The morning times., 1895-11-10
NEW ART FOR, The SCHOOLS
The Business Of fselling Goods
Should Be Publicly Taught.
Stores Employing Numerous Help
Want SaIes-People Of Experience.
But without Experimenting.

majority of young people enter tho mer-
camille field, and scarcely any OF them
know the first rudlments of business.
On the other hand, IL you take an oppli-
cant for professional life, he is taught all
about his particular study, and when he
begins his career he is versed in II. but
not so with those who want to become
business men. They leave school, make
application for positions III stores without
the slightest knowledge of what they
would have to do. They have had no
training at llabout business. They know
how To add, multiply, parse, conjugate,
etc, but do not know wool from cotton;
they would not know how to measure,
how to talk 10 customers, or anything else
pertaining to business life.
If they begin when real young they
start in as cash boys OF girls. and grad
ually work their way up: but II young
people go 10 school until they are seventeen
or eighteen, they don't feel as if they
could begin at the bottom of the ladder.
lf they were taught what store-keeping
meant, they could afford 10 go To school as
long as they desired, and could begin
business life with knowledge of what TO
do and would not then lie expected to
begin at the lowest notch.
CAN'T EXPERIMENT.
lh' VI HuTtHtA W ho 'hNii
young sons and daughters to you nowadays
for places say 10 you, If you ask "have
they any experience" No, but they are
apt and VIII soon learn" They are sincere
in their belief, but business is absolutely
business nowadays and one cannot afford
10 experiment with inexperienced people.
IN busy season You dare not, and IN uull
season You need not. Yet If you want to
he hOncst with them and tell them SO they
their experience somewhere, and so they do.
A good place to get it would be from en
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. who is versed, someone
who is himself experienced.
Agitate this inomentous question, insist
upon 1t, let your school trustees see to ii.
They nowadays have instructors for sing
Ing, calistlenics, for cooking. none OF which
are as important as a knowledge OF what
you expect to make a living OF.
To sell goods looks easy, but ii is not.
IL is really trying-the expressions that
ought to be used, and how they should
be used-not the cold, frigid, half-hearted
toue, but the warin-hearted making you
feel-at-hone" kind, for IL a Gust omcr enters
the doors of large or small establish
meut and is accosted in an automatic
manner, that customer feels like retracing
her steps and going somewhere else; but
should that customer he approached in a
civil, genteel or agreeable manner the i'm
preston of the store Is inade at once and
the customer feels at home, feels like buy
ing.
So many clerks In stores act like nutoma-
tons, IL approached by customer with
any inquiry at all, point in an amless
and expressionless way here Or there, In
stead OF adding a few words of information.
THE WAY YOU. SAY 1T.
1t is not So much what you say to Gus
toners as the way You say 1t. Again, sup
posing the customer Is directed to the right
department, and asks for gloves or dress
goods, or silks, when she comes 10 that
counter, look pleasant! without OVERRIDING
it. Show the goods al once. Don't ask too
many questions about the color. price and
style the customer desires. First OF all, pull
down something, and say, This is a
stylish fabric or This is entirely new"
Say something regarding Your goods.
Should the customer be undecided, sug-
gest, but don't insist. Quietly advance Your
ideas, without saying too much. Try to
please. without impurtuning. II you can't
make the sale, by all means leave a good
impression. Let the customer say OF you,
Wasn't he obliging? If ever We need any
thing from Blanks store, we certainly VIII
look up that clerk"
But don't let the customer 60 away with
the impression that you are iinpOlite or
uncivil, or overbeariDg, 1t hurts you some
but the store more. If salespeople could
only be made to understand II. if the store
prospers their opportunity for greater
is assured. 1t is mutual
affair, what you DO, You do as much for
your own interests as those of your firm.
HOW TO MAKE OUT CHECKS.
This, though it appears simple, is not.
1t requires time to master this correctly.
How tu fill out check, whether IL is
a regular sales cheek. c. o. d. check,
charge check, an approval check, "r
transfer check. all need learning, for the
customer gets easily vexed by the
apparent stupidity of j clerk not knowing
how to fill out a check. 1t consumes much
time, and long waits ensue, which are
extremely nauseating to customer.
now 70 KEEP STOCK.
Show me how u stock is kept and will
tell you at once what kind of ealespeople
you have salesperson who grows care
less about his stock, does not take an
interest in your business. Stock must
always look presentahle. There can be
no excuse for 1t being otherwise. Every
article in your stock should be tagged;
every piece of goods ticketed, not in an
o:f-hand manner either. but in a plain,
clear way, so that anyone at glance
could tell the priceor size.
Let all of your tickets be of one uniform
size and one color; be sure Of this, as there
is nothing that Will tend to cheaper
your stock quicker than unsightly written
tickets and particularly SO, If OF different
colors.
Make nice shows of your stock, n matter
what ii is. Change your shows often.
Have nice card on all goods you so
exhibit, no matter what they are
&c n dya Mt q "
In not fixing a display card on all goods
you want to use for show, for the card
attracts as quickly as the goods, ofttimes
more readily.
HOW TO DRESS IN THE STORE.
Don't dress eccentric or fastidious, never
lavish. Neatness is the essence of re-
finement. Rather look dignified than
loud. The women should dress in neat
black costume nice white collar and
cuffs for a change adds TO the general ap-
pearance.
The men should look genteel and clean
shayen at all times, never loudly dressed.
You have no idea how replusive loud
looking girl or man is TO the average per-
son. They will never impress one. They
looked insipid. No matter how bright
they may be. and You know impressions
count for much. ,G
DON'T CHEW.
II there is one detestable, repusive and
much to be Stunned habit, 1t is chewing
in the store, the men tobacco, the women
gum. 1t looks horrled, and is horried so
unbusiness-llke. 1t ought not to be toler-
ated for moment in the stores of the pre-
sent day.
WRITING FOR ADVERTISEMENTS.
In order for the advertising man to know
what is in your stock, you've got to inform
him. He is glad enough to edit your
items, If you give them to him, but let
them be given to him in an intelligent
shape, written in a readable manner, so