MASTER 
 
 NEGATIVE 
 NO. 94-821 27 
 
COPYRIGHT STATEMENT 
 
 The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) 
 governs the mal<ing of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted 
 materials including foreign works under certain conditions In addition 
 tT^e United States extends protection to foreign works by means of 
 various international conventions, bilateral agreements, and 
 proclamations. 
 
 Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are 
 authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of tliese 
 specified conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be 
 "used for anv purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research. 
 If fuser makes a request for, or ater uses, a photocopy or reproduc >on 
 for purposes in excess of "fair use," that user may be lable for copynght 
 infringement. 
 
 The Columbia University Libraries reserve the right to refuse to accept a 
 copying order if, in its judgement, fulfillment of the order would involve 
 violation of the copyright law. 
 
Author: 
 
 Dartnell corporation 
 
 Title: 
 
 Practical ways of 
 increasing sales call 
 
 Place: 
 
 Chicago 
 
 Date: 
 
 [192- 
 
MASTER NEGATIVE # 
 
 COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES 
 PRESERVATION DIVISION 
 
 BIBLIOGRAPHIC MICROFORM TARGET 
 
 ORIGINAL MATERIAL AS FILMED • EXISTING BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORD 
 
 i .ii«.ii.«i 
 
 . I'l I 11 1 pg'i^P^^PyWPi^^P^-^^'X*^ 
 
 ifmmmm 
 
 ;INBS3 
 
 D259 
 
 Dartnoll oorporation ^ OhioQgo> 
 
 «•• Praotioal ways of inoreasing sales call 
 efficiency; how concerns in various lines of busi- 
 ness are cutting down the cost per call,«« 
 Chicago £l92-?3 
 
 17 1. fonn, 29 cm. (Special report, no* 57) 
 
 Mimeographed 
 
 # 
 
 
 
 \* 
 
 RESTRICTIONS ON USE: 
 
 TECHNICAL MICROFORM DATA 
 
 FILM SIZE: .65m m 
 
 REDUCTION RATIO: \T-'-\ 
 
 IMAGE PLACEMENT 
 
 IIA IB IIB 
 
 DATE FILMED: (.-lt^-^4 
 
 INITIALS: V\fi^ 
 
 TRACKING # : 
 
 ^^H 0/17.9 
 
 FILMED BY PRESERVATION RESOURCES. BETHLEHEM, PA. 
 
'^. 
 
 (Jl 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 cr 
 
 __. -T) 
 
 3x 
 
 CO 
 
 N CO 
 
 CX> 
 
 oorsi 
 
 o 
 
 y, 
 
 ^^ 
 
 
 en 
 
 3 
 3 
 
 > 
 
 o m 
 
 CD O 
 
 do" 
 ^ o o 
 
 CO 
 
 X 
 
 < 
 
 N 
 
 X 
 
 M 
 
 ^^. 
 
 
 
 
 > 
 
 O 
 
 3 
 3 
 
 ^o 
 
 .^^ 
 
 
 
 
 r^ 
 
 ^^ 
 
 
 o 
 o 
 
 3 
 3 
 
 ^ 
 
 V 
 
 
 fe 
 
 ^o 
 
 fo 
 
 ?* 
 
 fp 
 
 
 
 O 
 
 
 o 1^ i^ 
 
 c> 
 
 00 
 
 b 
 
 
 ro 
 bo 
 
 In 
 
 1.0 mm 
 
 1.5 mm 
 
 2.0 mm 
 
 ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ 
 atKClefghiiklmnopqrstuvwKyz 1234667890 
 
 ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ 
 abcdefghijklmnopqrstu\A(vxyz 1234567890 
 
 ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ 
 
 abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 
 
 1234567890 
 
 
 '^ 
 
 '^. 
 
 ^^,i 
 
 2.5 mm 
 
 ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ 
 
 abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 
 
 1234567890 
 
 'b 
 
 ^o 
 
 f^ 
 
 
 m 
 
 O 
 
 O 
 -o m "o 
 
 OL,"0 
 
 > C u 
 I TJ ^ 
 0</) = 
 
 m 
 
 O 
 
 m 
 
 1— * 
 
 N3 
 
 CJl 
 
 O 
 
 
 3 
 3 
 
 
 cr 
 
 01 
 
 ABC 
 cdef 
 
 
 
 
 
 FGH 
 jkIm 
 
 HIJKLM 
 Tinopqn 
 
 IJKLM 
 nopqr 
 
 i4z 
 
 
 OPQRST 
 uvwxyzl 
 
 OPQR 
 uvwxy 
 
 rsc 
 
 1^ CO 
 
 
 IT— < 
 
 l\i(- 
 
 <T>X 
 
 
 -vl-C 
 
 00 INI 
 
 o^^ 
 
 OtX 
 
 
 ^-< 
 
 
 OOM 
 
 
 VO 
 
 
 o 
 
 
 ^.^ 
 
DARTNELL CORPORATION 
 SPECIAL HEPOr:? NO. 57 
 
 PRACTICAL VAYS OF INCREASING SALES CALL EFFICIENCY 
 
Tk -"h 
 
 ;>j- 
 
 m- 
 
 T>Z5Z 'MJ^ 
 
 Columbia iHnitJewttp 
 
 mt^eCttpofl^mgark 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 School of Business 
 
 (I* 
 
 K^v . 
 
I 
 
 SPECIAL RXPOR 
 
 T S^ 
 
 -x^^ 
 
 PRACTICAL PAYS OF IKGREASIKG SALES GALL EFFICIENCY; 
 H0» CONCERNS IN VARIOUS L1.NE8 OF BUSINESS 
 ARK CUTTINQ DO»U THS C05T PIR GALL 
 
 LIBRARY 
 SCHOOL OF BUSINES.^ 
 
 Compiled by 
 THE DARTNELL CORPORATION 
 CHICAGO 
 
I 
 
 Mo 
 
 PtJRPOSl OF THIS RRPORT 
 
 In presenting this collection of plans » we realize that very 
 few of them will be directly applicabl*^ to your specific busi- 
 ness. Our object, hoW6V«?r, is not so much to furnish you with 
 ready mada vlans for increasing sales call efficiency, as it 
 is to set you thinking along these lines. In making a recent 
 investigation as to the cost per call in over_30Q lines of_ 
 business, we found that less than 3% of the concerns replying 
 to our questi onaire had any iaea""as"to hov much "it cost a^ 
 saXesmaa to call on a cugtomer. 
 
