SELLINGLUMBER 257 



You nearly all know the dealer I mean, and he is a different one to 

 each of us. 



Let us consider the hotel expense. In the small towns there is 

 no choice, but in the larger towns there are usually hotels that 

 have rates on the European plan, that will charge $3.00 to $4.00 

 a day for a room, while there are others that are good enough 

 to maintain your respectability and comfort, and the dignity of 

 your company, at about one-half the cost. It is there you will 

 find the most successful salesmen. Many salesmen fall into ex- 

 travagant habits, and indulgences of this kind are much harder 

 to resist when a liberal expense account will take care of them 

 than if paid from their own pocket. I will venture to say that if 

 you will investigate a little, you will find the higher priced, fash- 

 ionable hotels are filled with salesmen who have their expenses 

 paid by their firm, and the other hotels mentioned are full ot 

 the men who are paying their own expenses, and in other lines 

 you know that the man on the percentage basis is the one that is 

 making big money. 



There are other items of direct selling expense the salesman 

 can cut down very materially if he watches closely, such as trans- 

 portation, taxicabs, telephone and telegraph. We will pass these, 

 although considerable might be said about long jumps to good 

 hotels, and sending wires or telephoning, where a 2-cent stamp 

 and some of the hotel stationery would have answered the pur- 

 pose a great deal better, at one thirtieth or one hundredth part 

 of the expense, had it been thought of before the train left earlier 

 in the day or evening. And a little exercise in walking a few Economy 

 blocks to the station or a customer, might give one a better ap- 

 petite for some of the poor meals that he often is forced to eat while 

 on the road, or to pass the time that he otherwise might have spent 

 waiting around the hotel lobby for the dining room to be open. 

 By taking this exercise it would not be so necessary to get to head- 

 quarters on Friday night so as to take exercise on the golf links, 

 tennis court or baseball field on Saturday. 



The incidental column in the expense account is one direct 

 expense that I will venture to say is watched as closely as any 

 other by everyone who has to O. K. expense accounts, or those 

 who only see it in the monthly statement. 



There is nothing which I presume would bring out more argu- 

 ment among salesmen as to actual results obtained in entertaining 

 customers or doing them favors with the company's money, for 



