26 



THE SMALL NURSERY 



outline as simply as possible some of the theories that form 

 the groundwork of these efforts. 



As has been suggested, Selling is a broad word and 

 covers the three branches of Advertising, Correspondence, 

 and Personal Salesmanship. In each of these branches 

 the same rules apply and we must follow the same sequence 

 of action to be successful, viz: We must, first, attract 

 attention and interest; second, arouse desire; third, con- 

 vince the mind; and, fourth, stimulate action. Binding 

 these four together and running through all our effort 

 must be a note that inspires confidence. 



Now let us see how these developments are worked 

 out in advertising, correspondence, and salesmanship. 

 Why is it that some nursery catalogs fail to pull as many 

 orders as was anticipated ? Perhaps, although the cover 

 of a catalog was attractive and the reading matter inter- 

 esting, no definite suggestions were made in it and, there- 

 fore, sales were lost. Doubtless there is no one who 

 would not admit the necessity for the first principle of 

 attracting attention, and so we find that the covers of 

 catalogs and pamphlets are usually very good. But too 

 often, it seems, catalogs are not written with the reader 

 in mind. If we want to arouse desire we must put our- 

 selves in the place of the recipient of our literature. 

 Unless you were a plumber you would not be interested 

 in reading descriptions of elbows and tees but you would 

 undoubtedly read a pamphlet on Economical Plumbing. 

 The plant fancier will read typical catalog descriptions, 

 but the persons who place large orders will not. This is 

 not to say that a catalog is all wrong — it isn't, but it is a 

 poor sort of advertising with which to arouse interest. 



There are but few people who do not like to read inter- 

 esting articles about flowers and plants, and the sooner 

 the nurserymen make their advertising interesting, that 