 A salesman can make just so many calls a day, and the percent- 
 age of sales resulting from these calls, dep*?r^ds very largely 
 on the manner in which he capitalizes the time spent in the 
 buyer's presence, ie hope the suggestions embodied in the 
 following pages will prove useful is assisting you to devise 
 some systematic methods through which your salesmen may be en- 
 abled to reduce their cost per call, and increase their per- 
 centage of sales to calls* 
 
 •e wish to thank the following subscribers for the co-opera- 
 tion extended in the preparation of this report: 
 
 L. J. Cong«r, gent^ral sales manager. Corona Typewriter Co. 
 R. C. Thompson, treasurer. Globe Opivical Company 
 H. B. Peterson, general sales manager, Beaver Board Companies 
 H. R, Gillette, sales manager, Walter A. Woods Machinery Go 
 
 D, H. ffright, secretary, Wright, Barrett & Stilwell Co. 
 Martin h. Pierce, rod^e'g. manager. Hoover Suction Swer,*per Co. 
 Donald y. Wall, asst. sales manager, Luther Grinder Mfg. Co. 
 J. J. McPhillips, manager service dept. , JSeamans & Cobb Co. 
 
 §• S. Butcher, general sales manager. The National Roofing Go. 
 Kingmsui Brewster, vice-president, Greenfittld Tap & Die Corp. 
 H. W. Alexander, asst. to president, American iritlng Pa^mr Co. 
 
 E. K. Wcodrow, sales manager, Kroho, Fechheimer Company 
 George B. Malone, sales manager, Dayton Spice Mills Conapftny 
 W. A. McDermld, sales manager, The Mennen Chemical Company 
 A. M. Cossitt, sales manager. The Strouse-Baer Company 
 
 i. E. Laidlaw, sales manager, The Dayton ffire iheel Company 
 
 P. S, Salisbury, sale:? manager, Robt. H. Jngersjoll Brothers 
 
 G. B. Weber, sales manager, Benjamin Electric Company 
 
 S. C. Jones, advertising manager, James S. Kirk & Company 
 
 R. K. Russell, general sales manager. Duplicator Mfg. Co. 
 
A SPECIAL aiPORT DI^CRIBINa ACTOAL USTHODS 
 
 BY iHICH C0WCRRN3 IN VARIOUS LiNfS OF BUS- 
 
 IN1BSS ARE IKGRBASING 3ALK3 CALL EFFICIENCY 
 
 All material embodied in this report has been contributed by 
 subscribers to the Dssrtnell MoothJy Sales Service and is fully 
 protected against use by m^igazln'^s, trat^e paptrs, etc., with- 
 out specific permission from the interested concerns. 
 
 IHAT IT COSTS A SALKBMAN TO MAKE A CALL: Subacriberjj who have made inquiry 
 into the cost per call have invariably been surprised at the result of their 
 figures. While such figures prove little t^xcept as a reflection of effective 
 management, they are neverthelesd interesting, because they crystalize a fact 
 that we are all inclined to lose sight of at times -- namely, that it costs 
 the house a definite sum of money every time a salesman calls on a buyer, and 
 
 reminds us of the importance of getting full returns from this expenditure. 
 To that end, we are tabulating the information returned to ua on that subject 
 
 A large national t.ire orftanix^tion: 
 
 Our aaleBnoan's celling cost i& about Z% 
 
 ^^ ^^^ sale. Dividing this expense 
 against sales in both city and country 
 
 territory, we get |4>51 f o r th« ci ty and 
 | 12,3Q for the country ^ ^ . 
 
 The cjaker of a nationally advertised, It costs our aaleRmen about 6% to .^ell a 
 
 ^^ bill J) f good 3. Our ^vb S^^^' ^Q^^' fta j^-^all 
 
 popular priced line of watcher: in all territory is |i.43^ Thi-; Is 
 
 steadily rising. 
 
 A St, Paul wholesale dry goods 
 
 house: 
 
 Cost per call $7.50, 
 
 Manufacturer of bearing metnl: 
 
 A distributor of lighting fixtures: 
 
 Our saleiitnaD*» selling cost !& 5Xi_Cost 
 per call now averages |8*00« 
 
 Salesosan's selling cost loi of sales, an 
 increase of 1% over 19lffl Average cost 
 per call t3,50. 
 
t 
 
 i 
 
 I 
 
 A lar^e lithographer doi^f « 
 
 cational busiBsss: 
 
 A s<!*ed concerr?: 
 
 . 4 - 
 
 Fair Ralesm*^n's selliif^g cost is 15^ in 
 our line. Average coat per call f 2. 56. 
 
 Av»rmgo cost per call |2.75 
 
 M.Q n'ifactur ftr ©£ stgve»t a^d rainge^' Salesman' « -^fi Tlt^g ^^»U ll; co st per call 
 
 ""'"' (oitf) 80 Ct»nt8; country $4:. 00, 
 
 Acceptiog these figures as repreaf^ntativ*?. It would appear that the avfor^ e 
 cost per call i » arouitd |5.tgO, v^ryiug greatli, of course, with the iatensit y 
 of the territo ry and tb« cVtara oter of the aa l^, tuia figure may be quite out 
 of proportion for your businf^ss, but it will serve as a general vorking figure. 
 VAFIIOOS WAYS IN WHICH CALLS MAY BB INCRRASED: If the m^asur^^ment of succesaful 
 
 vcww^i^v-WMi 
 
 sale^ management was number of calls alone, it would be a simple matter to maka 
 a showing on that basin, A bonua for incrjaaaad calls, such b,& some of the 
 
 type writer coinp anit^n use, would accomplish that result. As already stated in 
 these reports, the Remington Typewriter Compaoy materially increased calls and 
 at the same time ,sale8, by paying so muoh per call in addition to the usual 
 
 nMrmuMMMMK' ^- 
 
 commission on sales. B etter ro uting of men is another effective way to in- 
 crease quantity callii. Uaxiy concerns are now usiing the ^blDck" e;ystem, which 
 gi ves each salesman a definite number of accounts to lo ok after. The Hood Tire 
 Company fix this figure at (40) fourty^ g quiping sale^sme ti making country 
 te rritory with automobil es is still another expedient that haii already received 
 consideration, but which is destined to grow in popularity. 
 
