Till- matUT ..f .IriiikiiiK uu.i I..mm« i «.....! l.-ll.,» «.i..i;.lh 

 i- lnvn disiiissfj rwoiitly from iiii i-ntircly iliffercnt sUiii<l|.oiiit 

 uiau formerly was iisiM. i'ntil tlio piist fo« yeiirs the suhjwt was 

 vonsi.loreJ bs it iiionil issuo; but tlio iiuT.>Hsiii({ Ittttfution whicli is 

 lioiun paid to mnttors of ofliciciicy, in-rsonal ami incclmnicul, Iins 

 brouKlit about au analysis of tlie gooa ffllowsliii* proposition from 

 :. striitly business stnnJpoint. What busine>8 men want to know is, 

 < au tlio man wUo Jrinks and entertains liis lustomers lavishly sell 

 more «oods at less cost than the chaji who doesn't resort to that 

 kiud of thing f 



One or two strong nrtirles in the general magazines have lent addi- 

 tional interest to the proposition. Sam Blytlie, of the Saturday 

 Kvening Post, ereated a tremendous lot of interest by a frank com- 

 parison between his ability to do good work when he was driakiug 

 with the rest of the boys and was being a good fellow, and now, 

 when ho doesn't toueh unythiiig stronger than ginger ale. .lack 

 Loudon's autobiography, eoneealed in the story of '■John Harley- 

 coru," aroused similar interest for the same reason. 



Salesmen for lumber and veneer manufacturers, «lio must meet 

 ••hard cu.stomers" and who want to get every advantage it is pos- 

 sible to secure through making their personal relations with their 

 prospectii pleasjint, are constantly up against the question of drink- 

 ing or not drinking; being a good fellow or a poor entertainer; and, 

 lu short, deciding whether they can sell goods effectively without try- 

 ing to impress the customer along strictly personal lines. 



••It isn't necessary to be a good fellow in order to sell veneers," 

 the sales manager of one of the largest concerns in the field said re- 

 .ently. "In most eases the worst that the teetotaler gets is an even 

 break, and in a lot of others ho is given all the better reception by 

 reason of keeping his proposition on a strictly business basis." 



The realization is gaining ground that competitive conditions in 

 businos nowadays are such that the consumer in every line must buy 

 strictly according to quality and price. He cannot afford to place 

 business merely because he happens to like a particular salesman. 

 <?ouceding this to be true, does it not follow that spending time and 

 money on being a good fellow is wasted ammunition? 



There is no doubt that as a matter of pereonal efficiency di inking 

 cannot help and may hurt. However, the practice is condoned here 

 and there on the ground that it is still necessary in order to get 

 business, and that the man on the road must be a "good fellow" if 

 he is to turn in his fair proportion of sales. Hence the subject is one 

 with a business aspect entirely apart from the effect of the drinking 

 liabit on those who have it. 



That the theory of increased selling efficiency resulting from free 

 drinking with customers and those in a position to influence .sales 

 has been exploded is the opinion of a good many who have been in- 

 terviewed recently on the subject. 



' ' I myself, ' ' said the sales manager referred to above, ' ' don 't 

 drink at all. I am what some people would call a crank on the sub- 

 ject; and yet I don't believe I have ever lost any business simply 

 because I didn't drink. 



"Some time ago I was in keen competition with several other con- 

 cerns for one of the largest orders of the year, involving delivery of 

 several carloads of sawed stock to a big consumer. The prospect 

 seemed to be a good fellow himself, and I supposed tliat the other 

 good fellows in the bunch of salesmen would probably get the inside 

 track. But I not only did not invite him to drink, but I declined 

 bis invitation, explaining the reason. He looked at me queerly and 

 finally said that it was the first time he had ever seen a salesman 

 refuse an invitation of that kind. Nevertheless, he gave me as much 

 time as the others when he took up the question of buying the ma- 

 terial for which he was in the market. I got the order simply because 

 I demonstrated that we had the quality and tlie service, as well as 

 the price. Possibly the fact that I got nine hours' sleep the night 

 before and was clear-headed helped me to argue my case. At any 

 rate, this incident, where apparently I handicapped myself through 



—18— 



nut diiiikiiiy, .oiniii.i.l ihc tliUl it i^ an iiiliKly uiiiiiHOMiry inir.l.-n 

 on tho jihysique of the salesman and expense to his house." 



