed- 
 ucation and experience. This group of inter- 
 ests is the dynamic force which brings the buyer 
 to play his part in this drama of buying and 
 selling. The thing to which we expect to have 
 attention directed must therefore have some- 
 thing in it or about it to make its appeal to 
 some of these interests which will be enu- 
 merated very shortly. Third: In order to ob- 
 tain the best results, we shall have to provide 
 for accommodation of the sense organs to be 
 used, so that the impression can be made with 
 
MAKING THE SALE 113 
 
 the greatest effect, letting no noises, or smells, 
 or unfavorable environment distract. Fourth: 
 For very good effects we shall have to have 
 the mind of the person in the expectant mood 
 for giving attention. The advertiser has this 
 in mind when he sends out such copy as the 
 following: "Watch this space for our Satur- 
 day Bargains." "Lend me your ears — Mr. 
 Sales Manager," the heading of an advertise- 
 ment of a professional advertising man appear- 
 ing in a magazine this month. We all recall 
 the great advance advertisers' campaign of 
 Dodge Brothers, which had the effect of pre- 
 paring the minds of the readers for what was 
 to come. The theater man also often takes ad- 
 vantage of this possibility of arousing expect- 
 ant attention. 
 
 VALUE OF ATTENTION REFLECTED IN EESTJLTS 
 
 Attention brings out more clearly the thing 
 on which it is focused. The colors of the gown. 
 or automobile, the details of machinery, the 
 hidden parts of a picture or puzzle, whether 
 they be presented to us actually in the object 
 itself or only in the imagination, become more 
 clear and distinct. This is important in per- 
 ception and memory, we have foimd. The 
 
114 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 clearer the impression the more perfect the per- 
 ception, and the more lasting the image — just 
 what we strive for in all branches of selling. 
 With attention, sights and sounds and other 
 processes become more intense. Colors which 
 were at first unnoticed will become brighter, 
 richer and more vivid ; the sky will look bluer, 
 the stars brighter, and the smell of the perfume 
 will seem more fragrant. Similarly, attention 
 to time makes it pass more slowly. The hours 
 pass wearily while we are waiting for a train. 
 The singer seems to hold the tone even after 
 singing has stopped if the position and expres- 
 sion of the head and face have not changed. 
 And so objects of sale themselves, or illustra- 
 tions, or words of argument or suggestion, or 
 head-lines will remain with us according to the 
 attention given them. It is almost impossible 
 to rid the mind of the pleasant strains of some 
 new melody that has been introduced to us at 
 some light opera performance. 
 
 It is natural to give attention to things which 
 we have been taught by experience or other- 
 wise to observe, A hiU of ants will hold the at- 
 tention of some persons for hours while others 
 will pass over it unconcerned. In order to ob- 
 tain the attention of those who are not inter- 
 ested, or who for some reason may not see the 
 
MAKING THE SALE 115 
 
 details which we wish to bring out, something 
 must be done to direct it, like labeling, point- 
 ing to with arrows or ribbons, or personally di- 
 recting the attention. This directing of atten- 
 tion to things brings them quickly into 
 consciousness. 
 
 Even volition is based on attention. Every 
 idea resulting from attention passes over the 
 arc of the nervous system from the senses to 
 the muscular region resulting in some kind of 
 action. If the attention is divided this weak- 
 ens the response, may neutralize it. Hence the 
 importance of having attention focused on one 
 thing. Another important characteristic of at- 
 tention is that it is short-lived, comes and goes 
 in waves, flits about from one thing to another. 
 It first lands or focuses on some particular 
 thing and then momentarily passes from one 
 thing to another until some other object else- 
 where attracts it. The skilful advertiser, or 
 window-dresser, or letter-writer caters to this 
 tendency to be rhythmic by supplying atten- 
 tion something upon which to focus, and some- 
 thing associated with this to which it may 
 easily pass and receive a reinforcing impres- 
 sion, — ^first to the automobile as a whole, then 
 with the assistance of the salesman to the lines, 
 beauty, durability, speed and other details; in 
 
116 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 advertising and in the display window, some- 
 thing upon which to focus, like the maiden in 
 the bathing suit, and something associated with 
 this to which the attention may easily pass, — 
 the gentleman perhaps, wearing the same 
 brand. 
 
 Nor should we overwork attention by giving 
 it too much range, too many objects at a time 
 upon which to center. We can not have too 
 many articles of different kinds in the display 
 window, show too many ladies' suits at the 
 same time and get the value of their distinctive- 
 ness; have too many words in the head-lines. 
 One at a time is safest, although it is believed 
 that as many as five will not be overtaxing the 
 power of attention. 
 
 DIFFERENT KINDS OF ATTENTION 
 
 There is the attention that we give to things 
 without effort. While some one is talking to 
 us, or we are doing something that is boresome, 
 the mind is inadvertently dwelling on our last 
 golf game, or dancing party, or on some prob- 
 lem that has been giving us trouble. The will 
 has nothing to do with this kind of attention. 
 It is sometimes called non-voluntary. Then 
 there is the attention that we give to things in 
 
MAKING THE SALE 117 
 
 spite of ourselves, as in the ease of loud noises, 
 violent contact with something or some one, 
 bright flashes before the eyes, or experiences 
 which are emotional in their effect, like the de- 
 livery of a telegram with bad news. This kind 
 of attention is called involuntary. We give at- 
 tention also by act of the will. We have a rea- 
 son or purpose or desire for giving attention 
 and therefore will or resolve to give it, — ^vol- 
 untary attention. 
 
 IMPORTANCE OF PERMANENT ATTENTION 
 
 It is possible to obtain momentary or spon- 
 taneous attention by such devices as size, mo- 
 tion, contrast, isolation and position. The full- 
 page advertisement, the large sign, or the large 
 store will attract attention. The mechanical 
 man walking the street or the demonstrator in 
 the window will get attention. The seven-foot 
 man with the dwarf, on account of the extreme 
 contrast will obtain attention, but probably 
 only momentarily, conveying no message or 
 meaning unless there is something to hold the 
 attention. More permanent in its effects is 
 novelty, which makes us ponder, associate, 
 question and think. Figures, forms and ar- 
 rangements producing bizarre effects, the un- 
 
118 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 usual, unnatural, grotesque, clever spelling, 
 unusual locations and positions, catchy names, 
 jingles, media such as doves, kites, sandwich 
 men, contests, puzzles, prizes, — these are all 
 examples of novelty. Novelty must be rather 
 negative than positive, not having the appear- 
 ance of being forced on the public just for the 
 purpose of obtaining attention. 
 
 Colors, in agreeable combination, have a last- 
 ing effect. We ponder over them. We favor 
 one or another of the color schemes in our home 
 decoration and furnishing. Each of the favor- 
 ite colors has its meaning. The red, and blue, 
 and green, and yellow all have their 
 significance. 
 
 An object itself should give the greatest at- 
 tention value, yet if it can not be presented for 
 explanation or demonstration, the picture of 
 it will be important because many persons 
 think in terms of pictures while others asso- 
 ciate their ideas with words. In advertising 
 the picture has become recognized as almost 
 indispensable. Together with the head-line it 
 obtains the attention of those who think in 
 terms of either or both. 
 
 Activity or the suggestion of it has strong 
 attention value. The salesman who takes us 
 riding in the new car will overwhelm the atten- 
 
MAKING THE SALE 119 
 
 tion with the complex activities involved in the 
 riding. To one who rides in this auto there 
 will be the panorama of scenery for the eye, 
 the fresh and invigorating air for the nose, and 
 the muscular sensations of speeding through 
 space comfortably. The salesman who lets us 
 use the dictaphone brings action home vividly 
 and obtains and holds attention. The demon- 
 strator in the window, the moving barber pole, 
 even the man working in the street or on the 
 building obtains attention. Not being able to 
 have the actual, the advertiser uses the illus- 
 tration and wording to suggest action. The 
 comic, like the novel, if not obtruded for the 
 purpose of obtaining attention, will be found 
 paying well at times. 
 
 FEELING-TONE AND ATTENTION 
 
 We will remember that some of the many 
 stimuli that pass over the nervous system to 
 the mind, in addition to arousing mere sensa- 
 tions, go so far as to give rise to certain pro- 
 cesses of feeling. We feel their agreeableness 
 or disagreeableness, their pleasantness or un- 
 pleasantness. This element of feeling is a mov- 
 ing process, impulsive in its nature. It is an 
 attribute of sensation involving its durability. 
 
120 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 quality and intensity, and is called feeling- 
 tone, or affective tone. Every article of sale 
 that we present to a person actually or in word 
 and picture, will have its pleasant, or neutral, or 
 unpleasant feeling-tone. The presence of a rat 
 is accompanied with an unpleasant feeling, 
 while the presence of the dove is distinctly 
 agreeable. Even the lines on the automobile 
 will have feeling-tone, as well as the lines in the 
 advertisements which we prepare. Good lines, 
 harmony and balance will be necessary for good 
 feeling-tone in window display. Disagreeable 
 color combinations produce unfavorable feel- 
 ing-tone. 
 
 APPEAL, TO INSTINCT 
 
 Appeal to a fundamental instinct has strong 
 attention value. All human interests, forms of 
 human desire and types of human emotion 
 spring from them. Appeals to love, hate, grief, 
 anger, fear, ambition, envy, shyness, embar- 
 rassment, sorrow, gratitude, acquisitiveness, 
 curiosity, imitation, jealousy, modesty, play, 
 rivalry, sexual love, sociability, self-preserva- 
 tion, and other .fundamental instincts or states 
 of feeling and emotion springing from them, 
 will have within them that something which 
 
MAKING THE SALE 121 
 
 not only brings attention but results in inter- 
 est and action, as we shall see in the separate 
 treatment of the interests, desires and emo- 
 tions soon to be given. 
 
 THE APPEAL TO HABIT 
 
 The instincts, education and experience de- 
 velop in us certain habits, in a general way 
 common to all. We may have differences in 
 the performing of habits ; may put on the right 
 shoe first, dress in certain order, read a certain 
 part of the newspaper first, eat in a particular 
 way, shave according to our peculiar method, 
 yet we all have the general habits mentioned. 
 Some read extensively, prefer certain kinds of 
 reading perhaps. Others read very little. 
 Some women will knit and others can not or 
 will not. Habits are formed in connection with 
 our mental as well as physical life. We form 
 mental habits of doing things, like figuring in 
 a certain way. 
 
 Gillette made millions by appealing to the 
 habit of shaving. Publishers have built up 
 great concerns on the strength of reading. The 
 newspapers have large sections of classified 
 advertising on the strength of the habit of ex- 
 changing, bargain hunting, etc. Smoking is a 
 
122 MODEEN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 habit the appeal to which has built up the won- 
 derful tobacco business of the world. We have 
 been impressed with the power of the appeal to 
 drink. I know of nothing that belongs more 
 distinctly to the habit class than chewing, 
 either tobacco or gum. 
 
 If we are to have attention therefore we must 
 look to intensity, — ^not only in lights and noises 
 and similar stimuli which may be only momen- 
 tary in their effect, but in the salesman him- 
 self and in the sales manager, — ^his speech and 
 actions and letters should be surcharged with 
 intensity. The relation of the article to the 
 buyer's interests should be brought out. Every 
 possible means of distraction should be over- 
 come. A focal point or center of interest 
 should be provided giving attention the oppor- 
 tunity to flit from place to place and with each 
 change of position obtain a new and reinforc- 
 ing impression of what we are trying to drive 
 home. If we will be reasonable with attention, 
 letting it center on a few things or groups of 
 things, we shall obtain the best attention value. 
 Novelty when not overdone can do much for us, 
 and color wiU always play well. Objects of 
 sale themselves or pictures of them have 
 stronger attention value than mere descriptions 
 of them. Then plenty of action is always good. 
 
MAKING THE SALE 123 
 
 Feeling-tone is almost fundamental; and ap- 
 peal to interests, motives and habits no less 
 important. 
 
 So important is the matter of obtaining at- 
 tention that each sales manager with the aid of 
 his organization works out a standardized 
 method whenever possible in personal selling. 
 In house to house canvassing this works very 
 satisfactorily. You have heard how certain 
 companies have had their salesmen secure at- 
 tention and interest in fixed ways ; tearing the 
 paper wrapper from the can of syrup, handing 
 the can to the woman at the door and then plac- 
 ing himself in such a position that he could 
 not take back the article conveniently untU he 
 had finished talking, all tactfully carried out 
 with the idea of getting and holding attention. 
 Take the electric hair clipper now on the mar- 
 ket. Careful study on the part of the sales 
 manager may have convinced him that the most 
 satisfactory way to secure attention and even- 
 tually sell this article is to obtain permission 
 to install it for a reasonable length of time and 
 let it sell itself. 
 
 WAYS TO AKOUSE INTEREST 
 
 Interest is a secondary mental activity fol- 
 lowing attention. We must first obtain the at- 
 
124 MODEEN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 tention, then possibly the interest will follow. 
 It is attention with some degree of concern. 
 Whatever will arouse interest is bound to get 
 attention, yet whatever will get attention will 
 not necessarily arouse interest. In a general 
 way, what are the interests ? In the young per- 
 son the interests are centered largely in play, 
 involving toys, games, athletics, hunting, eat- 
 ing and drinking, clothes, collecting and sav- 
 ing; later, dancing, friends, camping and other 
 activities incidental to indoor and outdoor life. 
 Education later becomes an interest, and with 
 it vocation and future welfare. As the individ- 
 ual develops, the social interests continue, and 
 the vocational interests begin to center on busi- 
 ness, profession, or other work. About this 
 time the interests in the special tastes or tal- 
 ents will become stronger, — art, music, writ- 
 ing, designing, etc., taking a prominent place in 
 the person's thoughts. The interests begin to 
 turn to individuals at this period and center 
 themselves around mating and marrying. 
 These interests will include the home, its char- 
 acter, locality, the family, and the activities of 
 the different members as they come. And so 
 we find that different conditions and circum- 
 stances give rise to different interests, many of 
 
MAKING THE SALE 125 
 
 which are common to all while others are com- 
 mon to certain classes or groups. 
 
 Things are interesting which provoke emo- 
 tion, such as joy, surprise, reverence, hope, 
 gratitude, and feelings with emotional coloring 
 such as pride, love, the moral feeling of obli- 
 gation, and faith. The strange if not so strange 
 as to become meaningless has interest value. 
 The things with which we are most familiar, 
 the routine of our lives especially when re- 
 flected in new ways, is interesting, the work in 
 the home and the methods of doing it, the rou- 
 tine of the office, the routine of teaching or 
 other work, farming, mining, railroading. 
 Surely there is interest in what we desire, there 
 is interest in what appeals to our habits. There 
 is strong interest in the things which we may 
 have a tendency to emphasize, such as art, 
 music, dancing, golf, horses, cards, 'racing, 
 swimming, and other athletics. 
 
 Professor James {Psychology, page 193) 
 sums up the situation regarding interests sub- 
 stantially in this way: " . .that each mind's ap- 
 pearance on this earth is conditioned on the in- 
 tegrity of the body with which it belongs, upon 
 the treatment which the body gets from others, 
 and upon the spiritual dispositions which lead 
 either to longevity or destruction. Its own 
 
126 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 body, then, first of all, its friends next, and fi- 
 nally its spiritual dispositions, must be the su- 
 premely interesting objects for each human 
 mind." 
 
 Some articles of sale are in themselves suf- 
 ficiently interesting to obtain consideration, 
 The aeroplane and the wireless machines, on 
 account of their novelty, will attract crowds of 
 interested individuals. Other articles, not in 
 themselves interesting, must be associated with 
 the interesting. To obtain interest in cement 
 it must be associated with interesting construc- 
 tion work, wonderful dams, factories, business 
 blocks, homes, or unusual engineering projects. 
 Interest in asphalt is brought out in the fas- 
 cinating story associating it with the perennial 
 sunshine of the tropics which for centuries has 
 seasoned this product as only nature can. 
 Coffee, in itself uninteresting, when placed in 
 the display booth in an environment that is ap- 
 petizing, becomes interesting. 
 
 Business is the center of interest to the busi- 
 ness man. Examine it and you will find that it 
 will boil down to the problem of make and save. 
 Acquisitiveness is the explanation. Show the 
 business man how to make or save ; how to over- 
 come competition ; how to keep down outstand- 
 ing accounts ; how to put a business on a cash 
 
MAKING THE SALE 127 
 
 basis; how to construct plant buildings eco- 
 nomically and efficiently; how to create a de- 
 mand for his goods ; how to advertise ; how by 
 frequency of turnover to increase profits even 
 though the profit per unit be less; how to do 
 the hundred things that other business men do 
 to make or save, and you will get him interested. 
 
 DESIEE AND ITS PLACE IN THE SALES PEOCESS 
 
 Desire has relation to the future, what may 
 or can be, and therefore depends on the imag- 
 ination, the only means of reaching the future 
 in thought. In desire there is a consciousness 
 of want together with the impulse to get what 
 is wanted. There is an accompaniment of feel- 
 ing with it that is either pleasant or painful. 
 If we desire to accomplish something, there is 
 the feeling of pleasure in trying. And so in the 
 desire to aid some one, for example, there may 
 be the painful accompanying feeling in the 
 knowledge that the some one is in trouble. The 
 very exercise of volition, which is the next step 
 in selling, hinges on desire, the impulse of de- 
 sire leading to effort and action. For this 
 reason desires are called motives. Some de- 
 sires arouse deliberation and thought and are 
 called rational. We desire power. To obtain 
 
128 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 it requires the most careful thought and effort. 
 Other desires are unintelligent, not arousing 
 thought, resulting in action by reason of their 
 accompanying impulses. In hunger, thirst, cu- 
 riosity, anger, parental affection and the like 
 there is accompanying impulse or prompting 
 to satisfy desire. These tendencies, or propen- 
 sities, are called mental or psychical instincts 
 because of their coordination with the physical 
 and psychophysical instincts. This prompting 
 or impulse of desire is either selfish or altru- 
 istic, the desire to take for the benefit of self, 
 or to give for the benefit of others. The group 
 of selfish desires has a physical or mental basis 
 as the list will indicate. Included in the list are 
 food, drink, sleep, sex, movement, living, pleas- 
 ure, property, knowledge and power. Under 
 the altruistic group are such as the desires to- 
 ward kindred, friends, country, mankind and 
 God. (See Davis, Elements of Psychology, 
 p. 294.) 
 
 We recognize certain needs of mental as well 
 as physical life and desire to satisfy them. The 
 desire to continue in life is instinctive yet in- 
 volves mental action in satisfying the desire. 
 Life is sweet and dear to us and when threat- 
 ened makes the desire to live override every- 
 thing. There is a universal desire for pleasure 
 
MAKING THE SALE 129 
 
 which is accompanied by the plan and effort to 
 Becure it. Other forms of desire are acquis- 
 itiveness, ambition, sociality, imitativeness, 
 emulation, approbativeness, affection, includ- 
 ing love and hate. Then springing from affec- 
 tion we have pity, kindness, gratitude, rever- 
 ence, love of kindred, including conjugal love, 
 paternal, maternal, filial and fraternal. By as- 
 sociation these are centered in love of home. 
 Friendship gives rise to the desire for frater- 
 nal, club and church life and societies. Patri- 
 otism is love of country. Philanthropy is the 
 love of all mankind, and piety is the love of 
 God. 
 
 Desire is effected by environment and circum- 
 stances. The desire for food or drink is ef- 
 fected by the character of surroundings. The 
 advertiser of meats is careful regarding the ef- 
 fect of environment, so very careful that he 
 keeps the idea of the animal itself entirely out 
 of the advertising, or idealizes it and its sur- 
 roundings to prevent unfavorable suggestion. 
 The retail dealer is careful in the display of 
 foodstuffs, candies, drinks, etc., giving them a 
 pleasing environment, above all, — clean. And 
 so it is with sleep. If the environment is not 
 pleasing we go elsewhere. That is why the 
 hotel lobby is regarded as the most important 
 
130 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 part of the hotel structure by some managers, 
 who may be making the best of a bad situation. 
 We have found that everything that is in- 
 teresting has attention value, but that not every- 
 thing with attention value is interesting. We 
 find again that the group of desires is inter- 
 esting, but that the group of interests does not 
 correspond with the group of desires. Many 
 things that are interesting may not be desired. 
 
 VOLITION IN SELLING 
 
 Eeflex, instinctive, or emotional movements 
 are not dependent on the will. These move- 
 ments take place without deliberation or 
 thought. Many other actions result only from 
 operation of the will, and these are called vol- 
 untary. Through the reflex and instinctive 
 movements we first learn the movements that 
 afterward become voluntary. The essence of 
 voluntary action is the resolve or consent to 
 act ; what James, Angell and other psychologists 
 call the fiat. We resolve to have the apparent 
 consequences of an act become real, and actual. 
 We resolve to purchase a suit of clothes be- 
 cause of the consequential condition of good 
 appearance. There is a period of unrest, of 
 indecision in voluntary action in which some of 
 
MAKING THE SALE 131 
 
 the arguments or considerations involved in 
 the sale, block it, while others invite it ; a period 
 in which there is a constant conflict of motives, 
 some standing out strongly at one moment and 
 others predominating at another moment, and 
 all motives in the background of consciousness 
 having their encouraging or inhibiting effect. 
 Sometimes this condition keeps one oscillating 
 for months in favor of a certain decision and 
 then against it. 
 
 The actual presence of articles of sale, or the 
 thoughts or representations of them, will start 
 action of some kind. The possible pleasure or 
 pain which this action will bring will add im- 
 pulse to or inhibit action. If a movement is 
 agreeable we wish it to continue and if it is dis- 
 agreeable we want it stopped. Instincts have 
 much to do with action; whatever appeals to 
 them wUl have a tendency to produce action. 
 Whatever appeals to the feelings and emotions 
 will produce action, there being great impulsive 
 power in such emotions as love, terror, rage, etc. 
 
 Holding the attention to the very last is nec- 
 essary for action of the will. Continued or de- 
 termined presence in consciousness gives or 
 takes impulsive power. Articles of sale, argu- 
 ments, advertising, sales letters, must aU re- 
 main constantly interesting, continuing to be 
 
132 MODEEN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 pleasant to the very last, continuing to dwell 
 on the great group of interests, continuing to 
 appeal to the feelings, habits, motives and emo- 
 tions. This attention must dominate, with no 
 other ideas to displace or inhibit it, no reasons 
 for action to the contrary. This volition is ex- 
 pressed by such motor response as writing out 
 the order, signing, requesting shipment or some 
 other significant act. 
 
 Professor Angell (page 345, Psychology) 
 says: "Volition as a strictly mental affair is 
 neither more nor less than a matter of atten- 
 tion. When we can keep our attention firmly 
 fixed upon a line of conduct, to the exclusion of 
 all competitors, our decision is already made. 
 In all difficult decisions the stress of the sit- 
 uation exists primarily in the tension between 
 the ideas representing the alternatives. First 
 one and then another of the possibilities forces 
 itself upon us, and our attention will not rest 
 for more than a moment or two upon any one. ' ' 
 
 The modem business man is careful to elimi- 
 nate all distraction. The retail dealer invites 
 the prospect into a separate room or booth 
 where there is the greatest opportunity of cen- 
 tering and holding the attention. Since the 
 stress of the situation exists in the tension be- 
 tween the ideas representing the alternatives, 
 
MAKING THE SALE 133 
 
 the quicker we can bring the consideration to 
 but one or two articles or propositions, the 
 nearer have we come to action. After showing 
 our line of suits, by exclusion it will be well to 
 eliminate all but the one or two in which the 
 person is most interested, finally reducing to 
 one. 
 
 The imagination is important in volition. It 
 represents by anticipation the consequences of 
 the purchase. It takes us into the environment 
 in which the article is to be used — ^in the home, 
 on the farm, in the office, — pictures its adap- 
 tability to needs, its possibilities of giving the 
 comfort and pleasure which is sought, of satis- 
 fying the buyer who must use it, beautifying 
 the home which must be painted with it. 
 
 Volition is further conditioned on desire 
 which gives the motive for choosing, and the 
 cause for this subsequent effort of purchasing. 
 Hence the importance of keeping constantly be- 
 fore the prospective purchaser the adaptability 
 of the article for satisfying desire. An excerpt 
 from a honey advertisement shows how the ad- 
 vertiser appeals to the desire to eat. "You've 
 tasted things that 'simply melt in your mouth' 
 
 with goodness. Try Honey — there's no 
 
 taste — no flavor in the world like honey. Its 
 rare goodness is due to the great care which 
 
134 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 governs every step in its production, grading 
 and packing — from flower, to bee, to you," I 
 find the following in an advertisement designed 
 to appeal to the desire to live: "The radiancy 
 of healthful beauty the irresistible fasci- 
 nation of a natural complexion lavishes the fin- 
 est positions that ambition can desire. ' ' In the 
 appeal to the desire toward kindred the insur- 
 ance man says: "Here, sir, is your opportunity 
 to keep poverty from the threshold of your 
 home after you are gone. Your wife and chil- 
 dren must be protected." 
 
 In connection with volition it is important to 
 consider a class of movements which do not de- 
 pend on volition but follow from the mere 
 thought of such movements. Action of this 
 kind which results immediately and unhesitat- 
 ingly without the interjection of what we call 
 the fiat or resolve, is what we have already de- 
 scribed elsewhere as ideomotor action. While 
 we are talking to some one, he takes out his 
 cigars, hands us one, lights one and smokes 
 without interruption. While reading a book 
 one takes out one's watch and tells the time. 
 Walking, playing the piano, driving the car, 
 seem to require no distinct impulse of the will. 
 When we read such commands as, "Sign and 
 return this coupon to-day" we often obey. 
 
MAKING THE SALE 135 
 
 There must be nothing to hamper this kind of 
 action. If mihampered, suggestion becomes 
 very effective in obtaining results. 
 
 THE POWER OF SUGGESTION 
 
 What do we mean by suggestion? It is a 
 hint, an insinuation, calling up one idea by the 
 use of another associated with it, bringing in- 
 directly before the mind an idea by partial 
 statement, incidental allusion, illustration, 
 question or the like. It is based on ideomotor 
 action. Due to the fact that suggestion works 
 from the sensory to the motor end of the arc 
 without being complicated or delayed by de- 
 liberation and the will, we call it an appeal over 
 the short circuits It is an appeal to personal 
 interests, motives, personal habits, emotions, — 
 fundamentally to the instincts. We have it 
 exemplified in the store display, in letter-writ- 
 ing, advertising and personal selling. The man- 
 ufacturer says to the retail dealer: "You have 
 not overlooked the importance of having your 
 cement bins full for the great spring business. ' ' 
 In the display window there is the symphony 
 in brown, dresses, hats, veils, shoes, hosiery, — 
 a complete suggestion for the woman who will 
 be up-to-date. The advertiser pictures "The 
 
136 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 Ham What Am" in the center of the picnic 
 lunch, or places the golfer on the green in ac- 
 tion with a Hole-Out putter. 
 