 In connection with working small towri^, we quoty a general letter j>ent ou 
 
 I 
 
 by i. S. Thomas, general ;jalea manager, Pratt Food Company, Phiiadeli..hia, which 
 may prove suggestive: 
 TO ALL SALE3I0W: 
 
 fe have before us a Daily Report, dated November 12+h, sent in by 
 llr, F, R. Carson, who covers Sastern Indiana and a few countiejs in Ohio 
 and Kentucky. The further we check up this report th« more intBrosting 
 
" 8 " 
 
 r^ 
 
 r 
 
 it becomes. The facts are sufficient to tell the story nithout a 
 "flowery write-up.'* 
 
 Mr. Carson made nine towns in Huntington, Wells and Wabash count- 
 ies, Ind. (mminly ftuntington) on November 12th, The population of the 
 LARQSST town he made is just ONE HUNDRED AND SUVSKTY-FIVE, None of 
 the towns have over tw^^ stores that could be considered prospects for 
 products in our line. Moat of them have only one store. Every one of 
 these towns is located off th« railroad and are so small acd seemingly 
 so unimportant that every Pratt representative that has made Eastern 
 Indiana in years gone by, ban passed them up as not worth th© time and 
 expense it would take to make them. In fact, Mr, Carson himeelf, who 
 works his territory very closely as a rule, "passed up" this particular 
 bunch of towns last season. The result was that we hadn't a dealer in 
 a single one of these nine towns. 
 
 But this year, F. R. Carson (who, by the way, is the hustling 
 "Jerry" Carson's brother) is beating his own record for working hi$ 
 territory closely and is not missing a .stnglQ dealer that is in a 
 position to sell *'Pratts," So he covered these nine small towns. that 
 had for years be«n considered unworthy of attention by Pratt salesmen 
 aad LAHDBD A DgALKR IN SKVKN OF THE NINE, T0RNXN9 IN ORDiR« THAT 
 TOTALLED $214.35 FOR HIS DAY'S WORK. 
 
 We have many times tried to briog out the necessity or, what is 
 more to the point, the advisability of working the small towns but h^^re 
 is something that*s far better than **ginger up" letters telling you to 
 "go to it" -- here's concretes evidence THAT IT PAYS to work small towns 
 when they are worked with the same aggressivenesb that you work larger 
 points. 
 
 On second thought, we are going to do more than simply give you 
 the factti in this letter -- we are goicg to send you a copy of the Daily 
 Report, When you are tempted to pass up a small town in your territory 
 give this report a "once-over," note the neat little total -- |214,35 -- 
 that Carson turned in for the day he spent covering a bunch of towns 
 that seemed like "100 to 1 shotd", then go after the best prospect in 
 the particular small town that you have in mind and get his order. 
 
 So important does the average subscriber consider this matter of intensive* 
 
 ly working territories to be, that nearly all are increasing the number of 
 
 cars in use by salesmen. The New Idea Spreader Company advise ut< that, they 
 
 expect to have nearly G5 cars in use by next spring. Robt, H, Ingersoll A 
 
 Bro, are working along the same lines: P. S. Salisbury, in charge of ifales 
 
 promotion writes: "It is very seldom that our men have to jump more than five 
 
 or ten miles between towns, and even though the next "town" may be but a cross 
 
 roads store, this store serves a definite community that needs Ingersoll 
 
- 6 - 
 
 •afcches." The subject of salesman's automobiles has already been considered 
 in these reports (Report No. 28) but the following excerpt from the minutes of 
 a recent convention of aale^imen .lelling Larro-feed, may be of intere^jt at 
 this time: 
 
 Ur, Sloan: 
 
 I have a few brief notes, which will give a general outline: In 
 the first place the object of a Larro-feed salesman is to cover a given 
 territory and call on Larro-fead dealers or Larro-feed prospects. His 
 efficiency is in a great measure determined by his ability to get from 
 one point to another, and to shorten time between milestones. Whether 
 a machine would be an advantage or not can only be determined by a care, 
 ful analysis of each individual's territory as foliow«: First - 
 character_of_tgi:rl.tQry ftgd road conditions, as co mpared to rail facili- 
 tiiB^a. Second • kind o£ machine u ed, and mechanical attention It ^ 
 receives. Third - cost per mile, as compared to other travel. 
 
 I have found ix a great benefit to my territory to have an auto- 
 mobile, because tfeor© is so much of it that cannot be covered by rail 
 very quickly, and I have also found that some times you meet a man - a 
 new prospect - on whom you find it necessary to spend quite a little 
 time, and just when you think you have him tied up, it is train time 
 and you don't want to remain there over night, and may let that fellow 
 slip and perhaps lose the order because you have to catch the train, 
 whereas, with a machine you can tear your time tables up and go when 
 you get ready. 
 
 In regard to the cost of operating a card, I figure that your 
 f irst 10,000 mil&s^ ia the most economical, because you don't have to 
 charge off »o much depreciatiion; I figure that at about 1^ a mile, but 
 af^.er you run 10,000 miles &nd start your s econd 10.000 miles tou prob- 
 ably havu to spend 19^ a miieJ.QJtJaL£t«i£ and then charge off anatb^> r l4 ^ 
 a mile for depreciation; in other words, it will cost you 4J^ for the 
 aecon^ 10,000 milea. Of course, that is aTTHbtermliaed by the operator, 
 and one man will spend more than another, so it all works down to the 
 individual man and the individual territory ha ha^ to cover. I figure 
 rha*5 the cosfc for the fir:::.t 10,000 miles will be about as follows : fig- 
 uring that you ca» get a fairly good set of tires for about $60.00 
 
 l4 per mile for tires 
 
 1-1/2^ per mile for gfisoline and oil 
 
 li par mile for upkeep and depreciation. 
 
 - a total of Zii per mile for the first 10,000 miles. 
 
