374 



SELLING LUMBER 



Working Off 

 Odd Items and 

 "Irregular" 

 Stock 



Then particularly on corporation trade requirements, by being 

 on the ground you can tactfully ascertain just what they want 

 the stock for; try and see it in its finished state, and get the 

 dimensions, thickness, width and length. After you have this 

 knowledge you should quickly be able to size up the situation, and 

 your sales acumen and initiative should then come into play, by 

 endeavoring to obtain a proper price along the lines of their orig- 

 inal inquiry, but with the understanding that you are privileged to 

 furnish them stock cut to the finished length, and width, and 

 thus enabling you to again work off odd items or "irregular" 

 stock, which in its rough state might be of less value, but serves 

 your customer's requirements equally as well, and thus make the 

 additional profit per thousand for the house, and save extra work 

 and handling to the customer. 



You should also realize that salesmen are paid not alone on 

 the basis of the quantity of lumber sold, but that the house con- 

 siders carefully the character of the stock, the amount of unde- 

 sirable lumber and surplus items worked off, and the profit per 

 thousand on each sale. And this is particularly true in viewing 

 substitutes of other woods that you come in competition with. 

 By seeing the finished product and ascertaining just what it is 

 used for, you can more intelligently present, and offer for the 

 buyers' consideration, something that you have, and which is 

 equal in every respect to the article they have been buying for 

 that purpose, and possibly better, bringing out the good points of 

 what you offer, and at the same time, when conditions justify, sell 

 it for even a little less than the buyer has been paying for other 

 . stock to make the finished article, and still obtain the asking price 

 for the stock. 



It is also important that information obtained daily covering 

 stock used for certain new purposes, be daily forwarded to the 

 home office, with all particulars. The sales manager, naturally 

 having this information, will then transmit it to the other sales- 

 Information men * n the ^ r respective territory, and they in return then should 

 take advantage of such knowledge, and offer the same class of 

 stock to their trade for that purpose, and they can do so very 

 intelligently and definitely when they have the facts. In this 

 way the aggregate experience, properly disseminated, becomes a 

 valuable asset, and each salesman thus gains manifold returns 

 from the information dispensed. 



Good Sales- 

 manship Not 

 All in Dispos- 

 ing of Quan- 

 tity 