 We have respect for advice if it comes from 
 one in whom we have confidence. It is so with 
 suggestion. The prestige of its source has 
 much to do with its power. Reliability, reputa- 
 tion, age and such qualities are important. 
 
 Suggestion may not have its effect immedi- 
 ately. Very often it must be repeated and given 
 variation. In order to get attention, the sug- 
 gestion, like letters and advertising, must have 
 intensity and force and vigor. If it has not the 
 interest and attention value it is worthless. It 
 must be striking; must come again and again 
 from one angle and another; appeal to one in- 
 terest or motive and another. 
 
 Like other conveyances of appeal, these sug- 
 gestions must be in harmony with established 
 customs, habits and belief. We can not sug- 
 gest high priced articles to the working man, 
 nor low priced apparel to the assumed connois- 
 seur of fashion. We can not offer German 
 made goods openly. Rather what people need 
 and want and what will appeal to the reg- 
 ularly established habits and customs is what 
 should be suggested. As Walter Dill Scott 
 says in Influencing Men in Business: "In in- 
 
MAKING THE SALE 137 
 
 fluencing men, logically reasoning is never to 
 be used alone. After arguments have been pre- 
 sented, skilful suggestions should be used as a 
 supplement. This supplement often changes 
 threatened defeat into success. The skilful 
 pleader before the jury, the wise politician, and 
 the successful superintendent of men, all alike 
 are compelled to resort to suggestion to sup- 
 plant their arguments in their attempts to in- 
 fluence men.... The general public responds 
 more readily to suggestion than to arguments." 
 A sale is not made until the order is placed. 
 At this period when the arguments have been 
 presented and the person is yet undecided, sug- 
 gestion works most effectively, the right act or 
 word bringing the results. These suggestions 
 are made by writing out the order, handing 
 it to the person for signature, asking how he 
 prefers it sent, wrapping it, asking for permis- 
 sion to wrap the article, handing a pen or pen- 
 cil for signature, thanking him with the assump- 
 tion that the order has been placed, talking and 
 acting with this assumption like handing him 
 the cigar. To-day I was shown two tires that 
 did not appeal to me. I expressed preference 
 for two other tires regarding which I had pre- 
 viously talked to the proprietor of the store. 
 After expressing approval of my inclination to 
 
138 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 make the purchase, the salesman immediately 
 brought two tires from stock to the desk in the 
 office, wrote out an order and handed me the 
 pen without further questions or arguments. 
 I signed the order. 
 
 THE SALES AEGXTMENT 
 
 Preparing the sales argument is a process of 
 standardization. The very fact that we are in- 
 terested enough to prepare a sales talk is suffi- 
 cient proof that we are looking for the best. 
 We have just examined the different stages of 
 the selling process. With these constantly in 
 mind we can frame our sales talk, and this ap- 
 plies to the salesman at retail as well as at 
 wholesale. Selling at retail as well as at whole- 
 sale has got to the point where scientific meth- 
 ods must be used. Special preparation, in many 
 cases in the special school, is now being pro- 
 vided by the large retail establishments. 
 
 Study and experience in the sales of an ar- 
 ticle enable the collecting of data for provid- 
 ing the most scientific methods of selling. 
 Possibly we shall begin by standardizing the 
 very introduction. We study our article; we 
 experiment with it and find that we obtain the 
 most satisfactory results by letting the sales- 
 
MAKING THE SALE 139 
 
 man introduce himself in a certain way. For 
 the time being and until something better can 
 be established, this, then, is the method that all 
 salesmen will follow. Since the great wave of 
 standardization swept the manufacturing or 
 operating end of the business world there has 
 been a strong tendency to extend its principles 
 to every branch of business, ^e find our sell- 
 ing organizations taking over the principles of 
 efficiency framed and adopted by such men as 
 Taylor, and applying them to the management 
 of sales and other departments. After having 
 demonstrated their pulling power on the few, 
 letters are sent out to the many. Their work 
 is keyed and preserved for future reference. 
 If they do their work well they are used as a 
 basis for others to follow. In our schools of 
 salesmanship only what has been discovered as 
 the best is being presented, the old and unsatis- 
 factory being avoided and replaced by the new 
 and better. Long ago the railroads found it 
 advisable to standardize in every department, 
 the standard code of operating rules and the 
 government's standards of specification in the 
 construction of equipment being classics in this 
 line. 
 
 Standardization therefore means being fit, 
 properly prepared, equipped and qualified. It 
 
140 MODEEN METHODS IN SELLING- 
 
 substitutes good dependable knowledge for 
 imagination, supposition and guess. It affords 
 the strongest, most forceful, most impressive 
 method of presenting the sales proposition. 
 That great clearing house of ideas and experi- 
 ences, the sales office, becomes a storehouse for 
 the best. The reasons for successes and fail- 
 ures are recorded there, and all of the statis- 
 tics and other data from the field or shop. 
 
 "We need not worry over the possibility of its 
 destroying the individuality of the salesman. 
 If he is a salesman the talk will not be unnat- 
 ural and over his head ; not like a recitation. It 
 will be assimilated to be expressed in his own 
 way; elastic and adaptable to any case, with a 
 talk for the small-town dealer and another for 
 the banker of the large city. The standardiza- 
 tion will be of thoughts and methods rather 
 than of language, and yet with the language at 
 its best. Each selling point or argument will 
 stand out in a paragraph or series of para- 
 graphs, having its logical relation to the entire 
 argument, thus enabling the salesman to adapt 
 his talk to the conditions prevailing. Some 
 buyers, due to good advertising, are almost 
 sold when we reach them. The entire argument 
 would be a bore to them. So much for stand- 
 ardization of the sales talk^ 
 
MAKING THE SALE 141 
 
 Now how shall we prepare it ? First we must 
 determine what we wish to establish, then 
 gather the material for proving this ; take this 
 material and arrange it in satisfactory manner, 
 and provide for presenting it in the best of 
 form. The company has designed and is mak- 
 ing an article that it believes supplies a certain 
 need. It is a light tractor that will do every- 
 thing that any other tractor will do and more. 
 This, then, is what the argument should aim to 
 establish. Here is a bed designed to have wood 
 for beauty and steel for strength, a good com- 
 bination. This may be the thought to be es- 
 tablished. Here is a table service designed to 
 appeal to the clever woman who is distinctive 
 in her demands in this respect. On articles that 
 are well known, like kitchen utensils, a talking 
 point like endurance may be the only idea to 
 establish, with all of the qualities possessed by 
 it that other articles possess being brought out 
 incidentally. Special qualities of this charac- 
 ter are brought out even in the trade-mark, like 
 "Wear-Ever" for example. The magnitude of 
 the proposition will determine the character 
 and extent of the proof and the method of 
 presenting. 
 
 If the sales talk is to be scientifically pre- 
 pared we must observe the different stages of 
 
142 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 the selling process. What shall be the method 
 of approach and of obtaining attention? How 
 can the laws of attention be applied to the prop- 
 osition? After carefully scrutinizing our data, 
 what do we find that will serve best to obtain 
 and hold interest? To what particular desires 
 must we appeal? Surely the character of the 
 article or offer will have much to do with this. 
 It is a case of bringing the buyer before us in 
 the mind's eye, considering his equipment like 
 the senses, instincts, feelings, desires, habits, 
 emotions and special interests; his power of 
 imagination, memory, reasoning and willing, 
 placing our article or offer in juxtaposition and 
 linking them together, with the buyer. 
 
 What is some of this important data? The 
 man who designed or planned the manufactur- 
 ing of the article had a fixed purpose ; intended 
 it to fill a certain need. Perhaps after it was 
 produced it was found to fill certain other needs 
 not originally contemplated. Whatever the 
 case may be we must know uses and prove ad- 
 vantages and adaptability. We must know the 
 article or goods and every detail regarding 
 their manufacture. We must be able to handle 
 the price question diplomatically, justifying 
 the high price with quality which always makes 
 price insignificant, or with the making or sav- 
 
MAKING THE SALE 143 
 
 ing advantages, which far outweigh the objec- 
 tion. We must know our competitors and their 
 products, their selling points compared with 
 our own, because the buyer of to-day, profes- 
 sional or otherwise, is a man or woman who 
 compares. Service can not be overlooked, nor 
 policy. Service alone sells many an article; 
 policy many another. I have seen trainloads 
 of material loaded and kept ready for billing to 
 buyers who needed special service, and I have 
 known of sales managers who have traveled 
 for many a month in order to get the pulse of 
 the trade regarding policy. Not until we can 
 convince a dealer that there is a community of 
 interest that is virtually equal, between him and 
 the manufacturer or wholesale dealer, have we 
 a policy; — not until he feels that our interests 
 are his interests, and his interests are our in- 
 terests, and that the manufacturer and dealers 
 are all members of a great business family 
 working together. 
 
 BEGABDIKG OtTB ENGLISH 
 
 How important in the business world is 
 money, the great medium of exchange of goods, 
 etc., and yet how important is language, the me- 
 dium of exchange of thoughts, and knowledge. 
 
144 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 In selling we are constantly making con- 
 tracts, representations; describing, explaining, 
 appealing, educating to the uses of our product, 
 constantly using English. The spoken word of 
 the salesman and the printed word of the ad- 
 vertising man are the only satisfactory means 
 of communicating these descriptions and ap- 
 peals and arguments. If our selling is to be at 
 its best our English must be at its best. The 
 sales talk must have its attention ; the language 
 of the salesman must be good ; the language of 
 the office must be good. Language has much to 
 do with feeling-tone; it leaves a good or bad 
 impression. No less important than impression 
 is the matter of having what we have to say 
 conveyed in good clear language. Misrepre- 
 sentation is frequent but honest, perhaps, be- 
 cause the English is not clear. We failed to 
 convey clearly to the buyer the idea fixed in 
 our own minds. Unless our English is clear 
 enough to make our minds meet squarely on a 
 proposition our selling will be deficient. Need- 
 less to say that our ideas must have relevancy, 
 bearing directly or indirectly on what we are 
 trying to convey, and our English must be 
 charged with that element most advantageous 
 in selling, — force. 
 
 With a superficial knowledge of their pro- 
 
MAKING THE SALE 145 
 
 fession, men will be successful because of their 
 command of English. They may know little 
 law and yet have good bank-accounts because 
 they talk well, especially before a jury. Their 
 English gives them a veneering beneath which 
 the great public does not seem to go. It gives 
 a valuable finish which can be lasting and gen- 
 uine only when knowledge and character are 
 beneath. 
 
 Why not start in by eliminating most of the 
 slang, if we would improve? When we get it 
 from every salesperson, every mechanic, every 
 farm hand, every schoolboy, it becomes cheap 
 and monotonous. It gets a little rusty and 
 trite to hear every one designated as a "bird" 
 or a "guy." Why not eliminate the profanity 
 so freely and so generally used by many sales- 
 men that it becomes tiresome and repulsive 
 even to those who must themselves use it oc- 
 casionally, and has surely lost its force? Why 
 not obtain good elementary works on English 
 and study them? Then let us study the English 
 peculiar to our line ; let us know its vocabulary. 
 If the advertising department has a supply of 
 good catchy words or phrases let us make them 
 our own to use in personal selling as well. 
 Surely each salesman can study his sales talk 
 and improve its English. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 THE SALES DEPAETMENT 
 
 A wELL-KNOwiT sales manager formerly of 
 Denver, now in New York, when hiring a man 
 tells him that he expects the salesman eventually 
 to equip himself for stepping into the sales man- 
 ager's position. He wants his men trained and 
 ready to go higher when the occasion demands. 
 In every good organization it is the desire to se- 
 lect executives, whenever possible, from within 
 the ranks. The salesman therefore can not af- 
 ford to draw a well-defined circle around his po- 
 sition and say that he wiU do only so much and 
 no more. He must acquaint himself with the 
 work of his superiors and with the positions 
 possible of attaioment in his particular line of 
 work. Instructions like the following come 
 only to those who are prepared: "We shall ex- 
 pect you to go to Blank, establish suitable sales 
 offices, hire the salesmen necessary, train 
 them, assign them to territory, and obtain a 
 market for this product. You will supply your- 
 self with assistants and other necessary help, 
 146 
 
THE SALES DEPARTMENT 147 
 
 arrange for the purchase of all equipment in- 
 cluding furniture and fixtures, printing, book- 
 keeping, quoting, invoicing, collecting and 
 banking. We shall hold you responsible for all 
 money collected and paid out. The entire sales 
 organization, offices, men and equipment will 
 be turned over to you to get results." Here 
 we have a bird's-eye view of the work of the 
 sales department. 
 
 THE SALES OFFICE 
 
 The location of the office is important. A 
 sales manager and his office must be in con- 
 stant touch with his salesmen. The necessity 
 of their getting back and forth to and from the 
 sales office as frequently as is necessary must 
 be kept in mind. Equally important is the pos- 
 sibility of contact with the trade itself. Buy- 
 ers, dealers and the public have business of one 
 kind or another much oftener in the larger cen- 
 ters than in the smaller ones. The shopping 
 facilities, higher standards of professional 
 men, the hotel and railroad accommodations, 
 theaters and other attractions bring the pubKc 
 to the large cities. Manufacturers and jobbers 
 realizing this locate their offices in these cities. 
 The modern buildings, well-located, modern of- 
 
148 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 fices, mail service, the possibility of obtaining 
 efficient help, of getting different kinds of serv- 
 ice incidental to the large office, purchasing, 
 contact with credit agencies and associations, 
 banking facilities and living conditions all 
 make the large center the one generally se- 
 lected for the location of the sales office. 
 
 THE SAI.es OEGANIZATION 
 
 Needless to say the size and character of 
 a sales organization depend on the amount of 
 territory involved, and the intensity of con- 
 sumption per capita of the article being sold. 
 In some lines of business the volume of con- 
 sumption per capita and the resulting sales 
 run very high while in others they run low. 
 Where they run high it is necessary to have 
 great organizations centralized at some impor- 
 tant city with many branches or district offices 
 located at strategic points in the territory 
 served. The greater the organization the more 
 specialized and delegated the work becomes. 
 
 An organization is not an organization when 
 there is no carefully outlined plan of jurisdic- 
 tion of the different departments. The sales 
 department can not be usurping the jurisdic- 
 tion of the operating or traffic or auditing de- 
 
THE SALES DEPAETMENT 149 
 
 partments; nor can any one of these overstep 
 and interfere in matters rightfully belonging 
 to other jurisdiction. A general manager 
 should have jurisdiction that rightfully belongs 
 to him. To him should report the head of ev- 
 ery department, including sales, traffic, audit- 
 ing, operating and other main departments, 
 but not those which are interlinked in an aux- 
 iliary way with one of the main group. The 
 advertising department may in some cases take 
 the place of the sales as in mail-order business, 
 in which case the department should report to 
 the general manager. In the case of advertis- 
 ing generally the jurisdiction should belong to 
 sales. Being closely associated "^ich and bound 
 up in the work of the sales department the 
 best results can not otherwise be accomplished. 
 The work of a traffic department is generally 
 so well divided between all other departments, 
 that no one can logically claim jurisdiction ex- 
 cept the general manager. And so with the 
 auditing ; its work is divided between all of the 
 departments, sales, traffic, operating and ad- 
 vertising, and it rightfully belongs to no other 
 officer than the general manager. So far there- 
 fore as the sales department is concerned it 
 should claim no more than careful and willing 
 cooperation from other departments, and 
 
150 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING- 
 
 should have entire jurisdiction of the advertis- 
 ing only when the work of this department is 
 in nature subsidiary to it. 
 
 In the district sales office immediate author- 
 ity must be given the manager which may in- 
 volve supervision of the bookkeeping traffic, 
 credits and collections, and banking, yet the 
 jurisdiction should remain in these depart- 
 ments in the general office. Directly within 
 the manager's jurisdiction should be such de- 
 partments or branches of sales work as terri- 
 tory, hiring and discharging salesmen and 
 office help and training thereof, office records 
 and reports, councils, meetings, letters and bul- 
 letins, all of which will also be a part of the 
 work of the general sales office. To the gen- 
 eral office will also belong such work as pub- 
 lishing the house organ, planning and trade 
 promotion, quotas, contests, conventions, ex- 
 pense accounts, advertising, in fact all work 
 which can best be done by being centralized in 
 the general office. To the district office will 
 be delegated only that work of immediate con- 
 sequence to that office which can more satis- 
 factorily be taken care of by it rather than the 
 general office. 
 
THE SALES DEPARTMENT 151 
 
 EEOEIPT AND FILLING OP OKDEE AT WHOLESALE 
 
 The sales department, having charge of the 
 marketing which includes the solicitation, ad- 
 vertising and delivering, must have its way of 
 presenting orders to the plant for filling ac- 
 cording to specifications. I have heard sales 
 managers claim that the shipping department 
 at the plant should be under the jurisdiction of 
 the sales department. I have heard others con- 
 tend that it is distinctly under the operating 
 department and no more than proper coopera- 
 ration should be expected. The routine of re- 
 ceiving and filling an order will throw light on 
 tne reasonableness of each claim. By letter or 
 wire or phone, an order comes to the sales of- 
 fice, always confirmed if it is phoned or wired. 
 Acknowledgment is then sent to the customer, 
 and the copy and the original order sent to the 
 order department, numbered and written up on 
 a regular form to be sent to that plant con- 
 cerned. The original of this order to the plant 
 is filed by the shipping department at the plant 
 and the copy retained by the sales office. All 
 orders are accepted subject to the approval of 
 the sales manager and the credit department. 
 They are therefore approved by the depart- 
 ments concerned before being sent to the plant. 
 
152 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 Th.e shipping clerk has charge of the orders 
 after they reach the plant and is subject to the 
 instructions of the sales department in taking 
 care of them. 
 
 EEPOKT OF OEDEES SHIPPED 
 
 On instructions from the sales department, 
 the shipping clerk at the plant lays out the 
 loading program for each day. As the cars are 
 loaded, bills of lading are prepared giving a 
 description of the shipment, the name and ad- 
 dress of the consignee, routing, etc., which biUs 
 must be signed and accepted by the local rail- 
 road agent in authority. A report is then made 
 daily by the shipping clerk showing the names 
 of the consignees, destinations, descriptions of 
 shipments, car numbers, weights and similar 
 information, and sent to the sales department 
 for invoicing purposes. If the district office 
 handles orders direct, a copy of this report 
 goes to the district manager and one to the 
 general office for checking purposes. From 
 this report the sales department, after making 
 proper extensions, inserting rates, prices, etc., 
 prepares the invoices. The invoices are mailed 
 daily to the different consignees reported. 
 Usually some incentive is offered for prompt 
 
THE SALES DEPARTMENT 153 
 
 payment of bills, and the invoice allows a dis- 
 count for cash received within a certain time, 
 usually ten days, and also provides a final 
 period for net payment, 
 
 SA1.ES OFFICE FOBMS AKD EBCOBDS 
 
 A sales manager must keep constantly in 
 touch with the business that is done, determin- 
 ing where it may for some reason be decreas- 
 ing or where it may be increased. The nature of 
 the business will have much to do with the de- 
 tailed character of the records to be kept. The 
 salesman, being the man on the ground, should 
 be able to furnish and keep constantly up to 
 date, records that are indispensable to the sales 
 office. Generally speaking, such information as 
 the following is valuable ; name and address of 
 the dealer, the name of the owner or manager 
 in charge of the business, the brand or brands 
 handled, what his volume of sales normally 
 runs, the quantity which he has on hand. It is 
 well also to mention quotations made in order 
 that these may be checked. When a dealer may 
 be in the market again should be reported. His 
 attitude toward the salesman and his company 
 should be known. Any claims or cases of dis- 
 satisfaction should be carefully investigated 
 
154 MODEEN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 and reported. The prospective business in the 
 territory, such as proposed construction, is 
 welcome. The salesman can make his report a 
 perfect barometer of conditions in the territory 
 which will enable the sales department to fol- 
 low up all cases of dissatisfaction, all prospec- 
 tive business or other detail that may need 
 attention from the office. In this report the 
 salesman can ask for whatever cooperation or 
 information he may need, and make any sug- 
 gestions that will enable the different depart- 
 ments to give the customer or prospective 
 dealer the service that he should have. 
 
 The reporting of shipments furnishes a 
 valuable record. Suppose that we have a 
 record of each customer giving such details as 
 dates of shipment, factory numbers, car num- 
 bers and initials, routing, quantities shipped, 
 the dealer's order numbers, prices per unit, 
 freight rate and destination. Such a record 
 gives a graphic standard for future use. 
 
 The route sheet is indispensable, acting as 
 a saver of time and expense and having 
 statistical value of importance, enabling the 
 sales manager to obtain such information 
 as the number of towns and dealers called 
 upon per day, the average expense per call 
 and the average time spent with each dealer. 
 
THE SALES DEPARTMENT 155 
 
 Some companies find it profitable to prepare 
 these route sheets in the office, while others 
 leave the preparation to the salesmen. 
 
 The tickler or follow-up system of the sales 
 office is very important. Matters which should 
 have attention periodically or at special future 
 dates are placed in files to be returned when 
 needed again. At the suggestion of the sales- 
 men and with their cooperation many special 
 letters, or advertising must be sent out at cer- 
 tain times to certain persons. The follow-up 
 system brings all of these matters before the 
 sales manager daily for his attention. 
 
 In the sale of certain kinds of material, like 
 building material, it becomes necessary to pro- 
 tect the price until a job is completed. This is 
 done by contract. These contracts provide in 
 substance that regardless of any changes of 
 price in the market, the material for the work 
 described will be furnished at the price fixed 
 in the contract. This enables the contractor to 
 bid on work at fixed prices. For some time 
 after the war there was a strong tendency not 
 to protect prices in this manner. Contractors 
 were forced to go into the open market and pur- 
 chase for the owner of the building at prices 
 prevailing, charging a certain commission for 
 their work of construction and supervising. 
 
156 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 These contracts and the records and reports of 
 shipments thereon are important to many a 
 sales manager. He must know that the material 
 which he has contracted to furnish goes into the 
 work for which it was contracted and is not sold 
 on the market which may in the meantime have 
 advanced materially. It is needless to mention 
 the convenience and necessity often of such ar- 
 ticles as good maps and charts and the acces- 
 sories for marking and changing them from 
 time to time with information valuable to the 
 sales office. Companies now specialize in this 
 line of equipment and have many things to 
 offer. 
 
 HXKING SALESMEN 
 
 Is there a man in the business who can inter- 
 view a salesman for a reasonable length of 
 time and on the strength of what he claims to 
 be his knowledge of men, judge him correctly? 
 There is not! Hiring salesmen is important 
 and it takes time. If we are to have the men 
 with the characteristics which have been dwelt 
 on in the first pages of this volume, we can not 
 hire on a single interview, nor on the judgment 
 of one man. We want our salesmen to have 
 personality, to be able to command attention, 
 make the customer listen and think and do. 
 
THE SALES DEPARTMENT 157 
 
 We want them to look well, to have a pleasing 
 manner, use good language, be tactful, ener- 
 getic, honest, to pronounce and articulate well, 
 to be active yet easy, sincere yet cheerful, thor- 
 ough, resourceful, original, and to have initia- 
 tive. These men can not be selected in one 
 interview. 
 
 TO THE SALBSMAH" APPLYING FOB A POSITION 
 
 Let me say to the salesman who may be read- 
 ing this volume, that he must be able to dem- 
 onstrate his qualities in applying for a position. 
 The greatest mistake that applicants make is 
 in failing to realize that their purpose in ap- 
 plying is to try to sell their ability and service 
 to the sales manager. Many of them never 
 come back a second time. Hopeless would 
 they be as salesmen if they were to carry out 
 this practise. Give the sales manager plenty 
 of opportunity to judge you. Some men make 
 a good first impression but do not wear well; 
 others, like good wine, get better with age. If 
 your history is good tell it. If you have had to 
 fight to get along; struggled for your educa- 
 tion; "plugged" along since you were a boy, 
 tell it. Prove that your habits are good; that 
 you are conscientious, desirous of learning, in- 
 dustrious, wanting to be doing something worth 
 
158 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 while instead of gambling and drinking or oth- 
 erwise amusing yourself. Come down to brass 
 tacks quickly in your conversation. Be earn- 
 est, enthusiastic, meet objections as well as pos- 
 sible. Watch your voice and language, and be 
 a good listener as well as talker. Sales man- 
 agers look for character. They want the man 
 not only with the ability but who is willing to 
 work, honest, economizing to a reasonable de- 
 gree in his expenses, looking after the interests 
 of the company as if they were his own; not 
 leaving the field on Saturday for a long trip to 
 his home and losing that Saturday's business; 
 not leaving home on Monday morning for the 
 field and losing that Monday's business. They 
 want the steady fellows, the grinders who can 
 show steady increases, persistent, willing to 
 learn and obey; honest and loyal. Those men 
 will go higher ; you can not stop them. 
 
 Even the matter of hiring can to a certain ex- 
 tent become standardized. By the experiences 
 which we have had in the past we learn what to 
 look for and avoid in the future. The forms of 
 application should be sufficiently in detail to 
 get an expression from the salesman on im- 
 portant matters, bringing out not only such de- 
 tails as personal history, experience, and other 
 information called for in the usual stereotyped 
 
THE SALES DEPARTMENT 159 
 
 form of application, but serving as a kind of 
 brief preliminary examination of the sales- 
 man 's qualifications for the position. 
 
 The nature of the sales work required will 
 have much to do with the character of the men 
 to be hired. Some organizations regard their 
 work of sufficient importance to insist on hav- 
 ing none other than men who have had college 
 or university training. This is said to be the 
 latest policy of one of the largest plaster and 
 plaster specialty companies in the country, 
 which company has also taken a great step for- 
 ward in the training of the men already in their 
 employ. Companies insisting on standards as 
 high as this are necessarily in position to offer 
 inducements for retaining such men in the 
 future. Here is a step toward standardization 
 in employment of salesmen that will be fol- 
 lowed by others just as important. Some com- 
 panies have in the past preferred to hire sales- 
 men who were technically trained, but have not 
 insisted on this training provided it could be 
 later acquired. 
 