 For the second 10,000 miles -- 
 
 l4 per mile for tires 
 
 1-1/2^ per mile for gasoline and oil 
 
 2i per mile for upkeep and depreciation. 
 
 - a total of ^ii per mile for the second 10,000 miles. 
 
« 7 * 
 
 This is plus the toll chargea that have to bQ paid. Taking a year' a 
 work you can safely add two days a week mora to your account, makitti: 
 100 daya more actual work in a year with a machine than you can without 
 it. I ha70 found that to lay th© toachinif up for a few days I feel com- 
 pletely lost without it. The actual cost of a machine, however, is 
 only one that can be divided by thw individual saleBican, the amount of 
 territory he has to cover, and the kind of roads. It is very convenient 
 to have a machine if you should drop up to a maa's place and he saysj 
 •^Bill Smith got 200 Iba. of Larro the other day; didn't like it, want§ 
 hiH money back" -- you get him to jump into your machiine and go out in 
 a few minutes, otherwise it may take you half a day to go up there arid 
 straighten that fi>llow out. Furthermore, each man has a radius of per- 
 haps 100 square miles to cover -- if there is not a Larro-feed dealer 
 within a radius of ten mileM, there is a Larro-feed prospect, and if you 
 did not have the machine you would skip these othe^r places, as th*r© 
 might be a railroad line by which you probably could not maka thosp 
 stops within three days time. Another thing is that a good many of our 
 dealf^ra - some of our best dealers - are located back off the railroad 
 points. An automobile ip;, therefor*?, especially valuable, because it 
 enables un« to get off of the main trav-eled roada - the place that in 
 easily covered by all aalesmen, and seem?* to me we stand a better chanoe 
 of interesting a man and getting him to take on Larro, H ^ does not see 
 so many feed r ^alenmep - is probably jusn in need of aom»CliTng~Io~com7ete 
 ^Tth Ut'iion Grains or Unicorn, and is vary ready ari<3 anxious to taka on a 
 feed like that. It is all up to the man giving an honeBt analysis of 
 the conditions in his territory. 
 
 Ilr. Ifhite: 
 
 Ah far as my machine is concerned, it ha.-^ b«en the biggest* help in 
 my ttjrritoryj bu^ h»r^ is where I made the first miH'^'.ake, thai; I did not 
 get a good machine. In the last month or i^Q I have opened up many ntw 
 accounts that I naver could have securt^d without a machine?. Stm-^ of the 
 towns would have taken me a whole wet»k to mak^s unless I drove, and prac- 
 tically in every one of those towns I opened up new acoountB on Larro- 
 feed, but here is the propo.-jltioni In the territory I cover in North- 
 eastern Ohio the roads are fairly good, but after I leave Toungstown and 
 get down in that hilly .section, it is just hill after hill, and I cannot 
 dep«tnd on a Ford, I noed a heavier car. then a man is driving 85 to 
 100 milen a day it Is too mich wear and tear on him to drive a Ford, 
 There is no question but what a machine is the biggest kind of a help. 
 Before I had the machine my expenses some months would run a& high a^ 
 $69.00 on cars alone, and a proposition to hire a livery rig is too ;ilow, 
 
 RBDUatlON OF SIZE OF TERRITORIES: Most of our .ubsoribars aljjo report that 
 
 they are slash ing sales territory in an sffort to get the .^ales task down ^o 
 
 the point of greatest efficiency. Ur. H, B. Peterson, aal^s manager of tho 
 
 Beaver Board Company writes: "Starting with thfc' first of the year we will 
 
 redistrict our sale.s territory taking zontjs aggregating a million ^'opulation.•• 
 
- 8 - 
 
 Ur. R. C. Thompson, treasurer aod sales Branas^r of the Qlobo Optical Company. 
 
 Boston, «rites: 
 
 «hat wt. did do was this - realizing the increasing cost 
 per call, in our sales meeting the first of August it »as decided 
 to call on every customt-r within the next six*? dayc. In eiplaoa- 
 nion, we cover our territory practically once every thirty days; 
 in the Holiday season, of course, a great many are found to be 
 away Our idea in adopting the slogan "see every customer onoe 
 within the next sixty doys" was to double back and catch the man 
 who had been away - in other words, make every call come sometime 
 within that sixty days. This ha. worked out extremslj well; we 
 have now gone through one-half the period and our salesmen have 
 made a high percentage of calls and have reached their man. 
 
 Ur. C. J. LaFluer, aalea manager of the Larrowe Milling Company, Detroit, 
 
 Michigan, sends along the following suggestion as an aid to salesmen in making 
 
 sure, .hat they are working their territories thoroughly and getting the maxi- 
 
 Bum yield of business out of tht-m at the lowest cost per callt 
 
 While I was on the road I had a little system that worked 
 out very well for me, and I am sure it would for you. I would put 
 a black dot for all the dealers in my territory, a circle for 
 the prospects, and a square for the calls that I made. I would 
 try to change the pquar«b to circles and put dots in the circles, 
 because as you know, every time a dot is put in a circle is shows 
 that the Larrowe Milling Company has a now dealer. 
 
 There are many other ways In which tha number of calls per day may be in- 
 created, among them reducing «aie« resistance by advertising and other form. 
 
 ii M* iiiii i W y iarii» 
 
 of promotional effort. In this connection, the following testimony of «. K. 
 Russell, gea«ral sale» manager of the Duplicator Manufacturing C-impan, is of 
 
 interest: 
 
 "The biggest factor in increAsing dale« call afficit*ncy, or 
 cutting down the coat par call, i^ our perastent. aod «X'.,n.ave ad 
 vertiaing campaign, both in national mftgazlnea of wide circulation 
 and direct campaigns a. wall. Tha advertising campaign, have taken 
 us out of the field of the unknown and has established for u» a 
 reputation as a businasn staple. This factor in itself naturally 
 ha^ broken down that tremendous re a stance, "Who are you. where did 
 you come from, how long havo you been in bunines^i." e^c, and 
 instead our salesmen are invariably welcomed with oi^en arms/' 
 
 then the product i. sold direct to the ultimate users, a« is the case with 
 
- ^ - 
 
 office appliances, ©ducaiional courses, automobllea, office equipment, etc, 
 it han been found that the number of calls can be osat^rialljr increased by 
 k»^eplng a etream of **leads*' going out to the salesmen. The Addres&ograph Co!s< 
 pany, Chicago, recentlf stated in a bulletin to the saleaaen that the number 
 of calla for the entire organization, as shown by reports, jumped from 3,685 
 during the manth of February to 7,541 for the month of May -- practically 
 double. The reason for the increase «a& a special **lead** campaign instituted 
 during that month. Outside of the actual sales value of leads of thi^ iscrt, 
 it ha.-i been found that wh^in you hand a salesman a l«3ad or two in th^ morning 
 it has a stimulating effect on his work for that day, and be invariably makes 
 
 the call backs he has scheduled and works in the new calld as wt^ll* Left to 
 their own d6vic€>s, sal&i^men are quite likely to fall into the^ habit of calling 
 back on a limited circle of prospects without devoting enough eii^srgy to adding 
 new material. 
 
