12 



The Florists' Review 



AUGUST 6, 1914. 



Itis customers as ho wouM have thoin 

 <lo unto him. 



Salesmanship a Potent Element. 



What is salesmanship.' Ono of the 

 most poteut elements in making per- 

 manent and profitable patrons is the 

 Jaw of suggestion. It seems to be the 

 universal habit of oriler-tai<ers to use 

 the negative suggestion instead of the 

 l)08itive suggestion. There are millions 

 of people in stores telling you every 

 day that you don't want this or that. 



The negative question kicks the foot- 

 ball of the mind toward the goal of 

 \o, the positive questipn to the goal 

 of Yes, 



Let nie tell you of a purchase I was 

 making some time ago of collars and 

 cuffs. After I had made the purchase 

 the clerk said, "You don't want any 

 ties, do you?" A-nd I said, "No." 

 That was the natural answer. A few 

 -lays later my wife pointed out that I 

 ought to have a new tie. I really di<l 

 want that tie, but the clerk told me 

 1 didn't. In another store, just three 

 doors away, I bought one. The clerk 

 said to me after making the sale, 

 ' ' You will want some more ties in a 

 few days — it will save you shopping 

 again if you take them with you now." 

 1 purchased three altogether because 

 the clerk told me 1 needed them, and 

 1 almost bought a scarf besides. In 

 fact, a few days later, when passing 

 the window of the same store, I noticed 

 some scarfs in the window, and went 

 in and bought one. 



One of thoSe stores is no more. You 

 can easily guess which one it is. The 

 clerk should remember that the fault 

 lies not in the boss but in hinjself. 



Boom for Progress. 



Salesmanship is the power to per- 

 suade people to purchase products at a 

 profit. I feel sorry for the man who 

 is affected with the disease of knowit- 

 ullitis. Remember, you can't stand 

 still. You must either go forward or 

 backward, and the power to persuade 

 people to purchase products at a profit 

 has never been perfected by any of us. 



The old idea that the glib talker is 

 always a salesman is entirely wrong. 

 Some people talk a man into buying 

 and then talk him out of it again. 

 There are too many people in 'the world 

 who lack terminal facilities. 



Prejudice is a great hindrance to 

 progress. We must constantly strive to 

 overcome prejudice, in ourselves as well 

 as in others, to bring the conduct of 

 our business into harmony Avith the 

 fixed laws of nature. 



ADVERTISING IN TAMPA. 



As Tampa, Fla., is the largest cigar 

 city in the world, it is not to be won- 

 dered at that a florist of that city 

 should use the products of the tobacco 

 plant to make a novel advertisement 

 for himself. This is what F. A. Knull, 

 of the Knull Floral Co., did at the time 

 of the opening of the new Bell cafe in 

 Tampa recently, an occasion that took 

 .300 Beauties of Mr. Knull for decora- 

 tions. As an attraction at the opening 

 Mr. Knull proposed the cigar bouquet 

 that is shown in the illustration. The 

 Cuesta Rey Co. was glad to furnish the 

 tobacco and a tobacco journal was later 

 anxious for a photograph. The cafe 

 owners advertised the extraordinary 

 bouquet in its quarter -page announce- 

 ment in the Tampa papers. As was ex- 

 pected, the bouquet attracted wide- 



spread attention and caused much com- 

 ment, all to the advantage of the Knull 

 Floral Co. 



PIERSON'S PALACE. 



The illustration of "Pierson's Palace 

 of Posies " that appeared in The Review 

 last week has attracted more than usual 

 interest, since it marks the completion 

 of a store that is another long step in 

 advance for the trade. As a result of 

 this illustration many florists will visit 

 Tarrytown to inspect the building itself 

 and it will have its effect in modifying 

 many a retailer's plans. 



People who are familiar with the best 

 designs in architecture pronounce this 

 building as perfect architecturally, both 

 in design and construction, as any of 

 the buildings on Fifth avenue, in New 

 Y^ork city, used for any line of business. 

 If it were not for the conservatory on 

 the north and the Italian garden on the 

 south, the building might be mistaken 

 for a modern i)ublic library, or a bank. 

