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OCTOBEB 19, 1906. 



The Weekly Florists' Review* 



J2J7 



THE IDEAL SALESMAN. 



[An e««ay by Patrick Welch, of Boston, 

 awarded second price in the contest originated 

 and conducted by the Review correspondent at 

 Philadelphia.] 



Goods do not show a profit until they 

 are sold. In the production of plants and 

 cut flowers, as well as other classes of 

 merchandise, the producer is always pay- 

 ing out up to the time his goods are 

 ready for the market; then he comes 

 face to face with the problem of selling 

 his goods to advantage, so that he will 

 not only get back what has been ex- 

 pended but also a living profit. 



It is a recognized fact among the pro- 

 ducers of cut flowers that it is difficult 

 to secure salesmen capable of success- 

 fully disposing of the goods grown in 

 any of our large establishments. 



To be a successful salesman there are 

 certain qualifications necessary. The 

 applicant should possess education suffi- 

 cient to read and write well and speak 

 correctly the language of the country in 

 which he expects to sell his goods. He 

 need not be a brilliant conversationalist, 

 but should give his customer the credit 

 of knowing the rudiments of his busi- 

 ness, and hence should not waste time 

 proving or explaining matters which are 

 at least supposed to be known. Modern 

 business men do not take kindly to a 

 salesman who is not practical. 



He should possess special knowledge 

 of the care, cultivation and cost of pro- 

 duction, etc., so that he may at all times 

 be prepared to explain the good qualities 

 and name correctly certain varieties of 

 flowers or plants which he may be called 

 upon to dispose of. 



It is likewise necessary that he should 

 have a thorough knowledge of the class 

 of goods offered by his competitors, the 

 price asked for the same from day to 

 day, not for the purpose of enabling him 

 to depreciate his competitor's goods or 

 undersell him, but for the purpose of 

 comparison and of counteracting any 

 argument against his own goods. 



I do not know of anything that can 

 be done by a traveling salesman that is 

 more dangerous to his success than to 

 be continually depreciating the goods 

 offered for sale by his competitors. 

 Such a practice is mean and cowardly, 

 proving him who is guilty of it to have 

 no pretension whatever to the title of a 

 gentleman. If you expect to achieve 

 8ucc«ss let it be done by the use of your 

 own energy, your own brains, your own 

 persistence, not at the cost of the repu- 

 tation of those with whom you are 

 obliged to compete. 



A salesman should never be indifferent 

 to the interest of his employer. He 

 should keep before his mind the necessity 

 of selling each day all the goods he pos- 

 sibly can and at a price that will return 

 a reasonable profit. In working along 

 these lines care must be used not to 

 attempt to extract from a purchaser 

 any more than what is a just figure. It 

 is as much wrong to overcharge for goods 

 and inflict an injury on the purchaser as 

 it is to undersell and work an injustice 

 on your employer. "Honesty is the best 

 policy." Work done by a man in an 

 honest, upright and straightforward 

 manner cannot be otherwise than appre- 

 ciated and rewarded by those who employ 

 him, aa well as all others with whom he 

 may do business. 



A good, clever salesman will always 

 keep before his mind the fact that he 

 should make a good appearance, be tact- 



a.'c ;„.'; ; . '. 



Patrick Velch. 



ful and agreeable. If he finds his cus- 

 tomer busy at other work he should not 

 force himself or demand his time. It 

 does a man no good to have his patience 

 worn out. When a party to whom he 

 expects to sell goods is not prepared to 

 purchase, he can await an opportunity 

 when the customer is in a mood when he 

 can be reached and a nice bill of goods 

 sold. 



Bight here I might be permitted to 

 suggest that it is well to remember that 

 the custom in practice among the trade 

 at present is that a sale is not made 

 until the goods are delivered and ac- 

 cepted by the purchaser. This point is 

 one that calls for a selling agent being 

 thoroughly conversant with the nature 

 and makeup of the goods he is offering 

 for sale. It likewise devolves upon the 

 house to see that all goods are shipped 

 in strict accordance with all agreements 

 that may be made by its representatives. 



There is no time in a salesman's ex- 

 perience when he is called upon to exer- 

 cise so much nicety and skill as when 

 he is first introduced to a would-be pur- 

 chaser. He should appear practical and 

 marshal his thoughts. As a rule first 

 impressions count for a great deal, and 

 if he is clever his success at this par- 

 ticular time will depend on his sagacity 

 and he may secure a customer which it 

 may have taken years for his compet- 

 itors in business to get. 



A young man who expects to become 

 a clever salesman should practice tem- 

 perance. It is not absolutely necessary 

 that he should be a total abstainer, but 



it is a fact beyond dispute that the 

 drinking of intoxicating liquors can only 

 be done at the expense of health and 

 reason. Whatever obstacles a salesman 

 may have to surmount or whatever diffi- 

 culties he may have to conquer in the 

 faithful performance of his duty, if he 

 intends to be steady and constantly oc- 

 cupied with the work to which he is 

 assigned, he can do all these things in a 

 more complete and satisfactory manner 

 if he practices temperance than he can 

 if his intellect is darkened and confused, 

 his sound and sterling qualities de- 

 stroyed. 



A salesman should be careful not to 

 misrepresent the quality of goods offered 

 for sale or attempt to dispose of any 

 grade or variety he is not sure can be 

 delivered. It is absolutely necessary 

 that his every act should be honest, square 

 and upright to gain the confidence of 

 men with whom he expects to build up a 

 permanent business. 



No man can be successful as a sales- 

 man who fails to take a pride in his 

 work, prove to his employer that he 

 has a love for it, like that of the artist or 

 poet. Compensation should not be the 

 first consideration. Work because it is 

 your great pleasure to work. Sooner or 

 later you will become so valuable to the 

 firm or corporation by whom you are 

 employed that they cannot afford to 

 dispense with your services. When that 

 day does come, as it surely will, like the 

 artist, you will be paid the full price for 

 the picture you have taken years to 

 paint. 