 O tTTlMS MORE OUT OF BVSRY CALL: It Is not enough, howev«r, to increan« the 
 number of calls made by the organization. Of still greater Importance is the 
 need of making calls more productive, Th^tse twa features go hand in hand and 
 cannot be separated. In addition to methods ihat deal more directly with 
 developing saleimen into bigger business getters, which subject ha- alr^^ady 
 bt^en covered, we find that Bubscribers are giving more careful consideration 
 this year to the equipment which salesmen carry. In this connection, we offer 
 
 the following information a$ being worthy of consideration, 
 
 yr. P. S. Salisbury, Robt. H. Ingeraoll A Brothers, Mew York City, makers of 
 
 Ingersoll watches writes: 
 
 At the first of the year we gave the salesmen a oew salea portfolio 
 which has been inatrum&ntal, I think, in conserving the salesm^in's tumr 
 and cutting dOwn the timf» spent on each call. The portfolio is laid out 
 in what we believe to be the most logical and orderly method of putting 
 the Ingersoll proposition up to a dealer, and I believe t^hat a salestRan 
 
 } 
 
. 18 - 
 
 who uses this properly, accomplishes in fifteen minutes ivhat it vould 
 take him ono-half or three-quartt^rs of an hour to do la the ordinary 
 haphazard method of presentation, this portfolio f;hOf3 dur advertising 
 efforts as they a ffeot the dealer a_nd show hira hew to get the most from 
 t he adverti sing ♦ ihen the portfolio was laid out we anticipated easy 
 selling for 1919, because we were quite sure tha demand would exceed 
 the supply and so we planned the portfolio to get dealer co-operation 
 rather then immediate dealer orders* le wanted to train them to co* 
 operate with us and to show theizi how to do It. We were not disappointed 
 when we found that this method resulted in getting aa much immediate 
 business as a forcing method and it certainly is better building for 
 the future. 
 
 lir. Donald U. Wall, of the Luther Qrinder Company, yilwaukee, makers of tool 
 
 sharpsners, vices, ate, vritess 
 
 In regard to the salesman's portfolios, I wish to state that our 
 Dt^aler men, all of whom make their territory about once in every six 
 months, usjed to carry a portfolio five Inches by seven inches in nige. 
 We have this year increased this portfolio to a siJe eigh^ inches by 
 ten inches and find that the larger photographs help them to s^ll our 
 grinders much more readily, in fact we have bj^en surprised that in many 
 canes our men can sell just as many, if not more, grinders without 
 3slmple^s, but with this new portfolio than they used to when carrying 
 the samples and the old amall portfolios. It has proven to us that 
 good pictures, sufficiently large in aiie to give the hardware dealer a 
 correct idea of just hr>w the machine looks will go a long way to make 
 the amount of the order of a good siie. Also, one of the mo^t important 
 facts is that the portfolio which ahow:j care and also that the firm has 
 put some expense In it creates a better impression of the house than a 
 small cheaper one. Our new portfolios have paid us mauy dollars this 
 year and we suggest that othpr firms who are figuring to save expense on 
 the sixe of these portfolios are '"putting the cart before the horti©.'* 
 
 Ihr. E. K. Woodrow, of tha Krohn-Fechhyimer Company, makbr^ of the Red Cross 
 
 shoe, writess 
 
 We have a very keen interest in the efficiency of the sale» call 
 and r>his we endeavor to improve by keeping the trade allv*> to who we are 
 and what we are doing, and by standardlxing our sales solicitations to 
 dovetail with the advertising generally. 
 
 The background of our sales work is our trade paper advertising 
 which we supplement with a mail campaign directed to prospects furnished 
 by the salesman. 
 
 The proposition for the retailer ia visualized feo him by means of a 
 portfolio carried by each salesman in which are shown the consumer adver- 
 tising and samples of various sales helps designed to get business for 
 the merchant. 
 
 The story we have to tell to each merchant is fully described in 
 
- 11 - 
 
 a booklet provided the raTestnan, in which are included objections that 
 may arise and the best answers we know of to those objections. 
 
 In effftct this booklet is a sales manual, but we do not term it 
 sjuch in presenting it to the men. It is offered as a record for compli- 
 cation of the experienc€»3 of the men themselves, 
 
 Mr. 8, B. ieber, of she Benjamin Klectric Company, Chicago, electrical 
 specialties, writes: 
 
 About eight, yr^ars ago when the first increase in our Sales Organiza- 
 tion took place, it was the practice to advise our men to sell the idaa 
 aiid not the produce. In thotie days the variety of our product was very 
 limited and there were no competitors of any consequenca in the field . 
 The men were then instructed than belling the idea meant that, sooner or 
 later, the prospect would buy our material provided conditions would 
 warrant. It was the province of the salesmen at that time to «ee that 
 such conditions wore fully explained. It was his duty further to see 
 that all jobbers were also acquainted with and sold on the idea. 
 