 THE TEAINING OF SALESMEN 
 
 Fifteen years ago or longer, one could step 
 into the offices of the transportation depart- 
 ment of any city railway company and find a 
 
160 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 department for training motormen and conduc- 
 tors and other employees. On the platform of 
 the instructor would be a controller and pos- 
 sibly the front and rear platforms of a car if 
 not an entire car. The general appearance 
 would be that of the lecture room of the uni- 
 versity. Every man who expected to take a 
 position was compelled to take a course of in- 
 struction, and after being employed to keep 
 "brushed up" with lectures, demonstrations, 
 etc. Written examinations were required by 
 some companies before giving employment. 
 Hypothetical cases were presented for the 
 applicants upon which they were to pass judg- 
 ment. Since that time we find special instruc- 
 tions being given in almost every line of busi- 
 ness, in every department. Manuals, some of 
 which are as comprehensive as a complete 
 course in business study, primers, bulletins in 
 series, house organs, conventions and other 
 means are all the result of this idea of giving 
 proper instruction to the salesman. Bulletins 
 serve to keep the interest ahve, and to present 
 facts that are timely and of immediate impor- 
 tance. Many of the smaller organizations 
 depend entirely on bulletins to keep the sales- 
 man instructed. Very complete correspondence 
 courses are now being given by some large 
 
THE SALES DEPARTMENT 161 
 
 concerns to their employees. One of the largest 
 gypsum companies is in this manner instruct- 
 ing its salesmen. Such subjects as building 
 plans, reinforced concrete construction, plaster 
 and plastering, are taken up and written 
 examinations periodically required. 
 
 WORKING WITH A DEFINITE AIM 
 
 A definite aim or set task, a pace like that 
 demanded by the athlete, makes men do better 
 work. Let the quota be set for comparatively 
 short periods like weeks or months rather than 
 years, and the spirit of rivalry will bring much 
 better results. "We are born with an instinct 
 for combat and rivalry which explains the suc- 
 cess of contests, quotas and other means of 
 stimulation. But there must be prospective 
 gain or reward, without which effort to make 
 quota or win contests is as uninteresting as 
 poker without money to a professional gambler. 
 
 Just as important to the success of the con- 
 test or other set task is life and action, vivid- 
 ness and realism. This demand is met by let- 
 ting the organization represent ball or rowing 
 teams, horse races, football and other popular 
 sports. The scores of the salesmen accompanied 
 by a newsy bulletin are sent out periodically, 
 
162 MODEEN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 interspersed witli wires, personal letters, tele- 
 phone calls, etc., to keep the men thoroughly 
 in action. The value of a contest was brought 
 home to me a short time ago when the 
 salesman of another organization selling ad- 
 vertising specialties had been calling on me for 
 a large order of Christmas greetings. He 
 worked incessantly for several days and finally, 
 upon landing the order shook my hand and 
 said most enthusiastically: "There, that puts 
 my bunch in the lead again. We have a big 
 contest on and I could not leave the city with- 
 out your order." 
 
 Establishing bonuses is very common practise 
 in all lines of business including retailing. In 
 most cases it is comparatively easy to fix the 
 basis of the bonus and in others it is difficult 
 because of the nature of the business. In the 
 cement business it is difficult to establish bo- 
 nuses because we can not point directly to the 
 amount of tonnage for which the salesman is 
 accountable and should obtain credit. The ce- 
 ment company builds up a fixed line of patron- 
 age, the dealers once buying the brand contin- 
 uing to do so exclusively until they find good 
 reason to change. Their orders come mostly 
 by mail. The business which develops is often 
 unusual especially in the large cities where 
 
THE SALES DEPARTMENT 163 
 
 great constructive programs may be in prog- 
 ress. The point system seems to be the only 
 satisfactory way of applying the bonus in such 
 cases. Certain points are allowed for certain 
 good work done, each point representing a fixed 
 amount of reward, as one, two or three dollars. 
 This gives a flexible system by means of which 
 the salesmen can be encouraged to improve in 
 different ways in which they may be lacking 
 or weak. For any negligent omissions or com- 
 missions, deductions may also be made pro- 
 vided their total does not affect the amount of 
 salary allowed, should the deductions be more 
 than the total amount of bonus accumulated. 
 Such a system makes it possible for the sales- 
 man to make, with a perfect score, an addi- 
 tional amount of money each month depending 
 on the size of the bonus planned. Good judg- 
 ment on the part of the sales manager and the 
 tendency to be rather liberal than narrow in 
 the application of the bonus will keep the sales- 
 men pleased and interested in meeting the 
 wishes of the company in doing their work. 
 Points of efficiency and inefficiency are con- 
 stantly brought before the salesman, of which 
 information he is bound to take advantage if he 
 be reasonably conscientious. 
 
164 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 Mbmoeandum of Bonus Allowances* 
 
 Points Allowed 
 Good appearance, cleanliness, cour- 
 tesy and pleasing manner 10 
 
 Knowledge of selling, including 
 knowledge of the company and its 
 
 goods or proposition 10 
 
 General ability displayed in the field 15 
 
 Reporting and cooperating 10 
 
 Obtaining contract and other busi- 
 ness for the local dealer 10 
 
 Economy in the expense account, 
 
 routing and generally . , 10 
 
 Perseverance and thoroughness .... 10 
 Obtaining new dealer accounts and 
 
 holding old ones 10 
 
 Other good work not mentioned but 
 regarded by the sales manager as 
 worthy of credit 15 
 
 For wilful or negligent failure to cooperate 
 as outlined above, the sales manager reserves 
 the right to make deductions equivalent to 
 those mentioned. This arrangement shall in 
 no way interfere with the agreement which has 
 been made regarding salary. The bonus al- 
 lowed is three hundred dollars maximum for 
 the year, which until further notice shall be 
 credited and paid quarterly, 
 
 •This system may be changed from time to time to suit 
 conditions which may arise. 
 
THE SALES DEPARTMENT 165 
 
 RELATION OP THE SALESMAN TO ADVERTISING 
 
 You have seen the illustration of the tug of 
 war between two calves each after a pail of 
 milk just out of reach. They tugged and pulled 
 but neither got anywhere. Finally they de- 
 cided to pull together with the result that they 
 went first to one pail and shared it, and then 
 over to the other. 
 
 Possibly an advertising campaign, in spite 
 of the salesmen, will pay, but it will pay much 
 better with their cooperation. Why should any 
 salesman take a position against the advertis- 
 ing campaign? He can not afford to do it. 
 Goods are often sold on the strength of proving 
 to the customer that he is to be supported in 
 his selling by a satisfactory advertising cam- 
 paign nationally and locally. It has often been 
 proved that advertising holds the old accounts 
 and helps wonderfully to obtain new ones, many 
 dealers refusing to sell articles which are not 
 advertised even though they may have a longer 
 profit per sale, because of the difference in 
 frequency of turnover. Instead of increasing, 
 advertising decreases selling costs by increas- 
 ing tonnage or volume. "When distributed over 
 the entire output the cost per unit is very small. 
 
166 MODEEN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 This saving in selling costs gives an opportu- 
 nity if necessary to improve quality. 
 
 If the salesman can show the dealer how to 
 dispose of his goods at reasonably frequent in- 
 tervals at a fair profit with each turn, he has 
 produced a strong incentive for buying. Ad- 
 vertising provides this means. The manufac- 
 turer is constantly carrying on an extensive 
 national campaign. By means of window dis- 
 play, cooperation from the sales force, and lo- 
 cal advertising it is an easy matter to link the 
 advertised product with the store of the dealer, 
 and with a continuing campaign the two will 
 become associated in the minds of the buying 
 public. If I were a salesman I would be look- 
 ing for every opportunity possible to get the 
 local dealer to advertise my goods. I would 
 want to have my place in his display window, 
 and in the prominent and appropriate places 
 in his store, with other goods that are associ- 
 ated with mine. I would want to have my place 
 in the other advertising which the dealer does 
 in the newspapers or otherwise, in the street- 
 cars, circulars, letters, on bill-boards; in the 
 heads of his selling force. I would encourage 
 him to be a strong advertiser with all of the 
 latest and best ideas. Such a program would 
 help his sales as well as mine. Being the man 
 
THE SALES DEPARTMENT 167 
 
 on the ground constantly talking with the trade 
 I would feel that I ought to give the benefit of 
 my experience to the advertising and sales de- 
 partments by making whatever I regarded as 
 valuable suggestions. 
 
 CREDIT AND THE SALESMAN 
 
 One morning a number of years ago, after 
 spending a day's time and all of the energy and 
 enthusiasm that I could get together, I succeed- 
 ed in opening an account in an important city 
 of Nebraska, the first that the company had 
 been able to open there, after years of work. I 
 was very much pleased, and a few days later 
 walked into the sales manager's office believ- 
 ing that I had done the unusual. Among other 
 matters he mentioned this new account with 
 the following brief and cold comment: "I am 
 sorry that we can not sell that fellow. His 
 credit is absolutely worthless." Since that 
 time I have not had to be told never to waste 
 my time on a prospect that could not pay for 
 what I sold him. We are building our seUtng 
 ability on air if we do not realize the impor- 
 tance of getting the money for what we sell. 
 Selling abihty is not measured by orders so 
 much as by profits. Profits and poor credits 
 do poor team-work. 
 
168 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 In some lines of business the credit risk is 
 much lower than in others. Bankers and lum- 
 ber dealers will be a comparatively good risk, 
 while a cosmopolitan trade like that of the 
 large retail store, will make the risk much 
 greater. In any case the salesman must have 
 a knowledge of the fundamentals of credit, and 
 cooperate with the credit department to see 
 that the company is protected. This requires 
 thought, tact, good judgment, care and 
 re sour cef ulnes s. 
 
 Let us see how the credit man opens an ac- 
 count. First he is very careful to get the cor- 
 rect name and address. There are so many 
 people with approximately the same name that 
 it is an easy matter to investigate the wrong 
 person. The credit man regards as very im- 
 portant the personal interview in which in his 
 subtle yet apparently innocent manner he ob- 
 tains from the applicant such information as 
 references, the name of the employer, if mar- 
 ried, — the full name of the husband or wife, 
 whether or not he boards or keeps house, the 
 names of the companies with whom he carries 
 fire or life insurance, the name of the savings 
 or checking bank account and at least three 
 references. If a salary is small it may be nec- 
 essary to garnishee it; consequently the place 
 
THE SALES DEPARTMENT 169 
 
 for doing this must be known. In this connec- 
 tion it must be remembered that the married 
 man can claim certain exemptions in case he is 
 sued for debts. If he has household goods, 
 therefore, the credit man must know how much 
 their value under forced sale exceeds the 
 amount of the exemption allowed. Fire may 
 destroy the goods in which event the policy pro- 
 tecting them would be gamisheed, which makes 
 it important to have a record of the policy and 
 its details. The credit man seems to consider 
 his ability to size up individuals worth much to 
 his success ; he lays much stress on honesty and 
 character and habits. 
 
 The single man is not regarded as nearly so 
 safe a risk as the married who has more at 
 stake, and is more stable and responsible. 
 Some credit men, strange to say, regard many 
 salesmen as poor risks ; with the life insurance 
 solicitor for example they include barbers, 
 waiters, bar-tenders, Greeks, theatrical per- 
 formers, book salesmen and any commission 
 canvassers. We have always been ready to de- 
 fend the credit of the high-grade salesman. 
 The man who is sued often or who is looked 
 upon as being reckless or extravagant in hab- 
 its, who buys furniture and other articles on 
 contract, or who has a judgment or chattel 
 
170 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 mortgage against him is refused almost per- 
 emptorily by the credit man. If further inves- 
 tigation is desired credit reporting bureaus can 
 generally give good information over the tele- 
 phone. Then in addition to this the credit man 
 often wants his own investigation. He follows 
 up the references given, obtains the limit of 
 credit given by other concerns and their esti- 
 mate of the applicant's honesty and character; 
 learns if the applicant owes them anything and 
 how he pays; how long they have known him 
 and dealt with him. He calls the employer and 
 determines his salary and how long he has been 
 employed and what he thinks of him. Then the 
 credit man sends the investigator to the neigh- 
 borhood, looks over his household goods to place 
 a value on them, learns how long he has lived 
 at the present place. He calls on the neighbor- 
 hood stores and others who may appropriately 
 throw light on his character and worth. In fact 
 the honesty of the applicant is tested by inves- 
 tigating every claim that he has made in the 
 effort to obtain credit. If everything looks fa- 
 vorable credit is extended. 
 
 The applicant for credit may be the dealer 
 instead of the individual. The retail salesman 
 is protected by the credit department. The 
 salesman in the field has much more responsi- 
 
THE SALES DEPAETMENT 171 
 
 bility since lie is often called upon to open new 
 accounts. What shall we learn about the dealer 
 before agreeing to ship him an important con- 
 signment? We must have his history; his age, 
 how long he has been in business, the character 
 of his store or plant and its location. We must 
 know about his stock, the quantity and charac- 
 ter of it, and whether or not it is insured. We 
 must know whether or not he is a good business 
 man, — a good manager, good buyer, with good 
 temperate habits, with no financial troubles 
 that are serious, well thought of and recom- 
 mended in the community, especially by other 
 business men. Then we must know whether his 
 business is progressing or standing still; 
 whether or not he is methodical, keeping his 
 books well, looking carefully after costs and ex- 
 penses as well as profits. His pay-roll, rents, 
 and other costs bear on this. Then it is im- 
 portant to know that he carries liability in- 
 surance if necessary because a judgment might 
 put him into bankruptcy. If he has other in- 
 terests or other property besides his business 
 this helps his standing for credit. These are 
 hints which may be of value to the salesman in 
 determining the standing of an applicant. It is 
 important to keep in mind the importance of 
 cooperating with and receiving cooperation 
 
172 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 from the credit department for the constant 
 protection of the company. 
 
 WATCHING THE CEEDITS 
 
 Credit risks which at first are very favorable 
 may later become dangerous. If the salesman 
 finds evidence of neglect in management, stocks 
 are deteriorating, accounts are running heavy, 
 the dealer is living extravagantly, drinking, 
 having trouble with his family and trade, or if 
 he is apparently getting ready to sell or leave, 
 this should be conveyed immediately to the 
 credit department. If he has been sued, or has 
 given a mortgage on his property or done any- 
 thing that might weaken his credit, this also is 
 important information that should be given the 
 office immediately. Attention to this matter 
 of credit will bring out the best, most method- 
 ical ways of investigating each case. It is too 
 important not to have careful study and alert- 
 ness on the part of the salesman. 
 
 THE SALES CONVENTION" 
 
 We can not make a vaudeville show of a con- 
 vention, yet one of the first thoughts should be 
 to make it interesting and full of action. Min- 
 
THE SALES DEPARTMENT 173 
 
 gling mth the serious must be something to re- 
 lieve the monotony and tensity. Appropriate 
 decoration, plenty of appropriate cards and il- 
 lustrations, equipment that will serve for dem- 
 onstrating, the moving-picture machine, music 
 if possible, and the burlesque demonstration 
 are features which are used to advantage. 
 Sketches or playlets carrying out important 
 ideas are effective. The burial of Alibi Ike by 
 the Todd Protectograph organization and sim- 
 ilar features by other concerns are never for- 
 gotten by those in attendance. Action is the 
 secret, continued and varied, one feature after 
 another. This means that the length of speeches 
 must be limited, stopped with the gong if nec- 
 essary. The leader must be carefully chosen. 
 His personality may veil the whole affair with 
 saffron if he can not enter into the spirit of the 
 meeting in proper manner. Active participa- 
 tion in the program makes it more interesting. 
 Having the salesmen themselves prepared and 
 putting them into action is effective. But they 
 must be prepared and limited in time or the 
 work will be unsatisfactory. No convention is 
 completely arranged unless provision is made 
 for obtaining stenographic notes of proceed- 
 ings and discussions and furnishing them to 
 those in attendance. 
 
174 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 SELLING BY TELEPHONE OB TELEGBAM 
 
 Some time ago I took charge of an organiza- 
 tion that was new in certain western territory. 
 Competition was keen and plentiful. Dealers 
 in that particular line of business preferred to 
 continue doing business with the one company, 
 only, with which they had been dealing perhaps 
 for years. To break into a field so firmly fixed 
 in its methods of purchasing required most in- 
 tensive work. The salesmen were doing their 
 part, yet the unusual was necessary. Every 
 day as the salesmen's reports were received 
 they were carefully scrutinized and classified, 
 and filed for following up. The result was 
 that daily we were telephoning and sending 
 night letters to certain dealers with some mes- 
 sage based on the suggestion of the man in the 
 field, or on the judgment of those in the office. 
 The results were most satisfactory. I remem- 
 ber one sale of fifteen thousand dollars' worth 
 of material that resulted from a telephone call, 
 and a night letter that brought six carloads of 
 business. 
 
 With the cooperation of the salespeople in 
 the retail store a surprising amount of business 
 can be developed by telephone if the matter is 
 handled properly. Every salesman can have 
 
THE SALES DEPARTMENT 175 
 
 his group of friends who will be glad to be 
 called during quiet hours to be informed of a 
 sale, or of the arrival of some new line of hats, 
 dresses or other articles just received. The 
 woman who likes to do the original in enter- 
 taining will be pleased to know that the first 
 strawberries of the season are in. Instructions 
 in the proper methods of handling the telephon- 
 ing will be necessary and in most cases an un- 
 derstanding with the customer. It has its dif- 
 ficulties and yet can be developed into a very 
 profitable feature of the sales work. The per- 
 son at the receiver has much to do with the 
 success of the plan. In many cases the sales 
 manager himself will be able to obtain remark- 
 able results when others would make no head- 
 way; in this respect, much like the power of a 
 letter or suggestion, the effect depending on the 
 weight behind the telephone. 
 
 THE SALES LETTER 
 
 The sales letter has come to stay as a fixture 
 of the sales department. It is as necessary a 
 part of the organization as the salesmen them- 
 selves. It has its place which can not otherwise 
 be filled. Before the salesmen go into the field 
 for a new company, the letter in series takes 
 
176 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING- 
 
 its important place with the advertising, in do- 
 ing the preliminary work. The salesman is re- 
 lieved of all the work that can be done satisfac- 
 torily by the latter. Many companies depend 
 entirely on letter-heads, and will not permit 
 their salesmen to call on any one who has not 
 been interested enough to respond. The letter 
 and accompanying advertising in the trade pa- 
 pers obtain the attention and interest, and pos- 
 sibly desire. For many companies it even 
 obtains the orders. 
 
 After business is established the letter takes 
 its place on the program of cooperative work, 
 intensifying the work of the salesman 
 wherever possible. Regardless of how much 
 argument the salesman may present and how 
 forcefully, along comes the letter and folder 
 perhaps with its stress on some important 
 article which the salesman may have overlooked, 
 making the appeal in another way, and from an- 
 other angle, and gets the business. The letter 
 helps to strengthen impressions that have been 
 made, suggests things that the salesman has for- 
 gotten, refreshes the memory of what the sales- 
 man has said, and does it in a quiet, pleasing 
 and forceful way. Many a letter can be sent by 
 the sales manager himself to certain dealers or 
 customers made as direct and personal as possi- 
 
THE SALES DEPARTMENT 177 
 
 ble, which will have weight enough in many 
 cases to obtain business that has not been oth- 
 erwise obtainable. Whom to write, what to 
 write and when, can be planned with the co- 
 operation of the salesmen. Their reports will 
 give special information possibly of a personal 
 character and at least of special interest which 
 can be taken advantage of in framing the let- 
 ter. Possibly these letters can be prepared in 
 groups for the many dealers who are reported 
 in the same manner. Certain form letters made 
 of selected and well prepared form paragraphs 
 sent out with the sales manager's signature 
 are frequently used. The purpose of the work 
 must be known to the salesman who with proper 
 instruction and understanding of the situation 
 can give reports which will enable the framing 
 of strong and pulling letters. We will say more 
 about the sales letter in another chapter. 
 
 TIT BITS 
 
 For Thinking Salesmen 
 
 Mr. A. W. Ambrook, 
 Concordia, Kansas. 
 
 My dear Mr. Ambrook :- 
 
 Just a word this time about the dealer in 
 the small town. If you have ever been in the 
 
178 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 great redwood forests of California you have 
 wondered where is concentrated the great 
 strength that keeps these trees standing against 
 the storms of time. Examine the roots, how- 
 ever, and you will find them of every size, large, 
 small, long and short, interlaced and extending 
 in every direction through the ground. One 
 little root does not mean much. Taken together 
 they keep these trees as firm as the hills that 
 surround them. 
 
 One little lumber dealer in a small Kansas 
 town may not mean life or death to his com- 
 pany. Let us have thousands of them, however, 
 and a constant and dependable stream of orders 
 will make the company as firm as the great red- 
 wood tree. Our experience with many other 
 plants has convinced us of the importance of 
 getting the little dealer into our great famUy. 
 He has his place with us. 
 
 I know that you see the point, Mr. Ambrook. 
 
 LJH. ECD Sales Manager. 
 
 Postcript : Can I be of any assistance to you ? 
 
 TIT BITS 
 
 For Thinking Salesmen 
 
 Mr. Neal Burgess, 
 Hastings, Nebraska. 
 
 My dear Burgess :- 
 
 Have you a well planned way of keeping 
 your sales talks vigorous and interesting? The 
 
THE SALES DEPAETMENT 179 
 
 lumber dealer comes into contact with many 
 different salesmen. Some of these are able to 
 get business and others are not. Why, Bur- 
 gess? Because some of these men stand out 
 more prominently in the dealer's mind than 
 others. Some have called on him time after 
 time and made no impression; he does not re- 
 member them or whom they represent; is not 
 interested. 
 
 If you can find a way to make your salesman- 
 ship stand out, separate and apart from the 
 work of other salesmen; put your personality 
 more prominently in the mind of the dealer 
 than are the personalities of the other sales- 
 men, you increase your chances of getting busi- 
 ness. Enthusiasm may be dampened by mo- 
 notony which creeps into the salesman's work 
 if he does not study the means of keeping his 
 talks vigorous and interesting. A weak bat- 
 tery won't start a car, or keep it going. 
 
 Your experience in the field and your thought 
 on the subject will reveal to you things you 
 might do or say that will make each visit a last- 
 ing impression on the minds of your dealers. 
 The resulting interest will add impetus to your 
 work and keep your enthusiasm at proper 
 pitch. 
 
 Burgess, later you are going to say that this 
 was a good suggestion. 
 
 LJH. ECD Sales Manager, 
 
180 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 TIT BITS 
 
 For Thinking Salesmen 
 
 Subject: Making the Most of Our Limited 
 Time with the Dealer^ 
 
 Dear Westergaard :- 
 
 If your spare time ever becomes a de- 
 moralizing drag on you something is wrong. 
 Our records show that certain of our salesmen 
 spend only a few hours of the twenty-four in 
 actual contact with the dealers. The rest is 
 spent in traveling, sleeping, eating and other 
 ways. These striking figures are taken from 
 the route sheets of the last year and are fairly 
 accurate. 
 
 How important it is then to spend one's avail- 
 able hours in developing salesmanship to the 
 greatest intensity, getting every possible bene- 
 fit out of the limited time that one has with the 
 dealer. There must be good head work; con- 
 stant thinking of the next best thing to do ; con- 
 stant activity in the right direction. Perhaps 
 by writing a few good letters to some of your 
 customers or prospects you might get some 
 surprising results. There is a way to reach 
 every dealer and we must find it. 
 
 Keep your personality radiating. Watch 
 your appearance, your language, your manner. 
 Keep up your courage and never let your per- 
 sistence wane. Tour resourcefulness will find 
 the way. 
 
THE SALES DEPARTMENT 181 
 
 I surely am pleased with the way your work 
 is improving. 
 
 Write me a good personal letter telling me 
 all about your work and how you like it. 
 
 LJH. ECD Sales Manager. 
 
 Note — Letter gent egpeeially to aew saleBmen. 
 THE HOUSE OEGAN 
 
 Many of our large selling organizations have 
 developed the house organ into an indispensable 
 publication. Something in the form of a book- 
 let ranging in size from the single page to a 
 good-sized magazine is sent out periodically. 
 The size of the corporation publishing the or- 
 gan and the extent of its business, will deter- 
 mine largely the size and circulation of the pub- 
 lication. Some manufacturers send the house 
 organ to the dealers and jobbers with whom they 
 do business or would like to. Others use it 
 largely for stimulating good feeling and interest 
 among employees, and for information of stock- 
 holders. One large western oil refining com- 
 pany which controls the fields of Wyoming, 
 publishes a house organ of this kind monthly. 
 It is filled with interesting articles and infor- 
 mation relating to company matters, matters 
 
182 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 of personal interest to the employees, bits of 
 good advice, articles by officials regarding 
 operation and conditions, all augmented by 
 plenty of good illustrations. Still another type 
 of house organ is that used by large retail es- 
 tablishments for a store paper or magazine, 
 which serves the purpose of promoting loyalty 
 and interest among employees as well as 
 greater efficiency. 
 
 The house organ offers great possibilities for 
 the sales department that wishes to emphasize 
 the work of its salesmen ; whether it be by fur- 
 nishing corroborative suggestions regarding 
 such things as selling in different seasons, dis- 
 playing the manufacturer's goods to best ad- 
 vantage in the display window, on the shelf or 
 counter, or in the show-case ; furnishing infor- 
 mation regarding the handling and care of 
 stock; the proper methods of storing such ar- 
 ticles as cement, plaster and other materials; 
 the best methods of advertising locally in the 
 newspapers, etc., of selling most efficiently in 
 the store; of preventing complaints or taking 
 care of them when they arise ; of educating to 
 uses or adaptability; or possibly of furnishing 
 general information that may be of interest to 
 the trade. It gives an opportunity to discuss 
 business in general, government statistics of 
 
THE SALES DEPAETMENT 183 
 
 interest, what others in business are doing, 
 everything that might seem to be appropriate 
 for the particular publication. 
 
 Dealers in cement like to know something 
 about the mill that makes their product. The 
 process of manufacture is interesting. Descrip- 
 tions, well illustrated, of different parts of the 
 process make good material for the house organ 
 and give the dealer what he should have if he 
 is to sell the product intelligently. The build- 
 ing news, the plans of the State and National 
 Highway Departments, the money situation, the 
 future of prices, — all articles of this nature are 
 read with interest by the lumber dealer who 
 buys cement and plaster. In fact there is a 
 field for drawing information that is almost 
 illimitable for any type of house organ. 
 
 The house organ is one other means of co- 
 operating with the salesman in developing and 
 holding business. It supports him in his work, 
 reinforces his position, corroborates his talks 
 and serves to fix in memory what should be 
 placed and kept there. The salesman will be 
 in position to give valuable suggestions as to 
 the content of the house organ which will help 
 to keep it interesting, up-to-date, and valuable 
 as a selling agency. 
 
