[Illustration: “My stomach was beginning
to gnaw, but i didn’t dare go out”]
“But after awhile my nerve came back to me,
and I thought, surely all the merchants I call on
won’t be like that man,—and I washed
up and went down to supper. After eating something
I felt better. At the supper table I told an
old traveling man, who was sitting at the table with
me, about the way I’d been treated.
“’Well, come on, my boy, and I’ll
sell you a bill tonight. That old fellow is the
meanest dog in Iowa. No decent traveling man will
go near him. As a rule, you’ll find that
merchants will treat you like a gentleman. The
best thing you can do is to scratch that old whelp
off the list. Of course you know,’ said
he, giving me advice which I needed very much, ’you’ll
often run up against a man who is a little sour, but
if you sprinkle sugar on him in the right kind of way,
you can sweeten him up.’
“You know how it is, boys, even now, all of
us like to give a helping hand to the young fellow
who’s just starting out. I would almost
hand over one of my customers to a young man to give
him encouragement, and so would you. We’ve
all been up against the game ourselves and know how
many things the young fellow runs up against to dishearten
him.
“As I think of my early experiences, I recall
with a great deal of gratitude in my heart the kind
deeds that were done for me when I was the green first-tripper,
by the old timers on the road. My new friend
took me down the street to one of his customers and
made him give me an order. That night I went
to bed the happiest boy in Iowa.”
With this one of the boys called a waiter. As
we lit our cigars my friend Moore, who was next to
tell his story, said, “Well, boys, here’s
to Our First Experiences.”
TACTICS IN SELLING.
The man on the road is an army officer. His soldiers
are his samples. His enemy is his competitor.
He fights battles every day. The “spoils
of war” is business.
The traveling man must use tactics just the same as
does the general. He may not have at stake the
lives of other men and the success of his country;
but he does have at stake—and every day—his
own livelihood, a chance for promotion—a
partnership perhaps—and always, the success
of his firm.
Many are the turns the salesman takes to get business.
He must be always ready when his eyes are open, and
sometimes in his dreams, to wage war. If he is
of the wrong sort, once in a while he will give himself
up to sharp practice with his customer; another time
he will fight shrewdly against his competitor.
Sometimes he must cajole the man who wishes to do
business with him and at the same time, especially
when his customer’s credit is none too good,
make it easy for him to get goods shipped; and, hardest
of all, he must get the merchant’s attention
that he may show him his wares. Get a merchant
to looking at your goods and you usually sell
a bill.