 •hfe^n other companies biigan to manufacture articles v^lmilar in ideas, 
 bui varii^d in construction, our men did not change thtJir m<^thod of sell- 
 ing, and, consequently, it very oftbn occurred that after we sold th**' 
 prospect on the idea, one of our compe niters sold him on th«5^ir product. 
 It 13 now our inii^ructions to our man to actually sell our product on the 
 so called missionary triy, the idea being that if a customer ha- Bome of 
 our products on trial whtn the condition^ are not particularly ripe, or 
 hatj no ^/ar'.icular ust* for them at pr«^.H©nt, he will b«* in a position to 
 know exactly what our product does wh^n he ia m n«*ed of a product of 
 that character. Further, that due to finding out the good qualities 
 from actual exp&riencs, it is a great deal harder job for our competitorts 
 to overcome these convictions to their ^ales talks. 
 
 •e found that selling the idea left impressions which could be over- 
 cum» and which were not perman»5nt. The impressions, however, from mater- 
 ial purchased and actually tri^d out were lasting and m^^ant future 
 orders. With these facts in mind, we developed a sample case which con- 
 tained an assortment of material which we believe should be in the hands 
 of retailers. We also developed carrying casea for bulkier products so 
 that they might be ^hown direct to the consumer and in most cases shown 
 In operation, lie have found that the salesmen who actually display our 
 product were our most succer^sful men, and who not only aold matt>rial, but 
 offered instructive criticism which we could not have gotten, in any other 
 way. These criticisms were dwvwloped during the course of discus aion of 
 the product by our salesman with the prospect, 
 
 Onder tht: present idea if selliug the product rather than the idea, 
 we have found -^hat the initial call is more productive and that rfspeatftd 
 orders follow with greater regularity then if the customer ordered 
 after the salesman's call* 
 
 The Kit or Dis play caso t^ made up <?o that the cu^^tomer would not 
 be confronted with the entire display when the salesman opened the case. 
 
 Mtfc J HJ ii ii M flJTi iii ii li i iMiii i iiiiii i i ww 
 
- 12 • 
 
 A 4« n^tA* would distract the prospeots attention 
 Such a °°f *"°» Jf^^"f,/ ,tc man «' at that moment explaining to the 
 froa the device .hich *f J';^;'^;"^;^'^,, ^ tj^,. explaining It and plac 
 rnrrt1;cjr;f^:u::"co:t:red°"tL\ttent.on or the prospect on one 
 device at a time and gave him a distinct Impression. 
 yr. W. A. UcDermld. sale, manager of the Uennen Compan,. Newark. Hew 
 
 Jersey, writes: 
 
 • „ A ««.-« n<»rafull5 with this problem and believe we 
 ■e have experienced very oaroiuAij wi r 
 
 .ave Trrfved at^ts »olut.o.. f Jj^-^J;,;-;-;:, Td Itirorother 
 heavy. Th«y did not have --jtj^^^iir,;;,:;^:.^^ material. Above 
 
 :;rt;;,°;erus;:iirs: :L"ruc.ed .hat ---^--^-rof r nr 
 
 on ; counter the dealer was more concerned ''*'°^.\*J« Jf J j'^^^"' ,, 
 anish Of hi« counter than ha was about the °//;^f J' » "JJ^S';? , 
 ngured that ---' ^^J^:::;::^;;.^^ t rs:c;rU the ver, best 
 
 •*.. firKt case that we made was of the finest kind of leather. 
 
 The first caae tna* we „o-t,olio. but considerably heavier. 
 Buch as 18 used in a brief case °^ P°^"°"°' .^ ^ b^ok so that the 
 It was made with two big pockets to open up like a book s ^^ 
 
 .bolellne. lai.be fore th« °««"5f ^^ " /jf,'';;;,^;?^ pockets which 
 
 iSTfWSrTor a good sample case.) We had big f^'"''^^^^" ' ^ „«riB8 of 
 an asB^Ju i"« "■ » ^11 r.^Aav Vinnks eto. we haci a series ui 
 
 contained supplementary '»'**«'^**iv°'^^^^,^°°„''"n which the products 
 
 •> ...« -ft., much lighter by comparison than any ever seen, 
 The sample o«se was much lig J v ^^ ^^^^^^^ 
 
 and its quality was P*/'*'"*^' ^^/'^''^.'^if "nd more willing to in- 
 
 were "*«»^^'/"*«",:*f ,1" ;f, '?hentrart which the obvious expen- 
 spect the goods on that account, ine inxor ....^^ ^vo fact that 
 
 aveness and beauty of the «-« -J-J- -J ^l ^I Ifto Lvt the me- 
 lt was really pretty expensive to build fe tooK pa ^ 
 
 keep these cases in --J^- .^"/i^ : ^.J f.Sr.Ic^and had them 
 from long and continued handling we oruusui- 
 restored by competent leather workers. 
 
 then it became necessary to secure more of ^^e.e we improved them 
 „ ablndonmg the folding ^-ture and making -- " f '^^f^;,^,,. ,,, 
 .tralght s;"8la portfolio -^J ^^ - ' "^/^^ ^„. ,,,,% , i/2 i^- 
 over all dimensions being 1^ V* "" [J^l^^^y, the samples are attached 
 r ;he°;:h:r:::tari:: a1:e:ui:°m:lrial. da^a books, etc. 
 
 The salesmen were very much slated over this bag ^j;; ^^J ""^^JJ, 
 
 that lly can take the panel and han<i f ^ P-^;;.?; J^rj w-thl 
 druggist will then be hold ng ^he pane an =- ^^^^^^^^ ^^ ^^ .,,,3 
 whole line and unquestionably, ^*^®,°*^^^^^^^?^ , . 
 or that' product if he is not familiar with it. 
 
 .i.m4n«r vniuBs as fou wiH readily see. Also 
 This bag has many selling values as juu 
 
7~ 
 
 - u - 
 
 •hen in checking up a druggist's stock, the druggist and the salesman 
 walks over with the panel and they check against the panel. In this 
 way the druggist can be shown how few of a line ho carries if he don't 
 carry the whole line, or Just what is missing and so oa* 
 
 ie have had much less difficulty in getting our men to carry 
 samples with them, because of the lightness of the case and ita very 
 distinguished appearance. The men are proud of them and this makes 
 it easier to have the samples displayed. 
 
 Mr. ifartin L. Pierce, merchandising manager of the Hoover Suction Sweeper 
 
 Company, offers the following suggestions 
 
 The most effective thing that we hava done during the year is to 
 have photographs mad© of orders bei«g received at the factory and fur- 
 nishtheseto the men bo that they can, when talking to other deal^rg, 
 sh^jLilia-juMLat orders that other dealers living in the same site town 
 of the same electrical lighted population are ordering. 
 