184 MODERN METHODS IN SELLtNGl- 
 
 COOPEEATIVE ADVEETISING 
 
 Many organizations find it to their advan- 
 tage to place most of their advertising under 
 the management of a central bureau or associa- 
 tion. Such associations have their headquarters 
 in the largest cities where they may enjoy the 
 advantages of their great purchasing power, and 
 the services of the best artists and advertising 
 experts. Instead of sending out advertising 
 themselves, companies are able to have this 
 sent direct by the association often with the 
 company's name printed thereon. In this way 
 the small as well as the large organizations be- 
 longing to the association enjoy the advantages 
 of the great educational and promotion work 
 that is accomplished. These associations estend 
 now to almost every line of business. One of the 
 greatest of them is the Portland Cement Man- 
 ufacturers' Association with headquarters in 
 Chicago. Branches are located in every sec- 
 tion of the United States. Men in charge of 
 these branches devote all of their time to ed- 
 ucation and promotion. In the general head- 
 quarters is a complete research laboratory for 
 the study of problems of a technical nature. 
 Here also may be obtained the cooperation of 
 department heads who are specialists in their 
 
THE SALES DEPARTMENT 185 
 
 particular line. Brick manufacturers, plaster 
 manufacturers, producers of lumber, fruit grow- 
 ers, all have their associations. 
 
 ESTABLISHING CONFIDENCE 
 
 Confidence is a necessary element of busi- 
 ness. The greatest operations of business de- 
 pend on credit, and credit rests on confidence. 
 It is confidence that overpowers the instinctive 
 tendency toward cautiousness, the feeling that 
 makes us want to be shown. In every branch 
 of selling we demand proof ; the man who writes 
 copy must produce his proof. The salesman 
 in the field and in the store must be ready to 
 give it voluntarily because it is expected with- 
 out the asking. 
 
 Business men sometimes overreach them- 
 selves in their first attempts to establish confi- 
 dence by offering goods on consignment, — too 
 much of a risk. With nothing to lose the dealer 
 takes no active steps to sell. By qualifying the 
 consignment in order to obtain interest and ac- 
 tive cooperation much more satisfactory re- 
 sults will follow. Offering to exchange unsold 
 goods that are consigned, for others, instead of 
 permitting return and refund of money is much 
 more satisfactory. Or guaranteeing to take 
 
186 MODEEN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 back goods after a fixed period provided the 
 dealer agrees to do certain advertising and dis- 
 play and to lend the cooperation of his sales 
 force during the period mentioned, — a week 
 for example, has been found a safe practise. 
 It wiU help to establish confidence if we offer 
 to prove at our own expense what we claim for 
 our goods. Guaranteeing wear for a certain 
 period seems often to have been successful in 
 establishing confidence. Large retail stores 
 will permit the return of goods without ques- 
 tion, depending entirely on the honesty of the 
 public. Pianos, victrolas, dictaphones and oth- 
 er instruments are placed at customers' dis- 
 posal free of charge. Confidence once 
 established makes selling easier and less costly. 
 Dealers who have become satisfied with one 
 product of a company and with its policy will 
 be much more easily influenced to purchase 
 others that the company produces. Confidence 
 has been established in the word of the sales- 
 man, and in the letters and advertising of the 
 concern, and consequently in the goods. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 THE SALES LETTER 
 
 The sales letter has grown to be a great force 
 in business, with the character and the life and 
 the force of a living salesman. It does every- 
 thing in selling but talk and think. Next to the 
 personal presence it is the best substitute yet 
 discovered. Its power is demonstrated in the 
 tremendous amount of this kind of mail that is 
 constantly going from place to place. It can 
 be made to lead the buyer through the differ- 
 ent steps of making the sale, often even to the 
 point of getting the order. How very impor- 
 tant therefore that this letter be correct in every 
 detail, written on proper stationery, and that 
 it be framed in such a way as to be most force- 
 ful, most effective. 
 
 LETTERS LIVING PERSONALITIES 
 
 We have come out of the rut in writing sales 
 and business letters. The stereotyped forms of 
 the earlier days are going. The formal, dry, 
 
 187 
 
188 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 cold and lifeless letters of yesterday are being 
 molded into letters of flesh and blood, seeming 
 to think and talk, as the man who writes them 
 thinks and talks. 
 
 THE CONVEKSATIONAL TONE 
 
 If our letters are to represent the living, 
 thinking, talking person they must act as the 
 living acts. They must properly introduce 
 themselves, sit down and talk face to face to 
 the customer. They must impersonate the 
 salesman himself by using the personal, direct 
 and conversational tone. They must avoid old 
 and stereotyped forms, use good plain English, 
 with no insts. or vltimos, and without overdo- 
 ing, they must use the pronoun "I" occasion- 
 ally. They must have good clear, every-day, 
 conversational English, well selected, well put, 
 and yet preserving the required dignity. 
 
 Gardner in Effective Business Letters has a 
 list of stock phrases well worth studying. He 
 mentions the following: 
 
 Advise — of legal origin and overworked. 
 Confine as much as possible to the giving of ad- 
 vice. Use "inform us" or "tell us." 
 As per — of legal origin. Say ' ' according to. ' ' 
 At hand, or has come to hand — obsolete 
 phrases. Say, "We have received." 
 
tTHE SALES LETTER 189 
 
 Beg — as in "beg to state," or "beg to ad- 
 vise" — relics of formal courtesy, sounding un- 
 pleasantly servile to-day. 
 
 Contents carefully noted — ^intended to have 
 a courteous sound. Meaningless and occupies 
 valuable space. 
 
 Esteemed — as "your esteemed favor." The 
 word is obsolete in this use. 
 
 Favor — ^wrongly used to mean "letter." A 
 favor is a kindness rendered; a letter may do 
 an act of kindness, but it is not itself a kindness. 
 
 Hand you — obsolete. Say "send you." 
 
 Herewith — ^in the phrase, "I enclose here- 
 ■with." This word when used with reference 
 to letters means, "in this envelope," an idea 
 already contained in the word "enclose." 
 
 Inst., ult. and prox. — abbreviations of the 
 Latin words "instant," ultimo," and "prox- 
 imo," and used in legal docimaents to mean the 
 present, the last, or the next month. Designate 
 the month by its name. 
 
 Kind — often misused, as "your kind favor," 
 "your kind order." Another relic of servile 
 courtesy. A superior might write a kind let- 
 ter rebuking a thoughtless girl in his office, or 
 thanking an employee for a service, or the like. 
 The word should be reserved for such acts of 
 jiersonal consideration; not used in ordinary 
 letters or orders. 
 
 Oblige — "and oblige." This makes a weak 
 ending to a letter. 
 
 Our Mr. Jones — an inelegant expression in 
 referring to a salesman or representative, 
 
190 MODEEN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 which is gradually giving place to ' ' Mr. Jones, 
 our representative," or merely, "Mr. Jones." 
 
 Proposition — a word that has become busi- 
 ness slang, and is used to mean almost any- 
 thing. It really means a proposal or under- 
 taking. 
 
 Pronouns or articles omitted — as in the 
 phrase, "Order received and will forward 
 goods at once," for "Your order has been re- 
 ceived. We will forward the goods at once." 
 Omissions of this kind have no other excuse 
 than laziness. They make a bad impression on 
 the reader. 
 
 Same — wrong when used as a pronoun, as 
 "We will give your account credit for the 
 same," instead of, "We will give your account 
 credit for it." Same is used in legal documents 
 to give precise reference, but it is antiquated. 
 In business letters it is the most persistent 
 among the condemned stock phrases. It is al- 
 ways easy to avoid by the substitution of "it," 
 "they," or "them." 
 
 State — ^is overworked and formal. Say is 
 usually better. 
 
 Valued — see esteemed. 
 
 Writer — wrong when used in the mistaken 
 belief that it is improper to use the first per- 
 son, as in the sentence, "Your letter has been 
 referred to the writer," instead of "to me." 
 Where there is cause for telling your share in 
 an action, the first person is correct and 
 graceful. 
 
 Would say or wish to say — as in the letter, 
 "Eeplying to your letter, would say " An 
 
THE SALES LETTER 191 
 
 antiquated and wordy construction. Give your 
 answer directly. 
 
 A letter to the dealer who prefers to huy m 
 small carload lots: 
 
 Mr. J. A. Gardner, 
 Orleans, Nebraska. 
 
 My dear Mr. Gardner :- 
 
 I can see where you can keep down your 
 investment in cement, make it easier to discount 
 your cement bills, turn over your stock more 
 frequently and keep it fresh and more desir- 
 able by buying in small carload lots. If you 
 can not conveniently handle large loads we can 
 ship you 30,000 pounds — 80 barrels — and still 
 give you the carload price on account of the 
 low carload minimum effective in this state. 
 In order to do this we will load your order with 
 another going your way and save the use of a 
 car. 
 
 During the severe car shortage just passed 
 many cars contained two loads in order to save 
 equipment and at the same time give dealers 
 this unusual service. If you have limited stor- 
 age room you will want to take advantage of 
 this opportunity. Why not fill out this letter 
 and return it now? 
 
 LJH, ECD Sales Manager. 
 
192 MODEEN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 Cement Company, 
 
 Kansas City, Mo. 
 
 Gentlemen :- Ship me a small load of cement 
 
 Signed. 
 
 This dealer has been reported as preferring 
 small loads. He also has been impressed with 
 the car shortage. The idea of being able to dis- 
 comit for the small amount appeals to him. 
 
 Sales letter soliciting plaster business 
 
 Dear Mr. Sheets :- 
 
 Do you ever stop to think that a plasterer 
 has a good tiresome job pushing a trowel aU 
 day long, reaching in every conceivable direc- 
 tion? And do you not realize that if you can 
 make that plasterer's work lighter by getting 
 the trowel to slide easier, over an easy work- 
 ing plastic coat you will make him a good friend 
 and customer? Now, just one other thing: — 
 If you can say to the farmer or other customer 
 that a plaster will make his wall as hard as a 
 sheet of steel, isn't that good talk? Won't that 
 help to make him buv your plaster? Surely it 
 will. 
 
 In making our plaster we use about twenty 
 per cent, of pure gypsum mixed with gypsite, 
 from which dark plaster is usually made. This 
 
THE SALES LETTER 193 
 
 process gives the plaster the easy working as 
 well as hardening qualities. We can do this 
 •without extra cost because we have both kinds 
 of raw material, a very unusual condition. 
 If you wish to handle the best that plaster 
 
 science has developed use Plaster. 
 
 If you wish to please your plasterer, make his 
 work easier, make him advertise your plaster, 
 
 use If you wish your new house 
 
 owner to put his thumbs in the arm-holes of 
 his vest and smilingly show his newly-plastered 
 
 house, use And as popular as 
 
 this plaster is we can give you service that is 
 just as good as the plaster. Do you not think 
 you had better wire me now for a load? You 
 are going to need plaster soon. 
 
 Yours for a smiling plaster trade. 
 
 LJH.ECD Sales Manager. 
 
 A letter strong in attention and interest 
 value, bringing out information that is vital to 
 the dealer in cement 
 
 Dear Mr. Foster :- 
 
 You will see when you read this letter 
 that we could not safely make this offer to 
 many of our friends. This morning we went 
 over the map and selected just twenty-five 
 dealers, including yourself, to whom we could 
 safely say what we promise here. 
 
 There is not a dealer in America who has not 
 talked abont car shortage, poor service and lost 
 
194 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 profits because of his inability to get cement 
 when he wanted it. You have thought about 
 it; talked about it many times, haven't you? 
 Now here is your opportunity. Right down at 
 your good door-step we have opened a new 
 plant, with big capacity, located on five differ- 
 ent railroads. If there was ever an opportu- 
 nity to get cars, here it is. If there was ever 
 an opportunity to save cars, here it is again, 
 taking only fifty miles of railroading to serve 
 you while heretofore it took five hundred. 
 
 Tell me that you will take advantage of this 
 unusual offer if we will guarantee to give you 
 service when you want it, and all the coopera- 
 tion that this large organization can give. That 
 sounds good enough to you, doesn't it? Just 
 reverse a telephone call to me now and let me 
 tell you more about this. I am holding the 
 copy of this letter until I hear from you. 
 
 Yours for less worry and bigger profits. 
 
 LJH.ECD Sales Manager. 
 
 Sales letter dwelling on service and result- 
 ing profits 
 
 Gentlemen :- 
 
 During the last ninety days did you lose 
 twenty, or twenty thousand dollars' worth of 
 lumber business because you did not have ce- 
 ment? Are you going to lose again next 
 
 season? 
 
THE SALES LETTER 195 
 
 A dealer from the southern part of Nebraska 
 claims to have lost a twenty-five-thousand-dol- 
 lar order because he could not get a car of ce- 
 ment. It is going to be worth a good deal to 
 you to have cement this season when you need 
 it, and we can see that you have it. Our new 
 kiln will produce another thousand barrels a 
 day. If you want a part of this thousand, 
 please return this letter to us immediately and 
 we will place you on our list of regular 
 customers. 
 
 By the way, gentlemen, the car of cement 
 which sold the twenty-five-thousand-dollar or- 
 der was a car of 
 
 Yours for another big year. 
 
 LJH. ECD Sales Manager. 
 
 Cement Company, 
 
 Omaha, Nebraska. 
 
 Gentlemen:- Please let us have a part of 
 
 that extra thousand. We use about 
 
 carloads a year. 
 
 Signed 
 
 By 
 
 Dear Mr. Erickson :- 
 
 I believe we can relieve you of some of 
 that worry which you are having in connection 
 with your cement business. I can hear you say- 
 ing that it is a durned hard job to know just 
 
196 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 what to do in times like these. The good com- 
 pany with which you have been doing business 
 has treated you right, you say, and why should 
 you go back on them? 
 
 Now, Mr. Erickson, we have been in this 
 same boat ourselves. Some of our good friends 
 are selling customers that we had in the early 
 days and we are glad of it. They deserve this 
 business because they are on the ground. The 
 increase in population has made the location of 
 new plants necessary in that territory. Maybe 
 a number of years ago the dealer in the next 
 town sold lumber where you are now doing 
 business, but conditions have changed and 
 surely you are right in believing that you are 
 entitled to that business to-day. 
 
 In these times when service is so important 
 to you and short hauling so vital to the car 
 situation, I am sure that you will see the wis- 
 dom of buying from the nearest plant. I am 
 really hoping that this letter will come back 
 with an order. We must have you in our great 
 family. 
 
 LJB. ECD Saies Manager. 
 
 Dear Brown :- You are right. I am going to 
 buy my cement close to home and help save 
 cars. Enter my order for car- 
 loads for shipment within days. 
 
 Signed 
 
 Note: The salesman's report of this dealer states that 
 his service is not so satisfactory as it might be; the car 
 situation is affecting him in different ways. The letter is 
 framed on the strength of the salesman's report. 
 
THE SALES LETTER 197 
 
 THE APPEAEANCE OF THE LETTEE 
 
 To some extent we can tell the character of 
 a man by his home and the way it is kept, his 
 business and the way it is run, his associations. 
 You probably have received correspondence 
 written on cheap ruled paper. How did it im- 
 press you? You have received correspondence 
 also on good, sensible, neat and appropriate 
 stationery; well written, with a ring and tone 
 that made you feel that the one who had sent it 
 had brains, and character, and personality. 
 
 The appearance and contents of the letter, 
 which is expected to take the place of the sales- 
 man, or to cooperate with him, must surely be 
 looked after carefully. The size of the sta- 
 tionery, the printed or engraved parts such as 
 the letter-head and date line should be in their 
 proper places. All other details such as the 
 location of the salutation, the width of the mar- 
 gin, the indentation of paragraphs, and the 
 general balance of the letter should be looked 
 after. And in this day of doing things in the 
 modern way the letter must, by all means, be 
 typewritten or printed. All of these details 
 tend to give what we find necessary in every 
 branch of selling, — ^good feeling-tone. 
 
198 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 MAKING THE SAiE BY LETTER 
 
 We now have the letter in a good suit of 
 clothes. The size is standard. The location 
 and appearance of the printed or engraved mat- 
 ter is proper. It is ready to talk business. In 
 the chapter on making the sale the claim is 
 made that this process is fundamentally the 
 same no matter by what means we attempt to 
 sell. Let us see whether or not this applies to 
 the letter. Experience has proved that a large 
 percentage of the letters never obtain more 
 than momentary attention. After being glanced 
 at they pass into the basket. Therefore the first 
 important responsibility that rests on the let- 
 ter is to obtain and hold attention. As we have 
 seen, volition itself depends on this. In order 
 to obtain attention we are brought again to the 
 laws that govern it which we may summarize 
 as follows. Momentary attention can be ob- 
 tained by suggestion or description or other 
 vivid reference to size, or motion, or contrast, 
 or isolation, or position. Unless the letter hap- 
 pens to be illustrated, which is not often the 
 case, these incentives must be brought out in 
 the wording. To bring out size, for example, 
 we might start the letter something like this: 
 "Twenty plants with thirty thousand high- 
 
THE SALES LETTER 199 
 
 grade, well-paid men and women are constantly 
 serving our customers." "Now that the new 
 year is upon us, and the political unrest of the 
 last year is over, the wheels of industry are 
 turning in earnest to supply the great demand 
 that is expected soon," — ^motion or action is 
 suggested here. These will gain attention, but 
 it may be no more than momentary unless they 
 are supported by something intrinsically in- 
 teresting. Novelty is better if it is not over- 
 done. It must not carry the impression of be- 
 ing forced for the purpose of gaining attention. 
 "Dear Mr. Brown: I have just painted my 
 whole store inside and out in blue. My deliv- 
 ery trucks, advertising, correspondence, every- 
 thing that I use in my business is going to be 
 blue ; blue will be found everywhere. But it is 
 going to be a good blue and mean a great deal 
 to you. ' ' Here is a letter winning attention by 
 a description of the unusual, the novel. 
 
 If we would obtain and hold attention in the 
 letter we must first look to feeling-tone as we 
 have already shown. Then we must direct the 
 appeal to one or more of the fundamental in- 
 stincts ; to the great group of human interests, 
 the many forms of human desire, the kinds of 
 human emotion, to the many established hab- 
 its. "Is your daughter looking for a good 
 
200 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 position?" "You are not satisfied with your 
 job, are you?" "How much interested are you 
 in that boy of yours in college?" "Do not be 
 ashamed of your home. Build it over for lit- 
 tle money." "Is that baby getting the healthi- 
 est of food?" "Do not let the Htchen be a 
 place of drudgery." "Stand by your son in 
 trouble." "'Bully! Bully! That is a good 
 smoke.' That's what your uncle Henry says 
 
 every time he lights a in our store." 
 
 These are introductory expressions which ap- 
 peal to interest, desires, emotions and habits. 
 They ought to obtain attention. 
 
 HOW OBTAIISr INTEREST 
 
 The inventor or the manufacturer has had 
 some human interest uppermost in his mind. 
 Here is something that will fill a certain need ; 
 meet a certain demand. It links itself well with 
 the interests of the individual, helps him to 
 save, make more money, do better work, secure 
 an education, give the pleasure that he seeks, 
 improves his home, benefits the son or daugh- 
 ter, lessens the labors of the mother. Obtain- 
 ing interest is, therefore, a matter of bringing 
 vividly before the individual the adaptability 
 of the article to his needs or demands. The in- 
 
THE SALES LETTER 201 
 
 dividual does not always realize what are his 
 needs. The letter educates him to this, creates 
 desires and demands, and then proves adapta- 
 bility. This may be done often in the single 
 letter and again it may require a series. Ex- 
 position, description, narration and persuasion 
 will be used to convince, accompanied in many 
 cases by the offer of such proof as actual 
 demonstration. 
 
 We obtain interest also by appeal to such 
 emotions as joy, surprise, reverence, hope, 
 gratitude, and such emotional feelings as pride, 
 love, faith, etc. The desires such as the desire 
 for food, drink, sleep, sex, movement, living, 
 pleasure, property, power and knowledge all 
 have great interest value. The habits like 
 smoking, chewing, knitting, hunting, sewing, 
 reading, the social habits, all make us read when 
 they are presented properly in the letter. 
 Here is what the man who sells glassware writes 
 in order to obtain interest and possibly desire : 
 "Your friends wiU love the lure of gleaming 
 glassware. Like fairy etchings of frost on a 
 window, like lacy network of summer leaves is 
 
 the tracery on sparkling glassware. 
 
 It lends an extra lure to the charms of a dainty 
 table." 
 
 "Delicate as our patterns are their use is a 
 
202 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 pleasure you may enjoy daily, as they can al- 
 ways be quickly replaced and so inexpensively I 
 You need not grieve for 'broken sets' or too 
 
 costly completing, with lovely pieces. " 
 
 The dealer who sells washing machines 
 writes to the housewife in this way: "Happy 
 sunny windows with crisp, frilly curtains — • 
 what a snug, cozy appearance they give as they 
 are backed by gay cretonnes of smiling colors, 
 or guarded by silent hangings of rich rose or 
 blue ! What a joy to see them always fresh and 
 white. And how simple a matter with one of 
 our new electric washers. Down come the 
 mussed, soiled curtains, into the washer they go, 
 and swiftly, thoroughly, the soapy, cleansing 
 water swirls back and forth through them. In 
 eight or ten minutes the curtains come out, all 
 the original freshness and whiteness restored." 
 
 CBEATING DESIEE 
 
 Desire is a consciousness of want together 
 with the impulse to get what is wanted. This 
 impulse of desire is what leads to effort and 
 action. Some desires come only as a result of 
 thought and deliberation and others are unin- 
 telligent and instinctive. Life itself depends 
 on food, drink and sleep. There is always the 
 
THE SALES LETTER 203 
 
 desire for these unless these desires have been 
 satisfied. We desire movement; we long to 
 live ; we love pleasure ; we strive to own prop- 
 erty ; we spend large sums of money and years 
 of time and effort to acquire knowledge and 
 power. Our desires are associated also with 
 our kindred, friends, mankind in general, and 
 finally with our God. The thing that we are 
 selling will make its appeal to one of these if 
 the letter is worded with this in mind. A large 
 correspondence school writes to appeal to the 
 desire for education like this: 
 
 "Accountants of every class are needed at 
 once to accept responsible positions paying 
 from eighteen hundred to five thousand dol- 
 lars a year and up. 
 
 "You could secure such a position at once — 
 if you could qualify. There are plenty of them 
 open. The difficulty lies in finding the men — 
 those who have had the necessary accountancy 
 training to handle the work. They are snapped 
 up at high salaries just as rapidly as they can 
 
 be found Eead the 'Accountants Wanted' 
 
 advertisements that were clipped from one 
 edition of a city newspaper and reflect on the 
 shortage of accountants in one city alone. 
 has helped himself to secure salary in- 
 creases equal to six times what he was earning 
 two years ago. When you have completed 
 the course you will be able to call yourself an ex- 
 pert accountant." 
 
204 MODEEN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 MAKING THE LBTTEE GET ACTION 
 
 To get action we must have the resolve or 
 consent to do what the letter suggests. During 
 the period of indecision and unrest, one motive 
 is struggling with another, some inviting and 
 others blocking the sale. The possible pleas- 
 ure or pain that may result will add impulse; 
 whatever appeals to interest, emotions, desires 
 or habits. Attention must be held constantly. 
 If we can succeed in keeping attention firmly 
 fixed to the exclusion of all other ideas to the 
 contrary the battle of decision is more than 
 half won. The imagination is largely instru- 
 mental in volition and must be freely appealed 
 to. We must not overlook the importance of 
 proof ; convincing that our statements are true. 
 Finally we will see that an inducement is of- 
 fered for ordering or buying to-day — now. We 
 will give the letter a climax ; try through what 
 we have learned to be ideomotor action, to get 
 results by suggestion. "Just call 864 now and 
 ask us to send over a dictaphone for trial," is 
 an appeal to this form of action. Because peo- 
 ple do not care to write or to be inconvenienced 
 in ordering, securing possession will be made 
 as easy as possible with such suggestions as 
 "Pin a doUar to this letter and return it at my 
 risk." 
 
THE SALES LETTER 205 
 
 FOULOWING UP WITH THE LETTER 
 
 In most lines of business we do not expect to 
 sell on the first call, except to regular custom- 
 ers. The salesman calls time after time, in 
 some lines for years, and then does not obtain 
 the business. If it takes years for the salesman 
 surely we can not expect too much of the first 
 sales letter. We must send out the second one, 
 and the third, and the seventh and the eighth, 
 and then later we must send out more. Each 
 of these letters has its definite work to do. 
 Just as the sales manager lays out the detail to 
 go into each paragraph, so he plans the work 
 for each letter, the series just as logically ar- 
 ranged as the paragraphs of each letter. Per- 
 haps we have an interesting little story to pre- 
 sent. If it is interesting and well told it will 
 make good material. It should not be made too 
 long. The nature of the proposition will have 
 much to do with this, but reasonable brevity 
 must be regarded as a virtue in writing sales 
 letters. Not more than a page is preferable. 
 
 The first of the series will be introductory, 
 presenting the offer in a general way and mak- 
 ing an effort to close the sale. The point of 
 contact or center of interest or strongest fea- 
 tures on which to focus, will be brought out in 
 
206 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 this introductory letter. Each one to follow 
 will be a reinforcement of the first, bringing 
 out a point regarding the article, which proved, 
 adds a certain amount of impulse. Point by 
 point, probably not more than one to each let- 
 ter, is proved by the series until volition re- 
 sults, the attempt being made in each letter to 
 get final action through the coupon and other 
 methods generally used for this purpose. 
 
 THE SA1.ES LETTER AND THE SALESMAN 
 
 The salesman will do well to develop the 
 ability to write a good sales letter. Whatever 
 the salesman does in this respect will serve to 
 reinforce the work of the sales manager and in- 
 tensify that of the salesman himself. The 
 period of actual contact with the buyer is lim- 
 ited to a small fraction of the twenty-four 
 hours. There are times when the buyer is away 
 and can not be seen until the next trip. There 
 are extreme cases when he can not interview a 
 salesman possibly for days and the salesman 
 must leave. In many lines the period between 
 calls is measured in months. No one can grasp 
 a dealer's situation so well as the man who 
 talks with him, the salesman. Many details of 
 the interview can not be reported, yet they 
 make their impression on the salesman and he 
 
THE SALES LETTER 207 
 
 remembers them. Promises are given the 
 salesman, sometimes with the idea that they 
 will be forgotten. Situations are presenting 
 themselves of which he may take advantage. 
 With the aid of a good memorandum book the 
 salesman collects this data and enters it in his 
 diary for future reference. Two weeks after, 
 or three, he finds that a dealer is due to send in 
 an order, or that some important work is to 
 come up for which there is a possibility of get- 
 ting the contract. Out goes the letter from the 
 salesman following up the matter and he gets 
 results. 
 
