112 SOME SALESMEN AND OTHERS. 



after the salesman has announced the 

 name of the firm he travels for, he should, 

 without being officious, be sure that the 

 buyer knows his own name. Quite a 

 little important point, and one which is 

 frequently overlooked. 



" After a man has been traveling for 

 some time, he will find out that buyers 

 are only human beings after all. You 

 have^tf/ to be a diplomat to succeed as 

 a salesman. Five minutes' talk with a 

 buyer ought to be enough. Then size 

 him up and proceed cautiously. How 

 often has a good story helped to sell a bill 

 of goods ! How often a word too much 

 or too little has killed a sale ! How 

 often has the knowledge (discreetly used) 

 of a buyer's ' pet hobby ' been the only 

 means of making a sale ! 



" To sum it all up, to be a successful 

 salesman you've got to be prepared to 

 take an interest in everything on earth. 

 In other words, as a newspaper man says 

 of his vocation, to be ' newborn every day.' 



