40 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



Had the salesman been able to talk jntelligentlj' about the particular 

 stock his firm was ready to ship, or had he been able to apply his 

 knowledge of Imnber to the consuming needs of the factory man, low 

 price would not have been the only selling argument worth trying. 

 If a hunter is going to bring down his quarry, he needs real anmiuni- 

 tion and not paper wads. Most of us have not been furnishing much 

 of the former. ' ' 



The conversation quoted above is probably typical, and demonstrates 

 the fact that lumbermen are giving attention to sales iirobleras in a 

 way that would have been considered needless a few years ago. That 

 this is resulting in increased effectiveness there is no doubt. A lot 

 of simple methods of keeping tab on the work of salesmen and of 

 aiding them to develop real selling ideas have been put into effect, 

 and those who have operated the slap-dash systems, formerly in uni- 

 versal use, have realized that it is up to them to improve this depart- 

 ment of their business. 



One successful hardwood firm sends out every few days cards on 

 which are written, under the head of "Push," items which the con- 

 cern is long on and which are to be put forward at every opportunity. 

 On the back of the card is the caption, "Go Easy," and under this 

 are items which are scarce and which the salesman knows should not 

 be sold except at a good price. 



Daily reports covering every concern called on are in general use, 

 and where a really comprehensive report is required these furnish the 

 basis of very profitable efforts later on. The report card should not 

 state merely that the buyer was not in the market, but should show 

 who is in charge of lumber purchases; what the character of stock 

 used is ; about how much lumber is on hand ; about when the con- 

 sumer should be in the market for material and other specific informa- 

 tion having a bearing on the customer which can be secured by the 

 salesman if he keeps his eyes open and makes a few discreet inquiries. 



The salesman should be encouraged to work intensively rather than 

 extensively. Some lumber salesmen never seem to have enough ter- 

 ritory ; they are always complaining that they ought to have larger 

 ground to cover and that the number of customers that they call on 

 is too small to enable them to keep profitably employed all the time. 

 Others, if they liave learned how to put in their time to good advan- 

 tage, do best when confined to a single state or a single city, if the 

 latter is a large consuming market, and it is certainly to the advantage 

 of the house that its business be concentrated as much as possible. 



Prequent calls help to sell lumber, and it is obviously true that the 

 salesman who visits a consumer every couple of weeks, other things 

 being equal, will sell more lumber to that concern than the solicitor 

 who calls every three or four months. The personal connection is still 

 one of the main factors in selling, and if the business involved justifies 

 it, the salesman should keep so closely in touch with his customers 

 that there is no chance of an order being placed before he has an 

 opportunity to bid on it. 



This brings up the subject of local offices in large markets, and 

 it is the experience of a good many lumbermen that their salesmen 

 do much better if permanently located in a consuming market of 

 importance than if they attempt to get business out of it merely by 

 calling occasionally as part of the trip to a number of consuming 

 sections. It is much better for the solicitor to establish headquarters 

 at the leading consuming center in his territory and work out from 

 there, than to have his office at the plant of the lumber company, so 

 that he is always considered a stranger in a strange land when he 

 goes to the market where he expects to sell most of his stock. 



The almost universal use of the telephone in getting quotations 

 and ordering is largely responsible for the decreased efficiency of 

 the peripatetic salesman. He goes into a big market, makes up a 

 list of the people he intends to call on, tries to arrange appointments 

 with their buyers by telephone, and, usually succeeds in getting in 

 touch with only a few desirable prospects, most of whom are regu- 

 larly solicited by a host of other salesmen. In other words, he covers 

 the beaten path because it is the obvious and easiest one, and it 

 takes him a lot of time to do it at that. 



A marked increase in the business produced from a given territory 

 aluHist invariably follows a trip from the office by the head of the 



concern with the salesman. Partly because of the prestige giveu by 

 the presence of the man in authority, and partly because the sales- 

 man is stimulated to his best efforts on this account, orders are 

 frequently doubled or trebled when this experiment is resorted to. 

 Incidentally, the lumberman hmiself learns many valuable facts 

 about his customers and is able frequently to improve relations 

 with many of the people his representatives have been soliciting. 

 Here again the personal element comes into play. 



Salesmen, like athletes, frequently go stale. Perhaps they lose a 

 few big orders they have been counting on, or maybe they get the 

 idea that their house is unable to sell at current market prices. 

 Whatever the cause, the salesman needs help before he can get back 

 to a point where he can produce a normal amount of business. A 

 well-known lumberman who had heard that a successful life insur- 

 ance manager frequently spurred his men to increased effort .by fram- 

 ing up fictitious lists of "prospects," uses the same system in get- 

 ting his salesmen, who seem to have lost their grip, hack into condi- 

 tion. Daily notes containing "grape-vine" information about con- 

 cerns in his territory being ready to buy, as well as legitimate market 

 reports indicating the prospective trend of prices on certain items 

 and the fact that these items are therefore a good buy, are sent the 

 salesman, and the lumberman declares that it is really remarkable 

 how quickly his work picks up, once he is given something tangible 

 to work on. 



One of the chief departments of salesmanship consists of adjust- 

 ing complaints. The salesman who is able to take care of a com- 

 plaint in a way that will appease the customer without 'causing serious 

 loss to his house is a double asset, yet many salesmen dodge this 

 necessarily disagreeable duty, or make matters worse by invariably 

 siding with the buyer. This is the easiest way, from the standpoint 

 of the salesman, yet Bis duty to his employer demauds that he con- 

 serve his interest and cause as little loss as possible. Diplomatic 

 handling of a rejected car, for example, will frequently result in the 

 lumber being accepted at a reduction in the invoice, which is a good 

 deal less than the expense of resale and reshipment would amount to. 

 Every salesman should be taught to consider himself an adjuster of 

 complaints, and by the same token should be given authority to set- 

 tle. He is on the ground, sees the lumber and knows the customer, 

 and he can certainly do better for all concerned than if the com- 

 plaint is allowed to take its course and time and expense consumed 

 either in reinspection or in securing another outlet for the shipment. 



"It is my opinion," said a hardwood man who has given consider- 

 able tliought to the question of selling lumber, "that we have too 

 many one-hundred-dollar-salesmen and not enough three-hundred- 

 dollar-men. The high salaried solicitor is frequently cheapest when 

 the expense is figured on the basis of sales. If we demand results 

 and co-operate with our men to get them, the chances are we will 

 have fewer salesmen and at the same time, I hope, very much better 

 ones. The problem of improving the efficiency of the sales depart- 

 ment is undoubtedly the leading question with which the trade is 

 confronted." G. D. C, Jr. 



Building Operations in Chicago 



Building operations in Chicago are at flood tide in what is known 

 as the "loop district," which constitutes the main retail merchandiz- 

 ing and office building section of the city. More than nine thousand 

 feet of frontage during the last twelve months and up-to-date have 

 been cleared of their structures, some of them reasonably modern 

 ones, and have been or are being replaced with skyscrapers of the 

 most modern type. 



Outside of this section intense activity prevails in the erection of 

 flat buildings in all residence districts of the city, and still fvirther in 

 the suburbs thousands of detached houses are being erected. There 

 is also considerable activity in the construction of new and additional 

 factory and warehcnise buildings. 



On the whole it is thoroughly believable that Chicago, in its build- 

 ing operations, will outstrip any previous year in its history, and in 

 character and cost of them will make a monumental record. 