 My first experience in the advantages of the 
 letter from the salesman came when I wrote as 
 strong a letter as possible to a buyer for a num- 
 ber of lumber yards in South Dakota, one of 
 which was in the territory I traveled. A spe- 
 cial trip would have required really too much 
 time and expense for the business that might 
 result, so the letter was used. It got the busi- 
 ness. After that I carried my folding machine 
 and wrote several letters daily to dealers who 
 seemed to offer any encouragement. Many of 
 these accounts eventually came to my company, 
 and I attribute the success in a reasonable way 
 to this program of continually writing letters 
 in connection with my personal work. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 SELLING AT RETAIL 
 
 In the great system of industry and com- 
 merce called economic production, retail selling 
 has a very important place. It is the last opera- 
 tion in the system of getting goods from the 
 raw state, into the hands of the consmner in 
 the finished state. In retail selling, the mer- 
 chant takes over the responsibility of the seller 
 in his relations with the public. 
 
 The first great difference that presents it- 
 self as existing between selling at fetail and 
 at wholesale is that the one selling at wholesale 
 must reach out through his salesmen and ad- 
 vertising into a much larger territory than the 
 retailer. The seller at wholesale may operate 
 over an entire country or even into foreign 
 countries. The retailer operates within a lim- 
 ited field measured generally by the circulation 
 of his local advertising mediums. The second 
 great difference is the fact that the wholesale 
 dealer is not to the same degree in constant and 
 personal contact with his trade as is the re- 
 
 208 
 
SELLING AT RETAIL 209 
 
 tailer. Tlie retailer is continually receiving a 
 line of spectators and customers at or in his 
 store. His business becomes a fixture in the 
 locality. The public learns to know the store, 
 its policy, the quality of its goods, its prices as 
 compared with others. This close contact be- 
 tween the store and its trade makes it the more 
 necessary that the store, its management, its 
 salespeople and its policy be in harmony with 
 the tastes of the trade. 
 
 Like every other great movement that occa- 
 sionally spreads over a country, that of build- 
 ing up and operating the retail stores on an ef- 
 ficient and scientific basis has taken hold of 
 the business world. The policy toward the pub- 
 lic has been revolutionized, letting the customer 
 become almost the infallible boss. Whatever 
 the customer does now, right or wrong, is right. 
 He is no more troubled with the rule of caveat 
 emptor, which always left him on the defensive 
 in buying, making him cautious, and suspicious 
 and slow to purchase. To-day he takes no 
 chances. We are making his buying a pleasure, 
 giving him goods on approval, guaranteeing 
 the quality in writing, letting him have plenty 
 of credit, calling his attention to special sales 
 by special letters, doing everything to please. 
 
210 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 INVESTIGATING BEFOEE LOCATING 
 
 The wise merchant looks into the number of 
 industries, their character, the number of em- 
 ployees, the wages paid, the regularity of op- 
 eration, housing conditions, working environ- 
 ment, permanency of population, social con- 
 ditions, financial condition of the industries 
 themselves, rents, nationalities, bank deposits 
 and similar details. He looks into the surround- 
 ing country, the farming community and its re- 
 lation to the city, the convenience of market- 
 ing, the families of these farmers, how large 
 these families are, the incomes, their success, 
 the production history, soil and climatic con- 
 ditions. Satisfied with these he also looks into 
 the local competition, the character of the 
 other retail stores, how much cooperation he 
 can expect from them. He will get the number 
 of doctors, lawyers, and other professional 
 men, real estate agents, insurance agents, men 
 and women of other employment and their 
 probable buying power. 
 
 LOCATING THE STOBE ITSELF 
 
 Having made a careful investigation the mer- 
 chant has come to the point of locating. He 
 
SELLING AT RETAIL 211 
 
 then selects the site with the same amount of 
 foresight and care that he selects the city. He 
 has a careful check on the density of traffic; 
 the kind and character and frequency. He 
 knows the number of vehicles and whether they 
 are automobiles, or carriages, and the number 
 of pedestrians, men, women or children, and he 
 knows the hours when they pass. He then 
 looks into the rent, insurance, and tax factors, 
 advertising rates, the local practises of his com- 
 petitors, the opportunity for obtaining help, 
 wages, amount of delivering to be done, whether 
 the business is cash or credit, whether prices 
 are maintained by competition, the amount of 
 business that might be drawn from other stores, 
 how much would be created, the facilities for 
 keeping a small stock — all existing present and 
 prospective conditions, including the prospect 
 of the growth of the city. 
 
 The local competition will be analyzed. Are 
 the competitors old or young, well-established 
 or new, efficient and up-to-date or backward, 
 popular or unpopular, influential over a regular 
 following on account of religion, club or lodge 
 connections, rated well for credit, treating their 
 customers well. 
 
212 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 SALES AND PBOFITS 
 
 To get a reasonable profit from the greatest 
 possible number of sales requires management. 
 It requires a microscopic examination of every 
 department. The seller, including the salesman, 
 the goods to be sold, the customer or buyer, and 
 the manner of making the sale are factors 
 which must be thoroughly analyzed and im- 
 proved wherever possible. The spirit of the 
 efficiency engineer has reached the field of the 
 retailer. The age of efficiency, of intensifica- 
 tion, of new theories and new practises is upon 
 us. 
 
 Let us say to the man or woman behind the 
 counter that the details of personality already 
 enumerated in this book, apply to the retail 
 salesman just as much as they do to the whole- 
 sale or traveling man. We can not overlook 
 the personal appearance; we can not overlook 
 the manner; we surely can not overlook the 
 language and expression; we can not overlook 
 the importance of knowing much about what we 
 have to sell. The man or woman of ordinary 
 refinement likes to do his buying from the 
 salesperson who dresses modestly, neatly and 
 becomingly; who has a good cordial bow for a 
 friend or customer or visitor; who is patient, 
 
SELLING AT RETAIL 213 
 
 interested in the person's wants, and who can, 
 after every effort has been made to make a sale, 
 very graciously suffer the loss of it. Treat- 
 ment of this kind brings customers back again. 
 
 SEIiLING EFFICIENCY 
 
 There are little details of efficiency which if 
 practised by the salesperson will bring the sell- 
 ing ability to a much higher standard. "We 
 must be regularly at work and on time, have a 
 fundamental knowledge of the principles of 
 selling, know the goods, use tact, use good Eng- 
 lish, remember the name, be original. We must 
 know the store and the location of things, be 
 methodical, honest. We must know something 
 about the work of our superiors, in order to 
 give us breadth and understanding. 
 
 By being regularly at work and on time the 
 salesperson increases sales. If every sales- 
 person were to come to the store only when it 
 was convenient, the morale of the entire organ- 
 ization would be affected. The management 
 could never depend on the employees. For the 
 good of the store it is most essential that we 
 get to work every day. It is just as important 
 that we get to work on time and leave on time. 
 In the opening and closing minutes of each day 
 
214 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 many an opportunity will present itself to make 
 sales. The buyer has a reason for coming 
 early or late and must purchase at that time. 
 Not being able to obtain service on account of 
 the absence of one or more of the salespersons, 
 the buyer has disappointedly gone to a com- 
 petitor and a sale is lost. The person who is 
 constantly irregular and late in attendance 
 lacks interest in the work and is not paving the 
 way for advancement. 
 
 Dress and manner must be carefully attended 
 to by the salesperson. Too much paint and 
 powder, extremes of design, immodesty of 
 dress, loudness of dress or manner are offensive 
 to many people. Constant gum chewing will 
 drive away people of certain temperaments. 
 Chewing tobacco is inexcusable in any place of 
 business where men and women do their trad- 
 ing. Bad breath keeps customers at a distance. 
 Occasionally we detect offensive odors due to 
 lack of attention to the hair and body cavities. 
 The more powder and paint we notice the more 
 repulsive and unpardonable becomes this con- 
 dition. In retailing, which necessitates being 
 indoors constantly, personal odors are all the 
 more striking. Cleanliness, sweetness, whole- 
 someness are wonderfully attractive. There is 
 no greater injustice that we salespeople can do 
 
SELLING AT RETAIL 215 
 
 ourselves than that of failing to keep clean, 
 failing to use soap and water freely, failing to 
 dress in clean, well-kept clothes. No less im- 
 portant is the matter of carrying ourselves 
 well, walking briskly and standing erect. We 
 must not overlook the attraction of a pleasant 
 smile. We must express our interest in the 
 customer with our eyes, face and actions. We 
 must leave the slang at home. We must be a 
 lady or gentleman in the real sense of these 
 words. 
 
 DISCIPLINE 
 
 To obey the code of rules or methods ot 
 practise in force in the retail store is as im- 
 portant as it is in the army. We can not get 
 far in the army without discipline. Things 
 must be done in a certain way, and that certain 
 way must be followed by all. The certain way 
 of running the retail store has been decided 
 on by the management after most careful study 
 and experience. Each salesperson has certain 
 things to do and certain ways of doing them. 
 We must have rules to run any organization 
 and these rules must be obeyed. Let us learn 
 the rules of our store and obey them. 
 
 Any salesman is a better one for having in- 
 terested himself in obtaining knowledge of the 
 
216 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 business beyond his immediate work; for hav- 
 ing learned the reasons for construction and ar- 
 ranging and managing the store as it is done. 
 The cooperation of the salesman is worth much 
 to the management. It is worth much more 
 with this knowledge of the point of view of the 
 management, because having this point of view 
 the salesman cooperates with greater sympathy. 
 By having a thorough knowledge of the goods 
 the retail selling is made more efficient. In re- 
 tail selling we must know our stock, what it is 
 and where to find it. We must know the good 
 seller and the poor seller. We must know the 
 quantity on hand, the ordinary demand, and 
 see that the stock is replenished as required. 
 We must know prices and quality. By know- 
 ing price and quality, we can assist in making 
 selections that are suited to the taste and pock- 
 etbook of the purchaser. Our knowledge of 
 goods must include the knowledge of their uses. 
 If we are selling hardware and can not tell the 
 uses of a certain wrench, we are worthless. 
 That wrench has some very attractive talking 
 points which we ought to know, and which 
 would help us to sell it. Our knowledge of 
 goods should include the knowledge of quality 
 also. If knowing the quality necessitates learn- 
 ing how the goods are made let us learn this.: 
 
SELLING AT RETAIL 217 
 
 If we know that a certain automobile tire is 
 made of four or five plies of good fabric, in- 
 stead of three, we have a valuable selling point 
 which will help to make a sale. Knowing the 
 goods means knowing the condition of the 
 goods. If some of them are not in salable con- 
 dition it is important to make this known. A 
 thorough knowledge of the goods enables one 
 to talk over such selling points as style, du- 
 rability, the purpose for which the article is best 
 suited, its convenience to the customer, the 
 comfort which it gives, its purity, safety, 
 beauty, construction, the cost to produce it, how 
 it compares with similar articles made by com- 
 petitors, who are the makers, whether or not it 
 is guaranteed, who are using it and how they 
 are satisfied. One writer says: "Half the se- 
 cret in attracting and holding customers often 
 simply amounts to knowing a bit more about 
 the goods than the other fellow and taking the 
 pains to explain it to customers. The dealer 
 who does is usually a lap or two ahead when it 
 comes to interesting customers." 
 
 Our explanations must not be over the head 
 of the buyer. Technical matters should be 
 brought out in a simple and interesting way or 
 they mil not be understood. Talking about the 
 details on an engine or automobile might do 
 
218 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 very well for some buyers, yet would be most 
 monotonous and hazy to others. 
 
 Concentrate on your customer, see that there 
 is nothing to distract, like noises, smells, smoke 
 or dust. Make the customer comfortable, tak- 
 ing him or her from the gaze of the public if 
 this is advisable. Never let over-anxiety bring 
 into the situation more than one salesman at a 
 time. Aim to please rather than to sell. By 
 aiming to please the selling will take care of 
 itself. Be thorough, patient, interesting in 
 your descriptions. Keep your mind on your 
 work. Appeal from every angle, politely, gra- 
 ciously and sincerely, by means of suggestion, 
 by exercising the buyer's imagination, by ap- 
 pealing to the instincts, emotions, desires, inter- 
 ests and habits. Appeal to the parent for the 
 child, to the husband for the wife, to the lover 
 of music and tone with the piano, to the love 
 for clothing with style, to imitation by telling 
 of others who have bought, to individuality by 
 showing distinctiveness and uncommonness. 
 Humor the selfish; make it easy for the lazy; 
 let the customer sell himself if possible; cater 
 to his vanity ; make him like you and your store. 
 Help the undecided by suggesting ; inspire con- 
 fidence by giving undisputed proof to the sus- 
 picious; agree with and flatter the one who 
 
SELLING AT EETAIL 219 
 
 knows as much about the goods as you do ; let 
 the talking one talk but not drift too far from 
 the matter of a sale. Find the vital point of at- 
 tack in the indifferent and reticent, possibly by 
 a question; show the advantages of immediate 
 buying to the one who would wait ; be active and 
 in harmony with the one who is nervous and 
 must have things done quickly, and be slow and 
 deliberate with those who would take their 
 time. Comfort the tired; preserve your dig- 
 nity for the dignified. Anticipate the buyer's 
 objections by answering them before they are 
 asked. Tell the truth always. Say and do the 
 right thing at the right time. 
 
 A certain dry goods merchant examining 
 into his business came to the following conclu- 
 sions: First, that a desire to sell can be so 
 strong as to defeat its own purpose. The de- 
 sire being selfish, may lead us to forget the 
 point of view of the customer. Second, that 
 any business depends on the good will and con- 
 fidence of its customers. Third, that if the de- 
 sire to please and serve the public is kept up- 
 permost in our minds we will develop a much 
 greater volume of trade than if we merely try 
 to sell. By pleasing the public with our goods 
 and service our selling takes care of itself. 
 
 Bemembering the name is one of the most 
 
220 MODEEN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 appealing faculties that the salesperson can 
 have. The opportunity of learning the name of 
 a customer is not always favorable. When the 
 introduction takes place we do not hear it or 
 understand it. There is a way to get the name 
 and to remember it, and it is well worth culti- 
 vating. First get the name firmly fixed in the 
 mind, clearly imprinted there. Get it correctly 
 spelled and pronounced. Eepeat it to yourself 
 as often as possible while you are talking to the 
 person, associating the name with the person 
 and especially with the face. Continue to do 
 this after the person has left. This continued 
 repetition and association will make remember- 
 ing much easier. 
 
 StiU other important details to be attended 
 to in our selling are the use of tact, good judg- 
 ment, keeping the character above reproach, 
 letting the imagination play its part freely, 
 taking advantage of the power of suggestion, 
 thinking, thinking, thinking! The customer's 
 tendencies, his actions while buying, the things 
 that he examines, the comments that he makes, 
 — all these tend to assist in determining what 
 will appeal to him. It is a matter of common 
 knowledge that the woman is much more par- 
 ticular and careful in her buying than the man. 
 Another detail worth remembering is that those 
 
SELLING AT EETAIL 221 
 
 who are most difficult to please, once pleased, 
 make the most loyal customers. They know 
 that they are difficult to please and they give 
 credit to the salesperson who can do it. Nor 
 should we forget that selling properly means 
 pleasing, and that the person who buys hastily 
 may be dissatisfied and will return the goods, 
 an uneconomical practise reflecting on the 
 salesperson if it happens frequently. We must 
 learn to know people ; be able to judge them to 
 some extent by their appearance, manner and 
 actions. Much can be learned by studying peo- 
 ple with whom we come in contact in our work 
 in the store. We have already made a detailed 
 examination of the buyer in the chapter on that 
 subject. 
 
 OEIGINAXiITY 
 
 Eemember that the man or woman buyer is 
 calling on salesperson after salesperson, in one 
 store and another, day after day. When, there- 
 fore, the same form of address, the same ques- 
 tions, the same expressions are heard time after 
 time in dealing with these employees, a feeling 
 of monotony comes over the buyer, a feeling 
 that these words and expressions are stereo- 
 typed and ought to be changed for something 
 new and original. "Something?" — "Do you 
 
222 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 wish to be waited on?" — "What's yours?" — 
 "What do you want?" — these are just a few 
 of the common expressions. Let us change 
 them. Let us say something appropriate but 
 different. Each customer may present himself 
 in such a way as to offer an opportunity to do 
 or say something that is out of the ordinary. 
 Take advantage of it. 
 
 WE MUST KEEP IN MIND THE FACT THAT IN SELLING 
 
 WE ABE FUNDAMENTALLY APPEALING TO THE 
 
 INSTINCTS 
 
 Instinct is the natural and inborn inclination 
 and ability to do certain things without being 
 taught, like the inclination of the duckling to 
 go for the water as soon as it leaves the shell. 
 These instincts vary in different persons, yet 
 they can be classified as common to all. Some 
 of us have the instinct for music, some for num- 
 bers, some for harmony, others for balance. 
 We all have the instinct for wanting to acquire. 
 From the day we are born we have the hunger 
 instinct. Later we develop the instinct for 
 clothing. Every business man is in business by 
 reason of his instinct for acquiring or collect- 
 ing. Other instincts which are common to all 
 are curiosity, companionship, imitation, indi- 
 
SELLING AT EETAIL 223 
 
 viduality, the parental instinct and the instincts 
 of sympathy, modesty, travel, fear and anger. 
 Did you ever stop to consider that the man who 
 designs or invents is a student of interests, 
 emotions, desires and habits. Did you ever 
 consider that the man or woman that buys for 
 your department is a student of these same in- 
 centives? These men and women buyers know 
 popular needs and demands and must only be 
 convinced of adaptability to fill these needs or 
 supply these demands when they make pur- 
 chases. Every piece of goods in the retail store 
 makes its appeal, when properly presented, to 
 some fundamental instinct. There is clothing, 
 for example. We must have it. It is one of 
 our strongest interests. In connection with it 
 our feeling of pride, almost emotional in some 
 persons, says we must have style. Acquisitive- 
 ness, which springs from the instinct of hoard- 
 ing or collecting, says we must have a fair price. 
 A pleasant and courteous environment and a 
 willingness to please give the good feeling-tone 
 which is so much desired in all branches of sell- 
 ing. Although there are many surprises in 
 store for the salesman who attempts to "size 
 up" a person, there is a way to determine by 
 tactfully questioning, by carefully directed con- 
 versation, by appearance, action and other evi- 
 
224 MODEEN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 dence just what the person desires or needs 
 and what will meet these desires and supply 
 the needs. The buyer who knows exactly what 
 he wants will require little of the salesman's 
 time and attention. Serving this person will 
 be merely taking an order. Then there is the 
 person who knows just about what he wants. 
 Serving him requires not much more salesman- 
 ship. There is another class, however, "just 
 looking," or who have made one purchase and 
 might be interested in another. Getting this 
 individual to purchase requires salesmanship; 
 the same inevitable process of getting atten- 
 tion, interest, desire and volition, — good con- 
 structive salesmanship, the kind that lifts the 
 salesman from the level of the common to that 
 of the expert. 
 
 YOUE SALARY IS PAID FOB CLOSING SALES 
 
 There is no money made in retailing unless 
 goods are actually sold. Selling and getting 
 the money keeps the store and salaries going. 
 We may have a wonderful store, a beautiful 
 line of goods, an excellent display. The place 
 may be filled with people day after day looking 
 at our goods and hearing our appeals, yet if 
 we can not close the sale the store will go into 
 
SELLING AT EETAIL 225 
 
 bankruptcy. We must close and have the cus- 
 tomer satisfied. This closing must be done 
 with tact. There can not be the appearance of 
 forcing. The appearance must be that of try- 
 ing to please. Gentle suggestions here and 
 there, extreme patience in showing every style 
 that might satisfy, as a last resort letting the 
 undecided customer take home the article if 
 there seems to be an opportunity to please, ask- 
 ing at the proper time if the article is to be 
 charged or paid for in cash, requesting the 
 name and address, handing the article to the 
 customer with the attitude that you regard it as 
 sold, asking when the person wants it, or how 
 he wants it sent, or which style he prefers, are 
 only some of the means of closing by sugges- 
 tion. Think again, and do not leave anything 
 undone that should be done to make the sale in 
 the proper way. 
 
 AS A LAST BESOKT, INTEODTJCE THE CUSTOMER TO 
 SOME ONE HIGHER UP 
 
 If the sale is of sufficient importance, and 
 everything possible has been done to please the 
 customer, a very good practise is to introduce 
 the customer to some one higher up in the de- 
 partment. Those in authority may decide on 
 
226 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 account of the ciremnstances that a concession 
 might be offered, or some other consideration 
 given in order to close the sale. If it is then 
 impossible to make the sale, the customer must 
 nevertheless be thanked for his time and re- 
 quested to come again just as sincerely and 
 courteously as if a sale had been made. 
 
 KNOW THE LOCATION OF OTHER DEPAETMENTS IN 
 THE STORE 
 
 The higher work of creating business de- 
 mands that salespersons know the location of 
 other departments than their own. If the cus- 
 tomer is buying a coat from one department, 
 something to go with it which may be had in 
 that department or in some other, should be 
 suggested. Possibly it is the boot and shoe de- 
 partment, since it is a stormy morning and the 
 customer seems to need rubbers. If the buyer 
 has purchased a heavy coat he may want also 
 a heavy cap, or a flannel shirt. We should 
 know what is on sale and where the sales are 
 taking place, what is specially advertised. All 
 matters of interest pertaining to the store, and 
 which may be asked about should be known to 
 the salespersons. Every sale, whether it be 
 from one department or another, is important. 
 
SELLING AT BETAIL 227 
 
 All should therefore cooperate to see that the 
 sale is made, even if the manager of the rug 
 department has to take the customer to the shoe 
 department to make it. 
 
 BY BEING METHODICAL, TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE 
 
 QXnOKEST, MOST EFFICIENT WAY OF DOING THINGS 
 
 THE SALESPEBSON ADDS TO HIS ABILITY 
 
 There is a long and short way to do things. 
 Let us have the short way; it saves time. 
 Names should be correctly spelled and written. 
 Bundles should be tied in the most efficient 
 way. House numbers and street addresses 
 should be correct; when incorrect they cause 
 much inconvenience, loss of time and disap- 
 pointment. Change should be made quickly and 
 correctly. If the credit must be looked into 
 have it quickly and properly and diplomatically 
 done in order to save time and iU feeling. See 
 that totals are correct, that orders are prop- 
 erly taken with nothing omitted. Little mis- 
 takes and omissions may mean much. A wrong 
 spool of thread may mean that the dressmaker 
 must wait. A wrong number may mean that 
 some one will be without slippers for the opera* 
 An incorrect name may mean another trip to 
 the store by some one who has been patiently 
 waiting for delivery, 
 
228 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 Do not hesitate to get the correct spelUng of 
 a name, even if you have to have it written out 
 for you. All items of purchase should be fully 
 and clearly written down, sufficiently in detail 
 for proper identification should this become 
 necessary. The number of articles is as im- 
 portant as the description of them. If the 
 salesperson will show the order to the customer 
 for approval of name, correctness of address, 
 number, and of the articles ordered little more 
 time will be required and much trouble wiU be 
 avoided. 
 
 How would you feel were you to get a C. 0. D. 
 shipment with the price higher than you agreed 
 to pay? If the price of the C. 0. D. is too high 
 the customer will not pay, and if it is too low 
 the company may never be able to collect the 
 difference. Be honest with the customer and 
 prove that you are so by calling attention to 
 errors even if you have to telephone to do it. 
 Do not let customers suspect that their credit 
 is questioned by sending orders C. 0. D., which 
 should be sent otherwise, and do not send ar- 
 ticles otherwise that should go C. 0. D. You 
 may make a present of these articles to the per- 
 son at the expense of your company. The whole 
 matter resolves itself into one of being careful. 
 BE CAEEFIJL! We have put it in capitals 
 
SELLING AT EETAIL 229 
 
 because it means so much in any branch of 
 selling. 
 
 In retailing the attention is obtained by ad- 
 vertising, window display, store display, and 
 occasionally by some extraordinary means. 
 You know the power of the full-page newspaper 
 advertisement that is so often used by the de- 
 partment store. The newspaper advertisement 
 is as important to the woman buyer as is the 
 sporting page to the baseball fan. You know 
 too the power of a good window display. Men 
 and women and children stop to study the new 
 designs and latest suggestions in millinery, 
 suits, dresses, and toys. Now regarding store 
 display! Where do we buy our chocolates? 
 Do we buy them from the merchant with the 
 dark, dusty, sticky and unsanitary candy 
 counter, or do we step into the store with good 
 appointments, agreeable decorations, plate- 
 glass show cases, and with attractive boxes and 
 containers? This is store display. 
 
 The man who writes the advertisements for 
 the store knows that the real selling points of 
 an article of merchandise are the qualities and 
 benefits of that article as they exist in the buy- 
 er's mind. In the volume on attracting and 
 holding attention, in Shaw's Retailing Series 
 we find this: "The real psychology of adver- 
 
230 MODEEN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 tising is this: A man buys an article for the 
 good he will get out of it, and never for the 
 benefit of the merchant. He buys it because 
 he wants to buy it and not because the merchant 
 wants him to Therefore in finding the sell- 
 ing points in his goods the advertiser should 
 consider his goods from the customer's point of 
 view, and present his selling talk in a way that 
 will make the customer really agree with the 
 merchandiser's idea; namely, that the goods 
 are worth having." 
 
 In obtaining the attention by advertising and 
 display the customer is visualized, as they say. 
 He is vividly pictured with all of his surround- 
 ings. His mode of living, practises in buying, 
 where he lives, how he lives, his occupation, his 
 income, his probable likes and dislikes are pic- 
 tured. Knowing the uses of one's goods en- 
 ables one to fit these uses to the condition and 
 circumstances of the buyer. In dealing with 
 the class of buyers who have not been reached 
 by advertising, and display, the salesman gains 
 attention and interest in the same manner. He 
 must do the work in this particular case of the 
 advertiser and window-trimmer or decorator, 
 in addition to doing his usual work in retail 
 selling. 
 