This last ]>linse deserves cousideration. Kxpenso accounts are 

 crowded with items referring to entertainment of customers, anil a 

 good deal of money so expended is jirobably for drinkh. If it isn't 

 necessary to speml the money in tliih way, it is obviously jHior judg- 

 ment to authorize it. If it is not only unnecessary, but a handicap to 

 tho man, then there isn't a shred of an excuse left for the practice. 



It goes without saying that the salesninn must make himself iH?r- 

 sonally agreeable to the prosjiect, and lliere are timi-s when this nutans 

 dining, but not necessarily wining, the man who has tho business to 

 I)lace. A certain amount of leeway in this regard is necessary. But 

 where once it was considered proper to go the limit in staying up as 

 much of tho night as might be desired with a cusfomi-r, miuiy busi- 

 ness men now l>elieve it is a waste of energy which might better be 

 spent in other directions. 



' ' The business of the man who has to be caroused with in order to 

 win his api)roval," said one lumber manufacturer recently, "usually 

 is uot worth much. Certainly it costs too much to get it. But most 

 buyers nowadays are so much interesteil in the question of getting 

 one hundred cents' worth of value for each ilollar expendeil that 

 they prefer not to have the salesman try to influence their judgment 

 through paying for dinners and drinks and I'ig.ors. " 



The following comment by the head of a big woodworking concern 

 is very much to the point in connection with the subject of selling 

 efliciency and good fellowship: 



"I have had considerable selling expeiience myself," he said, "and 

 although I am not a teetotaler, I have never found it necessary to 

 drink in order to obtain business. We have in our sales organization 

 a man who is a wonder along his line. He is far and away the best 

 salesman I have ever known. He was formerly independently wealthy, 

 and at that time he was a hard drinker and a great entertainer of 

 his customers. He wasted all of his substance in dissipation, and 

 got liinLself deeply in debt. After a lieartto-heart talk with the 

 officials of the company, we decided to assume his debts and he 

 promised faithfully to quit drinking. This he has done absolutely — 

 which is an indication of considerable strength of character. Sinc^ 

 his reform this man is more efficient a.s a salesman and vastly more 

 reliable otherwise than ever before. Ilis value to the con\pany has 

 increased 100 per cent." 



In large concerns the methods used in purchasing are working 

 more and more against the professional ' ' good fellow. ' ' Few pur- 

 chasing agents can be ajiproachcd from this side; for they too are 

 trying to make every dollar go as far as possible in getting equip- 

 ment and supplies. Some years ago it was the general belief that 

 the purchasing departments of the railroads could be influenced 

 through this and similar means, but now those who sell to the car- 

 riers apjjroach them with an open-amlshut proposition based entirely 

 on the ability of their product to do the work and on its cost. 



The modem type of salesman, who is becoming more and more 

 familiar, is a clean-cut young chap, who knows his goods thoroughly 

 and who studies the plant and operations of his customers. He is 

 prepared to render service in suggesting how the product he has to 

 sell is to be used. But when it comes to being a "good fellow" 

 of the old-fashioned sort, ho is not in the running. 



Selling goods on a business basis has made the situation easier for 

 everybody. It means less expense to the manufacturer and in the end 

 less cost and better service to the customer. In short, cutting out 

 the old brand of good fellowship and sticking strictly to business 

 is not only in line with efficiency, but is really more agreeable; 

 because no one wants to have to buy business with gratuities, and no 

 buyer wants to tie up with a house which gets its trade in that way. 



Notwitlistanding the slump in our export trade the past few 

 months, the total exports for the fiscal year ending with June exceed 

 the imports by a round 500 million dollars. 



