392 



HOKTICULTUKE 



September 13, 1913: 



Or Tlhe Qmality QM©iti©inio ^ 

 Ami Oil Sale 

 ifcL A GraeimhoMse 



YESTERDAY, I was waiting 

 for a train down at Glen 

 Cove, and to liill time, 

 strolled into a nearby ga- 

 rage and sat down to smoke 

 with Joe, the boss. As the first 

 ashes were just about to drop off 

 our cigars, in conies a hustling, 

 bustling salesman and strikes Joe 

 tor an order of oil. 



First thing that salesman did, 

 was to try and find out what Joe 

 usually paid for his oil — then he 

 simply made a price a few cents 

 under it. 



Price, price, price was his entire 

 talk. Quality seemed an entirely 

 secondary matter. 



Joe didn't buy. 



We were just in the midst of a 

 discussion on tires when another 

 oil salesman came in leisurely. 

 First crack out of the box he said, 

 "I understand you have 10 cars. 

 You must use about so many gal- 

 lons (forgot the amount) of oil a 

 year don't you?" "Yes." 



"Well, you use too much." 



Then followed a discussion of oil 

 values and the comparative oiling 

 and lasting qualities of various 

 grades. 



Numerous tests with prominent 

 cars were mentioned and accurate 

 facts stated as to the actual re- 

 sults. A recent engine endurance 

 run of 300 hours made by one of 

 them without stopping, was re- 

 ferred to in which this salesman's 

 highest grade oil had been used. 

 After this quality talk — then and 

 not till then, was price mentioned. 



It had all been a question of 



what his oils would do; their good- 

 ness — their quality. 



Joe bought two barrels and wil- 

 lingly paid ten cents more a gallon 

 than he ever had before. 



Why did he do it? Simply be- 

 cause that salesman had shown 

 him that cheaper oils cost more, 

 because you have to use more, and 

 results are less satisfactory. 



When quality goes down, to keep 

 things balanced, quantity must go 

 up. Don't forget that. 



As I sat there listening to that 

 most convincing sales talk, it oc- 

 curred to me how many growers 

 are today buying their gi'eenhouses 

 entirely on a price basis. For in- 

 stance, this Spring we lost an order 

 for two big western houses, just 

 because our price was a few hun- 

 dred dollars higher. 



Price sold that order — not qual- 

 ity. 



The other day the sales manager 

 and I dropped around to see the 

 houses. It wasn't a difficult matter 

 to figure the amount of iron in the 

 houses and we soon found out that 

 the actual weight of the iron 

 frames was a third less than we 

 would think of putting in our 

 houses — in spite of the fact that 

 this concern's houses have fre- 

 quently blown down. Our Iron 

 Frame ones never have. 



Knowing the contract price for 

 the houses, we figured it out that 

 Lord & Burnham could have fur- 

 nished those same materials for 

 several hundred dollars less. 



Our price was based on one thing 

 — our competitor's was for entirely 

 different proposition. 



That man had actually paid a 

 good round price for those houses, 

 and had allowed himself to be ;ol- 

 lied into thinking he had a bargain. 



It all boils right down to the 

 fact; that you pretty generally get 

 what you pay for, and no more. 



With the two big factories we 

 have, the thousands and thousands 

 of dollars of work we turn out. and 

 our years of experience in building 

 greenhouses and figuring the 

 actual costs; if. with such a tre- 

 mendous advantage over other con- 

 cerns, they offer to sell you a 

 cheaper house, it's because of 

 either of two reasons; the mate- 

 rials are decidedly poorer or there 

 is a good deal less iron in the 

 framework. 



There is absolutely no other way 

 you can account for it. 



For the kind and quality of 

 house Lord & Burnham build — no 

 concern in the country can build 

 it for any less and make a dollar. 



Of course, we make money — 

 that's why we can make so good 

 a house. If you can't make money 

 — you can't make good. You know 

 that! 



When you compare our figures 

 with the other fellow's — bear in 

 mind the two oil salesmen — how 

 one sold any old quality at any old 

 price — and how the other, sold the 

 one quality at the one price. 



Lord 



SALES OFFICES: 



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