SELLING AT EETAIL 231 
 
 THE BETTER BETAIL SALESMAN SHOULD KNOW 
 SOMETHING OP STORE MANAGEMENT, WINDOW DIS- 
 PLAY, ADVERTISING AND OTHER INCIDENTAIS OF 
 THE RETAIL BUSINESS 
 
 Some excellent ideas in retailing, advertis- 
 ing and managing have come from the small- 
 town dealers. Some of our most effective ad- 
 vertisements have come from men formerly 
 salesmen in little towns who made a study of 
 advertising. The salesman of the small towns 
 and of the smaller stores of the large cities, 
 must be more versatile than the specialist 
 salesman of the large city department store. 
 The work of the salesman of the small town is 
 more general, taking in often the matter of ad- 
 vertising, window display, possibly temporary 
 management. This is the salesman of to-day 
 who will be the business man of to-morrow. 
 How much better will his salesmanship be if 
 he knows something about the work higher up 
 in his business. The broader his knowledge of 
 business in general and of things in general, 
 the more effective will be his selling. 
 
 THE VALUE OF WINDOW AND STORE DISPLAY 
 
 Density of traffic adds value to window dis- 
 play. Window display is very strong adver- 
 
232 MODEEN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 tising because of its realism. In this respect 
 it is next to handling the goods themselves. If 
 there is action in the display it becomes stiU 
 more real. Crowds stop to watch the young 
 athlete demonstrate the shoulder brace. The 
 display window yields an opportunity to give 
 a perfect object lesson full of life and action, 
 so real that when the athlete straightens his 
 shoulders the spectator straightens his also. 
 We are rarely disappointed in the impression 
 we obtain from the display window. It is a 
 very effective method of letting the goods sell 
 themselves. And no less important is the dis- 
 play within the store. The opportunity is just 
 as great here for keeping goods before the con- 
 stant stream of traffic and in many cases gain- 
 ing attention and interest that would otherwise 
 never have been gained. 
 
 WINDOW AND STOKE DISPIAT 
 
 The background must be relevant. It is nei- 
 ther good taste nor good judgment to use a 
 background of a busy mill and its smoky sur- 
 roundings for a display of perfumery. If our 
 store were in the steel mill district and we had 
 a soap display, the mill and some of its em- 
 ployees cheerfully removing .the grease and 
 grit with this soap would be relevant. 
 
SELLING AT EETAIL 233 
 
 Good display is an art. It requires skilful 
 and systematic arrangement. Certain combina- 
 tions, certain kinds of lines, certain blending of 
 colors have esthetic value; beauty and taste 
 and refinement that make one want to stop and 
 ponder and enjoy. Surely care in arranging 
 the cloth or garments or articles on display, 
 seeing that they are in good condition, and that 
 they are naturally placed are important. A 
 skirt thrown over the shoulder of a form would 
 not be natural. It should be where it belongs. 
 The things displayed should have agreement in 
 their relation, conformity, symmetry and har- 
 mony. Any object or picture that is presented 
 to the mind, whether it be in advertising, or in 
 display, must have balance and unity. Every- 
 thing must be where it belongs, inviting the eye 
 to pass from one object to another, naturally 
 and unconsciously, having nothing to interfere 
 with the impression which is being made on the 
 mind. Then the things displayed should have 
 meaning; express something, some thought or 
 suggestion. A group of figures representing 
 children of different ages, dressed in the latest 
 of the season 's apparel is a meaningful sugges- 
 tion. The bedroom completely equipped, or 
 the dining-room, or kitchen, give a complete 
 suggestion with meaning. There is surely no 
 
234 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 meaning to a display of silverware and har- 
 ness, but to harness and harness polish or 
 grease or other stable accessories there is plenty 
 of meaning. Display with meaning is creative. 
 It associates in the mind the relevant. The 
 purchase or presentation of one thing of this 
 related group has a tendency to suggest others. 
 We place a new bed in a room and immediately 
 notice incompleteness in some respect; not the 
 right kind of rug; pictures inappropriate or 
 something omitted or irregular. Irregular 
 why? Because meaningful display has educated 
 us to this feeling. Go back to the laws of mem- 
 ory and you will find that association is its 
 very basis. 
 
 In good display objects must necessarily pre- 
 dominate over setting. If ingenuity in color 
 arrangement predominates to the extent of 
 drawing attention to it rather than to the goods, 
 the display is to this extent a failure. The 
 style must be in keeping with the environment. 
 Location and the character of the traffic must 
 be kept in mind. Idealism, or showing ultra 
 styles — those above the average taste — is re- 
 garded as effective. Extreme effects make ob- 
 servers curious to learn if the more conserva- 
 tive styles are not exceptionally good-looking. 
 Bizarre effects, the grotesque, odd and fantas- 
 
SELLING AT RETAIL 235 
 
 tic are being freely made use of if it is possible 
 to do so without detracting from the goods 
 themselves. 
 
 THE IMPOETANCE OF UNES AND SXJBFAOES 
 
 It is well to remember that there are grace 
 and beauty in waves and curves. The grace of 
 the classic dancer is explained in the waves and 
 curves of her movements and gestures. Lines 
 themselves affect the feeling-tone. We are 
 pleased with certain lines on the automobile. 
 We say it has good or bad lines. The lines of 
 clothing are agreeable or disagreeable to us; 
 and so the lines of arrangement in our display 
 window will have agreeable or disagreeable 
 feeling-tone. The firraness and dignity in ver- 
 tical lines make us respond by standing erect 
 and holding the head high. Now regarding hor- 
 izontal lines, it is easier to swing the head from 
 side to side than it is up and down. Further- 
 more, objects at rest are in horizontal positions ; 
 they therefore suggest peace and quiet and 
 restfulness. Diagonal lines suggest action like 
 that of the athlete running or hurdling, or the 
 dog leaping through space. We seem to have a 
 native preference for ellipses, ovals and oblong 
 shapes rather than for squares and circleSt 
 
236 MODEEN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 The shape of almost every article of regular 
 use proves this ; for example, the envelope, the 
 oblong desk or door or window or piano, or the 
 store itself, the calling card, dance-hall, living- 
 room, even the display window^ Following 
 this same inclination we prefer the cone, pyra- 
 mid or triangle or star, to the cube or sphere. 
 
 Display is not normal unless it has balance. 
 "We are very quick to detect lack of balance in 
 anything. In an art window, mass can be bal- 
 anced against vista, or against other objects 
 suitable in size and suggestive of weight for 
 balance. To avoid topheaviness, more must be 
 below the center than above, where the light 
 and delicate belong; where nature puts the 
 birds and clouds. Too much in the window sug- 
 gesting overcrowding, is not good. There 
 should be breathing space and allowance for 
 the effect of background. 
 
 The attractiveness of color is very great. It 
 too must have harmony, and masses of color 
 must balance if a color scheme is attempted as 
 is often the case in the strictly art window. 
 
 The art window is not always possible on ac- 
 count of the nature of the goods displayed. 
 Grroups of small articles such as groceries, in- 
 cluding teas, coffees, canned goods and the 
 like, must often be displayed in what is some- 
 
SELLING AT EETAIL 237 
 
 times called the "checker-board" arrangement. 
 This arrangement covers the floor and walls of 
 the display case or window, the articles being 
 properly grouped. The disadvantage of this 
 is the appearance of crowding and the tendency 
 to rob of distinctness, with nothing standing 
 out to make a special impression to make one 
 remember. 
 
 Some merchants are very successful who use 
 the entire store for display. Although the dis- 
 play windows are to some extent set apart, 
 they are really a feature of the display of the 
 entire store. The vastness and the opportunity 
 to give meaning to all display are extraordi- 
 nary, especially at night when good lighting 
 facilities unfold the beauties of the entire first 
 floor which has been carefully and purposefully 
 planned and arranged. There is a great op- 
 portunity for the furniture dealer with such a 
 display, and for the one who wishes to give dis- 
 tinction to his automobile store. 
 
 The observer welcomes the sight of ferns and 
 flowers, velour in proper colors, and other 
 tasteful and suitable decoration. Standards 
 and fixtures rather negative than positive, add 
 to the beauty of the window. 
 
 In display, as in personal selling and adver- 
 tising, the constant effort should be to strike a 
 
238 MODEEN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 responsive chord. There is a way to show 
 goods which will bring out most forcefully 
 their adaptability to needs or demands; link 
 them with the interests of the observer, with 
 his probable desires and habits; appeal to his 
 emotions. When this point of contact, or cen- 
 ter of interest, is discovered and featured the 
 work is at its best. If we can bring out the 
 central figure or idea around which everything 
 else revolves and is subordinated, and so create 
 a focul point for flitting attention, the impres- 
 sion on memory is made the stronger — the prob- 
 lem again of the advertiser and the salesman. 
 
 APPEABANCE OF THE WINDOW AND THE STOEB 
 
 The salesman will find that paint, the broom 
 and the wash cloth are not forgotten in running 
 the modern store. The exterior will be attrac- 
 tive, and a good advertisement of what is with- 
 in, by having it kept painted. The surround- 
 ings, walks, windows, floors, display cases, and 
 the goods themselves are kept clean and at- 
 tractive. In the stores of our larger cities, men 
 and women are constantly cleaning and put- 
 ting things in order, keeping them fresh, bright 
 and inviting. The good effect of a beautiful 
 painting can be spoiled by putting it in a poor 
 frame. The good effect of our work in the 
 
SELLING AT EETAIL 239 
 
 display window can be spoiled by the detract- 
 ing influence of a poor exterior. 
 
 The public demands frequent changes in the 
 display. As soon as a certain display has done 
 its work it should be changed. The local con- 
 ditions will help to determine the frequency 
 with which changes should be made, like the 
 density of traffic, and the apparent dramng 
 power of the display. The life and progres- 
 siveness of the management are reflected in 
 making frequent changes. 
 
 SOME SIGNIFICANT THINGS 
 
 The entrances should be carefully located; 
 the doors should work easily or be opened by 
 attendants. They should be wide enough for 
 the traffic, and level with the walks. The fac- 
 tor of safety is always considered because with 
 heavy traffic passing constantly through the 
 entrances, accidents are likely to happen, and 
 damage suits accumulate. Respecting effi- 
 ciency and economy, the modem manager 
 studies the arrangement of his departments 
 and of the things in each department, placing 
 these in the relation to each other with the idea 
 in mind of making the operation of the entire 
 store as efficient and economical and conve- 
 
240 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 nient as possible. Access to the different de- 
 partments is made easy, the relative density of 
 traffic to different departments being consid- 
 ered. The floor plan is made as simple as may 
 be. In order to prevent crowds from gathering 
 near entrances and interfering with traffic 
 only goods which sell themselves readily should 
 be placed near the entrances. In the floor ar- 
 rangement the peculiarities of the man buyer 
 should not be overlooked. He will not follow a 
 labyrinth of departments and counters to do his 
 buying. Unless the purpose is to cater to the 
 exclusive class the store will try to educate the 
 public to believe that it belongs to everybody. 
 Goods should be placed where they will, as 
 much as possible, sell themselves even though 
 there is some loss from their being handled 
 freely. The supply of cards should be plenti- 
 ful, good cards well designed and printed or 
 painted with prices, directions, descriptions and 
 other labor-saving information. Appropriate 
 display fixtures which will save space and 
 labor, as in unpacking, and which will serve as 
 salesmen in many cases, should be plentiful but 
 not conspicuous. Whenever the nature of the 
 goods will permit they should be displayed 
 compactly, in the grocery for example, with 
 canned goods for a base and selected glass con- 
 
SELLING AT EETAIL 241 
 
 tainers for a mounting pyramid. This saves 
 space and adds variety. The importance of as- 
 sociation should not be forgotten. Articles 
 most naturally associated with one another 
 should be exploited by juxtaposition in ar- 
 rangement, by suggestion from the salesperson, 
 and possibly in department advertising, on 
 cards, or even on the containers themselves. 
 
 The modern manager studies the records of 
 his store and learns the buying habits of his 
 customers, then caters to these habits. If he 
 sells more hardware on Wednesday than on any 
 other day, he makes an effort to sell even more 
 by catering to this line on that day. He knows 
 the value of traffic throughout the store; it 
 makes the sales. Bargain counters, entertain- 
 ments, and special attractions are held with the 
 idea of distributing the traffic where it will do 
 the most good. The comfort of patrons and 
 employees is always kept in mind by seeing to 
 ventilation, light, rest rooms, nurseries and 
 other conveniences. The buyer must be put in 
 the right frame of mind to do business. 
 
 OEGANIZATION OF THE IjAEGE EETAIL STOEB 
 
 The general manager as is usual has charge. 
 Eeporting to him are the store superintendent, 
 
242 MODEEN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 advertising manager, merchandise manager, 
 and records manager. The store superintend- 
 ent buys the supplies, looks after complaints, 
 exchanges and adjustments, deliveries, inspect- 
 ors and wrappers, care of the building, includ- 
 ing heating, lighting, cleaning, repairing and 
 watching, has direction of the stenographers 
 and floor managers. The advertising manager 
 has charge of all copy, preparing for news- 
 papers, display cards, window trimming, and 
 mail-order circulars. The merchandise manager 
 looks after the buyers, salesmen and customers, 
 and probably after the alteration department. 
 The records manager has charge of the stock- 
 keeping, marking and checking, statistics, mail- 
 ing lists, etc., bookkeeping which includes su- 
 pervision over cashiers, credit salesmen, pur- 
 chases and expenses, and also after credits and 
 collections. 
 
 THE CONFERENCE IS VALUABLE 
 
 The modern manager has his weekly meet- 
 ings of department heads for the purpose of 
 taking up matters of importance. Periodically 
 the manager gets together his salespeople for 
 conference, general discussions, speech-making, 
 and inspirational work. Complaints, sugges- 
 
SELLING AT EETAIL 243 
 
 tions and new ideas spring from the conference, 
 giving results often of great value. Here is 
 where matters of policy are discussed and de- 
 termined; problems which can not safely be 
 left to the judgment of one person, are consid- 
 ered and solved by the group. 
 
 DETAILS or MODERN STORE POLICY 
 
 The employer is interested in keeping up the 
 health and spirit of employees. This is ac- 
 knowledged as necessary if enthusiasm and in- 
 terest, concentration and loyalty are expected. 
 The employer provides for a reasonable amount 
 of rest, for proper ventilation, light, drinking 
 water, sanitary toilets, sometimes lockers and 
 drying-rooms. Very generally now we find the 
 lunch room in the large stores. Good fire pro- 
 tection is essential, and in large organizations 
 sometimes medical attention. The company 
 likes to have its employees satisfied. For their 
 pleasure whenever possible the library is ac- 
 cessible for good reading. The ball team pro- 
 vides healthy outdoor sport, and so the walk- 
 ing club, or the company camp. In some of the 
 largest organizations very high-grade schools 
 are provided for instructing employees in the 
 ways of their work. Employees must not for- 
 
244 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 get therefore that the employer feels much in- 
 terested in their welfare because it is to his 
 interest as well as theirs to have them healthy, 
 efficient and satisfied, and to that end he is 
 constantly planning and working. 
 
 Other details of policy are such as having one 
 price to all. The public is too well informed as 
 to prices to overlook any differences. Modern 
 policy also says that it is not good ethics to go 
 beyond the threshold of the store to solicit. 
 Let advertising do this or telephoning perhaps, 
 but not the salesman himself. Then let cour- 
 tesy reign everywhere says modern policy. Let 
 every one from the general manager to the 
 night watchman be a promoter of courtesy, ex- 
 tending it to every customer, rich or poor, white 
 or black, clean or dirty. The salesman should 
 cooperate in the policy regarding complaints, 
 doing his part to have it reasonable and far- 
 sighted with future business in contemplation. 
 Then in the effort to establish confidence, per- 
 mitting the return of goods under reasonable 
 restrictions is good policy, many concerns re- 
 garding it as advisable to do this without ques- 
 tion whenever requested. Many stores now 
 have definite lengths of time during which orig- 
 inal prices are maintained on certain articles 
 such as millinery, after which reductions are 
 
SELLING AT EETAIL 245 
 
 provided for. Automatic bargain basements 
 are the clearing house for all goods which do 
 not move sufficiently fast in the regular de- 
 partments at original prices. For their own 
 good, salespersons should welcome the policy 
 of instruction in salesmanship. This adds im- 
 petus to business which means a better pros- 
 pect for the employees as well as the company. 
 They may check and rate the employees. All 
 right; this is good work. Then the salesman 
 knows the measure of his ability and effort and 
 can be governed accordingly. Needless to say 
 there must be honesty in the policy, actual bar- 
 gains or none, no misrepresentations, no guar- 
 antees that are not guarantees. Finally the 
 management must stand by the representations 
 and errors of its employees even though loss is 
 involved, a fact which should bring the con- 
 stant cooperation and care of the salespeople. 
 
 ATTITUDE TOWARD COMPETITORS 
 
 Although there is still much suspicion and 
 jealousy among competitors in the retail busi- 
 ness, those who are regarded as most progres- 
 sive have come to realize the importance of 
 working together. This spirit of cooperation 
 has been evoked largely by the creation of the 
 
246 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 thousands of commercial organizations, and the 
 spreading of educational literature and propa- 
 ganda by manufacturers and jobbers. The 
 success of the manufacturer depends on the 
 success of the retail dealer. The manufacturer 
 first realized the importance of developing the 
 cooperative spirit and brought the value of it 
 to the attention of the retailer. Although re- 
 tail dealers are not attempting to form monopo- 
 lies, which would be unlawful, they are work- 
 ing harmoniously, each asking a fair price for 
 his goods, each letting the other have his share 
 of the business, each borrowing or buying from 
 the other when necessary, both purchasing from 
 the same manufacturer and often receiving 
 their shipments in the same car. This coopera- 
 tive spirit is putting life into cities that were 
 dead. It is trimming the whiskers of the fogies ; 
 cleaning up the old-fashioned stores and put- 
 ting them on a modem basis ; bringing in man- 
 ufacturing and increasing the population. 
 
 The first thing that the retailer, who would 
 be up to the times, must do is to rid his system 
 of jealousy and suspicion, and over-anxiety to 
 do all of the business in a community, and to 
 replace these retrogressive notions with the 
 spirit of cooperation and good fellowship to- 
 ward competitors and other business men of 
 
SELLING AT EETAIL 247 
 
 his locality. The salesman must also reflect 
 this spirit in his dealing with the puhlic, not 
 forgetting that his employer pays his salary, 
 nor forgetting either that it is the employer's 
 intention to be fair with all others in business, 
 and that no unfair practises, unfair dealings, 
 or unfavorable remarks will be warranted. 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 A KNOWLEDGE OF THE FTJKDAMENTALS OP 
 ADVERTISING MAKES BETTER SALESMEN 
 
 If our selling is at its best, the sales manager 
 is letting advertising do the preliminary work 
 and the salesman do the closing. Clothing, 
 shoes, silverware or cigars are introduced to 
 the buyer in the magazines, newspapers, at- 
 tractive folders and in the sales letter, long be- 
 fore the salesman has left for the field. Good 
 photographs or drawings with strong, clear 
 descriptive matter have reached the buyer and 
 made an appeal. Possibly he has ordered. 
 Possibly he is in the frame of mind to order. 
 Possibly, yet not often, he has not been im- 
 pressed by the advertising. Only what the ad- 
 vertising has left undone does the salesman 
 have to do. 
 
 "We advise our salesmen to have knowledge 
 of goods, of policy, of selling. To be consist- 
 ent we must advise him to have knowledge of 
 the thing which works with him and like him ; — 
 in his stead, in his absence, to do the very things 
 
 248 
 
FUNDAMENTALS OF ADVERTISING 249 
 
 which he is called upon to do personally, — ad- 
 vertising. If there is any power in advertis- 
 ing, the secret of that power will be of great 
 value to the salesman. The situation which the 
 advertiser must meet is in many respects the 
 situation which the salesman must meet and 
 the ways in which he must meet it. Both are 
 trying to sell, one with the picture and written 
 word, and the other with the article itself and 
 the spoken word. Both are appealing to needs, 
 desires ; the advertiser through the eye, and the 
 salesman through the senses generally. 
 
 Advertising is done in one or more of the fol- 
 lowing ways: in the national magazines, — ^the 
 advertising of the wholesale dealer or manufac- 
 turer; in the daily and weekly papers, the me- 
 diums of the retailer; in the class periodicals 
 such as the trade journals, farm papers, etc. ; on 
 the electric signs and bill-boards ; in the street- 
 cars; direct by mail; with letters, circulars, 
 the house organ, etc. ; in the theater program ; 
 by moving pictures ; by demonstration, distrib- 
 uting and sampling, and with the use of 
 novelties. 
 
 SCIENCE IN" ADVEETISING 
 
 Doctor Harry HoUingsworth writes in 
 Advertising and Selling: "In the laboratory 
 
250 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 we find students measuring the intensity of 
 sensations, the degree of attention, the strength 
 of belief, the legibility of hand-writing, the 
 agreeableness of color combinations, the excel- 
 lency of literary compositions, the eminence of 
 scientific men, the humor of comic situations, 
 and many other things which are no less sub- 
 jective than the persuasiveness of a selling 
 talk or the pulling power of an advertisement. ' ' 
 The call of science has reached the field of 
 advertising. Our advertising is still in the ex- 
 perimental stage. We have to try it on the few 
 before sending it out to the many. We are not 
 yet able to predetermine what the pulling 
 power will be without this testing and experi- 
 menting. For years the psychologist has been 
 at work and it is claimed that interesting things 
 are developing. The time may come when we 
 shall be able to say that an advertisement of 
 certain structure will appeal and pull, with the 
 same degree of assurance that we now say that 
 sweets will appeal to the child, 
 
 THE SPECIALISTS 
 
 Advertising has become so important that 
 many large and responsible concerns have 
 sprung up, especially in the largest cities, of- 
 
FUNDAMENTALS OF ADVERTISING 251 
 
 fering their services to the man who has the 
 big problem. In the largest of these organiza- 
 tions we will find seven or eight departments, 
 the men in each department specialists in their 
 particular line of work. One will have a gen- 
 eral knowledge of advertising and marketing, 
 and will be prepared with the assistance of his 
 associates to give general counsel and to en- 
 gineer the work in connection with a marketing 
 or an advertising problem. Associated with 
 him will be the man who investigates advertis- 
 ing possibilities, another who prepares the 
 copy and plan, another who looks after the art 
 work, still another who has charge of the print- 
 ing or typography, another who knows all of 
 the magazines, trade papers, farm papers, and 
 other mediums, their prices and advertising 
 value, and lastly the one who checks the adver- 
 tising to see what it is accomplishing and what 
 it is costing. 
 
 THE GEEAT WOEK OP ADVBETISING 
 
 The great work of advertising is to educate; 
 to lay before the public the nature of the thing 
 to be sold, teaching its uses and adaptability to 
 needs ; to keep the memory of the buying pub- 
 lic refreshed by repetition, by constant presen- 
 
252 MODEEN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 tation from one angle and another; and even- 
 tually to get the goods from the producer to 
 the consumer with the greatest economy. 
 
 BEFOBE WE ADVEETISE WE INVESTIGATE 
 
 We do all of the necessary preliminary work 
 before deciding on a campaign. We determine 
 by study, and investigation, and experience, 
 what is the thing to do and the best way to do 
 it. We do not wander around, guessing and 
 groping, trying to get our bearings. We learn 
 what is the kind of advertising that is needed 
 and when and where it should be done and how 
 extensively. We do not overlook the necessity 
 of making it easy for the man who wants the 
 advertised article to get it. We remember 
 that the local dealer may be an important mem- 
 ber of this group of campaigners. We try to 
 fix the ratio of advertising investment for the 
 business by considering all relevant factors, 
 like quality, cost, marketing price, whether the 
 article is a necessity or luxury, trade condi- 
 tions affecting the product, competition, the 
 necessity of acquaintance advertising, the pos- 
 sible per capita sale, the life of the product and 
 rapidity of consumption, change of fashion, 
 whether the demand is seasonable or constant, 
 
FUNDAMENTALS OF ADVERTISINa 253 
 
 the sales support that will be obtained, trans- 
 portation possibilities, whether or not there is 
 a general line of goods that will derive benefit, 
 whether subsidiary sales will follow, like the 
 records of the victrola, and whether the de- 
 mand already created must be maintained. 
 
 If the campaign is for the ice-cream manufac- 
 turers of Omaha, we will first study quotas, 
 examine our government statistics to learn how 
 much ice-cream is consumed per capita in the 
 United States and in certain parts thereof, and 
 especially in cities that have the population 
 and climatic conditions of Omaha. By com- 
 paring Omaha's per capita consumption with 
 that of other places of the same character, an 
 idea can be gained of how much the consump- 
 tion can be increased by good advertising, and 
 how much the advertiser can afford to pay for 
 this campaign. There is nothing of greater 
 importance than to have a good and thorough 
 preliminary investigation before entering upon 
 an extensive advertising campaign. Nothing 
 of importance is done in these days of effi- 
 ciency without a plan. 
 
 Mr. E. E. Calkins, in The Business of Adver- 
 tising, gives a very good summary of the things 
 to be done in planning the marketing of a new 
 product. 
 
254 MODEEN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 "Investigate the market and distributing pos- 
 sibilities," he says; "the attitude of the trade; 
 line up the obstacles and plan for their elimina- 
 tion; get a name — preferably one descriptive 
 of the article, easily pronounced, easily remem- 
 bered, and capable of being protected legally; 
 get a good package, of good design, shape and 
 appearance with good display value, practical 
 and economical ; work out the advertising plan 
 having in mind the traveling man, jobber, 
 dealer, store salesman, consumer and compet- 
 ing goods; decide on a general sales plan fit- 
 ting it to the conditions and tying it up with 
 the advertising plan; be careful in the selec- 
 tion and costs of media, and the size of space 
 to use ; have the copy properly illustrated, de- 
 signed, printed, and worded compelling atten- 
 tion and pulling value ; finally prove the adver- 
 tising to see that the many parts and detail are 
 in harmony." 
 
 THE IMPORTANCE OF COPY IN" THE ADVERTISING 
 CAMPAIGN 
 
 Copy is the company's silent messenger. It 
 is given the responsibility of telling the adver- 
 tiser's story. Often the buying public sees 
 nothing of the manufacturer but his copy, not 
 even a salesman. Five thousand dollars may 
 be the price of a single advertisement. If the 
 copy makes no appeal, gets no attention, does 
 not interpret correctly the message of the man- 
 
FUNDAMENTALS OF ADVEETISING 255 
 
 ufacturer, the money might better be given to 
 charity. Copy has a big job in these advertis- 
 ing campaigns, and it must measure up to this 
 job. The illustration, designing, printing, and 
 wording must be correct. 
 
