SELLING LUMBER 



311 



partment from the logging operation up that has shown less com- 

 parative progress. 



Living as we are in an age where only those who have attained 

 the highest type of efficiency are able to keep up with the procession, 

 it is highly important that we as salesmen develop a higher degree 

 of efficiency. I would ask that some of you older salesmen give a 

 moment's reflection and see if you can recall where you have ma- 

 terially changed your offensive tactics in your battle for orders 

 during your long terms of service? In order to more forcibly 

 bring this to you, I wish to quote from a speech made by our chair- 

 man, Harry T. Kendall, delivered before the Central Association 

 of Lumber, Sash and Door Salesmen at Chicago : "Lumber is sold 

 today in exactly the same way it was sold fifty years ago. In the 

 manufacturing end, the lumberman has kept fairly abreast with 

 the times, but in the selling of his product he is antideluvian." 



Selling lumber is a profession and to illustrate let's take the 

 medical fraternity in the times of our forefathers. Who ever heard 

 of an eye specialist or a throat specialist? It was plain Dr. Brown, 

 the "cure all." At a convention of the American Medical Associa- 

 tion held in Detroit early this month, I counted ten different and 

 distinct branches of specialists represented, showing the progress 

 made in the medical profession, through specialization. 



With this concrete example before us, we must recognize the 

 necessity of a higher degree of efficiency in salesmanship. Special- 

 ization, the method which has attained efficiency in other pro- 

 fessions, must be applied to the profession of salesmanship. The 

 selling of lumber, to my mind, should be divided into no less than 

 four branches: 



First Selling the retail yard trade. 



Second Selling railroad and car shops. 



Third Selling export trade. 



Fourth Selling factory and industrial trade, 



All of which are peculiar to themselves. The last duty has been 

 assigned me by the committee for discussion. Selling the factory 

 and industrial trade has many serious handicaps at present. Suc- 

 cess can only be obtained by close co-operation between the manu- 

 facturing and the sales department. 



My experience in selling factories has brought to my observa- 

 tion a very serious deficiency on the part of the manufacturing 

 department and leads me to make the statement that the manu- 



Higher 

 Efficiency 

 a Need 



This an Age 

 of Speciali- 

 zation 