 This is especially true where we are getting our dealers to antic- 
 ipate their needs. It has been the custom in the past to limit future 
 orders to ninety days. This has now been extended to one year, and it 
 is our sincere wish lo practically keep the output of our plant sold 
 ahead for that length of time, Thri^sugh the practice Just mentioned 
 this has all but been accomplished now. 
 
 ANALYZING THS RSASQH8 BEHIND LOST CALLS? No matt.-r how carefully the equip- 
 
 ment may be worked out, or how thoroughly the presentation made, maximum 
 
 results per call cannot be obtained unless some systematic method Is installed 
 
 to locate reasons for low &ales call efficiency. It is not enough to know 
 
 that a salesman made fifteen calls, five interviews and two sales, Tou muit 
 
 a lso know why the other three interviews were not productive. This brings up 
 
 the inevitable question of sales man's reports^ ^ Along these lines we again 
 
 quote Ur. Russell of the Duplicator Manufacturing Company, Chicago: 
 
 I believe we have one of the most efficient and helpful report 
 systems ever created. We spent nearly a year in an effort to solve the 
 salesmena' daily report problem, and we now have a system in which 
 every last man in our entire organization throughout the country co- 
 operates to the fullest extent. It would take several pages to describe 
 this system in detail, but I can give you here the dominant thought, 
 behind it. 
 
 When our ayst^im was finally completed, the first thing we did was 
 to describe it in detail to the men in the field. We told them why they 
 were to report, how their reports were handled at the home office and 
 
I 
 
 - 14 - 
 
 and where they beneflt'*^ed the salesman on the ground, ffa showed the process 
 of routine from the time the saXeamen make out the reports until the inforasa** 
 tion which they give comes back to them in suqto a way as to be very helpful 
 
 in closing sales. I believe that if the a verage concern demanding dally 
 
 reports from their salesmen would tell these fellows just why they are re- 
 porting and show them where and haw the reports are used to great advantage, 
 they would get better co-operation, lie couldn't get co-operation until 99r" 
 thought it all out and established this present fcyatem. Today it is 100 
 percent efficient. This report system haa been the means of encouraging con- 
 centrated effort on the part of every salesman and naturally results In in- 
 creased sales efficiency. 
 
 At the end of every month we sent to each salesman the results of hiii 
 calls during the month. These results are charted for each territory and 
 point out every weakness in every salesman* so that he can study this summary 
 of his efforts and mak« an effort to improve. The results of each call are 
 tabulated from day to day and at the end of the month the summary showa each 
 man every move he made and where he was weak and where he was strong -- 
 another method of increasing sales call efficiency* 
 
 llr. Russell also submits an analysis he made of the calls made by his 
 
 salesmen for tho month of llarch (these figures show only calls on prospects, 
 
 an analysis of calls made on users is shown on the same form.) 
 
 Name 
 
 Street 
 
 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 U 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 
 
 DAILY PROSPECT CALL REPORT 
 
 From 
 
 Office 
 
 Business 
 
 Town 
 
 State 
 
 See 
 
 Title 
 
 Dept. 
 
 Room 
 
 Phone 
 
 No. 
 
 CALLED 
 
 Date 
 
 CHECK USES 
 
 Comb'n Order System 
 
 Send 
 Advertising? 
 
 YES 
 
 NO 
 
 CHECK USES 
 
 Stock Sheets 
 
 CHECK LEAD 
 
 Nat'lAdv. 
 
 Newspaoer 
 
 Direct Adv. 
 
 Misc. 
 
 CHECK USES 
 
 M 
 
 Requisitions 
 
 Check Result of Call 
 
 CaJI Back 
 
 Busy or Out 
 
 Appt. for Demo. 
 
 Devising System 
 
 < B 
 
 Pel 
 
 Pencil 
 
 H 
 
 Inventory 
 
 N 
 
 Blank Forms 
 
 No Progress 
 
 Accounting Forms 
 
 Cost Sheets 
 
 Reports 
 
 Agrees to Trial 
 
 Factory Work Orders 
 
 Specifications 
 
 Charts and Graphs 
 
 Objects to Price 
 
 Bulletins 
 
 Bids 
 
 Number Matters 
 
 Gelatine 
 
 Price Changes 
 
 Drawings 
 
 Number Copies 
 
 ■• Purple 
 
 10 
 
 Hand Writing 
 
 Remarks 
 
 11 
 
 May Develop Later 
 
 12 
 
 Difficult Personality 
 
 13 
 
 Going to See Others 
 
 14 
 
 Replace Hand Process 
 
 15 
 
 Carbon 
 
 16 
 
 " Stencil " 
 
 17 
 
 Looking for Use 
 
 18 
 
 Insufficient Use 
 
 19 
 
 Sold 
 
 20 
 
 Demonstration O.K 
 
 Signed 
 
 21 
 
 Trial Failed 
 
 L 
 
 ^^aiesman 
 
 22 
 
 No Application 
 
 A Style of Salesman's Report found effective in increasing 
 sales call efficiency for the Duplicator llfg. Co« 
 