 THE IMPORTANT MATTER OP KNOWLEDGE 
 
 Successful public speakers tell us that the 
 secret of good speaking is to have an over- 
 whelming knowledge of the subject; be sat- 
 urated with it so completely that the ideas flow 
 freely and without hesitation. Study will con- 
 vince any one that there is not a book on sales- 
 manship, sales letter-writing, or advertising, 
 that does not lay great stress on the impor- 
 tance of knowing all about the thing that we 
 have to sell or to advertise. Unless we our- 
 selves know, we can not impart knowledge. Un- 
 less we ourselves know, we can not describe 
 uses and adaptability to needs. Unless we 
 know other articles we can not compare. The 
 man who uses cement likes to know that it is 
 tested every hour and made by experts. The 
 woman who buys ice-cream likes to know that 
 it is rich in butter fat and therefore creamy. 
 By knowing of what an article is made, how it 
 is made, what its history is, we have material 
 that makes advertising what it should be. 
 
256 MODEEN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 Knowledge presents the opportunity to give in- 
 dividuality and distinctiveness. Knowledge 
 gives the point of view of the maker, of the 
 outsider, and of the buyer and user. It com- 
 prehends the service that goes with the sale of 
 the article. It places before the advertiser the 
 character of the people who are to buy, their 
 circumstances, financial standing, occupation, 
 sex, age, education, and other factors. It gives 
 us the point of view of the woman, of the boy 
 or girl, of the college man, of the high-school 
 graduate, of the working man. 
 
 Dependable knowledge should come from a 
 dependable source. If it is knowledge of the 
 kitchen it should come from the kitchen. Who 
 can tell us more about the needs of the kitchen 
 than the thinking woman who spends her hours 
 there? Who can give better suggestions re- 
 garding the nursery than the woman who 
 spends much of her time there ? A current ad- 
 vertisement claims that a certain electric iron 
 is correct in every detail because it was de- 
 signed by women. Every improvement shown 
 is the result of a woman's suggestion. 
 
 KNOWLEDGE OF LOCAL CONDITIONS 
 
 There must be a market for the article. 
 There must be some one to use it. A farmer 
 
FUNDAMENTALS OF ADVERTISING 257 
 
 can not use a rotary kiln. We would not ad- 
 vertise rotary kilns in farm papers. If com- 
 petition is keen and plentiful we must deter- 
 mine intelligently whether it is advisable to 
 spend much money to break into the field. 
 [Whether the article is already in the stores or 
 will be when the advertising is sent out, must 
 be taken into consideration. In some localities, 
 and especially in some foreign countries pecu- 
 liarities of custom may overthrow a selling 
 policy. The color of the container may be suf- 
 ficient to spell doom. Those who have adver- 
 tised in Chili know that we can not talk about 
 Santa Claus there ; they do not believe in him. 
 
 WE HAVE COMB NOW TO THE POINT WHERE WE 
 
 MUST WEITB SOMETHING THAT WILL BE SEEN, BEAD, 
 
 BELIEVED AND REMEMBERED 
 
 We must write something, we say, that must 
 be seen, read, believed and remembered. We 
 must in other words get attention. If interest 
 and desire are to result, it must surely be read, 
 and if we are to have action immediately or in 
 the future, it must be believed and remembered. 
 The advertising man has a problem that is fun- 
 damentally no different from that of any other 
 man in the business of selling. We are going to 
 
258 MODERN METHODS IN SELLINft 
 
 find that with difference only in the equip- 
 ment with which he must work, he obtains vo- 
 lition in the same manner as does any other 
 individual who sells, whether he be the man on 
 the road, in the store, or sending §ut the sales 
 letter. All must ahke go back to the buyer, de- 
 termine first what will gain his attention. The 
 methods are almost fixed. "We learn what, in 
 our article or proposition, will appeal to his 
 interests and desires, and on the strength of 
 the resulting impulse which always accom- 
 panies desire, we finally get action. In the 
 following pages we shall get an idea of the 
 methods used by the advertiser in getting and 
 holding attention; how this is developed into 
 interest, eventually into desire, perhaps, and in 
 many cases into the result of making the sale. 
 
 In a general way the advertisement is de- 
 signed by securing not more than a few shapes 
 or forms that are related properly, placing 
 them in proper proportions, providing for suf- 
 ficiency of base, proper balance, good color 
 combination with correct relation between such 
 details as the picture itself, border and type, a 
 focul point with satisfactory movement of lines 
 to carry the eye to it and to whatever may re- 
 inforce it in making the impression; and fi- 
 nally securing strength and harmony. 
 
FUNDAMENTALS OF ADVERTISING 259 
 
 OBTAINING ATTENTION IN ADVERTISING 
 
 Possibly the head-line wiU be a command such 
 as: "Protect Your Family from the Wolf," 
 "Buy Diri,ctly from the Manufacturer," 
 "Chew Gridley's Gum." Very often the ques- 
 tion is used: "Do You Like Good Fishing?" 
 "Is that Daughter of Yours Going to Boarding 
 School?" "Wouldn't You Like To Bathe at 
 Rockaway?" The head-line may be a mere 
 declaration of style, quality or price. "Pretty 
 Fitting Cravenettes for the Damp Weather," 
 "Our Six Dollar Ladies' Pumps Are Worth 
 Ten," "Working Your Way through College 
 Is Easy if You Are Selling Maps," "Wanted — 
 A Man for This $10,000 Job," "Father! Let's 
 Talk about That Boy." Accompanying a good 
 illustration of ladies' apparel we have; "Slim, 
 Youthful Lines, Flatteringly Plain and Plainly 
 Flattering." The manufacturer of vacuum 
 sweepers says: "More Leisure for Mother." 
 Notice the simplicity of language designed to 
 appeal to the mass in the following: "They 
 Always Want More, — Blank's All 0' the Wheat 
 Bread!" "Green's Grapelade, the pure Grape 
 Spread. " " Brown 's Supreme Ham. " " Block 's 
 Vinegars, — Every Drop Awakens Flavor." 
 Under the illustration of a kitchen in which 
 
260 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 the maid is using the ware advertised we find 
 the head-lines: "You will be prouder of your 
 kitchen than ever before if you equip it with a 
 set of beautiful bright Never "Wear Out Alumi- 
 num Cooking Utensils." Here is an elaborate 
 New York hotel dining-room filled with guests. 
 Under the illustration we find the heading to a 
 baking powder advertisement : ' ' THE FINEST 
 FOOD IN THE WOELD! That is what New 
 York demands. And New York gets it." Let 
 us consider first the nature of the people to 
 whom we are sending the message, then with 
 the aid of a good picture, a phrase or expres- 
 sion that grips, and strong, well put words we 
 can gain attention. 
 
 Attention value depends on the advertise- 
 ment 's position ; on whether it is located at the 
 top or bottom, right or left or middle of the 
 page, and whether or not the page is near the 
 front or back cover, or of the advertising sec- 
 tions. Attention also depends on intensity, 
 striking colors, pictures, etc., on the size of the 
 advertisement, on the length of time that it is 
 seen, the frequency of its appearance, the 
 change of form and the display of action. 
 
 We have already analyzed the laws of atten- 
 tion. They apply to advertising as well as to 
 other branches of selling. A mental process 
 
FUNDAMENTALS OF ADVEETISING 261 
 
 such as seeing, smelling or imagining becomes 
 clearer and more distinct with attention; be- 
 comes more intense, increased in duration as 
 does time when we dwell on it; comes more 
 quickly into consciousness as do details when 
 pointed out. We have seen that it is the very 
 basis of volition ; that it is short-lived, passing 
 from one thing to another quickly, and that its 
 range is limited to a few things at a time. 
 
 In order to obtain attention the advertise- 
 ment must have something in it that will link 
 it, or "tie it up" with the ideas which the 
 reader may have by reason of such factors as 
 education, purpose, age, social environment, at- 
 titude, etc. If one is working with a definite 
 purpose, anything tending to aid him will have 
 attention value. If at this moment I were to 
 see an advertisement of a book that would help 
 me in writing on the subject of attention, I 
 would give the advertisement attention. If 
 one's attitude toward the idea or suggestion 
 produced in the advertisement is favorable or 
 unfavorable there will be attention value. The 
 tendency to action will be greater if the attitude 
 is favorable. A farmer who has had difficulty 
 with a tractor may be definitely set against 
 tractors and will give no attention to advertise- 
 ments. If he has used one successfully he will 
 
262 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 welcome new ideas and suggestions. Educa- 
 tion and experience broaden the interests and 
 change them. Our opinions, tastes, judgments 
 and desires change with education and experi- 
 ence. An advertisement with an appeal to the 
 civil or electrical engineer means little to the 
 man without the engineer's training. Heredity- 
 is also important; whether or not we are de- 
 scendants of the wealthy American banker or 
 the poor German or Swedish farmer or mill 
 employee. Age has much to do with interests, 
 the attractions of youth being different from 
 those of middle and old age. Then social en- 
 vironment must not be overlooked. Those with 
 whom we travel in social life have much to do 
 with the molding of our tastes and habits. We 
 may be individualistic, aristocratic and exclu- 
 sive, devoting much attention to club, social 
 life, golf, polo, fine horses, hunting and the like, 
 or we may have the simpler, more inexpensive, 
 unpretentious habits of the middle and poor 
 classes. The man who writes the advertise- 
 ment knows his article and its uses ; knows the 
 public and its needs or demands and how best 
 to link the two together. If it is tooth paste 
 the message goes to the world; if it is baking 
 powder, to the housewife; if it is the vacuum 
 sweeper, to the mother and daughter; if it is 
 
FUNDAMENTALS OF ADVERTISING 263 
 
 the tractor the message goes to the farmer, and 
 so on. Professor Adams, in Advertising and 
 Its Mental Laws, says: "The incoming stimulus 
 must be linked up with other ideas, derived 
 either from our past experience, or with our 
 hereditary responses to situations. As given by 
 POlsbury (Attention, p. 50) they are: Idea in 
 mind, purpose, attitude, education, social pres- 
 sure, and heredity." 
 
 MECHANICAIi HELPS DT HOLDING ATTENTION" 
 
 We have seen how attention flits from place 
 to place. Complexity in the advertisement in- 
 vites this; invites attention to pass from one 
 part of the advertisement to another. Each 
 division of the complex advertisement leads 
 naturally to another, interest and association 
 being brought out in every part and tending by 
 its relevancy to give unity to the whole adver- 
 tisement. The complexity must be limited to 
 two or three kinds of type or color or figures 
 because of the limit of the range of attention. 
 
 Unity is assisted mechanically by such de- 
 vices as having aU faces pointing in the same 
 direction, all arrows, borders, pointers and 
 other details inviting the eye to follow from one 
 thing to another, all relevant and reinforcing in 
 
264 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 effect. The center of interest, or focul point, 
 or point of attack, must stand out strongly, not 
 detracted from by over-ornamentation of the 
 rest of the advertisement, if the unity is to be 
 at its best. 
 
 OBTAINING PERMANENT ATTENTION 
 
 Inasmuch as we have carefully examined the 
 methods of obtaining and holding attention in 
 another chapter, we need only summarize here 
 what has been learned. In advertising we find 
 the methods the same as in every other branch 
 of selling. What does the advertiser select as 
 the means for getting and holding attention in 
 a lasting way? He selects the following: (1) 
 Novelty, the unusual, the grotesque, fantastic, 
 — bizarre effects; (2) Color, looking carefully 
 to the bright and striking, with good tone and 
 harmony; (3) Illustration, including good cuts, 
 photographs and sketches; (4) Action, dis- 
 played in persons, places or things; (5) The 
 Comic, portrayed in word and picture; (6) 
 Feeling or Affective Tone, or the quality of giv- 
 ing pleasure, excitement or strain, or displeas- 
 ure, calmness and ease; (7) Appealing through 
 the fundamental instincts to the interests, emo- 
 tions, desires and habits. 
 
FUNDAMENTALS OF ADVERTISING 265 
 
 FEELING-TONE ALWAYS FTJNDAMENTAIi 
 
 In advertising, feeling or affective tone is 
 very important in holding attention. Pleasant 
 impressions made by the advertising remain 
 with us while we evade the unpleasant, retard- 
 ing its force and making the impression faint. 
 The details of good feeling-tone read much like 
 those which we examined with respect to win- 
 dow and store display and personal selling. 
 There must be symmetry or proper arrange- 
 ment of the parts of the advertisement with 
 reference to one another ; proper proportion or 
 relation in size and degree of the parts; clear- 
 ness ; balance, giving proper distribution at the 
 top, bottom, right or left of the advertisement; 
 harmony or a pleasing agreement of the parts, 
 including the colors ; proper colors ; proper lines 
 and spaces; proper mass arrangement, and at- 
 mosphere. The wording must be correct and 
 pleasing. The objects selected, topics dwelt 
 upon, people represented, purposes expressed, 
 arguments advanced, associations produced, aU 
 help or harm the affective tone. The cow it- 
 self must be kept out of the advertisement for 
 meats unless its surroundings are idealized. 
 The farmer, not the city banker, must be rep- 
 resented in the advertisement directed to the 
 
266 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 farmer. The purposes expressed must be in 
 harmony with those to whom the message is 
 sent. The associations produced must be agree- 
 able. Even such details as the character and 
 direction of lines add to the tone of the adver- 
 tisement. There must be an opportunity for 
 pleasing eye movement. 
 
 THE VALXTB OF SUBEOUNDINGS 
 
 Professor Adams (p. 200 Advertising and 
 Its Mental Laws) mentions an experiment on 
 ninety-nine students of the University of Mich- 
 igan for the purpose of determining the ef- 
 fects of surroundings on the pleasantness or 
 unpleasantness of an advertisement. A cer- 
 tain food advertisement was arranged on a 
 large page surrounded by advertisements of 
 other concerns. The experiment showed that 
 pleasantness was greatest when this advertise- 
 ment was placed with other edibles such as 
 candy, pop corn and pork and beans, next in 
 the order of pleasantness when surrounded 
 with chocolates, locks and insurance, third in 
 the order of pleasantness with an advertise- 
 ment of an optical company; fourth, when 
 placed with chocolates, a jewelry advertisement 
 and cameras. The lowest in order of pleasant- 
 ness was obtained with hosiery, rubber heels, 
 
FUNDAMENTALS OF ADVERTISING 267 
 
 etc. In other words the more heterogeneous 
 the snrroimdings became the lower the degree 
 of pleasantness. 
 
 BTBLKING THE BESPONSIVE CHOBD 
 
 There is something about every article to be 
 sold that makes the strongest appeal; pulls the 
 hardest; produces action the quickest. That 
 magnetic something is important. In order to 
 find it we must know our article from raw ma- 
 terial to finished product, and all of its possible 
 uses, and we must know people of all classes 
 and their needs; we must have their point of 
 view with relation to the article. In personal 
 selling we have a much greater opportunity to 
 determine adaptability than in advertising. In 
 advertising, what we are able to learn in our 
 study and experiment with the few we apply to 
 the many. We must in advertising determine 
 the vital point of attack before sending out our 
 expensive message or we lose. The quicker we 
 discover it the more goods we seU at the least 
 cost. 
 
 Efforts have been made to compare the rela- 
 tive strength of different appeals but only in a 
 general way and not very successfully. Tests 
 have been made on students in different 
 
268 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 universities under conditions which taken to- 
 gether did not represent exactly the situation 
 that the practical advertiser has to meet. The 
 experiments are on an educated class which 
 does not represent the cosmopolitan character 
 of the mass to which the advertising message 
 is usually sent. We show for comparison the 
 results of tests made at Harvard and at Co- 
 lumbia. The strength or pulling power is shown 
 in the order reported in the tests. The appeals 
 were in the abstract and presented to twenty 
 men and twenty women at Columbia. 
 
 Tests at Haevaed Tests at Columbia 
 
 1. Mere assertion of value Manufactured by 
 
 approved Scien- 
 tific Methods 
 
 2. Time saved; efficiency Durability 
 
 3. Scientific construction Sanitary 
 
 4. Durability Efficiency 
 
 5. Economy Time saved 
 
 6. Reputation of firm Appetizing 
 
 7. Modernity Family affection 
 
 8. Personal comfort Value 
 
 9. Health, cleanliness Evolution — 
 
 years of experi- 
 menting 
 
 10. Imitation of Others Ambition 
 
 11. Appetizing Self-defense 
 
 12. Recommendation of oth- Reputation 
 
 ers 
 
FUNDAMENTALS OF ADVERTISING 269 
 
 13. Ambition and pride Guaranteed 
 
 14. Sporting instincts and Guaranty 
 play 
 
 15. Family affection Safety 
 
 16. Medicinal value Popular 
 
 17. Hospitality and courtesy Economy 
 
 18. Civic loyalty and patri- Maternal love 
 otism 
 
 19. Used by social superiors Modernity 
 
 20. Beautifying qualities Health 
 
 21. Imported Quality 
 
 22. Warning against substi- Elegance 
 
 tutes 
 
 23. Sympathy Bargain 
 24 Sympathy 
 
 The Columbia list was more lengthy. Cour- 
 testy was placed at 27, amusement at 29, hos- 
 pitality at 30, cheap at 36, civic pride at 40, 
 patriotism at 41, style at 45, imported at 48, 
 beautifying qualities at 49. 
 
 Abstract appeals are too general to be of 
 use. The warning against substitutes may be 
 vital in the purchase of some articles and mean 
 little in the purchase of others. Convenience 
 may be the appeal in preparing soup; hospi- 
 tality in the service of a hotel or bank, ambition 
 and family affection in the matter of educa- 
 tion, but none of these may be important nec- 
 essarily in connection with other things. One 
 of our large magazines found that the appeal to 
 
270 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 the boy to make money by selling the magazine 
 was not nearly so strong as the appeal to the 
 parents to have him do something useful. The 
 correspondence schools talk rather of knowl- 
 edge, position and salaries than of books and 
 study. The talking machine companies talk of 
 Creatore, Caruso and Gluck rather than of the 
 mechanical details of their machine. The de- 
 velopment of personality may be uppermost in 
 the minds of some. The fact that overalls are 
 union-made may produce action in the union 
 man. Style is surely uppermost in the mind 
 of the society woman posing as a connoisseur 
 of fashions. 
 
 We are back once more to the problem of 
 knowing our article or proposition, and the in- 
 dividual to whom we expect to sell and his 
 needs or demands all well enough to find the 
 strongest bond of connection between them. 
 We are back again to the question of determin- 
 ing interests; of learning to what emotions or 
 desires or habits we can most successfully make 
 the appeal. Perhaps you play golf. Will not 
 an advertisement with a good photographic 
 suggestion regarding the making of a certain 
 shot strike you? Would you not be inclined to 
 send for the advertiser's booklet on goK? If 
 you are a housewife would not the photograph 
 
FUNDAMENTALS OF ADVERTISING 271 
 
 of a modem kitchen displaying a labor-saving 
 convenience make you read the text of the ad- 
 vertisement? If you like chickens would you 
 not read a story about them? If your boy is in 
 the university would you not be interested in 
 something pertaining to his work? Here before 
 me are sections of well-known magazines appeal- 
 ing with mere announcements to the general 
 interest in education. The desire for food is so 
 strong that interest is aroused with pictures of 
 appetizing dishes and accompanying recipes, 
 and surrounding them with little stories of hu- 
 man interest regarding the home. A flavoring 
 extract advertiser pictures the children ex- 
 pressing a craving for cakes flavored with his 
 vanilla. 
 
 The granite company says, under the head- 
 line on the monument: "In Loving Memory — 
 Grief mellows with the years, and the tomb be- 
 comes the shrine of tender memories. And 
 what tribute more fitting, more adequate than 
 a design in the lovely gray of the eternal gran- 
 ite, the finest and most enduring of monumental 
 materials." — ^An appeal to the emotion of grief. 
 The following appeals to the desire to save or 
 accimaulate, acquisitiveness; "economize by re- 
 ducing rent with an Easy Davenport; install 
 one in your library or parlor and you add to 
 
272 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 your home the equivalent of an extra bedroom 
 and save at least ten to fifteen dollars monthly." 
 Appealing to habit we find a biscuit company 
 picturing a table with a vase of flowers, a book 
 and a box of wafers, under which are the sug- 
 gestive words: "A good book, a quiet nook, and 
 our wafers to eat between thrills of the story." 
 Not only the wording but the general struc- 
 ture of the advertisement should have an ele- 
 ment of interest. The arrangement, typogra- 
 phy, ornament, literary style, illustrations 
 should produce agreeable or disagreeable, 
 strained or unstrained, comfortable or uncom- 
 fortable sensations as demanded. Novelty in 
 cuts, faces, forms, shapes and designs, in ar- 
 rangement, name, spelling, position, trade- 
 marks and trade names, verse and expressions. 
 People love the colors ; pause to discuss them ; 
 recall them; plan on them. They are of great 
 consequence in getting the advertisement to 
 function as it should. Pictures, when appro- 
 priate, striking and artistic impress the vis- 
 ualist who reads in pictures rather than in 
 words; and when relevant they reinforce the 
 advertisement for all classes. Always interest- 
 ing are persons, animals and things in action, — 
 the dancing maiden, for example, the runner in 
 action or the tarpon leaping in the air. 
 
FUNDAMENTALS OF ADVERTISING 273 
 
 THE PIOTUBE AND THE SUGGESTION 
 
 The eye is constantly glancing at objects. 
 During every hour of the day the mind receives 
 its myriad of impressions through the eyes. 
 How much easier and how much more natural 
 for me to glance at the vase of peonies on my 
 desk this morning than to read a description 
 of it. How much easier to glance at the pic- 
 ture of these peonies than to concentrate on a 
 description in words. Pictures probably ap- 
 peal more to the visual than to the auditory 
 motor type, yet the appeal is strong to both. 
 Pictures are one of the simplest, most power- 
 ful means of description, clear to the child, and 
 understood even by those who can not read. 
 The language of the picture is universal. For 
 these reasons a picture has come to be a part of 
 almost every good advertisement. The expe- 
 rienced advertiser sees that it is relevant, as- 
 sociated with the thought or message which he 
 is driving home, reinforcing instead of detract- 
 ing from it. He lets it portray what may con- 
 nect with the reader's interests, emotions, hab- 
 its or desires, doing team-work with the words 
 of exposition, description, persuasion or argu- 
 ment. He is guided again by the rules or laws 
 of attention, interest, desire and volition in the 
 
274 MODEEN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 selection and use of the picture. It will have 
 its focul point and those associated with it. It 
 will have its balance, intensity, unity and other 
 requirements. It will have novelty and origi- 
 nality not overworking such pictures as that of 
 the child or pretty woman. It will not cover 
 too much ground, often showing only a' part of 
 the human figure in action, a small section of 
 the room, or part of the floor surrounding the 
 vacuum sweeper perhaps. The nature of the 
 article wiU have much to do with this, some ar- 
 ticles demanding more extensive environment. 
 
 IMAGINATION PLAYS AN IMPORTANT PABT 
 
 What wonderful power in the imagination! 
 With it we do all of our designing, inventing, 
 painting; all of our creative and constructive 
 work. With it we give different surroundings 
 to the thing which we have to sell, different con- 
 ditions, place it among different kinds of peo- 
 ple in different parts of the country, in dif- 
 ferent climates. We can with the imagination 
 picture to ourselves and to our readers, our 
 boy in the executive chair; picture the sports- 
 man in the streams of the Rockies ; place our- 
 selves under the spray of Niagara, gathering 
 violets. We can see the truck load of peaches 
 going from our orchard to market, over good 
 
FUNDAMENTALS OF ADVERTISING 275 
 
 roads, with no transferring or unnecessary 
 handling. We can see the possibilities of a cer- 
 tain investment. Imagination is the master- 
 painter or artist, giving vivid pictures of pleas- 
 ure, of delicious foods and pleasing drinks, of 
 beautiful gowns, of modern homes. The sales- 
 man and the advertiser play on this imagina- 
 tion, making it work to their advantage, placing 
 the article in the fancied possession of the 
 buyer and picturing its uses and advantages. 
 It helps to give tone to the advertisement. By 
 arousing the images of the sense of touch, taste, 
 smell, or temperature, great force is added to 
 the advertisement. Words full of relevant and 
 proper suggestion will do this; making these 
 appeals over the subconscious route to emotion, 
 desire or habit rather than to reason. Pictures 
 and words which arouse pleasant associations 
 are very effective in doing this, especially if 
 the words are taken from the vocabulary of 
 poetry and romance; the field of song and 
 story. 
 
 language: the style and foecb op the 
 
 advektisement 
 
 Discourse is of four kinds : descriptive, narra- 
 tive, persuasive and expositive. Description 
 represents to the reader the attributes or givea 
 
276 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING- 
 
 the characteristics of an article, portraying 
 and explaining its construction, operation and 
 uses. Narration in advertising gives the story 
 of the history and achievements of the company 
 and its article. "For sixty years our goods 
 have made their frequent turnovers on the 
 shelves of America's best stores." Persuasion, 
 consisting of exhortation or argumentation, 
 works on such feelings as those of gain, com- 
 fort, fame, honor, ease, etc., and makes its ap- 
 peal to reason. It presents arguments for and 
 against, anticipates objections and otherwise 
 debates the question of purchase or ownership 
 in a convinciag way. To be most persuasive 
 the copy should present the affirmative of a 
 proposition, give liberal presentation of the 
 other side, anticipate the objections, avoid ar- 
 guments and if possible summarize what has 
 been presented. This can be most successfully 
 done in the letter or folder where space is more 
 plentiful. The advertisement brings out the in- 
 formation piece by piece ; point by point. Per- 
 suasion recommends, appeals to interests. Ex- 
 position explains how an article does what is 
 claimed for it. Illustration is valuable in ex- 
 position. The information must be exact and 
 condensed, not introducing persuasion or other 
 kinds of discourse. 
 
FUNDAMENTALS OF ADVEETISINa 277 
 
 The literary style and force of the appeal is 
 as important as the style of the writer of books. 
 Putting our personality into advertising may 
 make specialists of us. Not all advertisers are 
 adapted in personality and style to advertise 
 certain articles. A man who might be excellent 
 in advertising furniture might be a failure with 
 tobacco. He might write a good advertisement 
 for a camera but be unsatisfactory for soft 
 drinks. The style must be appropriate for the 
 thing to be advertised. Good style requires the 
 use of the matter that is interesting, presented 
 naturally and sincerely, rather than too cleverly 
 and smartly. This, however, does not mean sac- 
 rificing brightness, picturesqueness and cheer- 
 fulness when the article advertised permits. 
 The breezy and possibly the slangy style has its 
 place in advertising as well as on the stage, and 
 in good literature. Whatever the character 
 may be, it must not detract, hke the over-dressed 
 salesman, from the force of the appeal. Catchy, 
 cute, sparkling and amusing expressions are 
 appropriately used for low-priced articles like 
 household utensils, soaps, washing powders, 
 drinks, tobacco, etc. The best advertisement 
 gives the reason why the statements of the ad- 
 vertisement are true, — the convincing style. 
 The light and catchy and breezy is intended to 
 
278 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 appeal rather to impulses than to calm deliber- 
 ate reflection. 
 
