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November 22, 1906. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



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tion of the customer from his first in- 

 quiries and general bearing. Some peo- 

 ple enjoy conversation and an occasional 

 joke; others are offended at too much 

 talk. He must read his people so as 

 to frame his remarks accordingly. Many 

 sales are lost because the customer is 

 displeased by an ill-timed word spoken 

 by a clerk who fails of understanding 

 his customer. 



The successful salesman is the man 

 who possesses an insight into the ways 

 of his customers and sympathizes with 

 them. 



Know Your Goods. 



A second requisite is a thorough knowl- 

 edge of the goods offered for sale. Noth- 

 ing is more discouraging to the success 

 of any business than ignorance on the 

 part of clerks. A knowledge of the 

 goods and their uses often is the means 

 of making a sale. For instance, a lady 

 wishes to purchase potted plants for 

 outdoor bedding purposes but is at sea 

 for the want of ideas as to what she 

 shall buy and how she shall use the 

 plants after purchase. It is here that a 

 clerk either can lose or make a sale. If 

 he appears indifferent, either through ig- 

 norance or negligence, the customer may 

 buy a slim bill, probably not enough to 

 cover the ground and give satisfaction, 

 or possibly she may become discouraged 

 and buy nothing at all. On the other 

 hand, if an intelligent or wide-awake, 

 well-posted clerk politely offers a few 

 suggestions he often can not only sell 

 the goods but he frequently can increase 

 the bill by selling more through cautious 

 intimation and yet give the customer the 

 best of satisfaction. 



The old axiom that there is no sales- 

 manship required when a customer says 

 to a clerk, "Give me the goods or I will 

 tell the boss," still hol(£ good. Such 

 a customer does not require a skilful 

 salesman, but the salesman who sells 

 things which people did not call for or 

 want until their interest was awakened 

 by the clerk is the salesman who passes 

 in the fat salesbook at night. 



The modem flower store from time to 

 time receives new goods which require 

 introduction to the trade. The ideal 

 salesman does not forget to remind his 

 customers of them or to explain their 

 advantages. Many clerks are timid con- 

 cerning the introduction of new goods, 

 an attribute which should be foreign to 

 the successful salesman. 



Be Sure of Your Facts. 



Ignorance in any branch of human 

 endeavor is never at a premium. Noth- 

 ing is more disgusting than to hear a 

 clerk catch himself in his own trap, in 

 assuming knowledge he does not possess. 

 If a salesman does not know whereof 

 he speaks, silence is to be commended. 

 Caution is one of the cardinal virtues 

 in salesmanship. 



While a fair knowledge of Latin term- 

 inology is desirable it is not absolutely 

 necessary in a salesman in a retail flo- 

 rist's establishment, but a thorough 

 knowledge of structural and functional 

 botany is of great importance. In these 

 days of widespread intelligence, people 

 often inquire as to the whys of plant 

 life and expect an intelligent reply from 

 one engaged in the business. In the large 

 cities and in towns where culture pre- 

 vails, many people study botany for 

 their own amusement and naturally when 

 they purchase at the flower stores they 

 are often inclined to ask for explana- 

 tions relating to the various phases of 



A Southern Bridal Bouquet and Its Maker. 



flowers and plants. If these inquiries 

 are met with indifference and lack of in- 

 formation by the salesman, it does not 

 create a good impression on the customer. 

 While it cannot be expected of a sales- 

 man that he be an expert botanist and 

 that he be able to throw light on the 

 great problems of variation and cross- 

 fertilization, he ought at least to have a 

 conversational knowledge of plants and 

 their peculiarities. 



SkiU in Handling Stock. 



Another important essential in the 

 ideal salesman is proficiency in the ar- 

 rangement of goods. For instance, a 

 customer enters a retail store, wishing 

 some cut flowers: The clerk gets them 

 and throws them on a pile like so much 

 hay, regardless of artistic arrangement, 

 and without thought as to the proper 

 light, so as to make them appear t6 the 

 best advantage. 



Let us reverse the case and put the 

 clerk with tact and ingenuity in the 

 place of the indifferent one. He is care- 

 ful at all times when in the presence of 

 a customer to handle the flowers as if 

 they were of value. It leaves a bad 

 impression if goods are handled care- 

 lessly, the customer often forming the 

 opinion that you do not consider your 

 goods of much worth. He loosely holds 

 the roses, carnations or whatever he hap- 

 pens to be displaying, and grasps them 

 at the lower part of the stems, so as to 

 make them appear as graceful as pos- 

 sible. He tries to obtain the best light 

 and through intelligent and well-directed 

 endeavor he seeks to humor the custom- 

 er's fancy. 



Which of the two clerks is the better 

 fitted to wait on the trade? 



An ideal salesman takes the same 



amount of interest in the proprietor's 

 business as if his own money were in- 

 vested. He does not through lack of 

 attention on his part allow any sale to 

 escape him. He is always open to sug- 

 gestion and is enterprising and always 

 planning more effective methods of sell- 

 ing goods. 



Tact is Invaluable. 



One of the greatest resources which 

 a salesman can possess is tact, the ability 

 to discover a customer's wishes with- 

 out asking too many questions. A great 

 many people dislike an attack of ques- 

 tions and often take offense if too many 

 are asked them. The average woman 

 would rather look about the store and 

 examine the goods before she purchases; 

 and if she is not granted this privilege 

 she may become irritated and in some 

 cases may be inclined to leave the store. 



In every business there is a class of 

 customers who are easily offended and, 

 as it were, are ready to fight at the drop 

 of a hat. Some salesmen may say: **I 

 can live without them; let them bother 

 other dealers." Now, Mr. Salesman, if 

 you are energetic and enterprising you 

 cannot afford to lose one customer, no 

 matter how little he buys. It often hap- 

 pens that customers who buy the least 

 are quite influential. The ideal salesman 

 never allows a customer to depart from 

 the store dissatisfied if politeness, reason 

 and common sense can accomplish this 

 end. 



Misrepresentation Fatal. 



The misrepresentation of goods is a 

 vital factor in the downfall of any busi- 

 ness. The salesman who misrepresents ' 

 goods for the sake of getting large sales 

 for today fast loses prestige with his cus- 

 tomers. The successful salesman looks 



