THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
401 
SELLING METHODS 
By STANLEY V. WILCOX 
The selling problem is just as real to the nurseryman 
today as it is to the merchant in any other field. The time 
was, a few years back, that the market for nursery stock in 
many sections of this country, was greater than the supply. 
Now in some of these same sections any amount of stock can 
be grown and success is only with the firm that can best 
market it. 
The nursery business has always been divided into two 
large classes. That class that specialized on the growing of 
stock and those, who by agents or catalogues saw to the 
selling and distributing. With the increasing competition, 
these two branches of the business must be knit more closely 
together and the grower no longer neglect the selling end. 
Instances are numerous where large businesses have been 
built by strict adherence to specializing in the growing of fine 
specimen stock, and with little or no selling effort. In other 
words, relying on the excellence of the stock to do the selling. 
Just as numerous instances of firms, whose selling methods 
have advanced and the stock end has not kept pace. 
The ideal business is, of course, that in which we have a 
harmony of the two, high grade stock, and up-to-date selling 
methods. 
No one hard and fast rule can be laid down in this or any 
other business that has so many branches and so many 
avenues through which stock is sold. The methods that 
would apply best to a strictly fruit business would fail most 
likely with the grower of ornamentals, and what might prove 
great business bringers to a wholesaler be a sad failure with 
the retailer. It is only very general methods, therefore, that 
are herein spoken of. 
With a producing plant of any size today it is no longer 
possible to rely on the strictly local trade. The question of 
advertising comes up first, therefore, as the best known way 
of attracting the outside buyer. 
The right kind of advertising should back up our every 
selling effort. 
As nurserymen in general we have fallen behind many 
other less important industries through our neglect to 
advertise or to advertise properly. Not that we have spent 
less money, but that we have failed to study the question as it 
should be studied. 
How many nurserymen employ an expert advertising 
manager? How many firms in other lines are without one? 
Were I to criticize in a general way the nursery advertising 
of today, I should say that two-thirds of it is non-productive, 
because it entirely overlooks the fundamental principle of 
“The reason why?” 
Backed up by carefully studied and well planned adver¬ 
tising there are many selling methods that may be adopted. 
I think I am very safe in saying that taking the nursery 
business all through, there has been less attc.xtion paid to the 
building up of trained and efficient selling forces than in any 
business of like importance. 
Have we one firm with as well trained and organized a 
selling force as that which markets the output of the smallest 
typewriter plant? Is there any good reason why this should 
be? 
True, many nurserymen employ possibly hundreds of 
agents. There is a far cry, however, between the nursery 
agent that is, and the nursery salesman that should be. If it 
is not possible to have a selling force to represent in person we 
can have a selling force to sell by mail. A great field is opened 
up by the mail order business if we will only adopt up-to-date 
methods. 
[Do you answer your inquiries promptly? 
Do you follow up your inquiries? 
Are you as liberal and patient as you should be in giving 
out helpful information? 
It would be impossible to estimate the amount of business 
lost every planting season through neglect of these important 
matters, and they are neglected, not that we don’t want the 
business, but that we have failed to provide an organization 
to handle it. 
Nothing will quite take the place of the catalogue as a 
selling feature for nurserymen and here at least is one field 
where our advance deserves commendation. It is a feature 
that is essential to every branch of the business and should 
continue in its present splendid way; make it interesting and 
attractive, illustrate with plenty of good photographs and 
describe stock truly. 
When we consider the increasing demand for nursery stock 
of all kinds, due of course to the rapidly increasing population, 
the opening up of new territory and the awakening of a great 
interest in horticulture and aboriculture, there is no reason 
why the smallest nursery should not quickly grow to a large 
and prosperous business. It will only be, however, through 
strict study and application of modem selling methods as 
well as to our zeal in propagating and production. 
AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION IN FRANCE 
The investigation made by the Diplomatic Service in 
connection with President Taft’s effort to introduce co-opera¬ 
tive credit in the United States reveals splendid results from 
systematic organization of agricultural education in 
France. 
“The value of the annual crops in France during the fifteen 
years that have elapsed since this educational system was 
introduced has increased by $500,000,000. This remarkable 
result is entirely due to improved methods of cultivation 
resulting from the educational advantages now enjoyed.’’ 
It would be hard to compute the results of improved 
methods if they could be generally applied to the United 
States, even of the land now under cultivation. We must 
stand by our colleges and Agricultural Experimental Stations, 
and every effort that is made towards the broad-casting of 
knowledge of plant life. 
