N.»\ KMiicit SZ. I'.hk;. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



n 



tion of the customer from bis first in- 

 quiries and general bearing. Some peo- 

 j)le enjoy conversation and an occasional 

 joke J others are offended at too much 

 talk. Ho nuist read his people .so as 

 to frame his remarks accordingly. iMany 

 sales are lost because the customer is 

 displeased by an ill-timed word spoken 

 by a clerk avIio fails of understanding 

 Jiis customer. 



Tlie successful salesman is the man 

 who j)Ossesses an insight into the ways 

 of his customers and symjtatliizes with 

 them. 



Know Your Goods. 



A second requisite is a thorough knowl- 

 edge uf tiie goods otfered for sale. Noth- 

 ing is more discouraging to the success 

 uf any business than ignorance! on the 

 jiart of clerks. A knowledge of the 

 goods and their uses often is the means 

 nf making a sale. For instance, a lady 

 wishes to pnrcha.se. ]»otte(.l plants for 

 outdoor bedding jinrposes but is at sea 

 for the want uf ideas as to what she 

 shall buy and how she .shall use the 

 jilants after jnirchase. It is here that a 

 <-lerk either can lose ur make a sale. If 

 he appears indifferent^ either tiiruugh ig- 

 norance or negligence, the customer may 

 buy a .slim bill, ])robably not enongli to 

 cover the ground and give .satisfairtion, 

 or possibly she nmy l)ecome iliscouraged 

 and buy nothing at all. On the other 

 hand, if an intelligent or wide-awake, 

 well-posted clerk i)olitely otiers 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 tl>«fe is no sales- 

 manship required when a customer says 

 to a clerk, "(iive me the goods or 1 will 

 tell the boss," still holds good. Such 

 a customer does not require a skilful 

 salesman, but the sak^man who sells 

 things which people did not call for or 

 want until their intero^t^a.s awakened 

 liy the clerk i^tEfr salesman who passes 

 in the fat §rfI<rsbook at night. 



The mo|fern flower storcj from time to 

 time receive^ 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. jNIany 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 largo 

 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 variou.s phases of 



A Southern Bridal Bouquet and Its Maker. 



flowers and ])lants. 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 liglit on the 

 great problems of variation and i-ross- 

 fertilization, he ought at least to have a 

 conversational knowledge of plant.s and 

 their j)eculiarities. 



Skill in Handling Stock. 



Another important t^senti;il in the 

 ideal salesman is proficiency iti 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 inuch 

 hay, regardless of artistic arrangement, 

 and without thought as to the proper 

 light, so as to make them appear to the 

 best advantage. 



Let us reverse the case and put the 

 clerk with tact and i^enuity in the 

 jdace of the indifferent one. lie 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 bail 

 impressioji 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 Avhatever he hap- 

 pens to be displaying, and grasps them 

 at tho lower part of the stems, so as to 

 make them appear as graceful as pos- 

 sible. He tries to obtain tho 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 idenl salesman t;ikes tl)e s;ime 



amount of interest in the proprietor's 

 iiusiness ;is if his own money were in 

 vested. lie does nut tiiruugh lack <»f 

 attention on his pnrt .-illuw any sale to 

 escape him. lie is aiway.s upen to sug- 

 gestiuri and is enterprising iind always 

 planning nnue eft'ective metliods of sell- 

 ing goods. 



Tact is Invaluable. 



' Mie ot' llie greatest lesoiirces wliicji 

 a salesinnu can possess is tiict. the ability 

 to discover n customer's wishes with 

 fiut asking too nuiny questions. A great 

 many j)eop|e di.slike an attack of (pies- 

 tiuns and often take otfenso if too many 

 arc asked them. The average woman 

 wonid rather look al)out tiie store and 

 examine tiie goods before she jturchases; 

 and if she is not granted this privilege 

 slie uuiy 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 oifended and. 

 as it were, arc ready to light at tlie drop 

 of a hat. Some salesmen may say; "i 

 can live without them; let them bother 

 other dealers." Now. :Mr. Salesman, if 

 yuu are energetic and enterprising you 

 cannot alfur*! to lose one customer, no 

 matter how little he buys. It often haj)- 

 pens that customers who buy tho 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 good.s is a 

 vital factor in tho 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 .-Jiicceccfiil snle'snirui Innk^ 



