HARDWOOD RECORD 



39 



the recent liability law adopted by the Illiuois legislature. Mr. 

 Kemper outlined the unsatisfactory conditions prevailing under the 

 old methods of casualty insurance and showed the loose methods in 

 vogue in computing the cost of insurance. He made a comparison 

 of thf methods employed by the two types of insurance companies. 



The Lumbermen's Mutual company will provide means for cover- 

 ing every contingency likely to present itself to local lumbermen 

 embracing its benefits. The local trade will also have the satis 

 faction of dealing entirely with a concern made up of men whom 

 they know. A further feature is that the expense of placing insurance 

 will be approximately twenty-five per cent instead of sixty per cent, 

 as figured by the stock companies. In view of the fact that the com- 

 pany will specialize entirely in woodworking risks, it is reasonable 



to suppose that its legal and medical service will be much better 

 adapted to the risks than the stock companies taking general 

 risks. For the same reason, the inspectors employed by the com- 

 pany will be more competent in the matter of eft'ecting methods of 

 accident prevention. 



The company already in five weeks of work has half a million dol- 

 lars more than the law requires of subscriptions. The lumber fire 

 mutuals' net cash surplus and assets are in better proportion to 

 insurance than any stock fire insurance company in the United States. 



JMr. Kemper entered a strong and e.Tiphatic plea to the lumbermen 

 for their co-operation in a proposition which cannot but result to 

 their mutual advantage. 



Following .Mr. Kemper's talk the meeting adjourned. 



\^i<A!i^}x^^'.<ijilij^iait)ki)'\i!/.'ii^{mi iJA:ii:,ii:AiKi:l~^\^^^^^ 



The Perfect Sales Organization 



"What is a perfect sales organization," asks one of the writer's 

 friends, ' ' one that could be applied to a large wholesaler or a 

 very large manufacturer operating several mills?" 



In answering the question, let it be understood that the sales office 

 is at one point and that all stock is to be sold through that office. 

 If conducted otherwise, there wiU be a number of cars sold twice. 

 It does not look well to have to return orders; customers lose faith 

 after one or two experiences of this kind. Explicit instructions 

 should be on every letterhead to the effect that ' ' all communications 

 should be addressed to such-and-such an address." Then there can 

 be no mistakes of the kind referred to. 



The sales manager himself is the organization. He is the vital 

 factor. It is "sales that move the wheels of business" and he is 

 directly responsible. He is the brains; he ^imparts energy to the 

 sales force and keeps stock moving and sales ever on the increase. 

 He is alive to every change of condition and quick to take advantage 

 of new ideas and new systems that will better his force. It is the 

 man himself. As one authority puts it, "It is not the size of the 

 concern a man works for, but the size of the man himself. ' ' 



' ' A good soldier makes a good officer. ' ' In these days of efficiency 

 and competition a sales manager must be a man who has been 

 through every phase of the business from the logging end to the 

 collections and credits, and must understand the uses and needs of 

 every remanufacturer of lumber. Therefore he must have served his 

 time in the mill and on the road. These are not the only qualifica- 

 tions, but they are the most essential. Knowledge is the foundation. 



He must be a leader and a judge of men. If salesmen realize that 

 he has been in their position at some time or other, he knows the 

 hardships, he understands conditions, they '11 know he is not unreason- 

 able in his demands. "When he writes a letter to any of the ' ' boys ' ' 

 it is not a cold-blooded proposition — it is a letter from one part of 

 the unit to another. Not long ago a salesman passed a letter to 

 the writer to read. It was from his sales manager. "Dear Jim," 

 it started off, "that surely was a clean-up you made in the state 

 last week. The best batch of orders you 've sent in in a long time. 

 Business conditions were rather favorable, of course, and 1 know 

 it can't be done every weels. But try hard, anyway. If you can 

 keep up the good work, it 's going to make a little ' fatter ' check 

 each week. Here's luck." That's a letter of heartfelt interest and 

 the kind of appeal that produces results. Ever get a letter like that? 

 Few of us have. 



He never sends out a salesman without complete information. It 

 was all very well in days of the past to get up a list of stock and 

 prices and turn out the men to sell it. But it won't do now. At 

 least it will not get results. A salesman must have detailed infor- 

 mation as to the widths and the average percentage of lengths, con- 

 dition of stock for dryness, something about the texture and any 

 other points that create interest. This information must be kept 

 right up-to-date. It involves a lot of detail work, but it pays in 

 increased sales. A salesman can then deal in facts — not general 

 points. It makes a better impression on the customer, too, for he 



knows that he is buying lumber of a definite value. 



When a salesman knows that there is interest in him and his work 

 it puts added interest in his own efforts. This added interest does 

 much to create enthusiasm. Enthusiasm goes a long way in success. 



Naturally the sales manager is in charge of all answers to inquiries. 

 There are two ways to answer an inquiry. One is a business getter 

 and the other isn't. That's the difference. When you write a man, 

 talk to him. Do away with all stereotyped phrases, such as ' ' We are 

 in receipt of your favor of the 11th. inst., and, etc." He knows 

 you got the letter or else you would not be answering. Get down 

 to business. Talk. Get personal. Use abbreviated words; it's 

 proper and wins favor. Just imagine that John Miller of the Miller 

 Furniture Company is sitting opposite you and that you are telling 

 him about the car of lumber he has inquired fol-. Imagine, if you 

 will, that your stenographer is Mr. Miller. Talk to him. Use his 

 name throughout the letter. That's the kind of letters that pull 

 results. The formal letter for sales work was doomed a year or so 

 ago. But few have caught onto it, however. 



Advertising is part of organization. Lumbermen are just realizing 

 that advertising and salesmanship go hand in hand and that one 

 reinforces the other. No, not the old standing-card style of — here, 

 now follow closely — you have some oak to sell. Now just imagine 

 all the prospective buyers of oak standing before you for you to 

 address them. Take them collectively; imagine them all as one 

 person. Now talk about your oak. Tell how dry it is, describe it, 

 suggest uses, bring in all your selling points. Then ask who is 

 interested. Tell them to write or wire you ! That 's the way to write 

 advertisements that sell goods. Now if others can do it (and they 

 are doing it right now), you can. Why, right now you are probably 

 running a standing card in some paper. People see the same thing 

 year after year and there is nothing to attract them or to induce 

 them to investigate further. But suppose you change yo«r copy 

 every issue. Have a new story about your products. Why, the readers 

 will begin to look for your ads every time the paper comes out. You 

 hear lots of men say, ' ' No, I never read the ads in the trade papers ; 

 there 's nothing new in there. ' ' That is -because for a great many 

 years the trade newspaper had no real advertising. And some of 

 the aforementioned still think there is none in them to this day. 

 You know yourself that when you read a popular magazine you spend 

 most of the time looking over the advertisements to see what is new. 

 Well, that is just what the buyers of lumber are doing and especially 

 now, when stock is scarce. 



But to get back on the original topic. Sales etliciency doesn't stop 

 at mere sales. Service is a new and all-important item today. Not 

 only service in shipping, but service as to information, questions and 

 adjustments. When an inquiry is received it should be answered 

 immediately. If it cannot he answered right away, then it is up 

 to you to write the inquirer, explaining why and also when he can 

 expect to receive it. Most sales offices quote a price and then stop 

 right there. If the order comes in, all right. If it doesn't, well — 

 they wonder why it hasn 't. The writer has always followed the plan 



