64 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
THE NURSERY SALESMAN 
By E. MATTHEWS 
The Salesman of to-day (whether of nursery-stock 
or any otlier commodity) however well equipped he 
may be with all the qualities that g’o to the making 
uj) of a successful one, finds it no easy task to effect 
a continuous flow of sales for his goods. 
True, one may handle something of an extraordin¬ 
ary nature which is priced so low that the masses do 
not think twice of the i)rice in the face of its utility 
value. 
Com])etiton is however, keener in all lines than 
ever before and not the least in ornamental stock. 
The number of nurseries in existence to-day is 
niucli greater than it was twenty-five years ago. 
another matter, price alone governs a great number 
of people in the final placing of the order. 
Those employed in the selling of nursery stock 
come under two classes. Namely: 
Rctdil, or those who sell direct to the consumer, and 
Whole,sale, those who sell to the trade or to those 
who resell. 
It matters little perhaps to which of these classes 
you or I belong, the same general principles prevail in 
both. 
The former has no doubt the hardest path to hoe, 
if the most interesting, for he is dealing with an end¬ 
less variety of temperaments and personalities. 
The FrankliH Davis Nursery Co., Baltimore, Maryland, grows immense quantities of 
California Privet. It is planted in rows wide apart and thoroughly cultivated. 
ITap])ily the demand for nursery stock has also^ 
kept pace with the increase of nurseries, which ne¬ 
cessitates an intensive growing of good stock of all 
kinds of hardy plants to meet it. 
MTiile it may l)e true the demand equals the pro¬ 
duction, and foi- this reason it should seem an easy 
matter to sell the goods, the variation in the price of 
(apparently not really) the same kind of goods 
makes it hard even for the experienced nursery sales¬ 
man with all his most forceful reasoning to turn 
every in(|uiry into an order. 
It is not reasonable to su])pose that the nursery¬ 
man who puts his very best efforts and skill into the 
growing of his stock should sell it at the same figure 
as another who ])uts but little labor on the growfing 
of such stock but merely ])lants and lets grow as it 
may. 
Of course evei'y nurseryman knows the difference 
between the two articles and fully appreciates that 
the highest ])riced tree, shrub or evergreen is invar¬ 
iably the best value. 
To convince the customer of this, however, is quite 
The main thought however is, that both are out to 
sell their goods profitably. 
The word “pi'ofitably’’ has a far deeper meaning 
than actual profit in dollars and cents in anv one 
transaction. 
It should mean continued patronage, good adver¬ 
tising through a well pleased customer, all of which 
means ‘ ‘ business-building. ’ ’ 
To what extent the retail customer is dependent 
on the nurseryman to make for him wise selections of 
stock can be appreciated only b-y those of us who are 
closely in touch with the course of an order, from the 
inquiry stage to the finished planting. 
M e may get a letter from Mr. Jones worded some¬ 
thing like this:— 
(Tentlemen, I have just i)urchased a new property 
on which I intend to build. It is as you see a com¬ 
paratively small plot of ground, and while I cannot 
hope to have the great variety of plants as seen on 
some places I would like to get the very best results 
from a modest outlav of monev. 