 Nothing like it has ever before been 



A Bouquet Popular in Tampa, Fla. 



attempted in the florist,s' business, 

 either in breadth of conception or execu- 

 tion, and it is a building that will prob- 

 ably not be duplicated for a long time 

 to come. It represents an outlay of 

 nearly .$50,000. 



The building is designed to meet the 

 conditions of a high-class residential 

 neighborhood, being a beautiful building 

 in a beautiful setting. A building of this 

 character would only be possible in such 

 a town as Tarrytown, which is the 

 wealthiest suburban section in the United 

 States, being only twenty-five miles from 

 the heart of New York city. The building 

 is located on Broadway, which is a 

 continuation of Riverside drive in New 

 York city, and is the main thoroughfare 

 along the Hudson river between New 

 York and Albany and the north and 

 west. It is estimated that on pleasant 

 days between .300 and 400 automobiles 

 an hour pass the building. It will read- 

 ily be seen that the advertising value 

 of such a building is incalculable in 

 such a neighborhood. Indeed, Mr. Fier- 

 son says, it is quite a question whether 



the advertising value capitalized will 

 not bring back the cost of the invest- 

 ment in ten years or less. All in all, it 

 is a building that must be seen to be 

 appreciated. Neither photographs nor 

 description can convey the general ef- 

 fect of the beauty of the structure. As 

 stated in last week's note, William R. 

 Cobb, general manager of the Lord & 

 Burnham Co., is the architect, and the 

 design as worked out is the result of the 

 collaboration of Mr. Pierson and Mr. 

 Cobb, the latter, of course, having car- 

 ried out the technical construction and 

 the general design. 



EASTERN STAR EMBLEM. 



Florists are often called upon to 

 make up emblems of various national 

 and international orders, and those who 

 are acquainted with the emblems and 

 are adept at executing these designs 

 find them a steady source of income 

 that adds a quite respectable sum to the 

 year 's profits. The illustration on page 

 1.3 shows such .•m emblem, that of 

 the Order of the Eastern Star. The 

 execution of this particular piece, how- 

 ever, added nothing to anyone's profits, 

 for it was made by the class in floral 

 decoration at the University of Illinois 

 for display in the exhibit of the class 's 

 work held at Urbana recently. 



PUTS A BAN ON FLOWERS. 



Flowers will be prohibited at funerals 

 in Catholic churches in the Kansas City 

 diocese. An edict has been issued by 

 Bishop Thomas F. Lillis in which it is 

 suggested that the practice of sending 

 flowers to the home also be refrained 

 from. It is suggested instead that a 

 memorial card with a few words of sym- 

 pathy would be more appropriate. The 

 ruling is for the church services only. 

 "Flowers are all right at weddings and 

 in the home^" Bishop Lillis is quoted as 

 saying, "but an ostentatious display of 

 flowers does not seem appropriate on an 

 occasion of solemnity. The custom 

 sometimes is a vanity and an extrava- 

 gance. It works a hardship on many in 

 innumerable cases. ' ' 



Bishoj) Lillis' circular to the priests 

 of the diocese is as follows: 



"It is to bo deplored that Catholic 

 funerals are frequently ma<le the oc- 

 casion of useless and extravagant ex- 

 ]tenditures for floral tributes. These 

 offerings of flowers may add to public 

 display and for that reason be welcome 

 to the family in grief, but the practice 

 savors of vanity and not seldom works 

 hardship on those who cannot afford 

 it. It too often happens that those who 

 are limited in means and already over- 

 whelmed with debt are forced by pre- 

 vailing custom to add to their obliga- 

 tions because a friend has passed away 

 and flowers must be purchased to re- 

 mind the bereaved relatives that their 

 deceased is not forgotten. 



"How much more acceptable to the 

 living and profitable to the one that 

 is gone would be a memorial card sent 

 to the family, conveying a few sincere 

 words of sympathy and a promise of 

 some prayers for the repose of the soul 

 of the departed! We know the mean- 

 ingless waste of money on the occasion 

 of funerals often results in depriving 

 the deceased of the greatest blessing 

 which gratitude and love can bestow — 

 the holy sacrifice of the mass. 



"The practice of bringing fading 

 flowers to encase and surround the cas- 

 ket during the divine service for the 