• 18 - 
 
 1 Appoiatment 40 
 
 S A|r6«s to trial Vi 
 
 I Busf or Out 64 
 
 I Changing Sjstem 6 
 
 I fteplacifig 10 
 I Replacing 
 f lie placing 
 
 |- lieplaQing Carbon S 
 
 I Difficult Personality | 
 
 10 Dislikes Qdlatin I 
 
 11 Ob|ects to Price 20 
 
 12 Objects to Purpl© 4 
 l| Objects to Hand Writ 
 
 l| Subordinate Objects 1 
 
 16 Ultra- conservative 19 
 
 16 Going te see others 
 
 17 Failed 3 
 
 18 Sold 21 
 1^ Demonstration Oood 42 
 
 20 Appt. for Deinondtr. 14 
 
 21 Competition g,P. 
 
 22 ConpetitiOQ F.f. 3 
 
 TOTAL CALlig 550 
 
 No, Sales 6$ 
 
 % Effective Calls U 
 
 Trials Out 6 
 
 Trials Placed for Year 11 
 
 trials Closed for Year 6 
 Trials Returned for Year 8 
 
 % Failures for Year 27 
 
 Another subscriber, Qeorge B, lialone, sales manager of the Dajrton Splce Hills 
 
 Company, also attaches importanoe to the use of reports in keepiog tab on the 
 
 efficiencj of saleemett in calling on the trade. His letter followsi 
 
 "Each day the salesman seods us a detail report, glvleg the names 
 and street address of every dealer called on in the various towns . 
 visited and in oonnection with this, he reports, by designation, the 
 names of the various dealers who are handling our product. He also 
 indicates the new customers which are secured. After this report is 
 made up, the salesman recapitulates the information, giving the number 
 of dealers called on, how maoy new oiistomers were sold during the day, 
 the number of orders secured and the total pounds of goods sold. As 
 we receive these recapitulation reports from day to day, we ourselves 
 recapitulate on a weekly report sheet, so that at the end of the week 
 we have before us, the t^tal number of dealers called on during the 
 week, how many were found handling our product and by subtracting this 
 lattar amount from the formsr, it shows how many dealers were called on 
 who did not handle our product, fe, therefore, can quickly see how 
 many new customers were sold for the number of chances offered. Having 
 constantly before the salesman's traveling expense, salary and value of 
 advertising used, we can quickly determine how much each call cost, how 
 
\ 
 
 . 16 . 
 
 much each sale C08t and the sales cost per hucdred pouads of our pro- 
 duct. We are confident t^hat a great many concerns would be surprisad to 
 know how much it costs them every time their sales representative steps 
 his foot on the prospect's door-sill. A con^iervative estimate in our 
 line is one dollar per call, le therefore, point out to our salesman 
 how very very important it is if it costs the salesman one dollar for 
 each prospect interviewed to say something worbh while when the salesman 
 gets the prospect's attention. 
 
 ene of the draw backs to any system of reports is that they place more or less 
 of a task on the sales maic*ager»s shoulders. If a report system is worth while 
 at all it must be followed by the sales manager himself and not used as a time 
 clock for keeping tab on tialesmen. Some sales managers are substituting in- 
 timate personal letters for reports, or else supplementing a purely routine 
 report with field letters. The Seamana & Cobb Company, Boston, Uaas. are 
 developing salesmen alcng these lines by having them submit difficult selling 
 '^i.^^gHt- Whifib a r 4i^n turn put up jo ^^« ^^oU sales organization, th© 
 replies from the salesmen afterwards being condensed and duplicated for the 
 bene£U of the whole organiza tion. A letter of this kind to the sala^imen 
 follows: 
 
 TO ALL SALESUH 
 
 A SSAGO salesman writes, stating in effect, that he had called upon 
 a large manufacturer of overalls, and made an effort to sell him seme of 
 our thread. Here are the points in his interview: 
 
 No. 1 The house has been buying our Buttonhole and Sergiog Thread, 
 but has not been buying our No. SO unbleached Silk fabash which would be 
 a good thread for their stitching. 
 
 Ho. 2 The salesman talked quality until he waa ^'blue in the face" 
 but all the buyer would say is "»hat ia the price !•• 
 
 No. 3 The salesman refused to tell the price, but insisted that the 
 buyer take the sample tube offered, and get a report on its use from hir^ 
 operators. The salesman heped that if this thread was used on the mach- 
 ines the report would be so satisfactory tha& the few cents difference in 
 the price of the tube might not stand in the way. 
 
 No. 4 The salesman wants to know whether he made a mistake in not 
 telling the price. Hia reason for not telling g»as the belief tfeat if 
 the buyer knew the price, he would say it was too high, when ^h a matter 
 of fact, he would not know whether the price was too high or not, for he 
 
- 17 . 
 
 could not know th6 VALUE of the thread without trying it. 
 
 No, 5 Tha 5al©sm*in maintalna that as the buyer did not know th© 
 price, he bad no ground on which to turn it down. If the buyer tried 
 the thread and learwed itd quality, the isaleeman figured he might be 
 able to make the sale - regardless of price. 
 
 Now - do you believe thi.^ aaleaman was right in handling the 
 interview as he di^T 
 
 If not, why not! 
 
 If you think he was right, why do you think dot 
 
 As a matter of COiPIRAnON, please reply. 
 It has been found that one of the best ways to get salesmen to work in clo 
 touch with the offioe is to eq^ip the men with iight weight folding type- 
 writer s^ One manufacturar of this type of typewriter has recently put out a 
 hacduome travelling bag, with a "'lower story'' which holds the typewriter. In 
 uKtng it the sale&nun usually leave the typewriter at the hotel, and carry 
 their price lists, samples, etc,, la place of it when calling on the trade. 
 After a salesman has learned to operate a typewriter he loses his natural 
 resontment against having to write to th« office, as less effort is required. 
 
 ser 
 
 It ii also easier for the office to read the letters, and it further i^cabl 
 
 6S 
 
 the salesmen to conduct necessary correspondence with customers, thereby sav- 
 ing stenographer's feus, which help to awell an expense account although thoy 
 sometimes come disguised as meals or mileage. 
 
 t I t 
 
 There art) many oth*r aspects of this problem, but those presented here indic- 
 ate bome of the main points of attack coanmon to nearly every line of business. 
 Other reports bearing directly on the subject which may be oonsultwd in your 
 files (we can furnish copias to recent subscribers at $1,50 each) arei 
 
 SALISMAN'S AUTO ALL0IIANCE3 & UPKEEP PRACTICES 
 
 SALESMAN '6 PJCPORT FORMS AND CHECK UP METHODS 
 
 SALES MANUAL S0CK1BSTI0N3 AND IDEAS 
 
 D&VELOPIIO MEDIOCRE INTO FIRST CLASS aALESMEN ($1.00) 
 
 Serial Number S28 
 
 " " S23 
 
 •• •• 819 
 
 • * 135 
 
d'^%,- 
 f-^ 
 
 ^ -. L-Jfi 
 
 fm oim. 
 
 SfH 
 
 0SiS94 
 
 mm 
 
 MAY 1 1 ir*?? 
 
\ 
 
 'ym^