 The use of the pronoun "you" has been used 
 freely in advertising as in letter-writing. Pos- 
 sibly it has been overdone. Too much "you" 
 and "your" may become monotonous. When 
 used to a reasonable extent it is very effective. 
 "Your boy should be a lawyer," "Your coal 
 bins wiU be empty," "You, sir, should take ad- 
 vantage," etc., are examples of this use. Con- 
 versational style is often used to advantage. 
 Popular stories are full of dialogue and conver- 
 sation. When it is natural it is interesting. 
 Manufacturers of medicines, cosmetics and 
 other articles find the testimonial form valu- 
 able. Another popular style is the story ad- 
 vertisement or descriptive article. The tire 
 manufacturer tells us how the gum is gathered 
 in the Tropics and put into the rubber that 
 makes our tires. The asphalt company lets us 
 know that nature seasons its product under the 
 sun of India. The retail dealer tells us the 
 story of how he is able to give a bargain. 
 
 Price, when comparatively low, may be at- 
 tractive to the economical, but to the exclusive 
 may make no appeal. Positive statements are 
 regarded as more forceful than negative ones 
 yet the circumstances may change this opinion. 
 
FUNDAMENTALS OF ADVERTISING 279 
 
 Associations produced should be positive rather 
 than negative. Sometimes we may find the 
 shocking producing best results especially if 
 accompanied with benevolent appeal. "Whose 
 Fault?" says the advertiser of goggles under 
 the picture of the unfortunate man who has 
 just lost his sight. In the trade papers we find 
 the language of the chemist for the chemist and 
 the language of the engineer for the engineer. 
 If we are writing to the great cosmopolitan 
 world our language must be the language of the 
 mass, simple and clear but proper. 
 
 FIXING THE IMPEESSION 
 
 Association, we have found, is the basis of 
 memory. If two ideas enter consciousness at 
 the same time, or in immediate succession, the 
 reentering of one idea at a later date will tend to 
 bring to consciousness the other. The more fre- 
 quently that a nervous current passes over the 
 same pathway to the brain the deeper and more 
 distinct does this pathway become, much like 
 the pathway in the meadow from constant use. 
 As walking becomes easier on a smooth path- 
 way so nervous currents pass with greater 
 ease over well-worn nervous pathways. A well- 
 defined pathway tends to drain energy from 
 
280 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 other centers not so weU-defined and active 
 only at random. This exchanging of energy 
 produces a connection called association. One 
 idea is bound up with others; grouped. Asso- 
 ciated ideas are therefore the result of these 
 modified brain pathways. Single unassociated 
 ideas spring up spontaneously in the mind; 
 connection with other associated ideas brings 
 them up. "Association takes place when ner- 
 vous energy from one center flows out into re- 
 lated centers, causing a corresponding related 
 consciousness. This overflowing of energy 
 must take place along a nervous pathway, and 
 this pathway must be formed in the nervous 
 tissue before the exchange is direct. The gen- 
 eral rule is that energy radiates out in all di- 
 rections from a center so long as all paths have 
 equal resistance. Now if two adjacent centers 
 should discharge at the same moment, there 
 would be a pathway between them which would 
 be doubly excited, and hence its resistance 
 
 would be lowered Every element thus tends 
 
 to bring up again the whole of which it was 
 previously a part."* 
 
 Association is therefore important in fixing 
 the impression of our advertisements. Natur- 
 ally we can take advantage of it in many ef- 
 
 *Hollingsworth — Advertising and Selling, page 190. 
 
FUNDAMENTALS OF ADVERTISING 281 
 
 fective ways. Contiguity has been exemplified 
 since advertising began in such expressions as 
 "Opposite the Hippodrome." "Just east of 
 the Gayety." "Over Brandeis." Similarity, or 
 the resemblance of things to each other tends 
 to recall either to the mind when the other is 
 presented. Certain elements of each being 
 similar or identical call up both wholes of which 
 they have before been a part. One man's walk 
 reminds of another's; one man's nose, of an- 
 other with a nose of the same kind. Two names 
 or two places that are similar will be brought 
 up together by association. Still another basis 
 of association is emotional congruity. If the 
 feelings aroused by two different experiences 
 are the same, experiencing later one feeling 
 will bring up the other. The advertiser sees 
 that these feelings are agreeable, because they 
 may lead us to purchase. Such appeals are suc- 
 cessfully made through sympathy, interest, 
 loyalty, civic pride, local atmosphere, excite- 
 ment over current events, popular ideas, fash- 
 ions, customs, crazes or whatever the public is 
 most directly and immediately concerned in, or 
 better still, permanently concerned in like mat- 
 ters of general welfare. 
 
 Our advertisers have long ago learned the 
 importance of frequency in fixing the impres- 
 
282 MODEEN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 sion of an advertisement. The most often re- 
 peated gives the strongest connection. Tests 
 show that repeated material obtains several 
 times the memory value of unrepeated. Next 
 to repetition in strengthening the association 
 and fixing the advertisements in the mind is 
 vividness, brought about through surprise, 
 strong attention, interest, desire, fear, hope, 
 envy, or some other interest, desire, emotion or 
 habit. That is the reason we find advertise- 
 ments in strong colors. That is why in the 
 large cities we find the enormous signs; hu- 
 morous associations such as are now being used 
 by a prominent soft-drink manufacturer and by 
 some of the tobacco companies. This vi\ddness 
 is brought about by having the reader dwell on 
 the advertisement by such means as the clipping 
 of coupons, tracing the picture, selecting nais- 
 pelled words, or names, suitable jingles, etc. 
 The first impression or association is impor- 
 tant since it will generally predominate when 
 other factors are equal. Tests showing the 
 value of position of an advertisement prove 
 that the first and last pages are remembered 
 better than those in the middle section. The 
 last impression will also be important, how- 
 ever, in many cases as important as the first. 
 The length or the amount of detail in the adver- 
 
FUNDAMENTALS OF ADVERTISING 283 
 
 tisement is important in fixing the impression, 
 the amount remembered depending on the 
 length. Memory depends furthermore on the 
 attention value of the advertisement. What- 
 ever helps attention helps memory. In familiar 
 songs and jingles we have examples of the im- 
 portance of rhythm and rhyme in fixing im- 
 pressions. The words or melody of a song or 
 the catchy arrangement of a jingle will remain 
 with us in spite of our efforts to forget them. 
 And so with cleverly arranged expressions con- 
 taining alliteration. "The Home of the Honey 
 Bees" is used by the manufacturer of honey. 
 "Put your Sweeping Reliance on a BisseU Ap- 
 pliance." "The Supreme Seasoning." "Pio- 
 neer Makers of Power Washers," these are 
 samples of alliteration and rhyme. Ingenuity 
 holds what novelty attracts. "Keen Kutter," 
 "Upsonize," "Rough on Rats," such expres- 
 sions are not easily forgotten. If the adver- 
 tiser can influence the reader to go through 
 certain movements in connection with the ad- 
 vertisement the memory is aided. Many peo- 
 ple in memorizing must be rocking or swinging, 
 waving the arms, reading aloud, moving the 
 lips, etc. This is called motor-reinforcement, 
 producing action to strengthen the impression 
 of what we say in the advertisement. "Weigh 
 
284 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 Yourself. If You Are Five Feet Ten You Should 
 Weigh 175 Pounds." "Test Your Mouth for 
 Acid," suggesting motor-reinforcement in the 
 appeal to the desire for health. 
 
 Back in 1908 Professor Walter Dill Scott, of 
 Northwestern University, finished his work on 
 The Psychology of Advertising , one of the first 
 works by a psychologist on the subject of ad- 
 vertising. In this work he said regarding 
 memory: "Impressions once received leave 
 traces of themselves, so that, in imagination, 
 we can live over the same experiences and can 
 recognize them as related to our past. The 
 knowledge of former impressions, or states of 
 mind, which have already once dropped from 
 consciousness, is what is known as memory. . . . 
 
 Our memories gradually fade with time 
 
 We forget very rapidly during the first few 
 seconds, minutes and hours." (See page 8.) 
 "One can improve the memory by the observ- 
 ance of a few well-known and thoroughly es- 
 tablished principles Eepeat it in all ways 
 
 possible — say it over aloud, write it, look at it 
 after it is written, think how it sounded when 
 you heard the name, recall it at frequent peri- 
 ods and until it has become thoroughly fixed in 
 your mind. ' ' 
 Besides repetition Doctor Scott mentions in- 
 
FUNDAMENTALS OF ADVERTISING 285 
 
 tensity, association and ingenuity. Let us have 
 his own words regarding association. "The 
 things which we think over, classify and sys- 
 tematize, and thus get associated with our pre- 
 vious experience, are the things which we com- 
 mit most easily and retain the longest The 
 
 details of busiaess or professional life which 
 are connected in a series are not hard to learn, 
 and are not soon forgotten."* 
 
 The successful advertising man constantly 
 strives for greatest memory value. The adver- 
 tisement must call up many pictures, each of 
 which tends to reinforce the argument. In 
 repetition he will preserve identity but present 
 from different angles, in new and refreshing 
 ways. He wUl look to proper color, contrast 
 and harmony in the advertisement itself and in 
 its surroundings on the page. Then he will 
 make full use of the power of association, tak- 
 ing advantage of emotional congruity like pic- 
 turing the esthetic in connection with the 
 talking machine instead of the tone; picturing 
 the wonderful climate, abundant crops, etc., in 
 connection with lands in California. He will 
 take advantage of the mechanical adjustment 
 of things to assist memory; the ingenious 
 
 *Page 10 — Psychology of Advertising. 
 
286 MOBEEN METHODS IN SELLINQ 
 
 method including unusual spelling, newly coined 
 ■words and expressions, verse, etc. Then he 
 ■will change his appeal to win those whose 
 imagery is of a particular kind, imagery being 
 ■visual, auditory, muscidar, gustatory and 
 olfactory. 
 
 PBOVOKING EESPONSB 
 
 We have considered some of the ways of at- 
 tracting and holding attention, arousing inter- 
 est, and of fixing the impression of the adver- 
 tisement in memory. Consideration must now 
 be given to the all-important matter of obtain- 
 ing volition. When a reader has been influ- 
 enced by an advertisement or series of adver- 
 tisements to the point where he is in the frame 
 of mind for buying, suggestion is effective in 
 provoking, response. This is done by appeal- 
 ing to the imagination by command or asser- 
 tion, question, in^vitation, or appeal to the fun- 
 damental instincts, interests, emotions, desires 
 or habits; — ^what the psychologist calls ideo- 
 motor action, which we have referred to in oth- 
 er branches of selling. The nervous energy 
 generated by the suggestion emerges at the 
 other end of the arc in the form of action. The 
 suggestion must have strength and "vd-vidness. 
 The one who makes it must have accepted 
 
FUNDAMENTALS OF ADVERTISING 287 
 
 knowledge and authority. Like the advertise- 
 ment itself the suggestion must come fre- 
 quently, first in one form and then in another, 
 appealing to one kind of imagery or another. 
 The suggestion must be positive rather than 
 negative, because it leads us to act on impulse 
 rather than after deliberation. If, therefore, 
 we suggest the negative we obtain the negative. 
 Finally the suggestion must be in harmony with 
 well-established habits and feelings, not invit- 
 ing us to violate our every-day habits and 
 customs. 
 
 If we expect our advertisement to close or- 
 ders we must give the reader the path of least 
 resistance in ordering, asking him to do no 
 more than "pin the bill to the advertisement" 
 or return the coupon, postal or other device. 
 The method of ordering must center on some 
 simple and single operation, preferably not re- 
 quiring the sending of money. Willingness to 
 send at the seller's risk for the buyer's trial 
 and approval is now very popular. 
 
 ADVERTISING AND DEMONSTBATINQ WITH MOVING 
 PICTURES 
 
 Moving-picture advertising, either through 
 the medium of the theater, or in the use of the 
 machine in connection with personal selling of- 
 
288 MODERN METHODS IN SELLING 
 
 fers an exceptional opportunity for effective 
 work. We have found in the study of attention 
 and interest that action is exceedingly valuable. 
 Persons or things in action, or represented in 
 action by language or picture or both always 
 bring attention and probably interest. The 
 great advantage of moving-picture advertising 
 is the possibility of displaying action; it is ac- 
 tion itself. Furthermore it gives imusual op- 
 portunity for concentration, nothing else for 
 the time being presenting itself on the screen 
 or in the environment. The reader is present 
 of his own volition for pleasure, when not 
 pressed with details of business or profession. 
 It presents a great opportunity for realism 
 in bringing to the public the story of the man- 
 ufacturer ; his plant and its environment, meth- 
 ods of manufacture and other information not 
 possible to convey equally well in any other 
 manner. Xames, addresses, trade-marks, catch 
 phrases and other features can be brought out 
 very strongly. Appeals to the human interests, 
 desires, emotions and habits can be, by means 
 of real humorous or dramatic situations, given 
 an indelible impress on the minds of those who 
 see the picture. The manufacturer of woolens, 
 oriental rugs, furniture; the laundryman, the 
 summer resort, the railroads, have tried the 
 
FUNDAMENTALS OF ADVERTISING 289 
 
 moving-picture and many continue to use it 
 ■ttdth great enthusiasm. It is adaptable for 
 demonstration of endurance, speed contests, 
 unusual production, power like that of the 
 motor-truck, showing the tire from the time the 
 rubber is gathered in the Tropics until it is on 
 the car or truck. Where actual demonstration 
 is impossible the film is used to good advantage. 
 The salesman carrying the film can demon- 
 strate the tractor, the great crusher, the rotary 
 kiln, and other equipment and machinery too 
 large or otherwise impossible to demonstrate 
 actually. It has been used to demonstrate the 
 use of dynamite in farming, blowing trees and 
 stumps. Even the newspaper by promoting its 
 occasional local romance gets its advertising 
 benefit, while the local exhibitor, appreciating 
 the value of the local appeal, is generally will- 
 ing to show the film without charge. Some 
 specialists in this form of advertising have 
 made the claim that eventually every business 
 organization of any importance will have its 
 moving-picture department constantly working 
 out new ways and means of using the picture 
 to advantage, and in many cases going so far 
 as to have a group of actors and equipment, 
 including the studio. 
 
 THE END 
 
INDEX 
 
INDEX 
 
 ACQUISITIVENESS, 68. 
 
 ADVERTISING: and the salesman, 165; cooperative, 184; 
 the salesman should know, 249; science in, 249; specialists 
 in, 250; great work of, 251; investigating before advertis- 
 ing, 252; importance of copy, 254; knowledge of local con- 
 ditions — ^general, 256; copy that will be seen, read, believed 
 and remembered, 257; description of, 258; attention, 259; 
 head-lines, 260; mechanical helps in holding attention, 263; 
 obtaining permanent attention, 264; feeling-tone, 265; sur- 
 roundings and their importance, 266; the big idea — re- 
 sponsive chord in copy, 267; interest, 270; the picture and 
 suggestion, 273; imagination iu, 274; language in, 275; 
 fixing the impression, 279; response, 286. 
 
 ALIMENTIVENB8S, 69. 
 
 AMATIVENESS, 70. 
 
 ANGLES FBOM WHICH THE SUBJECT OF SELLING 
 MUST BE ANALYZED, 3. 
 
 APPEAL TO FUNDAMENTAL INSTINCT HAS STRONG 
 ATTENTION VALUE, 120. 
 
 APPEARANCE OF THE SALESMAN, 12. 
 
 APPLYING FOR A POSITION, ADVICE TO THE SALES- 
 MAN, 157. 
 
 APPROBATIVENESS, HOW TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF 
 IT, 78. 
 
 ASSOCIATIONS: 279; advertising of, 184. 
 
 ATTENTION: 46, 107; obtaining, 110; value of, 113; voli- 
 tion based on, 115; must not overwork, 116; kinds of, 116; 
 permanent, importance of, 117; pictures used effectively in 
 gaining, 118; activity has strong attention value, 118; 
 
 293 
 
294 INDEX 
 
 feeling-tone and, 119; appeal to instincts gives strong 
 value, 120; appeal to habit, 121; mechanical helps, 263. 
 
 BIBATIVENESS, 69. 
 
 BLOND AND BRUNETTE, 92. 
 
 BONE AND MUSCLE TYPE, 91. 
 
 BONUSES: 162; point system, 163; diagram of a point' 
 
 system, 164. 
 BROW, IN CHAEACTBE READING, 100. 
 BUYER, THE, 4-39; how study him, 40; physical and mental 
 
 make-up, 41; the things to which he responds, 67. 
 
 CALCULATION IN THE BUYER, 82. 
 CAUTIOUSNESS IN BUYING, 77. 
 CHAEACTEE, 7-17. 
 
 CHARACTER READING: 86; opinions regarding, 87; fun- 
 damentals of, 87. 
 CHIN, THE, IN CHAEACTEE READING, 103. 
 CLEANLINESS, PHYSICAL AND MENTAL, 13. 
 COLORS IN GETTING ATTENTION, 118. 
 COMPARISON IN BUYING, 83. 
 CONDITION IN CHAEACTER READING, 98. 
 CONFIDENCE, ESTABLISHING, 185. 
 CONJUGALITY, 70. 
 CONTACT WITH TRADE, 9. 
 CONTENTS, 161. 
 CONVENTIONS, 172. 
 COOPEEATTVB ADVERTISING, 184. 
 COORDINATION OF KNOWLEDGE, 54. 
 
 CREDIT AND THE SALESMAN: 167; risks good and poor, 
 
 168; watching the credits, 172. 
 CRITICISM OF COMPETITION, 33. 
 
 DEMONSTRATION: 185; with moving picture, 287. 
 DESIRE: 107; what it is, 127; effected by environment, 129; 
 place in sales process, 127; important in volition, 133. 
 
INDEX 295 
 
 DESIEES AND THEIR EFFECT, 63. 
 
 DESTEUCTIVE DEALEE OE BUTEE, 75. 
 
 DISPLAY: wuidow and store, 231; Imes and surfaces, bal- 
 ance, unity, meaning, 233; appearance of window and store, 
 238. 
 
 BISTEACTION, AFFECTS ATTENTION, 122. 
 
 DKESS, 14. 
 
 EMOTIONS, APPEAL TO, 61. 
 ENGLISH, 29. 
 
 ENVIEONMENT IN READING CHARACTER, 95. 
 EXPRESSION AND CONDITION IN CHARACTEE READ- 
 ING, 95. 
 EYE, THE, IN CHARACTER READING, 102. 
 
 FACE AND FEATURES, IN CHARACTEE EEADINQ, 92. 
 
 FACULTY PSYCHOLOGY NOT NOW EECOGNIZED, 67. 
 
 FAT MEN, 90. 
 
 FEELING AND FEELING-TONE, 58. 
 
 FEELING-TONE AND ATTENTION, 119. 
 
 FIGHTEE, THE, IN BUSINESS, 75. 
 
 FOCAL POINTS, CENTEES ATTENTION, 122. 
 
 FOEEHEAD IN CHAEACTER READING, 100. 
 
 HABIT: 64; appeal to, 121. 
 
 HAIR, 99. 
 
 HEAD, IN CHAEACTER READING, 98. 
 
 HEAD-LINES, 260. 
 
 HIRING SALESMEN, 156; standardizimg, 158; nature of 
 
 work determines character of men, 159. 
 HONESTY, 6-18. 
 HOUSE ORGAN, 181. 
 
 IDEA, ASSOCIATION OF, 49. 
 IDEOMOTOR ACTION, 134. 
 
 IMAGINATION: 32-47; in voUtion, 133; in adyertising, 274. 
 IMITATION, 83. 
 
 INDIVIDUALISTIC, CATERING TO THE TENDENCY TO 
 BE, 84. 
 
296 INDEX 
 
 INHABITIVENESS, 72. 
 
 INITIATIVE, 23. 
 
 INSTINCTS, 60. 
 
 INTENSITY, EFFECTS ATTENTION VALTJE, 122. 
 
 INTEREST: 107; ways of arousing, 123; some things in 
 
 themselves interesting, 126; things which are interesting, 
 
 125, man's business interesting to him, 126. 
 INTERESTS: 62; what they are, 124. 
 INTRODUCTION IN SELLING: 108; importance of, 109. 
 
 JITDGMENT, 27-5'6. 
 
 KNOWLEDGE: of men, 22; of goods, 19. 
 
 LANGUAGE, IN ADVERTISING, 275. 
 
 LAUGH, IN CHARACTER READING, 104. 
 
 LETTER: the sales, 175; 187; living personalities, 187; con- 
 versational tone, 188; stock phrases, 189; examples, 192; 
 appearance of, 197; making the sale by, 198; obtaining in- 
 terest in, 200; gaining attention in, 198; creating desire in, 
 202; getting action, 204; following up with, 205; the sales- 
 man and the, 206. 
 
 MAKING THE SALE: 6; steps involved in, 109. 
 
 MANNER AND MANNERISMS, 15. 
 
 MEMORY: is power, 30; and its laws, 48; strengthening the, 
 51. 
 
 MENTAL EQUIPMENT, 46. 
 
 MENTAL HABIT, 56. 
 
 MIND, CAPABLE OF CERTAIN STATES OB PRO- 
 CESSES, 68. 
 
 MOOD AND TEMPERAMENT, 66. 
 
 MOUTH, IN CHARACTER READING, 103. 
 
 MOVING PICTURES, 287. 
 
 MUSCULAR RESPONSE, 45. 
 
 NAME: remembering, 30; spelling, pronouncing, etc., 31. 
 NOSE, THE, IN CHARACTER BEADING, 101. 
 
INDEX 297 
 
 OBJECTS OF SALE MORE INTEEESTING THAN PIC- 
 TURES OR DESCRIPTIONS, 122. 
 OLD AND RELIABLE WANTED, 82. 
 ORIGINALITY, 23. 
 
 PARENTAL AFFECTION, 71. 
 
 PEOPLE DIVIDED INTO GROUPS, 90. 
 
 PERCEPTION, 47, 
 
 PERSISTENCE, 24. 
 
 PERSONALITY IN THE SALESMAN, 10. 
 
 PHRENOLOGY NOT RECOGNIZED, 67. 
 
 PHYSIOGNOMY, 86. 
 
 POLICY IN BUSINESS, 7. 
 
 PRELIMINARY WORK, RELIEVING THE SALESMAN 
 
 OP, 8. 
 PROPORTION, IN CHARACTER READING, 95. 
 
 QUOTAS, 161. 
 
 REASONING, THE PROCESS OF, 55. 
 
 RELATION BETWEEN ALL BRANCHES OF SELLING 
 IS CLOSE, 2. 
 
 RESOURCEFULNESS, 23. 
 
 RETAIL SELLING: 208; science and efficiency in, 209; lo- 
 cating city, store, 210; sales and profits, 212; efficiency, 
 212; being on time, 214; dress and manner, 214; discipline, 
 215; knowledge of goods, 216; suggestions, general, 218; 
 strive to please, 219; the name, remembering, getting cor- 
 rect, 220; tact and other qualities, 220; originality, 221; ap- 
 peal to instincts in selling, 222; feeling-tone, 223; closing 
 sales, 224 ; know other departments, 226 ; be methodical, 227 ; 
 be careful, 228; attention obtained in, 229; visualizing the 
 customer, 230; better salesmen have breadth, 231; window 
 and store display, 231; significant things: arrangement, 
 organization, conference, policy, attitude toward competi- 
 tion, 239. 
 
298 INDEX 
 
 SALE : what it is, 5 ; making the, 106. 
 
 SALES ARGUMENT: preparing, 138; standardizing, 139; 
 
 proving uses, etc., 142; competition, 148; language of, 143. 
 SALES CONVENTION, 172. 
 SALES DEPARTMENT: 146; sales office, 147; organiaa- 
 
 tion, 148; district office, 150; orders, filling, 151. 
 SALES LETTERS, 175. 
 
 SALES OFFICE, FORMS AND RECORDS, 153. 
 SALES PROCESS, DIAGRAM OF, 11. 
 SALESMAN: analyzing him, 99; advice to, when applying 
 
 for position, 157; hiring, 156; and advertising, 165; and 
 
 credit, 167; training, 160. 
 SCIENCE APPLIED TO SELLING, 1. 
 SECRETIVE DEALER OR BUYER, 76. 
 SELF-ESTEEMING BUYER, 79. 
 SELLER: 4; and his obligations, 6. 
 SELLING AT RETAIL: 208; by telephone, etc., 174. 
 SENSATION, 46. 
 
 SENSES AND THE NERVOUS SYSTEM, 42. 
 SERVICE, 7. 
 SET TASK, 161. 
 
 SHIPPING DEPARTMENT: 151; reports, 152. 
 SINCERITY, 16. 
 SOCIAL INSTINCT, 72. 
 STANDARDIZATION, 8. 
 
 STRUCTURE, IN CHARACTER READING, 94. 
 STUBBORNNESS, OVERCOMING IT, 81. 
 SUCCESS, ELEMENTS OF, 36. 
 SUGGESTION: what it is, 135; authority behind, 136; must 
 
 have intensity, force, etc., 137; effect on volition, 134. 
 SUMMARY OP SALESMAN'S QUALIFICATIONS, 34. 
 SPEECH AND ACTION IN CHARACTER READING, 96. 
 
 TACT, 28. 
 
 TASTES, CAPACITIES, ETC., 62. 
 
 TELEGRAM AND TELEPHONE IN SELLING, 174. 
 
 TEXTURE, IN CHARACTER READING, 94. 
 
INDEX 299 
 
 THING TO BE SOLD, 5. 
 
 THINKEB, SALESMAN MUST BE, 33. 
 
 THOROUGHNESS, 25. 
 
 TIT BITS— LETTERS TO SALESMEN, 178, 
 
 TRAINING SALESMEN, 160. 
 
 TYPES, PHYSICALLY FRAIL, ETC., 90. 
 
 VITATIVENESS, 73. 
 
 VOLITION: 108; in selling, 130; the fiat or resolve, 130; 
 
 holding attention, 131; imagination and, 133; desire and, 
 
 133; suggestion and ideomotor action, 134. 
 
 WASTEFULNESS, 33. 
 ■WILL, THE, 49.