St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-04-07
LEGITIMATE COMPETITION.
Ante Lucem Gives Young Sales
men a Friendly Tip.

Competition, Webster defines, as a
rivalry. The word as applied to trade
and commerce by class Of statesmen
and dealers is vague and meaningless.
In other words, it means nothing, unless
It be the abuse of line of goods made
or sold by another. Competition proper
consists in pushing ones own goods,
selling them upon their own merits,
getting the best possible prices, and at
all times their value, speaking not at all
of other lines, or only in the most casual
and careless manner, and never III de-
famatory way. There are few statesmen
who are always talking about some other
line of goods, and upon the slightest
preteXt begin to make comparisons and
at once open up general discussion OF
another mans line, and do a large
amount of gratuitous advertising for
him and his line, thus working an injury
to themselves by keeping a rivals goods
fresh in the mind of the dealer. During
my short time on the road have often
remarked the following course of pro-
cedure by the salesman: There is a
piece of goods which compares with so
and SOS, or it is as good as Smiths, or
Jones cannot sell you his so and so
for the money, and in price it
is no higher than Thomas, and
its quality is just as good as goods you
buy from Peterson. Some, if not all of
these assertions, will cause the
dealer to reflect upon the matter, ask
questions Of the salesman which will
bring out other casualties, and before
the discussion has been diverted into
other channels, the salesman has i'll
jured, rather than bettered his own
cause. and to the extent of his own i'll
jury he has helped the rival. A COM
peting line is not one sold for less or
mere money, but one which possesses
merit md worth, and at all times COM
mands it's full value i'll the coin OF the
realm.
YOUNG MEN ON TIE ROAD
are too apt to grasp at first the wrong
idea of the proper methods of prose-
cutting a sale, and until experience has
taught them otherwise, go about doing
,Hore or less good for other Salesm Ell
A salesman should at all times seek TO-.
properly advertise his own goods and
house, but should avoid advertising
some other man or house at the expense
OF himself or employers. Standard
goods as rule have pretty generally
fiXt q values which vary only as the raw
material varies in price, or as the price
for labor in manufacturing them is
greater or less. With such, competing
prices vary only as the larger dealer is
enabled to take advantages of quantity,
discount or price, the smaller dealer
to pay ready cash, and the gen
eral advantage offered by larger
jobbing houses. Certain lines of goods
to bring larger prices in market must
have merit and value, and the other
line, which undersells it, must be cheap
ened in some manner; j. e., two equal
grades of the same kind of goods must
bring the same price, costs of produc-
ton being equal. The intelligent
dealer soon sees that point, and looks
on the argument of the price salesman
with large grain of allowance. The
older men upon the road, who are to-
day the successful statesmen, as rule,
pursue the course of selling their own
line advertising it, letting the other man
do likewise and never bringing another
line into competition with their own by
its mention. ANTE LUCEM.